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977.201 

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v.l 

1506554 


GENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


ALLEN  COUNTY  P.u.§L1lc11Uft,W||'|i 


3  1833  00827  9041 


5  JO-"* 


A  Standard  History 

of 

WHITE_  COUNTY 
INDIANA 


An  Authentic  Narrative  of  the   Past,   with  an   Extended 

Survey  of  Modern  Developments  in  the 

Progress   of  Town  and 

Country 


Under  the  Supervision  of 
W.  H,  HAMELLE 


VOLUME  I 


ILLUSTRATED 


THE  LEWIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  AND  NEW  YORK 
1915 


■"»—■■■*- '■■-■■  "i 


---■   •    ■ 


1506554 
INTRODUCTION 


This  History  of  White  County  is  presented  to  the  public  without 
apology  or  excuse.  More  than  four  score  years  have  passed  since  the 
organization  of  the  county,  and  on  the  eve  of  the  celebration  of  our  State's 
Centennial,  the  writer  was  convinced  that  the  proper  time  had  arrived  to 
place,  in  permanent  form,  a  history  of  our  early  settlers,  their  labors, 
struggles  and  achievements.  These  early  settlers  of  White  County  were 
very  largely  composed  of  industrious,  earnest,  God-fearing  people,  of 
whom  we,  their  descendants,  should  justly  feel  proud.  England's  great 
Gladstone  truthfully  says,  "That  the  man  who  does  not  worthily  estimate 
his  own  dead  forefathers  will  himself  do  very  little  to  add  credit  or  honor 
to  his  country. ' '  Pride  of  ancestry  is  an  attribute  peculiar  to  the  human 
race,  but  in  our  pursuit  of  wealth,  honor  or  position,  we  often  lose  sight 
of  those  who  have  preceded  us,  and  when  this  happens  we  fail  to  profit 
by  their  example.  This  is  to  be  deplored.  Our  best  lessons  are  learned 
by  a  study  of  the  lives  of  those  who  have  left  to  us  a  record  of  self- 
denial,  industry  and  success. 

As  a  further  reason  for  placing  this  work  before  the  public,  our  schools 
are  being  made  the  medium  through  which  local  history  is  taught,  and 
without  some  work  on  the  subject,  the  teacher  would  be  obliged  to  rely 
largely  on  tradition  whiclTis  often  fallacious,  misleading  and  erroneous. 

No  person  now  living  can,  from  personal  knowledge,  give  an  account 
of  the  organization  and  early  settlement  of  our  county,  and  such  items 
as  were  not  found  in  the  records  of  the  White  County  Historical  Society, 
the  files  of  the  local  newspapers,  or  in  the  records  of  the  various  county 
offices,  have  been  written  after  a  careful  search  for  the  truth  among 
those  whose  accounts  often  differed,  and  in  such  cases  the  writer  has  been 
compelled  to  accept  the  version  which  seemed  to  him  the  most  credible — 
of  course  in  such  cases  it  is  not  claimed  that  errors  have  not  occurred. 

An  earnest  effort  has  been  made  to  give  a  succinct  account  of  the 
Indian  grants,  the  early  settlers,  the  organization  of  the  various  town- 
ships and  towns  within  the  county,  all  of  which  being  supplemented  with 
brief  sketches  of  our  earliest  inhabitants,  who  have  long  since  passed 
away,  will  doubtless  prove  of  interest  to  the  general  reader.  These  brief 
biographies  are  often  fragmentary  and  incomplete,  but  they  include  all 
that  could  be  gleaned  without  recourse  to  tradition.  The  compilation  of 
these  biographical  sketches  was  accomplished  with  the  expenditure  of 
many  days  of  earnest,  unremitting  toil,  for  which  the  writer  neither 
expects  nor  asks  any  compensation.  These  first  settlers  have  gone  their 
way.     To  them  we  owe  much  of  what  we  enjoy  today,  and  ere  their 

iii 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

memories  are  forgotten,  we  cheerfully  inscribe  in  our  local  history  a 
tribute  to  their  virtues. 

The  illustrations  in  these  volumes  will  be  of  interest  to  future  genera- 
tions, as  all  of  them  were  made  from  recent  photographs  and  are  authentic 
in  every  particular.  They  convey  much  more  information  than  can  be 
gleaned  from  the  printed  page. 

The  writer  is  under  obligations  to  all  who  have  in  any  way  assisted 
him  in  his  labors.  He  is  under  especial  obligations  to  Mr.  Jay  B.  Van 
Buskirk  and  Mr.  James  P.  Simons,  the  former  for  nearly  thirty  years 
editor  of  the  Monticello  ITerald,  the  latter  for  twenty  years  occupying 
the  same  relation  to  the  White  County  Democrat.  To  both  these  gentle- 
men he  extends  his  heartfelt  gratitude.  Their  assistance,  freely  given, 
is  fully  appreciated. 

Finally,  as  before  stated,  this  history  is  presented  without  apology 
or  excuse,  nor  is  any  charity  or  indulgence  asked  of  the  reader;  but  it  is 
earnestly  hoped  it  may  be  the  means  of  awakening  a  deeper  interest  in 
our  local  history,  and  a  fuller  appreciation  of  our  blessings  and  comforts 
vouchsafed  to  us  by  the  labors  and  privations  of  White  County's  pioneers. 


W.  H.  HAMELLE. 


Monticello,  Indiana, 

December,  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Fifteen. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SPECULATIONS 

Mound  Builders  Clung  to  the  Water  Courses — Chain  op  Prehistoric 
Forts  —  War  and  Domestic  Implements  —  Nature  op  Habits 
Inferred  from  Relics — Somewhat  Commercial — No  Hieroglyph- 
ics'or  Effigies — Conclusion:  "We  Know  Nothing" — Probably 
a  Race  of  Slaves — Perhaps  the  Most  Ancient  of  Peoples — Were 
They  Fathers  of  the  Toltecs? — A  Staggering  Cycle — Per- 
chance, the  Greatest  Wonder  of  the  World 1 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

Cartographic  Evidences — First  Record  of  the  Tippecanoe — Ver- 
sailles the  Colonial  Seat  of  Government — Indiana  as  a  Part  of 
New  France — Great  Chain  of  French  Forts — Indiana  Trading. 
Posts — Governed  from  Vincennes— Indiana  Under  British  Rule 
— Semi-Civil  Government  at  Fort  Chartres — Uncertain  French 
Titles  to  Lands — As  a  Part  of  Canada — An  Extension  of  Vir- 
ginia— In  the  County  of  Illinois — The  Northwest  Becomes 
National  Territory — Populak  Assembly  for  the  Northwest 
Territory — Indiana  Territory  Created — First  Territorial  Leg- 
islature— Governor  Harrison,  Father  of  Indiana — Indian  Com- 
plaints Not  Groundless — Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet  Implacable 
— The  Battle  of  Tippecanoe — Sketches  of  Col.  Isaac  White — 
Indian  Stragglers  Settle  in  White  County — Changes  in  Gov- 
ernors and  Capitals — State  Constitution  Adopted  at  Corvdon — . 
Indianapolis  Fixed  as  Permanent  Capital 8 

CHAPTER  III 

LIFTING  OF  INDIAN  CLAIMS 

Pottawattaiiies,  the  Home  Tribe — Their  Chief  Village  in  the 
County — How  the  Lands  Passed  to  the  United  States — The  Four 
Basic  Cessions — First  Migration  of  the  Pottawattamies — The 
Final  Removal  En  Masse — The  Tribe  Gathers  at  Plymouth — The 
March  Westward — Pokagon's  Prophecies — Another  Picture  of 
the   Migration    29 


*■■-■-         ■■-  -  ■ 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

NATURAL  FEATURES  AND  INDUSTRIES 

Industries  Founded  on  Nature— Natural  and  Artificial  Drainage— 
In  a  State  of  Nature— Effect  of  Praihie  Fires— Useful  Trees- 
Soil  as  Varied  as  Timber— Early  Prejudice  Against  Prairie 
Lands— The  Prairie's  Blue- Joint  Grass— Nature  as  Molded  by 
(Man— Disagreeable  Animals  and  Reptiles  Disappear  —  Most- 
Edible  Birds  Gone— Birds  that  Are  Left— Nature  Changed  for 
the  Better   * ;-c* 

CHAPTER  V 

.      .  THE  TIES  WHICH  BIND 

Plan  of  Government  Surveys— Basis  of  Common  School  Fund- 
White  County  Lands  Classified — Mexican  Land  Warrants  Make 
Trouble— Canal  and  Swamp  Lands— Last  of  the  State  Lands— 
x  Regulations  for  Township  Surveys— Natural  Features  to  be 
Noted — Subdivisions  of  the  Townships— Early  Surveys  Within 
the  Present  County — Surveying  Before  Land  Drainage — Swamp 
Lands  Drained— Early  Water  Travel— Pioneer  Roads— State 
and  National  Highways — Country  Roads  Surrendered'  to  the 
Townships — Modern  Road  Building — Canal  and  Railroad  Com- 
petition—Pioneer Railways— First  White  County  Railroad— 
The  Benefits  It  Brought— Headed  for  Monticello— Logansport, 
Peoria  and  Burlington  Gets  There — White  County's  Railroad 

■\yAR Road    Opens    with    Bloodshed — Grand    Prairie — Railway 

Stations  on  the  New  Line—  The  Air-Line  Division  of  the  Monon 
—Opening  of  the  Indianapolis,  Delphi  &  Chicago  Railroad— The 
Ties  which  Bind  the  County 42 

CHAPTER  VI* 

THE  COUNTY  GOVERNMENT 

While  a  Part  of  Carroll, — Norway  Carved  from  Prairie  Township — 
Name  Changed  to  Big  Creek  Township— Pioneers  Ante-Dating. 
County  Organization — Act  Creating  White  County — Changes 
in  Territory— First  County  Officers — First  County  Board 
Mkkting— Seat  of  Justtoe  Located — The  County  Seat  Title — 
Public  Sale  op  Lots— The  Old  Court  House  Grant— First  Judi- 

"  cial  Session— First  Full  Court  Kept  Busy— Tin:  Little  Frame 
Court  House— The  Jail  and  Its  First  Prisoner— The  County's 
Ups  and  Downs— The  Clerk's  Office  Built— The  Brick  Court- 
nousE— Cholera  Interferes  with  Its  Completion-— Description 
of  Dear  Old  Building— County  Offices  Affected  by  Legislation 


CONTENTS  '  vii 

— New  Jails  Erected — Combined  Jail  and  Sheriff's  Residence — 
Corner  Stone  of  Present  Courthouse  Laid — The  Poor  Farm — 
— County's  Growth  by  Decades — Deductions  from  Census  Fig- 
ures— White  County's  Population,  1890-1910 — Property  Valua- 
tion in  1905  and  1910 — Taxable  Valuation  in  1915 — Receipts  and 
Disbursements : 59 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  COUNTY  IN  LAW 

The  Courts  Born  of-  American  Rule — First  Territorial  Court — 
Judge  Parke  Refuses  to  Hold  Court — The  Courts  Under  the 
First  'State  Constitution — Under  the  Second  Constitution — 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas — Creatures  of  the  Legislature — Pro- 
bate Courts — Court  of  Common  Pleas  Defined — The  New  Circuit 
Court — First  Circuit  Judge — First  Active  Grand  Jurors — Pio- 
neer Lawyers  of  the  Circuit — Albert  S.  White — Turpie's 
Sketches  of  Judge  White — Young  Turpie  Hears  First  Stump 
Speech  —  Boys  Abashed  at  White's  Greatness  —  Meeting  of 
Alpha  and  Omega — Meet  in  Early  Maturity  and  Old  Age: — 
Together  They  Call  on  President  Lincoln — Thompson,  First 
Local  Lawyer — Daniel  D.  Pratt — His  Kind  Helpfulness  to 
Young  Men — Judges  and  Attorneys,  1838-43— Horace  P.  Biddle — 
Biddle  vs.  Pratt — Characteristics  of  David  Turpie — Brief  Facts 
of  His  Life — Describes  His  Coming  to  Monticello — Author  of 
the  Cattle-Lien  Law — Good  Squire  Harbolt — Traits  of  Early 
Judges  and  Lawyers — "The  Choctaw  Line" — Played  "When 
School  Was  Out" — Not  Dollar-Slaves— Robert  II.  Milroy — 
John  U.  Pettit — John  M..  Wallace — Other  Circuit  Judges,  1855- 
1915 — The  "Wherefore"  for  So  Many  Judges — Reynolds,  First 
White  County  Judge — Forgot  He  Was  Judge — Truman  F. 
Palmer — James  P.  Wason — The  Probate  Judges — Robert  Newell 
— William  M.  Kenton — Zebulon  Sheetz  and  Aaron  Hicks — Court 
of  Common  Pleas  Again — Samuel  A.  Huff — Common  Pleas 
Judges,  1854-73  —  Captain  and  Judge  Alfred  F.  Reed  —  The 
Lawyers  of  1834-51 — The  Sjlls — Lawyers  of  185G-1900 — Joseph  H. 
Matlock — Orlando  McConahy — Lawyers  in  Active  Practice.  .84 

CHAPTER  VIII 

EDUCATION  AND  PROMINEiNT  MEN 

Territorial  Legislation — Public  Education  Under  the  First  Con- 
stitution— Trustees  of  ScnooL  Lands — Township  Trustees — 
The  Old-Time  Comfortable  Scuooliiouse — Early  Conditions  in 
White  County — The  Three-Days  Scuooliiouse — Pioneer  Edu- 
cational Matters — First  Scuooliiouse  in  the  County — A  Semi- 


viii  '  CONTENTS 

nary  Which  Was  Never  Born—  The  County  Library  More  For- 
tunate— A  MoNTICELLO  SCHOOL  WITH  CLASS — SCHOOLS  IN  JACKSON 

Township — Jonathan  Sluyter's  Good  Work — Spread  op  the. 
Spirit  into  Monon — West  Point  School  and  Town  Hall — George 
Bowman,  as  Man  and  Teacher— The  Palestine  and  Nordyke 
.  Schools — Sproutinqs  in  Cass  Township — The  State  Brings 
Better  Order — School  Examiners — Building  Schoolhouse  Under 
the  New  Order — The  Teachers — Forerunners  op  the  High 
Schools — The  FarmingtoN  Seminary- — Prop.  William  Irelan — 
The  Brookston  Academy — Corn-Crib  and  Regular  Schools — 
First  Round  Grove  Schoolhouse — Present  County  Board  of 
Education — Teachers'  Association  and  Institutes — Rules  and 
Regulations  —  Present  Status  op  the  County  System  —  Dr. 
William  S.  Haymond — Charles  S.  Hartman — Dr.  William  E.v 
Biederwolf    119 

CHAPTER  IX 

COUNTY  SOCIETIES 

County  Agricultural  Society — Pioneer  Live  Stock  Men — Local 
Agricultural  Societies — Initial  Meeting  in  Big  Creek  Township 
— Fair  op  the  Tri-County  Farmers'  Association — White  County 
Society  Organized — First  and  Best  County  Fair — The  Second 
Fair — Division  Over  County  Seat  Removal — Attempts  at  Revival 
— The  Old  Settlers'  Association — First  Meeting  at  John  Burns' 
Grove; — First  Known  Officers — President  George  A.  Spencer — 
First  Well-ordered  Association — Pioneers  of  1829-67, — White 
County  Historical  Society — White  County  Medical  Society — Dr. 
John  W.  Medaris— Dr.  Madison  T.  Didlake. 141 


CHAPTER  X 

HISTORY  OF  THE  PRESS 

The  Dawn  of  Nkwspaperdom — The  Prairie  Chieftain — Preserving 
Newspaper  Files — End  of  the  Chieftain— The  White  County 
Register — Three  Obscure  Newspapers — White  County  Jackson- 
ian — White  County  Democrat — Monticello  Democrat— Demo- 
CRAT-Journal-Observer  Company — Monticello  Spectator — Monti- 
cello  Herald — The  National — Monticello  Times — Monticello 
Weekly  Press — The  Daily  Journal — White  County  Republican 
— White  County  Citizen — Other  Monticello  Publications — 
Early  Newspaper  Field  at  Reynolds — The  White  County  Ban- 
ner— The  Brookston  Reporter — Other  Brookston  Items — The 
Reynolds  Broom  and  Sun — The  Reynolds  Journal — Tdaville  Ob- 
server— The  Monon  Dispatch — Monon  Times — Monon  News — W. 


CONTENTS  ix 

J.  Huff — The  Wolcott  Enterprise — Chalmers  Despatch — Bur- 

nettsville  enterprise} burnettsville  dlspatch burnettsville 

News — General  Progress 157 

CHAPTER  XI 

MILITARY  MATTERS 

A  Soldier  of  1814-15 — The  Mexican  "War  Trio — Messrs.  Ford,  Steele 
and  McCormick — Prompt  Responses  to  Uphold  the  Union — The 
Three-Months'  Recruits — Fikst  War  Sacrifice — White  County's 
Larger  Contingents  —  The  Monticello  Rifles  —  Company  E, 
Forty-sixth  Regiment — Capt.  R.  W.  Sill's  Company — Represen- 
tations in  the  Sixty-third  Regiment— tCapt.  George  Bowman's 
Company — Company  F,  Ninety-ninth  Regiment — The  Threat- 
ened Draft  of  1862 — Escape  from  the  1863  Draft — TnE  Six 
Months'  Company — Capt.  James  G.  Staley — The  Heavy  Calls' of 
1864 — The  Drafts  of  1864  and  1865 — Summary  of  Numiieb  of 
Troops  Raised — Bounty  and  Relief  Voted — Tue  Spanish-Ameri- 
can War  176 

CHAPTER  XII 

UNION  TOWNSHIP 

General  Features — Soil  and  Products — Settled  Before  the  Town- 
ship Was  Organized — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  Price — "Heap  Big 
Scare"  of  1832 — Land  Entries  in  1831-34 — Entry  of  Monticello 's 
Site — Bounds  of  Original  Plat — Site  Controlled  Mainly  by 
Residents — Hiorth  and  Mount  Walleston — Leases  to  William 
Sill — Martin  Cherrie's  Woolen  Mill— The  Flour  Mill  in  Motion 
— Hiorth  Very  Exclusive — Mount  Walleston  Platted — Hiorth 
Interests  Pass  to  the  Kendalls — Boom  at  Mount  Walleston — 
The  Kendalls  Withdraw— Rowland  Hughes  of  Monticello — 
Infant  Industries  at  the  County  Seat — First  Township  Officers 
— Jeremiah  Bisher — The  Old  Kenton  Grave  Yard — Entered 
Government  Lands  in^  1835 — The  Busy  Land  Year,  1836 — Hard 
Times  Check  Land  Entries — Excluded  Sections — Entries  in 
1841-54 — Land,  the  Basis  of  Solid  Prosperity — Construction  of 
Good  Roads 191 

CHAPTER  XIII 

MONON  TOWNSHIP 

Cornelius  Sutton,  First  Settler — Early  Settlers,  Voters  and  Offi- 
cials— Land  Entries  Before  1840— Swamp  Lands  Purchased — 
Good  Roads — Limestone  Deposits — Tin.  Timbered  Tracts — Bui  and 


*  CONTENTS 

Little  Monon  Qawo-Enw  Mills  Built-West  Bedford-The 
L-Oopee  Mill-Last  Gasp  ok  West  Bedford-New  Bradford  and 
Monon-I-ikst  Events  in  the  Township-Simon  Kenton's  Dai/oh- 
ters  and  Grandchildren-Early  Postoffices-Oakdale,  or 
• 203 

CHAPTER  XIV 
PRAIRIE  TOWNSHIP 

ASTtpnWniTF;T  C°UNTY  To™SHIp-Natubal  Features-Drainage 
Through  Moots  and  Spring  Creeks-Products  of  the  Soil- 
Eastern  Timber  Lands  First  Settled-Generous  Bill  of  Fare- 
I  he  Pioneer  Landlords  of  1829-34-IIard  Times  Retard  Entries- 
^  ^^  5"  Pkrmanent  Settler-Samuel  Alkire- 
Tiiomas  Kennedy-First  Voters  and  Officials-Educational  and 
Religious  Beginnings-^.  C.  Moore,  Prosperous  Farmer  and 
Inventor-Other  Early  Landholders-Loren  and  Ralph  A.  Cut 
pL25  SAWMILLf Br00KSTOn>  Industrial  and  Commercial 
tiovT T*  Z  °F  SpRintoboeo-Impbovement  in  Rural  Condi- 
tions— Leading  Good  Roads  Township 211 

CHAPTER  XV 

JACKSON  TOWNSHIP 

S°VtVvZ  ^^t^-P'oneer  Settlers  and  Land  Owners- 
The  Hannas-Entered  Land  Before  Township  Organization- 
ioneer    of    183,-38-First    Recorded    Election-Daniel    DaIe, 
Leading  Politician-Hanna  Rejects  Democracy-The  Wheel  of 
Life    PI0NEER  gfc  Matters-Burnett's  Creek  Postoffice- 

High  Standard  of  Morality-Smith's  Distilleby  of  1840-50- 
Violent  Deaths-The  Mormon  Branch  of  1842-45-Farmington 
Male  and  Female  Seminaby-Bubnettsyille  Founded-Shvron 

AND   p;"SV,LLE    CONSOLIDATED-lDAVILLE     FouNDED-DrainaGE 

and  Good  Roads  ' 

223 

% 

CHAPTER  XVI 

BTG  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 

^TnoMPsor  p  GRICri;T,;,iA''    Featubes-Pibst   Settler,   Joseph   II. 

rrvL  r^E°,{,ir:  VT  "">  BfewAM™  Rhynolds-Spekcee. 
Riano,.ds    Colony-Tub    Histobio    Spencer    House-Benjamin 

mrs"?    A™-Cakeeb-^°™  Bubns-Mb.  and  Mrs.  William 
{urns-Land    Owners    and    Settlers    of    1S30-33-Cihlls    and 
•ever     F.kst  Township  Oe.ceks-F.rst  School  in  the  County- 
Land  Entr.es  ,n  1835-36-Election  in  1836-The  Great  Hunt  of 


CONTENTS  xi 

1840 — Those  Who  Bought  Land  in  18:57-5 1 — IS.  Wilson  Smith's 
Picture  op  1846 — Increase  of  Real  Settlers — Fiust  Frame  School 
House — Mudge's  Station  and  Chalmers — First  Iron  Bridge — 
Swamp  Lands  Reclaimed — Smithson  or  Wheeler — Leader  in 
Good  Roads  Movement  232 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HONEY  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 

Draining  and  Road  Building — Honey  Creek — Joshua  Rinker  and 
Wife — The  Bunnell  Families — Smith,  IIiort.ii's  Old  Partner-^- 
Settlers  and  Land  Buyers  of  1835 — Entered  Lands  in  1839-53 — 
Two-thirds  Owned  by  Non-Residents — Founding  of  Revnolds — 
Guernsey — Township  Created — Schoolhouse  and  Town  Hall — 
Pioneer  Citizen  Voters — Public-Spirited  Township 244 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

PRINCETON  TOWNSHIP 

Joseph  Stewart,  Mighty  Hunter — The  Palestine  Settlement — The 
Godfather  of  the  Township — Thomas  Gillpatuick — Black  Oak 
Settlement — Township  Created  and  Named — State  and  Town- 
ship Elections — The  Nordyke  Settlement— The  Schoolhouse 
Competition — Land  Entries,  1842-47 — Saddled  with  Land  Specu- 
lators—Fever and  Ague,  or  Chills  and  Fever — Is  It  Any  Won- 
der?— Reclaimed  Lands  and  Good  Roads — Pioneer  Settlement 
Determined  by  Natural  Conditions — Cattle  Raising  and  Herding 
— Light  Ahead — Wolcott  and  Its  Founder — Sea  field 252 

CHAPTER    XIX 

LIBERTY  TOWNSHIP 

% 
Timber  Lands  and  Lowlands — The  Indian  Village — Crystal  D.  W. 
Scott — Coming  of  Jonathan  Sluyter  and  Moses  Karr — The 
Township  Created — First  Election  and  Officials — Change  of 
Boundaries— Divided  into  Road  Districts— Settlers  Previous  to 
1 S40— Unusual  Progress  in  1840-50— Pioneers  '  Sell  Improved 
Lands — Non-Resident  Purchasers — Kean's  Creek  Swamp  Lands 
—The  Sluyter  Sciiooliiouses — Religion  at  the  Scott  Settle- 
ment— First  Marriage  and  First  Death — Buffalo  Postoffioe 
Established — John  C.  Karr  and  the  Town — Thomas  B.  Moore — 
Kahr's  Addition  to  Buffalo — The  Tron  Bridge — Sitka — The 
Hughes  and  VanVoorst  Families 202 


x"  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XX 

CASS  TOWNSHIP 

Inaccurate  Government  Surveys-Christopher  Vandeventer  First 
Settler— Land  Entries  in  1838-48— Political  Township  op  Ca^.s 
-Pioneer  Schools-Nucleus  op  IIeadlee-Land  Entries  in 
1849-02— Mrs.  John  E.  Timmons  and  Jacob  D.  Timmons-Non 
Residents  Held  Two-Thirds  op  Township— Early  Dearth  op 
Markets— The  Trips  to  Logansport— Norway  to  the  Rescue- 
Improvements—  Headlee    9?1 


CHAPTER  XXI 

WEST  POINT  TOWNSHIP 

Natural  Features  of  the  Township-Neighboring  Market  Towns- 
Road  Building— First  Settlers  and  Land  Owners— Is  iac  S  Vin- 
son and  Wife— First  Land  Entry-Sickness  Drove  Away  the 
Prices— Land  Entries  op  1835— Would  Rather  Hunt  Than  Eat— 
The  Van  Voorsts  and  Their  Frame  Houses— Doctor  Halstead 
Buys  Land— WilLiam  Jordan  Locates— Other  Entries  in  1836-45 
-Township  Voters-The  Van  Voorst  Frame  Sciiooliiouses- 
Churciies  op  the  Township— Anderson  Irion  and  David  Dellinger 
-Land  Entries,  1847-51— Parmelek's  Meadow  Lake  Farm.  . .  .278 

CHAPTER  XXII 

ROUND  GROVE  TOWNSHIP 

Slim  Timber  and  Round  Grove-First  Settler,  Truman  Rollins— 
Early  Land  Entries— The  Stockton  Purchases— Became  L\nd 
Owners  in  1850-53— Carved  Out  of  Old  Prairie  Township— Elec- 
tions and  Voters— Various  PiOneer  Matters— Former  Postoffices 
— Progress  in  the  ^Township.  ..'.• <>84 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

■    POUNDING  OF  MONTH 'ELLO 

Entries  Covering  Original  Town— First  Buildings  an..  Pioneer 
Merchant-- Circuit  Rider  on  the  Raw  Ground— Carrying  the 
Gosfbl  Under  Difficulties— Baptists  and  Methodists  Organize— 
The  Boot  Fear,  1836-Young  Town  Considerable  Soaked- 
Buhness  Dibectorv  for  1836-Febry  Established-Smith,  [Iiorth 


CONTENTS  xiii 

and  the  Kendalls — Establishment  of  the  Local  Press — First 
Water  Power  and  Mills — Wool  Center  and  Woolen  Manufac- 
tures— The  Tippecanoe  Hydraulic  Company — N.  B.  Lojjghry  and 
Sons — Becomes  a  Railroad  Town — Monticello  in  1852 — Village 
Government  Abandoned — Walker,  Jenner  and  Reynolds'  Addi- 
tion— Barr's  Addition — Boom  Not  in  Evidence — Third  Addition 
— Civil  War  Overshadows  All — Fourth  and  Fifth  Additions — 
George  W.  Ewing  a  Site  Owner — Second  and  More  Stable  Cor- 
poration   . . . .' ; 289 


CHAPTER   XXIV     . 

TOWN  AND   CITY 

Town  Backs  a  New  School — The  Old  HiGn  School — Pioneers  op 
.the  Public  School  System — Legal  Complications — How  the 
Snarl  Was  Untangled  —  Superintendent  J.  W.  Hamilton  — 
Better  Town  Schools — Present  High  School  Building — Sta- 
tistics of  the  Present — Superintendents  and  Teachers — The 
Grades  Buildings — System  as  a  Whole — Monticello  Public 
Lkrary — Good  Water  and  a  Good  System — The  Telephone  Ex- 
change— Riverview  Park — The  Reynolds  Additions — Turner's 
Addition  —  Cleveland  Street  Created  —  Hughes'  Addition  — 
Cochell's  and  Fraser's  Addition — McCuaig's  Addition — Dreifus 
and  Haugh's  Addition — McLean  and  Brearley's  Addition — Later 
Additions  to  the  Townsite — Citizens'  Addition — Additions  to  the 
City — City  Hall — Improvements  of  Water  Power — Present-Day 
Industries — Four  Banks — State  Bank  of  Monticello — Monti- 
cello National  Bank — White  County  Loan,  Trust  and  Savings 
.  Company — Farmers  '  State  Bank 305 


CHAPTER  XXV 

RELIGIOUS,  SOCIAL  AND  LITERARY 

John  Rothrock,  Pi»neer  Dunkard — The  Presbyterian  Church — The 
Old  and  the  New  Schools — Second,  or  New  School  Church — 
Public  Hall  as  Well  as  Church — Union  of  Churches — Building 
of  the  Present  Church — The  Methodist  Church  Founded — 
Houses  of  Worship— -Methodist  Pastors — The  Dunkards — How 
They  Supported  the  Union — The  New  Dunkards— The  Christian 
Church — Founded  in  Monticello— Church  Reorganized— Pastors 
of  the  Christian  Church — Destructive  Fire  and  the  New 
Church — The  Orphans'  Home — Societies — Tin:  Odd  Fellows — 
The  .Masons — Knights  of  Pythias — Grand  Army  Post — OTiieb 
Societies— Women's  Clubs  330 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXVi 

'      TOWN  OF  MONON 

Incorporation  of  the  Town — Additions  to  Original  Site — Henry  M. 
Baughman — Industrial  and  Commercial  Advantages — Clay  and 
Stone  Industries — The  Monon  Bank — State  Bank  op  Monon — 
The  Town  Commissioned  High  School — Monon 's  Public  Library 
— Presbyterian  Church— First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — 
The  Baptist  Church — Societies.  . 343 

.      CHAPTER  XXVII 

TOWN  OP  WOLCOTT 

Municipal  Waterworks — Founding  ok  the  Town — Coming  of  Anson 
Wolcott — Town  Platted — Competitors — The  Wolcott  Interests 
— First  Addition — Death  of  the  Founder — Eben  H.  Wolcott — 
The  Dibell  Family — Various  Additions — The  Town  Commissioned 
High  School — State  Bank  of  Wolcott — Citizens  State  Bank — 
Churches  and  Societies — The  Methodist  Church — Christian 
Church — Baptist  Church — The  Masons — I.  0.  0.  F.  Bodies — 
Other  Lodges   349 

CHAPTER    XXVIII 

TOWN   OP   BROOKSTON 

The  Town  Platted — Extension  of  the  Site — First  Stores  and  In- 
dustries— Momentous  Years,  1866-67 — Incorporation  of  Town — 
Marked  Steps  in  Progress— Industries  of  the  Present — Bank  of 
Brookston — Town  Commissioned  High  School, — Prairie  Tele- 
phone Company — The  Methodist  Church — The  Baptist  Church 
—The  Presbyterian  Church — Secret  and  Benevolent  Societies 
— Probably  the  Oldest  Mason  in  the  United  States 356 

%  CHAPTER  XXIX 

CHALMERS    AND    10AVILLE 

Chalmers,  Originally  Mu doe's  Station — Tacoii  Rvub,  Founder  of 
Chalmers — J.  &  VV.  W.  Raub — Additions  to  the  Town — Growth 
Since  Incorporation — The  Bank  ok  Chalmers — The  Churches 
and  Societies-  Education  il  Facilities — Idaville— First  Mer- 
chant and  Postmaster-  Andrew  (Ianna— John  15.  Townsley — 
Capt.  Joseph  Henderson— Capt.  Patrick  Hays — Progress  Despite 
Fire — Bank  ok  [daville — Township  Commissioned  High  School — 


CONTENTS  . xv 

The  Church  op  God   (New  Dunkards)— George  Patton— Uriah 

PaTTON — PiOBERT  P.  MILLION — THE  ClIURCII  OK  GOD    (INCOIU'ORATED) 

— United     Presbyterian     Church — The     M.     E.     Church — So- 
cieties     363 

CHAPTER  XXX 

BURNETTSVILLE  AND  REYNOLDS       , 

Burnettsville  Platted — Before  the  Town  Was  Laid  Out — Frank- 
lin J.  Herman  — :  Sharon  Absorbed  —  Elevator  and  Poultry 
Packing  House  —  Town  Commissioned  High  School  —  The 
Christian  Church — The  Methodists — The  Baptist  Church — 
The  Old  DunkarDs— Town  op  Reynolds  Platted — Pioneer 
Hotel  and  Sawmill— The  Sill  Enterprises — Early  Progress — 
First  Religious  Organizations — Michael  Vogel — Adopts  Town 
Government — The  Town  op  Today — Bank  op  Reynolds — The 
Township  School — St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church — The  Meth- 
odist Church — -Lutherans  and  Christians 371 

.      -    CHAPTER  XXXI 

TEMPERANCE  STRUGGLE  IN  WHITE  COUNTY 

Fight  Covered  Period  op  Seventy  Years-^-Saloons  Finally  Ban- 
ished  380 

CHAPTER  XXXII 
' '  Moving  Pictures  "  395 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 
Biographical  Record  431 


INDEX 


Academy  student,  172 

Ackerman,  J.  L.,  328 

Acre,  Robert,   273 

Adams,  Elijah,  201 

Adams,  James  E.,  255 

Adams,  Sarah,  283 

Adams,  Silas,  239 

Adams,  Warren,  221 

Adamson,  John,  61 

Adell,  J.  B.,  374 

After    Reynolds   Fire,    August   21,    1907 

(view),  377 
Agricultural  societies,  local,  142 
Agricultural  Society,  141 
A    Group    of    White    County    Churches 

(views),  329 
Aker,  Michael,  205 
Algonquin  tribes,  9 
Alkier,  Jackson,  219 
Alkire,  Delilah  G.,  965 
Alkire,  H.,  219 
Alkire,  Jason,  219 
Alkire,  John,  239      - 
Alkire,  J.  G.,  60 
Alkire,  Robert,  963 
Alkire,  Samuel,  60,  214,  215,  217,  236 
Alkire,  William  T.,  357 
Allen,  Asa,  47,  207,  290,  293,  331 
Allen,  Hiram,  97 
Allen,  Mary  A.,  331 
Ambler,  L.  H.,  250 
Anderson,  Calvin,  209 
Anderson,    Harrison    P.,    199,    307,    321, 

340,  428 
Anderson,  H.  P.,  154,  178,  307 
Anderson,  J.  C,  337 
Angel,  Charles,   221 
Anheir,  Anthony  A.,  189 
Anhcier,  J.  A.,  328  • 
Animals,  in  the  early  times,  %0 
An  Old-Time  Mail  Coach  (view),  45 
Apes,  John,  286 

A  Pleasant  River  Scone  (view),  301 
Appraisement  for  1915,  425 
Armontrout,  Charles  J.,  333 
Armcntront,  C.  J.,  394 
Anniger,   169 
Armstrong,  A.  F.,  337 
Armstrong,  Ella,  336 
Armstrong,  James,  428  • 
Armstrong,  Lanty  T.,  202 
Armstrong,   I,.   T.,  374 
Armstrong,  Richard,  201 
Arrick,    John,    429 
An  irk,  John  Sr„  429 


Ashley,  Georgo   W.,  429 
Associate  judges,  64 
Atkinson,  A.  M.,  336 
Attorneys,  1838-43,  98 
Ault,  John,  215 
Ault,  Michael,  60 
Ausman,  Noah  W.,  273 
Ayers,  Samuel,  386 
Ayres,  W.  S.,  296 

Backemeyer,   Fred  W.,  333 

Bacon,  Albert,   128,  273 

Bacon,    Ira,    60,    61,    64,    176,    201,    204, 

205 
Badger,   419 
Baer,  Benjamin  F.,  429 
Baer,   Jasper  A.,   571 
Bailey,  Alexander,  273 
Bailey,  I.  W.,  354,  361,  366,  375 
Railey,  Mary  E.,  696 
Bailey,  Samuel  W.,  694 
Baird,  Joseph,  86 
Baird,  Zehulon,  92 
Baker,  Ann  G.,  910 
Baker,  Burdell  B.,  328,  911 
Baker,  Charles  F.,  909 
Baker,  David,  430 
Baker,  Ceorgo  P.,  907 
Baker,  John,  128,  273 
Baker,  John  II.,  691 
Baker,  Jonathan,  266 
Baker,  Roger,  286 
Baker,  Stephen  E.,  286 
Baker,  William,  274 
Baldwin,  Joseph,  131 
Ball  &  House,  358 
Ball,   Benjamin,   205,   3 43 
Ball,  C.  R.,  374 
Ball,  IT.  B.,  347 
Ball,   J.   P..,   374 
Ball,  William  II.,  154,  216 
Ball inty ne,  Samuel,  28G 
Ballon,  A.   B.,  '"'4 
Bank  of  Brook'  ion,  359 
Bank  of  Chalmers,  365 
Bank  of  Tdavillo,  368 
Bank  of  Reynolds,  377,  763 
Banks,   327 
Banks,   Motion,  345 
Banks,   Wolcott,   352 
Baptists  ami    .Methodists  organize,  291 
Baptist  ('lunch,   Brookston,  360 
Baptist  Church,  r.urnrttsville,  374 
Baptist  Chinch  of  Chalmers,  366 
Unptiel   Church  of  Wolcott,  354 


INDEX 


BarCUS,   Henry,  237 

Barcus,  S.,  374 

Han',  Benjamin,  273 

Barker,  Isaac,  250 

Barnard,  Obed,  3.17 

Barnes,  Allen,  61,  225,  220,  -130 

Barnes,  Alexander,  227 

Barnes,  Amos,  225 

Barnes,  C.  A.,  154 

Barnes,  D.   F.,   297 

Barnes,  James,   60,   64,   09,   91,   98,   238, 

247,  417,  430 
Barnes,  John  T.,  366,  946 
Barnes,  J.  J.,  148 
Barnes,  Samuel,  339 
Barnes,  Samuel  D.,  286 
Barnes,  Thomas  M.,  430 
Barnes,  William  A.,  530 
Barr,  James,  218,  862 
Barr,  John,  61,  195,  218,  289 
Barr,  John,  Jr.,  218,  238 
Barr,  John,  Sr.,  65 
Barr,  Moses  S.,  399 

Barr,  Robert,  69,  91,  214,  218,  219,  220 
Barr,  Robert  A.,  60 
Barr,  Robert  W.,  133 
Barry,  Cyrus,  61,  219,  221 
Bartholomew,  John  C,  431 
Bartholomew,  Robert,  239 
Bartley,  Catherine,  431 
Bartley,  George,  60,  289 
Bartley,  George    R.,    61,    193,    195,    300, 

382,  414 
Bartley,  G.  R.,  293 
Basye,  Samuel,  46 
Batchelder,  Samuel,    219 
Bates,  John,  250 
Bates,  Valentine,   417 
Batson,  John  A.,  586 
Battle  of  Tippecanoe,  18,  26 
Baughman,  Henry  M.,  344 
Baum,  Daniel,  201,  236,  265,  266 
Baum,  George,   266 
Baum,  George  I.,  263 
Baum,  Harriet,  interview  with,  401 
Baum,  Henry,  60,  92,  193,  195 
Baum,  James,  265,  266 
Baxter,  George,  340 
Bayard,  Perry  A.,  266 
Beak,  William,  286 
Beard,  M.  B.,   117 
Beard,  Thomas,  225,  430 
Beasey,  Isaac,  247,  255 
Bensley,  Allen  D.,  334 
Beauchamp,  Andrew,  263,  266 
Beauchamp,  James,»2l9 
Beauchamp,  John,  _19 
Beauchamp,  Moses,   219 
Beauchamp,  Risden,  219 
Beaver,  John,  238 
Beaver,  John  S.,  275 
Beck,  Jacob,  293      ■ 
Beckner,  W.,  374 
Bee,  The,  169 
Beecher,  John,   214 
Becehlim,  Andrew,  265 
Beers,  Joseph   D.,  225 
Beever,  Samuel,  427 
Beezy,  Isaac,  237,  L'HO,  282 
Boles,  Joseph,  224 

Belforfl,  James  B.,  178,  431 
Bell,  John,  263,  266 


Bell,  Nathaniel,  263 
Bonbridgo,  Thomas  T.,  263 
Bcnham,  J.  R.,  254 
Benjamin,  Marion,  752 

Benjamin,  May,  336 

Benjamin,  P.  M.,  336 

Benjamin,  Rolla,  133 

Bennett,  ftsau,  432 

Bennett,  Henry  P.,  322,  1003 

Bennett,  Taylor,  340 

Benson,  Samuel,  263,  266 

Bentlcv,  Salome,  125 

Berg,  J.,  378 

Berkey,  David,  61,  91,  204,  205,  207, 
208 

Berkey,  Frank  P.,  318,  432 

Berkey,  John  M.,  181 

Berkey,  Michael,  125 

Berkey,  Michael  A.,  74,  75 

Berkey,  M.  A.,  384 

Berry,  Jabez  B.,  263,  266 

Berry,  John  W.,  263 

Beshoar,  Daniel,  631 

Beshoar,  Hiram,  601 

Beshoar,  H.,  373 

Beshoar,  William,  594 

Best,  Adam,  219 

Best,  Samuel,  219 

Bcswick,  P.  J.,  374 

Betlike,  J.  II.,  379 

Bevington,  C.  L.,  362 

Beyer,  A.,  378 

Bice,  Isaiah,  286 

Biddlc,  Horace  P.,  74,  99 

Biederwolf,  George,  327,  650 

Biodorwolf,  George  M.,  328 

Biederwolf,  Michael,  619 

Biederwolf,  William  E.,  138 

Biederwolf,  W.  K.,  189 

Big  Greek  Township,  originally  named 
Norway,  60;  divided,  60;  schoolhouse, 
124;  Agricultural  Society  originated 
in,  111';  physical  and  agricultural  fea- 
tures, 232;  first  settler,  233  ;  first  town- 
ship officers,  237;  schools,  237;  election 
of  1836,  238;  land  entries  in  1833-36, 
238;  increase  of  real  settlers,  239; 
land  entries  in  1837-5],  239;  landown- 
ers and  settlers  of  1830  33,  236;  first 
frame  schoolhouse,  242 ;  first  iron 
bridge,  243;  swamp  lands  reclaimed, 
213;  loader  in  good  roads  movement, 
243;  appraisement  of  tor   1915,  425 

Big  Monon  Creek,  206 

Biltingeley,  John,  226 

Billingftlcy,  John  A.,  225 

Birch,  Christopher,  225 

Birch,  John,  254 

Birch,  Jonathan,  219 

Birds,  41 

Bisher,  Jeremiah,   60,    103,   200,   236,  427 

Bisher,  Isaiah,  3  10 

Bishop,  David,  61 

Bishop,   Martin,  285,  2S6 

Bishop,    IVter,   399 

Bishop,  Peter  P.,  006 

Bishop,  William  J.,  417 

Bissonnetto,  George,  839 

Black,  Edwin,  332 

Blaek  Oak  Settlement,  251 

Black,    R,  S.,    156 

Bliiekwcll,  John   A.,   154,    133 


INDEX 


xix 


Blackwell,  J.  A.  182 

Blair,  John,  218 

Blake,  Isaac  W.,  204,. 205 

Blake,  James,  352,  783 

Blake,  James,  Sr.,  433 

Blake,  J.  C,  296 

Bliekenstaff,  Augustus  J.,  156 

Bliekenstaff,  William,  550 

Bliss,  Henry  G.,  179,  186 

Blizzard,  R.  P.,  363 

Blue-Joint  Grass,  39 

Blue  Ribbon  movement,  386 

Blum,  J.,  378 

Board  of  County  Commissioners,  62 

Board  of  Health,  49 

Boeye,  Charles,   1001 

Boicourt,  Absalom,  433 

Boicourt,  Enoch  G.,  399 

Boicourt,  Jephtha,  374 

Boles,  John,  250 

Bolinger,  David,  266 

Bolinger,  John  W.,  371 

Bond,  G.  A.,  347 

Boone,  Thomas,  339 

Bordner,   Augustus   S.,  434 

Bordner,   Ira,  360 

Bostick,  John,  236 

Bostick,  Joseph,  61,  218,  219,  399 

Bostick,  Thomas  S.,  778 

Bott,  Harry  T.,  167 

Bott,  William  M.,  434 

Bowen,  A.  M.,  374 

Bowles,  Elisha,  92,  218 

Bowman,  George,  126,  179,  182,  305,  434 

Bowman,  Mary,  127 

Boyd,  John  L.,  334 

Bovd,  J.  L.,  347' 

Boyd,  W.  I.,  374 

Brackney,  CharleifW.,  931 

Braden,  William,  296 

Brady,  Ann,  133 

Brady,  John,  238,  293, 

Bragg,  James  II.,  250 

Brannan,  John  W.,  941 

Brasket,  J.  W.,  250 

Brawlcy,  Daniel,  285 

Breamea,  Fred,  277 

Brearley,  Jones,  323,  327 

Brearley,  R.,  178,  382 

Brearly,  Randolph,  143,  202,  295,  436 

Breekenridge,  Charles,  77 

Breekenridge,  Robert  R,  -431? 'Ol 

Breconnt,  Gideon,  282 

Brcngle,  J.  G.,  375 

Bretzinger,   John',  339  % 

Brick  courthouse,  cholera  interferes  with 

its  completion,  72 ;  description  of,  73 
Bridges  at  Tioga,  Xear  Monticello  (view), 

50 
Briggs,  Alexander,  399 
Hriggs,  A.  T.  334 
Bringham,  Leander,  437 
Brink,  Robert  N.,  286 
Bii-tor,  J.   If.,   337 
Brit  ton,  Mrs.  Frank,  338 
Rritton,  Henry,  283 
Button,  John,  205 
Rritton,  Thomas  T.,  608 
Brock,  Georgo  A.,  2()1 
Brock,  William,  293 
Brofkway,  H.  T„  117 
Broderick,   Isaiah,  201,  272 


Brooke,  Charles  A.,  334 

Brooks,  Jacob  W.,  215 

Brooks,  James,  247,  356 

Brookston — Industrial  and  commercial 
center,  220;  platted,  356;  extension  of 
the  site,  356;  momentous  years,  1866- 
67,  357;  first  stoics  and  industries, 
357;  industries  of  tho  present,  35S ; 
incorporation  of,  358;  marked  steps  In 
progress,  358;  banks,  359;  town  com- 
missioned high  school,  359;  secret  and 
benevolent  societies,  362;  appraisement' 
of  for  1915,425 

Biookston  Academy   (view),  132 

Brookston  Academy,  131,  155,  357,  359 

Biookston  Baptist  Church,  360 

Brookston  Canning  Factory,  359 

Biookston  Gazette,  172 

Brookston  in  18S0  (view),  358 

Brookston  Magnet,  172 

Brookston  Methodist  Church,  360 

Brookston  Presbyterian  Church,  361 

Biookston   Reporter,  The,    171 

Broom,  The,  167 

Broomfield,  W.  H.,  347 

Brown,  Ambrose  T.,  1014 

Brown,  Andrew,  281 

Brown,  Brasier  H.,  1023 

Brown,  Cole,    347 

Brown,  Daniel,  215,  217,  218 

Brown,  Edward  H.,  357 

Brown,  Ezekiel  W.,  217 

Brown,  E.  A.,  132 

Brown,  E.  R.,  313,  315 

Brown,  Mrs.  E.  R.,  313 

Brown,  George,  72,  217 

Brown,  John,  178 

Brown,  John  C,  339,  437 

Brown,  James,  254 

Brown,  James  D.,  373,  .389 

Brown,  James  F.,  340 

Brown,  James  G.,   265,  266 

Brown,  James  J.,  208 

Brown,  John  C,   ISO 

Brown,  John  G.,  1012 

Brown,  J.  C,  179 

Brown,  J.  M.,  334,  353 

Brown,   Mercer,  263 

Brown,  Richard,  178,  304,  307 

Brown,  Thomas  B.,  92 

Brown,  Thomas  II.,  281 

Brown,  Watt,  386 

Brnwusfield,    Thomas,    216 

Bruce,  John   II.,  334 

Brucker,   John,   437 

Brucker,  William  P.,  610 

Brucker,   W.   P.,  352 

Brummer  murder  at  Reynolds,  410 

Bryan,  William  II.,  370 

Bryant,  William  P.,  69,  92 

Buchanan.  Armstrong,   60,  91,  237 

Buffalo,   269 

Buffalo,  Kan  's  addition,  209 

Budd,  Joseph,  347 

Bndd.  J.  S.,  374 

Bulger,  James  W.,    199,  339,    138 

Bulger,  .1.  \Y\,  250 

Bulletin,  The,    109 

Bundy,   M.   U,  308 

Bungcr,  Edna,  .".70 

Bunnell,    Barzilla,   438 
Bunnell,   Barzilla    W.,   238 


xx  INDEX 

Bunnell,  Charles,  '366  Bushncll,  Bnmnel   R.,  .139 

Bunnell,  0.  J.,  348,  361,  375  Bushnell,  B.  P.,  307 

Bunnell,  Pli/.a  A.,  240  Bushncll,  Thomas,    178,    184,    221,    307, 

Bunnell,  Eliza  N.,  238  320,  339,  340.  548 

Bunnell  Families,  24(i  Bushnell,  Webster  P.,  319 

Bunnell,  .Tolin,  238,  239  Buslinoll,  Will   S.,   153,  394 

Bunnell,  John  B.,  143,  340,  354,  438,  850       Bushnell,  Willinm  S.,  340 

Bunnell,  John  N.,  052  Bushnell,   Willie  S.,   548 

Bunnell,  John  W.,  237,  238,  246  Bushnell,  W.  S.,  116,  307,  315,  389 

Bunnell,  Joshua,  377,  399  Busing,  George  K.,  375 

Bunnell,  J.  B.,  250,  353  Buskirk,  B.  C,  285 

Bunnell,  J.  N.,  250,  379  Buskirk,  Michael,  286 

Bunnell,  Martha  B.,  053  Buskirk,  Michael  T.,  280 

Bunnell,  Nathaniel,    133,    240,    247,   250,       Buskirk,  Samuel  H.,  280 

376,  43S  Buss,  William  M.,  746 

Bunnell,  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  237,  238  P.yrnm,  Mrs.  341 
Bunnell,  Nathaniel,  Br.,  237,  238 

Bunnell,  N.,  247  Cadillac,  Lnmotte,  10 

Bunnell,  N.  W.,  25p  Cahill,  James  B.,   200 

Bunnell,  Stephen,  237,  438  Cahill,  William,  124 

Bunnell,  Thomas,  178.  238,  246.  396  Cain,  Bushrod  W.,  239 

Bunnell,  William,  254  Cain,  Daniel,  201,  202 

Bunnell,  William  P.,  394  Cain,  John,  253,  254 

Bunnell,  W.  P.,  341  Cain,  .Ionian,  247 

Bunton,  John,  247  Cain,  Thomas,  250 

Bureli,  Christopher,  61,  255  Callahan  Family,  415 

Burch,  John,  255  Callaway,  S.   1,1,   117 

Burdge,  J.  E.,  133  Oallis,  John.  250 

Burget,  Hannah  M.,  946  Calvert,  P.  II.,  297,  334,  347,  374 

Burgett,  Fred,  417  Camp  Pire  Cirls,  317 

Burgner,  Conrad  S.,  334  Campbell,   S.   N.,   334 

Burial  places,  2  Campbell,   W.,  347 

Burket,  Solomon,  225  Canal   and   railroad   competition,  52 

Burkitt,  Solomon,  61  Canal  and  swamp  lands,  44 

Burnett's  Creek,  228,  371  Canal  script,  71 
Burnettsville,  57,   61,  220,  371;    founded,       Candent.  John,  250 

230;  and' Sharon  consolidated,  230;  he-       Cantwell  Pavtou  murder  trial,  398 
fore   the   town   was  laid   out,   371;    ap-       Cantwrll,   Isaac  M.,  250,  283 

praisement  of,  for  1915,  425  Capt.  George  Bowman,  Pounder  of  Monti- 
Burnettsville  Baptist  Church,  374  cello's    First    High   School    (portrait), 

Burnettsville  Christian  Church,  374  435 

Burnettsville  Dispatch,  174  Carey,  L.  P.,   117,  389 

Burnettsville  Elevator  Company,  373  Carey,  William,  206 
Burnettsville  Elevator  and  Poultry  Pack-       Carlson,  Charles  O.,  1028 

ing  House,  373  Carothers,   John,    100 

Burnettsville  Enterprise,   174  Carr,   Penjamin   P..   116,  324,  533 

Burnettsville     Methodist  Church,  374  Carr,   Kdward  P.,  987 

Burnettsville  News,   175  Carr,  .lames  P.,   156 

Burnettsville  Old  Punkards,  375  Carr,  John   11.,    117 

Burnettsville  State  Bank,  373  Carr,  John    P..   219,   441 
Burnettsville  Town    Commissioned     nigh       Carr,   Mary,    106 

School,  374  Parr,  Solomon,  219 

Bums,  Elizabeth,  332  Can-,    William,   238 

Burns,  Francis    M.,    439  Carrol,   .lames,   286 

Burns,  James,  339*439  Carroll,  John,  285 

Bums,  Jane,  440  Carroll,  Miehnel,  286 
Burns,  John,  60,   61,    123,   230,   238,   299,       Carson,  James,  285 

440  Carson,  James   P.,  903 

Burns,  John  H.,  340,  341  Carson,  John  A.,  687 

Burns,  J.    W.,   334  Carson,   I.ydia  A.,   Ill 

Bums,  Liberty  M.,  247,  424,  439  Carson,  Si icl  A.,  327.  340 

Burns   murder,   409  Carson.  S.  A.,  013 

Bums,  Bamuel  P.,  202  <'ary,  William,  205 
Burns,  Bamuel  M.,  870  Casad,  Mary  A.,  330 

Burns,  S.    M.,    172  Pass,  Lewis,  273 

Burns,  Washington,  250.410                            Cnss  Township,  firs!  school,  128;  Oovorn- 
Bums,  William,  225,  238,  440  nt  surveys  inaccurate,  271;  first  rot- 

Burns,  Mrs.  William,  230  tier,  272;  land  entries  ill    1838  48,  272; 

Unison,   Samuel,  272  organized,   273;    pioi r    bcIiooIb,   273; 

Burton,  B.  W.,  374  land  entries  in    184952,  "71;   swnmp, 

Push,    Prnnn   A.,  986  'anal      and      military     warrants     hinds. 

Push,   E.  A.,  379  275;    non  residents   hold   two  thirds  oi 


INDEX 


xxi 


township,  275;  markets,  early  dearth 
of,  276;  improvements,  27.7;  appraise- 
ment of,  for  1915,  425 

Caasell,  Christian,  249,  375 

Caatleton,  419 

Catheart,  209 

Gatt,  George,  86 

Catt,  Philip,  86 

Cattle  raising  and  herding,  258 

Caughell,  John   H.,   994 

Cauldwell,  J.  M.,  354 

Cement  Tile  Works,  327 

Chaffee,  J.  E.,  156 

Chaffee,  Sidney  L.,  847 

Chalmers,  242;  originally  Mudge's  Sta- 
tion, 363;  additions  to,  365;  growth 
since  incorporation,  365;  bank  of,  365; 
industries,  365;  churches  and  societies, 
365;  founder  of,  365;  educational  fa- 
cilities, 366;  appraisement  of,  for  1915, 
425 

Chalmers  Dispatch,   174 

Chalmers  Ledger,   174 

Chamberlain,  Aaron,  247  / 

Chamberlain,  D.  C,  205  fyJ  ' 

Chamberlain,  Ephraim,  225  / 

Chamberlain,  George  W.,  444,  892 

Chamberlain,  I.,  205 

Chamberlain,  John  W.,  895 

Chamberlain,  Joseph  L.,  179 

Chamberlain,  Joseph  W.,  880 

Chamberlain,  Lewis,  208 

Chamberlain,  Margaret  A.,  348 

Chamberlain,  Melissa,  881 

Chamberlin,  Henry,  857 

Chandler,  Cordelia  A.,  336 

Chapman,  W.  B.,  186 

Chase,  Isaac,  254 

Chautauqua  Home  Study  Club,  341 

Cheever,  William  M.,  332 

Cheiioweth,  Frank  S.,  816 

Chenoweth,  Ira,  239,  417 

Chenoweth,  Thomas,  239 

Chicago,  [ndianapolis  &  Louisville  Kail- 
road,  57 

Chilcott,  Charles,  174 

Chilton,  James,  760 

Chilton,  James  S.,  285 

Chilton,  Thomas,  219 

Chivington,  E.  O.,  360,  365 

( fooctaw  Line,  The,  104 

Christian  Church,  founded  in  Monticello, 
335;  reorganized,  336;  destructive  (ire 
and  new  church,  337;  pastors  of,  337 

Christian  Church,  Burnettsville,  374 

Christian  Church,  Wolcott,  «53 

Christians,  Reynolds,  379 

Christy,  John  W.,  321 

Churches,  330;  union  of,  332;  West  Point 
Township,  282 

Church  of  God,  Idaville,  370 

Circuit  Court,  62,  75,  90;  first  session  of, 
69 

Circuit  judges,  1855-1915,  106 

Circuit  Rider,  290 

Cissol,  John  H.,  334 

Citizens  State  Hank,  352 

City  flail,  Monticello  (view),  325 

Civil  war,  the  three  months'  recruits, 
178;  companies  furnished  by  White 
County,  179;  the  threatened  draft  of 
1862,  183;  escape  from  the  1863  draft, 


184;  summary  of  number  of  troops 
raised,  188:  overshadows  all  questions, 
302 

Clark,  A.  L.,  347 

Clark,  Benjamin,  250  * 

Clark,  Cornelius,  60,  64 

Clark,  Daniel  Z.,  1031 

Clark,  Enoch  J.,  985 

Clark,  General,  85 

Clark,  I.  N.,  375 

Clark,  James,  60 

Clark,  Mary  E.,  622 

Clark,  Robert  J.,  307,  622 

Clark,  R.  J.,  159 

Clark,  Thomas  C,  1033 

Clark,  William,  85 

Clark,  W.  II.,  156 

Clarke,  A.  B.,  164 

Clarke,  Fred  A.,  168 

Clary,  James,  441 

Clary,  Joseph  II.,  850 

Clay  and  stone  industries,  Monon,  344 

Clayton,  Georgo  R.,  156,  1008 

Clearwaters,  J.  A.,  334 

Clerk's  office,  72 

Clermont,   350,   419 

Clevenger,  Bazil,  214 

Coble,  Daniel,  250 

Coble,  James,  250 

Coble,  Joseph,  247 

Cobler,  John,  263 

Cochell,  Abnor,  322 

Cochell,  John,  322 

Cochran,  Andrew,  179,  183,  889 

Cochran,  Samuel  M.,  225 

Cochran,  Sherman,  889 

Coen,  George  V.,  441 

Coffey,  William  L.,  767 

CoUiu,  Guy  R.,  156,  569 

Colclazer,  Jacob,  334 

Cole,  A.  A.,  143 

Cole,  James,  250 

Cole,  John,   250 

Cole,  Joseph,  248,  250 

Coles,  James,   246 

Coles,  Joseph,  246 

Coles,  Moses,  246 

Colfax,  Schuyler,  421 

Collins,  Gus,  134 

Colvin,  S.  P.,  334 

Common  Pleas  judges,  1854-69,  113 

Compagnotte,  Fr.,  86 

Company  1),  Twelfth  Regiment,  179 

Company    K,   Twentieth    Regiment,    17!) 

Company   E,  forty  sixth  Regiment,  179 

Company  G,  Forty  sixth  Regiment,  179 

Company  G,  Sixty  third   Regiment,   179 

Company  V\  Ninety-ninth  Regiment,  179, 
183 

Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth 
Regiment,  179 

Company  !•',  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
eighth  Regiment,  179 

Company    G,    One     Hundred    and     Fifty 
first  Rcgi rit,  179 

Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-lira! 
Volunteers,   189 

Compton,  John   I).,   17 

Conn,   Thomas   13.,  775 

Conner,  Patrick,  286 

Conner,  B.   P.,   166 

Conwell.  J. din,  711 


XX  u 


1XDEX 


ilivi- 

!il   Of, 


!;    de- 


Conwell,  William,  200 
Cook,  Charles,  172 
Cook,  .Tern,  132 
Coon,  William,  255 
Coonroil,  Morton,  512 
Cooper,  Amos,  203,  207,  399 
Cooper,  J.  J.,  334 
Cooper,  Lycnrgos,  203 
Cooper  Mill,  207 
Cooper,  William  P.,  812 
Coptner,  W.  J.,  374 
Cordcr,  William,  368 
Cornell,  G.   W.,   132 
Cornell,  James  W.,  442 
Cornell,  Richard,  417 
Cornell,  Jacob,  263,  266 
Cornell,  William,   238 
Corydou,  27 
Coterie  Club,  341 
Cosad,  Eva,  341 

County  Agricultural  Society  dissolved,  145 
County  Board  of  Education,  133 
County  commissioners,  04 
County  Fair,  first  and  J>ost,  143 
County  library,  62,  123 
County    roads   surrendered   to   the   town- 
.  ships,  52 
County  recorder,  381 
County  seat  located,  65;   title,  66; 

sion  over  removal  of,  145;  rcmov; 

408 
County  surveyor,  first,  47 
Coureurs  de  bois,  10 
Court    of    Common    Pleas,    75,    112 

fined,  00 
Courthouse   (view),  76 
Courthouse  corner  stone  laid,  77 
Courtney,  Hugh,  226 
Courtney,  James,  225,  226 
Cowan,  Beershcba,  200,  :s.'il 
Cowan,  Harriet,  331 
Cowan,  John  B.,  247 
Cowan,  Rhoda,  331 
Cowdin,  Joseph  D.,  179,  181,  33!) 
Cowger,  Clarence  R.,  117 
Cowger,  Eli,  201 
Cowger,  Eli  W.,  992 
Cowger,  Jacob,  442 
Uowger,  John,  203,  205 
Cowger,  John  R.,  990 
Cowger,  John  W.,  9*3 
Cowger,   Kate  V.,  336 
Cowger,  Rebecca,  333 
Cowger,  Ruth,  333 
Cowger,  Samuel  P.,  993 
Cowger,  Sarah  A.',  333 
Cowger,  Silas,  203,  204,  333 
Cowger,  Silas   R.,   1002 
Cowger,  Mrs.  S.  P.,  158 
Cowger,  T.  S.,   133 
Cowger,   William  II.,    112 
Cox,  Aaron,  60 
Cox,   Anna    K.,   3  IS 
Cox,  John,  LT.li 
Cox,  John  W.,  348 
Cox,   !•'.,  371 
Cozail,  Jacob,  334 
Craft,  Morgan,  077 
Craig,  It.  I'..,  348 
Craig,  B.  <'.,  301 
Cramer,  Stanley,  355 
Cress,  David,  206 


Crissinger,  George,  732 

Crisainger,  James.  733 

Criswell,  Robert  K.,  368 

Croin,  I,.  M.,  174 

Cromer,  John,  273 

Crooks,  Jacob,  91 

Crose,  James,  263,  266 

Crose,  Tacy  J.,  442 

Crose,  Thomas,   201 

Crose,  Thompson,  178,  293 

Crose,  William,  410 

Croso  &  McElhoe,  297 

Cross,  E.  B.,  337 

Crouch,  Cornelia  (Hughes),  443 

Crouch,  Henry  C,  318,  322,  443 

Crouch,  Joptha,  322,  406 

Crow  bounty,  411 

Crow,  Thomas  D.,  178 

Crow,  T.  D.,  180 

Cullen,  Clara   (Simons),  443 

Cnllen,  George  H.,  340,  444 

Cullen,  George,  Sr.,  444 

Curtis,  C.  G,  361 

Curtis,  W.  W.,  265 

Cutler,  Doren,  202,  219,  399 

Cutler,  Ralph  A.,  219 

Cutler,  Sardis,  202 

Hague,  William  IT..  166 

Dahlenburg,  William,  748 

I  tabling,  Fred,  377,  763 

Daily,  Barney,  221 

Daily  Journal,  The,  168 

Dale,    Daniel,   61,    64,   69,   91,   224,   226, 

298 
Dale,  Daniel,  Sr.,  417 
Dale,  Daniel  D.,  178,  180,  444 
Dale,  D.  1)„  305 
Dale,   Isaac,  334 
Dale,  James,  250 
Dale,  John   E.,  374 
Dale,   Joseph,   61.  92,   251 
Dale,   Lewis  J.,  226 
Dale,  Devi  S.,  3S2 
Dale,   I,.  S.,  382 
Dale,  Margaret,  374 
Dale,  Oliver  S.,  445 
Dale,  ().   ,S.,  250 
Dale,  Prudence,  371,  374 
Dale,  William  R.,  61,  224,  226 
Dame,  C.  P.,  348 
Darnell,  Nathan,  97 
Darrow,    Isaac    X.,   830 
Dasher,  Christian,   293 
Daughcrty,  Amanda  .1.,  772 
Danghcrty,  Jacob  VV.,  771 
Daugherty,  William  II.,  809 
Daviess,  Jo,    IS 
Daviess,  Joseph  If.,  21 
1  ).-i\  is,  Barney,  2  19 
Davis,  Catherine,  374 
Davis,  Catherine   13.,  239 
I  lav  is,  Charles  W..  324,  553 
Davis  Daniels,  283 
Davis,  Elijah  ('.,    170,    1ST, 
Davis,  George  K.,  989 
Davis,   isaae,  238,  399 
Davis,   Mrs.   Isaac,  :>,:;s 
Davi.,   Isaac  M„  340,  722 
Davis,  .lames,   22  t 
Davis,  John,  :'ls,  ■.'111 
Davis  John  W\,  370 


INDEX 


XX1U 


Davis,  .Toseiih  W.,  185,  219 
Davis,  Judah  A.,  723 
Davis,   Maria,  374 
Davis,  Matthias,  123 
Davis,  Noah,  275 
Davis,  Phillip,  60,  91,  218 
Davis,  Theodore  J.,   221,.  445 
Davis,  William,  307,  374 
Davis,  William  S.,  340,  371 
Davis,  W.  E.,  339. 
Davis,  W.  S.,  307 
Davison,  William,  265,  .266 
Davisson,  Amasiah,  445 
Davisson,  C.  S.,  354    .  • 

Davisson,  Mary,  338 
Davisson,  Sim,  810 
Dawson,  1^'wis,  290,  331 
Dawson,  T.  B.,  293 
Day,  John,  247 
Day,  Joseph,  248    . 
Decker,  Abraham,  86 
Decker,  Luke,  86 
Deen,  Benjamin,  225 
Dellinger,  David,  282,  446 
Dellinger,  Thomas  W.,  836 
DeLong,  A.  H.,  334 
De  Long,  Joseph,  251 
Delzell,  Robert  M.,  377,  446 
Delzell,  E.  M.,  156 
Delzell,  William,  447 
Democrat,  164  ♦ 

•  Democrat- Journal-'Obscrver  Company,  164 
DeMotte,  John  B.,  334 
Demso,  John,  286 
Derba,  Sarah,  446 
Dern,  287,  419 
Dern,  A.  Jackson,  287 
DeVault,  E.  B.,  348 
Dcvelin,  Levi  C,  447 
Dewey,  Jacob,  195 
Dexter,  Jacob  W„  190 
Dexter,  Milton,  273 
Dibell,  Edwin  J.,  794 
Dibell,  Elihu  B.,  352,  355,  447,  795 
Dibell,  Elihu  L.,  793 
Dibell,  E.  J.,  133 
Dibell  Family,  351 
Dibra,  Jacob,  205 
Dickev,  George,  761 
Dickey,  N.  S.,  362 
Dickey,  Sol  C,  333 
Dickey,  S.  C,  169,  361 
Dickinson,  Ansel  M.,  340 
Dickinson,  A.  M.,  250  % 

Dickson,  B.  H.,  345  . 
Didlake,  Madison  T.,  156,  340,  532 
Didlake,  M.  T.,  336,  353 
Didlake,  Mrs.  M.  T.,  313 
Diemer,  Jacob,  785 
Dillc,  John,  225 
Dilts,   Daniel,   275 
Distillery  in   White  County,  409 
Dittmann,  Henry,  563 
Dixon,  Benjamin,  246 
Dixon,  George,  273 
Dixon,  Harrison,  273 
Dixon,  Noah,  238 
I  loan,  Milton,  426  \ 

Dobbins,  Moses  G.,  852 
Did, I, ins,    Robert    P.,   833 
Dobbins,  Schuyler  O.,  528 
Dubbins,   William,  371 


Dodd,  J.  II.,  337 

Dodge,  Catherine,  374 

Donaldson,  Scott,  540 

Donavan,  Thomas,  238 

Donnelly,  Thomas  E.,  448 

Dooley,  A.  II.,  375 

Dougherty,  M.  C,  92 

Dowcll,  Francis  M.,  988 

Downey,  Catherine,  332 

Downey,  Daisy  M.,  366,  915 

Downey  Family,  524 

Downey,  .fames,  527 

Downey,  John  C,  133,  306,  912 

Downey,  Mary  J.,  527 

Downey,  Thomas,  2U5,  332,  347 

Downey,  Thomas  P.,  527 

Downey,  William  H.,  661 

Downing,  Charles,  172 

Downing,  Thomas,  201 

Downs,  Frank,  172 

Downs,  John,  274 

Downs,  William  H.,  636 

Drainage,  natural  and  artificial,  35;  pres- 
ent system  of,  49 

Draining  companies,  48 

Droke,  David  8.,  448 

Duffey,  John  C,  133,  597 

Duffcy,  J.  C,  174 

Duffy,  F.  A.,  373 

Duffy,  J.  C,  373 

Duncan,  James  F.,  606 

Duncan,  John,  205 

Duncan,  Robert  E.,  777 

Duncan,   Samuel,   205 

Dunham,  D.,  374 

Dunham,  Jeremiah,  225,  448 

Dunham,  John,  375 

Dunham,  W.  N.,  347 

Dunkard  Church,  330 

Dunkards,  how  they  supported  the  Union, 
334 

Dunlap,   Rider  J.  II.,  318 

Dunlap,  J.  II.,  348 

Dunlap,  Margaret,  348 

Dunlavy,  A.  A.,  347 

Dunlop,  John,  417 

Durn,  Benjamin,  225 

Button,  B.  E.,  277 

Button,  J.  E.,  277 

Duvall,  Theresa,  3(7 

Dye,  Edward  I!.,  638 

Dve,  George  D.,  355,  819 

Dye,  Maude,  355 

Dyer,  Geo'-e  W.,   I  IS 

Dyer,  Mortimer,  251,  255 

Dyer,  Oscar,  279,  280 

Dyer,  Zebulon,  123,  238 

Eagle  Canning  Works,  359 

Early  judges  and    lawyers,   traits  of,   103 

Early  settler,  grave  of  the  oldest,  116 

Earthworks,  2 

Eddy,  Harry  <'..  7  is 

Eddy,  Ecuben,  7  17 

Edmonson,  Samuel    1'.,   283 

Edwards,  Jcsee,  332 

Edwards,  John,  ::::i 

Ejrnow,  L.  <>.,  354 

Eldiidge,   Elijah,  230 

ElBton,  Lewis,  200 

Electric  Plnat  ami  Dam  (view),  319 

Elliott,  James,    113 


XXIV 


INDEX 


Elliott,  Tames  B.,  2110 

Elliott,  W.  M.,  327 

Emerson,  Thomas,  00 

Emery,  George,  250 

Emery,  Ira,  282 

Ensminger,  ITeiiry,  201,  295 

Equal  Franchise  League,  341    * 

Erickson,  John  P.,  928 

Esra,  Elias,  254 

Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  James'  Church, 

379 
Evans,  James,  449 
Evans,  Julius,  355 
Evening  Journal,  164 
Ewing,  Frank  A.,  551 
Ewing,  George  W.,  303 

Failing,  Mary,  449 

Failing,  Peter  R.,  322,  340,  449 

Failing,  P.  P..,  178 

Fairfield,  Hobart,  651 

Farmers  Bank,  359 

Farmers'  Elevator,  327 

Farmers  State  Bank,  328 

Farmington  Male  and  Female  Seminary, 

230 
Farmington  Seminary,  130 
Farr,  C.  W,  374 
Father  Meurin,  12 
Fawcett,  D.  A.,  163 
Fayette,  419 
Fennimore,  Matthew,  334 
Fenters,  Samuel,  340 
Ferguson,  Andrew,  60 
Ferguson,  Edgar  M.,  133,  956 
Ferguson,  John,  61,  69,  91 
Ferry  established,  293 
Ferryfold,  A.  A.,  250  ■ 
Field,  Charles  W.,  618 
Fincer,  William,  202 
Finch,  Aaron,  92 
Finch  Grove  Road,  221 
Findley,  J.  W.,  362" 
First  active  jurors,  91 
First  Circuit  judge,  91 
First  county  oflicers,  64 
First  judicial  tribunal,  85 
First  marriage  in  county,  414 
First  permanent  settler,  215 
First  prisoner,  70 
First  schoolhouse  in  county,  122 
First  state  constitution,  public  education 

under  the,  120 
First  territorial  court,  85 
Fishburn,  P.  M.,  1<>9,  337 
Fisher,  Charles   P.,  179 
Fisher,  David,  238,  334,  940 
Fisher,  David  L.,  449 
Fisher,  Jasel,  399 
Fisher,  William,  263,  268 
Fisher,  William   M.,  704 
Fisk,  Cassius,  320 
Filch,  Aaron,  69 
Plceger,  Robinson,  156 
Fli'tiimiiig,  William,  263,  266 
Flour    Mill,    197 
Flowcrville,  209,    119 
Fobes,  Eliab,  224,  226 
Foltz,  Jainea  I'.,  796 
Foram,  M.,  256 
Forbis,  William  N".,  450 
Ford,  Eldon,  355 


Ford,  John  T.,  340 

Ford,  William  F.,  176,  450 

Forgotten  towns,  418 

Forney,  279,  319 

Fort  Chartres,  85;  semi-civil  government 

at,  13 
Fort  1'outchartrain,  10 
Fort  Wayne,  11 
Fosher,  J.   1!.,  362 
Foster,  Charles  L.,  164,  172,  664 
Foster,  C.  J.  L.,  182 
Foster,  Joshua  D.,  164 
Foundry,  Michael,  250 
Fowler,  James  R.,  273 
Fox,  Peter,  451 
Fox,  W.  E.,  352 
Fraley,  Henry,  347 
Fraley,  Henry  C,  378 
Fraley,  H.  C,  374 
Frame  courthouse,  70 
Francis,  Fred,  133,  369 
Franklin,  Jacob,  293 
Eraser,  Lincoln  M.,  322,  730 
Eraser,  Mahlon,  238,  322,  451,  730 
Eraser,  Mahlon,  Sr.,  193 
Eraser,  Maximilla,  451 
Eraser,  William,  322,  730 
Free  school  system,   129 
French,  C.  C,  361 
French,  Charles  J.,  886 
French,  Chester  C,  171 
French,  David,  361 
French,  David  S.,  171,  361 
French,  D.  S.,  348 
French  forts,  10 
French  fur  traders,  10 
French-Indian  Amalgamation,  10 
French,  James  E.,  359,  SS6 
French,  Joseph,  361 
French  military  forts,  12 
French,  Ruth,  866 

French  titles  to  lands,  uncertain,  13 
French,  William,  359,  866 
Eretz,  Harney,  169 
Friday,  George  W.,  451 
Friend,  John,   239 
From  Courthouse,  Looking  North  (view), 

288 
From    Courthouse   Tower   Looking   South 

(view),  288 
Floss,  Jacob  M.,  764 
Pry,  John,  277,  689 
Pry,  Samuel,  272 
Fuller,  Harriett,  174 
Funk,  Jacob,  266 
Punk,  Samuel,  266 
Fur   trade,    11 


Galey,  I. 

.  P.,  348 

Qardinei 

,    William,   682 

Gardner, 

Charles,   78 

Gardner, 
Card •, 

Mrs.   Charles,   338 
Edward  B.,  552 

Gardner, 

F.  C,  339 

Gardner, 

Irvine,   171 

Gardner, 

Gardner, 

James  M.,  567 
John   1'.,  567 

Gardner, 

J.  W.,  379 

Gardner, 

Nora,  315,  3  11 

Galford, 

William  .1.,  281 

Garlingh 

iuso,  Cyrus  B.,  225, 

ll!> 

Cailingh 

uuse,  George  H.,  225 

INDEX 


XXV 


Garvin,  Frank  G.,  352,  354 

Gates,  George,  60 

Gates,  Perry,  368,  369. 

Gaven,  Frank  B.,  78 

Oaves,  Henry  H.,  186 

Gay,  George,  954 

Gay,  George  M.,  452 

Gay,  Illila,  218 

Gay,  James,  61,  214,  217,  218,  221 

Gay,  John,  61,  218,  221 

Gay,  William,  214,  217,  218 

Gay,  William,  Jr.,  214,  2J.7 

Gazeway,  Sarah,  348 

Geier,  Frank  B.,  769 

General  Assembly  of  the  Old  Dominion, 

15 
General  Scene   (view),  88 
Gerberich,  William  H.,  355 
Germherlinger,  Daniel,  128,  273 
Gibson,  John,  15,  27,  226 
Gibson,  George,  224.  226 
Gibson,  Nathan  C,  675 
Gibson,  Robert,  225 
Gibson,  Robert  P.,  226-452 
Gibson,  William,  61,  226 
Gibson,  William  II.,  347 
Gilbert,  Charles,  355 
Gilbert,  George  W.,  340  • 
Gildersleeve,  Flora  N.,  36-1 
Gildersleeve,  J.  H.,  361 
Gill,  Thomas,  ,254 
Gillam,  Thomas,  46 
fiillpatrick,  Benjamin,  254 
Gillpatriek,  Thomas,  253,  254 
Ginn,  Robert,  224,  225,  452 
Ginn,  Robert  N.,  453 
Ginn,  Thomas  B.,  685 
Girard,  Charles  E.,  671    • 
Gitt,  Silas,  226 
Givens,  James,  124 
Gladden,  Albert  P.,  555 
Glasgow,  Joseph  S.,  860 
Glasgow,  Samuel  P.,  861 
Glassford,  Henry,  201 
Glassford,  Homer,  250 
Glassford,  Thomas,  250 
.  Glassock,  James  W.,  221 
Glazcbrook,  Nannie,  133 
Gleaner,  The,  169 
Gobin,   H.  A.,  347 
Gochenour,  Jeremiah,  644 
Goddard,  J.  S.,  250 
Godlove,  Albert,  370,  713 
Godlove,  Perry,  711 
Godwin,  J.  S.,  379 
Coff,  Nathan,  238 
Gonzales,  Benjamin,  356 
Good,  Al,  172 
Coodacre,  I.,  335 
Goodman,  Max,  556 
Goodrich,  Lewis  A.,  453 
Hood   roads,  Prairie  Township,  222 
flood  Templars,  383 
Goodwin,  Grant,  156 
Gow,   Mary  C,  336 
Graham,  Henry,  1020 
Graham,  John,  214 
Graham,  Joseph  H,  236 
Graham,  Robert,  219 
Graham,  Walker,  399 
Grand   Army,  Tippecanoe  Post  No.  51, 

311 


Grandy,  Ira  B.,  362 

Grant,  Benjamin,  265,  266,  418 

Grant,  P.  A.,  156 

Graves,   I).   M.,   185,  186 

Graves  Family,  453 

Graves,  Jacob',  399 

Graves,  James  T„  117 

Graves,  John,  1005 

Graves,  J.  T.,  389 

Gray,   Erastus,  71 

Gray,  Julia  R.,  849 

Gray,  Malaehai,  47 

Gray,  Mclohi,  61,  193,  195,  200,  204 

Gray,   Samuel,  60,  61,   69,  91,   193,   194. 

195,  204,  236 
Gray,   Samuel,   Sr.,  200 
Gray,   William  B.,   339 
Gray,  William  H.,  848 
Creathonse,  William,  263,  266 
Great  hunt  of  1840,  238 
Great  murder  trial,  397 
Great    railroad    disaster,    July    17,    1878, 

395 
Greer,  Irvin,  340,  368 
Green,  J.  T.,  348 
Green,  N.  L.,  334 
Greenfield,  Benjamin,  454 
Gregory,  Robert,  305,  399 
Grcwell,  Robison,  266 
Gress,  James  C,  221 
Gridley,  Jack,  416 
Gridley,  W.  J.,  116,  307 
Griffith,  Benjamin  T  ,  334 
Griffith,  Daniel,  205 
Griffith,  James,  219 
Griffin,  John,  85 
Grisso,  M.  V.,  337 
Grooms,  Jesse,  238,  246 
Gross,  I.   M.,  307 
Gruell,  Samuel,  128,  273 
Grugcl,  William  P.,  806 
Guernsey,  58,  249 
Guild,  George,  347 
Guthrie,  William,  116,  189 
Gwin,  James  F.,   1009 
Gwlnn,  George  H,  179 
C.winn,  George  W.,  183 
Gypsy  King,  death  of,  415 

Haff,  Asa,  219,  221 

Hagerty,  Clara  E.,  361 

Hagerty,  Henry   I'1.,  361 

Hagerty,  Sarah  !•!.,  361 

Hall,  Alvin,  273 

Hall,  George,  26S 

Hall,  James  W.,  2(13,  265,  266,  268 

Hall,  S.   W.,   265 

Hall,   Whitfield,  347 

Hall,  W.,  374 

Halstead,    Arthur,   311 

Halstead,  Bartlctt,  'Jsi 

Halstead,  John,  281,  288 

Halstead,  Mary.  281 

Halstead,   Sarah   .1.,   L'S.'I 

HaJsted  Brothers,  &58 

Hamelle,  Rohert  A.,  454 

Hamelle,  Willinm  II.,  153,  340 

Hamelle,   W.    [1.,   116,  313 

Hamill,  James,  225 

1 1 .  <  i  r  i  i  1 1 .  John,   225 

Hamilton,  Charles  1'..,  22.1 

Hamilton,  I).  1,.,  250 


xxvi  [NDBX 

Hamilton,  Jerry,  250  Harvey,  Buf us L.,  339,  458 

Hamilton,  .1.  W.,  309,  313  llarvoy,  William  R.,  340 

Hamilton,  Marion,  250  Haskell,  Oliver  0.,  344 

Hamilton,  Thomas,  266,  260  Hatfield,  J.,  :i74 

Hamlin,   M.  (J.,  2U1  llatton,  Israol,  379 

Hammond,  Oliver,  70,  92,  218  Hay,  B.  Anna,  301 

Hammon,   Oliver,   293  Hay,  Elizabeth,  3G1 

Hanawalt,  A.,  178,  304,  307,  3S4  Hay,  James,  458 

Han  await,  Abrnm,  454  Hay,  Margaret,  3G1 

Hanawalt,  Henry,  266  Hayden,  Sarah  M.,   19 

Hanawalt,  John,  201,  293  Hayes,  C,  143 

Hanawalt,  Joseph,  455  Hayes,  p.  S.,  358 

Hanawalt,  Mary,  455  Hayes,  Rachel,  132 

Hanawalt,   William,  375  .  Hayes,  Samuel  M.,  334 

Hnnnway,  Jacob,  77,  239  Hayes,  Solomon,  357 

Hancock,  Jerry,  455  Hayes,  Thomas  S.,  941 

Hancock,  W.,  374  Haymond,  Mrs.  Dr.,  127 

Hand,  C.  J.,  225  Haymond,   William  S.,  9,  136,  154,  307 

Handley,  Serena,  132  320 

Uanna,   Andrew,  (il,   224.   225,  226,  230,       Haymond,  W.  S.,  178,  305 

3GG,  367  '  Haynes,  J.  A.,  348,  354 

flnnna,   Andrew  J.,   226  Hays,  Patrick,  3G7,   587 

Hanna  Family,  G03  Hnzleton,  Royal,  GO,  Gl,  69,  91,  215,  218 

Hanna,  Guy,  174  Head,  Trnxton,  458 

Uanna,  John,  Sis,  224,  22G  Headen,   William,  250 

Hanna,   Robert,  61  Headlee,  274,  277 

Hanna,  Thomas  J.,  117,  G05  Headlee,  Charles,  459 

Haiineis,   Robert,   G9,   91,   224,  220  Headlee,  Harvey,  274, -277 

liannnm,  Relic,  456  Headlee,  Margaret,  274 • 

I ranway,  Thaddens,  456  Headlee,  Silas,  274,  459 

Hanwav,  'i'had  13.,  318  Healey,  George  II.,  172,  174 

Harhert,  W.  1.,  167,  171  "Heap  Bitr  Scare"  of  1832,  194 
Harbolt,  Jonathan,  70,  102,  17,S,  290,  293,       Heastur,  Jacob,  250 

331,  330,  382,  456  Hebner,   Susan,  347 

Harbolt  &  Tilton,  79  Ile-kendorn,  Samuel,  290,  305,  307,  459 

Hareoiirt,  John,   156  Heimlich,  Ed,  171 

Hareonrt,  R.  A.,  154  Heiny,  Jonathan,  537 

Hardy,  Christopher,  221,  419  Heiny,  Lanrinda,  539 

Hardy,    Thomas   A.,   457  Heiny,  William  H.,  172 

Harlan,   Rlihu,   263  Hclar,  G.,  250 

Harless,  Thomas,  61,  224,  225  Helfrich,  William  J.,  757 

Harlow,  W.  D.,  173  Helm,   Frederick,   250 

Harmon,  J.  N.,  347  Hemphill,  Edward,  S01 

Harold,  C.  C,  374  Hemphill,  John  B.,  354,  459 

Harper,  Samuel,  250  Henderson,   Annie,  307 

Harper,  Thomas,  250      ■  Henderson,   James  H.,  570 

Harper,  William,  250  Henderson,  John  M.,  600 

Harris,   II.  .).,  97  Henderson,  Joseph,  3G7,  599 

Harris,   Joseph,   286  Henderson,  J.    H.,  324 

Harris,  Rowland,  91  Henderson,  Lillian,  571 

Harrison,  Alfred,  255  Henderson,  Matthew,  460 

Harrison,  Andrew  A„  693  Henderson,   M.,    178,   184 

Harrison,  Henjamin,  255  llenke,  Mary,  337 

Harrison,   fiances   M.,  693  Henry,    Patrick,    250 

Harrison,  Governor,  86  Herman,   Eli  R.,    ISO 

Harrison,  James,   201  Herman,   Franklin  J.,  230,  ,171,  373 

Harrison,    R.,   60  Herman,   John,   374      • 

Harrison,  William   II.,  15  Herman,  Larkin,  374 

llarritt.    A.    II.,    165  Helper,   P.,  250 

llano,  John,  272  llenon,  John,  283 

Hart,  Professor,  132  Horron,  Richard  M.,  murder  of,  110 

Hart,  Spencer,  302,   157  Hershe,   Abraham,   205 

Hartman,   A.    IL,    MM  [Toss,   James,   170,   400 

Hnrtman,  Oarrie,  315,  457  II inner,  Jacob  II.,  341 

llarliiinn,  Charles  S.,    137  Hickman,    ( '.    II.,   :!7l 

Hartman,  John,  021  Hickman,  James,  266 

Hartmnn,  I'.,  251  Hickman,  William,  266,  739 

Hartman,  Walters.,   164  Hicks,    Aaron,   01,   64,   09,   01,    112,   22-1, 

llartmann,  Levi,  272  g"5,  226,  230 

Harvey,  James,  070  Mirks,  Jnmcs,  225 

Harvey,    R,   I,.,  3R7  Hicks,    William.    .'.7  1 

[Iarvey,  Robert,  21 1  u\g\i  School,  130 


INDEX 


High  School  after  Fire  of  August  25, 
1905   (view),  300 

High  School,  North  and  South  Views 
(view),  310 

Highways,  State  and  National,  51 

Higson,  Maiquia,  283 

Hiidcbrand,  Elizabeth  A.,  348 

Hildehrand,  .Terusha,  "348        ' 

Hildebrand,  Theodore,  348 

Hilderbrand,  E.  J.  C,  178 

llimes,  James,  250 

Hinehman,  Louis,  352,  799 

Hinchrnan,  William,  460 

Hinckle,  William  H.,  343 

Hinshaw,  Richard,  339,  569 

Hintzman,    Fred,   770 

lliorth,  Hans  E.,  61,  65,  193,  194,  246, 
289,  293 

Hiorth's  mill,  196 

Historic  Spencer  House,  234 

Hitchins,  Jolin  C,  219 

Hoagland  ditch,  258 

Hodshire,  Frank  L.,  340 

Hogland,  Mercia,  313 

Hokxm,  F.   N.,  250 

Iloldridge,  Maude,  355 

Holdridge,  Truman,  797 

Holdstock,  Enoch,  334    > 

Holladay,  Charles  A.,  323,  628 

Holladay  Family,  626 

Holladay,  John,  626      " 

Holladay,  Phillip  A.,  027 

Holladay,  Sarah  J.,  323 

Hollawav,  Thomas,  201 

Holley,  R.  T.,  355 

Ilolliday,  James,  255 

Holliday,  John,  239 

Hollodyke,  John,  179 

Holloway,  John,  181 

Holmes,  Bartholomew,  575 

Holmes,  David,  334 

Holmes'  ford,  29 

Holmes,  Hannah  B.,  577 

Holmes,  William  B.,  573 

Holtom,  Jesse,  250 

Holtzman,   Emma,   1000 

Holtzman,  Morris  J.,  999 

Holtzman,  R.,  345 

Holtzman,  W.,  156 

Honey  Creek,  245 

Honey  Creek, .first  schoolhouse,   133 

Honey  Creek  Township,  draining  and 
road  building,  244 ;  settlers  and  land 
buyers  of  1835,  246;  lands  entered  in 
1839-53,  247;  two  thirds  owned  by  non- 
residents in  1S55,  247;  military  war- 
rant lands,  247;  swamp  land,  247;  ere 
ated,  249 ;  schoolhouse  and  town  hall, 
219;  pioneer  citizen  voters,  250;  public 
spirited,  251 ;  appraisement  of  for 
1915,  425 

Honey  Creek  Township  School,  Reynolds, 
378 

Hoover,  Robert  B.,  460 

Hoover,  R.  B.,   153 

Hoover,  Will  B.,  163,  461 

Hopkins,  Walter.  273 
Hopper,  Matthew,  19:',,  201,  266 
Huron,  Christian,  971 
IToren,  John,  250 

Horeil,   Samuel,  250 
Horn,   Patrick,  250,  251 


Hornbaek,  Adam,  399 

Hornbaek,  Alexander,  226 

Hornbaek,  George,  225 

Hornbaek,   Nelson,  219 

Hornbeck,  George,  61,  226 

Hornbeck,   Nelson,  461 

Hornbeck,  Simon,  218 

Horner,  Cornelius  M.,  998 

Horstmann,  George,  378 

Houghton,  James,  362 

Houses  of  worship,  333 

Howard,  James  10.,  34U 

Howard,   Michael,  318 

Huber,  Harry,  354 

Hudson,  Shelby,  279,  280 

Hudson,  Sibley,  60 

Huff,  Asa,  399 

Huff,  Samuel  A.,  98,  112,  174,  234 

Huff,  William  J.,  864 

Huff,  W.  J.,  166,  168,  173 

Huffman,  Elizabeth,  657 

Huffman,  George,  657    • 

Hugh,  Rowland,   124 

Hughes,  Elizabeth  B.,  621 

Hughes  Family,  534 

Hughes,  George  K.,  536 

Hughes,  James,  266,  620 

Hughes,  John,  535 

Hughes,  John  C,  143,  270,  340,  399,  417, 

461,  535 
Hughes,  John  S.,  266 
Hughes,   I. nebula,  drowning  of,   til 
Hughes,   M.   Allison,   270 
Hughes,  Marion  A.,  369 
Hughes,   Nancy,  461 
Hughes,  Rowland,  199,  270,  293,  297,  340, 

462 
Hughes,   R.,   178 
Hull,  Nathaniel,  207 
Hull,   Reuben,  201 
Hummer,  Michael,  331 
Humphreys,  Andrew,   133,  841 
Humphreys,  John,  134 
Hunt,  Isaac  W.,  272 
Hunter,  D.  Eekley,  131 
Hurtt,  J.  S.,  307 
Hussey,  Emma  A.,  982 
Hussey,  Uriah  S.,  980 
Huston,  1).  .1.,  348 
Hutchinson,  James  C,  229 
Hntt,   Jonathan,   201 
Button,  Maria,    127 

lames,  George,  202 

Ico  Gorge,  403 

Idaville,  61,  363;  first  called  Ilanna,  230, 
366;  founded,  230;  first  merchant  and 
postmaster,  366;  progress  dcs|^to  fire, 
368;  name  of,  -115;  Rank  of,  368; 
township  commissioned  high  school, 
:(iis;  first.  Church  of  God,  369; 
Church  of  God,  370;  Methodist  Epis- 
copal  Church,  370;  Seventh-Day  Ad- 
ventist-.  379;  societies,  370;  United 
Presbyterian  Church,  370 

Idaville"  II      li  School    (view),  368 

Idaville  crver,    161,   172 

Men,   T.    P.,    178  , 

Illinois  Tei  i  itory,  25 
lines,   Richard,  2  17,    102 
lines,   \\  illiam,  323 
liulcr,  Cassias   |l.,   133    730 


XXV111 


INDEX 


Imler,  David,  733 

Imler,  Reuben,  462,  7.'!  I 

Independent,  172 

Indian  lands,  17 

Indian  claims,  lifting  of,  29 

Indian  land  treaties,  30 

Indian  village,  Liberty  Township,  202 

Indiana  as  a  part  of  New  France,  9 

Indiana  trading  posts,  11 

Indiana  under  British  ride,  12 

Indiana  complaints,  16 

Indiana,  first  Legislature  of,  27 

Indiana  corn  (view),  192 

Indianapolis,  27 

Indianapolis,  Delphi  &  Chicago  Railroad, 

57;  first  passenger  train,  58 
Indiana  Territory  created,  15;  changes  in 

governors  and  capitals,  27;  first  judge, 

85 
Industries,  325 

Industries  founded  on  nature,  34 
Ingraham,  Andrew,  09 
Ingraham,  Ira,  234 
Ingram,  Andrew,  92 
Ingrain,  M.  II.,  171 
Ingram,  William,  201 
Inskeep,   George   T.,   522 
Irelan,  Claude,  341 
Irelan,  Jonathan,.309 
Irelan,  Seth,  225 
Irelan    William,  131,  305,  353 
Ireland,  Thaddeus  10.,  518 
Irion,  Anderson,  .282,  462 
Irion,  Robert  P.,  820 
Irons,  Anderson,  143 
Iroquois,  10 
Trvin,  Abram,  251 
Trvin,  Abraham,  250 
Irvin,  Hugh,  250 
Irvine,  Eliza  .!.,  103 
Irwin,  Edward  W.,  792 
Irwin,    E.    W.,   355 
Irwin,  Gideon,  273 
Irwin,  Roliert,  332 
(sham,  I,.  S.,  341 
Ishcrwood,   R.   M.,   172 
Itskin,  Christopher,  399 
[vers,  William,  01,  219 

.lackman,  A.  W.,  337 
Jnckman,  C.  1'.,  312 
Jackson,  Isaac  II.,  185 
Jackson,  John   W.,  221 
Jackson,  J.   W.,  374 

Jackson    Township    schools,     124  J     south 
halt   first   settled,    223-    pioneer   settlers 

and  land  owners,  223;  land  entered  be- 
fore township  organization,  224;  pio- 
neers of  1835-38,  225;  first  recorded 
election,  220;  pioneer  Bcliool  matters, 
227;  high  standard  of  molality,  228; 
drainage    and    good    roads,    231;    up 

prnisemont  of  for   1915,   425 

Jail,  70,  75,  77 

Jail  find  sheriff's  residence,  75 

Jail    breaker    With    church  going    tenden- 
cies, 424 

James,  Henry,  202 

James,  Homer  M.,  ,H28 

James,  II.  I).,  325 

James,  James,  22  1 

James,  Joseph,  '.12,  1115,  22  1,  220,  227,  200 


James,  Joseph,  Sr.,  09,  91 

James,  T.  .).,  224 

James,  William,  01,  224,  226 

Jameson,  J.  10.,  379 

Jell'coots,  John,  250 

Jefferson,  John  R.,  239,  247 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  65 

Jonners,  William  M.,  09,  92,  299,  320 

Jenning,  Carl,  561 

Jesse,  O.  II.,  347 

Jesuit  missionaries,   lo 

Jewett,  Anson,  253,  254,  255 

Jewett,  L.  H.,  250 

Jewett,  Leander  IT.,  250,  254 

Jewett,  Robert  A.,  787 

John   Burns'  Grove,  146 

Johnson,  Addison,  240,  250 

Johnson,  Anderson,  250 

Johnson,  Catherine,  331,  332 

Johnson,  Ellis  H.,  238,  239,  247,  332,  3S2, 

463 
Johnson,  Emily  J.,  463 
Johnson,  Frank,  240 
Johnson,  Harry  C,  710 
Johnson,  H.  C,  133 
Johnson,  James,  00,  0],  09,  91,  195,  200, 

205,  334 
Johnson,  James  O.,  354 
Johnson,  Jesse,  00,  214 
Johnson,  John  F.,  327 
Johnson,  John  H.,  953 
Johnson,  John  W.,  239 
Johnson,  Jonathan,  239 
Johnson,  Levi,  238 
Johnson,  Marshall,  250 
Johnson,  Marshall  H.,  248 
Johnson,  Micajah  P.,  248 
Johnson,  Moses,  246 
Johnson,  M.  T.,  250 
Johnson,  Okey  S.,  239,  247,  290,  331,  332, 

399 
Johnson,  Rebecca,  331,  332 
Johnson,  Robert  C,  255 
Johnson,  R.  C,  254,  335 
Johnsonbaugh,  Ira,  065 
Johnsonbaiigh,  Sanford,  318,  048 
Johnston,  Anna,  336 
Johnston,  Clark,  303 
Juliet's  large  map  of  1074,  9 
Jones,  Amos,  332 
Jones,  A.  B.,  150 
Jones,  James  ('.,  353,  554 
Jones,    Pearl,  341 
Jones,  Robert,  98 
Jones,  Thomas    I).,  404 
Jones,  T.  8.,    179 
Jonos,  William   I''.,  347 
Jordan,   William,  27S,  2.S1,  282,  404 
Joshua  (I rim's   .bike,   423 
Josserand,  A.  10.,  37!) 
.lost.   Ida,  341 
Just,  John  M.,   10| 
.lost,  John   \V,  4(14 
Journalism  in  White  County,  408 
Judges,   1838-42,  98 

Kahler,    llenrv,  202 

Kane,   John    A.,   221 

Karp,    August,    105 

Kan,  John  C,  269,   105 

Kair,  Joseph,  239 

Knrr,  Moses,  239,  263.  200,  209 


INDEX 


Kassabaum,  George  W.,  117,  3S9,  5-16 
Kay,  A.  II.,  366 
Kean  's  Creek  sramii  lands,  267 
Kean,  L.  M.,  174 

Kcefcr,  Daniel,  630 

Keefer,  William  B.,  465,  630 

Kecfcr,  W.  B.,  336 

Kcevcr,  John,  340 

Keever,  Robert,  466 

Kefsis,   F.,   250 

Keifhaber,  P.  H.,  386 

Kcllenburger,  Ernest  .C.^  951 

Kellenburger,  Joseph  P.,  952 

Keller,  Charles,  250 

Keller,  Ira,  250 

K'ellcv,  Donald  M.,  950 

Kelley,  D.  M.,  359 

Kelley,  .Tnmes,  124 

Kelley,  Thomas,  92 

Kclls,  Ira,  250 

Kemp,  George,  60 

Kendall  Brothers,  293    ' 

Kendall,  Charles  W.,  293,  307,  339,  399, 

566 
Kendall,  C.  W.,  178,  199,  307 
Kendall,  F.  G.,  198 
Kendall,  Francis  G.,  339,  466  ' 
Kendall,  George  S.,  74 
Kendall,  J.  M.,  348,  361 
Kendall,  Mary  E.,  466 
Kendall,  Robert  &,  339 
Kendall,  R.  C,  198 
Kennedy,  Peter  B.,  2S3 
Kennedy,  Thomas,  216 
Kennedy,  William,  214 
Kenney,  William,  337 
Kenrioh,  J.  EL,  374 
Kent,  James,  91,  218 
Kent,  Jennie,  361 
Kent,  Lawrie  T.,  133 
Kent,  Phineas  M.,  285,  758 
Kent,  William  C.,  185 
Kent,  W.  C,  186 
Kenton,  James,  250 
Kenton,  Llewellyn  G.,  466 
Kenton,  Simon,  178,  208 
Kenton,   William   M.,   70,   110,   123,   200, 

238,  247,  249,  375,  376,  467 
Kontwell,  Isaac,  250 
Keplinger,  Jacob,  92 
Kepperling,  George,  190 
Kcpperling,  John,  203 
Kepperling,  Sarah,  332 
Kerr,  Artemns  P.,  163,  166,  467 
Kerr,  James,  64,  236,  237 
Kerr,  J.  G.,  375 
Kerr,  M.  A.,  307,  375 
Kerr,  William,  69,  91 
Keyes,  Jasper  H.,  163 
Knickerbocker,  Hugh,  131 
Kiefhaber,  F.  n.,  384 
Kilgore,  John  C,  237 
Killgore,  John,  62 
Kindig,  IT.  L.,  334 
King,  A.,  378 
King,  Esther  M.,  348 
King,  John  B.,  02 
King,  Thomas,  195,  205 
King,  W.  II.,  113 
Kingsbury,  Clement  R.,  46S 
Kingsbury,  Ira,  307 
Kingsbury,  Ira  S.,  468 


Kingsbury,  Mary,  168 

King's  Schoolhotise,  273 

Kious,   Adams,   359 

Kiotis,  John,  47,  219,  419 

Kious,  Joseph  H.,  359,  922 

Kious,  Milam  A.,  219 

Kiousville,  419 

Kirk,  Henry  C,  162 

Kirk,  R.  C,  339 

Kitchen,  Elizabeth,  619 

Kitchen,  William,  619 

Kitt,  A.  J.,  163 

Kleckner,  W.  A.,  366 

Kleist,  Charles  H.,  353,  854 

Klepinger,  Hiram  J.,  916 

Klepinger,  Jacob,  219 

Kneale,  John   H.,  360 

Knepp,  Arthur  F.,  174 

Knights    of    Pythias,    Monticcllo    Lodge 

No.  73,  340 
Knox,  George  L.,  333 
Koch,  F.  J.,  378 
Koontz,  James  A.,  379 
Korn,   Samuel,  205 
Koutz,  William  P.,  ISO,  340,  468 
Kouts,  W.  P.,  332 
Krapff,  William,  826 
Krnger,  Lewis,  250 
Kubacki,  John,  378 
Kuns,  Clarence  D.,  190 
Kuntz,   Washington,  340 
Kuonen,    Eticnne,  379 

Lafayette  and  Michigan  City  State  Road, 

46 
Laing,  Ed,  396 
Lambert,  David,  418 
Lambert,  Z.,  374 
Lamon,  C.  E.,  154 
Land  ollices,  16 
Land,  R.,  336 
Lane,  Abram  C,  469 
Lane,  Daniel,  238 
Lane,  nenry  S-,  421 
Lane,  James,  234 
Languedoc,  Charles,  86 
Languedoc,  Fr.,  86 
Lansing,  Thomas,  265,  266 
Large,  John,  340,  417 
Large,  Sarah,  469 
Larrabee,  John,  286 
La  Salle,  8 
Layman,  John,  272 
Layton,  R.  A.,  341 
Lawrence,  William,  361 
Lawrie,  James,  838 
Lawrie,  John,  248 
Lawrie,  Susan  A.,  838 
Lawson,  Charles  A.,  470 
Lawyers  of   1834-51,   114 
Lawyers  of  1856-00,  115 
Leach,  John,  297,  334,  340 
Lealy,  John,  250 
Lear,  Hiram  l'\,  255,  470 
Lear,   John,   254 
Lear,  John   If.,  310 
Lear,  Joseph,  254 
Lear,  Thomas  A.,  834 
be,  58,  509 
Leech,  George,  20 
LeITel,  James,  312 


INDEX 


Leffel,  Jnmea  m.,  529 

Lepras,  J.  M.  !'.,  85 

Leister,  Nimrod,  28G 

Leslie,  Daniel,  'J29 

Lester,  P.  E.,  150 

Lewis,  George  F..,  345 

Lewis,  John,  2.'!S 

Lewis,  Josephj  60 

Liberty  Township,  first  school,  12">; 
timber  lands  and  lowlands,  202;  In- 
ilian  village,  262;  created,  201;  first 
election  and  officials,  205;  change  of 
boundaries,  20.";  settlers  previous  to 
18-10,  200;  onusual  progress  in  1840-50, 
200;  pioneers  sell  improved  lands,  266; 
non-resident  purchasers,  207;  good 
roads,  267;  schools,  208;  first  marriage 
and  first  death,  -68;  the  iron  bridge, 
270;   appraisement  of  for  1915,  425 

Liekory,  E.,  250 

Lielfor,  John  C,  254 

Limestone,  34 

Lincoln,   President,  95 

Linda,  Henry,  239 

Lindhorst,  J.   H.,  379,   710 

Lindsay,  Joshua,   47,  '200,   293,   382,   398 

Line,  Aliel,  418 

Line,  Dennis,  205 

Line,  Elian,  204 

Line,  Sarah,  470 

Link,  William   TL,   182 

Linton,  Maurice,  362 

Linvillc,  Benjamin  A.,  209,  343 

Lister,  Garrison   Q.,   274 

Lister,  Joanna,  274 

Livery  stable  burned,  411 

Live  stock  men,   141 

Lisk,  William';  470 

Little,   Henry   T:,   007 

Utile,  Mary   E.,  008 

Little   Monon  Creek,  200,  258 

Livingstone.,  G.  W.,  354 

Lockwood,  Rufus,  234 

Lockwond,  Kufns  A.,  92 

Logan,  Cornelia,  338 

Logan,  Hugh   B.,    17s 

Logan,  IL   B.,  384 

Logan,  William    A.,   202 

Log  Cabins,  419 

Louglirv,  Albert  W.,  340,  565 

Loughry  ,*Cloyd,  340,  373,  564 

Loughry,  Joseph  I".,  564 

Loiighry  Mills,  327 

Loughry,  Nelson  B.,  296,  |71 

Loughry.   William    V„  340 

Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chieago  line, 
208,  249 

Louther,   Elias,  91 

Lovejoy,  tlalsey,   15S 

Lovejoy,  John  K.,  15S 

Lovejoy,  J.  R.,  339 

Lowe,  Charles  S.,  205,  207 

Lowe,   Enos,  62 

Lowe,  GiiRtavus,  327 

Lowe,  John  U„  2 17 

Low.-.  Larkin,   171,  605 

Lowe  Mill,  The,  -J07 

I  OWO,  Samuel.   L'"8 

I. ewe,  Scclnirn,  606 

Lowe,  William,  339 

Loivery,   John.   220 

Lowther,  Abraham,    l!>.!.    199,  266 


l.owther,    Klias,    60,    01,    200,    204,   205 

Lowther,  J.   II.,    L99 

l.owther,  Watson,  199 

Lucas,  Benjamin,  ISO 

Luce,  John,    238,    HI 

Lucy,  George  W„  172 

Lukens,   Abraham,   239 

Lutherans,  Reynolds,  379 

Lux,  Augustus  V.,  779 

Lyman,  Horace  C,  343 

Lynch,  James,  386 

Mace.  Daniel,  97 

Mackin,  Thomas,  200 

Macklcn,  Thomas,  203 

Macklin,  Thomas,   263 

Magee,  Anne,  313 

Magee   Family,  The,  471 

Mahin,  Augustus  E.,  937 

Mahin,  John,  219 

Mahureu,  Caleb,  374 

Mahuren,   Isaac,  374 

Mahurin,  Isaac,  130,  230 

Map  of  Indian  Cessions,  Including  \Vhit< 

County   (map),  28 
Marbet,  A.  J.,  302 
Margaue,   Francois,   Sieur   de  Vincenues 

12 
Markle  and  Cowdin,  296 
Markle,  Jacob,  472 
Marnev,  Jonathan,  86 
Marshal,   Antoine,  86 
Marshall,  David,   247 
Marshall.  John,   20 
Marshall,  Lewis  C,  247 
Marshall,  W.   C,   186 
Marshall,  William   P.,   472 
Marshall,  Woodson   S.,   179 
Martin,   Alva   J.,   323 
Martin,   A.   L.,   337 
Martin,   Charles,    133 
Martin    Cherric's    Woolen    Mill,    197 
Martin.   James,    286 
Martin,   Lewis  .11.,   S96 
Martin,  Peter,  201,  293 
Martin.   William   IL,  286 
Martindale,   Thomas,   224 
Marvin,  Delancy,  225 
Marvin,  George,  392 
Manin,  George  E.,  389 
Marvin.  George    P..    1  17.   340 
Mason,   K.   P.,  358 
Mason,   P.,    :7( 
Mason,  Joseph,  61 
Mason,   Thomas.   334 
Masons,   Lihamis  Lodge,  339 
Masons,    Montit'cllo   Chapter,   3-10;    Moi 

ticello  Council   No.   70,   R.  and   S.   M 
:  l";  Order  of  the  Eastern  star,  340 
Mastaw,    Anthony,    761 
Mathew,   Levi  A.,  825 
Matlock,  Joseph  II. .  1 15 
Matthews,   Kxekicl,  239 
Matthews,  rsaac  V,  905 
Matthews,  John.   219,   239,    117 
Mattix.   Hciijamin,  273 
May,  William  C,  339 
McAllister,  C.  A.,    17: 
M.  Vllister,  J.   \V.,   156 
M.l'.eth,   Anna,   128,   273 
Mcltotli,  Jumes   M..   307,   GOO 
Mi-Beth,  Joseph,    151,  706 


TNI)  EX 


McBeth,  Walter,   156,  1500 

McBeth,  William,  872,  273 

McBride,  IT.  C,  148,  332 

McCabe,  John,  958 

McCain,  James,  225 

McCall,  Byron,  172 

McCall,  Byron  E.,  656 

McCall,  Daniel,  055 

McCall,  Joseph  S.,  681 

McCann,  Dr.,  392 

McCann,  Joseph  D.,  340,  547 

McCann,  J.  D.,  313,  317 

McCarty,  Ed,  60 

McClintic,  S.  K.,  336 

MeCloud,  Edward,  272,  472 

MoCIoud,  Hannibal,  277 

MeCloudParcels,  Maritta,  473 

McClnre,  James  M.,  843 

McColloch,  Solomon,   214,   217,   218,  250, 

473 
McColloch,  V.,  246 
McColloch,  William   W.,   473 
McCollum,  James  H.,   861 
McCollnm,  J.   H.,   307,   406 
McCollum,  Thomas,  474 
MeComb,  Elizabeth,  966 
McComb.  James,  965 
McCombs,  David,  64 
McConahay,  David,  125,  266,  268,  474 
McConahay,  Orlando,    115,    340 
McConahay,  O.,  178 

McConahay,  Ransom,'  74,    266,   399,   474 
McConahay,  R.,  183 
McConnell,  John,  662  .   • 

.  McCorkle,  William,  629 
McCormick,  Benjamin,  182 
McCormick,  Beveridge,  176         "  . 
McCormick,  Thomas,   61,   98,   224,   225 
McCoy,  Jasper  I.,  347 
McCreary,   Lewis,  348 
McCuaig,  Dan,  568 
McCuaig,  Daniel,  SO,  339 
McCnaig,  David,  305,  323,  339,  475 
McCuaicr,  D.   D.,  32S 
McCulley,  H.  E.,  172 
McCulloch,  Solomon,  61,  64,  218 
McCiilloch,  Van,  382 
McCulloch,  W.   H.,   60' 
McCnllum,   Mrs.  James  H.,  341 
McCrilly,  John,  230,  366 
McCully,  J.  G.,   drowning*of,  415 
McCully,  Samuel  A.,  368 
McCullv,  Solomon,   74,  225,  226 
McCully,  S.  D.,   366 
McDonald,  John,   265,   266,  975 
McDonald,  William  B.,  975 
McDonald,  William  L.,  974 
McDowell,  John,  61,  225,  265,  266 
McDuflie,  J.  W.,  354 
MoRlhoe,  Amor  S.,  421,  475 
MeEntyre,  James  W.,  966 
McEwen,  James  W.,  163,  178 
Mr  Finland,  Joel  B.,  356  _ 
McParland,  Walter,  2S3  ^ 
McFeor,    Samuel,    2«3 

McOaughey,  George,  281 
Mclntire,  Samuel,  182 
McTntyre,  .Tamos  W.,  263 
McKonn,  Thomas,  97 
McKee,   Mary   E.,  202 
MeKillip,  Edwin  E.,  786 
MeKillip,  James,  255 


McKinley,  James,  293 

MeKinsey,,  W.  1'.,  334 

McLaughlin,  Thomas,  225,  226 

McLean,  William   E.,  323 

McMahon,  John,  378 

McMillan,  Thomas,  272 

McMullen,  J.  W.  T.,  182 

McNary,  John,   203,  204,  265,  266 

McNutt,  John,  205 

McPherson,  Stephen,  374 

Mel'herson,  William   A.,  Kill 

McQueen,  Robert,  286 

MeWilliams,   Robert,   476 

Medaris,  Alta  M.,  361 

Medaris,  Elizal  eth,  361 

Medaris,  John,    131,    132,    154,  361 

Medaris,  John  W.,  155,  476 

Medicinal  plants,  many  extinct,  40 

Medorse,    Frederick,    250 

Meeker,  Curtis   D.,   1004 

Meeker,  C.   D.,  341 

Meier,  D.,  378 

Mellender,  George,  347 

Men's  Bible  League,  317 

Merkle,  Orwig  &  Co.,  426 

Merriam  and  Company,  293 

Merriam,  C.  L.,  354,  366 

Merriam,  John  C,  295 

Mershan,  J.  B.,  374 

Mertz,  Charles  M.,  715 

Messmann,  A.,  378 

Metcalf,  John  E.,  218,  219 

Methodist  Church,  Brookston,  360 

Methodist  Church  founded,  333 

Methodist  Church  Pastors,  334 

Methodist  Church,   Reynolds,  378 

Methodist  Church,  Wolcott,  353 

Methodist     Episcopal     Church,     Tdaville, 

370 
Methodist  Quarterly,   169 
Metts,  John,  219 
Mexican  land   warrants,  43 
Mexican  war,  176,  409 
Meyer,  Jacob,  201,  208,  263 
Meyers,  B.  T.,  250 
Meyers,  Eli,  283 
Meyers,  Jacob,  293 
Miami  Confederation  of  Indians,  9 
Middelstadt,  Carl  C,  133,  991 
Middleton,  H.  11.,  347 
Mikesell,  John,   206 
Miller,  Alexander,  399 
Miller,  A.  L.,  374 
Miller,  Ephraini,  225 
Miller,   G.   I).,  332 
Miller,  George  P.,  297 
Miller,  George   P.,   250 
Miller,  James  S.,    250 
Miller,  John,  225,  236 
Miller,  John    P.,   324 
Miller,  John  \V.,  3  IS 
Miller,  Josephine  A.,  348 
.Miller,   Julia,   348 

Miller,  Leonard   FT.,   161 

Miller,    l.cwi-    M.,   840 
Miller,  Oldie   lv.  375 
Miller,  Rodney   M.,  266 
Miller,  Stephen,   246,   250 
Miller,  S.  A..  250 
Million,  Ephraini,  226,  272 
Million,   r'rancis   \l.,    177 
Million,  Jaeoh   l\,  591 


INDEX 


Million,  Martha,  :S74 

Million,  Randolph  J.,   IT  I,    177 

Million,  Robert  F.,  309 

Million,  Robert   M.,    177 

Million,  R.  ,].,  389 

Mills,  Kilbourn  J.,  .101,  802 

Milroy,   Robert   II.,    105,    178 

Mineh,  Joseph  S.,  877' 

Minniek,  11.  R.,   156 

Missionary  stations,  11 

Mitchell,  Ceorgo:  IT.,  151,  227,  -177 

Mitchell,  James  T.,  22G 

Mitchell,  .Tohn   E.,   719 

Mitchell   Powder   Explosion,    103 

Mitchell,  iSallie,   132 

Mitchell,  William   W.,   61,   225,   220,   .".00 

Mock,  Charles  B.,  334 

Monon,  208;  additions  to  original  site, 
343;  incorporation  of,  343;  industrial 
and  commercial  advantages,  .'141;  clay 
and  stone  industries,  344;  banks,  345; 
town  commissioned  high  school,  345; 
societies,  348;  appraisement  of  for 
1915,   425 

Monon  Air  Line,   division   of,   57 

Monon  Bank,  345 

Monon  Baptist   Church,   348 

Monon  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
347 

Monon  Leader,  172 

Monon  News,  107,   173      * 

Mono'n  Dispatch,  The,  172 

Monon  Presbyterian   church,   346 

Monon  Public.   Library    (view),   34G 

Motion's   Public  Library,  346 

Monon  Town  Commissioned  High  School 
(view),  344 

Monon  Township,  01;  first  school,  125; 
first  settler,  203*;  laud  entries  before 
1840,  201';  early  sett  Ins,  voters,  and 
officials,  203;  swamp  lands,  205;  good 
*roads,  205;  limestone  deposits,  200; 
timbered  tracts,  200;  first  mills  built, 
206;  first  events,  208;  lirst  religious 
organization,  209;  first  schoolhouse, 
209;  early  postoffices,  200;  appraise- 
ment of  for  1915,425 

Montgomery,  418 

Montgomery,  James  10.,  417 

Montgomery,  Wm.  P.,    (17 

Monticello^  54,  05;  old  courthouse  grant, 
07;  public,  sales  of  lots,  07;  entry  of 
site,  195;  infant  industries,  199; 
founding  of,  289;  entries  covering 
original  town,  289;  first  building  and 
pioneer  merchant,  290;  churcl  ■  ■,  290; 
1830  busy  year,  291;  young  town  con 
siderably  soaked,  201;  business  di- 
rectory for  1830,  201;  establishment 
of  the  local  press,  20.1;  lirst  water 
power  and  mills,  205;  wool  center  and 
woolen  manufacturers,  205;  becomes 
a  railroad  town,  296;  in  1852,  297; 
village  government  abandoned,  299; 
Walker's,  .Tenners'  and  Reynolds'  ad 
ilition,  200;  Parr's  Addition,  300; 
third  town  addition,  .'102;  fourth  and 
fifth  additions,  303;  Becond  ami  mora 

stable  corporation,  .'111  1  ;  educational 
system,  3115;  the  old  high  school,  307; 
better  town  schools,  309;  first  big 
school    in    a    teed    stable,    309;    prOSOIlt 


high    school    building,    3  I  I ;    schools    of 

the  present,  312;  schools,  superintend- 
ents ami  teachers,  312;  grades  build- 
ings, 312;  public  schools,  system  as  a 
whole,  313;  water  works  system,  317; 
the  Reynolds'  Additions,  320;  Turn- 
er's Addition,  321;  Cleveland  street 
created,  322;  Hughes'  Addition,  322; 
Codicil's  and  Fraer's  Additions,  322; 
McCuaig's  Addition,  323;  Dreifus  and 
Haugh's  Addition,  .".23;  McLean  and 
Brearley's  Addition,  323;  Later  addi- 
tions to  the  townsite,  323;  Citizens' 
Addition,  323;  city  hall,  324;  water 
power,  improvements  of,  324;  pres- 
ent-day industries,  325;  societies,  338; 
without  a  saloon,  300;  early  bands, 
402;  enlargement  of  Public  Square, 
406;  southwest  corner  Main  and 
Marion  streets  (view),  412;  first  meat 
market,  424;  appraisement  of  for 
1915,  425 

Monticello  Banks,   327 

Monticello  Dam  at  Flood  Tide  (view),  88 

Monticello   Democrat,    163 

Monticello  Herald,   157,  165 

Monticello  Hydraulic   Company,  295 

Monticello  Lumbering  and  Barrel  Head- 
ing  Manufacturing   Company,   296 

Monticello  National  Bank,  327 

Monticello   Public   Library,   313,  395   . 

Monticello  Republican,  161 

Monticello  Rifles,  179 

Monticello  School,  124 

Monticello  Spectator,   164,    165 

Monticello  Telephone   Exchange,  320 

Monticello  Times,   107 

Monticello  Tribune,    101 

Monticello  Union,  101 

Monticello  Weekly   Press,   107 

Montplaisenr,   Andr.,  86 

Moody,  John  W.,  902 

Moody,  Lida,  359 

Moore,   A.   V.,  154 

Moore,   Emily  L.,  961 

Moore,  Isaac   B.,   477 

Moore,  Jacob  D.,  967 

Moore,   .lames    C,    218,    357 

Moore,  J.  ('..,  21 S,  360 
Moore,  .lames  II.,  961 
Moore,  James  P.,  Sr.,  247 
Moore,  John   D.,  347 
Moore,  John  II.,  811 
Moore,  Joseph    D.,   239 
Moor.',   Thomas,    010 
Moure,  Thomas  B.,   269,  478 
Moore's  ford,  209 
Moorhoue,  Hiram  A.,  609 
Moorhous,  Hiram  A.  B.,  340 
Moorhous,  U.  A.  B.,  327 
Moorhous,  Sarah,  610 
Moorman,   John   L.,   172 
Motts  Creek,  212 
Moron,  John,  254 
Mordy,  .1.  T.,  302 
Mores,    David   II.,  2  17 

Mores,  Lorono,  217 
Morgan,  I.    1'..,   ".is 
Morgan,  T.  .1.,  301 
Morgan,  W.    It.,   317 
Morman,    Andrew,  251 
Merman,    El  ins,   251 


INDEX 


Morman,  John  C,  254 

Mormon  Society,  229 

Morris,  Benedict,  62 

Monis,  Cornelius,  285 

Morris,  Ivy,  133 

.Morris,  John,  226,  265 

Morris,  William    E.,   359 

Morse,  David   II.,   247 

Hosier,   A.   T.,   379 

Mote,  William,   154 

Mound  Builders,  1;  war  an*d  domestic 
implements  of,  2;  habits,  3;  no  hiero- 
glyphics or  effigies  of,  3;  race  of 
slaves,  4;  perhaps  l)he  most  ancient 
of  peoples,  4;  origin,  5 

Mounds,  burial,  2;  habitation,  2; 
temple,   2;   forts,  2 

Mount  Walleston,  196;  platted,  198; 
boom  at,  198 

Mower,  Joseph,  631 

Movvrer,  James,  654 

Mowrer,  Joseph,  336 

Mowrer,  Rachael,  336 

Mowrer,  Sarah  A.,  336 

Mudge,  Ambrose,  239 

Mudge,  Gardner,  242,  363 

Mudge  's  Station,  242 

Mullendore,  F.  M.,  307 

Murphy,  Harrietts  M.,  930 

Murphy,  J.    D.,    362 

Murphy,  Jeremiah,  929 

Murphy,  Thom'as,  61,  205 

Murray,  Daniel,  205,  208* 

Murray,  Mary  E.,  1008 

Murray,  Henry   L.,    1006 

Murray,  Marshal,  340 

Myers,"  Charles  F.,  900  • 

Myers,  Frederick,  S98   • 

Mvers,  Squire   W.,    752 

Mvers,  William  E.,  726 

Myers,  W.  E.,  36S   . 

Myrtle,  Jacob,  254 

Nadell,  B.  F.,  374 
Nagel,  Amelia  K.,  624 
Xagel,  Stephen,  623 
Jfagle,  John  J.,  359-1001 
Nance,  Wallace' W.,  980 
Narrow  Gauge  Railroad  Celebration,  415 
Nas-wau-gee,  31 
National,  The,  167 
Naylor,  Isaac,  98,  399' 
Neal,  B.  'F.,    332 
Neal.^Henry  C,   334 
Nebeker,  Lucas,  334 
Nebeker,  L.,  297  ' 
Neel,  John  W.,  579 
Neel,  Samuel   G.,  674 
Neel,  W.  F.,  359 
Nelson,  John   R.,   845 
Nelson,  John  W.,  339 
Nethercutt,  John  W.,  478 
Now  Bedford,  208 
New  county   infirmary,  80 
New  Dunkards,  335 
New   Dunkards,  Idaville,  3G9 
Now   Hartford,  418 
Now  Lancaster,  418 
.New  School   Church,  331 
Newall,  Robert,  64 
Newell,  Benjamin,  218 


Newell,  Robert,  Oil,  91,  109,  123,  236,  238, 
427 

Newhonse,  John    E.,  384,  347 

Newspapcrdoui,  dawn  of,   157 

Newton,  Charles  ]•:.,  168 

Newton,  Ed  p.,   168.    171 

Nickel  Plate  Club,  341 

Niles,  John  P,.,  263 

Niles,  Nathaniel,   96 

Noah,  John,  250 

Noble,  Noah,  60 

Noland,  Wesley,  272 

Nordyke,  Adiii",   247,   251,   251,  255,   340 

Nordyke,  Albert  S.,  307 

Nordyke,    Israel,  247,  254,  255,  340,  1027 

Nordyke,   Noble,  353,  478 

Nordyke,  Robert,  254 

Nordyke,  schools,  128 

Nordyke,  settlement,  254 

North,  Layton  M.,  737 

Northrop,  A.  0.,  347 

Northwest  becomes  National  Territory, 
14  " 

Northwest  Territory,  47;  Popular  As- 
sembly for,  15;  uniler  common  law  of 
England,   85 ;    government  of,  86. 

Norway  township,  carved  from  Prairie 
township,  60 

Norway,  Old   Tannery   at,   414 

Norway,   death  of   Gypsy   King,   415 

Nutt,  Stephen,  225,   226 

Nyce,  Daniel,  254 

Nyce,  Jacob,  281 

Nyce,  John,  283 

Oakdale,  209 

Oakes,  Lida,  132 

Oats,  Jonathan,  399 

Obenchain,  Frederick  C.,  996 

Obenchain,  Baeburn,  996 

Oberman,  I.  C,  375 

O'Brien,  Thomas,  202 

Oekiltree,  John,  86 

O'Connell,  William   K.,  328 

O'Connor,  Perry  P.,  S67 

O'Connor,  Thomas  W.,  323,  324,  327,  863 

Odd  Fellows,  339 

Odell,  P.,  375 

O'Donnell,  G.  It.,  348 

Oilar,  Finis,    133 

Old  Monticello  Flouring  Mill  (view),  88 

Old-Fashioned    Fire-Place   (view).  204 

Old  Dunkards,  Burnottavillc,  375 

Old  Kenton  Crave  Yard,  200 

Old  George  A.  Spencer  Home  (view),  398 

Old  Settlers'  Association,  146 

Old    Sill    Homestead,    110    North    Bluff 

Street    (view),  421 
Olds,  Comfort,   255 

Omelvena,   James,   362 

Only   War   Mother   In    White  County,  406 

Order  of  the    Eastern  Star,  340. 

Ordinance  of    1787,    12,   85 

Original      surveys,      government      stakes 

burned,  47 
Orion   Lodge.  355 
"Organ,    Newton,    250,    -j.,1 
Orphans'    Home,    337 
Orr.  John,    193 
Hit,   William,   193,    179 

Orth,  Godlove  s..  98 

Orion,   A.   It.,   117.   17S,  331 


J 


INDEX 


Orton,  Alfred    R.,   304,   400,   479 

Orwig,  Henry,  290 

Owens,  Harry  P.,   164 

Owens,  Henry  P.,  340 

Owens,  John  T.,  976 

Owens,  J.   R.,  307 

Page,  A.,  250 
'  Page,  Alexander,   282 
Palestine  schools,  :L28 
Palestine  settlement,  253 
Palmer,  Fayette,  340 
Palmer,  Truman  F.,  108 
Palmer,  T.   F.,  116,   315,  340 
Palmer,  Mrs.    T.    F.,    313 
Palmer,  William   S.,   98 
Palmer  &  Carr,   116 
Parcels,  James,   340 
Parcels,  Maritta    McCloud,    473 
Parcels,  W.   H.',   304 
Pardee,  E.  A.,  337 
Parish  &  Godman,  358 
Parke,  S.  H.,  156 
Parker,  Ashford,   60,   91,  427 
Parker,  David,  239 
Parker,  David   W.,   239 
Paiker,  Henry    C,    219 
Parker,  Isaac,  382 
Parker,  Isaac  N.,  238 
Parker,  J.  A.,  337 
Parkev,  James,   69,  91,   201,   293 
Parker,  John,  203,  263,  265,  266 
Parker,  Joseph,  219 
Parker,  Mary  A.,  331    " 
Parker,  Richard  T.,   160 
Parker,  Robert,   327,  352 
Parmelee,   Frank,   283 
Parmelee's  Meadow  Lake  Farm,  283 
Parr,   John,   225 
Parrish,  Edward   L.,  542 
Parrish,  John,  219 
Parrisk,  Marion,   340,   541 
Parry,   William  A.,  340 
Parson,  Samuel  H.,  85 
Parsons,  Isaac,  167,  173 
Pasehen,  William,  133 
Paschen,  William   H.,  6S4 
Pattee,  -C.  M.,  354 
Patton,  Georee,  335,  369 
Pattern,  Hezekiah,  369 
Patton,  Perry,  368 
Patton,  Uriah;  335,  369,  417,  939 
Taugh,  George,  201 
#      Paul,  Julius    W.,    340,    479 
Paul,  Mary,  479 
Peet,  John  H.,  340 
Pcetz,  Mrs.  J.  L.,  173 
Penham,  Peter,  255 

Pennsylvania  Railroad  Bridge  at  Monti- 
cello    (view),    56 
People's  Advocate,  167 
Pepper,  Abel  C.,  31,  32 
Perry,  ('.,  250 
Terry,  Edwin,   273 
Perry,  Joshua,  250 
IVrsonott,  Marshall  S.,  721 
Tcter,  W.  S.,  361,  362 
Peterson,  Ayros,  205 
Peterson,  Samuel,  205 
Petit,   Antoine,  80 
Pettit,  Benjamin  D.,  480 
Pettit,  David  J.,  353,   7S9 
Pettit,  James,  250 


Pettit,  John  U.,  91,  106,  234 

Pettit,  Nathan  C.,  480 

Pettit,  Reuben  R.,  480,  788 

Pettit,  It.    11.,    250 

Poster,  Jacob,  377 

1'herly,  Willis,  218 

I'll  ill  ips,  Frank  R.,  310 

Phillips,  John,   123,   238 

Phillips,  Joseph,   238,   399,  427 

Phillips,  William,  60,  91,  214,  217,  218 

Piankeshaw,    12 

Pierce,  Ashley,  202 

Pierce,  Ashley  L.,  295 

Pierce,  Ferris,  334 

Pierce,  J.   H.,   375 

Pierce,  J.   W.,  374 

Pierce,  Lewis,  202 

Pierce,  Lucius,  143,  148,  184,  307 

Pierce,  Mary  L.,  202 

Pierce,  Matilda,  480 

Pierce,  T.  F.,  375 

Pierce,   VV.  S.,  315 

Pilling,  Mell  F.,  172 

Pioneer  Duukard,  330 

Pioneers  Ante-Dating  County  organiza- 
tions, 61 

Pioneer  home   (view),  149 

Pioneer  educational  matters,  122 

Pioneer  lawyers  of  the  circuit,  92 

Pioneer  Letter,  404 

Pioneer  Live   Stock   Men,   141 

Pioneers  of   1S29-07,  149 

Pioneer  Roads,  51 

Piper,  Isaac  S.,  201 

Piper,  John  L.,  201 

Pitts,   J.   L.,   354 

Pittsburgh,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Rail- 
road,  261 

Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  &  St. 
Louis   Railroad,  57 

Pitzer,   Jacob,    201 

Pixler,   John,   205 

Ph.ss,   George  A.,  702 

Plummer,  Albert,  821 

Plummer,  Noblo  A.,  822 

Poating,  Patrick,  251 

Pogue,  Joseph,  481 

Pokagon,  26 

Pokagon,  Simon,   380 

Pokagou  'a   Prophecies,   32 

Po.de,    William,  273,  274 

Poor   Farm,  79 

Porter,  John,  255 

Porter,  John   I!.,  69,  91 

Porter,  Joseph,  361 

Posey,    Thomas,    27 

Pottawattamie  treaty,  30 

Pottawattamie  village,  203 

Pottawattamies,  26,,  29,  279;  first  mi- 
gration of,  31;  migration  of  the,  33; 
final  removal  of,  32;  tribe  gathers 
at   Plymouth,  32 

Potter,  'George   W.,  9  is 

Potter,  James,  273 

Poller,    William,   300 

Poultry    Packing    [louse,   Burnottsvillo, 

373  " 
Powell,  J.  Z.,  31 
Powell,  8.  II.,  :uil 

Powell,   Mrs.    S.    II.,    361 

Prairie   Chieftain,    157,   158,   160,   293 

Prairie  Ores,  '■'•'> 


INDEX 


Prairie  lands,  early  prejudice  against, 
37 

Prairie  Telephone    Company,    360 

Prairie  Township,  64;  attached  to  Car- 
roll County,  211;  as  a  White  County 
Township,  211;  natural  features,  212; 
drainage,  212;  products  of  the  soil, 
213;  eastern  timber  lauds  first  set- 
tled, 213;  pioneer  landlords,  214;  first 
permanent  settler,  215;  first  voters 
aud  officials,  217;  early  land  holders, 
218;  educational  aud  religious  begin- 
nings, 218;  first  sawmills,  220;  im- 
provement in  rural  conditions,  221; 
leading  good  roads  township,,  222; 
appraisement  of  for  1915,  425 

Pratt,  Daniel  D.,  92,  97 

Pratt   &   Reyburn,   399 

Prehistoric  forts,  2 

Presbyterian  Church,  Old  'and  New 
Schools,  331 

Presbyterian  Church,  building  of  the 
present  church,  333 

Presbyterian  Church,  Brookston,  361 

Presbyterian  Church,  Chalmers,  366 

Preserving  newspaper  files,  159 

Press,  John,  201 

Press,  Monticello,  293 

Press,  The,  157 

Preston,  Charles  S.,  582 

Price,  Aaron,  369 

Trice,  Asenath,  382 

Price,  Benjamin,  195 

Price,  Benjamin  P.,  182,  386,  520 

Price,  B.  P.,  179,  328,  424 

Price,  John,   92,   219,  386,  481 

Price,  Joseph,  481 

Price,  Peter,  60,  61,  143,  193,  200,  2S9, 
295,  417,  520 

Price,  Mrs.  Peter,  193 

Price,  Thomas,  281 

Price,  William,  201,  226 

Princeton  Township,  pioneer  settlement 
and  civil  organization  almost  coinci- 
dent, 252;  as  the  Palestine  settlement, 
253;  godfather  of  the  township,  253; 
created  and  named,  254;  state  and 
township  elections,  254;  saddled  with 
land  speculators,  255;  schoolhouse 
competition,  255;  land  entries,  1842- 
47,  255;  lack  of  water  in  early  days, 
257;  reclaimed  lands  and  good  roads, 
257;    appraisement   of   for    1915,   425 

Pringer,   Dennis,   226 

Probate  Courts,  90 

Probate  Judges,  109 

Proce,  John,  218 

Profit,  George,  31 

Property    valuation,   82 

Prough,  Peter,   273 

Public  education  under  the  First  State 
Constitution,   120 

Public   Library,  Monticello   (view),  314 

Public  Schools,  119;  present  system, 
133 

Public  School  System,  pioneers  of,  3u7; 
legal   complications,  307 

Puckrtt,   \V.   K.,  354 
Pugh,  Elizabeth,  255 
Pugh,  Henry,  253,  25-1 
Pugh,   Richard  C,   789 
L'ugh,  Richard  Br.,  351 


Pulliam,   William   G.,   379 
Pui-ccll,  Josiah,  310,  341 
Purcupile,  John  J.,  322 
Pythian  Sisters,  340 

Rader,  John  T.,  849 

Rader,  Mrs.  Solomon,  354 

Rader,  Solomon,  35  1 

Rader,  William  H.  II.,  354 

Rail  fence,  40 

Railroad,  first  in  White  County,  53 

Railroad  war,  54 

Railways,  pioneer,  53 

Rainier,  George  A.,  S.s7 

Ramey,  John,  219 

Ramey,   Manly,   219 

Ramey,  Samuel,  132,  219 

Ramey,  William  L.,  481 

Randolph,  Thomas,  25 

Rankin,  419 

Rankin,  A.  T.,  332 

Rariden,  Stewart,  286 

Rathfon,  David,  481 

Raub,  J.  &  W.  W.,  364 

Raub,  Edward  B.,  1033 

Raub,  Jacob,  364,  873 

Raub,  Miller  O.,  934 

Raub,  William  W.,  482 

Rawlins,  Archie  K.,  773 

Rawls,  Elisha,  195 

Rayhill,  Harvey,  201 

Rayhouse,  M~.  C.  A.,  163 

Rayhouser,  Cyrus  A.  (1.,  340,  482 

Read,  A.  L.,  370 

Read,  J.  A.,  270 

Reagan,   R.   M.,    156 

Ream,  Andrew  T.,  201 

Ream,   David   K.,   3  10,  376 

Ream,  D.   k\,  304 

Ream,  John,   178,  293,  310,  390 

Reames,  A.  J.,  355 

Reames,  Fred,  658 

Reames,  Jane,  274 

Reames,  John   10.,  660 

Reames,  William  J.,  614 

Reams,  Jonathan,  27:: 

Reams,  Tavner,  272,  273 

Redding,  Alexander,  219 

Redding,  Jeremiah,   959 

Redding,  Thomas  W..  399 

Reder,  T.  J.,  353,  378 

"lied   Star"  movement,  387 

Reed.   Abram   V.,    157 

Reed,  Alfred,    lis.     158,    179,    180,    339, 

340 
Reed,  Alfred  P.,   113,  482 
Reed,  A.  V..   L62 
Reed,  Charles,  273 
Reed,  H.  J.,  341 
Reed,  J.  II.,  156 
lieed,  J.  T.,  172 
Reed,  Lodio,  307 
Reed,  Marion,  205 
Rceder,  .1.  T„  317 
Rcedcr,    William,   37  1 
Rees,  Bliiauctu,  33] 
Rees,  John,  331 
Rees,  Margaret,  331 
Rees,   Hurtlui,  33 1 
Rees,  William,    178 
Reese,   John,   61),   2911 

Reese,  tt  illiuin,  305 


INDEX 


Reeves,  -Madison,  226 
Reid,   Henry  J.,  133 
Reiff,   Elmer  G.,  673 
Reiff,  Joseph  T.,  724 

Reiff,  Mdton  K.,  37.!,  .724 
ReUey,  Joseph  J.,  203 
Reingurdt,  Henry,  070 
Renner,   John,   205 
Renwick,  Alfred  U.,  756 
Renwick,  Andrew,  225 
Renwick  Family,  754 
Reporter,  Brookston,   172 
Reprogle,  Abram,  109 
Reprogle,  Peter,  199 
Revolutionary  war,  12 
Reynolds,    early    newspaper    field,     170; 
'    founding  of,  249;  Sill  enterprises,  375-; 
pioneer   hotel   and   sawmill,   375;    town 
platted,   375;    first  religious   organiza- 
tion,   376;    early   progress,   376;    town 
of    today,    377;    adopts    town    govern- 
ment,    377;      township     school,     378  j 
churches,    378;    Lutherans    and    Chris- 
tians, 379;   appraisement  of  for  1915, 
425 
Reynolds,  Albert,  296 
Reynolds,  Alfred  W.,  90,  1025 
Reynolds,  Ashbel  P.,  168 
Reynolds,  A.  \V„  305,  307,  339 
Reynolds  Bank,  377 

Reynolds,  Benjamin,  60,  61,  91,  123,  133, 
142,  233,  237,  238,  248,  249,  299,  375, 
483 
Reynolds   Broom,   170 
Reynolds,  Calvin,  339 
Reynolds,  Gary  it.,  167 
Reynolds,  "Cub,"  297 
Reynolds,  D.  A.,  168 
Reynolds,  Georgians,  420 
Reynolds,  Isaac,  17s,  201,  235,  295,  297, 

331,  339,  356,  483 
Reynolds,  I.,  382 
Reynolds,  James  C,  79,  421,  484 
Reynolds,  J.  C,  75,   178,   181 
Reynolds,  J.  S.,  250 
Reynolds,  John  0.,  484 
Reynolds  Journal,  164,  171 
Reynolds,  Judge,   107 
Reynolds,  Levi,  133,   178,   202,   240,   484, 

751 
Reynolds,  Lydia  J.,  485 
Reynolds,  Mary  332,  382 
Reynolds,  Mary  J.,  332 
Reynolds,   Matthew,   202 
Reynolds,  Miranda  .1.,    421,     185;     remi- 
niscences, 399 
Reynolds  Sun,   171 
Reynolds,  T.  IT.,  325 
Rice,  C  A.,  348 
Hice,    II.   (!.,   313,   315,   333 
Rj   e,    \I.   I,.,  347 
RicO,    Martin   1,.,    1021 
Richey,   Uboira,  338 
Richey,   James,   3  10 
Ki.hev,   .1.    \|.,   324 
Riehey,  J.  'I'.,  339 
Rider,  Charley,  79 
Riddilo,  II.  li.,  151 
Rifoilberrick,    Samuel,    195,      :•.! 

Riloy,  Levi,  221 

Riley,  'I'll,, mas,  371 


Rinker,  Joshua,  238,  245,   247,  250,  251, 

127 
R inker,  William  II.,  245,  973 
Ripley,   William,  361 
Ripley,  Mrs.  William,  361 
Rishling,  George  R.,  1017 
Rishling,  Jennie  R.,  1018 
Ritchey,  Alvira,  1024 
Ritchoy,  Boyd  P.,  485 
Ritchey,  Jonathan  I'.,  297 
River  Scene  near  Monticello  (view),  36 
River  scenes   (view),  88 
Riverside  Jlill  ami  .Monticello  Residences 

(view),  294 
Riverview  Park,  320 
River  Views  from  McKain  Farm  (view), 

38. 
Rizer,  Benton,  174 
Ri/.er,  Sylvester  \V.,  174 
Roach,  Bernard  K.,  486 
Roach,  David  C,  486 
Roach,  James  B.,  486 

Roach,  John  T.,  340,  487 
Road  building,  modern,  52 
Roads,  46 
Roberts,  Frank,  340 

Roberts,  John,  60,  69,  91,  148,  236,  322 
Roberts,   Martha,  4S7 

Roberts,  Robert  D.,  487 

Roberts,  Thomas,  488 

Robinson,  A.  L.,  92 

Robinson,  James  E.,  158,  162 

Robinson,  Jesso  W.,   219 

Robinson,  J.   W.,  357 

Robison,    P.  B.,  324 

Robison,  Thomas  A.,  488 

Rodeers,  Alexander,  229,  366 

Rodgers,  O.  A.,  347 

Rodgers,  J.  M.,  374 

Rogers,   Nathaniel,  253,  254 

Rohm,   Jacob,   374 

Roller,  Peter,  275 

Rollins,  John,  286 

Rollins,  Thomas,  2S6 

Rollins,  Truman,  284,   285 

Rooks,  Joseph  It.,   182 

Rose,  George  S.,  249,  375 

Ro  9,  Caroline,  796 
.  Rose,  Charles    E.,   795 

Ross,  i>.  [•:.,  300 

ROSS,   John,   201 

boss,    Mary    Y„    IS9 

Ross,    Mis.    11.    IV.   338 

Ross,   Susanna,   301 

RruiH,    William,   263,   266 

Roth,  Charles.   324,   489 

Roth,  Francis  W.,  489 

Kothroek,  Catherine,  332 

Rothrock,   Blisso    lb,   489 

Rothrock,   Elizabeth   A.,   3.36 

Rothrock,   Rlizaboth   J.,    190 

Rothrock,  Jneob,    190 

Rothrock,  John,    60,    Ql,    or.,    193,    195, 

289,   330 
Rothrock,  John    A..    164,   R23 

Rothrock,  J |li.  60,   178,   loo,    100 

Rothrock,  J.,  3M 

Rothrock,   Martha.    .".:!- 

Rothrock,  Orvillo   A.,  824 

Rothrock,   Robert,  on.  60,    193,    105,  201, 

202,  289,   290,  490 
l:  tlirock,  William,  491 


INDEX 


Rotluock,  Zachnriah,  491 

Kothrock,  Zaehous,  l'OI 

Roiiiul  Grove,  281,  287 

Round  Grove  Township  schoolhouse,  133 

Round  Grove  Township,  first  settlements, 
284;  first  settlor,  2S4;  early  land 
entries,  28:1;  elections  and  voters,  286; 
carved  out  of  old  Prairie  Township, 
286;  various  pioneer  matters,  287; 
former  postofliees,  287;  progress  in, 
287;  appraisement  of  for  1915,  425 

Rountene,   Thomas,   286 

Rowland,  John,  285 

Rover,  J.  G.,  307 

Royer,   Samuel,   870 

Ruemler,   August,   807 

Kufing,  James  C,  491 

L'nger,  Isaac,  250 

Russell,  Arthur,   197,   199 

Russell,  Kmeline  M.,  357 

Russell,  John,  219 

Russell,  John    W.,    984 

Russell,  William,  339 

RusseU,  Zadock,  Jr.,  219 

Rutter,  J.  B.,  334 

St.  Ange,  Louis,  12  - 

St.  Barious,  John,  86 

St.  Clair,  Arthur,  15        ^ 

St,  Clair,  Governor,  85    ^ 

St.  Joseph's   Catholic   Church,   Reynolds, 

378  ' 

Salt  works,  20,  24 
Sampson,  James,  2li3,  266 
Sampson,  William  H.,  492 
Sanderson,  Bert,  172 
Sanderson,  Harry,   172 
Sargent,   Mrs.   Will,   338 
Saunders,   John,    77,   304,   305,  492 
.Saunderson,    William    E.,    221,    492 
Sayre,  Joseph,  91,  218 
Scarf!',  Joshua  II.,  239,  281 
Scenes  at  Reynolds   (views),  372 
Schaefer,  F.,  378 
Sehlesselmann,  II.,  379 
School  examiners.  129 
School  fund,   basis  of,   43 
Schoolhouse,    the    old-time    comfortable, 

121 

Sehoolhouses,    building    under    the    new 

order,  129 
School    lands,    120 
Schools,   first  in   the  county,  237 
Schools   in   Jackson   township,   124,  227 
Schramm,  George,  378 
Schroeder, 'Herman,  879 
Schroeder,  ■  J.  B.,  378 
Sehweiule,  William.  377 
Scott,  Alexander,  374 
Scott,  Caleb,  493 
Scott,   Crystal  D.  W.,  26:!,  265,  266,  26S, 

418 
Scott,   K.   S.,   361 
Scott,  Greenup,  61,  26.1,  266,  268 
Scott,  John,    (54,    224,    26S 
Scott,  John    11.,    162 
Scott,  John   [,.,  1)7 
Si  "it.  Joseph,  331 
Scott,  Robert,  266 
Scotl    settlement,    religion   at,   268 

Scott,   Thomas   'I'.,    161 
Scott,   Tir/a,   337 


707 


392 


Scott,  William    and    Company,   344 

Scroggs,  David,  201 

Seroggs,  David    A.,    133, 

Scroggs,    Klam,   726 

Sea,  Sidney  W.,-  183 

Sealield,    261,    350 

Seawright,   S.  R.,  332 

Second  Constitution,  89 

Seimet/.,  J.  A.,  378 

Sell,  William,  97 

Sellers,  E.  B.,  116,  315,  \ 

Sellers,  Emory  B.,  77,  340,  856 

Sellers,  Harvey,   203,  205 

Seventeen- Year  Locusts,  402 

Seventh  Day   Adventists,   Idaville,   370 

Severe,   Louis,  86 

Sexton,  Jacob    II.,    493 

Sexton,   Lewis  W.,  791 

Shackelford,  347 

Shackelford,  Susan    M.,    948  ' 

Shafer,  Alexander  R.,  493 

Shafer,  Henry,  996 

Shafer,  James,   193,  201,   238 

Shafer,  John  M.,  229,  493 

Shafer,  John  P.,  663 

Shafer,  Joseph,  340 

Shafer,  Samuel,  340 

Shatter,  James,  123 

Shall,  Lewis,  250 

Shanahan,  Samuel,  427 

Shank,  Linas  H.,  494 

Shannahan,  Samuel,  201 

Sharon    absorbed   by   Burnettsvillo,   373 

Shaw,  Eli,  374 

Shaw,  Harris,  419 

Shaw,  Harvey  S.,  334 

Shaw,  H.  S.,  383 

Shaw,  James,  247 

Shaw,  John,  374 

Shaw,  Mary,  374 

Shaw,  William,  374 

Shaw,  William  S.,  363 
Sheets,  James  K.,  969 
Sheets,  Zebulon,  112,  193,  195,  289,  290, 

291,  295,  331,  382,  399 
Sheetz,  Ann  B.,  331,  416 
Sheetz,  Austin   C,  331' 
Sheetz,  Margaret,  331 
Sheetz,  M.  R.,  339 
Sheetz,  William,  293 
Shelev,  William   G.,  418 
Shell,  Ivan,  339 
Shenk,  Samuel,  494 
Shepard,  I.,  275 
Sheridan,  Andrew  J.,  334 
Sheriff's  life,  hardships  of  in  the  musk- 
rat  days,  425 
Sherwood,  Salmon,  883 
Sherwood,  Solomon,  70 
Shields,  C.  V.,  268 
Shiglev,   Charles   II.,  884 
Shigley,  George,  219 
Shoemaker,    Leonard,   272 
si,,,,,,,,   Henry  C,  617 
Shoop,    Mary    <;.,    018 
Short,   Cyrus,    109 
Short,  John,    19!) 
Shullj  Genealogy  of  Family  of  J.  Wesley 

and  Hnrvoy  <;.,  613 
shuil,  Harvey  <:.,  615 
siuill,  .1.   Wesley,  613 
Shall,  John    W.,  361) 


JN'DKX 


Shull,  Jonathan,  225,  220 
Mluil  I,   Lewis,  225,  220 
Sidenbender,  John,  205 

Signer,  James,  00 

Sill,  "Bob,"  297 

Sill,  Elizabeth,  421,   194 

Sill  enterprises,  Bumettsville,  375 

Sill  family,  114 

Sill,  George  W.,  201 

Sill,  M.  M.,  158,  250,  307,  375,  384 

Sill,  Milton    M.,    20,    48,    09,    159,    162, 

165,  10S,  271,  304,  380,  i'l\,Wid4£ 
Sill,  Robert  W.,  102,  179,  250,  339,  421, 
Sill,  R.  W.,  143,  158,  181,  376 
Sill,  William,  04,  09,  91,  196,  217,  290, 

293,    421,    403H-l£ 
Sills,  A.  K.,  117,   172,  328 
Sills,  A.  K.,  Jr.,  117 
Sills  &  Sills,  116 
Simmons,  Samuel,  263,  200 
Simons,  J.  P.,  317 
Simons,  James  P.,  153,  340,  496 
Simonson,  W.  Scott,  379 
Simpson,   Patrick,   86 
Sites,  Christina,  718 
Sites,  James  E.,  718 
Sitka,    269 

Six-Months'  Company,  185 
Sixty-thkd  Regiment,   181 
Skcvtingwn,  Joseph,  250 
Skidmore,,  Joseph,  201,  293 
Skidmore,  J.  R.,  154 
Skinner,  Daniel  I.,  225 
Skinner,  Harrison,    201,    246 
Slater,  Jacob,  263 
Slater,  J.   I.,  354 
Slaughter,  W.  W.,  362 
Slavery  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  21 
Sleeth,  Thomas,  399 
Sleeth,  Thomas  W.,  592 
Sleeth,  William  II.,  '594 
Slim  Timber,  284 
Slut/.,  W.  B.,  169,  334 
Sluyter,  Abraham,   263 
Sluyter,  Albert  C,  976 
Sluyter,  niram,  203,  497 
Sluyter,  Jonathan,   125,   265,   206,   209 
Sluyter,  Jonathan  W.,  263,  268 
Sluyter  Schoolhouses,  268 
Small,  Gilbert,  172,  497 
Small,  James  C,  705 
Small,  Sarah,  706 
Smeathen,  Abram,  265 
Smelcer,  Henry,  92,  217 
Smelcer,  Samuel,   60,    61,    74,   217,   218, 
•     219,  851 
Smelcer,  William,  218 
Smith,  Abel    T.,    239,    210,    298 
Smith,  Abraham,  247 
Smith,  Bernard  G.,  153,  646 
Smith,   n.   Wilson,  23,  210,  255,  334 
Smith,  C.   I-.,   374 
Smith,    Y\  O.,  386 
Smith,   Francis    M.,    174 
Smith,  Frederick,  214 
Smith,  Jacob   <!.,    100,    197 

Smith,  James,  219 

Smith,  John,  220,  272 
Smith,  J.   1!.,  307,  333,  347 
Smith,  John   II.,  872 


Smith,  Joseph,   203,    265,   266,   272,   418 

Smith,  J.   II.  O.,  336 

Smith,  Lester,  268 

Smith,  Mahlon  P.,  498 

Smith,  Mary   A.,  498 

Smith,  Peter  B.,  193,  201,  202,  246,  247, 

293 
Smith,  Samuel,  225,  226 
Smith,  Simeon,  218 
Smith,  Thomas  C„  217 
Smith's   Distillery   of   1840-50,   228 
Smithson,  243 
Smock,  C.  O.,  374 
Smoker,   Rolandus  L.,   543 
Sueathen,  Abram,  266,  268,  274 
Sneathen,  Elijah,  265,  200,  268 
Snowberger,  John,  334 
Snyder,  Abram,  199,  202,  293,  414,  417 
Snyder,  George,  266 

Snyder,  Henry,   179,   ISO,   199,  340,  498 
Snyder,  John,  499 
Snyder,  Margaret  P.,  171 
Snyder,  Philip,  499 
Snyder,  William  P.,  379,   750 
Soapmaw  Journal,  169 
Societies,  Monon,  348 
Societies,  Monticello,  338 
Soil,  37 

Soldiers'    Monument,   413 
Solomon    Hays,    219 
Some    White    County    School   Buildings 

(view),   118 
Sons    and    Daughters    of    Temperance, 

383 
Spanish-American   War,   189 
Sparrow,  Mary  E.,  348 
Spears,  Daniel  P.,  499 
Spears,  D.  T.,  339 
Specimen    Cattle    and    Hogs    of    White 

County  (view),  140 
•'Spectator"   Items,   1859-61,   405 
Spencer,  Barney,  282 
Spencer,  Ben  jamin,.  165 
Spencer,  Benjamin  N.,  60,  01,  195,  237 
Spencer,  Mrs.  B.  O.,  337 
Spencer,   Calvin    C,   234,   518 
Spencer.  Charles  C.  117,  315,  31S,  392, 

518 
Spencer,   George  A.,  GO,   01,  02,  04,  69, 

91,    123,   142,   143,    lis,   233,   238,  382, 

517 
Spencer's,   George   A.,   Docket   as   J.   P., 

120 
Spencer,   [Tninelle  &  Cowger,  116 
Spencer,  James,   tit,   158,    165,    193,  194, 

;;sl; 

Spencer,  .Tamos  S.,  500 

Spencer,  Mi? an  B.,  420 

Siioneer,  Mrs.  Miran,  341 

Spencer,  Perry,  741 

S|, nicer  It.  vnohis  Colony,  233 

Spencer,  Robert,  '-'9;: 

Spi  ii'  ci,  Robert  A.,  70,  92 

Spencer,  Thomas,   1  is,  238,  2  17,  2.",n 

Spencer,  William,    151,    179,    ISO,    339, 

340,  341,  590 
Spencer,  William    V.,    813 
Spilkey,  Frederick,  205 
Spinn,  John   I,..  7  15 
Spiritnnlism,  407 

S|. ,  Thomas,  ::.",9 

Sprny,  T.   i;.,  337 


INDEX 


Springboro,  220 
Spring  Creek,  -12 
Springer,  Dennis,  -25 
SprouJe,  Andrew,  293 
Stafford,  G.  W.,  374 
Stafford,  J.  T.,  347 
Stafford,  James  T.,  379 
Staley,  James,  386 

Staley,  James  Gf.,  105,   179,   ISO,  501 
Stanly,  Jeremiah,  285,  286 
Stanton,  A.  T.,  225 
Stark,  W.  P.,  251 
State  Bank  of  Burnettsville,  596 
State  Bank  of  Motion,  345 
state  Bank  of  Monticello,  327 
State  Bank  of  Woleott,  352,  354 
State  Constitution,  iirst,  courts  under,  87 
State  Constitution  of  1851,  74 
State  lands,  last  of,  44 
State  road,  46 
Staughton,  James,  195 
Steel,  J.  E.,  374 
Steele,-  Samuel,   275,  331,  332 
Steele,  U.  H.,  176 
Steely,  Edward,  286 
Stephan,  George,  501 
Stephan,  Joseph,  378 
Stephens,  C.  B.,  366 
Stephens,  David,  371 
StflLhenson,  J.  Y.,  336 
Ste%nson,  George  T.,  325 
Stevenson,  John  S.',  501 
Stewart,  Enos  H.,  226 
Stewart,  James  II.,  62 
Stewait,  John,  255 
'  Stewart,  Joseph,   252,  254 
f         Stewart,   Newton,  255 
Stewait,   Russell,   132 
Stewart,  Sarah,  374 
Stewart,   William,   301,  374 
Stewait,   Mrs.   William,  301 
Stiening,  L.  O.,  348 
Stillwell,  William  E.,  133 
Stine,  Harrison  S.,  502 
Stitt,  William.  270 
Stivers,  Wallace  D.,  190 
Stober,  Kate,  370 
Stacker,  John,  331 
Stockton,  Charles  L.,  2S5 
Stockton,  John,  236 
Stockton,  L.  B.,  286 
Stockton,  Newberry,  285 
Stokes  &  Martin,  172 
Stout,   Hannah,   502 
Stout,  Reuben,  193 
■    strait,  Robert  M.,  296 
Street,  James,  254 
Street,  John,   226 

Street  Views  at  Monon   (views),  342 
Streeter,  R.   M.,   173 
Stroud,  James,  283 
Stiykcr,  Cornelius,  253,  251,  340 
stnait.  Prank,  174 
Kturges,   Solomon,  205 
Sullivan,  Jeremiah,  225 
Supreme  Court,  SO.  90 
Surveying   before   land   drainage,   47 
Sutton,  Cornelius,  09,  91,  203,  201 
Sutton,   J.    E.,    174 
Sutton,  Joseph   K.,  204 
Sutton,  'I'h. .mas,  218 
Swamp    lands,    granted    to    the    Stato   of 


Indiana,     IS;     drained,    48;     increased 
value  of,  Hi;  purchased,  205. 

Swartzell,   Marion  J.,  773 

Svvearingeu,   Andrew,   219 

Swisher,  Perry  E.,  705 

Symes,  John  C,  85 

Talbutt,  Benjamin  W.,  024 

Tain,  George  B.,  0GS 

Tarn,  Joshua,   374 

Tarn,  Mitchell,  374 

Tarn,  Silas,  229 

Tatman,  Joseph,  92 

Taylor,  Joseph,  760 

Taylor,  W.  R.,  117 

Taylor,  Wesley,  172,  392 

Teachers,  130 

Teachers'  Association  and  Institutes,  133 

Teenmseh  and  the  Prophet  implacable,  17 

Todford,  David  C,  502 

Tedford,  H.  H.,  127 

Tedford,  Ira,  375 

Tedford,  J.  G.,  361 

Tedford,  John,  61,  195,  224 

Tedford,  Newton,  399 

Tedford,  "Robert  N.,  502 

Teeter,  Dennis  P.,  558 

Telfer,  Alexander  L.,  925  ■ 

Temperance  agitation  in   1906,  388 

Temperance    Struggle   in   White   County, 

'380 
Temperance  wave  receded,  387 
Temple  of  Honor,  383 
Temple,  S.  R.,  336 
Temple,  Mrs.  S.  E.,  338 
Territorial  legislation,  120 
Territory  of  Indiana,  first  legislature  of, 

16 
Terwillager,  Matthew,  91 
Test,  Charles  IT.,  148 
Tevebaugh,  Jacob,   86 
Tevis,  Charles,  557 
Thacker,  Edward  N.,  174 
The  Junior,  166 
The  National,  166 
Thiehart,  John,  219 
Thomas,  E.  B.,  373 
Thomas,  Evan,  265,  266 
Thomas,  Isaac,  215 
Thomas,  Jacob,  293 
Thomas,  James,  355 
Thomas,  James  II.,  770 
Thomas,  J.   E.,  374 
Thomas,  J.  II.,  154,  250 
Thomas,  W.  C,  373 
Thompson,    Benton,  504 
Thompson,  Henry  C,  117,  133,  972 
Thompson,  Joseph,  09,  91,  230 
Thompson,  Joseph  IT.,  61,  215,  233,  23S, 

249 
Thompson,  J.   N.,   374 
Thompson,   Mary,   238 
Thompson,  Samuel    \V„  809 
Thompson,   Sarah,   338 
Thompson.   Sarah    R.,   870 
Thompson,   Sm.-dlun.nl,   424 
Thompson,   Thomas    ,\l.,   00 
Thompson,  'I'.   M.,  382,  384 
Thorne,    R.    Vv\.  354,   366 
Thornton.    Matthias   M.,   209 
Til.lrn.   lienjainin    P.,  100 
Tilton,  Daniel,  297 


xl 


INDEX 


Tilton,  Daniel  J.,  503 

Tilton,  Dnniol  M.,  199,  'J01,  240,  293,  503 

Tilton,  1>.   M.,  382 

Tilton,  Rebecca  J.,  255 

Tilton,  Richard,  202 

Tilton,  Richard  J.,  247,  255 

Timber,  34 

Times,    173 

Timmonils,  William,  "74 

Timmons,  Charles,  700 

Timmons,  Jacob  1).,  274,  328 

Timmons,  J.   1).,  327 

Timmons,  .lolm  E.,  698 

Timmons,  Mrs.  John   E.,  274 

Timmons,  John   (!.,  945 

Timmons,  Milton,  790 

Timmons,  Rebecca  J.,  309 

Timmons,  William  F.,  309 

Tinuison,  Jesse,  2S2 

Tioga  Dam  (view),  88 

Tippecanoe,  battle  of,  20 

Tippecanoe  Electric  and  Power  Com- 
pany, 324 

Tippecanoe,  first  record  of,  9 

Tippecanoe  Hydraulic   Company,   296 

Tippecanoe   River,  35,  49,  04 

Tippecanoe  River,  East  of  the  Public 
Library   (view),  301 

Tippecanoe  Street,  North  from  Public 
Library  (view),  301 

Tippecanoe  Thread  Mills,  325 

Tipton,  John,  22 

Todd,  John,  85 

Tolen,  Thomas,  882 

Torpy,  James,  250 

Town  commissioned  high  schools,  131; 
Monou,  3-15;  Wolcott,  352;  Brookston, 
359;   Idaville,. 368;   Burnettsville,  374 

Townships,   subdivisions   of,  45 

Township  surveys,  44 

Township  trustees,  121 

Towusley,  George  T.,  729 

Townslcy,  James   M.,   3tiS 

Townsley,  John   B.,  -230,   366,   368,    369 

Townsley,  Thomas,  272,  275 

Tracev,  William,  150 

Trail  Creek,  46 

Trees,   willows,  .37;    red   cedar,   37 

Tribal  title  to  lands,  last,  31 

Tri-County  Farmers'  Association  Fair, 
143 

Troutle,  Lucas,  221 

Trook,  Andrew,  102 

Trowbridge,  W.  V.,   156 

Troxell,  John  A.,  221 

Tmesdale,  1).  C,  302 

Tucker,  Leven,  247,  890 

Tucker,  William,   891 

Turner,  J.  M.,  339 

Turner,  John    M.,   321,  328 

Turner,  Joseph   P.,   190 

Turner,   William,   247,   399,   50  1 

Turnipseed,  William,  1004 

Turpie,   !>.,  17.S 

Turkic,   David,  92,  99,  297,  340,    117 

Turpie,   Emma  J  ,  343 

Turpie,  James,   251 

Turpie,  J.    II.,    172 
rurpio,  Judge,   178 

Turpiu,  Francois,  86 

Typical  Pioneer  Farm  (view),  150 


I ' lil,  George,  221 

lib  I,  .Stewart  C,  803 

LI  hi,   William   P.,   Lil,  051 

Union  Township,  01;  general  features, 
191;  soil  and  products,  192;  settled 
before  the  township  was  organized, 
193;  land  entries  ill  1831-34,  194; 
first  township  officers,  200;  settlers  in 
1835,  201;  land  entries,  201;  busy 
land  year,  1830,  201;  construction  of 
good  roads,  202;  appraisement  of  for 
1915,    425 

United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Idaville, 
370 

I'niversalist  Church,  3G2 

University   Extension   Club,   317,   341 

Fnthauk,  A.  J.,  348,  360 

Up  the  Kiver  from  the  Monou  Bridge, 
Tioga  (view),  320 

Vadney,    Alexander,    80 

Van  Alstfne,  George  W.,  328,  544 

Vanaman,  Daniel,  273 

Vanaman,  Elias,  273 

Vanatta,  John  C,  359,  377,  917 

Van  Blarieum,  David,-  272 

Van  Buskirk,  Jay  B.,  583 

Van   Buskirk,  J.  B.,   153,  157,  1G0,  173 

Van  Buskirk,  Z.,  304 

Van   Buskirk,  Zachariah,  72,  230,  295 

Van  Cleave,  \V.  IL,  348,  354 

Vanderburgh,  Henry,  85 

Vandervolgen,  Cornelius,  253,  254 

Vandeventer,  Christopher,  128,  205,  200 

Van  Landingham,  J.  A.,  307 

Van  Pelt,  Nicholas,  283 

Van  Scoy,  Thomas,  172 

Vanscoy,   William,   239,  298 

Van   Voorst,  Abram,   250,   281,   377,   505 

Van   Voorst,   Bert,    327 

Van   Voorst,  Charles,  875 

Van   Voorst,  Delia,  940 

Van    Voorst,   Ellen,  338 

Van   Voorst,   Henry,    327,   391,   041 

Van   Voorst,  James  S.,  843 

Van   Voorst,  John,  281 

V;iii    Voorst,   Sarah,  121 

Van  Voorst,  Sylvanus,    270,    281,    282, 

421 
Van   Voorst   frame   schoolhouses,   282 
Van    Winkle,  W.  I'.,  330 
Vaiuiiin,  James  M.,  85 
Versailles,  9 

VcslOIig,    lleiiiv,   250 

Vessels,    W.    G.,    334 

ViditO,   Jasper,   285 

View    from    the    Mouticollo   Stand   Pipe, 

321 
View    of    the    Tip] anoc,    with    Tioga 

Bridges  in  the   Distance,  292 
Views  in  and  nboul    Mouticollo,  301 

Views  of  Old   Court] ses,  68 

Vi-us,   C-irler    L.,    179 

Vi ones,    12,    15 

Vincennes  and   Kaskaskia,  (Mark's  rap 

lure   of,    1  I 

Vincennes    became    possession    of    the 

United  States,   I  I 
Vincennes  or   the   old   Post   i  ntnblislied 

in   1727,  12 
Vincnnucs,  Siear  ile,  12 
Vinnngc,  John  !>.,  226,  227 


INDEX 


xli 


Vinnedge,  John,  221 

Vinson,   Isaac  H.,  201,  250,  27!),  2S2,  283, 

382,  500 
Vinson,  James  V.,  340,  341 
Vinson,  Jesse  T.,  281 
Vinson,  Samuel  It.,  399 
Vinton,  David  P.,  417 
Vinyard,  Charles  W.,  908 
Virden,  A.  H.,  347 
Virden,  Louisa,  940 
Virden,  Samuel,  005 
Virden,  Silas  M.,  505 
Vodyce,   William,   282 
Vog'el,  Bernard  A.,  323 
Vogel,  Joseph  M.,  803 
Vogel,  Michael,  370,  378,  50G 
Voider,   Nathaniel  B.,  254 
Vreedenburg,  Hachaliah,  333,  334 

Wabash  and  Brie  Canal,  44,  220 
Wagner,  Nicholas,  865 
Wagner,-  William  D.,  3.77 
Wagner,  William  T.,  359,  901 
Walker,   Everett  A.,   174 
Walker,  G.  S.,  183 
Walker,  Jacob,   299,  320 
Wallace,  David,  32 
Wallace,  James,  178,    184,   304,   301 
Wallace,  John  H.,  340 
Wallace,  John   M.,   100 
filter,  William,  91,  217 
Walts,-  Wilbur,   174 
Walts,  Wilbur  A.,  174 
Wampler,  John,  297 
Wampler,  J.  M.,  332 
War  of  1812,  176 
'Ward,  Alfred,  132 
Ward,  Austin,  285,  286 
Ward,  Charles   G.,   1031 
Ward,  Granville,   280,  406 
Ward,  Granville  B.,  506     • 
Ward,  Jewell  F.,  635 
Ward,  John  R.,  189 
Ward,  Philip  J.,  507 
Ward,  Samuel  M.,  507,  1030 
Ward,   Thomas  B.,  225 
Ward,  W.  A.,  117 
"Warden.   Bncklin,   007 
Warden,  Elisha,  425,  983      • 
Warden,   Elisha,  Sr.,  420 
Warden,   Nimrod,  238,  263 
Warden,  William,  238,  263 
Warfel,  Abram,  508 
Warner,  G.  W.,  374 
Washburn,   E.  P.,  156 
Washburn,  George  P.,  508 
Washburn,  George  W.,  322 
Washington   Street  Bridge   (view),  88 
Wason,  Junes  P.,  109 
Water  Courses,  1 
Water  Power   and   Mills,   295' 
Water  Travel,  49 

Water  Works,  Monticello   (view),  318 
Watkins,   Benjamin,    117 
Watson,  Charles   M.,  219 
Watson,   Jesse    L.,    00,    00,    01,    214,    219, 

508,  917 
Watson,   Lewis,  01,  219 
Watson,   Oscar,    11)10 
Watson,   William,  217 
Watson,  William   II.,  781 
Wattles,    \V.   I).,   107 


Weaver,  Jacob,  280 

Weaver,   Milton   W.,  280,  800 

Weaver,    Patrick,    J I .,   285 
Weaver,    William   G.,    190 
Webb,  Thomas    E.,  334 
Webster,    li.,   374 
Wednesday    beading   Club,   341 
Weeks,    William,   199 

Weise,  A.,  200 

Weise,   William,   1024 

Welch,  John,  508 

Welling,   P.,  378 

Wells,   C.    E.,   374 

Wells,  II.   H.;  301 

Werner,   Rudolph,   808 

West  Bedford,  207 

Westfall,   William   P.,   942 

Westphal,   August    U\,   701 

West  Point  School  and  Town  Hall,  120 

West  Point  Township,  natural  features, 
278;  neighboring  market  towns,  279; 
road  building,  279;  first  settlers  and 
land  owners,  279;  first  land  entry,  280; 
land  entries  of  1835,  280;  entries  in 
1S30-40,  2s  1;  churches.  2S2;  voters, 
282;  Ian. I  entries  1847-51,  283;  ap- 
praisement of   for  1915,  420 

Wheeler,  243 

Wheeler,  Clyde  C,  702 

Wheeler,   Lewis   E.,  340 

White,  Albeit  8.,  02,  113,  23  1;  Turpie's 
sketches     of,     93 

White,  Charles,  280 

White  County— Lands  classified,  I".;  early 
surveys,  40;  government,  0:1;  while  a 
part  of  Carroll,  00;  first  officers,  OH; 
act  creating  county,  01;  changes  in 
territory,  03;  first  county  officers,  tit; 
first  county  board  meeting,  04;  di- 
vided into  townships,  0-1  ;  population  in 
1850,  71;  population,  1890-1910,  81; 
growth  by  decades,  SO;  finances,  83; 
organization,  00;  early  conditions  in, 
121;  first  SChoolllOUSe  in,  122;  school 
system,  present  status  of,  135;  news- 
papers, 107;  newspapers,  general 
progress  of,  170;  county  in  military 
matters,  170;  sheep  country,  290;  first 
temperance  society,  381;  voted  dry  in 
October,  1910,  393;  Circuit  Court,  first 
judgment  of,  105;  county  in  1847-48, 
412;  first  marriage  in.  111;  first  ditch 
case  tried  in.  110;  County's  Early  lllli- 
ciary,  a  lady's  recollections  of,  420; 
appraisement  of  for  1915,  120 

White  County  Asylum   (view),  70 

White  County   Banner,  The.    170 

White  County  Board  of  Education,  rules 
and  regulations,  13  t 

White  County  Citizen,   100 

White   Count  >     Demoi  rat,    103 

White  Countj  Historical  Society,  317; 
charter   members,    103 

White  c,„,nty  Ju.-ksonian,   102 

White  <  "unt.v  l.n:,n,  Trust  and  Savings 
Company,  ■ 

Y\  lute  County   Medical  Society,   10  1 

White  Counlv    Register,    100 

White  Count}    Republican,  Ids 

White  c.univ    Temimrauco  Society,  382 

White,   Frank  J.,  582 

White,    I'.    J.,    328 


xlii 


INDEX 


White,  George   P.,   19 
White,  George  W.   I,.,  22 
White,   Isauc,    L8,    111,  02 
White.  John,  2M5 
White,  Jonathan,  255 
White,  Nathaniel,  247,  250,  293 
White,  William,  250. 
Whitman,  8.  T„  339 
Wickershnm,  Eliza,  508 
Wickeraham,  Job,  309,  340 
Wickersham,  K.  B.,  340 
Wickcrahum,  Thomas,  340 
Wiekham,  Thomas,  399 
Wieklow,   Peter,  201 
Wiese,   Kmil  Q.,   767 
Wigmore,  James  S.,  509 

Wiley,  A s,  201,  263 

Wiley,  K/.ekiel  H.,  226 

Wiley,  John,  274 

Wiley,    Mary,  274 

Wiley,  Thomas,  230,  260,  274,  371 

Wiley,  William,  -2-:r, 

Wilkens,  I.  M..  378 

Wilkinson,  B.  0.,  186 

Williams,  A.  ('..  749 

Williams,   B.,  374 

Williams,  George,  250 

Williams,  James,  225 

Williams,  John   W.,  272 

Williams,  Thornton,  250,  509 

Williamson,  Alexander,  290,  331",  3-4(5 

Wilmer,   William,  332 

Wilson,   Isaac,  221 

Wilson,  James  K.,  61,  74,  208,  343,  510, 

1019 
Wilson,  John,  61,  69,  I95j  246,  331,  339, 

382 
Wilson,  Joseph,  61,  205 
Wilson,  Joseph  ('.,  308 
Wilson,  Maria,  331 

Wilson,    -Mary    E.,    1020 

Wilson,  Itcubcn,  374 

Wilson,  Samuel,  892 

Wilson,   Samuel    C,   02 

Wilson,  Thomas,  (il,  (il,  69,  01,  OS,  195, 
204,  205 

Wilson,  William,  HI,  200,  205,  263,  3  17 

Wilson,    William   I).,  oil) 

Wimor,  John    W„  .".10 

Winegarner,  Joseph,  220 

Winklev,  John   M.,   17:; 

Winona   Club,   :;I7 

Winter,  J.   A.,  378 

Wirt,   Alvin   11.,  oil) 

Wirt,    Will    l».,  oil 

Witenburg,  Frederick,  377 

Witherow,   James,   247 

Wit/,    Alvin,   .121 

Wit/,    Marl  in,   oil 

Woleott,  founder  of,  261;  waterworks, 
349;  founding  of  the  town,  349;  town 
platted,  350;  coming  of  Anson  Wol- 
eott, 350;  Ih  -t  addition,  351  ;  .tenth 
of  the  founder,  351;  iuterests,  351; 
various  additions,  352;  town  commis- 
sioned high  school,  352;  Churches  and 
Societies,  353;  Masons,  354;  I.  <>. 
O.  P.  Bodies,  355;  Daughters  of  Re- 
bekah,  355;  Other  Lodges,  355; 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  355; 
Knights  of  Pythias,  355;  appraise- 
ment of  for  101.1,   12") 


Woleott,  Anson,    261,    350 

\\'..lr, lit,  Anson  (portrait),  200 

Woleott   Bauk,  352 

Woleott  Baptist   Church,   ;'■■".  I 

Woleott  Chapter,  No.  171,  O.  E.  S.,  355 

Woleott   Christian    Church,    353 

Woleott,  E.  G.,  201 

Woleott,  Ebon  II.,  351,  936 

Woleott  Enterprise,  The,   174 

Woleott  Lodge,   No.    180,   F.    &   A.   M., 

354 
Woleott  Methodist  Church,  353 
Woleott      Town      Commissioned      High 

School  (view),  353 
Wolever,  John  E.,  302 
Wolf,   Daniel,   60 
Wolfe,  Samuel,  511 
Wolg.am.uth,  L.  W.,  286 
Woltz,  George   B.,   199 
Woltz,  Thomas  J.,  340 
Wolvorton,   George,  978 
Wolverton,  Phillip,  295 
Women's  Clubs,  341 
Wood,  Aaron,  250 
Wood,  Anson,  254 
Wood,  Drury,  283 
Wood,  Enoch,  334 
Wood,  G.  G.,  336 
Wood,  James  E.,  512 
Wood,  John  A.,  154 
Wood,  J.  A.,  307 
Wood,  Lula,  330 

Wood,  William,  61,  64,  69,  91,  217 
Wood,  W.  H.,  374 
Wooden,    Russell,    133 
Woods,   James   K.,   219,   399 
Woods,    William,    21S,   997 
Worden,  Nathan  S.,  334      , 
Work,  A.  (>.,  302 
Worthington,  John,  512 
Worthington,  John  E.,  512 
Worthington,  Mary,  333 
Worthington,  Richard,     193,     195,     201, 

233 
Wright,  Charles,  61,  214,  217,  266 
Wright,  David,  255 
Wright,  Edney,  60 
Wright,  John    B.,    633 
Wright,  John  W.,  92,  98 
Wright,  Joseph    A.,   96 
Wright,  Reuben  II.,  340 
Wright,    If.  B.,  34S 
Wright,   Williamson,  92 
Wyuekoop,  Lewis  II.,  831 
Wynekoop,   William,  512 
Wynkoop,  Grant,  283 
Wynkoop,  James,  283 
Wynkoop,   William    W.,   255 
Wyoming,   418  . 

Ynniicv,   Jacob,   274 
York,  Jephtha,   226 
York,  Jol  ii,   226 
York,   Noble   J.,    209 
V'ork,   William,  225,  230 
York,    William   II.,  678 
Jfoung,   P.   K.,   133 
Young,  Jacob,   271 
\  oung,  John,  215,  218 
Young,   L.   A.,  341 
Young,  Samuel,  .121 
young,   Samuel    A.,    SI) 


INDEX  xliii 


Younger,  Joseph  V,  902  Zarse,  Minnie  H.,  885 

younkman,  David,  274  Zarse,  William,  »8o 

Jount,  Alexander,  339  Zeeker,  J.,  396 

Yom.t,  Daniel,  128,  272,  273  Zumbnelto,  M.,  378 

Youiit,  Elain,  274 


History  of  White  County 

CHAPTER  I 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SPECULATIONS 

Mound  Builders  Clung  to  the  Water  Courses — Chain  op  Prehistoric 
Forts  —  War  and  Domestic  Implements  —  Nature  op  Habits 
Inferred  prom  Relics — Somewhat  Commerclvl — No  Hieroglyph- 
ics or  Effigies — Conclusion:  "We  Know  Nothing" — Probably 
a  Race  of  Slaves — Perhaps  the  Most  Ancient  of  Peoples — Were 
They  Fathers  op  the  Toltecs? — A  Staggering  Cycle — Per- 
«iance,  the  Greatest  Wonder  of  the  World. 

The  instinct  of  the  normal  mind,  is  to  be  active,  whether  the  results 
of  its  exertions  are  of  practical  value  or  not.  Man  is  proud  of  his 
mental  nimbleness  and  especially  delights  in  speculating  as  to  his  o\vu 
origin  and  evolution.  There  is  no  subject  which  lias  given  him  such 
unfailing  pleasure  and  which  lias  been  the  source  of  a  greater  charm 
to  young  and  old  than  the  consideration  of  dead  types  of  civilization 
which  have  left  their  faint  finger-prints  in  architectural  ruins,  vast  sepul- 
chres, fortresses  of  war,  domestic  utensils  and  skeletons  of  man  and 
beast. 

In  the  impressive  remains  of  the  prehistoric  peoples  of  the  central 
Americas  the  speculator  reads  the  fact  that  in  the  very  dim  past  the 
most  advanced  civilization  of  the  western  hemisphere  was  near  or  in  the 
tropical  zone,  which,  during  that  period,  might  have  carried  with  it  the 
present  invigorating  elements  of  the  temperate  clime.  Whether  that 
nncicnt  American  civilization  originated  in  wanderers  from  the  orieut 
of  tin'  Old  World,  or  was  itself  the  father  of  what  has  been  thus  desig- 
nated with  questionable  authority,  is  a  subject  which  has  been  turned 
through  the  mill  of  ai-gument  and  logic  in  all  its  bearings  since  men 
commenced  to  use  their  eyes  and  minds  in  the  New  (?)  World. 

Mound  Builders  Clung  to  the  Water  Courses 

in  dim-  United  States  of  North  America,  the  prehistoric  races  were 
i  v\>\t  ntly  of  a  lower  order  than  those  of  Mexico,  Centra]  and  Northern 
Routli   America.    They  left  no  great  architectural  ruins  pointing  to  a 

"i..|  advancq  in  art,  mechanics,  and  even  astronomical  science,  but 

>  i  i    i 

1 


2  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

rather  rude  earthworks  and  burial  places,  as  of  seinieivilized  people,  who 
were  warring  among  themselves,  living  a.s  nomads  and  hunting  and  fish- 
ing along  the  valleys  of  the  great  waterways.  The  most  striking,  as 
well  as  the  most  general  tact  which  applies  to  the  Mound  Builders  of  the 
United  States,  whose  most  favored  haunts  were  the  valleys  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Ohio,  was  that  they  never  wandered  far  from  the  Great 
Lakes  or  the  Great  Kivers.  Therefore,  in  Indiana,  their  earthworks  are 
more  numerous  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  than  in  the  central 
or  northern.  In  White  County  itself  many  of  the  smaller  mounds  have 
been  found  on  the  hanks  of  the  Monon,  in  its  northern  sections,  espe- 
cially near  the  confluence  of  the  Little  and  Big  Monon. 

Chain  of  Pkehistoric  Forts 

As  stated  by  Smith,  in  his  History  of  Indiana,  the  mounds  in  the 
Iloosier  State  have  been  divided  into  three  classes,  designated  as  burial, 
temple  and  habitation  mounds.  It  is  evident  that  all  the  mounds  were 
built  by  the  same  race,  although  in  some  of  them  the  remains  of  a  later 
race  have  been  found  buried.  The  mounds  designated  as"  forts  have 
been  traced  from  the  southern  part  of  New  York  diagonally  across  the 
country  to  the  Wabash  River,  and  another  chain  from  the  Ohio  River, 
in  Clark  County,  northward  into  Madison  County;  thence  eastward  to 
Central  Ohio,  and  thence  southward  through  Kentucky  to  Tennessee.  It 
will  thus  bo  seen  that  the  valley  of  the  Wabash  was  a  most  important 
link  in  the  chain  of  fortifications,  which,  as  a  whole,  appear  to 
have  been  erected  in  an  effort  to  hold  the  great  rivet  valleys  against 
some  powerful  enemy;  in  historic  times,  the  French  fortified  the  same 
routes  against  the  English.  Who  were  the  warring  nations  in  the  times 
of  the  Mound  Builders  is  beyond  conjecture,  but  their  undeveloped  civ- 
ilization had  disappeared  long  before  the  traditions  of  the  red  man 
commenced  to  filter  into  the  racial  literature  of  the  western  world. 

War  and  Domestic:  Implements 

In  some  of  the  Indiana  mounds  ashes  and  charred  remains  of  animals] 
and  human  bones  have  been  found ;  in  others,  the  graves  contained  human 
skeletons  encased  in  stone  sarcophagi,  with  various  utensils  and  imple- 
ments of  war  and  domestic  use.  The  mortars  were  usually  made  ot 
bowlders  cut  into  bowl  shape  for  grinding  corn  and  seeds.  There  wen 
stone  axis  of  various  shapes,  and  scrapers,  peelers  or  fleshcrs.  Arrowi 
and  spear  beads,  drills  made  of  hard  stone,  knives  of  flint,  flint  saws 
[>ip<  -  artistically  carved,  crude  hoes  and  spades  and  ornaments  of  colored 
stone  abounded.  The  material  used  in  the  manufacture  of  pottery  wai 
u  clay  mixed  with  powdered  shells,  which  thus  formed  a  kind  of  cement 
of  greal  tenacity  and  fire-resisting  qualities.  The  specimens  of  pottorJ 
found  in  the  mounds  throughout  Indiana  are  rude  when  compared  Willi 
the  work  of  civilized  people  in  a  similar  line,  and  when  you  have  named 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNT?  3 

cooking  utensils,  water  vessels,  cups  and  vases  yon  have  about  completed 
the  scope  of  their  efforts. 

Nature  of  Habits  Inferred  from  Relics 

A  stud}-  of  such  relics  as  these,  in  connection  with  the  earthworks 
whose  indistinct  outlines  could  be  traced  until  advancing  industries  and 
modern  activities  of  air  kinds  leveled  them,  has  led  to  various  conclusions 
which  arc  of  ingenious,  and  of  speculative  interest.  Their  methods  of 
tilling  the  soil  must  necessarily  have  been  of  the  most  primitive  char- 
acter, for  their  implements  were  very  rude,  usually  chipped  out  of 
quartz.  No  bones  of  domestic  animals  have  been  found,  and  all  the 
tillage  of  the  soil  must  have  been  done  by  hand.  But  the  mounds  have 
yielded  many  implements  of  the  chase  and  others  evidently  designed  for 
the  treatment  of  furs  and  skins,  while  the  immense  shell  heaps  that  have 
been  unearthed  in  some  places  point  to  the  abundance  of  fish  food  in 
the  lakes  and  rivers.  As  they  were  compelled  to  rely  upon  the  chase, 
fishing  and  the  limited  cultivation  of  the  soil  for  subsistence,  they  did 
not  gather  in  large  bodies  or  centers  of  population.  One  of  the  strongest 
evictences  of  their  migratory  character  is  that  they  had  no  general  burial 
places. 

Nearly  all  the  burial  mounds  discovered  show  that  they  were  the 
resting  places  of  a  very  limited  number  of  individuals.  The  few  excep- 
tions only  prove  that  occasionally  a  considerable  number  found  such 
permanent  abiding  places  that  they  could  enjoy  the  historic  satisfaction 
of  burying  their  dead  in  companies. 

It  is  evident  from  the  discovered  specimens  of  cloth  that  the  Mound 
Builders  of  Indiana  and  the  Ohio  Valley  were  clad  in  what  resembled 
hemp  garments,  spun  with  a  uniform  thread  and  woven  with  a  warp 
and  woof.  A  shuttle  has  even  been  found.  While  this  cloth  was  of 
coarse  texture,  it  was  often  highly  ornamented. 

Somewhat  Commercial 

Archaeologists  have  concluded  that  the  comparatively  large  number 
of  copper  implements  present  in  the  mounds  of  the  Ohio  Valley  can 
lie  accounted  for  only  upon  the  supposition  that  the  Builders  were  in 
direct  touch  with  the  Lake  Superior  region.  They  were  to  some  extent 
a  commercial  people,  not  only  trading  for  Lake  Superior  copper,  but 
for  Georgia  mica. 

No  Hieroglyphics  or  Effigies 

As   noted,  they   were  somewhat  advanced   in   the   manufacture  and 
adornment  of  vessels  for  domestic  use,  but  on  none  o£  them  has  been 
found  a  letter  or  symbol  that  would  give  a  clew  as  to  the  language  01* 
origin  of  the  Mound  Builders.     It  has  been   the  theme  of  much   com 
inenl  on  the  part  of  those  who  dispute  the  theory  that  the  earthworks, 


4  HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY     • 

known  as  Effigy  mounds,  were  constructed  in  the  form  of  animals;  that 
such  forms  (corresponding  to  the  Indian  totems)  wore  never  repre- 
sented either  as  ornaments  or  structural  designs  in  the  various  bowls, 
vases,  water  jugs,  pitchers,  drinking  cups  and  sepulchral  urns  which 
have  been  unearthed  in  such  numbers. 

Conclusion:  "We  Know  Nothing" 

A  fair  example  of  the  way  in  which  American  archaeologists  have 
thrashed  out  the  problem. of  the  Mound  Builders,  with  the  final  conclu- 
sion that  they  really  know  nothing  more  than  when  they  commenced,  is 
given  in  Smith's  "History  of  Indiana"  iu  the  following  words :  "Noth- 
ing can  be  gathered  of  their  burial  customs.  It  is  true  that  quite  a 
number  of  skeletons  have  been  found,  but  their  positions  or  conditions 
give  no  clew  to  any  settled  or  definite  custom  of  disposing  of  the  dead. 
The  theory  has  been  advanced  that  they  were  cremationists,  and  urns 
have  been  found  which  enthusiasts  at  once  classed  as  burial  urns.  There 
is  little  or  no  foundation  for  the  cremation  theory.  In  some  of  the 
mounds  flat  stones  covered  with  charcoal  have  been  found.  Beneath 
the  stones,  in  a  sort  of  vault,  was  a  black  mold  which  has  been  taken 
.as  the  dust  of  the  dead  remaining  after  cremation.  There  is  no  stone 
in  Indiana  that  would  bear  heat  enough,  applied  in  that  way,  to  consume 
a  body  beneath  it.  The  presence  of  the  mold  can  be  accounted  for  in 
a  dozen  ways  that  are  far  more  reasonable. 

"It  has  been  held  that  in  religion  they  were  worshipers  of  the 
sun,  and  that  they  offered  human  sacrifices.  The  fact  that  all  the 
mounds  look  to  the  east  is  about  the  only  thing  upon  which  the  theory 
of  sun  worship  is  hinged,  and  that  proves  very  little.  Practically  there 
are  no  evidences  that  they  offered  human  sacrifices. 

Probably  a  Race  op  Slaves 

"Were  they  a  warlike  race.'  That  is  a  question  hard  to  determine. 
The  remains  of  their  fortifications,  except  in  a  few  instances,  are  of  low 
earthworks,  not  over  four  or  five  feet  high.  It  is  evident  that  they 
were  a  race  of  slaves,  and  such  a  race  is  seldom  warlike.  The  burial 
mounds  seldom  contain  more  than  two  or  three  skeletons,  and  the  posi- 
tions in  which  they  are  placed  give  evidence  that  one  was  the  superior 
and  the  others  the  inferiors.  The  crania  prove  the  same  fact.  With 
many  of  the  ancient  races  it.  was  the  custom  to  bury  one  or  more  slaves 
with  the  dead  ruler,  or  master,  and  this  was  likely  the  case  with  the 
Mound  Builders. 

Perhaps  the  Mo  t  Ancient  ok  Peoples 

"To  what  age  of  the  world  are  they  to  be  assigned?  TIow  many 
centuries  have  rolled  away  since  they  disappeared!  These  are  perplex- 
ing questions.      It  is  a  strange  thought  that  away  back  in  the  dim  past, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  5 

perhaps  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs,  there  existed  in  what 
we  delight  to  call  the  New  World,  a  people  numbering  millions,  who 
have  died  and  left  no  trace  of  their  history.  Even  the  Moabites  have 
left  their  stones  covered  over  with  strange  symbols,  but  the  Mound 
Builders  have  left  nothing  of  the  kind.  On  some  of  the  mounds  trees 
of  more  than  a  thousand  years  growth  are  standing.  The  most  ancient 
remains  of  man  found  on  the  earth  are  distinguished  by  the  flattening 
of  the  tibia,  and  this  peculiarity  is  found  in  an  exaggerated  degree  in 
those  of  the  Mound  Builders.  A  distinguished  writer  on  this  subject 
says:  'From  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  we  have  bones  at  least 
two  thousand  five  hundred  years  old ;  from  the  pyramids  and  catacombs 
of  Egypt,  both  mummied  and  unmummied  crania  have  been  taken  of 
still  higher  antiquity,  in  perfect  preservation ;  nevertheless,  the  skele- 
tons deposited  in  our  mounds  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  are  crumbling 
into  dust  through  age  alone.  The  peculiar  anatomical  construction  of 
the  few  remaining  crania  not  only  prove  the  Mound  Builders  to  have 
been  very  ancient,  but  that  they  were  wholly  unlike  any  other  race 
known  to  have  existed.  A  critical  examination  of  the  remains  of  this 
ancient  race  of  America,  and  a  comparison  with  those  of  all  the  other 
racesraf  the  world,  tend  to  throw  a  doubt  over  the  theory  that  all  man- 
kind descended^  from  one  common  father. 

' '  Of  other  races  we  know  something  of  their  origin.  We  can  account 
for  the  origin  of  all  the  races  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  but  no  one 
has  yet  been  able  to  tell  whence  sprang  the  American  Mound  Builders, 
nor  to  present  even  a  plausible  theory  on  that  much  disputed  point.  We 
examine  .the  relics  they  have  left  behind;  we  study  their  rude  carvings; 
we  measure  the  crania  of  their  dead,  and  then  we  put  this  and  that 
together  and  build  up  a  theory  as  to  their  origin  and  proper  place  in 
history;  but  all  we  can  do  is  to  theorize. 

Were  They  Fathers  of  the  Toltkcs? 

"That  the  Mound  Builders  antedated  by  many  years,  perhaps  cen- 
turies, the  Toltecs  of  Mexico,  can  hardly  be  doubted,  and  the  history  of 
the  Toltecs  can  be  traced  back  nine  centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  ancient  records  of  the  Toltecs  repeatedly  speak  of  a  great  empire 
to  the  northwest  of  them,  and  these  same  records  declare  that  the  Toltecs 
migrated  from  that  empire  to  Mexico,  and  it  is  supposed  that  this  migra- 
tion took  place  a  thousand  years  before  Christ.  Whether  the  Toltecs 
were  descendants  of  the  Mound  Builders  and  became  civilized  alter  their 
migration  to  Mexico  is  yet  an  unsettled  question.  If  the  great  empire 
referred  to  by  the  Toltecs  was  that  of  the  Mound  Builders,  it  becomes 
evident  that  the  origin  of  the  Mound  Builders  anil  their  first  occupa- 
tion of  American  soil  must  have  been  thousands  of  years  ago.  It  is 
beyond  all  question  that  they  disappeared  more  than  a  thousand  years 
ago.  Were  they  driven  out  by  the  Indians?  If  so,  what  a  vast  amount 
of  sympathy  we  have  wasted  on  the  Red  Men,  for  the  Whiles  have  only 
token  from  them  what  they  themselves  had  taken   by  violence  before! 


6  HISTORY  <>K  WHITE  COUNTY 

Had  the  Mound  Builders  come  into  America  by  way  of  Behring  Straits, 
as  has  been  claimed,  or  in  any  other  way,  it  is  apparent  that  some  of 
the  remains  of  the  race  from  whence  they  sprung  would  have  been  found 
in  some  of  the  old  countries. 

A  Staggering  Cycle 

"The  countless  years  they  must  have  lived  upon  this  soil  fairly 
staggers  us.  When  their  mounds  were  piled  up  and  their  fortifications 
erected  Babylon  was  yet  in  the  womb  of  time.  They  were  hoary  with 
tlie  frost  of  centuries  before  Romulus  and  Remus  traced  the  foundations 
of  the  Eternal  City.  Their  builders  had  been  moldering  in  the  dust 
fur  half  a  thousand  years  when  Alexander  swam  the  Hellespont.  The 
more  one  studies  the  works  of  this  ancient  people  the  more  he  is  lost 
in  wonder  that  a  race  so  numerous  and  powerful  could  so  completely 
have  passed  away  that  even  the  period  of  its  existence  is  the  merest  eon- 
jecture.  Il  is  as  if  they  had  existed  before  the  flood  and  that  the  mighty 
storm  which  Noall  and  his  family  alone  were  able  to  safely  outride,  had 
swept  them  suddenly  from  the  fare  of  the  earth  in- the  midst  of  their 
power  and  glory.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  they  were  utterly  annihilated 
by  another  race.  If  so,  whence  came  that  other  raee,  in  numbers  and 
power  great  enough  to  work  such  mighty  devastation.'  What  a  vast 
period  of  time  separates  us  from  the  Mound  Builders!  What  great 
strides  the  world  has  taken  since  they  disappeared!  From  the  stone 
age  to  the  age  of  steel,  what  wonders  have  intervened!  Truly,  the  Old 
World  has  passed  away  and  all  things  have  become  new.  There  is  a 
chasm  of  time,  of  history,  between  the  two  that  man  has  not  been  able 
to  bridge.  The  period  of  their  existence  is  a  blank  leaf  in  the  history  of 
the  world  that  has  not  been  written  over.  They  were  a  race  without  a 
written  language  of  any  kind. 

''Modern  civilization,  with  all  its  knowledge  and  wisdom,  stands  at 
the  edge  of  the  abyss  of  time  which  separates  the  present  from  the 
past,  when  this  buried  race  lived  and  flourished,  and  can  only  speculate 
as  to  its  origin,  its  life,  its  history  and  fate.  We  stand  upon  the  mounds 
erected  by  them  ami  wander  around  the  fortifications;  we  gaze  upon  the 
implements  of  warfare  left  behind  them,  dropped  perhaps  by  the  warrior 
stricken  by  death  and  never  touched  by  man  again  until  picked  up  by 
the  curious  seeker  after  relics  in  these  happy  times  of  ours;  we  look 
at  the  skeletons  as  they  are  unearthed,  speculate  and  theorize,  and  are 
forced  to  admit  that  of  their  time,  manners,  customs,  origin  and  fate — 
thi'  mystery  is  still  impenetrable." 

Perch  Wei:,  the  Greatest  Wonder  of  the  World 

Tli.-  picture   is  certainly  confused   when   the  scattered   and   diseon- 
lii'i'li'il   fragments  of  the  mysterious  race  point   to  a   people  <>f  slaves 
al    lie-  same  time,   to  a    nation   of  warriors;  to  a  semi-civilized    race  of 
if. I  hunters  and  fishermen,  yel  who  have  builded  an  empire  which 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  7 

the  Toltecs  remember  by  tradition;  to  a  seething,  unformed  conglomera- 
tion of  tribes  and  families,  spreading  over  the  valleys  and  prairies  of 
interior  America,  and  yet  completely  obliterated  either  by  ages  of  attri- 
tion, or  racial  displacement,  of  which  not  even  tradition  has  left  the 
faintest  clew.  The  entire  unsolved  problem  is  perhaps  the  greatest 
wonder  which  the  Creator  has  left  to  the  solution  of  mankind,  and  is 
the  weird  background  for  the  writing  of  any  history  which  would  picture 
the  authentic  development  of  the  splendid  country  which  was  once  held 
by  the  Mound  Builders  of  Ancient  America. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND 

Cartographic  Evidences — First  Record  op  the  Tippecanoe — Ver- 
sailles tiie  Colonial  Skat  of  Government — Indiana  as  a  Part  op 
New  France — Great  Chain  op  French  Forts — Indiana  Trading 
Posts — Governed  from  Vincennes — Indiana  Under  British  Rule 
— Semi-Civil  Government  at  Fort  Chartres — Uncertain  French 
Titles  to  Lands — As  a  Part  op  Canada — An  Extension  op  Vir- 
ginia— In  the  County  op  Illinois — TnE  Northwest  Becomes 
National  Territory — Popular  Assembly  for  the  Northwest 
Territory — Indiana  Territory  Created — First  Territorial  Leg- 
islature— Governor  Harrison,  Father  op  Indiana — Indian  Com- 
plaints Not  Groundless — Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet  Implacable 
— The  Battle  op  Tippecanoe — Sketches  op  Col.  Isaac  White — 
Indian  Stragglers  Settle  in  White  County — Changes  in  Gov- 
ernors and  Capitals — State  Constitution  Adopted  at  Corydon — • 
Indianapolis  Fixed  as  Permanent  Capital. 

As  we  approach  the  pages  of  history,  another  background  is  to  be 
painted  in  which,  although  it  is  not  concerned  with  speculation  entirely, 
has  little  practical  bearing  on  the  founding  and  growth  of  White  County. 
But  it  will  enable  the  reader  to  get  a  perspective — which  is  always  of 
advantage — and  to  obtain  a  clear  idea  of  the  relations  of  his  home  country 
to  the  various  governments  which  claimed  sovereignty  over  the  terri- 
tory which  is  now  the  soil  of  the  United  States,  Indiana  and  White 
County.  Such  information  has  therefore  a  cei'tain  domestic  value,  aside 
from  being  the  means  of  conveying  to  the  reader  a  definite  idea  of  who 
were  the  original  masters  of  the  soil  before  the  Indians  relinquished 
it  to  the  whites,  and  the  historical  processes  by  which  the  way  was  cleared 
for  the  establishment  of  the  civil  security  of  the  present. 

Cartographic  Evidences 

At  the  very  outset  of  the  incursion  of  the  first  Frenchmen  to  the 
Indian  country  of  what  is  now  Indiana,  there  is  uncertainty  as  to  the 
date  of  their  coming.  At  the  lust  it  ran  only  he  said  that  La  Salle 
and  his  men  were  engaged  in  their  explorations  ami  discoveries  down 
and  up  tin-  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  ami  their  tributaries,  for  about 
twenty  years  previous  to  the  assassination  of  the  preat  leader  in  1687, 
and  that  the  most  positive  evidence  as  l<-  their  actual  journeyings  in 

8 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  9 

Northwestern  Indiana  is  found  in  the  maps  which  were  issued  by  the 
Government  during  that  period.  Joliet's  large  map  of  1674  delineates 
La  Salle's  route  along  the  main  valley  of  the  Ohio,  but  indicates  no 
French  settlements  in  what  is  now  Indiana.  An  earlier  and  a  smaller 
map  shows  the  course  of  the  Ohio  as  the  result  of  La  Salle's  explorations 
which  commenced  in  1669.  Still  following  the  cartographical  evidence, 
it  is  probable  that  none  of  La  Salle's  parties  explored  the  branches  of 
the  Ohio  in  the  present  State  of  Indiana  until  during  the  later  period  of 
his  career. 

First  Record  of  the  Titpecanoe 

Franquelin's  map  of  1684  and  D 'Anville 's  map  of  "La  Salle's 
explorations  from  1679  to  1683,"  are  the  first  to  give  the  courses  of  the 
Wabash,  the  Tippecanoe,  the  Eel,  and  lesser  tributaries  of  the  Ohio 
system.  But  all  indication  of  French  settlements  is  absent  from  even 
these  later  maps,  although  La  Salle's  explorations  and  the  cartographic 
records  of  them  issued  by  the  French  government  constituted  the  basis 
of  its  territorial  claims  in  North  America.  But  for  twenty-iive  years 
at'terlLa  Salle's  death,  before  the  Miami  Confederation  of  Indians,  who 
had  abandoned  .their  homes  at  the  instigation  of  La  Salle  and  joined  the 
western  alliance  against  their  Iroquois  enemies,  returned  to  Indiana 
soil  under  the  protectorate  of  New  France.  Until  the  early  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  Ohio  country  claimed  by  France  was  not 
safe  from  the  incursions  of  the  Five  Nations,  consequently  no  French 
settlements  showed  on  the  maps  of  that  period — as  there  were  none. 

Versailles,  the  Colonial  Seat  of  Government 

From  La  Salle's  time  until  the  treaty  of  Paris  placed  New  Franco 
formally  in  the  hands  of  Great  Britain,  what  is  now  Indiana  was  governed 
from  Versailles,  old  France,  which  was  the  seat  of  the  colonial  office, 
orders  from  which  were  dispatched  to  the  governor  general  in  the  New 
World. 

Indiana  as  a  Part  of  New7  France 

A  panoramic  view  of  the  French  control  of  Indiana  is  well  presented 
by  Ur.  William  S.  Raymond,  for  twenty  years  one  of  the  most  scholarly 
and  prominent  citizens  of  Monticello  and  afterward  an  honored  resident 
of  Indianapolis  and  a  national  figure  in  Congress.  As  shown  in  his 
"  History  of  Indiana,"  published  six  years  before  his  death,  it  is  unfolded 
in  this  wise:  "In  1670,  and  for  many  years  previous,  the  fertile  region 
of  country  now  included  within  the  boundaries  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
was  inhabited  by  the  Miami  Confederation  of  Indians.  This  league  con- 
sisted of  several  Algonquin  tribes,  notably  the  Twightwees,  Weas,  Pianke- 
shaws  and  Shoekeys,  and  was  formed  at  an  early  period— probably  in 
the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century—  for  the  purpose  of  repelling 


10  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  invasions  of  the  [roqiiois,  or  Five  Nations,  at  whose  hands  they  had 
suffered  many  severe  defeats.  By  the  frequent  and  unsuccessful  vv.  rs 
in  which  they  were  compelled  to  engage  in  self-defense  their  numbers 
had  been  greatly  reduced  until,  at  the  date  mentioned,  they  could  not 
muster  more  than  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  warriors.  They 
dwelt  in  small  villages  on  the  hanks  of  the  various  rivers  in  Indiana  and 
extended  their  dominion  as  far  east  as  the  Scioto,  north  to  the  Great 
Lakes  and  west  to  the  country  of  the  Illinois.  Their  principal  settle- 
ments were  scattered  along  the  headwaters  of'  the  Great  Miami,  the 
banks  of  the  Maumec,  the  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  .Michigan,  the  Wabash  and 
its  tributaries.  Although  once  important  among  the  nations  of  the  Lake 
Region  they  had  become  greatly  demoralized  by  repeated  defeats  in  war, 
and  when  first  visited  by  the  French  their  villages  presented  a  very 
untidy  appearance.  They  were  living  in  constant  terror  of  the  Five 
Nations,  practicing  only  sufficient  industry  to  prevent  starvation  and 
indulging  all  their  vicious  passions  to  a  vulgar  extreme. 

Great  Chain  op  French  Forts 

"Almost  immediately  following  the  discovery  and  exploration  of 
the  Mississippi  by  La  Salle  in  1682,  and  a  few  years  later  by  James 
Marquette,  the  government  of  Prance  began  to  encourage  the  policy  of 
connecting  its  possessions  in  North  America  by  a  chain  of  fortifications 
and  trading  posts  and  missionary  stations,  extending  from  New  Orleans 
on  the  southwest  to  Quebec  on  the  northeast.  This  undertaking  was 
inaugurated  by  Lamottc  Cadillac,  who  established  Fort  Pontchartrain 
on  the  Detroit  River  in  1701. 

French-Indian  Amalgamation 

"At  this  period  the  zealous  Jesuit  missionaries,  the  adventurous 
French  fur  traders,  with  their  coarse  blue  and  red  cloths,  tine  scarlet, 
guns,  powder,  balls,  knives,  ribbons,  beads,  vermilion,  tobacco  and  rum; 
the  careless  rangers,  or  couivurs  des  bois,  whose  chief  vocation  was  eon- 
ducting  the  canoes  of  the  traders  among  tin'  lakes  and  rivers,  made  their 
appearance  among  the  Indians  of  Indiana.  The  pious  Jesuits  held  up 
the  cross  of  Christ  ami  unfolded  the  mysteries  of  the  Catholic  religion 
in  broken  Indian  to  those  astonished  savages,  while  the  speculating 
trader  offered  them  lire  water  and  other  articles  of  merchandise  in 
exchange  for  their  peltries,  and  the  rangers,  shaking  loose  every  tie  of 
blood  and  kindred,  identified  themselves  with  the  savages  ami  sank  into 
utter  barbarism." 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  were  always  cordially  received  bj  the  .Miami 
tribes.  These  Indians  would  listen  patiently  to  tile  strange  theory  of 
the  Savior  and  salvation,  manifest  a  willing  belief  in  all  they  heard,  and 
then,  as  if  to  entertain  their  visitors  in  return,  would  tell  them  Hie  story 
of  their  own  simple  faith  in  the  ManitOUS,  and  stalk  oil'  with  a  groan  'if 
dissatisfaction  because  the  missionaries  would  no!   m-ecpl   (heir  theorj 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  11 

with  equal  courtesy.  Missionary  .stations  wwc  established  at  an  early 
day  in  all  of  the  principal  villages  and  the  work  of  instructing  and  eon- 
verting  the  savages  was  begun  in  earnest.  The  order  of  religions  exer- 
cises established  at  the  missions  among  the  Miamis  was  nearly  the  same 
as  that  among  the  other  Indians.  Early  in  the  morning  the  missionaries 
would  assemble  the  Indians  at  the  church,  or  the  hut  used  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  after  prayers  the  savages  were  taught  concerning  the  Catholic 
religion.  These  exercises  were  always  followed  by  singing,  at  the  eon- 
clusii  of  which  the  congregation  was  dismissed,  the  Christians  only 
renuu  ling  to  take  part  at  mass.  This  service  was  generally  followed 
hy  prayers.  During  the  forenoon  the  priests  were  generally  engaged 
in  visiting  the  sick  and  consoling  those  who  were  laboring  under  any 
affliction.  After  noon  another  service  was  held  in  the  church,  at  which 
all  the  Indians  were  permitted  to  appear  in  their  finery  and  where  each, 
without. regard  to  rank  or  age,  answered  the  questions  put  hy  the  mis- 
sionary. This  exercise  was  concluded  by  singing  hymns,  the  words  of 
which  had  been  set  to  airs  familiar  to  the  savage  ear.  In  the  evening 
all  assembled  again  at  the  church  for  instruction,  to  hear  prayers  and 
to  sing  their  favorite  hymns.     The  Miamis  were  always  highly  pleased 

with  tie    latter  exercise. 

^  ... 

Aside  from,  the  character  of  the  religious  services  which  constituted 

a.  chief  attraction  in  the  Miami  villages  of  Indiana  while  the  early 
French  missionaries  were  among  them,  the  traveler's  attention  would 
first  be  engaged  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  fur  trade,  which  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  monopolized  by  the 
French.  This  traffic  was  not,  however,  confined  to  those  whose  wealth 
enabled  them  to  engage  vessels,  canoes  and  carriers,  for  there  were  hun- 
dreds scattered  through  the  various  Indi  in  villages  of  Indiana  at  almost 
any  time  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  who  carried 
their  packs  of  merchandise  and  furs  by  means  of  leather  straps  sus- 
pended from  their  shoulders,  or  with  the  straps  resting  against  their 
foreheads. 

Rum  and  brandy  were  freely  introduced  hy  the  traders,  and  always 
found  a  ready  sale  among  .the  Miami  Indians.  A  Frenchman,  writing 
of  the  evils  which  resulted  from  the  introduction  of  spirituous  liquors 
among  these  savages,  remarked:  "The  distribution  of  it  is  made  in  the 
usual  way;  that  is  to  say,  a  certain  number  of  persons  have  delivered 
to  each  of  them  a  quantity  sufficient  to  get  drunk  with,  so  that  the 
whole  have  been  drunk  over  eight  days.  They  begin  to  drink  in  the 
villages  as  soon  as  the  sun  is  down,  and  every  nighl  the  fields  echo  with 
the  most  hideous  howling." 

Indiana  Trading:  Posts 

hi  those  early  days  the  Miami  villages  of  tin-  Mauinee,  those  of  the 
Wens  abdui   Ouiatenon,  on  the  Wabash,  and  those  of  the  Piankeshaws 

around  Vinccnucs,  were  the  central  points  of  the  fur  trade  in  Indiana. 
Trading  posts  were  establi  lied  at   these  places  and  at   foil   Wayne  in 


12  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

17J'.),  although  for  twenty  years  previous  the  French  traders  and  mis- 
sionaries had  frequently  visited  them.  A  permanent  church  or  mission 
was  established  at  the  Piankeshaw  village  near  Vincennes,  in  1749,  by 
Father  Meurin,  and  the  following:  year  a  small  fort  was  erected  there 
by  order  of  the  French  government.  It  was  in  that  year  that  a  small 
fort  was  erected  near  the  mouth  of  the  "Wabash  River.  These  posts  soon 
drew  a  large  number  of  French  traders  around  them  and  in  1756  they 
had  become  quite  important  settlements,  with  a  mixed  population  of 
French  and  Indian. 

At  this  date  the  English  became  competitors  for  the  trade  with  the 
Indians  in  Indiana  and  the  surrounding  country,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
old  French  war,  in  1763,  when  Canada  and  its  dependencies  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  British,  this  monopoly  passed  over  to  the  victors. 
Notwithstanding  this  change  in  the  government  of  the  country,  the 
French  who  had  settled  around  the  principal  trading  posts  in  Indiana, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  swore  allegiance  to  the  British  government  and 
were  permitted  to  occupy  their  lands  in  peace  and  enjoy  the  slight 
improvements  they  had  wrought. 

i  Governed  from  Vincennes 

The  Post,  or  (lie  Old  Post — later  known  as  Vincennes — was  estab- 
lished in  17127  and  until  after  the  Revolutionary  war  was  the  only  white 
settlement  in  Indiana,  although  French  military  forts  were  established 
both  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee  and  at  Ouiatenon — the  latter  on  the 
Wabash,  about  eighteen  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe.  The 
post  at  Ouiatenon  is  claimed  to  be  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Indiana  and 
dated  from  1720.  From  its  settlement  until  it  was  finally  transferred  to 
Great  Britain,  Vincennes  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Orleans, 
although  its  trade  was  largely  with  Canada.  It  was  iu  command  of  a 
governor,  Francois  Margane,  Sieur  de  Vincennes  holding  that  office 
from  the  founding  of  the  post  until  his  death  in  1736.  During  that 
period,  therefore,  Indiana  was  under  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  Governor 
Vincennes,  and  indirectly  of  New  Orleans  and  Versailles. 

Indiana  under  British  Rule 

Vincennes  was  slain  in  battle  with  the  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  in  1736,  and  Louis  St.  Ange  commanded  Old  Vincennes  until 
1764,  or  a  short  time  before  it  was  finally  surrendered  to  the  British. 
In  May  of  that  year,  about  six  mouths  previous  to  the  proclamation  of 
General  Gage,  the  British  commander-in-chief  in  North  America, 
announcing  the  cession  of  the  country  of  the  Illinois  to  His  Britannic 
.Majesty,  St.  Ange  appointed  his  successor  to  the  command  of  the  Old 
Post  ami  started  for  i'ort  Chart  res  to  relieve  the  commandant  at  that 
post,  who  was  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans.  For  nearly  thirty  years 
he  had  led  and  governed  the  people  of  Old  Vincennes. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  13 

Semi-Civil  Government  at  Fort  Chartres 

On  the  10th  of  October,  1765,  St.  Ange  made  a  formal  delivery  of 
Fort  Chartres  to  Captain  Sterling,  representing  the  British  govern- 
ment. That  military  center  of  the  Illinois  country  became  the  first  semi- 
civil  seat  of  government  established  northwest  of  the  Ohio  and  includ- 
ing the  present  territory  constituting  the  State  of  Indiana.  Captain 
Sterling  in  turn  received  his  orders  from  General  Gage,  whoso  head- 
quarters were  at  New  York,  the  British  seat  of  colonial  government  in 
North  America. 

Fort  Chartres  was  a  very  unhealthful  place  and  Captain  Sterling,  its 
first  British  commandant,  lived  only  three  months  after  taking  posses- 
sion. In  September,  1768,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Reed,  in  command,  set 
up  a  sort  of  civil  government  for  the  Illinois  country.  Its  main  feature 
consisted  of  the  seven  judges,  who  constituted  the  first  court  west  of 
the  Alleghanies  and  retained  authority  until  1774,  when  the  British 
Farliam  ;nt  restored  civil  law  in  full  force. 

Uncertain  French  Titles  to  Lands 

The^teps  leading  to  the  formal  assumption  of  the  civil  administra- 
tion of  \lie  territory  embracing  Indiana  by  the  Canadian  authorities, 
with  Quebec  as  Hhe  seat  of  the  dominion  government,  are  thus  epito- 
mized: "The  arbitrary  act  of  General  Gage,  in  1772,  in  ordering  all 
the  whites  to  immediately  vacate  the  Indian  country,  aroused  the  set- 
tlers and  they  at  once  vigorously  protested.  They  declared  they  held 
the  title  to  their  lands  from  officers  of  the  French  government,  who 
had  a  right  to  convey  such  titles,  and  that  when  the  French  govern- 
ment transferred  the  territory  to  the  English  their  rights  were  duly 
protected  by  the  treaty  of  cession.  Gage  was  autocratic  and  determined, 
and  on  the  receipt  of  this  remonstrance  he  ordered  that  all  written  titles 
to  the  possession  of  the  lands  should  be  forwarded  to  him  at  New  York 
for  examination.  The  inhabitants  were  a  careless  set  and  mainly  igno- 
rant, and  had  failed  to  properly  care  for  the  written  evidence  of  the 
grants  made  to  them,  and  many  of  them  had  been  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  notary  who  had  drawn  them.  They  never  dreamed  of  any  ques- 
tion  ever  being  raised  as  to  their  right  to  the  lands  they  were  occupying 
and  had  been  occupying  for  nearly  half  a  century.  So  it  was  that  this 
last  order  of  Gage  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  poor  inhabitants. 
Some  deeds  were  found,  but  many  more  could  not  be  found.  An  appeal 
was  made  to  St.  Ange  at  St.  Louis.  lie  responded  by  reciting  that  he 
had  held  command  of  the  post  (Vincennes)  from  1736  to  1764,  and  that 
during  that  time,  by  order  of  the  governors,  he  had  conceded  many 
parcels  of  lands  to  various  inhabitants  by  written  concessions,  and  had 
verbally  permitted  others  to  settle  and  cultivate  lands,  of  which  they 
Tiad  been  in  possession  for  many  years.  Oiler  officers  certified  that 
many  deeds  had  been  carried  away,  others  removed  to  the  record  office 
of   tin-    Illinois    (at    Fort    Chartres)    and    still    others    bad    been    lost    or 

destroyed  by  pats.     But  the  British  government  bad  already  beard  the 


14  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

mutterings  of  discontent  in  the  eastern  colonies  and  did  not  want  to 
add  to  the  embarrassments  at  other  points,  and  in  1774  the  whole  terri- 
tory northwest  of  the  Ohio  was  pat  under  the  dominion  of  Canada." 

As  a  Part  ow  Canada 

When  tin-  Illinois  country,  or  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio, 
was  transferred  from  Prance  to  Great  Britain  about  a  decade  before, 
the  entire  population  did  not  exceed  600  families,  or  perhaps  4,000 
people,  and  when  it  came  under  the  government  of  Canada  it  was  con- 
siderably Jess,  as  many  Of  the  inhabitants  had  gone  to  St.  Louis,  New 
Orleans,  and  other  points  in  Louisiana. 

The  British  took  possession  of  Vinccnnes  in  May,  1777,  but  it  was 
captured  by  the  Americans  in  August  of  the  following  year,  who  relin- 
quished it  for  three  months  to  the  English,  when  it  was  recaptured  by 
Cen.  George  Rogers  Clark  and  became  forever  a  possession  of  the  United 
States. 

An  Extension  of  Virginia 

fe  During  the  Revolutionary  war  no  British  or  American  settlements 
wprc  made  within  the  limits  of  Indiana,  although  while  Genei'al  Clark 
was  in  authority  at  Vincennes  a  number  of  Americans  were  added  to 
the  post  settlement,  and  the  Indiaus  ceded  to  the  commandant  himself 
150,000  acres  of  land  around  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  River,  which  grant 
was  afterward  confirmed  by  Virginia  and  the  National  Congress.  As 
an  energetic  Keiituckian,  an  able,  brave  man,  of  military  genius,  and 
backed  by  the  Old  Dominion  and  the  statesmanship  of  Patrick  Henry, 
then  governor,  General  Clark  was  admirably  fitted  to  be  the  conqueror 
of  the  Northwest,  whether  fighting  against  the  British  or  the  Indians. 

In  the  County  of  Ilunois 

In  1778,  when  the  neus  of  Clark's  capture  of  Vincennes  and  Kas- 
kaskia  reached  Virginia,  its  assembly  passed  a  law  organizing  all  the 
territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  into  the  County  of  Illinois  and  placing 
Col.  John  Todd  in  control  as  county  lieutenant.  As  Kaskaskia  was  the 
scat  of  government,  Indiana  again  came  under  a  new  administration 
centering  ultimately  at  Uichmond,  Virginia.  Todd  arrived  at  his  cap- 
ital in  .May,  177D,  and  at  onec  commenced  his  administration  as  county 
lieutenant,  leaving  Clark  Tree  to  pursue  his  military  enterprises;  but 
he  himself  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Blue  Licks  in  1782.  Although  by 
statute  the  organization  of  the  County  of  Illinois  had  expired  in  1781, 
its  civil  officers  continued  to  exercise  power  and  grant  land  concessions 
until  the  pn  wage  of  tl dinai of  1787. 

'I'm.  Northwest  Becomes  National  Territory 

We  now  approach  the  period  of  stable  American  government,  when 
the  United  States  a;  a  nation  extended  its  jurisdiction  to  the  Cotmtv 


[IISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  15 

of  Illinois  and  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.  That  immense 
domain  was  claimed  by  Virigina  by  right  of  conquest,  hut  in  January, 
178:5,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Old  Dominion,  in  the  interests  of  the 
United  States,  ceded  to  the  National  Congress  all  its  rights,  title  and 
claims  to  that  great  land.  The  Virginia  deed  of  cession  was  accepted 
hy  Congress  in  the  spring  of  1784,  and  in  July,  1788,  Gen.  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  who  had  been  elected  by  Congress  governor  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory under  the  famous  ordinance  of  the  previous  year,  arrived  at 
Marietta,  Ohio,  to  take  over  the  civil  administration  of  the  national 
domain  now  included  within  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michi- 
gan and  Wisconsin.  At  that  time,  therefore,  the  future  tloosier  State 
was  governed  indirectly  from  Philadelphia  and  directly  from  Marietta, 
the  territorial  capital. 

Popular  Assembly  for  the  Northwest  Territorv 

Until  Indiana  was  organized  as  a  territory  in  1800  there  were  few- 
settlements  within  the  limits  of  the  present  state.  In  1798,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  ordinance  creating  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  pro- 
viding that  when  its  population  should  number  5,000  free  inhabitants, 
a  popular  assembly  was  elected  to  represent  the  Northwest,  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1799,  convened  at  Cincinnati,  whither  the  seat  of  government  had 
been  moved  from  Marietta.  Ten  members  of  the  upper  house,  of  coun- 
cil, were  then  appointed  by  President  Adams,  upon  recommendation  of 
the  elected  assembly,  and  when  the  two  bodies  met  at  the  new  terri- 
torial capital  in  September,  1799,  a  near  approach  to  popular  govern- 
ment had  been  effected  in  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River. 

Indiana  Territory  Created 

The  Legislature  selected  as  the  terril  'rial  delegate  to  Congress,  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison,  who  was  filling  Ike  position  of  secretary  of  the 
Northwest  Territory.  The  new  government  was  hardly  under  way 
before  the  tremendous  domain  over  which  it  had  jurisdiction  under- 
went its  first  carving,  under  authority  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  By 
act  of  Congress,  approved  May  7,  1800,  it  was  declared  that  "from  and 
after  the  fourth  of  July  next,  all  that  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river  which  lies  to  the  westward 
of  a  line  beginning  at  the  Ohio  opposite  the  inoulli  of  the  Kentucky 
river  and  running  thence  to  Fort  Recovery,  and  thence  north  until  il 
shall  intersect  the  territorial  line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
shall,  for  the  purpose  of  temporary  government,  constitute  a  separate 
territory  to  be  called  the  Indiana  Territory."  The  Seal  of  government 
was  fixed  at  Vincennes  and  William  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed 
governor.     He  reached  Vincennes  in  January,   1801,  the  gubernatorial 

duties  having  been  performed  since  the  pr 'ding  July  by  John  Gibson, 

secretary  of  the  territory. 


1G  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

First  Territorial  Legislature 

The  judges  ami  juries  were  soon  in  action  and  in  July,  1805,  the  first 
Legislature  of  the  Territory  of  Indiana  met  at  Vineennes.  At  that 
time  Indiana  had  been  shorn  of  Michigan  for  about  six  months,  aud 
in  180!)  Illinois  was  carved  away,  leaving  its  territory  as  at  present. 

Governor  Harrison,  Father  of  Indiana 

Governor  and  General  Harrison  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  father  of 
a  settled  and  secure  Indiana.  Within  five  years  from  the  time  he 
assumed  control  of  affairs,  both  civil  and  military,  he  had  perfected 
treaties  with  the  Indians  securing  cessions  to  46,000  square  miles  of 
territory,  Eluding  all  the  lands  lying  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio  River, 
between  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  River  and  the  western  boundary  of 
the  .State  of  Ohio.  At  the  same  time,  in  co-operation  with  the  Legisla- 
ture, be  guided  the  revision  and  improvement  of  the  territorial  statutes, 
and  at  bis  recommendation  Congress  established  several  land  offices. 
In  1801  three  were  opened — at  Detroit,  Vineennes  and  Kaskaskia,  re- 
spectively— and  in  1807,  a  fourth  at  Jeffersonville,  Clark  County. 

Indian-  Complaints  Not  Groundless 

Hut  despite  treaties  and  the  protection  of  the  National  Government, 
personified  by  such  a  rugged  character  as  Harrison,  the  original  lords 
of  the  soil  continued  to  show  just  causes  for  uneasiness  and  indignation. 
Even  the  governor,  in  his  1806  message  to  the  Legislature,  remarked 
that  they  were  already  making  complaints,  some  of  them  far  from 
groundless.  While  the  laws  of  the  territory  provided  for  the  same  pun- 
ishment for  offenses  committed  against  Indians  as  against  white  men, 
unhappily  there  was  always  a  wide  difference  in  the  execution  of  those 
laws.  Tin-  Indian  was,  in  all  cases,  the  sufferer.  That  partiality  did 
mil  escape  their  observation.  On  the  contrary  it  afforded  them  an 
opportunity  of  making  strong  comparisons  between  their  own  ol  servai  ce 
of  treaties  ami  that  of  their  boasted  superiors. 

During  the  period  from  1805  to  1810,  especially,  the  Indians  com- 
plained bitterly  against  the  encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  the  lands 
which  they  had  not  ceded.  Xot  only  the  invasion  of  their  favorite 
hunting  grounds,  but  the  unjustifiable  killing  of  many  of  their  people, 
were  frequent  charges  which  they  brought  to  the  attention  of  Harri- 
son, An  old  chief,  iu  laying  the  troubles  of  his  people  before  the  gover- 
nor, said  earnestly  :  "Von  call  us  your  children  ;  why  do  you  not  make  us 
as  happy  a-;  our  lathers,  the  French,  did  :  They  never  I  ok  from  us  our 
lands;  indeed,  they  were  iu  common  between  us.  They  planted  where 
they  pleased]  and  they  cut  wood  where  they  pleased;  and  so  did  v.e. 
Bui  now,  if  a  poor  Indian  attempts  to  take  a  little  bark  from  a  tree  to 
cover  him  from  tin'  rain,  up  comea  a  white  man  and  threatens  to 
him,  claiming  the  tree  as  his  own." 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  17 

Tecuaiseii  and  the  Prophet  Implacable 

All  such  complaints  found  voice  in  Tecumseh  and  his  brother,  the 
Prophet,  the  one  playing  upon  the  superstitions  and  passions  of  the 
Indians  and  the  other  organizing  them  into  a  strong  confederacy,  which 
was  to  control  the  disposition  of  lands  instead  of  allowing  thein  to  be 
ceded  by  separate  and  disunited  tribes.  Both  in  1808  and  1809  the 
Prophet  visited  Hai'rison  at  Vincennes  to  assure  him  of  hLs  friendliness 
and  to  protest  against  the  charge  that  he  and  Tecumseh  were  in  league 
with  the  British.  In  the  later  part  of  the  year  1809  it  was  estimated  that 
the  total  quantity  of  land  ceded  to  the  United  States  under  treaties 
which  had  been  effected  by  the  governor  exceeded  30,000,000  acres;  and 
all  of  these  concessions  were  accomplished  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
influence  of  Tecunisrf^  and  the  Prophet;  but  the  break  between  these 
powerful  leaders  of  the  white  and  the  red  races  was  near  at  hand. 

In  July,  1810,  Governor  Harrison  made  an  attempt  to  gain  the 
friendship  of  the  Prophet  by  sending  him  a  letter  offering  to  treat  with 
him  personally  in  the  matter  of  his  grievances,  or  to  furnish  means  to 
send  him,  with  three  of  his  principal  chiefs,  to  the  President  at  Wash- 
ington. The  bearer  of  this  letter  was  coldly  received  both  by  Tecumseh 
and  the  Prophet^  and  the  only  answer  he  received  was  that  Tecumseh, 
in  a  few  days,  would  visit  Vincennes  and  interview  the  governor;  this 
he  did,  with  seventy  of  his  principal  warriors,  in  the  following  month. 
For  over  a  week  conferences  were  carried  on  with  the  haughty  Shawnee 
chief,  who  on  the  20th  of  August  delivered  an  ultimatum  to  Harrison, 
to  the  effect  that  he  should  return  their  lands  or  fight. 

While  the  governor  was  replying  to  Tecumseh 's  speech,  the  Indian 
chief  interrupted  him  to  declare  angrily  that  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, through  General  Harrison,  had  "cheated  and  imposed  on  the  In- 
dians." Whereupon  a  number  of  the  Indian  warriors  present  sprung 
to  their  feet  and  brandished  their  clubs,  tomahawks  and  spears.  The 
governor's  guards,  which  stood  a  short  distance  off,  marched  quickly  up, 
and  the  red  men  quieted  down,  Tecumseh  b<  ing  ordered  to  his  camp. 

On  the  following  day  Tecumseh  apologized  and  requested  another 
interview.  The  council  was  thereupon  reopened,  but  while  the  Shawnee 
leader  addressed  Harrison  in  a  respectful  manner,  he  did  not  recede  from 
Ins  former  demand  as  to  the  restoration  of  the  Indian  lands. 

The  governor  then  requested  Tecumseh  to  state  plainly  whether  or 
not  the  lands  purchased  at  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Wayne  in  ISO!)  could  In; 
Burveyed  without  molestation  by  the  Indians,  and  whether  or  not  the 
Kickapoos  would  receive  their  annuities  in  payment  for  ouch  cession. 
The  proposed  grant  was  partly  in  Illinois,  p  Teeumseli  replied  :  "  Brother^ 
when  yon  speak  of  annuities  to  me,  I  look  at  the  land  and  pity  the  women 
ami  children.  I  am  authorized  to  say  that  they  will  not  receive  them. 
Brother,  we  want  to  save  that  piece  of  land.  We  do  not  wish  yon  to  take 
it.  It  is  small  enough  for  our  purpose.  If  you  do  take  it,  you  must 
blame  yourself  as  the  cause  of  the  trouble  between  us  and  the  tribes  who 
.-.old   it  to  you.     I  want  the  prcscm"   boundary  line  to  continue.     Should 





18  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

you  cross  it,  I  assure  you  it  will  be  productive  of  bad  consequences.'* 
This  talk  terminated  the  council. 

On  the  following  day  Governor  Harrison,  attended  only  by  his  in- 
terpreter, visited  Tecumseh's  camp  and  told  him  that  the  United  States 
would  not  acknowledge  his  claims.  "Well,"  replied  the  Indian,  "as 
the  great  chief  is  to  determine  the  matter,  I  hope  the  Great  Spirit  will 
put  sense  enough  into  his  head  to  induce  him  to  direct  you  to  give  up 
this  land.  It  is  true,  he  is  so  far  off  he  will  not  be  injured  by  the  war. 
He  may  sit  still  in  his  town  and  drink  his  wine,  while  you  and  I  will 
have  to  fight  it  out."  ) 

Tecumseh's  last  visit  to  the  governor  previous  to  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  which  crushed  the  red  man's  power  in  Indiana  and  the 
Northwest,  was  on  July  27,  1811.  He  brought  with  him^a  considerable 
force  of  Indians,  but  that  showing  was  offset  by  the  750  well-armed 
militia  which  Governor  "Harrison  reviewed  with  some  ostentation.  The 
interview  was  conciliatory  on  the  part  of  Tecumseh,  who,  however,  re- 
peated that  he  hoped  no  attempts  would  be  made  to  settle  on  the  lands 
sold  to  the  United  States  at  the  Fort  Wayne  Treaty,  as  the  Indians  wished 
to  keep  them  for  hunting  grounds.  He  then  departed  for  the  express 
purpose  of  inducing  the  southern  Indians  to  join  his  confederacy. 

The  Battle  op  Tippecanoe 

While  Tecumseh  was  absent  on  that  mission  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe was  fought  under  the  leadership  of  the  Prophet,  and  Indiana  be- 
came white  man 's  land  forever.  After  Governor  Harrison  had  exhausted 
every  means  to  maintain  peace  with  the  Indian  leader  he  resorted  to 
decisive  military  measures.  His  army  moved  from  Vincennes  in  Sep- 
tember, 1811 ;  he  built  a  new  fort  on  the  Wabash  in  the  following  month, 
resumed  his  march,  and  on  the  6th  of  November,  after  an  unsatisfactory 
conference  with  a  representative  of  the  Prophet,  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  town,  encamped  on  the  battleground,  six  miles  north  of  the  present 
City  of  Lafayette.  The  selection  of  that  location  is  said  to  have  been  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  Indians,  who  pronounced  it  a  good  place  for  a 
camp ;  the  Prophet  may  therefore  to  be  said  to  have  selected  the  ground 
on  which  his  people  met  with  such  signal  defeat. 

General  Harrison's  force  consisted  of  about  250  regular  troops,  600 
Indiana  militia  and  150  volunteers  from  Kentucky.  Just  before  day- 
break of  the  7th  of  November  the  Indians  made  a  sudden  attack  on  that 
part  of  the  camp  guarded  by  the  militia.  They  broke  at  the  first  on- 
slaught,  but  soon  reformed,  and  the  entire  body  of  Americans  presented 
a  determined  front  to  the  wily  foe,  but  did  not  attempt  an  offensive 
until  it  was  light,  when  several  gallant  charges  were  made  by  the  troops 
and  the  Indians  totally  defeated.  The  Indians  being  familiar  with  the 
ground  had  been  able  to  inflict  severe  losses  on  the  Americans.  Among 
the  killed  were  Maj.  Jo  Daviess,  the  gifted  and  brave  Kentuckian  and 
Col.  Isaac  White,  the  gallant  Virginian,  who  fell  side  by  side  while  lead- 
ing a  charge  of  dragoons. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  19 

Sketch  of  Cor,.  Isaac  White 
By  George  F,  White 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  county  \v;is  named  in  honor  ol'  so 
brave  a  gentleman  as  Col.  Isaac  White,  an  interesting  sketch  of  whom 
lias  been  written  by  his  grandson,  George  P.  White.  As  stated  by  the 
author,  "much  of  the  information  was  gained  orally  from  his  father, 
some  from  his  cousins  in  Virginia  and  some  from  old  letters." 

The  article  follows:  "Isaac  White  was  born  in  Prince  William  County, 
Virginia,  shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  The 
exact  year  is  not  known,  but  from  the  record  of  his  initiation  in  1811, 
as  member  of  Vincennes  Lodge  No.  1,  F.  &  A.  51.,  in  which  he  states  bis 
age  was  then  thirty-live  years  and  from  certain  interesting  family  notes 
written  by  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Hayden,  it  is  likely  he  was  bora  in  177b.  His 
father  was  probably  of  English  origin  and  was  a  man  of  education, 
refinement  and  good  standing  for  before  he  settled  in  Virginia,  he  held 
a  captain's  commission  in  the  British  Merchant  Marine  Service.  Sur- 
rendering this  office  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Prince  William 
County,  and  devoted  himself  to  farming  until  the  Revolution  began  when 
he  took  up  arms  with  the  colonies  and  lost  his  life,  near  the  close  of  the 
conflict,  nobly  battling  for  his  country. 

"The  eld  house  where  he  lived,  a  substantial  stone  structure,  indicat- 
ing a  home  of  refinement  and  luxury,  is  still  standing  in  an  excellent, 
state  of  preservation,  near  Brentsville,  Virginia,  the  county  seat  el' 
Prince  William  County.  In  this  home  Isaac  White  was  horn  as  was  also 
! i i ^  elder  brother,  Thomas,  and  one  younger  sister,  Katie,  and  here  lie 
continued  to  live  with  his  mother,  assisting  her  as  he  grew  in  age  and 
experience  until  he  was  past  twenty-three  years  old,  when  an  unhappy 
event  iii  his  mother's  life  impelled  him  and  his  brother  Thomas  to  seek  a 
more  adventurous  career  in  the  great  Northwest  Territory. 

"It  seems  that  one  day  when  the  two  sons  and  all  the  male  tenants 
of  the  plantation  were  absent,  a  strange  man  called  at  the  house  and 
asked  for  something  to  eat,  and  in  accordance  with  the  hospitality  of 
[hose  days,  his  request  was  at  once  granted  but,  not  satisfied  with  such 
kindly  treatment,  be  demanded  of  her  the  keys  to  the  drawers  where  the 
family  treasures  were  kept.  She  refused  and  he  tried  to  get  them  from 
her  by  force.  Her  screams  attracted  the-  attention  of  a  neighbor  who, 
hs  the  account  states,  was  'a  bachelor  gentleman,'  on  a  hunting  expedition, 
"ho  lushed  in  and  brained  the  would-be  robber  at  mice.  For  this 
chivalrous  act  he  was  arrested,  tried,  acquitted  and  wholly  exonerated 
from  all  blame.  As  stated,  he  was  'a  bachelor  gentleman.'  she  a  widow. 
His  was  a  heart  innocent,  confiding  and  susceptible,  while  she.  like  must 
widows,  was  conversant  with  all  the  wiles  and  snares  which  so  beset  the 
pathway  of  bachelors,  lie  was  weak.  She  was  strong,  lie  surrendered  : 
they   were   married   and   'lived   happily  ever  after.1 

"Of  course  her  two  sons,  Thomas  and    Isaac,  objected   to  this  union. 

hi  io  no  nvail.     However,  they  remained  willi  theii    mother  until  their 

Bister   Katie  was  married,  and   then   with   only  a  small   amount   id'  money 


20  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

loft  home  and  went  to  Vincennes,  which  was  soon  to  become  the  Capitol 
of  tho  Northwest  Territory.  This  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1800.  His  appearance  at  Vincennes  created  some  excitement,  as  he 
was  full  of  spirit,  well  bred,  dashing  and  a  general  favorite  with  all, 
but  especially  with  the  young  ladies.  Mrs.  Hayden's  notes  are  full  of 
references  to  the  family  of  Judge  George  Leech,  then  living  at  Vincennes, 
and  .•specially  of  his  oldest  daughter,  Sallie,  who  soon  succeeded  in 
capturing  the  heart  and  affections  of  our  hero. 

"Such,  in  brief,  is  the  account  coming  to  us  from  Mrs.  Ilayden, 
whose  mother  was  formerly  Miss  Amy  Leech,  a  sister  to  Sallie,  who 
became  the  wife  of  the  subject  of  this  article.  This  Amy  Leech  subse- 
quently Became  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  John  Marshall,  for  many  years 
President  of  the  Bank  of  Illinois,  at  Shawneetown,  Illinois. 

"Isaac  White  was  somewhat  aristocratic,  his  wife  seems  to  have  been 
an  honest  well-meaning  backward  girl  of  her  period,  but  their  marriage 
was  a  most  happy  one.  Jt  is  thought  Judge  Decker  officiated  at  the 
wedding  which  was  some  event  as  the  wedding  dinner  is  said  to  have 
been  quite  an  elaborate  affair. 

"This  gentleman,  -Judge  George  Leech,  into  whose  family  Isaac  White 
married,  had  emigrated  from  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  Vincennes,  in  1784, 
and  the  members  of  his  family  had  each  selected  homesteads  in  Knox 
County,  bul  after  three  years  of  hardships  among  the  Indians,  all  except 
Francis  Leech,  who  had  died,  moved  back  to  Louisville,  but  nine  years 
later,  in  J7t)(>,  Judge  Leech  moved  back  again  ti  Vincennes,  but  the 
Governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory  refused  to  allow  him  to  re-occupy 
his  old  home,  though  it  was  vacant,  and  he  was  compelled  to  occupy  the 
land  which  had  been  hi.s  brother's.  After  William  Henry  Harrison  was 
appointed  Governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  Judge  Leech  was  granted 
one  hundred  acres  more  land  which  he  gave  as  a  mariage  present  to  his 
daughter,  and  to  this  day  it  is  known  as  the  'White-Hall'  farm  in  Knox 
County,  Indiana,  and  this  was  the  nucleus  of  a  very  considerable  estate 
which  Isaac  White  acquired  subsequent  to  his  marriage. 

"They  were  encompassed  with  the  many  hardships  incident  to  pio- 
neer life,  but  they  were  surrounded  by  good  neighbors  and  when  their 
home  was  destroyed  by  fire,  se  good  friends  rebuilt  for  them  a  substan- 
tial log  residence  in  which  their  only  child,  George  Washington  Leech 
White,  was  bom.  That  the  family  of  Isaac  White  was  refined  and 
highly  respectable  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  a  strong  friendship  was 
cemented  between  it  and  the  family  of  Governor  Harrison  which  has 
been  transmitted  to  their  successors. 

"On  April  30,  1805,  Governor  Harrison  appointed  Isaac  White 
Agent  for  tie-  United  States  at  the  Salt  works  at  Saline  Creek,  Illinois, 
IUXIS  to  the  village  of  Kquality  in  Gallatin  County,  Illinois.  Here 
Isaae  employed  John  Marshall,  a  man  of  sterling  character,  who  aft  to- 
ward became  a  banker  an. I  acquired  a.  splendid  reputation  in  Indiana  and 
Illinois.  The  following  year  Mr.  Marshall  married  the  younger  i  ter 
of  Mrs.  White,  Miss  Amy  Leech.  This  wedding  occurred  October  21, 
1mm;,  and  the  day  following  both  White  and  Marshall,  accompanied  by 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  21 

their  wives,  departed  for  the  .Salt  works.  On  September  8,  1806,  Gov. 
Harrison  appointed  Isaac  White  Captain  of  the  Kno.\  County   Militia 

ml  on  September  lUth,  of  the  same  year,  his  oath  of  office  was  taken 
before  'William  II.  Harrison.' 

''The  Salt  works  did  not  long  survive.  The  Act  of  Congress  of  March 
I,  1S03,  authorized  the  leasing  of  the  springs  belonging  to  the  govern- 
ment and  White,  in  1807,  had  acquired  an  interest  in  the  Salt  works 
which  he  held  until  just  before  his  death,  when  he  disposed  of  it  to 
Wilkes,  Taylor  &  Co.,  and  returned  to  Vincennes. 

"While  living  at  the  Salt  works  he  had  two  daughters  born  to  him, 
Harriet  Grandison,  June  12,  1808,  and  Juliet  Greenville,  on  July  30, 
1.810.  While  he  was  employed  at  the  springs,  White  was  commissioned 
a  Colonel,  probably  iu  the  Illinois  Militia,  which  organization  was  per- 
fected under  the  Act  of  Congress  of  February  3,  1801).  This  commission 
is  now  lost  but  there  is  little  doubt  of  its  having  been  issued  to  him. 
Shortly  after  he  was  commissioned  Colonel,  occurred  one  of  the  most 
important  incidents  connected  with  his  life.  Duelling  was  at  that  time, 
pot  uncommon,  especially  in  military  circles,  but  Col.  White  had  a  great 
antipathy  to  that  method  of  settling  differences  that  arose  between 
men.  On  May  23,  1811,  he  wrote  a  tender  and  pathetic  letter  to  his  wife 
saying  that  on  the  ne^xt  day  he  would  fight  a  duel  with  one  Captain 
Butler,  who  had  offended  him,  and  when  his  offense  had  been  resented 
had  challenged  him  and  he  had  accepted.  He  tells  his  wife  in  this  letter 
to  sell  'Sukey  and  the  children'  and  from  the  proceeds  buy  a  slave  in 
the  Territory  and  then  having  written  his  will,  bids  his  wife  a  tender 
farewell. 

"Their  meeting  took  place  on  time  at  a  place  now  called  Union 
Springs,  Kentucky,  opposite  Shawneetown,  Illinois,  but  the  result  was 
somewhat  different  from  what  might  have  been  expected.    By  the  rules 

overning  the  code  the  challenged  party  could  choose  the  weapons  and 
the  distance;  availing  himself  of  this  privilege,  Col.  White  chose  horse 
pistols  at  a  distance  of  six  feet.  Captain  Butler  protested,  saying  that 
it  meant  certain  death  to  both,  but  WThite  insisted  that  he  had  the  right 
to  name  the  weapons  and  fix  the  distance  whereupon  Butler  Left  the  field 
and  the  little  affair  of  honor  was  ended.  In  view  of  the  Ordinance  of 
1787,  which  prohibited  Slavery  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  il  may  seem 
grange  that  he  would  advise  his  wife  to  'sell  Sukey  and  the  children' 
pid  invest  the  proceeds  in  a  slave  in  the  Territory,  but  it  is  a  fact  that 
Slavery  existed  for  many  years  in  the  Territory  and  in  that  part  which 
is  now  comprised  within  the  limits  of  our  own  slate. 

"The  records  of  Vincennes  Lodge  No.  1,  F.  <!o  A.  M,  disclose  the  fact 
thai  on  September  18,  181 1,  Isaac  White  was  raised  to  the  sublime  degri  e 
bf  a  Master  .Mason  in  said  lodge,  by  Joseph  Hamilton  Daviess,  Grand 
Uii  hi- of  Kentucky.  Daviess  was  a  Major  from  Kentucky,  who  had  come 
t»  Vincennes  to  offer  his  services  to  Gov.  Harrison,  in  hi  projected 
wiinpaign  against  the  Indians,  in  the  Wubusli  Valley-  Willi  llio  consent 
"f  his  friend,  .Major  Daviess,  White  joined  the  eNpcililion  iu  the  capac- 
ity of  a  private  soldier,  which  accounts  [or  his  name  being  on  the  south 


22  UlSTOltY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

iiMri  of  ilu-  l',.:tilr  Ground  Monument,  among  the  37  privates  killed  in 
thin  battle.  J I  is  is  the  last  name  but  one  on  this  tablet.  They  left 
\  iin,  inns  on  Sept. ■inliiT  2G,  LS11,  and  on  their  departure,  Daviess  and 
White,  notwithstanding  one  was  a  Major,  and  the  other  a  private,  ex- 
changed swords,  and  when  they  were  afterwards  found  on  the  battle- 
field, each  had  the  other's  sword.  Lieut.  George  Leech,  brother-in-law 
of  White,  .says  both  were  buried  in  one  grave  under  an  oak  still  stand- 
ing ikiI  Jar  from  the  grave  iii  which  the  other  dead  were  placed  and  some 
logs  we iv  hastily  rolled  over  the  grave  aud  burned  that  the  Indians 
might  not  be  able  to  discover  and  loot  the  grave,  but  all  to  no  avail,  for 
as  soon  as  the  soldiers  left,  their  bodies  were  exhumed  by  the  Indians 
and  left  to  wither  aud  rot  on  the  ground.  Isaac  White  was  thirty-six 
years  of  age  when  he  met  his  death,  yet  he  left,  what  for  that  period, 
was  a  considerable  fortune,  for  notwithstanding  his  well  known  liber- 
ality, he  died  seized  of  several  thousand  acres  of  land  in  addition  to  a 
fair  amount  of  personal  property.  He  was  a  man  of  chivalrous  man- 
ner, kindly  and  generous  disposition  and  well  beloved  by  his  associates. 
In  1816,  Lis  widow  married  for  her  second  husband,  Samuel  Marshall, 
brother  of  John  Marshall,  with  whom  she  lived  until  her  death  in  1819. 

"Isaac  White  left  three  children,  one  of  which,  George  Washington 
Leech » White,  afterward  became  a  prominent  citizen  of  Indiana  and 
served  his  country  in  the  Black  Hawk  War; 

"Harriet  Grandison  White,  who  married  Albert  Gallatin  Sloo,  at 
'White-Hall'  farm  in  Knox  County,  and  Juliet  Greenville  White,  who 
married  James  Huffman.  From  Isaac  White's  son,  who  marriage  Miss 
Eli/oi  (Jrilliu  Fauntleroy,  of  Kentucky,  have  descended  many  quite  prom- 
inent people. 

"ll\  his  Will,  written  with  his  own  hand  the  day  before  his  duel  was 
to  have  been  fought  with  Captain  Cutler,  he  ordered  the  pa,\  menl  of  all 
his  debts:  to  his  wife  he  gave  all  his  household  and  kitchen  furniture  and 
two  hundred  acres  of  land,  in  the  same  item  charging  her  with  the  proper 
rearing  of  his  children,  and  expresses  the  hope  that  his  son,  George,  be 
given  a  classical  education  and  especially  that  he  be  taught  fencing:  as 
to  the  two  girls,  they  were  to  lie  given  'a  good  English  education.'  He 
ciws  to  his  neighbi  rs,  Charles  White  and  John  Justice  Jfi-l  acres  aud 
seventy  poles  of  land,  one  moiety  to  each,  with  certain  restrictions,  and 
also  'To  my  niece,  Betsey  White,  one  mare,  saddle  and  bridle,'  to  be  worth 
in  cash  $100.  Let  us  indulge  the  hope  that  Betsey  fully  enjoyed  her 
equine  gift. 

"The  will  then  gives  to  his  son  George  all  the  residue  of  his  estate  out 
of  which  he  is  to  pay  to  his  sister  Harriet,  at  her  majority  or  marriage, 
■r  1 ,500  and  In  bis  sister  Juliet  on  the  same  contingency  he  is  to  pay  $J  ,000, 
This  Will  is  dated  -Jay  23,  1811,  and  is  duly  witnessed  b.\  G  C.  Harll 
and    I'Ya'u  i  ,    I ell." 

Several  counties  in  I  his  state  are  named  in  honor  of  those  wl  i  were 
vagnf.  i  d  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  and  when  White  County  was  organ- 
ized in  183-1,  it  look  its  uame  from  Isaac  White,  the  subject  of  this  article. 
On  November  7,  [83(5,  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  this  battle,  John 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  23 

Tipton,  who  then  owned  the  Tippecanoe  Battle  Ground,  and  who  was  also 
present  in  the  engagement,  conveyed  the  grounds  to  the  Stale  of  Indiana, 
and  the  constitution  oi'  our  state  makes  it  obligatory  on  the  Legislature 
to  forever  maintain  it  in  memory  of  tlio.se  who  participated  in  the  battle. 
For  many  years  efforts  were  put  forth  by  various  organizations  to  induce 
the  state  and  Federal  governments  to  erect  a  monument  over  the  graves 
of  those  who  were  buried  there;  but  not  until  November  7,  lttUS,  were 
their  efforts  crowned  with  success.  On  the  last  named  date,  being  the 
ninety-seventh  anniversary  of  the  battle,  was  unveiled  the  Splendid 
obelisk  which  now  towers  over  the  graves  where  in  solitude  and  silence 
for  more  than  a  century,  have  lain  tbe  bodies  of  those,  who  f.  11  in  this 
action.  It  was,  judged  from  the  men  engaged,  a  mere  skirmish,  but  in 
its  results,  it  was  one  of  tbe  most  important  battles  ever  fought  on  this 
continent. 

May  we  ever  hold  in  loving  memory  the  hero  after  whom  our  goodly 
county  is  named! 

Biography  by  B.  Wilson  Smith 

The  author  is  pleased  to  add  to  the  foregoing  the  main  portions  of 
the  very  interesting  biography  of  Colonel  White  written  by  B.  Wilson 
Smith  and  published  in  the  historical  edition  of  the  Monticello  Herald, 
December  8.  1910;  the  omissions  are  those  portions  of  the  sketch  which 
would  be  but  repetitions  of  the  story  prepared  by  Colonel  White's  grand- 
son, and  even  as  given  there  are  necessarily  several  overlappings  of  [acts 
in  the  two  papers. 

"Thirteen  counties  of  Indiana,''  says  the  Smith  biography,  "were 
named  for  heroes  who  fought  at  Tippecanoe — practically  one-seventh. 
That  battle  is  usually  measured  by  the  number  engaged  rather  l ban  the 
mighty  issues  involved.  It  is  too  easily  forgotten  that  the  last  ami  great- 
est Indian  confederacy  on  this  continent,  headed  by  the  greatest  of  the 
great  Indian  warriors  of  our  history,  was  overthrown  just  on  the  eve  of 
its  completion  by  the  clear  comprehension  of  General  Harrison  in  crush- 
ing this  gigantic  combination  of  so  many  tribes  before  its  consummation. 

"  For  more  than  fifty  years  I  have  been  a  gatherer  of  scraps  of  infor- 
mation here  and  there  of  events  of  our  State  building,  which  unfortu- 
nately had  no  great  chronicler  embodied  in  one  well  equipped     riter. 

"Among  the  notable  men  and  heroes  who  fought  and  fell  at  Tippe- 
canoe was  Col.  Isaac  White,  for  whom  our  county  is  named.  I  think  our 
School  children  ought  to  be  taught  thoroughly  'he  early  history  of  their 
State,  county  and  towns — should  know  these  by  heart.  These  things 
should  be  taught  at  the  fireside,  in  the  schools  and  by  the  press.  We 
forget  that  children  learn  history  with  avidity  before  they  ran  grasp  the 
problem  of  arithmetic.     .Memory  antedates  the  reasoning  faculties. 

"Col.  Isaac  White  was  born  in  Prince  William  county,  Virginia, 
shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  exact 
date  of  his  birth  is  not  now  exactly  known,  but  from  tin-  records  of  his 
initiation  in  lsil  ;1s  a  member  of  Masonic  Lodge,  \o.   I.  of  Viuccnnes, 


2-1  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Indiana,  in  which  his  age  is  stated  to  be  35  years,  il  is  altogether  likely 
that  he  was  bom  in  the  year  1776.  His  father  was  au  Englishman  by 
birth  ami  held  a  commission  as  captain  of  British  Marines,  lie.  resigned 
his  commission  and  came  to  Virginia,  bought  a  largo  estate,  and  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  of  Independence,  east  his  lot  with  the  oppressed 
colonies,  and  fought  through  the  war  till  near  its  close,  when  he  lost  his 
lift  in  dcf(  use  of  his  adopted  country.  He  left  three  children,  Isaac, 
Thomas  and  daughter  Katie.  The  Brst  lost  his  life  at  Tippecanoe  and 
the  second  wus  shot  through  the  body  in  that  battle.  It  was  he  of  whom 
it  is  told  that  the  surgeons  several  times  drew  a  silk  handkerchief  through 
the  wound  to  cleanse  it.  Though  supposed  to  be  mortally  wounded,  he 
recovered. 

"On  account  of  the  unsatisfactory  second  marriage  of  their  mother 
these  two  brothers  wire  impelled  to  seek  a  new  and  more  adventurous 
career  in  the  Northwest  Territory.  They  made  their  way  to  Vincennes, 
soon  to  become  the  capital  of  Indiana  Territory,  in  the  year  1800.  They 
were  not.  heavily  cumbered  with  property  but  had  a  wealth  of  determina- 
tion and  energy.  Isaac  White,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  soon  after 
his  arrival  met  the  lovely  and  accomplished  daughter  Sallie  of  Judge 
George  Leech,  v.  ho  came  to  Vincennes  from  Louisville,  Kentucky,  as  early 
as  1784,  hut  after  many  hardships,  ending  with  the  burning  of  his  home 
over  his  heart  by  the  Indians,  returned  to  Kentucky  and  did  not  again 
take  up  his  residence  at  Vincennes  till  1796.  *  *  *  Soon  after  the 
organization  of  Indiana  Territory,  and  the  coming  of  Governor  Harrison 
to  Vincennes.  the  Harrisons  and  Whites  became  very  iutimate  friends. 
A  striking  evidence  of  this  is  shown  by  the  appointment  of  .Mr.  AVhite 
as  agent  of  the  United  States  at  the  Salt  Works  on  Saline  Creek,  in  Gal- 
latin county,  Illinois.    The  following  is  a  copy  of  this  appointment: 

"  '  Indiana  Territory  : 

"  'William  Henry  Harrison,  Governor  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Indiane  Territory. 

[s*KAI..]      To  ail  who  .shall  see  these  presents,  greetings: 

"Know  yv,  llial   in  pursuance  of  instruction  from  the  President  of 

the   United   Stales,    |   |m\v  constituted  and  appointed,  and   do  by  these 

nl  i  i-oiiHtitiitc  ami  appbinl  Isaac  While  of  Knox  county  to  be  agent 

for  the  I  nitid  Htiiti  i,  to  n    idc  at  the  Salt  Works  on  Saline  Creek,  for 

the  pufiwwo  of  n-i  :        :  It,  and  to  perform  such  other 

'"  il  of  the  United  States  may  think  proper 

■■  liin  with.    This  c  to  continue  during  pleasure. 

"  'Oivi  u  under  my  hand  and  lln      a]  of  Hie  Tcrritoi 

■    Vpril,  180 Independence  of  the  United 

StUti  H  iii.     Twi'Uty  ninth. 

William  Henby  IT  mm, 

"  'H\    I  In    Oiivi  i  nor. 

tnry. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  25 

"During  the  year  1806  Governor  Harrison  appointed  Mr.  White 
a  captain  in  a  regiment  of  Knox  county,  commission  dated  Sept.  loth, 
1801J.  (The  commission  by  copy  is  now  before  me).  After  a  short  serv- 
ice as  agent  for  the  Government  at  (he  Saline,  he  on  the  change  of  the 
Government  as  -gent,  became  a  lessee  with  partners  and  during  this 
relation  acquired  considerable  property.  This  interest  he  sold  during 
the  summer  of  1811  and  removed  with  his  family  to  Viueeunes. 

"It  is  claimed  by  some  that  he  was  app  ted  colonel  of  Illinois 
.Militia  during  his  sojourn  at  the  Saline.  (Illinois  was  organized  as  a 
Territory  Feb.  3rd,  1809.)  But  I  am  quite  sure  this  is  ;i  mistake.  He 
never  was  colonel  of  an  Illinois  regiment,  and  never  brought  an  Illinois 
company  with  him  to  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe,  but  he  was  colonel  of  the 
3rd  Regiment  of  Indiana  Militia  and  tendered  this  regiment  to  Governor 
Harrison  for  the  expedition  to  the  Prophets'  town. 

"A  very  important  incident  occurred  in  Col.  White's  life  just  before 
leaving  the  Saline  in  Illinois  during  the  year  1811.  He  was  challenged 
to  tight  a  duel  by  one  Mr.  Butler.  Though,  unlike  most  Virginians  of 
that  day,  he  was  morally  opposed  to  dueling,  yet  he  thought  there  were 
cases  where  it  could  not  be  avoided.  Particularly  a  military  man  when 
challenged  could  not  decline.  Col.  White  accepted,  chose  horse  pistols  as 
the  weapons,  and  six  paces  as  the  distance.  The  meeting  place  was  Union 
Springs,  Kentucky,  opposite  Shawneetown,  Illinois.  All  parties  wire  on 
time  at  the  meeting,  but  when  the  terms  became  known,  the  challenger  and 
his  friends  objected  to  the  conditions  as  not  offering  any  chain1.'  for  the 
escape  of  either  challenger  or  challenged.  Col.  White  and  his  friends 
stood  firmly  by  the  terms,  and  the  challenger  and  his  friends  abruptly 
and  precipitately  withdrew.  The  want  of  space  forbids  the  insertion  of 
Col.  White's  letter  to  his  wife  on  the  eve  of  this  occurrence. 

"Soon  after  Col.  White's  sale  of  his  interest  in  the  Illinois  Salt 
Works  and  his  return  to  Vincennes,  he  was  entered  and  passed  as  au 
apprentice  and  fellowcraft  Mason  in  the  Masonic  Lodge  at  Vincennes  then 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky,  and  on  the  L8th 
of  September,  1811,  he  was  raised  to  the  sublime  degree  of  a  Master 
Mason  by  his  friend  the  celebrated  Colonel  Joseph  11.  Daviess,  Grand 
Master  of  Kentucky,  who  had  come  to  Vincennes  to  offer  his  services 
i"  Governor  Harrison  in  an  expected  campaign  against  the  confederated 
Indians  at  the  Prophet's  town. 

"Col.  White  earnestly  solicited  Governor  rarrison  to  have  his  regi- 
ment (the  3rd  Indiana  Militia),  or  at  least  a  part  of  it,  included  in  the 
forces  of  the  expedition  but  was  told  that  the  United  States  troops  then 
on  the  way — the  4th  Regiment  from  Pittsburgh  and  the  other  forces 
■  dreads  organized,  would  be  sufficient  for  the  expedition.  I'mt  he  was 
not  to  be  deterred,  and  with  Thomas  Randolph,  late  Attorney  G  ncral 
of  the  Territory,  he  enrolleS  himself  in  the  company  of  dragoons  com- 
manded b.v    Captain  Parke,  which  company    and   two  others  were  place, I, 

1    rjuadron  of  dragoons,  uudcr  command  of  Ins  friend  Col. 
An  incident  of  lids  early  soldier  association  is  worthy  of  mention.    Col. 


2G  HISTORY  OV  WHITE  COUNTY 

Daviess  and  Col.  Wliit (changed  swords,  and  on  the  fatal  November 

morning,  November  Till,  the  sword  of  Col.  Wliite  was  found  buckled  to  the 
belt  of  Col.  Daviess,  and  the  sword  of  Col.  Daviess  was  found  held  in  the 
iron  grip  of  Iris  friend  Col,  White;  The}  had  fallen  side  by  side  in  that 
fatal  charge.  While  was  stark  and  cold  in  death,  and  Daviess,  though 
living,  was  pierced  by  three  balls  in  the  breast,  either  of  which  would 
have  been  fatal.  The  Hash  ot  bis  pistol  had  exposed  him  to  the  deadly 
aim  of  three  savages. 

"At  daylight  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  won — but  at  what  a  fear- 
ful price!  Of  the  nine  hundred  men,  one  hundred  and  eighty-three 
killed  and  wounded,  of  whom  thirty-Seven  were  killed  in  action  and 
twenty-live  died  of  their  wounds. 

"And  now,  side  In  side,  these  Iwo  noble  patriot  friends  sleep  their 
last  sleep,  and  with  them  in  the  same  grave,  their  common  friend,  Col. 
Dwen,  an  aid  to  Genera]  Harrison,  who  fell  early  in  the  action  at  the  side 
of  his  commander.  On  the  battlefield  markers  tell  where  Daviess  and 
Owen  fell,  but  by  inexcusable  ignorance  no  marker  tells  where  Col.  White 
fell,  nor  is  his  nam.'  on  the  monument  among  the  officers,  but  in  the  list 
of  privates.  Will  Wliite  county  permit  this  neglect  of  the  gallant  soldier 
whose  name  she  bears  .' " 

Inolw  Stragglers  Settle  in  White  County 

Milton  M.  Sill,  in  his  unpublished  "History  of  White  County,"  has 
this  to  say  about  one  aftermath  of  the  battle  which  specifically  relates 
to  home  matters:  "Al'ler  the  decisive  battle  of  Tippecanoe  with  the  Pot- 
tawattamie Indians,  and  their  defeat  and  the  destruction  of  their  prin- 
cipal town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  river,  the  remnant  of  that 
tribe,  fleeing  north,  settled  at  various  points  on  the  river  (two  within 
the  limits  of  Whiti  county)  and  built  villages.  One  of  their  villages  was 
located  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  half  a  mile  above  llouticello,  and 
the  other  five  miles  further  north  on  the  east  bank  near  what  was  after- 
ward known  as  Holmes'  ford.  At  both  the  villages  a  small  patch  of 
ground  was  cultivated  in  corn,  all  the  labor  being  performed  by  the 
squaws,  the  men  deeming  it.  beneath  their  dignity  to  perform  menial 
labor  until  they  became  too  old  for  war  or  the  chase;  and  even  then 
the}'  avoided  any  manual  labor  by  being  installed  members  of  what  they 
culled  the  Council. 

"The  I'ottawaltamies  were  divided  into  two  distinct  and  separate 
bands  or  tribes,  each  having  a  head  man  or  chief,  and  having  little,  if 
any,  communication.  By  far  the  larger  section  of  the  tribe  inhabited 
southern  Michigan  ami  a  part  of  northern  Indiana.  They  were  under 
the  guidance  of  a  chief  called  Pokagon,  who  lived  to  a  great  age,  ami  was 
distinguished  for  his  firm  ami  unswerving  friendship  for  the  while 
settlers  and  his  unflinching  integrity,  us  well  as  his  scholarly  attain 
incuts  which  were  by  no  means  limited."  As  uv  know,  the  other  tnb" 
was  controlled  by  the  unfortunate   Prophet, 

QiOUNA  STXTt  UtUtJ 


HISTORY   ()!•'   \V  1 1  111;  <  oi  X'l'Y  27 

Changes  in  Governors  vnd  Capitals 

Goycrnpr  Harrison's  prolonged  absences  from  t lie  seal  ol' government 
cm  military  duties  made  it  necessary  to  place  the  civil  administration  in 
other  bands,  in  1812  and  the  tirsl  four  tuonths  of  LiS  1 3  these  respon 
liilities  de  vol  veil  on  John  Gibson,  secretary  of  I  he  territory.  I  u  February 
of  the  latter  year  President  .Madison  nominated  Thomas  Posey,  United 
States  senator  from  Louisiana,  for  governor  of  Indiana,  as  General  Har- 
rison had  been  made  command*  .  in-chief  of  the  American  forces  in  the 
West.  Governor  Posey  arrived  at  Yineenues  in  .May,  1813,  and  in 
D  ■■•  tuber  of  that  year  the  Legislature  met  al  the  new  eapital— Corydon, 
Harrison  County.  The  State  House  at  that  place  had  been  partially 
erected  in  3811,  but  was  not  entirely  completed  until  1815. 

State  Constitution  Adopted  v.t  Corvdon 

In  December  of  the  latter  year,  the  Territory  of  Indiana  applied  to 
Congress  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  state,  since  more  than  G0,00(J 
free  white  inhabitants  then  resided  within  its  limits — to  be  exact,  63,Sl)7. 
Congress  passed  the  enabling  act  in  May,  1816,  and  the  delegates  elected 
to  frame  a  state  constitution  held  a  convention  at  Corydon,  lasting  from 
the  10th  to'the  29th  of  June,  of  that  year,  instead  of  deliberating  in  the 
stuffy  little  State  House  they  held  most  of  their  meetings  under  a  huge 
elm  tree  on  the  hanks  of  Big  Indian  (.'reek,  several  hundred  , 
west  of  the  capitol.  The  grand  old  tree  still  stands,  fifty  feet  in  height 
with  a  spread  of  branches  nearly  125  feet  across.  The  first  session  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  Indiana  opened  at  the  Cor;  don  State  House 
on  November  4,  1S16. 

Indianapolis  Fixed  as  Permanent  Capital 

Corydon  remained  the  stale  capital  until  1825,  although  the  site  of 
Indianapolis  had  been  selected  by  the  commissioners  appointed  for  that 
purpose  by  the  Legislature  in  1820.  In  1819  Congress  had  donated  to 
the  state  four  sections  of  land  to  be  selected  from  any  tract  of  I 
domain  then  unsold,  and  in  May  of  the  following  year  the  locating  com- 
missioners fixed  upon  a  tract  on  the  west  fork  of  White  Liver  near  the 
geographical  center  of  the  state  and  platted  the  new  capital  as  India- 
napolis. The  seat  of  government  of  the  commonweidth  was  moved  thither 
in  1825,  as  stated,  and  the  first  state  bouse  completed  in  1836.  A 
uated  in  the  congressional  grant,  [ndianapolls  was  fixed  as  the  perma- 
nent capital  of  Indiana,  and  all  its  counties  have  sine,-  looked  to  that 
city  as  the  seat,  of  their  governmental  authority.     The   |  .;"TTiat 

>  n!er  from  Corydon  was  effi  :|V  Whit,'  Counly  was 

created. 


CHAPTER  III 
LIFTING  OF  INDIAN  CLAIMS 

POTTAWATTAMIES,     THE     HOME     TRIBE THEIR     CHEEP     VjLLAGE     IN     THE 

County — How  the  Lands  Passed  to  the  United  States— The  Folk 
Basic.  Cessions — First  Migration  of  the  Pottawattamie — The 
Final  Removal  En  Masse — The  Tribe  Gathers  at  Plymouth — The 
March  Westward — Pokagon's  Prophecies — Another  Picture'  op 
the  Migration. 

Historians  concede  that  the  Miamis  preceded  the  Pottawattamies  in 
the  occupation  of  the  soil  included  within  the  present  limits  of  Indiana. 
When  the  French  first  came  into  the  country  they  were  both  being1 
crowded  south  by  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  other  northwestern  tribes,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Pottawattamies  had  been 
circumscribed  to  the  country  around  the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan and  extending  over  northwestern  Indiana  to  the  Wabash  River. 
They  were  inferior  in  every  way  to  the  Miamis  and  acknowledged  their 
dependence  upon  them  by  insisting  in  every  cession  which  they  made  of 
the  lands  they  were  occupying  that  the  Miamis  should  sanction  such 
action. 

Pottawattamies,  the  Home  Tribe 

At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  1812  the  Pottawattamies  occupied 
Northwestern  Indiana  from  the  north  bank  of  the  Wabash  and  had  sev- 
eral prosperous  villages  along  the  Tippecanoe  and  its  branches.  As  we 
have  seen,  after  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  in  1811,  at  least  two  villages  of 
considerable  size  were  founded  in  White  county,  the  larger  being  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  River,  at  what  afterward  became  known  as 
Holmes'  ford  in  Liberty  Township,  seven  miles  north  of  Monticello. 

Their  Chief  Village  in  the  County 

When  the  whites  first  came  into  the  county   in   the  early    ".10s  this 
Indian  village  consisted  of  nearly  100  wigwams  and  some  301)  ['Ottawa! 
(amies.    They  had  three  or  four  acres  adjoining  tin?  vill  h  they 

cultivated  to  corn,  pumpkins,  squashes  and  potatoes  with  which  to  vary 
their  meat  diet  of  possum,  venison  and  other  wild  game.     Th,  \    were 
hospitable,  dirty  beggars,  and  neither  their  cooking  nor  thoir  p 
habits  appealed  to  the  settlers,  who  were  glad  to  see  the  Insl  of  them, 

29 


30  E1FSTOKY   OK  WlifTE  COUNTY 

1 11 1 > 1 1  i-i i  in  1  and  romantic  as  was  thi'ir  departure  Eor  their  western  reserva- 
tion a  decade  later. 

IIOW  THE   I    VNDS    !'  0  TO  Tin:  UNITED  STATES 

Without  going  into  the  intricacies  of  the  general,  or  blanket  treaties, 
by  which  Great  Britain  ami  the  United  States  secured  their  color  of 
title  From  the  Indians,  ii  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  specific  treaties  by 
which  the  primitive  owners  transferred  the  White  County  lands  to  the 
general  Government  were  made  in  1818,  1826  and  1832. 

>  The  Pour  Basic  Cessions 

On  October  2  and  3,  1818,  the  Pottawattamies,  Weas  and  Delawares 
— all  closely  related  in  tribal  affairs — ceded  their  lands  in  Indiana  west  of 
the  Tippecanoe  River,  the  last  two  relinquishing  all  claims  to  real  estate 
within  the  limits  of  the  young  commonwealth.  The  Pottawattamie  treaty 
of  October  2d,  which  is  the  most  important  from  a  White  County  stand- 
point, was  concluded  at  St.  .Mary's,  Ohio,  between  Gov.  Jonathan  Jeu- 
uings,  Lewis  Cass  and  Benjamin  Parke,  United  States  commissioners,  and 
the  principal  chief  and  warriors  of  the  Pottawattamie  nation.  The  fol- 
lowing trad  was  thus  ceded  to  the  general  Government:  Beginning  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  and  running  up  the  same  to  a  point 
twenty-five  miles  in  a  direct  line  Erom  the  Wabash  River,  thence  on  a  line 
as  nearly  parallel  to  the  general  course  of  the  Wabash  River,  thence  down 
the  Vermillion  River  to  its  mouth,  and  thence  up  the  Wabash  River  to 
the  place  of  beginning. 

Within  the  Following  eighl  years  the  Miamis,  the  Pottawattamies 
and  the  Weas  ceded  various  tracts  in  central  and  western  Indiana,  which 
did  not  affect  any  territory  within  the  present  "White  Comity. 

Both  the  Pottawattamies  and  the  Miamis  ceded  all  their  lands  east 
of  the  Tippecanoe  by  the  treaty  of  October  23,  1S2(>,  the  tract  being  thus 
formally  described:  Beginning  on  the  Tippecanoe  River  where  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  tract  ceded  by  the  Pottawattamies  to  the  United 
State  at  the  treaty  of  St.  Mary's  in  the  year  1818  intersects  the  same, 
thence  in  a  direct  line  to  a  point  on  Eel  River,  half  way  between  the 
mouth  of  said  river  and  1'arrish's  village,  thence  up  Eel  River  to  Seeks 
village  (now  in  Whitley  County)  near  the  head  thereof,  thence  in  a  direct 
lino  to  the  mouth  of  a  creek  emptying  into  the  St.  Joseph's  of  the 
.Miami  (Maumee)  near  .Meiea's  village,  thence  up  the  St.  Joseph's  to 
the  boundary  line  between  the  Ohio  and  Indiana,  thence  south  to  lie 
Miami  t  Maumee  >,  thence  up  the  same  to  the  reservation  at  Port  Wayne. 
thence  with  the  lines  of  the  said   ivsei-  ,  boundary  established 

by  the  treaty  with  the  .Miamis  in  |S|s,  thence  with  the  .said  line  to  the 
Wabash  River,  thence  with  the  same  river,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tippc 
canoe  River,  and  thence  with  the  Tippecanoe  River  to  the  place  of 
beginning. 

By  the  treaty  with  the  Pottawattamies  of  October  2(1,   I8U2,  . 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  ::i 

of  land  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  tlio  statu  was  obtained  by  the 
Government,  which  overlapped  the  Kickapoo  cession  in  Illinois.  It  em- 
braced a  portion  of  White  County  to  the  north  and  northwest.  On  the 
following  day  the  Pottawattamies  of  Indiana  and  Michigan  also  relin- 
quished all  claims  to  any  remaining  lands  in  those  states,  as  well  as  in 
Illinois,  south  of  Grand  River,  thus  perfecting  the  Government  title  to 
a  northern  strip  of  what  is  now   Liberty  Township. 

13y  tlie.  four  treaties  mentioned,  the  settlers  of  White  County,  the 
pioneers  of  whom  commenced  to  come  into  the  county  at  t lie  time  of  these 
Pottawattamie  cessions,  were  enabled  to  read  their  titles  clear  to  their 
homesteads  and   mansions  on  earth. 

On  the  11th  of  February,  1836,  the  Government  concluded  the  agree- 
ment with  the  Pottawattamies  by  which  all  former  treaties  were  rati- 
fied and  a  stipulation  made  that  they  would  migrate,  within  two  years, 
to  their  reservation  beyond  the  Missouri  River,  the  United  States  to  pa\ 
the  expenses  of  such  removal  and  furnish  them  one  year's  subsistence. 

On  April  2'A,  1836,  there  was  introdi d  in  the  Twenty-fourth  Con- 
gress a  memorial  from  the  Indiana  Legislature  asking  Congress  to  extin- 
guish the  title  of  the  Pottawattamie  and  Miami  Indians  to  all  lauds  in  said 
state  This  memorial  recites  that  said  matter  is  one  of  the  grcate.sl  inter- 
est and  importance  and  asks  that  their  titles  be  extinguished  and  tin- 
Indians  removed  from  said  state.  This  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Indian  Affairs  anil  ordered  to  be  printed.  Two  years  later  the  Indians 
were  removed  beyond  the  Mississippi  River. 

The  last  tribal  title  to  lands  iu  Indiana  was  not  extinguished  until 
1S72,  when  Congress  partitioned  the  ten-mile  reserve  originally  granted 
in  1838  to  the  Metosinia  hand  of  Miamis  (in  Wabash  County)  to  sixty- 
three  of  the  descendants  of  the  original  chief. 

First  Migration  op  the  Pottawattamies 

Dr.  J.  Z.  Powell,  in  his  "History  of  Cass  County,"  published  by  the 
company  which  issues  this  work,  gives  an  authentic  and  condensed  ac- 
count of  the  various  steps  by  which  the  Pottawattamies  and  Miamis  were 
transferred  to  their  reservations  in  the  far  West  ;  the  bands  from  White 
County  were  tributary  streams  to  the  main  bodies  which  moved  down 
the  valley  of  the  Wabash  toward  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi  River. 

"The  first  emigration  of  the  Pottawattamies,"  says  Doctor  Powell, 
"  took  place  in  July,  1837,  under  the  direction  of  Abel  C.  Pepper,  United 
States  commissioner,  and  George  Profit  conducted  them  to  their  western 
home.  There  were  about  one  hundred  taken  in  this  baud  and  Nas-wau-gce 
was  their  chief.  Their  village  was  located  on  the  north  bank  of  Lake 
Muck-sen-cuck-ee,  where  Culver  Military  Academy  (Mar  ball  county 
now  stands.    The  old  chief,  Nas-wau-gee,  was  a  mild-mannered        n  and 

on  the  morning  of  their  march  to  theit    wi    t<  rn  I le,  as  he  stood  on  the 

hanks  of  the  lake  and  took  a  last,  long  view  u(  bis  obi  home  to  which  he 
was  never  to  return,  lie  was  visibly  affected  and  tears  were  seen  In  Mow 
from  his  eyes. 


32  HISTORY  OF  WIIITE  COUNTY 

Tue  Final  Removal  En  Masse 

"Tlie  last  arid  final  removal  of  the  Pottawattamies  was  made  in  the 
fall  of  1838.  They  were  unwilling  to  go  and  Colonel  Abel  C.  Pepper,  then 
United  States  Indian  agent  stationed  at  Logansport,  made  a  requisition 
011  Governor  David  Wallace  (father  of  General  Lew  Wallace,  author  of 
Ben  ITur)  for  a  company  of  militia,  and  General  John  Tipton,  of  Logan- 
sport,  was  directed  to  enlist  a  company  of  one  hundred  men,  which  he 
speedily  did.  The  recruits  were  mostly  from  Cass  county.  The  names 
Of  the  men  composing  t'  '  .  company  of  militia  are  not  obtainable,  but  the 
writer's  father,  Jacob  Powell,  and  Isaac  Newton  Clary,  pioneers  of  Beth- 
lehem and  Harrison  townships,  were  among  the  number. 

The  Tribe  Gathers  at  Plymouth 

"Sixty  wagons  were  provided  to  haul  the  women,  children  and  those 
unable  to  march.  There  were  eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine  Indians  en- 
rolled under  the  Leadership  of  Chief  Menominee.  Their  principal  village 
was  situated  on  Twin  lake,  about  seven  miles  southwest  of  Plymouth,  in 
Marshall  county,  where  the  entire  tribe  assembled  and  bid  farewell  to 
their  old  homes.  The  village  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  wig- 
wams and  caliins;  also  a  chapel  in  which  many  of  them  were  converted 
to  Christianity  by  Father  Petit,  a  missionary  in  Indiana  at  that  time. 
Many  affecting  scenes  occurred  as  these  red  men  of  the  forest  for  the  last 
time  viewed  their  cabin  homes  and  the  graves  of  their  loved  ones  who 
slept  in  a  graveyard  near  their  little  log  chapel. 

The  Mabch  Westward 

"On  September  •!,  1838,  (hey  began  their  sad  and  solemn  inarch  to 
the  West.  Their  line  of  march  was  south  on  the  Michigan  road  to  Logans- 
port,  where  they  encamped  jusl  south  of  Honey  Creek  on  the  east  side  of 
Michigan  avenue,  on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  September,  1838;  and  that 
night  two  of  the  Indians  died  and  were  buried  just  north  of  Honey 
creek  where  the  Vandalia  Railroad  crosses  the  stream  and  on  the  east 
side  of  Michigan  avenue;  and  their  bones  lie  there  to  this  day. 

General  Tipton  conducted  these  Indians  along  the  Wabash  river 
through  Lafayette,  and  on  to  Danville,  Illinois,  where  he  turned  them 
over  to  Judge  William  Polke,  who  took  them  to  their  reservation  west 
of  the  Missouri  river.  Many  of  the  whites  had  a  great  sympathy  for 
this  band  of  Indians  and  thought  they  were  wrongfully  treated  in  their 
forcible  removal,  although,  by  tin  ir  chiefs,  they  bad  agreed  to  move  West. 

Pok  igon  v  Prophecies 

"A  few  of  the  Pottawattamies ved  to  northern. Michigan  and  some 

remnants  of  this  once  powerful  tribe  have  lived  there  to  recent   limes. 
Among  their  number  was  Simon  Pol      on    ivlio  died  January  27,   180!). 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  :: ; 

Just  prior  to  his  death  lie  wrote  an  article  fur  an  eastern  magazine  in 
which  he  said :  'As  to  the  future  of  our  r  ee,  ins  to  uii  almost  certain 

to  lose  its  identity  by  amalgamation  with  the  dominant  race.'  When 
Pokagon  was  asked  if  he  thought  that  the  white  man  and  Indian  were 
originally  one  blood,  he  said:  '1  do  not  know,  hut  from  the  present  out- 
Look  they  will  be.' 

••There  were  hands  of  Pottawattamie  and  .Miami  Indians  in  ('ass  and 
adjoining  counties  that  moved  to  the  West  at  different  times;  sometimes 
they  went  voluntarily,  at  other  times  they  were  escorted.  The  last  of  the 
Miamis  were  conducted  to  their  reservation  west  of  the  IMissisippi  by 
Alex.  Coquillard  in  1847,  and  again  in  1851." 

Another  Picture  of  the  Migration 

liy  the  fall  of  1838  there  were  few  Pottawattamies  Left  in  their  old 
encampments  anywhere  along  the  Tippecanoe.  Another  eye-witness  to 
their  greatest  march  toward  the  setting  sun,  that  of  September  in  the 
year  named,  and  toward  which  the  Pottawattamies  of  White  County 
contributed  a  considerable  contingent,  thus  describes  the  enforced  migra- 
tion: ''The  regular  migration  of  the  Pottawattamies  took  place  under 
Colonel  Abel  C.  Pepper  and  General  Tipton  in  the  summer  of  LS38. 
I!-. i ling  that  this  strange  emigration,  which  consisted  of  about  one  tliou 
sand  of  all  ages  and  sexes,  would  pass  within  eight  or  teu  miles  west  of 
Lafayette,  a  few  of  us  procured  horses  and  rode  over  to  see  the-  retiring 
band  as  they  reluctantly  wended  their  way  toward  the-  setting  sun.  !i 
was  a  sad  and  mournful  spectacle  to  witness  these  children  of  the  fori  t 
slowly  retiring  from  'he  homes  of  their  childhood.  As  tiny  cast  mournful 
-lances  backward  toward  the  loved  seems  that  were  fading  in  the 
distance,  tears  fell  from  the  cheeks  of  the  downcasl  warriors,  old  im  ti 
trembled,  matrons  wept,  the  swarthy  maiden's  check  turned  pale,  and 
sighs  and  half  suppressed  sobs  escaped  from  the  motley  groups  as  they 
p  '  ised  along,  some  on  foot,  some  on  horseback  and  others  in  wagons  id 
as  a  funeral   procession.      I   saw  several   of  the   aged 

s  toward  the  sky,  as  if  they  were  imploring  aid  from  the  spirits  of 

their  departed  heroes  who  were  looking  down  upon  them  tr the  clouds, 

or  from  the  Great  Spirit  who  would  ultimately  redress  the  wroi 
the  red  man,  whose  broken  bow  had  fallen   Prom   his  hand  and 
I  earl  was  bleeding  within  him. 

"  Ever  ami  anon  one  of  the  party  would  start  out  into  the  brush  and 
break  back  to  his  old  encampments  on  the  Tipp  n  anoe,  dei  larii     he  would 
rather  die  than  be  banished  from  hi    country.     Thus  scores  of  di 
tented  emigrants  returned  from  differ,   it  points  on  their  journey  ami  il 
was  several  years  before  they  could  be  iudu      1  to  join  Mieir  conn!] 
wesl  of  tb.  rpi." 


CHAPTER  IV 

NATURAL  FEATURES  AND  INDUSTRIES 

Jm>i  sthies  Founded  hn  Nature — Natural  and  Artificial  Drainage — 
In  a  State  op  Nature— Effect  of  Prairie  Fires — Useful  Trees- 
Soil  as  Varied  as  Timber — Early  Prejudice  Against  Prairie 
Lands — Tin:  Prairie's  Blue-Joint  Grass — Nature  as  Molded  by 
Man  —  Disagreeable  Animals  and  Reptiles  Disappear  —  Most 
Edible  Birds  Gone — Birds  that  Are  Left — Nature  Changed  for 
the  Better. 

Speaking  in  terms  oi'  Nature,  White  County  lies  in  a  gently  undulat- 
ing bed  of  limestone,  within  the  arms  of  the  great  prairie  of  Illinois 
which  stntch. ■>  awuj  toward  the  West  and  the  Northwest.  Geologically, 
it  is  embraced  by  the  Niagara  limestones  of  the  Upper  Silurian  period, 
overlaid  with  drift  deposits  contributed  by  glacial  action,  or  hy  the 
slower  accumulations  added  by  the  waters  of  prehistoric  as  well  as  his- 
toric times.  The  result  is  a  superabundance  of  loam,  clay  and  sand, 
often  thoroughly  intermixed,  and  the  formation  of  a  soil  which  has 
brought  rich  returns  to  the  agriculturist,  the  horticulturist  and  the  live 
stock  man. 

[ndustries     F  iunded  on  Nature 

A!  least  half  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  easily  farmed  and  the  remain- 
der has  li.'eii  made  wonderfully  productive  hy  a  thoroughly  conceived 
a;,. I  well  evculcd  system  of  drainage.  In  this  latter  feature  it  is  one 
willi  much  of  Northwestern  Indiana.  Both  naturally  and  artificially,  j 
White  County  is  I i i n  I \  adapted  to  the  raising  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  root 
crops  and  fruit,     ll  is  u  good  apple  country  and  becoming  better  even 

year.     Its  deposit  ■  of  li -tone  and  fire  clays  are  being  utilized  commer 

dally,  in  the  manufacture  0f  tiling,  building  and  paving  blocks,  and  the 

''.  in  s ■  localities,  is  crushed  into  fertilizing  products. 

of  rich  and  beautiful  prairie  are  found  in  various  portions  of 

the  count.) 1  there  is  scarcely  a  square  fool  of  land  which  cannot 

r  be  cult i vat.  d  or  turned  over  with  profil  to  cattle,  1  or  i  ■    ices  and 
poultry.     I  hie   heav\    limber   is   still    found   on   the   Tippecanoe 

Itivi  r  and    li  i   1 1 ibularics,  and     ! 
occur  on  the  sandier  tracts  i.w  away  from  the  larger  water  courses.     Tin 

high  '  the  river  varj   the  natural  beauties  of  1 1 intiy.  

:M 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  35 

these  charms  of  scenery  add  to  the  insurance  of  permanent  homes  and 
contented  residents. 

Natural  and  Artificial  Di  .vinage 

The,  beautiful  and  historic  Tippecanoe  River  enters  the  enmity  .six 
miles  west  of  its  northeast  corner  in  Liberty  Township  and  Hows  in  a 
southerly  direction  about  half  way  through  its  area,  and  a  short  distance 
southeast,  of  Monticello  commences  to  form  the  Carroll  County  division, 
continuing  along  that  boundary  for  some  six  miles,  after  which  it  winds 
into  Carroll  County  on  its  southerly  course  to  the  Wabash.  Although  it 
receives  such  tributaries  as 'the  Big  and  Little  Monon  from  the  north- 
western sections  and  Honey  and  Big  creeks  from  the  central  portions, 
the  actual  drainage  of  the  county  has  long  ago  been  delegated  to  the 
"ditches"  which  network  the  land  everywhere.  These  ditches  serve  both 
to  drain  and  to  fertilize,  relying  primarily  for  their  usefulness  on  the 
natural  water  courses. 

Thus  Nature,  as  always,  has  given  to  man  in  White  County  all  the 
main  elements  of  his  prosperity  and  general  development. 


In  a  State  of  Nature        1506.S54 


.  The  surface  of  White  County  is  comparatively  level ;  the  hills  never 
exceed  150  feet  in  height  and  the  valleys  are  therefore  shallow  ami  bul 
a  few  acres  in  extent.     Originally  the  county  was  quite  heavily  timbered, 

ipeeially  that  portion  east  of  the  Tippecanoe  River.  The  timber  land 

on  the  west  side  was  entirely  free  from  undergrowth  and  often  appeared 

i  in  the  shape  of  groves  of  oak,  hickory,  black  walnut,  ash,  sugar  maple 

and  sycamore,  the  last  named  confined  to  the  immediate  neighborhood 

of  the  river  and  its  tributaries. 

Effect  ok  Prairie  Firf.s 

Tin.'  absence  of  undergrowth  on  the  west  side  of  the  Tippecanoe  is 
thus  explained  by  a  pioneer  and  local  writer:  "The  rank  growth  of 
!-;rass  in  Hie  prairie  land  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  often  attain- 
ing a  height  of  six  feet  or  more  during  the  summer,  would  he  killed 
!>}  the  frosts  of  autumn  and  when  thoroughly  dried  furnished  fuel  for 
the  devastating  prairie  fires  that  yearly  swept  over  the  country  from 
west  to  east,  burning  every  living  thing  in  its  course  but  the  hardv  oak, 
li  had  gained  a  footing  on  the  higher  land  while  yel  the  lower 
prairie  was  covered  with  water.  The  river  formed  a  barrier  which  these 
lid    not    pass,   and    hence,   while   there    was   little,    if  any,    under 

'< the  west,  side,  on   the  east   side   was   found   an   almost    impeiic- 

Iriibli-  mass  of  ha/el,  sassafras,  soft  maple,  paw  paw,  white  hickory  and 

'•,  with  young  oaks  and  other  young  limbic  in  great   variety.      How 

prairie   fires   were  started    was  a    matter  of  conjecture,   but    it    was 

•d  that   the   Indians  in  pursuit  of  game   ivere  the  authors,  as  then 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  37 

were  few  whites  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  in  the  times  of  the  heavy  prairie 
fires.  The  Indians  always  denied  their  responsibility  in  that  matter. 
It  was  'bad  chemokeman'  (white  man)  who  had  done  the  evil  deed; 
'nishnobby'  (Indian)  'always  good'."         :• 

Useful  Tbees 

Red  cedar  grew  in  limited  quantities  on  the  rocky  bluffs  of  the  river 
and  was  much  used  for  fence  posts;  the  black  locust  also  was  found 
occasionally  and  was  also  used  for  that  purpose.  Willows  nourished 
to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  pioneer  farmers,  in  the  low  grounds  and 
on  the  banks  of  the  streams.  It  was  next  to  impossible  to  wholly  eradi- 
cate them  when  once  they  started  to  grow,  as  a  simple  slip  placed  in 
the  ground  would  soon  become  a  tree  with  sprouts  running  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  twigs  were  extensively  used  for  baskets,  but  the  supply  was 
always  more  than  equal  to  the  demand. 

Soil  as  Varied  as  Timber 

The  soil  of  White  County  was  of  as  great  variety  as  the  timber ;  the 
past  tense  is  used  even  in  dealing  with  this  topic,  since,  with  the  removal 
of  so  much  of  the  timber,  the  almost  universal  drainage  of  the  lands 
and  the  adoption  of  such  modern  agricultural  methods  as  crop  rotation 
and  artificial  fertilization^  the  soil  itself  has  undergone  marked  changes 
as  compared  with  its  composition  in  the  times  of  nie  pioneer  farmers. 
In  the  prairie  tracts  it  was  originally  a  uniform  heavy  loam  with  a 
subsoil  of  clay,  sand  or  gravel,  and  underneath  all  a  solid  bed  of  lime- 
stone, varying  in  thickness  from  two  to  three  feet  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county  to  fifty  or  sixty  feet  further  south.  In  the  timbered  por- 
tions the  soil  was  lighter,  alternating  between  ridges  of  sand  and  low, 
level  land,  little  higher  than  the  Water  in  the  ponds  and  sloughs,  but  all 
of  such  fertility  that  roots,  fruits,  vegetables,  melons,  and  all  kinds  of 
grain  could  often  be  grown  on  a  farm  of  160  acres.  More  specifically, 
however,  the  prairie  was  best  adapted  to  the  raising  of  corn,  oats  and 
grasses  and  the  timber  land  to  wheat,  fruits,  melons,  vegetables  (includ- 
ing potatoes),  and  all  garden  products. 

Early  Prejudice  Acjainst  Prairie  Lands 

The  first  settlers  located  in  the  timbered  districts,  as  they  were  gen- 
erally from  the  East  and  South  and  were  unfamiliar  with  the  prairies, 
so  bleak  and  forbidding  during  many  months  of  the  year.  It  was  also 
a  hide-bound  and  ancient  saying,  whose  complete  eradication  required 
the  experiences  of  several  generations,  that  the  soil  of  the  timbered  lands 
was  necessarily  the  "strongest"  and  the  most  fertile.  A  few  of  the 
pioneer  skeptics  located  in  the  groves  and  points  of  timber  reaching  out 
into  the  prairies,  where  they  could  experiment  with  the  comparative 
qualities  of  prairie  and  timber  soils,  but  for  years  the  principal  settle- 

■-.   -     .    '  - 

1    ■■■'     "   " '  m—**mm**~*       ■    -         m 


I1ISTOUY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  39 

incut  was  confined  to  the  heavily  timbered  lands  near  the  Tippecanoe. 
"Those  who  ventured  out  to  the  prairie's  edge,"  says  one  who  passed 
through  the  change  of  opinion  among  the  White  County  farmers,  "'were 
well  rewarded  at  the  opening  of  spring  when  Nature  put  forth  her 
mantle  of  green  and  the  prairie  became  a  great  flower  garden.  With 
Ihe  stately  golden  rod,  the  wild  rose,  the  gay  and  variegated  cow-slip 
,-iimI  the  more  humble,  not  less  beautiful  violet  and  wild  strawberry  plant, 
besides  others  of  lesser  note,  in  full  bloom,  it  presented  i  picture  worthy 
of  tli<'  greatest  of  painters  to  depict." 

v  The  Phaieie's  Blue-Joint  Grass 

The  prairie  country  of  White  County,  before  it  was  settled  to  any 
extent,  has  not  been  better  described  than  in  Turpie's  "Sketches  of  My 
Own  Times,*"  from  which  we  cpiote:  "It  was  during-  the  campaign  of 
1852  that  I  became  really  acquainted  with  the  prairie  and  its  people.  The 
country  was  very  sparsely  settled;  there  were  few  roads  and  the  trav- 
eler might  ride  for  hours  without  meeting  or  seeing  anyone;  he  directed 
his  course  by  the  sun,  or,  if  it  was  a  cloudy  day,  by  the  distant  groves, 
which  looked  like  islands  in  this  vast  expanse  of  grassy  plain.  Some 
times  he  traveled  in  solitude  a  tract  where  he  could  not  see  limber  at, 
all.  like  the  sailor  out  of  sight  of  land;  the  landscape  in  every  direction 
was  hounded  by  a  horizon  wherein  nothing  appeared  but  the  green  below 
and  the  blue  above.  The  surface  was  generally  level,  broken  only  by 
slight  undulations,  and  had  the  monotony  of  an  oceau  view  with  the 
-.inn'  pleasing  variety — whenever  the  wind  blew,  the  tall  grass  rippled, 
fell  and  rose  again  in  marvelous  similitude  to  the  sea.  When  the  sun 
was  not  to  be  seen,  and  the  weather  was  so  hazy  that  the  groves  were 
not  visible,  the  stranger  had  better  retrace  his  steps;  to  be  losl  on  the 
prairie  was  by  no  means      pleasant  experience. 

"The  most  notable  pi. tut  in  these  great  natural  meadows  was  the 
blue-joint  grass,  so  called  mn  the  color  of  its  stalks  and  leaves,  which 
was  dark  given  with  a  blv  tint  near  the  ground.  It  was  indigenous 
to  the  prairie,  not  found  i  i  the  woodlands.  The  blue-stem  ordinarily 
ijrew  to  the  height  of  a  man's  shoulder,  sometimes  so  tall  as  to  conceal 
;i  man  on  horseback.  Cattle,  sheep  and  horses  were  all  fond  of  it  ;  during 
the  whole  growing  season  and  until  late  in  the  fall  it  was  lender,  juicy 
and  succulent;  cut  and  cured  as  hay,  it   was  by  many    though)   to  be  as 

i  as  the  bes)   varieties  of  cultivated  grasses.     Ii   was  no)  at  all  like 

Ihe  swamp  or  marsh   grass,  being    found  on   rich  and   romp  I.    dry 

Ii  ml.  The  acreage  of  this  wild  meadow  growth  was  coexti  nsive  w  uh  Ihe 
prairie. 

"Although   the   range   was   pastured   In    numerous    and    large    Ii   t'ds, 

luanj    miles  of   blue-stem    1  lial    ;  iriin  d    ih-vi  v   Id    have    been 

;    I'd   upon    save  by  the  deer.     When  the  deer.  Irniptcd   by    curiosity 

than   by    hunger,   made   a    vi   ii    Lo  Ileitis  and   dealings   i      the 

r,  u  i  Ii followed.     As  long  a     Hie  pnrsuil    nas  fin    ined   lo  tin 

In    inighl    hi    overtaken   or   In  on  :U\    lo   baj  ;  but  when 


40  IIISTOUY   01-'  V,  [IITE  COUNTY 

.1  ihr  open  f;  he  jumpi  d,  lie  Leaj 

or  thii ;  bou   il ;  the  hounds  entangled  in  the  long  thiol 

■  :li  -■.lit  and  sight,  and  the  game  escaped.     The  prairie  was 

i  game,  butti  gre:  all,  but  it  was  hard  to  draw 

.t-r. 

"The  blue-stem  was  a  free-born  native  of  the  soil.     It  would  endure 

id   thrived  lustily    after  its  cremation,  but  it  could  not  bear 

captivity.     Ii  scorned  enclosure,  n     uted  b  ing  too  often  trodden  under 

fool,  ;>n<\  brooked  not  cultivation  in  any  form.     Thus  when  fields  ami 

fcnei  s  ,  .in,.        t)  vogu      il    Don  disappeared  and  ha:  I  i  eome  almost 

extinct." 

Nature  is  Molded  by  Man 

As   stated    by    i     Ii        observer  and  thinker  of  this  section  ou  the 

Wabasli  Valley:    The  changed  conditions  have  driven  out  many  plants 

that  v..  re  found  here  by  the  pioneer.     The  forests  have  been  cut  down 

ami     lanj    .  itat  is  in  the  shade  cannot  survive  and  have 

become  extinct.     The  drainage  of  wet  places  has  driven  out  many  other 

varieties  which  depended   upon  constant  dampness  for  their  existence. 

d-titi     i    il  fence  ftirni  une  for  many  species  to  which  the 

modern  wire  feu.e  gives  no  protection.     The  changes  due'  to  advancing 

lion  have  for  new  plants,  broughl  in  by  rail- 

ucies.     The  writer  well  remembered  fiftj  five  years 

medicinal  plants  such  as  spignet,  yellow  root,  ginseng. 

nifty-apple  !     root;  wild  grapes,  plums,  paw-paw,  cherries  and 

and  red  haws,  and  walnuts,  butternuts,  hickory  nuts,  hazel  nuts 

licsc  have  become  extinct  and  i  '!  ers  a  rarity. 

A    tMALS  and  Reptiles  Disappear 

"  I  mini   ;ii   the  earlj    times,  only  an  occasional  skunk 

be   found   in   the   woodlands  along  the   river  or 
ii  i  .  appear  squirrels,  rabl 

■.,'..  tier.  pan- 

tl   lynx  have  disi  rom   Mies,'  juris 

■    r. 

'  els.    black,    water   and    lazi  I 
cr,  garter  snake,  hard  and  soft  shelled  turtle. 
bull  ;  ahnnaudei  '    were  numerous  in  all 

"'r>   in  the  "good  old  times  id*  yore.''  but   llii    clearing 
the  pen, Is  and  careful  cultivation  of  I ! 

u  the  hoarse  k  of  the  1 

itrd. 
i>f  Hi,   county  wild  turkeys,  -  i 

cs  anil 
llilllldant,    all    of    V.liieh    have    vil  hl.llly    (lis 

:  :  I  ■>.  I  i,l,l. 


HISTORY  OF  VVIIITE  COUNTY  II 

Most  Edible  Birds  Gone 

"The  edible  birds  and  animals  were  quite  a  sunn,:  of  food  Cor  the 
ratl.v  settlers;  in  fact,  these  were  the  only  meats  they  had  until  the  laud 
could  be  cleared  and  corn  raised  to  fatten  hogs  and  cattle.  Quite  a 
number  of  .small  birds,  with  crows,  hawks  and  buzzards,  are  still  uumer 
mis,  but  no  edible  birds  arc  lefl  except  a  few  quail.  The  boo  of  the 
prairie  hen  and  the  rumble  of  the  pheasant,  the  gobble  of  the  wild 
turkey,  the  cry  of  the  eagle,  the  thunder  of  the  thunder-pumper,  Ihe 
mournful  sound  of  the  whip-poor-will  and  the  the  hooting  of  the  owl  are 
seldom  now'  heard. 

"Removing  the  timber  and  breaking  the  ground  and  draining  the 
swamps  began  to  show  their  effects  upon  the  springs  ami  watCT  courses. 
Many  became  dry  during  the  warm  season.  All  life,  he  it  salamander, 
fishes,  mollusks,  insects  or  plants  that  found  therein  a  home,  died.  The 
birds  that  lived  among  the  reeds  and  Hags,  mingling  their  voices  with 
the  frogs,  disappeared,  and  the  land  reclaimed  tells,  in  its  luxuriant, 
growth  of  corn,  no  story  to  the  casual  passerby  of  the  inhabitants  which 
i  !\  occupied  it. 

Birds  that  Are  Left 

"The   following  list  of  birds  may  still  be   found,   but  not  in   such 
numbers  as  formerly:     Robin,   meadow-lark,   blue-jay,   blackbird,   blue- 
bird,  woodpecker,   dove,   peewee,    chipbird,    catbird,   thrush,    kingl 
hawk,  crow,  owl,  swallow  and  English  sparrow.     The  hist  named,  i 
diced   some  years  ago  is   very   liar        and   prolific   and    is   becoming  a, 
nuisance  rather   than   otherwise.     It   lias  great  endurance,    its   lighting 
ies  ami  audacity  are  unheard  of.  and  if  is  driving  out  such   birds 
as  the  martin,  bluebird,  peewee  and  barn  swallow,  with  which  it  i 
so  intimately  In  contact." 

Nature  Changed  for  the  Bettek 

Altogether,  however,  the  evolution  of  the  local  fauna  ami  (lora,  forced 
hy  the  agencies  of  modern  advancement  and  clearly  traced  in  the  life 
span  of  old  men  and  women,  is  for  the  !-  ttermenl  of  humankind.  I'ros 
porous  villages  have  replaced  the  forest-haunts  of  wild  beasts;  pit 
ami  teeming  fields  appear  instead  of  swamps  and  bogs  alive  with  no 
and  dangerous  reptiles,  and  the  wild  tangle  of  plants  and  hitter  fruits 
has  disappeared  before  the  cultivated  grasses  and  fruil  Ihe  pastures 
I  with  hardy  livestock,  and  the  orchards  of  lie  contented  home- 
loaded   h  iih  apples,   peach  ;,  and  ot  her  prod f  cat 

industry. 

TllUS    WC    believe    we    have    laid    tllC   1  I    paini.  d     ill     lie     ■ 

rounds  necessarj    to  continue  Ihe  narrative  showing  llu 

nt   of   While  County   in   Ihe  details  which   the   reader   will    naturally 

crave. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  TIES  WHICH  BIND 

I'lan  op  Government  Surveys— Basis  of  Common  School  Fund — 
White  County  Lands  Classified — Mexican  Land  Warrants  Make 
Trouble— Canal  ind  Swamp  Lands — Last  of  the  State  Lands — 
Regulations  por  Township  Surveys — Natural  Features  to  be 
Noted— Subdivisions  op  the  Towns  hips — Early  Surveys  Within 
the  Present  Count\  -Surveying  Before  Land  Drainage — Swamp 
Lands  Drained— Early  Water  Travel — Pioneer  Roads— State 
and  National  Highways — Country  Roads  Surrendered  to  the 
Townships— Modern  Road  Building — Canal  and  Railroad  Com- 
petition— Pioneer  Railways — First  Winn:  County  Railroad- — 
'I'm:  Benefits  It  Brought — Headed  for  Monticello — Loga:  sport, 
Peoria  and  Burlington  Gets  There — White  County's  Railroad 
War— Road  Opens  with  Bloodshed — Grand  Prairie — Railway 
Stations  on  tiii  New  Line — The  Air-Line  Division  ok  the  Monon 
— Opening  op  the  Fndianapolis,  Delphi  &  Chicago  Railroad-  The 
Th  a  v\  men  Bind  the  <  Iounty. 

No  subject  can  be  named  of  more  practical   moment  in  connection 

with  the  ha  ic  develop lit   of  n   country  or  county  than  that 

relates  to  the  security  and  aceo  sibility  of  its  land  holdings.  The  subject 
touches  both  the  stable  founding  of  homes  and  communication  with 
!il.-  markets  mid  communities,  with  attendant  prosperity,  social 
gratification  ami  the  e  pan  ion  of  individuality.  More  precisely,  the 
steps  by  which  this  development  in  a  raw  country  arc-  successively  taken 
include  reliable  land  survey  s,  the  building  of  land  roads  and  the  imp 
luenl  ni'  waterways  as  tin  am  required  by  individuals  and  settlements. 
the  regulation  of  lilies  by  which  those  who  desire  to  use  the  land  shall 
have  priority  over  spi  -  i  Intern,  mid  the  devising  and  operation  of  mens 
hits  of  such  public  utility  as  extended  drainage  or  water  distribution. 
of  benefit  I"  large  tracts  of  country  which  could  not  be  brought  into 
i    I.         t  to  indii  idual  iuit  iat  ive. 

i   ,.■...■    i  n         real 

e.  terri  Invest  (i  Ohio  River,  Congress  was 

ih.   besl  methods  of  di'  lands  of  the  national  domain.     On  May 

18,  1784,  an  act  was  tin  nlm-ed  to  divid.   them  iul  ,     eaeli 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  t:j 

leu  miles  square;  in  April  of  the  following  year,  another  measure  was 
brought  before  the  Congress  proposing  thai  iwnship  should   be 

seven  miles  square,  and  on  the  20th  of  the  following  mouth  that  acl 
was  amended,  making  the  congressional  township  six  miles  square,  as 
at  present. 

After  the  appointment  of  surveyors  and  geographers  the  south  lino 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  extended  west  was  fixed  as  the  base  line. 
The  north  and  south  meridian  was  also  established.  The  surveyors  were 
ordered  to  note  "the  variations  of  the  magnetic  needle  at  the  time  the 
lines  were  run,"'  and  when  seven  ranges,  or  forty-two  miles,  had  been 
surveyed,  one-seventh  of  the  .same  was  to  be  sel  nparl  "for  the  use  of 
the  late  Continental  army." 

Basis  op  Common  School  Fund 

Then  the  section  numbered  16  in  each  congressional  district  was  se1 
apart  for  the  use  of  the  public  schools,  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale 
of  the  lands  therein  forming  the  basis  ever  thereafter  of  the  American 
common  school  fund. 

It  may  be  said  with  pride  that  the  lauds  in  White  County  have  never 
been  involved  in  extensive  litigation,  owing  to  the  fact  thai  all  ques 
tiouable  claims  by  the  Indians  or  others  were  settled  long  before  the 
advent  of  the  white  man,  and  there  is  not  a  single  Indian  reservation  in 
the  county.  Jn  this,  "White  County  has  been  more  fortunate  Hem  her 
.sisters  to  the  south  and  east. 

White  County  Lands  Classified 

Of  course,  the  title  to  all  our  lands  is  derived  from  the  United  states. 
but  at  various  times  the  Federal  Government  has  granted  to  the  state 
over  3,500,000  acres,  of  which  nearly  1,500,000  acres  was  applied  to  the 
completion  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  and  some  1,250.000  acres 
comprised  the  swamp  lands.  The  canal  and  swamp  lands,  together  with 
those  conveyed  by  the  Government  direct  to  the  purchaser  and  known 
as  government  land,  include  nearly  all  the  area  of  White  Count; 
square  miles. 

Mexican  Land  Warrants  Mark  Troi  i    k 

After  the  war  with  Mexico  n  land  warrant  was  i:  mod  to  each  Amer- 
ican w  ho  served  and  was  honorably  discharged,  entitling  him  to  a  quarter 
section  of  land  auywhere  in  tin    United  Stales  where  ll 
incut  land  subject  to  entry.     Thousands  of  these  warrants 
upon  the  market,  most  of  the  soldiers  i  to  Hie  land. 

warrants  passed  into  the  hand 
at   prices  ranging  I  to  $100  each,  and  many  valuable  ti 

land    in    While   Count}    were   thus   held   a»  lied    to 

ill j  settle. 


■11  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  CO!  NTY 

CANATi    AND    S\V  \-Ml'    LANDS 

Tlie  t  ime  may  be  said  even  more  forcibly  of  the  canal  and  the  swamp 
1. mils,  the  former  of  which  were  thrown  on  the  market  at  a  period  pre- 
vious td  the  iIikkI  of  Mexican  land  warrants  and  the  swamp  lauds  at 
a  later  date.  They  were  all  largely  purchased  by  non-resident  specu- 
lators, who  advanced  the  Government  price  of  $1.25  per  acre  to  double 
and  even  quadruple  t  hose  figures. 

In  many  ol  In  i  waj  s  the  history  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  reflects 
no  credit  on  its  promoters.     Winn  partly  finished   it  was  turned  over 

to  the  creditors  for  c pleti  n,  who  also  failed  to  finish  it,  but  made 

many  attempts  to  get  the  Legislature  to  make  an  appropriation  for 
the  purpose.  Finally,  in  1873  an  amendmenl  to  the  state  constitution 
was  adopted  forever  prohibiting  the  payment  of  any  part  ol'  the  claims. 

As  to  the  swamp  lands,  they  should  have  been  sold  and  the  proceeds 
placed  tn  the  credit  of  the  school  fund,  but  the  deadly  politician  came 
into  action  and  most  of  this  gift. — to  use  the  mildest  expression — was 
dissipated.  The  loss  of  the  state  in  these  transactions  has  been  vari- 
esthnated  at  from  $1,000,000  to  +2,000,000,  of  which  White  County 
lost  her  full  share. 

Last  of  the  State  Lands 

The  lasl  lands  l"  he  entered,  or  purchased  from  the  state,  was  about 

400  aens  ki   >wn  as  University  lands,  and  which  were  sold  al I    L890 

under  an  act  of  the  Legislature  "f  1889.  Since  then  neither  the  state 
j i or  the  Federal  Government  has  held  any  title  to  lands  in  White  County. 

Although  thecal  \;<  set  Hi  rs  of  White  County  had  their  share  of  I  rouble 
over  thi  ir  land  tenures,  they  were  much  more  fortunate  than  the  coun- 
ties which  were  along  the  direct  route  of  the  canal,  wen  more  pi  pulous 
and  ambitious,  and  were  an  intimate  par!  of  the  "boom"  of  the  '30s, 
d  bj  the  building  of  the  state  roads  and  the  Wabash  and  Krie 
Canal  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Ohio  River.  In  the  on  Lion  of 
the  largest  of  the  enterprises  connected  with  Indiana's  ambition  sj  stem 
of  internal  improvement,  While  County  was  somewhat  awaj  from  the 
main  routes,  which  generally  included  the  valley  of  the  Wabash,  but, 
as  has  been  intimated,  ideut  had  its  ad^ 

thai  its  territory  escaped  in  some  measure  the  invasion  and  manipulation 
-."   w  ho  so    worked   to   the   disadvantage   of   the 
founders  and  bu ildi  rs  of  homes. 

Reoui     on   T  mr    '    rvi  ys 

\i\    tl i'T,  -  ini  nl  i  ■'  ',   1785,   il    ■ 

■   appoint  in.  coirraji 

"The  lir.-l   line  running  north  and  south  iid,  shall  ln-»iii  on  the 

river  Ohio,  nl   n   point   thai   shall  In-   found  to  be  due  north 
i  in  us  o  I  a  line  i>  li  ii-li  I 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  \:, 

of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  I   Liiiu  running  east  and 

'.  ill  !  .  -in  a1  the  same  point,  and  shall  extend  tlirou   I    I  terri- 

tory;  provided   that  nothing  herein   shall   bo   construed   as   fixiii] 

western  boundary  of  the  state  of  Pi   msylvania.     Tin 

aate  the  townships  or  fractional  townships  by  number 
sivcly,  from  south  to  north — always  beginning  uacb  range  with  No.  1; 
and  the  ranges  shall  be  distinguished  by  their  progressive  numbers  to 
the  westward,  the  first  range  extending  from  the  Ohio  to  l^akc  Erie 
being  marked  No.  1.  The  geographer  shall  personally  attend  to  the 
running  of  the  first  east  and  west  line  and  shall  take  the  latitu 
vt  In-  extremes  of  the  first  north  and  south  line  and  of  the  mouths  of 
the  principal  rivers. 


An  Old-Time  11  vil  Coach 
Natural  Features  to  be  Noted 

"The  lines  shall  be  measured  with  a  chain;  shall  be  plain! 
by  chaps  pu  the  ti  ixaetly  described  on  a  pi        wliei    on     hall  be 

noted  by  the  surveyor  al  their  pi 
salt  licks  and  mill  seats  thai  shall  come  to  Ins  km  11 

courses,   mountains  and  other  remarkable  and   pun icul    things  over 

or  near  which  such  lines  shall  pass,  and  also  the  ipialit}  of  the  lands. 

I  in.  Tow  N     III 

"The  plats  of  the  townships,  respectively,  mall  be  marked  by  sub- 
divisions into  lots  of  our  mile  square,  or  six  hundred  and  foi 

line  directioi  ml  1 

l Idi'ty-Mx— always  beginning  the  stieci     I 
number  n  with   wliii  ding  one  concluded. 

mentioned,  mil}    u    i'1  actional   pari   i 
hip  shall  he 


4G 


HISTORY  OF  WIIITK  COUNTY 


same  number  as  if  tin;  township  had  buen  entire.     And  the  surveyors 
in  running  the  external  lines  of  the  townslup  .shall,  at  the  interval  of 
every  mile,  mark  corners  For  the  lots  which  are  adjacent,  always  d 
nating  the  same  in  a  different  manner  from  tlm.se  of  the  township." 

Early  Surveys  Within  the  Present  County 


/ 


Chapter  80,  Acts  of  Indiana  Legislature  1831,  approved  February 
10,  1831  :  page  129,  section  6,  enacts  as  follows:  '"That  Samuel  Basye 
of  Tippecanoe  county,  he  appointed  a  commissioner  to  locate  a  road 
from  Lafayette  in  Tippecanoe  county  to  the  month  of  Trail  creek  on 
Lake  Michigan." 

By  the  same  act  commissioners  were  appointed  on  other  roads  and 
all  were  ordered  to  iuee1  on  the  first  -Monday  of  May,  1831,  "or  .some 
subsequent  day,"  take  an  oath,  proceed  with  a  .surveyor  to  locate  and 
mark  out  said  roads  in  the  nearest  and  best  directions,  ''having  due 
regard  to  the  quality  and  situation  of  the  ground;  a  plat  of  which  loca- 
tion they  shall  file  in  the  clerk's  office  of  each  county  through  which  the 
same  shall  pass,  so  far  as  it  shall  run  through  said  county."  Their  pay 
was  fixed  at  $]  per  day  for  each  day  the}-  were  engaged  at  said  work. 
This  was  prior  to  the  organization  of  "White  County  and  the  plat  of  the 
road  through  its  boundary  was  filed  in  the  clerk's  office  of  Carroll  County, 
of  which  county  at  that  time  we  formed  a  part. 

Trail  ('reel,  empties  into  Lake  Michigan  at  Michigan  City,  and  from 
this  fact  the  road,  a  part  of  which  is  Main  Street  in  Monticello,  has  been 
known  as  the  Lafayette  and  Michigan  City  .State  Koad.  The  direct 
route  betwei  n  these  points  was  almost  wholly  a  series  of  swamps,  which 

rendered   it    in ssary  to  depart  from  the  shortest   line.     Over  a   large 

part  of  this  road  an  old-fashioned  stage  line  operated  a  daily  service 
between  Lafayette  and  .Monticello  for  many  years. 

Section  7  of  the  above  named  act  of  1831  directed  Thomas  Gillam, 
present  commissioner  on  the  state  road  leading  from  Praukford  (as 
Frankfort  was  then  known)  in  Clinton  county  to  Delphi  in  Carrol] 
enmity  to  make  such  changes  in  its  location  as  he  might  thin! 
"and  aNo  to  extend  the  locution  of  such  road  in  or  near  the  same  direc- 
tion to  where  the  same  shall  intersect  the  road  leading  from  Lafayette 
to  the  month  of  Trail  creek  <>n  Lake  Michigan." 

Thus  we  see  that  ncarlj  four  yeai's  prior  to  the  organization  of 
White  County,  we  were  united  by  these  roads  with  Frankfort,  Delphi, 
Lafayette  and  l.aki-  Michigan,  but  we  must,  not  forget  that  these  roads 

•c  little  more  than  trails. 

By  an  act  of  the  Indiana  Legislature,  approved  January  18,  1X3:5, 
(see  \cts  1833,  page  16-1),  John  Armstrong,  of  Carroll  County,  was 
appointed  to  view,  marl;  and   h     if  •:  road,  "conimeticiiif:  al   I  lie 

public  square  in  the  town  of  Lafayette  in  I  ty  of  Tippecanoe,  run- 

ning from  thence  nortl  ing  the   Wabash    river  al 

calhd    Davis'   ferry,   thence   Iv  near  to  '   ford,    .Mo. a-'  creek, 

thence  the  nearest  and  hesl  way  lo  section  sixteen  in  townsbi] 


HISTORY  <>K  WIIITH  COUNTY  17 

twenty-six,  north  of  range  three  west,  where  tin  >auie  will  inter  eel  a 
state  road  leading  From  Delphi  in  Carroll  eountj  to  Lake  Michigan.' 
Tins  section  16  in  less  than  two  miles  .south  of  Monliccllo,  and  from  this 
it  will  he  seen  that  at  least  three  roads  were  opened  through  our  county 
prior  to  its  organization  in  1834. 

[Jut  the  Northwest  Territory  was  quite  a  trael  of  land,  and  even 
when  White  County  was  organized  in  1834  many  of  its  congressional 
townships  had  not  been  divided  into  sections,  and  thus.'  which  had  been 
were  so  lately  done  that  the  section  and  quarter-section  corners  were 
still  plainly  marked  with  stakes,  witness  trees  or  mounds  of  earth;  th- 
irties couid  he  easily  traced  without  the  aid  of  compass  or  chain.  Then 
was  therefore  little  work-  for  a  surveyor  in  White  County  For  a  number 
of  years  after  its  creation  and  one  was  not  elected  by  the  settlers  until 
1838. 

Before  then,  about  the  only  time  that,  the  services  of  a  surveyor 
were  desired  was  when  some  enterprising  and  hopeful  settler  concluded 
that  he  had  located  at  the  point  of  a  future  town  or  city.  Several  men 
located  in  the  early  '30s,  who  brought  their  compasses,  chains  and  rods 
with  them,  and  were  equal  to  the  platting  of  any  town  on  earth:  among 
the  best  known  surveyors  of  those  times  were  Malachai  Gray,  -I"  luui 
Lindsay,  Asa  Allen,  John  Kious  and  John  D.  Compton. 

But  after  a  few  years  the  Government  stakes  and  trees  which  marked 
the  original  surveys  were  burned  by  prairie  tires,  or  leveled  by  hunters 
and  settlers,  without  knowledge  of  their  significance,  and  the  mounds  oF 
earth  thrown  up  in  places  where  timber  was  scarce  disappeared  before 
the  plough  of  the  husbandman  and  the  hoofs  of  the  cattle.  Then  the 
settlers  saw  the  necessity  of  having  an  authorized  official  to  restore  the 
obliterated  lines  and  corner  markings,  as  well  as  complete  the  subdivi 
sions  required  by  the  incoming  land  buyers.  Asa  Allen  was  then  Fore 
elected  the  first  county  surveyor  and  served  for  a  (period  of  four 
during  which  much  of  this  pioneer  work  was  accomplished. 

Surveying  Before  Land  Drainagk 

For  several  years  the  surveyor's  office  was  far  from  desirable, 
"ii  account  of  its  meager  fees  and  the  trials  and  expense  incident  to  held 
work.      During  fully   three  mouths  of   the  year   much   of   the   land   was 
partially  covered  with  water  and  often  the  lines  had  '"  he  run  through 
anas  submerged  from  two  to  four  Eeel  and  from  80  to  IGO  rods  in  width. 

Iirvcyor  must  either  wade  through   the  sloughs  in   the   wake  of  his 
chninincn,  or  await  the  coining  of  winter  and  fix  his  "corners"  on  the 

The  latter  method  was  preferable  to  wading,  considered    from    Ma 

probability  of  correct  measurements,  bui  the  frequent  ui  i  -were 

by  m>  means  pleasant  to  meet;  so  that  there  were  decided  di 

itiotl  of  survey  ing  operations  at   all  sea:   ms  ol    the  year.      Tin 

lillg  of  the  lands  lightened  and  facilitated   lie    work  of  Hie  sill 

and  was  an  encouragement  to  tin  land  buyer  in  di\  ■  ways,  aboul 

ii«  be  described. 


48  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Sw  imp  Lands  Drained 

It  was  many  years,  however,  before  these  benefits,  either  to  the  sur- 
veyor or  the  Earmcr,  were  to  be  realized  in  White  County;  for  at  least 
a  quarter  of  a  century  its  residents  were  to  bo  the  prey  of  the  unscru- 
pulous politician  and  speculator,  who  filled  their  pockets  with  thousands 
of  dollars  which  legitimately  belonged  to  the  tillers  and  toilers  of  the  soil. 

\w  the  congressional  act  of  September  28,  1850,  the  United  States 
granted  to  the  State  of  Indiana  all  the  overflowed  laud  remaining  unsold 
therein-;  it  is  estimated  that  the  swamp  lands  iu  "White  County  covered 
an  area  of  at  least  100,000  aeres,  or  nearly  a  third  of  its  total  territory. 
It  is  fortunate  for  the  authoritative  discussion  of  the  subject  in  hand 
that  we  have  an  account  written  by  the  late  Milton  M.  Sill,  county 
surveyor  in  L859-61,  and  afterward  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Mon- 
tieello  Herald,  draft  commissioner,  sheriff  and  provost  marshal  during 
the  Civil  war,  and  later  a  respected  practitioner  at  the  bar. 

Mr.  Sill's  words,  clearly  and  earnestly  written  as  one  having  author- 
ity, are  as  follows:  "Much  benefit  was  expected  to  inure  to  the  settlers 
in  White  county  by  this  action  of  Congress  and  doubtless  their  expecta- 
tions would  have  been  fully  realized  had  the  act  been  carried  out  in  good 
faith;  but  it  was  hot— it  was  a  gigantic  steal  from  start  to  finish.  Com- 
missioners wen'  appointed  1>.\  the  legislature  to  select  and  plat  the  swamp 
lands,  who,  in  express  violation  of  the  act  of  Congress  granting  the  land, 
selected  and  designated  large  tracts  of  the  very  best  of  our  high  rolling 
prairie  as  swamp  laud  ;  and  it  was  so  taken  and  accepted,  and  sold 
as  swamp  land  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-live  cents,  the  law  prohibiting 
a  less  price. 

"Nearly  all  the  land  passed  into  the  hands  of  non-resident  specu- 
lators, who  held  it   I'm-  an  advance  from  the  purchase  price,  expecting 

the  money  they  had  paid  in  would  be  applied  to  the  drainage  of  the 
land.  In  this  they  were  sorely  disappointed;  not  one-tenth  of  the  money 
paid  into  the  treasury  by  tin  m  was  applied  to  the  drainage  of  the  laud. 
It  is  true  thai  under  the  acl  of  the  Legislature  of  May  20,  1852,  some 
ditching  was  done  in  this  county,  but  no  practical  benefit  was  derived 
therefrom  excepi  to  the  men  engaged  in  the  work,  who  were  paid  si  lighl 
advance  above  ordinary  wag  The  ditches  in  many  places  wen-  never 
completed,  and  in  otlu  rs  wi  ro  found  to  be  wholly  insufficient  in  capacity. 

In   short,  the   mone\    v.,;      Upiandd'cd   and    went    into  the   poekets  ol    men 

who  handled  it  for  their  own  personal  benefit;  the  water  was  still  on 
the  land  and  IllUSl  he  got  o(T  befoi'q  the  farmers  could  lmpr  lo  gi  I  a  fail- 
return  for  their  labor. 

'•It  is  truly  said  "Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  wa\  :'  ami  it  was 
found  ,ii  last,  though  twenty  ycai  !  before  the  waj   was  found. 

On  the  Huh  of  March,  IS73,  an  aH  of  the  State  Lcgi  lature  wi  i  approved 
authorising  the  formation  of  draining  companies,  ami  giving  them  p 
to  asses-:  benefits  against   all   lands  benefited   by  the   work-.     Tlii 
though  somewhat  complicated,  wi         <  uni  ig,  and  as  improved  by 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  49 

subsequent  acts  was  the  means  of  finally  clearing  the  county  of  its  seas 
oL'  water  and  rendering  a  vast  area  of  land  productive  and  fruitful. 

"Better  still  is  the  showing  as  to  health.  The  last  report  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health  places  White  county  at.  the  top  of  the  list,  with 
the  smallest  mortality  iu  proportion  to  its  population  of  any  county  in 
the  state.  The  visitor  who  returns  now  after  an  absence  of  twenty  years 
may  well  express  his  astonishment  at  the  marvelous  change.  Where 
once  he  saw  only  stagnant  pools  and  seas  of  water,  now  gently  wave 
vast  fields  of  golden  grain.  Neatly  painted  farm  houses  and  barns  have 
replaced  the  log  cabin  and  stable  of  the  early  settler.  Where  once  he 
could  travel  for  miles  through  the  open  prairie  without  road  or  path 
and  with  no  fence  to  bar  his  progress,  he  must  now  follow  roads  on 
established  lines  through  lanes  of  hedge  or  wire  on  either  side,  and 
cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  other  stock  grazing  in  the  fields  to  right  and 
left.  Would  he  know  the  price  of  land  which  could  have  been  purchased 
twenty  years  before  for  five,  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars  per  acre,  he 
will  be  informed  that  now  it  is  worth  from  thirty  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  acre,  if  for  sale  at  all.  Much  of  this  rapid  advance  in  tin; 
price  of  real  estate  is  due  to  this  splendid  system  of  drainage ;  hut  nature 
should  be  given  a  share  of  the  credit  also.  The  Tippecanoe  river,  flow- 
ing from  north  to  south  through  the  county  its  entire  length,  with  an 
average  fall  of  five  feet  to  the  mile  and  an  average  depth  below  t he 
surface  level  of  sixty  feet,  with  branches  on  either  side  reaching  to  and 
beyond  the  county's  eastern  and  western  limits,  affords  opportunity  for 
successful  drainage  at  comparatively  small  cost." 

Within  ten  years  after  the  passage  of  the  decisive  legislative  act  of 
1873  the  different  ditch  companies  probably  spent  $o00,0()0  in  the  county, 
of  which  about  two-thirds  was  for  open  ditches  and  the  remainder  for 
tiling  and  closed  drainage.  Most  of  this  work,  which  laid  tin-  hasis 
of  the  fine  system  of  drainage  which  now  prevails,  was  accomplished  in 
the  later  part  of  that  period.  The  improvements  iu  this  regard  have 
been  so  continuous  and  thorough  that  it  would  take  far  more  space  than 
the  editor  has  at  his  command  to  enter  into  details  as  to  tin'  Location 
and  courses  of  even  the  open  ditches;  but  any  good  map  of  the  county 
will  indicate  them  as  a  fine  network  spread  over  tho  entire  comity,  per- 
haps the  closest  woven  in  the  townships  of  Honey  Creek,  Monon,  Cass, 
West  Point  and  Prairie. 

Early  Water  Travel 

Although  the  Tippecanoe  River  was  Ei ly  used  by  the  early  sctth  ra 

of  Whit.-  County,  it  could  not  become  such  a  well  traveled  water  way 
as  the  broader,  deeper  and  geographically  important  Wabash,  The 
traders,  voyageurs  and  hunters  naturally  made  less  frequent  ti  n  of  its 
waters  than  those  of  the  parent  stream,  and  the  hoats  which  followed 
its  ionise  were  smaller  and  more  fragile  than  those  which  plied  the 
Wabash.  Put  before  the  lands  were  drained  to  any  considerable  extcnl 
the  Tippecanoe  ami  it-;  tributary  streams  were  almost  nceessities  of  exist- 


'  )/' 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  5.1 

ence  to  the  farmer,  hunter  and  woodsman,  who  must  seek  such  markets 
as  Logansport  and  Lafayette  for  the  sale  of  their  produce  and  the  replen- 
ishing of  their  households  and  individual  establishments.  Flat  boats 
would  often  be  built  in  the  summer  and  loaded  with  corn,  wheat  and 
other  pi'oduets,  and  then  the  proprietors  would  wait  for  a  heavy  rain 
or  a  freshet  to  carry  them  out  into  the  Tippecanoe  and  thence  to  the 
Wabash. 

As  the  settlers  ventured  away  from  the  valley  of  the  Wabash  into 
both  the  eastern  and  western  tributaries,  they  cut  pathways  through 
the  woods,  winding  in  and  out  and  following  the  courses  which  had  the 
fewest  hogs  and  other  drawbacks,  such  as  inequalities  of  surface  and 
tenacious  clay. 

PlONEEIt  KoADS 

With  the  increase  of  population  and  the  opening  of  new  farms  on 
the  upland  prairies  and  other  fairly  dry  lands,  it  became  necessary  to 
straighten  the  roads  before  laid  out  along  the  lines,  or  rather  curves 
and  loops,  of  least  resistance,  and  to  place  them  on  section  and  quarter 
section  lines.  This  could  not  be  accomplished  for  any  great  distance 
without  encountering  a  slough  too  wide  to  bridge  and  too  miry  to  ford. 
In  such  cases  the  logs,  rails,  brush  and  sand  of  the  neighborhood  were 
called  into  requisition  in  the  construction  of  the  old-time  corduroy  road; 
the  sand,  loam  or  muck  covering,  as  the  case  might  be,  was  about  a 
foot  thick,  but  soon  sifted  between  the  crevices,  and  it  called  for  good 
nerves  and  solid  flesh  to  withstand  much  travel  over  these  crude  high- 
ways. But  they  shortened  the  distance  between  points,  which  was  an 
advantage  over  the  old  windings,  and  although  they  were  frequently  of 
insufficient  width  to  allow  the  passage  of  teams  and  caused  delay  when 
travelers  in  opposite  directions  met  on  a  long  road,  and  one  or  the  other 
had  to  give  way  and  retrace  his  course — still,  even  that  experience  was 
better  than  to  become  lost,  mired  or  completely  exhausted  by  travel 
over  the  old  excuses  for  roads. 

State  and  National  Highways 

White  County  did  not  receive  the  direct  benefit  from  the  building 
of  any  of  the  general  highways  surveyed  and  put  through  the  state  by 
the  Legislature  and  the  general  Government,  such  as  the  Michigan,  the 
Cumberland  and  the  National  roads.  On  January  21,  1828,  Hie  State 
Legislature  passed  an  act  directing  the  survey  of  the  Michigan  Road. 
This  was  done  and  a  lane  put  through  the  fores)  100  feet  wide.  In 
1832  the  work  had  reached  Logansport  from  the  "bio  River,  and  within 
the  following  two  years,  Or  about  the  time  White  County  was  created, 
it  bad  been  extender!  northward  to  Rochester  and  lin all\  to  Lake  Midi 
igan.  The  Michigan,  although  a  crude,  ungraded  road,  w  it  h  many 
slumps  left  standing  in  its  course  and  furnishing  illustrations  of  somt; 
of  the  most  trying  examples  of  corduroys  in  Hie  S'oi'thwest,  was,  never 
'helcss,  n  passageway  through  the  State  of  Indiana,  connecting  with  the 


52  HISTORY  OE  WHITE  COUNTY 

'  Cumberland  and  its  extension,  the  National,  at  Indianapolis.  Emigrants 
from  the  East  came  down  the  Ohio  River,  then  took  the  Michigan  Road 
to  all  points  in  Indiana  and  the  Northwest.  Others,  traveling  in  wagons, 
drawn  by  oxm  as  a  rule,  came  over  the  National  Road  to  Indianapolis, 
and  thence  north  over  the  Michigan  Road  to  Logansport  and  other 
northern  points.  The  early  roads  built  in  White  County,  before  the 
drainage  of  its  lands  commenced  iu  earnest  and  it  became  possible  to 
construct  the  modern  turnpikes,  were  mostly  designed  to  be  feeders 
to  the  Michigan  Road  which  passed  along  the  valley  of  the  Wabash. 

County  Roads  Surrendered  to  the  Townships 

Up  to  1852,  when  the  new  constitution  was  adopted,  the  roads  were 
looked  after  almost  entirely  by  the  county.  At  that  time  the  control 
of  the  roads  was  practically  surrendered  to  the  townships,  together  with 
the  care  of  the  poor  and  the  schools.  In  1859  the  Legislature  abolished 
the  board  of  three  township  trustees  and  gave  the  one  trustee  much  more 
power. 

Modern  Road  Building 

Rut  the  greatest  impetus  to  road  building  in  county  and  state  was 
the  enactment  of  the  Free  Turnpike  Law  of  1877,  passed  four  years 
after  the  measure  went  into  effect  creating  the  drainage  system  under 
which  a  third  of  the  county  has  been  redeemed  from  the  swamps  and 
finely  developed  as  a  country  of  good  roads.  White  County  was  not 
slow  to  take  advantage  of  the  law.  Though  much  opposition  was  encoun- 
tered  at  first  from  the  large  land  owners  along  the  lines  of  road  first 
subject  to  improvement,  after  a  few  miles  had  been  completed  the  assess- 
ments were,  as  a  rule,  paid  without  undue  solicitation.  The  result  of 
this  road  building  up  to  date  is  that  the  county  has  within  its  Hunts 
175  miles  of  gravel  and  170  miles  of  stone  and  macadam  road. 

Canal  and  Railroad  Competition 

We  now  come  to  the  period  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  and  the 
competition  of  the  first  railroads  in  the  state.  The  decade  previous  to 
1856  witnessed  the  keenest  rivalry,  that  year  marking  the  decline  of  the 
canal  trade.  Briefly,  the  northern  sections  of  the  canal  were  completed 
to  Logansport  in  1810,  ami  farmers  as  far  north  as  Plymouth  and  much 
farther  west  than  Monticello,  brought,  their  produce  to  Logansport  to 
be  shipped  east  over  the  canal.  It  was  completed  to  Lafayette  the  fol- 
lowing year  and  to  Evansville,  on  the  Ohio  River,  several  years  there- 
after. Both  Logansport  and  Lafayette  received  their  full  share  of  the 
canal  boom  during  the  following  period  of  fifteen  years,  while  Monti- 
cello  and  White  County  were  benefited,  albeit  not  stimulated,  in  that 
they  were  placed  in  more  intimate  connection  than  ever  before  with  the 
markets  to  which  they  were  tributary, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  53 

Pioneer  Railways 

The  Madison  &  Indianapolis  Railroad,  the  first  railway  in  the  state, 
was  completed  from  the  Ohio  River  to  the  capital  in  the  fall, of  1847,  hut 
the  first  definite  approach  of  a  railroad  toward  White  County  was  to  be 
from  Cincinnati  by  way  of  Logansport.  In  1848  the  citizens  of  Cass 
County  began  the  agitation  of  a  line  to  their  town  from  the  Ohio  metrop- 
olis, and  the  result  was  the  incorporation  of  the  Lake  Michigan,  Logans- 
port  &  Ohio  River  Railroad  Company,  designed  to  build  a  line  (from 
Cincinnati  to  Chicago  via  Logansport.  A  few  years  later  the  enter- 
prise was  revived  in  the  New  Castle  &  Richmond  Railroad,  now  the 
Richmond  and  Logansport  Division  of  the  Panhandle  or  Pennsylvania 
Railroad. 

First  "White  County  Railroad 
• 

About  this  time  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad  was 
projected  from  New  Albany,  on  the  Ohio,  to  Michigan  City  at  the  foot 
of  Lake  Michigan,  and  it  was  completed  through  the  state  in  1853-54. 
Its  construction  through  the  very  center  of  White  County  was  immedi- 
ately felt  in  the  stimulus  both  of  town  creation  and  rural  expansion. 
Monon,  under  the  name  of  New  Bradford,  Chalmers,  as  Mudge's  Sta- 
tion, Brookston  and  Reynolds,  as  now  known,  were  all  products  of  that 
period  and  originally  mere  stations  of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  & 
Chicago  Railroad.  They  were  soon  centers  of  trade  and  supplies  for 
a  large  portion  of  the  settlers. 

The  Benefits  It  Brought 

The  road  "was  of  great  benefit  to  the  farmers  of  White  county, 
passing,  as  it  did,  through  the  county  near  the  center  for  a  distance  of 
twenty-four  miles,  and  affording  a  market  for  their  grain  and  stock  at 
home  which  they  had  not  before  enjoyed.  They  were  not  the  only 
beneficiaries,  however;  the  merchants,  shippers  of  stock  and  travelers 
Were  all  benefited.  The  merchant,  instead  of  mounting  his  horse  and 
riding  to  Cincinnati,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles,  or  going  by  stage 
'"•nil  with  the  money  with  which  to  purchase  his  goods  in  a  leather 
bell  strapped  around  his  waist,  or  carried  in  his  saddle  bag  or  valise, 
could  get  aboard  the  train  and  in  a  tenth  part  of  the  time,  and  with  less 
than  one-half  of  the  expense  required  by  the  old  way,  'Jet  to  his  des- 
tination, purchase  his  goods  and  return  home,  without  hi-;  absence  being 
discovered  by  his  friends  and  neighbors. 

"Another  benefit  was  the  facility  of  communication  by  letters  between 
distant  points.  It  was  possible  to  transmit  affairs  of  business,  or  send 
missives  of  friendship,  to  distant  points  and  receive  answers  in  ret  urn 
in  11  few  hours,  where  before  it  had  required  days  and  even  weeks  to 
accomplish  that  feat.  It  was  also  possible  to  get  the  news  of  daily 
•  vents  transpiring  in  the  outside   world,  which  had  only  been  learned 


54 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


before  by  tile  perusal  of  the  weekly  newspaper,  a  week  or  two  after  the 
happening." 

Headed  for  Monticello 

Monticello  was  still  without  a  railroad;  but  hers  was  coming  and 
would  arrive  ill  live  or  six  years  from  the  Logansport  way,  through  the 
forerunner  of  the  east  and  west  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  It 
is  said  that  the  Lake  Michigan,  Logansport  &  Ohio  River  Railroad  Coin- 
pan}-  expected  to  build  its  line  west  and  south  along  the  Wabash  and 
did  much  grading,  but  never  completed  the  road,  and  the  Logansport 
&  Crawfordsville  Railroad  later  acquired  its  rights.  The  section  from 
Logansport  to  Kokoiuo  was  first  constructed  because  of  the  canal  con- 
veniences for  the  shipping  of  material.  In  1855  the  first  engine  was 
received  at  Logansport  through  the  canal,  and  the  trial  trip  over  the 
railroad  was  made  on  July  4th  of  that  year,  the  success  of  the  event 
being  celebrated  by  a  picnic  and  speeches  near  Taber's  prairie,  two 
miles  cast  of  that  town. 

Logansport,  Peoria  &  Burlington  Gets  There 

But  although  the  iron  horse  was  thus  headed  for  Monticello,  he  did 
not  actually  snort  into  its  limits  until  five  years  later.  The  Logansport, 
Peoria  &  Burlington  Railroad  was  completed  in  December,  185!),  as  a 
feeder  of  the  Toledo,  Wabash  &  "Western  line,  running  from  Toledo  to 
St.  Louis.  The  first  cars  over  the  Wabash  line  run  into  Logansport 
in  March,  1S5G,  and  what  is  now  the  State  Line  Division  of  the  Pan- 
handle or  Pennsylvania  System,  extending  from  Logansport  to  Peoria, 
was  begun  soon  afterward. 

White  County's  Railroad  War 

For  some  time  there  had  been  trouble  between  the  laborers  and  con- 
tractors in  Cass  County  and  the  quarrel  spread  into  White  County  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  has  gone  into  local  history  as  the  Railroad  War. 
The  disputes  culminated  in  direct  conflict  between  the  railroad  man- 
agement, contractors  and  the  sheriff  on  one  side,  and  the  railroad  hands 
on  the  other,  and  a  riot  occurred  when  the  celebrating  excursionists 
reached  a  point  on  their  trip  toward  Peoria,  a  few  miles  west  of  Monti- 
cello. Two  of  the  rioters  were  wounded — one  rather  badly — and  a 
number  badly  battered  on  both  sides  with  clubs  and  axes. 

Road  Opens  with  Bloodshed 


The  account  of  the  exciting  celebration  of  tin;  opening  of  White 
County's  first  railroad,  in  so  far  as  the  events  relate  to  home  territory, 
is  thus  told  by  the  Logansport  Journal  of  December  31,  185!):  "The 
long  looked-for  connection  with  the  Peoria  and  Oquaka  road  was  made 
on  Monday  last,  the  2Gth.    The  first  passenger  ear,  with  a  party  of  excur- 


' 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY    .  55 

sionists,  started  from  Bridge  street,  on  Monday  morning,  made  the  trip 
through  to  Peoria,  and  returned  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  28th.  As 
the  opening  of  this  road  (the  Logansport,  Peoria  and  Burlington)  is 
justly  regarded  as  of  much  importance  to  our  people,  we  are  induced 
to  give  a  space  to  a  notice  of  the  occasion  commensurate  with  the  great 
interest  in  the  enterprise  felt  here  and  elsewhere. 

"The  party,  composed  of  some  twenty  citizens,  two  or  three  con- 
tractors, Mr*.  Oilman  of  New  York,  one  of  the  directors,  and  Mr.  Crugar, 
the  superintendent  of  the  Oquaka  road,  after  a  very  short  notice,  assem- 
bled near  the  Wabash  bridge  at  11  o'clock.     The  train  started  at  11 :30. 

v"The  run  to  Monticello,  twenty-one  miles,  was  made  in  about  an 
hour.  The  track,  though  just  put  down,  was  in  very  good  condition. 
At  Monticello  too  short  a  stay  was  made  to  enable  several  to  join  the 
company,  who  intended  to  -have  done  so. 

"At  Reynolds  Station  we  found  a  large  car  used  for  boarding-house 
purposes,  fifty-five  feet  long  and  eighteen  wide,  two  stories,  on  the  track. 
The  rails  had  been  removed  from  the  road,  both  before  and  behind  the 
car,  and  it  seemed  immovable.  This  arrangement  was  in  pursuance  of 
a  plan,  ostensibly,  to  obtain  pay  for  the  hands  who  had  been  laying 
the  track,  but  really  was  intended  to  obstruct  the  road  so  that  the  cars 
could  not  pass  over  before  the  first  of  January.  Upon  this  condition, 
subscription  notes  for  over  $120,000  became  payable,  and  it  is  rather 
probable  that  the  demonstration  was  instigated  by  some-  such  interest 
as  this. 

"The  company  had  paid  off  the  track-laying  contractors  on  Satur- 
day' and  owed  nothing  on  that  score.  The  contractors  were  paying  off 
their  men  at  Logansport  at  that  moment  and  designed  paying  those  at 
the  Station  on  the  next  day  (which  was  actually  done).  The  con- 
tractors were  at  the  Station  and  gave  assurances  as  to  the  true  state 
of  the  case,  but  without  effect. 

"Strychnine  whiskey  and  bad  counsel  possessed  too  much  influence. 
The  insurgents  had  no  complaint  whatever  against  the  company;  and 
the  obstruction  was  a  high-handed  outrage  against  right  and  the  law. 
Extensive  preparation  had  evidently  been  made  for  a  fight,  for  some 
forty  men  were  garrisoned  in  the  car,  each  bearing  a  freshly  made  club. 
The  effective  force  upon  the  train  was  small,  so,  after  a  parley  of  two 
hours  and  a  counsel  of  war,  the  train  was  run  back  to  Monticello.  Here 
warrants  were  obtained  for  the  arrest  of  three  of  the  more  active 
insurgents. 

"On  the  return  of  the  train  with  the  sheriff,  nearly  half  of  the  car 
force  left,  and  another  parley  took  place  with  the  rioters,  but  it  was 
bootless  except  to  one  of  the  force,  who  was  kicked  from  the  platform. 
Propositions  to  telegraph  to  Governors  Wise  and  Willard  and  President 
Buchanan  were  overruled.  After  an  hour  spent  in  unavailing  quarrel- 
ing, it  was  concluded  to  take  the  car  by  storm,  which  was  handsomely 
ilon.>  by  a  detachment  of  the  excursionists  headed  by  the  sheriff  (time, 
six  minutes).  For  a  few  minutes  a  bloody  Bcuffle  took  place  for  pos- 
session of  the  iron  rails  which  were  in  the  cur.     Clubs,  axes,  spikes,  iron 


f* 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  57 

chairs  and  pistols  were  uncomfortably  thick  and  active.  One  of  the 
ear  party  rushed  upon  ohe  of  the  assailants  with  au  axe  and  received 
a  pistol  ball  in  his  breast.  This  ended  the  conflict,  for  the  light  instantly 
turned  into  a  rout,  and  the  front  door  was  filled  by  the  retreating  party, 
who  took  no  care  upon  which  end  they  landed  so  they  got  upon  the 
ground  somewhere. 

"The  rails  were  replaced  in  a  few  minutes  and  in  a  short  time  the 
train,  with  the  captured  fort,  was  on  its  way  again  to  Monticello,  where 
a  switch  received  the  obnoxious  edifice.  The  train  then  returned  to 
Reynolds,  took  up  the  excursionists  and  at  7  o'clock  recommenced  the 
trip  to  Peoria.  9 

Grand  Prairie 

"The  scenery  through  which  the  road  passes  was  new  to  most  of 
the  excursionists.  The  Grand  Prairie  was  entered  just  beyond  Reynolds 
Station,  but  nothing  could  be  seen  until  daylight.  At  that  time  the  eye 
fell  upon  a  country  unbroken  by  timber  and  only  occasionally  diversi- 
fied by  houses.  In  many  places  the  eye  seeks  in  vain  for  single  object 
'  other  than  the  sky  and  earth,  not  a  tree,  house,  fence  or  animal  appear- 
ing for  miles.  The  soil  of  the  prairie  appears  of  an  excellent  quality, 
and  the  cultivated  places  give  abundant  proof  of  fertility,  in  the  great 
heaps  of  corn  stacked  up  for  sale  or  use." 

Railway  Stations  on  the  New  Line 

Old  Burnettsville  had  been  platted  several  years  before  the  coming 
of  the  railroad  and  was  somewhat  off  its  line,  but  during  the  month 
following  the  lively  celebration  of  its  opening,  Sharon,  adjoining  Bur- 
nettsville, was  platted  and  the  two  were  soon  consolidated  under  the 
origiual  name.  Idaville,  three  miles  west,  was  platted  and  made  a 
railroad  station  in  July,  1S60,  and  Wolcott,  in  the  western  part  of  the 
county,  came  into  line  during  the  following  year. 

The  Air-Line  Division  of  the  Monon 

By  the  building  of  what  is  now  the  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Chicago 
&  St.  Louis  (Pennsylvania)  line  through  White  County,  which  bisected 
the  present  Chicago,  Indianapolis  &  Louisville  Railroad  (.Monon)  at 
Reynolds,  the  settlers  were  provided,  to  a  fair  degree,  with  railway  accom- 
modations. The  third  step  in  securing  such  conveniences,  and  a  great 
addition  to  them,  was  taken  in  the  building  of  the  Indianapolis,  Delphi 
&  Chicago  Railroad  in  the  late  '70s.  The  opening  of  the  road  from  the 
western  Indiana  line  to  Monticello  was  celebrated  in  that  place  on  August 
14,  1878.  Large  delegations  were  present  from  Rensselaer,  Lowell,  Brad- 
ford, Delphi  and  other  localities  along  the  line  of  the  new  road.  The 
Monticello  and  Delphi  bands  furnished  the  music  and  the  crowd  of 
visitors  was  escorted  to  the  courthouse,  where  the  celebration  centered. 
John  II.  Wallace,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  arrangements;  II.  V. 


fc*. , 


.58  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Owens,  a  bright  Kentuckian;.  John  Lee,  president  of  the  road;  A.  W. 
Reynolds,  L.  13.  Sims  of  Delphi,  ex-president  of  the  road,  and  others 
connected  with  the  enterprise  and  with  the  building  of  narrow-gauge 
lines,  were  among  the  speakers  who  instructed  and  amused.  It  was  a 
very  successful  celebration  and  boomed  the  Chicago  Air  Line  immensely. 

Opening  of  the  Indianapolis,  Delphi  &  Chicago  Railroad 

•The  opening  of  passenger  traffic  on  the  Indianapolis,  Delphi  &  Chi- 
cago (now  Monon  Route)  was  announced  for  May  21,  1883,  but  on 
account  of,  difficulty  in  securing  entrance  facilities  at  Indianapolis  the 
date  was  postponed.  The  first  passenger  train  began  regular  service 
June  17,  1883,  running  only  from  Monon  to  Indianapolis.  Another 
train  was  scheduled  from  Chicago  to  Frankfort  in  the  same  time-card. 
The  first  through  service  between  Chicago  and  Indianapolis  was  sched- 
uled the  third  week  in  October,  1883.     . 

The  completion  of  the  Indianapolis,  Delphi  &  Chicago  Railroad  not 
only  vastly  increased  the  facilities  of  Monticello  and  Monon  in  the  way 
of  getting  into  more  direct  communication  with  the  larger  markets  of 
the  country  between  the  Ohio  River  and  Lake  Michigan,  but  was  of 
much  local  advantage  to  the  agriculturists  and  the  small  rural  com- 
munities in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county.  Through  trains  com- 
menced to  run  about  1881. 

The  building  of  what  is  now  a  second  or  air-line  division  of  the 
Monon  system  did  not  result  in  the  founding  of  any  important  towns 
in  White  County;  in  fact,  only  Guernsey,  in  Honey  Creek  Township,  and 
Lee,  in  Monon  Township,  were  founded  as  stations. 

The  Ties  which  Bind  the  County 

Thus  has  White  County  been  transformed  into  a  country  well  adapted 
to  the  founding  of  pleasant  and  contented  homes  and  prosperous  com- 
munities— all  bound  together  and  brought  into  intimate  touch  with 
related  towns,  cities  and  states,  through  its  improved  lands,  its  good 
roads  of  gravel  and  macadam,  and  its  well  conducted  railroads.  Trans- 
portation and  communication  by  water  has  become  a  negligible  quantity 
in  the  calculation  of  its  general  progress. 


•   CHAPTER  VI 

THE  COUNTY  GOVERNMENT 

While  a  Part  of  Carroll — Norway  Carved  from  Prairie  Township — 
Name  Changed  to  Big  Creek  Township — Pioneers  Ante-Dating 
County  Organization — Act  Creating  White  County — Changes 
m  Territory — First  County  Officers — First  County  Board 
Meeting — Seat  of  Justice  Located — The  County  Seat  Title — 
Public  Sale  of  Lots — The  Old  Court  House  Grant — First  Judi- 
cial Session — First  Full  Court  Kept  Busy — The  Little  Frame 
Court  House — The  Jail  and  Its  First  Prisoner — The  County's 
,Ups  and  Downs — The  Clerk's  Office  Built — The  Brick  Court- 
house— Cholera  Interferes  with  Its  Completion — Description 
of  Dear  Old  Building — County  Offices  Affected  by  Legislation 
— New  Jails  Erected — Combined  Jail  and  Sheriff's  Residence — 
Corner  Stone  of  Present  Courthouse  Laid — The  Poor  Farm — 
— County's  Growth  by  Decades — Deductions  from  Census  Fig- 
ures— White  County's  Population,  1890-1910 — Property  Valua- 
tion in  1905  and  1910 — Taxable  Valuation  in  1915 — Receipts  and 
Disbursements. 

The  pioneer  settlers  of  what  is  now  White  County  were  for  about  five 
years  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Carroll  County.  As  early  as  1829  they 
commenced  to  locate  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  in  what  are  Prairie 
and  Big  Creek  townships;  in  1831,  the  territory  included  in  the  present 
Union  and  Jackson  townships  received  its  first  instalment  of  sturdy  set- 
tlers, and  Liberty,  Monon  and  Honey  Creek  were  first  occupied  by  the 
whites  in  18:34,  the  year  of  the  county's  creation. 

While  a  Part  of  Carroll 

The  territory  included  within  the  presents  limits  of  White  County 
had  a  political  existence  before  it  was  organized  as  a  separate  civil  body. 
Its  area,  besides  much  more  country  north  and  west,  was  attached  to 
the  County  of  Carroll  by  legislative  enactment,  at  the  time  the  latter  was 
erected  in  1828.  On  the  11th  of  May,  1831,  the  commissioners  of  that 
county  ordered  that  all  the  territory  attached  to  the  county,  or  a  part  of 
the  county,  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  should  thereafter  be  Prairie 
Township;  and  an  election  was  ordered  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  the 
following  August  for  the  election  of  one  justice  of  the  peace,  the  vote  to 
be  polled  at  the  house  of  Jesse  L.  Watson,  who  was  appointed  inspector. 

59 


60  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

At  this  election  the  following  men  voted:  J.  h.  Watson,  Jesse  Johnson, 
Samuel  Smelcer,  Michael.  Ault,  Jeremiah  liisher,  W.  II.  McCulloch, 
Aaron  Cox,  Royal  Hazleton,  Ed  McCarty,  Charles  Wright,  William  Phil- 
lips, R.  Harrison,  Robert  A.  Barr,  William  Woods,  Ashford  Parker- 
total,  fifteen.  The  entire  vote  was  cast  for  Noah  Noble  for  governor. 
For  justice  of  the  peace,  Royal  Hazleton  received  nine  votes,  and  Jesse 
Johnson  four.  In  May,  1832,  the  elections  were  changed  to  the  house  of 
Samuel.  Alkire  and  Jesse  L.  Watson  continued  inspector.  At  the  April 
election  in  1832,  only  six  votes  were  polled,  as  follows:  J.  L.  Watson, 
v  Jesse  Johnson,  William  Phillips,  Charles  Wright,  Edney  Wright,  J.  G. 
Alkire.  Charles  "Wright  was  elected  constable ;  Jesse  Johnson  and  Robert 
Newell,  road  supervisors;  William  Phillips  and  William  Woods,  overseers 
of  the  poor;  Samuel  Smeleer  and  Samuel  Alkire,  fence  viewers.  These 
were  undoubtedly  the  first  officers  of  the  kind  elected  in  White  County. 
In  September,  1832,  all  of  White  County,  east  of  the  Tippecanoe  River 
was  formally  attached  to  Adams  Township,  Carroll  County. 

.  Norway  Carved  from  Prairie  Township 

^  \ 

At  the  March  session  of  the  court  of  commissioners  of  Carroll  County, 
all  of  Prairie  Township  (which  then  included  all  of  the  present  White 
County  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  River)  north  of  the  line  dividing  town- 
ships 25  and  26  north  was  constituted  Norway  Township,  and  the  elec- 
tions were  ordered  held  at  the  Norway  mill.  A  justice  of  the  peace  was 
ordered  elected  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1833,  Henry  Baum,  inspector. 
This  election  was  not  held  until  April,  1833.  The  voters  were  John 
Rothrock,  Benj.  Reynolds,  Joseph  Lewis,  Jesse  Johnson,  Sibley  Hudson, 
John  Burns,  Henry  Baum,  Daniel  Wolf,  Jeremiah  Bisher,  James  Barnes, 
George  Bartley,  Robert  Rothrock,  George  Kemp,  Ashford  Parker,  Ira 
Bacon,  George  A.  Spencer  and  Thomas  Emerson.  The  vote  was:  For 
justice  of  the  peace — G.  A.  Spencer,  11;  Robert  Newell,  3;  Melchi  Gray, 
1.  Constable — James  Barnes,  12;  Benj.  Reynolds,  5.  Overseers  of  the 
poor — Armstrong  Buchanan,  14;  John  Reese,  9.  Fence  viewers — B.  N. 
Spencer,  11;  Jeremiah  Bisher,  5;  Andrew  Ferguson,  9;  John  Burns,  3. 
Road  supervisors — John  Roberts,  14. 

Name  Changed  to  Bio  Creek  Township 

In  May  the  name  Norway  was  discarded  and  Big  Creek  was  adopted, 
and  the  August  election  was  ordered  held  at  the  house  of  Benj.  N.  Spen- 
cer. On  this  occasion  twenty-six  votes  were  polled  as  follows:  Peter 
Price,  James  Signer,  Samuel  Gray,  George  Bartley,  Cornelius  Clark, 
George  Gates,  John  Roberts,  Phillip  Davis,  Eliaa  Lowther,  B.  N.  Spencer, 
Benj.  Reynolds,  John  Rothrock,  Melchi  Gray,  Joseph  Rothrock,  G.  A. 
Spencer,  James  Johnson,  Robert  Newell,  Henry  Baum,  Royal  Hazleton, 
Jeremiah  Bisher,  James  Barnes,  Ira  Bacon,  James  Clark,  John  Reese, 
George  Kemp  and  Andrew  Ferguson. 

In  September,  1833,  Big  Creek  was  divided  as  follows:  All  of  White 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  61 

County  west  of  Tippecanoe  River  and  north  of  the  line  dividing  town- 
ships 26  and  27  north  was  constituted  Union  Township,  and  elections  were 
ordered  held  at  the  house  of  Melchi  Gray.  About  this  time  John  Barr 
was  made  agent  to  expend  the  3  per  cent  fund  belonging  to  White  County. 
No  other  changes  were  made  in  the  county  until  the  organization  in  1834. 

Pioneers  Ante-Dating  County  Organization 

It  is  generally  claimed  that  Joseph  H.  Thompson  was  the  first  white 
man  to  make  settlement  within  the  present  boundaries  of  the  county. 
Ufi  located  in  what  is  now  Big  Creek  Township  in  the  spring  of  1829, 
while  yet  the  surveyors  were  subdividing  the  townships  into  sections,  they 
having  begun  the  work  in  the  fall  of  1828.  Mr.  Thompson  was  soon 
followed  by  George  A.  Spencer,  Benjamin  Reynolds,  John  Burns,  John 
Ferguson  and  others  who  became  settlers  of  the  same  township,  while 
Prairie  Township  of  today  was  first  inhabited  about  the  same  time  by 
Royal  Hazleton,  John  Barr,  Cyrus  Barr,  William  Woods,  John  and 
James  Gay,  Joseph  Bostick,  John  Adamson,  Charles  Wright,  Samuel 
Smelcer,  Jesse  L.  Watson,  Lewis  Watson,  William  Ivers  and  Solomon  Mc- 
Culloeh.  Previous  to  1834  there  also  came  to  Union  Township,  James 
Johnson,  John  Wilson,  Peter  Price,  George  R.  Bartley,  John  Rothrock, 
Hans  Erasmus  Hiorth  (pronounced  Yert),  Benjamin  N.  Spencer,  Thomas 
Wilson,  Samuel  Gray  and  Melchi  Gray.  Jackson  Township  received  a 
colony  near  what  is  now  the  Town  of  Idaville,  composed  of  Christopher 
Burch,  George  Hornbeek,  Allen  Barnes,  Thomas  Harless,  John  McDow- 
ell,* Solomon  Burkitt,  Thomas  McCormick,  William  W.  Mitchell,  Robert 
and  Andrew  Hanna,  William  James,  Joseph  Mason,  Joseph  Dale,  David 
Bishop,  William  Gibson,  John  Tedford  and  Aaron  Hicks.  Further  east, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  site  of  Burnettsville,  Daniel  Dale,  William 
R.  Dale,  Greenup  Scott  and  others  made  their  homes,  and  at  a  later 
date  the  following  settled  in  Monon  Township :  Joseph  Wilson,  James  K. 
Wilson,  William  Wilson,  David  Berkey,  Thomas  Murphy,  Elias  Lowther 
and  Ira  Bacon. 

These  pioneers,  who  came  before  the  county  was  organized,  usually 
located  in  family  groups,  largely  determined  by  their  home  states.  There 
were  little  settlements  composed  respectively  of  Kentuckians,  Tenues- 
seans,  Virginians,  Ohioans  and  Pennsylvanians,  the  last  two  states  largely 
predominating  in  the  number  of  people  who  first  came  to  White  County. 
After  the  county  was  organized,  its  boundaries  defined  and  the  county 
seat  located,  the  flow  of  immigration  increased  with  great  rapidity. 

Act  Creating  White  County 

In  1833  many  located  in  the  county — so  many,  in  fact,  that  the  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Legislature  were  asked  to  have  a  new  county  created 
and  organized.  Accordingly,  during  the  session  of  1834,  the  following 
enactment  was  passed  and  approved: 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  that 


62  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

from  and  after  the  first  of  April  next,  all  that  tract  of  country,  included 
in  the  following- boundary  lines  .shall  form  and  constitute  a  new  county 
to  he  known  and  designated  by  the  name  of  the  county  of  White  (in  honor 
of  Major  Isaac  White,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe)  to-wit,  be- 
ginning at  the  northwest  corner  of  Tippecanoe  County,  thence  running 
east  with  the  north  line  of  Tippecanoe  County  to  the  southwest  corner 
of  Carroll  County,  thence  north  with  the  west  line  of  Carroll  County 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  same,  thence  east  with  the  north  line  of 
Carroll  County  to  the  west  line  of  Cass  County,  thence  north  with  the  west 
line  of  Cass  County  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  same,  thence  west  to-, 
the  center  section  line  of  range  six  west,  thence  south  to  the  northwest 
corner  of  Tippecanoe  County  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

"Sec.  2.  That  the  new  county  of  White  shall,  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  April  next,  enjoy  and  possess  all  the  rights,  privileges,  bene- 
fits and  jurisdictions  which  to  separate  and  independent  counties  do  or 
may  properly  belong  or  appertain. 

"Sec.  3.  That  James  II.  Stewart,  of  Carroll  County,  Benedict  Mor- 
ris, of  Fountain  County,  John  Killgore,  of  Tippecanoe  County,  Enos 
Lowe,  of  Parke  County,  and  John  B.  King,  be,  and  they  are  hereby  ap- 
pointed Commissioners,  agreeable  to  an  act  entitled  'An  act  fixing  the 
seats  of  justice  in  all  new  counties  hereafter  to  be  laid  off.'  The  Com- 
missioners aforesaid  shall  meet  on  the  first  Monday  in  September  next 
at  the  house  of  George  A.  Spencer,  in  the  said  county  of  White,  and  shall 
proceed  immediately  to  perform  the  duties  required  of  them  by  law; 
and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  of  Tippecanoe  County  to  notify 
said  commissioners,  either  in  person  or  by  writing,  of  their  appointment, 
on  or  before  the  first  day  of  August  next,  and  for  such  service  he  shall 
receive  such  compensation  as  the  Board  doing  county  business  in  said 
county  of  White  may,  when  organized,  deem  just  and  reasonable,  to  be 
allowed  and  paid  as  other  county  claims. 

"Sec.  4.  The  Circuit  Court  and  the  Board  of  County  Commission- 
ers, when  elected  under  the  writ  of  election  from  the  executive  depart- 
ment shall  hold  their  sessions  as  near  the  center  of  the  county  as  a  con- 
venient place  can  be  had,  until  the  public  buildings  shall  be  erected. 

"Sec.  5.  The  agent  who  shall  be  appointed  to  superintend  the  sale 
of  lots  of  the  county  seat  of  said  county  of  White  shall  reserve  ten  per 
cent  out  of  the  proceeds  thereof,  and  pay  the  same  over  to  such  person 
or  persons  as  may  be  appointed  by  law  to  receive  the  same  for  the  use  of 
a  county  library. 

"Sec.  6.  The  County  of  White  shall  be  attached  to  the  first  judicial 
circuit  of  this  State  for  judicial,  and  to  the  county  of  Carroll  for  repre- 
sentative purposes. 

"Sec.  7.  That  all  the  territory  lying  west  of  the  county  of  White 
to  the  State  Line,  be  and  the  same  is,  hereby  attached  to  the  county  of 
White  for  civil  and  judicial  purposes. 

"Sec.  8.  That  the  Circuit  Courts  shall  be  held  in  the  county  of 
White  on  the  Tuesdays  succeeding  the  week  of  the  Tippecanoe  Circuit 
Court,  and  sit  three  days  each  term,  should  the  business  require  it. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  63 

"Sec.  9.  The  board  doing  county  business  may,  as  soon  as  elected 
and  qualified,  hold  special  sessions  not  exceeding  three,  during  the  first 
year  after  the  organization  of  said  county,  and  shall  make  all  necessary 
appointments,  and  do  or  perform  all  other  business  which  may  or 
might  have  been  necessary  to  be  performed  at  any  other  regular  session, 
and  take  all  necessary  steps  to  collect  the  State  and  County  revenue,  any 
law  or  usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  This  act  to  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage. 

•    "Approved  February  1,  1834." 


.  .  Changes  in  Territory 

A  little  later  the  following  was  enacted:  "That  all  the  territory  lying 
north  of  the  county  of  Cass  to  the  line  dividing  Townships  32  and  33 
north,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  attached  to  said  county  for  judicial  and 
representative  purposes,  and  that  all  the  territory  lying  north  of  the 
county  of  White  and  of  the  territory  attached  thereto  to  the  aforesaid 
line  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  attached  to  the  county  of  White  for  the 
same  purpose.  This  act  to  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  publication  in 
the  Indiana  Journal,  printed  at  Indianapolis. 

"Approved  December  24,  1834." 

So  far  as  can  be  learned  no  changes  were  made  in  the  boundaries  of 
White  County  until  the  following  law  was  passed:  "That  the  following 
described  territory  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  taken  from  the  county  of 
Carroll  and  incorporated  and  made  a  part  of  White :  all  north  of  Section 
33  and  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  in  Township  2G  north,  Range  3 
west.    This  act  to  take  effect  and-be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. ' 

"Approved  February  4,  1837." 

Again  a  little  later  the  following  became  law:  "That  hereafter  the 
Tippecanoe  river  shall  be  the  western  boundary  of  Carroll  County,  whence 
the  north  line  of  said  county  strikes  the  river,  until  said  river  strikes  the 
section  line  dividing  33  and  28,  in  Township  26,  and  all  the  territory 
west  of  said  river  and  north  of  said  line  in  Township  26,  and  Range  3 
west,  is  hereby  attached  to  the  county  of  White,  as  intended  by  the  act, 
entitled  'An  act  to  alter  the  boundary  line  between  Carroll  and  White,' 
approved  February  4,  1837.  This  act  to  be  in  force  from  and  after  its 
passage. 

"Approved  February  14,  1839."- 

The  large  section  of  country  north  and  west  now  constituting  the 

;  counties  of  Jasper,  Newton  and  portions  of  Benton  and  Pulaski,  which 

'  was  attached  to  White  County  for  political  and  judicial  purposes,  re- 

KLnuuned  as  portions  of  its  civil  body  until  its  was  organized  into  separate 

counties— Jasper  in  1837,  Pulaski  and  Newton  in  1839,  and  Benton  in 

1840.     These  acts  completed  the  paring  down  of  White  County  to  its 

present  body,  the  area  of  which  (504  square  miles)  makes  it  the  fifth  in 

size  of  the  ninety-two  counties  in  the  state. 


64  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

First  County  Officers 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Organic  Act  creating  the  county,  the  first, 
step  taken  in  its  civil  organization  was  the  selection  by  the  voters  of  a 
local  judiciary,  a  board  of  commissioners  and  the  principal  county  offi- 
cers. The  election  for  that  purpose  was  held  on  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1834,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  James  Barnes  and  Thomas 
Wilson  for  associate  judges;  David  McCombs,  Ira  Bacon  and  Robert 
Newall,  county  commissioners;  William  Sill,  clerk,  auditor  and  recorder; 
Aaron  Hicks,  sheriff,  and  George  A.  Spencer,  treasurer. 

It  appears,  however,  from  the  records  that  John  Wilson,  who  had 
been  appointed  sheriff  the  month  before  the  election,  served  in  that 
capacity  until  April,  1836,  except  for  a  short  period  after  the  election ; 
nor  is  it  officially  evident  that  Mr.  Hicks  was  ever  present  at  any  session 
of  the  county  board  or  Circuit  Court. 

The  only  discovered  records  bearing  on  the  matter  noted  an  allowance 
of  $6.00  made  by  the  board  of  commissioners  to  Mr.  Hicks,  "in  full  for 
services  as  sheriff  for  the  year  1834;"  this  item  was  a  part  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  that  body  at  the  May  term  of  1835.  At  the  same  term  John 
Wilson  was  allowed  $7.50  "in  full  for  his  services  as  sheriff  up  to  date." 
These  allowances  were  probably  made  for  extra  services,  such  as  notify- 
ing road  viewers  of  their  appointment,  summoning  jurors,  etc. 

First  County  Board  Meeting    • 

The  commissioners  held  their  first  meeting  at  the  house  of  George 
A.  Spencer  on  the  19th  of  July,  1834.  They  first  proceeded  to  create  the 
commissioners'  districts,  as  follows: 

District  No.  1 — To  comprise  all  the  county's  territory  south  of  the 
line  passing  east  and  west  between  sections  16  and  21,  township  26  north, 
range  3  west 

District  No.  2 — All  county  territory  north  of  such  line  and  west  of 
Tippecanoe  River. 

District  No.  3 — All  county  territory  east  of  Tippecanoe  River. 

At  the  same  time  the  county  and  all  territory  attached  thereto  were 
divided  into  the  following  townships:  Township  25  north,  in  White 
County,  and  all  the  territory  attached  thereto  to  be  Prairie  Township. 
Township  26  north,  in  White  County,  and  all  the  territory  attached 
thereto  to  be  Big  Creek  Township.  Township  27  north,  and  all  of  town- 
ship 28  west  to  Tippecanoe  River,  the  same  being  in  White  County,  and 
all  the  territory  attached  thereto,  to  be  Union  Township.  Elections  for 
Prairie  Township  ordered  held  at  the  house  of  William  Wood,  with 
Solomon  McCulloch,  inspector.  Those  of  Big  Creek  at  the  house  of 
George  A.  Spencer,  with  James  Kerr,  inspector.  Those  of  Union  Town- 
ship at  the  house  of  Melchi  Gray,  with  James  Spencer,  inspector.  Those 
of  Jackson  Township  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Dale,  with  John  Scott, 
inspector. 

Cornelius  Clark  was  appointed  county  assessor,  and  George  A.  Spen- 


■  ■i  ■      ■ 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  65 

cer,  county  treasurer.  Clark  was  also  appointed  collector  of  state  and 
county  revenue.  At  this  time  William  Sill  served  as  county  clerk  and 
John  Wilson  as  sheriff. 

Seat  op  Justice  Located 

At  the  September  meeting  of  the  county  board  the  report  of  three  of 
the  five  commissioners  appointed  to  locate  the  county  seat  was  accepted, 
they  were  paid  $60  for  their  services  and  discharged.    The  report  follows : 

' '  To  the  Honorable  the  Commissioners  of  the  County  of  White :  The 
undersigned,  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  Indiana  to  locate  the  county  seat  of  said  county  beg  leave  to  report 
that  they,  agreeable  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  for  the  formation  of  said 
county,  met  on  the  first  Monday  of  September,  1834,  and  after  being 
qualified  according  to  law,  they  proceeded  immediately  to  the  perform- 
ance of  the  duties  assigned  them.  They  took  considerable  pains  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  situation  of  your  county,  and  with  that  view  made  a 
personal  examination  of  the  greater  portion  of  said  county.  The  com- 
missioners have  had  considerable  difficulty  in  making  up  their  minds  as 
to  the  best  location  to  fix  the  seat  of  justice,  and  at  last  came  to  the  con- 
clusion to  locate  the  seat  of  justice  on  the  center  line  dividing-  the  fol- 
lowing described  fractions,  viz. :  The  southwest  fraction  of  the  northeast 
quarter  and  the  northwest  fraction  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  Section  33, 
Townships  27  north,  Range  3  west,  on  a  bluff  of  Tippecanoe  River. 
Eighty  acres  of  the  above  described  fractions  have  been  donated  for  the 
use* of  the  county  of  White  by  Messrs.  John  Barr,  Sr.,  II.  E.  Hiorth  and 
John  Rothrock,  to  be  taken  off  the  east  side  of  said  fraction  by  north  and 
south  line.  A  bond  for  the  conveyance  of  the  same  is  herewith  sub- 
mitted. The  name  we  have  selected  for  the  said  county  seat  is  Monti- 
cello,  after  the  home  of  the  great  disciple  of  human  liberty,  Thomas 
Jefferson. 

"In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  permit  us  to  indulge  the  hope  that  all 
local  dissensions  will  vanish  amongst  you,  and  that  the  citizens  of  White 
will  go  together  as  one  man  for  the  improvement  of  your  county  and 
county  seat.    We  are  gentlemen,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

.  "John  Kilgoke, 

"John  B.  Kino, 
"James  H.  Stewart, 
"Locating  Commissioners. 
"September  5,  1834." 

The  locating  commissioners  had  first  met  on  Monday,  September  1st, 
and,  after  viewing  several  ambitious  locations,  one  of  which  was  in  Big 
Creek  Township,  completed  their  labors  on  Friday,  the  5th  of  September, 
the  day  of  the  report.  At  that  time  the  land  upon  which  the  county  seat 
was  located  had  not  yet  been  entered,  or  in  other  words  was  yet  the  prop- 
erty of  the  United  States.  The  land  was  selected  because  it  seemed  the 
most  eligible  site  near  the  center  of  the  county,  and  for  the  further  reason 

Vol.  !-» 


I 


66  HISTORY  OF  WII1TE  COUNTY 

that  whereas  other  points  wishing  the  location  were  somewhat  exacting 
regarding  the  donations  to  be  made,  it  became  clear  to  the  locating  com- 
missioners, from  an  offer  they  received  from  John  Barr,  Sr.,  Hans  E. 
Hiorth  and  John  Rothroek,  that  the  new  county  would  be  far  better  off 
financially,  if  the  county  seat  was  fixed  at  Monticello;  of  course  there  was 
not  a  house  then  standing  on  the  present  site  of  the  town.  The  offer  made 
by  Barr,  Hiorth  and  John  Rot  brock  to  the  locating  commissioners  was  that 
if  the  latter  would  agree  to  locate  the  county  seat  at  Monticello,  on  land 
which  yet  belonged  to  the  Government,  the  former  would  proceed  to 
Laporte  and  enter  the  land  and  donate  the  entire  eighty  acres,  upou  which 
the  town  was. located,  with  reservation,  to  the  county.  This  offer  was  ac- 
cepted by«the  commissioners.  But  the  land  instead  of  being  entered 
by  these  three  men  was  really  entered  by  Robert  Rothrock.  The  follow- 
ing bond  explains  the  situation: 

"Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  Robert  Rothroek,  acknowl- 
edge myself  to  owe  aud  to  be  indebted  to  John  Barr,  H.  E.  Hiorth  and 
John  Rothroek  in  the  sum  of  $1,000  gold  and  lawful  money  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  payment  of  which  I  bind  myself,  my  heirs,  administrators 
and  executors  firmly  by  these  presents,  signed  and  sealed  this  10th  day 
of  September,  A.  D.  1834. 

"The  condition  of  the  above  obligation  is  such,  that,  the  aforesaid 
John  Barr,  II.  E.  Hiorth  and  John  Rothroek  having  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  said  Robert  Rothroek  the  sum  of  $137.77^  for  the  purpose  of 
entering  at  the  Laporte  Land  Office  the  following  fractional  lots,  to-wit : 
the  south  half  of  the  northeast  quarter  and  the  north  half  of  the  south- 
east quarter  of  Section  33,  Township  27  north,  Range  3  west,  containing 
in  all  110  22-100  acres,  which  lots  were  purchased  for  the  purpose  ofa- 
county  seat  in  White  County.  Now,  if  the  said  Robert  Rothroek  shall 
make  to  the  said  John  Barr,  H.  E.  Hiorth  and  John  Rothroek  good  and 
sufficient  title  in  fee  simple,  then  the  above  obligation  to  be  null  and 
void;  otherwise  to  remain  in  full  force  and  virtue;  the  above  deeds  or 
titles  to  be  made  as  soon  as  the  patent  can  be  obtained  from  the 
Government.  Robert  Rothrock  [seal]. 

"Attest: 

"Joshua  Lindsey, 
"Peter  B.  Smith." 

The  County  Seat  Title 

Tradition  says  that  Robert  Rothrock  coveted  the  distinctiou  of  having 
entered  the  land  where  the  county  seat  was  located,  and  to  humor  this 
ambition  the  three  men  furnished  him  the  money,  taking  his  bond  as 
alwve.  The  county  seat  was  located,  then,  by  the  5th  of  September,  and 
on  the  6th,  as  shown  by  the  tract  book,  Robert  Rothrock  entered  the  land 
at  Laporte;  but  the  above  bond  was  signed  and  sealed  on  the  10th  of 
September,  four  days  after  the  land  had  been  entered.  In  other  words, 
Robert  Rothrock  entered  the  land  four  days  before  his  boud  was  signed, 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  67 

and  was  therefore  entrusted  with  the  money  before  he  had  obligated  him- 
self to  transfer  the  laud  to  the  proper  owners,  Barr,  Hiorth  and  John 
Rothrock.  The  title  actually  passed  from  Robert  Rothroek  to  these  three 
men,  or  rather  directly  to  the  county  agent,  the  three  men  quit-claiming 
their  title. 

Public  Sales  of  Lots 

As  stated  above,  Monticello  was  laid  out  on  the  3d  of  November,  1834, 
and  on  the  .7th,  in  pursuance  of  an  order  of  the  county  commissioner,  a 
public  sale  of  the  lots  took  place,  Melehi  Gray  officiated  as  auctioneer 
or  crier  and  Joshua  L.indsey  serving  as  clerk  of  the  sale.  The  terms  were 
one-four.th  of  the  purchase  price  in  ninety  days  from  date,  the  remainder 
in  two  equal  annual  payments,  the  buyer  to  "give  good  security  for  pay- 
ments deferred." 

As  no  report  of  the  sale  of  these  lots  is  of  record  until  March  8,  1836, 
it  is  fair  to  presume  that  Mr.  Barr  received  no  cash  at  the  first  sale.  At 
the  date  named  he  filed  his  report  as  follows :  ■ 

Gross  receipts  of  sales  from  November  7,  1834,  to  March  8, 

1836 $1,870,371/2 

Amount  donated  by  sundry  individuals 110.00 

Total  receipts $l,980.37y2 

Paid  Jonathan  Harbolt  on  courthouse $124.68% 

Paid  Oliver  Hammond  on  courthouse 70.00 

Total  expenditures  ...... 194.68% 

Balance $1,785.68% 

Cash  received  on  sales $   566.06*4 ' 

Paper ;  .\ l,414.31Vi 

The  various  fractions  of  cents  in  the  foregoing  report  will  puzzle' 
many  readers  until  they  are  reminded  of  the  great  scarcity  of  American 
currency  at  that  time.  On  the  other  hand,  Spanish  silver  coins  of  6V4, 
1214  and  25  cents,  as  well  as  French  five-francs  pieces,  valued  at  93% 
cents,  were  in  circulation  during  the  period  of  these  first  land  sales  and 
for  several  years  thereafter..  Hence  the  fractions  noted  in  Mr.  Barr'* 
report. 

The  Old  Courthouse  Grant 

The  old  courthouse  grant  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Marion 
Street,  east  by  Tippecanoe,  south  by  Jefferson  and  west  by  Illinois.  On 
the  6th  of  March,  1837,  the  title  to  the  land  not  having  yet  passed  from 
Kohert  Rothrock  to  Barr,  niorth  and  John  Rothrock,  the  former  con- 
veyed the  following  tract  of  land  to  John  Barr,  county  agent,  and  his 
Riicccssor8  in  office :  Beginning  at  a  point  where  the  west  line  of  Illinois 
Street  in  the  said  Town  of  Monticello  running  north  as  the  town  plat  of 


68 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


^ 


the  said  town  is  laid  out  would  intersect  the  north  line  of  the  southwest 
fraction  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  33,  township  27  north,  range 
3  west,  thence  east  with  the  north  line  of  said  fraction  a^the  Tippe- 
canoe River,  thence  with  the  inuauderings  of  the  said  river  to  the  south 
line  of  the  northwest  fraction  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  33, 
township  27  north,  range  3  west,  thence  with  the  south  line  of  said  last 
mentioned  fraction  west  to  a  point  where  the  west  line  of  said  Illinois 
Street  aforesaid  extended  south  would  intersect  said  last  mentioned  line, 


Views  op  Old  Courthouses 

thence  north  with  the  west  line  of  said  Illinois  Street,  extended  as  afore 
said  to  the  place  of  beginning.  The  conveyance  was  made  upon  the  ex 
press  condition  that  the  county  seat  should  forever  remain  located  upo' 
the  land.  Appended  to  this  document  was  a  quit  claim  of  all  the  righu 
titles  and  interests  of  Burr,  Iliorth  and  John  Rothrock  in  the  land,  cor 
ditioned  that  the  land  should  forever  remain  the  site  of  the  county  sea 
In  view  of  these  conditional  transfers,  and  the  lapse  of  time  and  th 
growth  of  public  institutions  and  interests,  the  difficulty  of  rcmovin 
the  county  scat  to  some  other  point  iu  White  County  becomes  at  one 
apparent. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  69 

First  Judicial  Session 

The  first  session  of  the  Circuit  Court  for  White  County  was  held  at 
the  house  of  George  A.  Spencer,  six  miles  southwest  of  Monticello  near  the 
center  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  12, 
township  27  north,  range  4  west.  On  the  17th  of  October,  1834,  the  pre- 
siding judge,  John  R.  Porter,  was  absent;  which  fact  threw  the  respon- 
sibility of  the  proceedings  on  the  associates,  James  Barnes  and  Thomas 
Wilson.  William  Sill,  father  of  Milton  M.  Sill,  of  Monticello,  served  as 
clerk,  and  John  Wilson  as  sheriff.  The  grand  jury  consisted  of  Royal 
H&zelton  (foreman),*  William  Woods,  James  Johnson,  Samuel  Gray, 
Robert  Barr,  Aaron  Hicks,  Daniel  Dale,  Robert  Hanna,  John  Roberts, 
John  Ferguson,  James  Parker,  Joseph  James,  Sr.,  Cornelius  Sutton, 
William  Kerr  and  Joseph  Thompson. 

XA  case  of  "malicious  mischief"  was  the  only  matter  brought  to  the 
ttention  of.  the  court.  It  seems  that  Jere  Bisher  had  tied  something 
j to  the  tail  of  one  of  his  neighbor's  fractious  horses,  and  the  court  bound 
the  offender  over  to  the  next  term  with  security  of  $50  for  his  appear- 
ance. Then  William  P.  Bryant,  Andrew  Ingraham,  Aaron  Fitch  and 
William  M.  Jenners  were  sworn  in  as  attorneys  qualified  to  practice  in 
the  county,  and  the  session  was  adjourned. 

First  Full  Court  Kept  Busy 

«At  the  second  term  of  court,  beginning  April  17,  1835,  also  in  Mr. 
Spencer's  house,  all  the  judges  were  present  and  a  number  of  cases  were 
brought  before  them.  Mr.  Spencer  himself  acted  as  bailiff,  William  Sill, 
clerk,  and  John  Wilson,  sheriff.  Bisher's  case  of  malicious  mischief  was 
at  once  taken  up  and  the  defendant  was  fined  $5,  and  sentenced  to  the. 
custody  of  the  sheriff  for  the  space  of  one  minute,  ''the  fine  to  go  to 
the  funds  of  the  county  seminary." 

The  grand  jury  returned  the  following  indictments:  Against  Jacob 
Gates  for  retailing  liquor  without  a  license;  against  Joseph  Gates  for 
firing  the  prairie;  against  Royal  Hazelton  for  marking  hogs;  against 
Jeremiah  Bisher  for  trespass  to  land  (Bisher  instead  of  Gates  seems  to 
have  been  the  real  firebrand  of  the  county)  ;  against  William  Keen  for 
selling  liquor  to  the  Indians;  against.  John  Beaver  and  Luke  Beaver  for 
fighting  and  against  William  Farmer,  D.  Runion  and  S.  Pharris  for 
selling  clocks  without  a  license.  The  indictment  against  Mr.  Gates  was 
quashed;  the  jury  found  Mr.  Hazelton  and  the  Beavers  not  guilty;  Mr. 
Bisher  was  fined  $1.12y2  cents;  and  Messrs.  Keen  and  Fanner  pleaded 
guilty,  the  former  being  fined  $5  and  costs  and  the  latter,  $2  and  costs. 

Such  court  matters  are  adduced  as  much  to  throw  rays  of  light  upon 
the  affairs  of  the  young  county  and  its  people,  as  because  they  represent 
the  legal  business  transacted  at  the  first  "full  court"  held  within  its 
borders. 

The  house  of  Mr.  Spencer,  where  the  sittings  were  held,  was  in  Big 
Creek  Township,  and  the  Circuit  Court  continued  its  sessions  there  until 


70  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  autumn  of  1836,  when  it  adjourned  permanently  to  the  county  seat, 
a  courthouse  then  being  in  process  of  erection  at  Monticello. 


The  Little  Frame  Courthouse 


? 


The  steps  by  which  the  site  for  the  county  buildings  was  acquired  have 
been  noted,  and  at  its  May  session  the  board  of  commissioners  had  or- 
dered that  lot  20,  original  plat  of  Monticello  on  the  east  side  of  Main 
Street,  second  lot  south  of  Harrison  Street,  be  set  apart  for  the  erection 
of  a  frame  courthouse  two  stories  in  height,  20  by  22  feet  in  dimensions. 
Two  partitions  above  were  to  divide  the  rooms  equally  and  one  below 
to  separate  two  rooms,  20  by  20  feet  and  12  by  20,  respectively.  Robert 
A.  Spencer,  afterward  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon,-  Solomon 
Sherwood,  Jonathan  Ilarbolt  and  Oliver  Hammond  were  'employed  to 
erect  the  structure,  the  contract  price  being  $800,  The  courthouse  was 
nearly  completed,  when  it  was  leveled  to  the  ground  by  a  violent  wind; 
but  it  was  promptly  rebuilt  and  finally  completed  in  the  summer  of 
1837.  This  unforeseen  accident  somewhat  interfered  with  the  original 
architect's  plans,  and  the  final  courthouse  was  not  exactly  as  intended. 

The  Jail  and  Its  First  Prisoner 

The  jail,  which  had  been  projected  about  the  same  time,  was  erected 
by  William  M.  Kentonon  the  east  side  of  Illinois  Street  near  Marion,  and 
was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1838.  Mr.  Sill's  description  of  that  fear- 
some edifice  and  his  account  of  the  first  desperado  incarcerated  therein 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  for  completeness  and  picturesqueness  and  are 
therefore  reproduced :  "The  jail  was  built  of  hewn  logs,  one  story  in 
height,  twenty  by  forty  feet,  divided  by  a  partition  near  the  center  into 
two  rooms;  the  front  room  designed  for  delinquent  debtors,  for  a  man 
could  then  be  imprisoned  for  debt;  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  many  now 
that  the  act  ought  never  to  have  been  repealed,  but  instead  amended  so  as 
to  apply  to  those  who  could  pay  their  honest  debts  and  will  not.  and  also 
for  milder  offenses  against  the  law. 

"The  rear  room  was  designated  the  dungeon,  and  was  intended  for 
the  incarceration  of  prisoners  charged  with  the  perpetration  of  higher 
crimes.  The  front  door  was  constructed  of  inch  plank  running  diago- 
nally from  one  corner  across  to  the  corner  on  the  opposite  side,  and  four 
inches  thick,  bolted  together  with  iron  bolts  passing  through  the  planks 
and  riveted  on  the  opposite  side.  There  were  two  doors  to  the  dungeon, 
the  first  similar  to  the  front  door  and  the  second  of  iron  bars  riveted 
together  in  such  manner  as  to  form  an  opening  between  of  three  inches 
square.  A  short  chain  was  riveted  on  the  side  of  this  door  about  half- 
way up  from  the  floor,  and  a  staple  driven  in  the  door  frame  over  which 
it  passed,  a  common  padlock  passing  through  the  staple  to  secure  it. 
The  wooden  doors  were  also  provided  with  locks  of  huge  size  made  es- 
pecially for  them,  with  a  key  for  each  lock  half  as  long  as  a  mau_'s_axm — ^ 
and  weighty  enough  to  worry  a  small  boy  to  carry.    The  object  in  having 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  .  71 

the  two  doors  to  the  dungeon  was,  in  the  event  of  the  imprisonment  of  a 
desperate  eriminal,  to  protect  the  jailor,  who  could  open  the  first  door 
and  take  a  view  of  the  inside  through  the  grated  iron  door  before  he 
entered  with  food  and  water  for  the  prisoners. 

"Singular  as  it  may  appear,  the  first  person  to  occupy  the  new  jail  was 
a  school  teacher,  who  was  guilty  of  unduly  chastising  one  of  his  pupils, 
Erastus  Gray,  for  an  infringement  of  his  rules.  He  whipped  the  boy 
with  a  rawhide  until  the  blood  streamed  down  his  body  and  stood  in  pools 
on  the  floor  of  the  school  room.  Without  any  doubt  Erastus  deserved 
sonre  punishment;  for  he  was  not  a  model  of  good  behavior  and  the  par- 
ents universally  believed  in  the  use  of  the  rod ;  but  the  majority  of  them' 
thought  the  boy  had  a  little  too  much,  and  so  the  teacher  was  arrested, 
tried,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  one  hour  imprisonment  in  the  county 
jail.  He  was  not  without  friends,  however,  who  justified  his  action,  and 
one  of  them  went  with  him  and  kept  him  company  during  his  incarcera- 
tion. His  school  was  broken  up  shortly  after  this,  and  the  talk  of  tar  and 
leathers,  and  a  free  ride  astride  a  rail,  became  a  subject  of  every-day 
gossip  until  he  finally  abandoned  his  charge  and  left  for  parts  unknown." 

The  County  's  Ups  and  Downs 

The  old  courthouse  and  jail  were  not  replaced  by  better  buildings 
until  fourteen  and  seventeen  years  had  respectively  passed;  and  that 
period  was  one  of  many  ups  and  downs  for  both  the  county  and  country. 
The  first  three  years  of  the  county's  life  fell  within  the  prosperous  era 
and  its  population  probably  increased  from  a  100  to  over  a  1,000.  While 
the  first  settlers  were  men  of  limited  means,  nearly  all  of  them  brought 
money  enough  to  enter  tracts  of  land  varying  from  forty  to  160  acres, 
with  sufficient  cash  retained  to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  self  or  family 
until  their  crops  should  mature.  As  a  rule  they  brought  their  families, 
which  accounts  for  the  rapid  increase  in  population.  During  this  period 
the  county's  financial  operations  were  not  impressive,  both  receipts  and 
expenditures  averaging  from  $200  to  $300,  much  of  its  income  being  the 
result  of  the  sale  of  the  lands  at  Monticello,  the  proceeds  of  which  were 
to  be  donated  for  public  purposes. 

When  the  hard  times  approached  in  1837,  money  had  become  very 
scarce  and  for  some  time  canal  script  was  almost  the  sole  circulating 
medium  of  exchange,  with  even  more  crude  substitutes,  such  as  furs, 
pelts  and  hides.  From  1837  to  1842  the  general  and  local  distress  con- 
tinued and  emigration  to  White  County  was  slow;  yet,  by  1840,  its  popu- 
lation had  increased  to  1,832,  and  after  1842  the  increase  and  all-around 
improvement  were  very  marked.  By  1850,  the  population  had  reached 
4,761. 

It  was  during  the  later  portion  of  the  prosperous  decade,  1840-50, 
that  the  public  enterprises  of  the  county  took  an  upward  turn,  although 
they  did  not  materialize  into  any  definite  improvements  until  a  little  later. 


72  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  Clerk's  Office  Built 

The  board  of  commissioners  commenced  to  agitate  the  necessity  of  im- 
proved public  buildings  in  the  early  part  of  1845,  but  it  was  not  until 
June,  1846,  that  any  decisive  step  was  taken.  At  that  time  the  county 
agent  was  ordered  to  arrange  for  the  erection  of  a  frame  building,  16  by 
20  feet,  on  lot  29.  It  was  also  ordered  that  the  agent  collect  a  sufficient 
amount  of  the  outstanding  donation  fund  to  cover  the  expenses  of  con- 
struction. Zachariah  Van  Buskirk  was  given  the  contract,  and  the  struc- 
ture, known  as  the  clerk's  office,  was  completed  in  September,  1846,  at  a 
cost  of  $500. 

Tue  Brick  Courthouse 

In  1848  the  work  of  building  a  new  and  much  larger  courthouse  was 
begun,  -George  Brown,  of  Lafayette,  taking  the  contract.  No  definite 
time  was  set  for  the  completion  of  the  house,  as  the  funds  of  the  county 
were  very  low,  and  the  means  of  obtaining  suitable  additions  to  carry  on 
the  necessary  expense  were  largely  beyond  the  reach  of  the  commission- 
ers. County  orders  which  had  been  issued  to  the  amount  of  several  thou- 
sand dollars  were  selling  at  about  5  per  cent  discount,  and  new  ones  gave 
no  promise  of  selling  for  a  better  figure — just  the  reverse. 

Regardless  of  this  discouraging  condition  of  affairs  the  commissioners 
borrowed  $2,000,  and  ordered  the  work  to  commence.  But  the  progress 
of  construction  hung  fire,  and  the  building  was  not  ready  for  occupancy 
until  1851.  The  total  cost,  including  the  furnishings,  was  nearly  $8,000. 
-  In  September,  1850,  the  "Clerk's  Office"  was  ordered  sold,  the  pro- 
ceeds to  be  applied  on  the  new  courthouse.  On  the  4th  of  December, 
1851,  more  than  three  years  after  the  house  had  been  commenced,  the 
board  ordered  the  offices  of  clerk,  auditor,  recorder  and  treasurer  removed 
to  the  new  house. 

Cuolera  Interferes  with  Its  Completion 

•  The  old  brick  courthouse,  with  its  long  corridors,  heavy  windows  and 
its  front  porch  supported  by  two  massive  pillars,  had  a  hard  time  being 
born,  and  this  was  not  the  fault  of  its  father,  George  Brown;  the  chief 
delay  was  caused  by  a  prolonged  cholera  scare.  The  contractor  had 
worked  on  the  courthouse  only  a  few  days  when  one  of  his  children  was 
stricken  with  what  resembled  the  prevailing  cholera.  A  few  deaths  had 
already  occurred  at  Lafayette,  which  had  probably  hastened  Mr.  Brown's 
removal  to  Monticello.  As  soon  as  the  child's  sickness  became  known 
panic  spread  through  the  town.  Those  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mr.  Brown's 
residence  on  South  Main  Street  hastily  loaded  their  household  goods  into 
wagons  and  fled  to  the  country.  On  the  morning  after  the  little  girl's 
death  a  boy  coming  to  town  on  horseback  with  a  pail  of  butter  for  a 
relative  met  the  procession  a  mile  north  of  town,  rapidly  moving  from  the 
plague-stricken  place.  The  occupants  of  the  front  wagon  stopped  the  boy 
and  tried  to  persuade  him  to  turn  back,  even  offering  to  buy  his  butter 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  73 

if  he  would  return  home ;  but  no,  the  butter  was  not  for  sale,  he  was 
charged  with  its  delivery  and  he  "would  do  it,  cholera  or  no  cholera." 
The  county  records  were  moved  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  far 
away  from  the  infected  district  as  possible ;  merchants  locked  their  stores 
and,  with  their  families,  went  to  the  country;  business  was  entirely 
suspended,  and  for  two  months  Monticello  was  almost  deserted.  Work 
on  the  courthouse  was  suspended,  the  laborers  fleeing  to  the  country  and 
positively  refusing  to  return,  in  consequence  of  which  its  construction 
was  at  a  virtual  standstill  until  the  following  spring.  Mr.  Brown  refused 
to  re-employ  the  workmen  who  had  deserted  him  the  previous  year,  and 
masons  and  brick-layers  being  scarce,  the  work  progressed  but  slowly - 
up  to  its  completion  in  December,  1851. 

Description  of  Dear  Old  Building 

The  writer  turns  again  to  Sill's  unpublished  history  for  a  detailed 
description  of  the  old  brick  courthouse,  which,  for  forty-four  years,  was 
the  center  of  the  official,  judicial  and  legal  activities  of  White  County 
and  the  scene  of  many  occasions  connected  with  patriotic  meetings  and 
public  celebrations.  "A  description  from  memory,"  says  the  author, 
"while  not  infallible  will  be  better  than  none.  Beginning  at  the  founda- 
tion, a  trench  three  feet  in  depth,  and  similar  trenches  made  at  the  sides 
of  about  eighty-five  feet  in  length,  were  filled  with  stone  of  the  genus 
known  as  'nigger  heads,'  with  which  the  county  is  amply  supplied.  On 
the  top  of  these,  blocks  of  cut  stone  were  placed,  projecting  about  three 
feet  and  presenting  a  level  surface  on  which  to  lay  the  brick.  The  build- 
ing was  two  stories  in  height  and  divided  into  four  rooms  below,  provid- 
ing offices  for  the  auditor,  treasurer,  clerk  and  recorder.  A  hall  eight 
feet  wide  passed  through  the  length  of  the  building  between  the  offices 
with  doors  at  each  end.  Each  of  the  offices  was  provided  with  a  brick 
vault  with  an  iron  door,  and  supposed  by  some  to  be  fire  proof,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  records.  There  was  a  recess  in  front,  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet  north  and  south  by  ten  feet  in  width.  On  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  building  was  another  room  ten  feet  square,  which  was  occu- 
pied by  the  sheriff  and  presumably  intended  for  him.  If  that  was  the 
case,  a  good  joke  on  that  official  was  perpetrated,  as  the  room  was  scarcely 
large  enough  for  a  respectable  chicken-coop. 

"In  the  recess  two  fluted  columns  were  built  of  the  Tuscan  order  of 
architecture  to  a  height  of  fifty  feet,  on  the  top  of  which  rested  a  wooden 
dome  or  belfry,  and  high  above  all  a  huge  wooden  arrow  for  nearly  fifty 
years  faithfully  indicated  the  course  of  summer  breeze  and  winter  blast. 

"The  second  story,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  jury  room  in  the 
southeastern  corner,  was  the  court  room.  It  was  furnished  witli  wooden 
benches  with  high  backs,  placed  in  two  rows  across  the  room,  with  an 
aisle  between  of  sufficient  width  for  two  persons  to  walk  abreast.  The 
judge's  seat  was  in  the  west  end  of  the  room  on  a  high  wooden  platform 
with  three  steps  at  each  end  to  enable  him  to  ascend  to  his  place  with  due 
judicial  dignity  and  decorum.    There  wus  room  on  tlte  platform  for  ten 


74  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

or  twelve  persons  uud  in  time  of  political  excitement,  when  a  publie 
speaker  of  some  notoriety  was  announced,  it  was  always  occupied.  The 
seats  were  gradually  elevated  from  front  to  rear  to  enable  those  behind  to 
see  over  the  heads  of  those  in  the  front,  and  about  five  hundred  people 
could  he  comfortably  seated  on  the  benches  and  inside  the  bar,  which  had 
a  wooden  railing  extending  across  the  same  about  fifteen  feet  in  front  of 
the  judge's  seat. 

"Access  to  the  court  room  was  gained  by  a  broad  staircase  in  front  on 
the  north  side  of  the  recess.  The  late  Hon.  Horace  P.  Biddle,  of  Logans- 
port,  was  the  .first  judge  to  open  and  hold  court  in  the  new  Court  House 
at  the  March  term,  1832.  The  court  officers  were  Ransom  McConahay, 
clerk,  and  Michael  A.  Berkey,  sheriff.  The  members  constituting  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  who  made  the  order  for  the  building  and  re- 
ceived it  when  completed,  were  James  K.  Wilson,  of  Monon  township, 
Solomon  McCully,  of  Jackson,  and  Samuel  Smelcer,  of  Prairie." 

George  S.  Kendall,  now  living  in  Irvington,  Indiana,  relates  a  peculiar 
circumstance  which  occurred  when  the  second  courthouse  was  being  built. 
This  story  was  told  by  his  grandparents  and  stated  that  in  the  spring- 
time of  a  certain  year  a  small  body  of  Indians  passing  through  the  town 
stopped  for  a  brief  rest  in  the  courthouse  yard  and  while  there  a  squaw 
gave  birth  to  a  papoose,  which  she  carefully  wrapped  in  a  blanket, 
mounted  her  horse  and  pursued  her  journey. 

County  Offices  Affected  by  Legislation 

The  new  state  constitution  of  1851  made  several  noteworthy  changes 
in  the  tenure  of  several  county  offices.  The  terms  of  the  clerk  and  re- 
corder were  shortened  from  seven  to  four  years,  and  the  terms  of  the 
remaining  officials,  except  those  of  the  commissioners  and  auditor,  were 
fixed  at  two  years;  the  hitter's  term  of  four  years  was  unchanged.  As 
the  constitution  also  changed  the  time  for  holding  the  general  election 
from  the  first  Monday  in  August  to  the  second  Monday  in  October,  there 
were  other  complications.  By  this  change  the  clerk  and  recorder, 
although  elected  in  October,  went  into  office  on  the  7th  of  July  following, 
and  the  treasurer  in  September  following  his  election. 

Acts  of  the  Legislature  of  subsequent  date  to  the  new  state  constitu- 
tion made  frequent  changes  in  the  election  days  of  various  county  and 
township  offices,  as  well  as  created  numerous  new  positions.  One  of  the 
most  important  of  the  new  offices  was  that  of  county  assessor,  which  came 
into  being  by  legislative  act  of  March  6,  1891.  The  original  term  was 
four  years  ami  the  first  county  assessor  was  chosen  at  the  general  election 
in  1802. 

.Many  changes  were  made  in  the  judicial  systems  which  had  jurisdic- 
tion in  the  county.  The  Circuit  Court,  with  its  presiding  judge  and  two 
local  associates,  was  the  legislative  product  of  the  period  when  Indiana 
was  passing  from  a  territorial  to  a  state  form  of  government,  hut  was 
incorporated  in  the  body  politic  of  the  commonwealth  by  the  constitution 
of  1816.    The  Probate  Court  came  in  with  the  county,  in  18)54,  and  in  185:1 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  75 

its  functions  were  transferred  to  the  new  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which, 
in  turn,  was  merged  into  the  Circuit  Court  in  1873.  Consequently  the 
Circuit  Court,  of-  all  the  institutions  identified  with  the  administration 
of  county  affairs,  is  the  oldest. 

It  was  reserved  for  the  Legislature  of  a  comparatively  late  period  to 
set  the  record  in  the  creation  of  new  offices,  in  the  distribution  of  which 
generosity  "White  County  received  its  full  quota.  By  the  act  approved 
March  -4,  1899,  a  county  council  was  created  to  consist  of  three  (at  large) 
members  elected  by  all  the  voters  of  a  county,  and  four  members  chosen 
by  the  commissioners'  districts  into  which  each  county  was  to  be  divided 
preceding  the  election  of  1900.  Six  hundred  and  forty-four  new  county 
offices  were  thereby  created  throughout  the  state.  By  an  act  approved 
during  the  previous  month  an  advisory  board  of  the  county  council  was 
also  authorized,  comprising  three  members  elected  from  each  township ; 
as  White  County  had  eleven  townships,  that  act  added  thirty-three  new 
offices  to  the  seven  created  by  the  measure  of  March,  1899.  Although  the 
advisory  board  was  created  a  few  days  before  the  main  body  came  into 
existence,  it  was  simply  a  little  accident  in  the  orderly  and  perhaps  legal 
progress  of  constructive  legislation  which  created  no  comment. 

New  Jails  Erected 

But,  despite  all  changes  and  complications,  the  county  continued  to 
push  its  campaign  for  better  public  buildings. 

.  In  June,  1854,  the  board  gave  the  contract  for  a  new  jail  to  Michael 
A.  Berkey  and  J.  C.  Reynolds,  the  work  to  be  begun  immediately,  and 
the  building  to  be  finished  by  the  1st  of  June,  1855.  The  site  of  the  struc- 
ture was  fixed  on  the  west  end  of  the  Courthouse  Square.  The  contractors 
faithfully  performed  their  part  of  the  agreement,  though  the  building 
was  not  formally  accepted  by  the  board  until  September,  1855.  The  cost 
was  $1,640. 

The  new  jail  was  not  built  on  the  original  Courthouse  Square,  but 
on  the  tract  purchased  by  the  commissioners  about  1865.  The  old  brick 
i-ourthouse  was  built  in  the  center  of  the  public  square  dedicated  for 
that  purpose  when  the  town  was  platted  by  Mr.  Barr,  the  county  agent. 
Its  dimensions  were  180  feet  north  and  south  on  the  west  side  of  Main 
Street,  and  165  feet  east  and  west  on  the  north  side  of  Main-Cross 
Street  The  alley  running  north  and  south  between  Main  and  Illinois  was 
widened  to  twenty-five  feet,  but  although  the  western  boundary  of  the 
"Id  Courthouse  Square,  remained  an  unnamed  street.  A  short  thorough- 
fare on  the  north,  now  called  Court  Street,  completed  its  boundaries. 

Combined  Jail  and  Sheriff's  Residence 

In  1864  the  board  of  commissioners  decided  that  the  time  had  come 
tar  the  construction  of  a  new  jail  and  sheriff's  residence  which  should  be 
fairly  creditable  to  the  taxpayers  as  well  as  to  the  public.  They  there- 
fore purchased  three  lots  west  of  the  original  square  and  fronting  on 


Couiicy  of  C.  I,.  Koiler 


■'  i  i 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  77 

Illinois  Street,  vacated  the  narrow  nameless  street  and  extended  Court 
Street  through  to  Illinois,  thus  more  than  doubling  the  area  of  the 
public  square  and  providing  a  generous  site  for  the  proposed  building. 
The  contract  was  finally  awarded  to  Jacob  Ilanaway  and  Charles  Breck- 
enridge,  the  price  being  $6,800.  At  that  time  the  county  was  not  em- 
barrassed to  provide  funds,  notwithstanding  the  drafts  made  upon  its 
treasury  for  soldiers'  bounty,  relief  of  soldiers'  widows  and  orphans, 
and  road  and  bridge  expenses.  The  building  was  completed  and  accepted 
by  the  board  in  December,  1865,  its  site  being  lot  83,  the  location  of  the 
present  jail  and  sheriff's  residence.  The  three  strong  iron  cells  of  the 
jail  were  certainly  great  improvements  over  the  old  arrangements, 

Another  and  Better  Jail 

But  in  1875  it  was  decided  to  build  another  and  even  a  better  jail 
and  plans  presented  by  Randall  and  Millard,  of  Chicago,  were  accepted. 
The  contract  was  let  to  Ralph  Dixon,  of  Logausport,  Indiana,  at  $7,700. 
John  Saunders  wa<  appointed  to  superintend  the  construction.  The 
building  was  immediately  commenced,  and  was  carried  to  rapid  comple- 
tion, and  in  December  the  finished  jail  was  turned  over  to  the  county 
board,  and  formally  accepted  by  them.  This  building  is  yet  in  use, 
although  the  second  courthouse  was  replaced  with  the  handsome  structure 
now  occupied,  in  the  fall  of  1895. 

Corner  Stone  op  Present  Courthouse  Laid 

After  several  years  of  preliminaries,  movements  both  on  the  part  of 
the  board  of  commissioners  and  enterprising  citizens,  the  cornerstone 
of  the  new  courthouse  was  finally  laid,  amid  impressive  ceremonies,  on 
the  16th  of  August,  1894.  Special  trains  unloaded  visitors  from  Ijogans- 
port,  Monon,  Brookston,  Rensselaer,  Idaville  and  other  towns  which  had 
for  years  been  on  terms  of  special  intimacy  with  Mouticello,  and  various 
organizations  from  these  places  participated  in  the  celebration. 

The  music  for  the  procession  and  the  crowd  was  furnished  by  the 
Logansport  baud  and  two  local  bands.  The  ceremonies  were  in  official 
charge  of  Libanus  Lodge  No.  154,  P.  &  A  M.,  of  Mouticello,  which  had 
the  post  of  honor  in  the  rear.  Then  came  the  members  of  the  other  ma- 
sonic lodges — Orient,  of  Logansport;  Goodland,  Buck  Creek,  Monon, 
Brookston  and  Francesville  (Indiana)  lodges;  St.  John  Commandery, 
No.  24,  K.  T.,  Logansport.  The  Masons  were  escorted  by  I.  0.  O.  P. 
lodges  from  Mouticello,  Brookston,  Rensselaer,  Idaville  and  Logansport; 
Daughter  of  Rebekah,  of  Mouticello;  0.  E.  S.,  of  Rensselaer;  Uniformed 
Ranks  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Montieello,  Monon  and  Rensselaer;  Tip- 
I>ecanoe  Post,  No.  51,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Mouticello,  and  the  members  of  the 
Mouticello  schools. 

After  the  crowd  had  assembled  at  the  Courthouse  Square  to  witness 
the  ceremonies  in  connection  with  the  placing  of  the  cornerstone,  Emery 
B.  Sellers  read  a  brief  history  of  the  county,  including  the  effort  to 


78  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

secure  a  new  courthouse,  and  named  the  list  of  articles  in  the  box  to  be 
placed  in  the  stone.  They  were  as  follows:  The  Monticello  Herald  of 
August  16,  1-894;  the  White  County  Democrat  of  August  10,  1894;  the 
Monticello  Press,  August  11,  1894;  the  Woleott  Enterprise,  August  10, 
1894;  the  Chalmers  Ledger,  August  11,  1894;  the  Idaville  Observer,  Au- 
gust 15,  1894;  manual  of  Monticello  Public  Schools;  roster  of  Libanus 
Lodge,  No.  154,  P.  &  A.  M. ;  roster  of  Tippecanoe  Post,  No.  151,  G.  A.  R. ; 
copy  of  the  charter  of  said  post ;  roster  of  Monticello  Lodge,  No.  73, 
K.  of  P. ;  a  knight 's  jewel ;  rosters  of  Monticello  Independent  Battery, 
Stewart  Encampment,  No.  159,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  Monticello  Lodge,  No.  107, 
I.  0.  0.  F.,  Eudora  Lodge,  No.  201,  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  and  by-laws 
of  Monticello  Chapter,  No.  103,  R.  A.  M. ;  constitution  and  by-laws  of 
Journeymen  Stone  Cutters  Association  of  North  America ;  a  history  of 
stone  cutters'  strike;  roster  of  Monticello  Fire  Company;  photos  of  old 
courthouse  while  in  process  of  demolition;  zinc  etchings  of  the  first 
courthouse,  of  the  second  and  of  the  new  one ;  a  Grand  Army  badge  and 
boutonnier;  the  invitations  issued  by  the  board  of  commissioners,  by 
Libanus  Lodge  and  Tippecanoe  Post;  "White  County  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,"  written  by  James  M.  McBeth;  a  ticket  to  the  Columbian 
exposition;  one  cent — a  day's  wages;  one  horseshoe,  made  by  John  H. 
Day ;  one  silver  three-cent  coin ;  copy  of  charter  Stanley  Camp  Sons  of 
Veterans ;  copy  of  Order  of  Exercises  of  these  ceremonies ;  the  fourth  part 
of  a  dollar;  a  twenty-five  cent  "shinplaster";  a  picture  of  John  Roth- 
rock,  born  1779,  first  settler  of  the  land  on  which  this  courthouse  stands; 
a  record  of  the  organization  of  White  County  and  of  the  location  of  the 
county  seat ;  a  certified  copy  of  the  deed  from  Robert  Rothrock  to  John 
Barr,  Sr.,  agent  of  White  County  for  the  land  on  which  the  original  plat 
of  Monticello  is  located;  a  copy  of  the  first  order  of  the  board  of  com- 
missioners for  the  erection  of  this  building;  one  cannery  check  issued  to 
William  Harbolt;  the  Chicago  Herald  of  this  date;  the  Chicago  Inter- 
Ocean  of  this  date;  the  Holy  Bible;  roster  and  by-laws  of  Brookston 
Lodge,  No.  66,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  history  of  the  Forty-sixth  Regiment  Indiana 
Volunteers ;  this  record  of  these  ceremonies  prepared  by  order  of  Libanus 
Lodge,  No.  154,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

Charles  Gardner  then  sealed  the  box  and  the  ceremony  of  placing  it  in 
position  was  performed  by  Frank  E.  Gaven,  the  Grand  Master  of  Masons 
of  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  a  judge  of  the  State  Appellate  Court.  After 
the  laying  of  the  cornerstone,  the  crowd  dispersed  until  2  o'clock  P.  M., 
when  Lieutenant-Governor  Nye  delivered  the  address  of  the  day. 

Within  a  year  from  the  date  of  this  enthusiastic  and  appropriate  cele- 
bration, the  courthouse,  virtually  as  it  stands  today,  was  ready  for  occu- 
pancy. The  architects  were  LaBelle  and  French,  of  Marion,  Indiana, 
and  over  $70,000  was  put  into  the  building,  exclusive  of  furnishings,  the 
entire  cost  being  nearly  $100,000.  It  could  not  be  constructed  for  con- 
siderably more  than  that  sum  at  the  present  time,  as  it  is  a  massive, 
beautiful  building  of  Bedford  stone,  two  stories  and  a  lofty  basement  in 
height,  witli  a  handsome  tower  in  its  southeast  corner  and  ornate  projec- 
tions on  all  sides.    The  present. courthouse  stands  88  by  108  feet  on  the 


-— ■*■ 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUN-TY 


79 


ground,  nearer  the  eenter  of  the  square  than  any  of  its  predecessors, 
and  its  court  and  office  conveniences,  as  well  as  heating,  lighting  and 
sanitary  arrangements,  are  up-to-date.  Among  the  other  accommoda- 
tions of  the  times,  'which  has  heeome  a  matter  of  course,  is  its  provision 
for  a  comfortahle  rest-room  for  women,  girls  and  children;  this  has 
come  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  consideration  for  the  sex  and  as 
justice  to  the  taxpayers  and  their  families  who  are  obliged  to  come  from 
a  distance,  often  in  their  own  vehicles,  to  transact  business  at  the  county 
seat. 

The  Poor  Farm 

\ 

During  the  early  years  of  our  history  the  needy  poor  were  cared  for  by 
being  placed  in  reliable  families,  the  expenses  of  their  board  and  clothes 


White  County  Asylum 


being  paid  by  the  county.  This  varied  from  $39  for  the  year  ending  May 
1,  1839,  to  $817.36  for  the  year  ending  June  1,  1856.  Hut  this  system 
proved  unsatisfactory  and  on  March  2,  1857,  the  county  purchased  from 
James  C.  Reynolds  200  acres  of  land,  five  miles  northwest  of  Monticcllo, 
being  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13  and  the  northeast  quarter  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  both  in  township  27  north,  range  4 
west,  paying  therefor  $3,250.  On  the  first  described  tract  stood  a  house 
and  into  this  house  the  poor  were  collected  and  early  in  1858  Uncle 
Charley  Rider  was  employed  and  took  charge  as  first  keeper  of  the 
poorhouse.  This  old  building,  with  its  various  additions,  was  always  a 
reproach  to  the  good  people  of  White  County  and  in  1K75  the  commis- 
sioners let  to  Harbolt  &  Tilton,  of  Monticcllo,  a  contract  to  erect  a  new 
frame  building  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  which  was  completed  and  occupied  in 
December,  1875.  But  this  became  unsanitary  and  in  .March,  1907,  the 
commissioners  and  county  council  met  in  joint  session  to  consider  a  site 


80  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

for  a  new  county  infirmary.  After  viewing  and  studying  carefully  both 
sites  owned  by  the  county  and  several  others,  it  was  decided  to  purchase 
of  Daniel  McCuaig  the  farm  known  as  the  old  Breckeuridge  farm  on 
the  gravel  road  north  of  Monticello.  The  farm  is  three  miles  from  the 
public  square  in  Monticello  and  contains  150  acres.  Eighty  acres  lie  west 
of  the  north  and  south  road  and  south  of  the  road  running  west.  Seventy 
acres  lie  east  of  the  road  and  north  of  the  road  leading  east  to  Norway. 
The  Tippecanoe  River  forms  the  east  boundary  line.  The  purchase  price 
was  $16,500.  The  county  council  appropriated  $31,000  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  site  selected  for  the  new  building  is  on  a  bluff  overlooking  the 
river,  which,  in  addition  to  its  picturesqueness,  affords  perfect  drainage. 
Plans  for  the  new  building  were  furnished  by  the  state  board  of  charities. 
These  were  adapted  to  the  needs  of  White  County  and  the  building 
planned  by  Samuel  A.  Young,  a  local  architect.  Work  on  the  new  build- 
ing was  begun  promptly  and  carried  to  completion  under  his  superin- 
tendence. On  June  16,  1908,  the  building  was  formally  accepted  by  the 
count}-  board  of  commissioners  from  the  contractors.  The  total  cost  was 
$33,364.91.  Built  after  many  years  of  urging  by  grand  juries,  press  and 
public  and  only  after  the  old  buildings  had  become  almost  scandalous  in 
their  unfitness,  the  new  asylum  places  White  County  in  the  front  rank 
for  her  humane  provision  for  her  poor.  The  natural  advantage  of 
drainage,  afforded  by  the  Tippecanoe  River,  is  supplemented  by  the 
plumber's  art  which  exemplifies  throughout  the  building  the  most  mod- 
ern ideas  of  sanitation.  Water  is  supplied  to  all  parts  of  the  building 
by  a  Kewanee  water  system.  There  are  bath  and  toilet  rooms  on  both 
upper  and  lower  floors.  The  basement  is  cemented  throughout  and  well 
furnished  with  bell  traps  for  carrying  off  water  used  in  cleaning.  The 
building  is  lighted  by  electric  incandescent  lamps,  power  for  which  is 
supplied  on  the  premises  by  means  of  an  8-H.  P.  gasoline  engine,  the 
same  power  also  operating  the  water  system.  A  steam  heating  plant 
furnishes  heat.  The  sexes  are  segregated.  The  women  occupy  the  east 
wing  of  the  building  and  have  their  own  dining  room.  The  men  occupy 
the  west  wing.  The  superintendent  and  family  occupy  the  central  front. 
A  driven  well,  131  feet  deep,  provides  water  for  cooking  and  drinking. 
Two  150-barrel  cisterns  with  filters  provide  soft  water.  The  water  is 
forced  to  all  parts  of  the  building  by  compressed  air  which  is  contained 
in  two  big  tanks  in  the  basement.  Ventilation  is  provided  by  means  of 
four  big  stacks  or  chimneys  in  which  are  separate  air  flues  for  each  floor 
and  section  of  floor.  Each  room  has  its  own  ventilating  shaft  and  all 
foul  air  is  discharged  out  of  doors. 

As  the  building  now  stands,  it  will  house  forty-eight  inmates  and  this 
capacity  can  be  more  than  doubled  at  but  little  expense. 

County's  Growth  by  Decades 

When  the  preceding  courthouse  was  completed,  White  County  had 
a  population  of  about  5,000,  which,   in  1895,  had  increased  to  some 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  81 

17,000,  while  the  expansion  in  the  value  of  taxable  property  was  even 
more  marked,  being  ten-fold  from  18G0  to  1880.  In  1860  the  population 
was  8,258;  1870,  10,554,  and  1880,  13,447.  The  1880  census  exhibits 
the  townships  as  follows:  Union,  2,213;  Round  Grove  and  White  Post, 
1,635 ;  Jackson,  1,724;  Cass  and  Liberty,  1,785;  Monou,  1,172;  Honey 
Creek,  902;  Big  Creek,  776;  Prairie,  2,144;  Princeton,  1,396. 

Deductions  from  the  Census  Figures 

vUthough  the  figures  for  1890  and  1900,  respectively,  indicate  a  fair 
increase  in  population,  since  the  latter  year  there  has  been  a  readjustment 
of. general  conditions,  the  record  for  1910  showing  a  decrease.  "Within 
more  recent  years  another  upward  tendency  has  been  evident;  but  "bet- 
ter times"  have  been  manifest  perhaps  more  in  the  increase  in  property 
valuation  than  in  numbers  of  residents.  The  temptation  for  the  younger 
generation  to  desert  old  and  well  settled  districts  for  the  newer  and 
cheaper  lands  of  the  West  is  still  strong  and  practically  effective;  but 
those  who  are  in  a  condition  to  remain  on  the  improved  homesteads,  or 
connected  with  growing  industries,  find  no  section  better  than  White 
County  for  comfort  and  the  satisfaction  of  moderate  ambitions.  These 
general  remarks  will  be  supported  by  the  statistics  contained  in  the 
following  tables. 

White  County's  Population,  1890-1910 

Townships  and  Towns                           1910  1900  1890 

Big  Creek  Township,  including  Chalmers  town..   1,080  1,292  955 

Chalmers  town   513  462 

Cass  Township 946  1,215  893 

Honey  Creek  Township,  including  Reynolds  town  1,165  1,170  1,018 

Reynolds  town 377  393  348 

Jackson  Township,  including  Burnettsville  town  1,812  1,990  1,958 

Burnettsville  town  489  497  479 

Ljberty  Township 1,011  1,266  1,221 

Monon  Township,  including  Monon  town 2,363  2,441  1,960 

Monon  town 1,184  1,160  1,064 

Trairie  Township,  including  Brookston  town. .. .  2,181  2,325  1,885 

Brookston  town 907  946  447 

Princetown  Township,  including  Wolcott  town..  2,158  2,282  1,465 

Wolcott  town 873  825  246 

Round  Grove  Township 628  890  779 

Union  Township,  including  Monticello  town 3,330  3,307  2,632 

Monticello  town 2,168  2,107  1,518 

Wert  Point  Township 922  960  905 

Totals    17.G02     19,138     15,671 

till     I-     0 


82  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Property  Valuation  in  1905  and  1910 

A  more  conclusive  proof  of  the  betterment  of  property  conditions 
during  the  past  decade  is  found  in  the  figures  of  the  assessors  for  1905, 
1910  and  1915.    The  comparative  showing  for  1905  and  1910  is  as  follows : 

Townships  and  Towns  1905  1910 

Prairie  $  1,586,840        $  1,913,930 

Big  Creek 764,240  1,006,500 

Union  957,260  1,347,610 

Monon    876,930  1,184,540 

Liberty 640,137  616,640 

Jackson   747,430  854,370  ' 

Princeton 1,277,270  1,332,490 

West  Point 1,097,220  1,195,730 

Cass    501,420  499,910 

'Honey  Creek 562,280  852,950 

Round  Grove   709,300  826,480 

Monticello   1,040,810  1,040,870 

Brookston    367,080  366,650 

Reynolds   109,150  153,120 

Burnettsville 142,780  172,690 

Monon 302,350  360,500 

Wolcott   397,020  326,930 

■    Chalmers  180,140  206,930 

Totals $12,259,757        $14,258,800 

Taxable  Valuation  in  1914 

The  following  table  shows  the  valuation  of  real  and  personal  property 
(including  that  of  corporations),  with  mortgage  exemptions  deducted, 
and  the  net  value  of  all  properties  in  the  county  subject  to  taxation  in 
1914: 

Townships  and  Towns        Real  Estate           Personal  Net  Value 

Prairie   $  1,424,200        $    370,050  $  1,949,870 

Big  Creek   715,130  172,410  1,010,060 

Union  795,340  274,580  1,272,580 

Monon    813,460  318,610  1,478,390 

Liberty 475,660  198,810  676,530 

Jackson    571,820  283,980  936,300 

Princeton 1,040,040  184,700  1,349,720 

West  Point 1,019,800  266,930  1,288,320 

Cass    395,770  134,670  531,560 

Honey  Creek 502,960  146,040  955,290 

Round  Grove 709,390  165,240  876,300 

Monticello   740,120  518,060  1,319,640 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  83 

Townships  and  Towns        Real  Estate  Personal           Net  Value 

Brookston    219,710  152,000  388,740 

Reynolds    .- 70,080  64,420  168,800 

Burnettsville 81,960  85,180  185,360 

Monon    233,090  172,070  440,300 

Wolcott    216,030  145,020  373,810 

Chalmers   114,490  165,130  299,990 

Total $10,139,050        $3,817,900        $15,501,560 

Receipts  and  Expenditures 

From  the  last  report  of  the  county  auditor  for  the  year  ending  Decem- 
ber 31, 1914,  a  few  interesting  facts  are  gleaned  illustrative  of  the  finances 
of  the  county.  At  the  first  of  the  year  there  was  a  balance'  in  the  treasury 
of  $208,928.09  and  the  receipts  from  all  funds  amounted  to  $641,660.34; 
so  that  the  county  had  total  resources  to  draw  upon  of  $850,588.43.  The 
total  disbursements  were  $761,846.04.  The  receipts  of  the  year  from 
the  county  fund  reached  $64,769.36  and  the  disbursements  $66,022.44. 
Only  two  larger  funds  were  shown  in  the  budget — those  designated  mac- 
adam roads  and  the  five-mile  ditches.  The  former  indicated  a  balance  of 
$70,489,  and  the  latter  of  $42,457.53.  The  receipts  derived  from  the 
macadam  roads  of  the  county  amounted  to  $160,428.17,  and  as  there  was 
a  balance  the  first  of  the  year  of  $158,398.16,  the  available  fund  readied 
a  total  of  $318,826.33;  the  total  disbursements  were  $257,875.05.  The 
receipts  from  the  five  mile  ditches,  including  the  balance  brought  over 
from  the  previous  year,  amounted  to  $135,470.18,  and  the  disbursements 
$117,185.05.  The  other  large  items  related  to  the  special  school,  tuition, 
road,  turnpike  and  common  school  taxes.  The  grand  result,  or  the  net 
balance  in  the  county  treasury  (after  deducting  the  amount  collected 
since  the  November  settlement),  proved  to  be  $95,492.39. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  COUNTY  IN  LAW 

Tiie  Courts  Boun  op  American  Rule — First  Territorial  Court — 
Judge  Parke  Refuses  to  Hold  Court — The  Courts  Under  the 
First  State  Constitution — Under  the  Second  Constitution — 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas — Creatures  of  the  Legislature — Pro- 
bate Courts — Court  of  Common  Pleas  Defined — The  New  Circuit 
Court — First  Circuit  Judge — First  Active  Grand  Jurors — Pio- 
neer Lawyers  of  the  Circuit — Albert  S.  White — Turpie's 
Sketches  of  Judge  White — Young  Turpie  Hears  First  Stump 
Speech  —  Boys  Abashed  at  White's  Greatness  —  Meeting  of 
Alpha  and  Omega — Meet  in  Early  Maturity  and  Old  Age — 
Together  They  Call  on  President  Lincoln — Thompson,  First 
Local  Lawyer — Daniel  D.  Pratt — His  Kind  Helpfulness  to 
Young  Men — Judges  and  Attorneys,  1838-43 — Horace  P.  Biddle — 
Biddle  vs.  Pratt — Characteristics  of  David  Turpie — Brief  Facts 
of  His  Like — Describes  His  Coming  to  Monticello— Author  of 
the  Cattle-Lien  Law — Good  Squire  Harbolt — Traits  of  Early 
Judges  and  Lawyers — "The  Choctaw  Line" — Played  "When 
School  Was  Out" — Not  Dollar-Slaves — Robert  H.  Milroy — 
John  U.  Pettit — John  M.  Wallace — Other  Circuit  Judges,  1855- 
1015 — The  '•Wherefore"  for  So  Many  Judges — Reynolds,  First 
White  County  Judge — Forgot  He  Was  Judge — Truman  F. 
Palmer — James  P.  Wason — The  Probate  Judges — Robert  Newell 
— William  M.  Kenton — Zebulon  Sheetz  and  Aaron  Hicks — Court 
of  Common  Pleas  Again — Samuel  A.  Huff — Common  Pleas 
Judges,  1854-73  —  Captain  and  Judge  Alfred  F.  Reed  —  The 
Lawyers  of  1834-51 — The  Sills — Lawyers  of  1856-1900 — Joseph  H. 
Matlock — Orlando  McConauy — Lawyers  in  Active  Practice. 

Until  about  the  middle  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  after  General 
Clark  had  conquered  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  for  the  patriot 
army,  no  earnest  attempt  was  made  by  either  France  or  Great  Britain 
to  establish  civil  or  judicial  administration  over  any  part  of  the  country 
west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains;  and  then  it  was  too  late  for  cither 
mother  country  to  do  anythng  in  that  line.  In  other  words,  neither 
France  nor  Great  Britain  ever  attempted  to  establish  other  than  a  mili- 
tary rule  over  the  Northwest.  Under  French  rule  the  commandants  of 
the  posts  decided  most  points  at  issue  between  the  civilians  and  the 
Indians,  or  which  c*me  up  between  the  whites  themselves;  when  the 

84 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  85 

cases  seemed  particularly  involved  or  important,  some  of  the  most  influ- 
ential characters  of  the  special  locality  which  was  disturbed  would  bo 
called  into  consultation.  But  few  cases  of  lawsuits  could  arise,  as  few 
of  the  settlements  in  Indiana  consisted  of  more  than  fifty  families;  they 
were  happy-go-lucky  people  who  did  not  worry  about  definite  titles  to 
their  land  so  long  as  their  neighbors  did  not  object,  and  much  of  the 
land  in  the  settlements  was  communal,  each  man  usually  cultivating 
only  so  much  as  would  furnish  him  or  his  family  with  the  necessities 
of  life. 

^Vhen  the  common  law  of  England  was  extended  over  the  territory, 
no  attempt  was  made  to  establish  courts,  as  the  new  owners  discouraged 
settlement  west  of  the  mountains.  They  did  not  think  it  worth  their 
efforts  to  even  take  possession  of  Vineeunes  until  1777,  the  only  real 
center  of  civilization  in  the  Northwest. 

The  Courts  Born  op  American  Rule 

But  when  General  Clark  conquered  the  territory  for  Virginia  and 
the  Americans,  and  John  Todd  was  appointed  lieutenant  for  the  County 
of  Illinois,  the  authority  of  the  courts  commenced  to  be  established.  His 
headquarters  were  at  Fort  Chartres,  but  he  sought  also  to  establish  a 
court  of  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  at  Vincennes,  of  which  the  com- 
mari*dant  of  that  post,  Col.  J.  M.  P.  Legras,  was  president.  A  historian 
of  those  times  says  that  "no  record  of  an  action  by  this  court  remains, 
except  its  assumption  of  the  right  to  make  grants  of  land,  and  it  exer- 
cised that  authority  with  royal  liberality,  most  of  the  grants  being  made 
to  the  members  of  the  court."  That  was  the  first  judicial  tribunal  which 
legally  and  theoretically  exercised  jurisdiction  over  what  arc  now  Indiana 
and  White  County,  although  fifty  years  were  to  elapse  before  any  white 
men  came  to  that  section  of  the  state  to  look  for  civil  or  judicial  pro- 
tection. 

Under  the  ordinance  of  1787  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  James  M.  Varnum 
and  John  C.  Symes  were  appointed  judges  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
who,  with  Governor  St.  Clair,  were  authorized  to  enforce  such  laws  of 
the  original  states  as  might  be  applicable  to  the  new  territory.  It 
appears  that  the  judges  who  held  their  first  session  at  Marietta  exceeded 
their  authority  and  tried  to  incorporate  some  original — very  original — 
laws,  which  were  repudiated  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  In 
1795  the  governor  and  judges  met  at  Cincinnati  and  enacted  a  number 
of  laws  which  conformed  to  the  authority  of  the  organic  ordinance;  the 
validity  of  the  laws  promulgated  at  Marietta  was  questioned  until  L799, 
when,  to  avoid  complications,  they  were  readopted,  as  a  whole,  by  the 
Territorial  Legislature. 

First  Territorial,  Court 

In  January,  1801,  William  Clark,  Henry  Vanderburgh  and  John 
Griffin,  who  had  been  appointed  the  first  judges  of  Indiana  Territory, 


86  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

met  Governor  Harrison  at  Vincennes,  the  capital,  for  the  purpose  of 
passing  a  code  of  laws  to  supersede  that  enacted  at  Cincinnati  for  the 
government  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  Among  those  passed  as  a  part 
of  the  uew  code  was  one  establishing  courts  of  general  quarter  sessions 
of  the  peace  in  the  counties  of  Knox,  Randolph  and  St.  Clair. 

The  first  session  of  the  General  Court  was  opeued  at  Vincennes  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1801,  all  the  judges  present.  The  graud  jury  called,  as 
will  he  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  names  of  its  members,  was  largely 
of  French  extraction,  consisting  of  Luke  Decker,  Autoine  Marshal, 
Joseph  Baird,  Patrick  Simpson,  Antoine  Petit,  Andr.  Montplaiseur,  John 
Ockiltree,  Jonathan  Marney,  Jacob  Tevebaugh,  Alexander  Vadney, 
Francois  Turpin,  Fr.  Compagnoitte,  Charles  Languedoe,  Louis  Severe, 
Fr.  Languedoe,  George  Catt,  John  St.  Barios,  Abraham  Decker  and 
Philip  Catt.  With  a  court  of  general  sessions  and  a  grand  jury  in 
operation,  the  judiciary  of  Indiana  may  be  said  to  have  been  fully 
established. 

Judge  Pakke  Refuses  to  Hold  Court 

In  February,  1805,  the  first  popular  assembly  of  the  territory  met 
at  Vincennes  and  split  oil*  Michigan  from  Indiana  Territory,  and  four 
years  later  Illinois  was  carved  out  of  it.  In  1814,  what  is  now  Indiana 
was  divided  into  five  districts,  each  of  which  was  to  elect  a  member  of 
the  Territorial  Council ;  this  action  originated  in  Congress.  In  the  same 
year  the  General  Assembly  divided  the  territory  into  three  judicial  dis- 
tricts, but  Judge  Parke  refused  to  act,  on  the  grounds  stated  in  the 
following  letter  to  Governor  Posey:  "By  an  act  entitled  'An  act  reor- 
ganizing courts  of  justice,'  passed  at  the  late  session  of  the  Legislature, 
the  Territory  is  divided  into  three  districts,  in  each  of  which  a  circuit 
court  is  established — the  court  to  consist  of  one  of  the  judges  appointed 
by  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  the  territory,  as  president, 
and  three  associates  commissioned  under  the  authority  of  the  territory, 
and  to  have  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  at  law  and  in  equity.  The  first 
circuit,  comprising  the  counties  of  Knox,  Gibson  and  Warrick,  is  assigned 
to  me.  The  Legislature  is  empowered  to  make  laws  in  all  cases  for  the 
good  government  of  the  territory  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.  In  the  delegation  of  power  that  which  is  not  expressly 
given  is  reserved.  Implications  cannot  be  admitted  further  than  to 
carry  into  effect  the  power  given.  The  laws  of  the  United  States  being 
paramount  to  the  laws  of  the  territory,  if  they  are  found  in  conflict,  the 
latter  must  yield  to  the  former.  Congress  has  defined  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  judges  appointed  by  the  General  Government  and  made  one  judge, 
in  the  absence  of  the  others,  competent  to  hold  a  court.  The  judges  are 
coordinate  and  their  jurisdiction  extends  over  the  whole  Territory.  They 
are  judges  in  and  over,  and  not  of  a  part  of  the  Territory.  As  the  judges 
derive  their  jurisdiction  and  power  from  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  they  cannot  be  controlled,  in  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  by 
persons  deriving  their  authority  from  the  government  of  the  Territory. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  87 

The  judges  appointed  for  the  Territory  are  limited,  by  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  exercise  of  a  common-law  jurisdiction.  The  act, 
therefore,  as  it  regards  the  organization  and  jurisdiction  of  the  circuit 
courts,  is  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  neither  confers 
any  powers,  nor  imposes  any  duty,  on  the  judges  appointed  for  the  Ter- 
ritory by  the  "United  States.  The  General  Government  has  appointed 
for  the  territory  three  judges  with  common-law  jurisdiction;  but  when, 
where  or  in  what  manner  they  are  to  hold  a  court,  or  rather  exercise  the 
jurisdiction  with  which  they  are  invested,  Congress  has  not  provided. 
I  consider  it  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  do  it.  To  you,  sir,  it  belongs 
to  watch  over  the  affairs  of  the  territory  and  to  see  that  the  laws  are 
faithfully  executed,  and,  on  account  of  the  relation  in  which  I  stand 
to  the  Territorial  Government,  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  make  this 
representation  to  you.  The  peculiarity  of  the  case  leaves  me  no  other 
mode  of  stating  my  objections  and  the  cause  of  my  not  conforming  to 
the  law.  The  legislature  has  organized  certain  courts  and  assigned  me ' 
to  perform  certain  duties;  but  the  law  constituting  the  one,  and  direct- 
ing the  other,  is  unconstitutional,  and  as  I  can  derive  no  authority  from 
it,  it  imposes  no  obligation.  I  shall,  therefore,  not  hold  the  courts  for 
the  circuit." 

This  refusal  of  Judge  Parke,  with  various  appeals  to  the  General 
Assembly  to  establish  courts  which  should  modify  the  one-man  power 
of  the  Superior  Court  (one  judge  being  competent  to  hold  court)  has- 
tened the  establishment  of  the  Circuit  Court  which  was  alive  when  White 
County  was  created.  At  the  legislative  session  which  convened  at 
•Corydon  in  August,  1S14,  the  territory  was  divided  into  three  judicial 
districts,  each  of  which  was  to  be  presided  over  by  a  judge  appointed 
by  the  governor.  In  selecting  the  presiding  judges,  the  chief  executive 
was  required  to  choose  men  "learned  and  experienced  in  the  law,"  who 
were  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  who  had  "regularly  practiced 
in  some  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States,  or  in  this  territory,  three 
years."  The  two  associate  judges  of  each  county  were  to  be  residents 
of  good  standing,  but  not  necessarily  lawyers.  Two  judges  were  to 
constitute  a  quorum. 

The  Courts  Under  the  First  State  Constitution 

The  entire  judicial  system,  which  prevailed  in  Carroll  and  White 
counties  from  the  years  of  their  organization  in  1828  and  18IJ4,  respect- 
ively, until  the  Common  Pleas  Court  was  established  in  1852,  was  fixed 
and  consolidated  under  the  state  constitution  of  1810.  Under  its  pro- 
visions the  judicial  bodies  were  to  consist  of  a  State  Supreme  Court, 
Circuit  courts,  and  such  inferior  courts  as  the  General  Assembly  might 
establish.  The  highest  body  was  to  consist  of  three  judges  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  and  confirmed  by  the  senate,  their  term  of 
office  to  be  seven  years.  The  Supreme  Court  was  given  jurisdiction  in 
capital  or  chancery  cases  where  the  president  of  the  Circuit  Court  might 
be  interested  or  prejudiced. 


River  Scenes:  (a)  Washington  Street  Bridge;  (d)  At  Tioo.y  Dam; 
(c)  General  Scene;  (d)  Monticello  Dam  at  Flood  Tide;  (e)  Old 

MoNTICIXLO  FLOURING  MlLL 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  89 

The  Circuit  courts  were  to  consist  of  a  presiding  judge  and  two  asso- 
ciates. The  president  alone,  or  with  one  of  the  associates,  or  the  two 
associates  together,  could  hold  court,  although  capital  and  chancery  cases 
could  not  be_tried  in  the  absence  of  the  presiding  judge.  The  presi- 
dents of  the  Circuit,  courts  were  elected  by  the  General  Assembly  in 
joint  session  and  the  associate  judges  were  chosen  by  popular  vote. 

The  state  constitution  also  provided  that  the  clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  court  and  that  the  clerks  of  the  Circuit 
courts  were  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  but  no  clerk  could  qualify  who 
had  not  obtained  a  certificate  of  competency  from  a  judge  either  of  the 
Supreme  or  Circuit  Court.  The  constitution  also  provided  for  justices 
of  the  peace. 

Under  the  Second  Constitution 

The  constitution  of  1851  made  the  supreme  judgeship  elective  instead 
of  appointive  and  reduced  the  term  of  service  from  seven  to  six  years. 
The  choice  of  a  clerk  for  the  Supreme  Court  was  also  given  to  the  people, 
and  the  associate  judges  of  the  Circuit  courts  were  abolished.  Further, 
the  new  constitution  provided  that  no  one  elected  to  any  judicial  office 
should  be  eligible  to  any  other  office  during  the  term  of  his  service,  other 
than  a  judicial  one. 

Courts  of  Common  Pleas 

"In  creating  inferior  courts,"  says  W.  H.  Smith,  in  his  "History  of 
Indiana,"  "the  Legislature  established  what  were  known  as  Courts  of 
Common  Pleas.  These  courts  were  given  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  pro- 
bate matters  and  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  Circuit  Courts  in 
some  other  matters.  This  created  great  confusion.  All  the  courts 
assumed  to  pass  upon  the  constitutionality  of  laws  enacted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  and  the  state  witnessed  the  anomaly  of  having  laws 
enforced  in  one  county  and  declared  unconstitutional  in  another.  When 
the  Legislature  enacted  the  prohibitory  liquor  law  in  1855,  some  of  the 
Circuit  judges  declared  it  constitutional  and  enforced  it,  while  others 
declared  it  void.  This  lasted  until  the  Supreme  Court  finally  overthrew 
the  law.  The  confusion  grew  worse  after  the  Common  Pleas  Court  was 
established,  for  then  some  counties  were  operating  under  two  different 
laws  at  the  same  time,  according  as  the  opinions  of  the  judges  differed. 
This  confusion  could  not  last,  and  finally  the  General  Assembly  abol- 
ished the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  and  in  counties  where  the  business 
was  too  great  to  be  transacted  by  the  Circuit  Courts,  Superior  and  Crim- 
inal Courts  have  been  established,  with  well  defined  jurisdiction." 

To  condense  judicial  matters  in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  White 
County:  From  the  organization  of  the  county  in  18;!4  to  the  adoption 
of  the  second  state  constitution  in  1851  its  immediate  judicial  affairs 
Were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Circuit  and  Probate  courts,  with 
right  of  appeal  to  the  State  Supreme  Court;  in  1852  all  probate  matters 


'JO  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

were  transferred  to  the  Common  Pleas  Court,  created  by  the  Legisla- 
ture; the  Circuit  Court  continued  its  jurisdiction,  with  the  abolish- 
ment of  the  two  associate  judgeships,  and  in  1873  absorbed  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas;  so  that  as  far  as  White  County  is  concerned,  the 
Circuit  Court  has  had  a  monopoly  of  judicial  power  for  considerably 
over  forty  years. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  county  in  183-4  there  were, 
besides  the  Circuit  and  Probate  courts,  one  or  more  justices  of  the  peace 
for  each  of  the  townships  and  the  Court  of  Commissioners,  comprising 
three  members,  the  latter  having  charge  of  the  location  and  improvement 
of  highways,  building  of  bridges,  levying  of  taxes,  allowance  of  claims 
against  the  county  and  general  supervision  of  county  affairs.  Although 
judicial  to  a  certain  extent,  its  functions  were  so  largely  administrative 
that  the  commissioners'  standing  as  a  court  has  been  largely  obscured. 

The  state  was  divided  into  districts  or  circuits,  and  the  presiding 
judge  was  required  to  reside  in  one  of  the  counties  embraced  in  his 
circuit,  all  civil  and  criminal  cases  coming  before  the  body  over  which 
he  presided.  White  County  was  attached  to  the  Seventh  Circuit,  and 
it  was  not  until  1888,  when  Alfred  W.  Reynolds  ascended  the  bench, 
that  the  county  was  represented  in  that  judiciary. 

Creatures  of  the  Legislature 

The  first  law  passed  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1816 
was  for  the  creation  of  a  Supreme  Court;  the  second,  defined  the  powers 
of  the  Circuit  Court;  the  third  was  in  relation  to  suits  at  law  and 
chancery,  and  the  fourth  regulated  the  jurisdiction  of  justices  of  the 
peace. 

Probate  Courts 

Probate  courts  were  established  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly 
passed  January  23,  1829,  to  consist  of  one  judge,  who  was  not  required 
to  possess  a  legal  education.  Exclusive  jurisdiction  was  given  in  the 
probating  of  wills,  granting  letters  testamentary,  and  in  affairs  relating 
to  guardianship  and  the  settling  of  estates.  The  judicial  term  was  four 
years. 

Court  op  Common  Pleas  Defined 

By  the  provisions  of  an  act  approved  May  14,  1852,  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  was  established  and  its  powers  defined.  Its  jurisdiction 
was  similar  to  the  old  Probate  Court  which  it  superseded;  it  also  had 
jurisdiction  over  criminal  eases  which  were  not  felonious.  An  appeal 
lay  to  the  Circuit  or  Superior  Court  direct,  at  the  option  of  the  appel- 
lant. The  judges  could  practice  law  in  all  courts  except  their  own. 
The  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  and  the  sheriff  of  the  county  served  also 
the  Probate  and  Common  Pleas  Court. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  91 

The  New  (Jikcuit  Coukt 

The  constitutional  convention  of  1851,  of  which  Judge  Biddle  was 
a  leading  member  and  in  which  he  took  a  prominent  part,  provided  that 
the  Circuit  Court  should  consist  of  but  one  judge  instead  of  three,  and 
by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1852  it  was  provided  that  there  should  be 
ten  districts  in  the  state.  White  was  then  assigned  to  the  Eighth  Cir- 
cuit, with  Cass,  Miami,  Howard,  Wabash,  Fulton,  Pulaski,  Jasper  and 
Carroll.  The  term  of  the  circuit  judge  was  fixed  at  six  years  and  John 
U.  Pettit  was  the  first  judge  to  serve  after  the  triple  judgeship  was 
abolished. 

First  Circuit  Judge 

Little  is  known  of  John  R.  Porter,  the  presiding  judge  of  the  1835 
session.  About  all  that  can  be  stated  in  the  way  of  facts  is  that  he 
formerly  presided  over  the  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit,  which  embraced 
territory  to  the  east  and  northeast  of  White  County — the  counties  of 
Carroll,  Cass,  Miami,  Wabash,  Huntington,  Allen,  Lagrange,  Elkhart, 
St.  Joseph  and  Laporte.  Like  so  many  other  of  the  early  judges,  he 
was  rather  "practical  than  technical,"  and  the  "records  show  a  lack 
of  method  and  a  non-observance  of  strict  rules  of  procedure  and 
practice." 

♦As  has  been  noted,  the  first  session  of  the  Circuit  Court  at  the  house 
of  George  A.  Spencer,  in  Big  Creek  Township,  was  held  by  the  two 
associates,  James  Barnes  and  Thomas  Wrilson.  The  grand  jury  con- 
sisted of  Royal  Ilazleton  (foreman),  William  Woods,  James  Johnson, 
Samuel  Gray,  Robert  Barr,  Aaron  Hicks,  Daniel  Dale,  Robert  Hanners, 
John  Roberts,  John  Ferguson,  James  Parker,  Joseph  James,  Sr.,  Cor- 
nelius Sutton,  William  Kerr  and  Joseph  Thompson.  In  all  probability 
Judge  Porter  had  ascertained  that  only  one  little  case  of  "malicious  mis- 
chief" was  on  the  docket  and  concluded  that  it  could  wait;  but  at  the 
second  session,  held  at  the  same  place,  April  17,  1835,  all  the  judges 
were  present  and  both  bench  and  docket  were  full. 

First  Active  Jurors 

The  grand  jurors  who  returned  the  indictments  consisted  of  Ben- 
jamin Reynolds  (foreman),  Ashford  Parker,  David  Berkey,  Elias 
Louther,  Jonathan  Harbolt,  William  Walters,  Rowland  Harris,  William 
Phillips,  Matthew  Terwillager,  James  Kent,  Phillip  Davis,  Armstrong 
Buchanan  and  Robert  Newell.  William  Sill  acted  as  clerk,  John  Wilson 
as  sheriff,  and  George  A.  Spencer,  in  whose  house  court  was  held,  as 
bailiff. 

As  this  was  the  first  session  of  court  in  White  County  where  cases 
were  actually  adjudicated,  the  matters  brought  before  Messrs.  Porter, 
Barnes  and  Wilson  have  been  noted  as  an  important  incident  in  the 
general  history  of  the  county.  The  petit  or  special  jury  which  tried 
(lie  eases  legally  allotted  to  it  consisted  of  Joseph  Sayre,  Jacob  Crooks, 


92  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

John  Price,  Henry  Smelcer,  Oliver  Hammond,  Jacob  Keplinger,  Thomas 
Kelley,  Henry  Baum,  Robert  A.  Spencer,  Joseph  James,  Joseph  Dale 
aud  Elisha- Bowles. 

'  Pioneer  Lawyers  of  the  Circuit 

For  four  years  the  practitioners  at  the  White  County  Bar  were 
drawn  from  outside  localities.  At  the  October  session  of  1834  William 
P.  Bryan,  Andrew  Ingram,  Aaron  Finch  aud  William  M.  Jenners  were 
licensed  to  practice.  At  the  close  of  that  very  uueventful  sitting  these 
gentlemen,  with  the  judges  aud  the  new  county  officers,  visited  the 
county  seat  at  Monticello,  and  seriously  inspected  the  lone  cabin  in 
which  the  clerk  held  forth,  at  the  same  time  enthusiastically  praising 
the  good  judgment  of  the  commissioners  in  selecting  the  site. 

At  the  April  term  of  1835  so  mauy  cases  came  before  the  court  that 
it  became  necessary  to  have  a  prosecuting  attorney  to  represent  the 
state.  William  P.  Bryan  was  appointed  to  that  office,  and  Thomas  B. 
Brown  and  John  W.  Wright  were  sworn  in  asf  members  of  the  White 
County  Bar.  At  the  April  term  of  1837  Albert  S.  White,  Rufus  A. 
Lockwood  and  M.  C.  Dougherty  were  admitted  to  practice,  and  at  the 
October  session  Zebulon  Baird,  A.  L.  Robinson,  Samuel  C.  Wilson, 
Williamson  Wright  and  Joseph  Tatman  were  licensed,  as  attorneys. 
None  of  the  lawyers  mentioned  resided  in  White  County,  but  followed 
the  judge  in  his  circuit  and  attended  to  what  legal  business  they  could 
secure. 

Albert  S.  White 

The  best  known  of  these  early  lawyers,  who  became  a  character  of 
national  distinction,  was  Hon.  Albert  S.  White.  He  was  learned  in 
his  profession,  literary  in  his  tastes,  graceful  in  his  diction,  popular  in 
his  intercourse  with  his  fellows,  and  of  unimpeachable  morality.  During 
most  of  his  mature  life  his  residence  was  Lafayette,  but  while  he  actively 
practiced  his  profession  there  were  few  lawyers  in  Northwestern  Indiana 
who  were  abler  or  more  widely  known,  and  it  was  no  surprise  to  his 
numerous  admirers  when  he  graduated  to  Congress,  the  United  States 
Senate  and  United  States  District  Court.  His  death  occurred  at  Stock- 
well,  Indiana,  September  4,  .1804,  and  his  funeral  was  the  occasion  of 
an  impressive  demonstration  of  deep  and  widespread  grief,  observed  by 
public  officials,  railroad  employes,  and  those  of  all  classes  included  in 
those  democratic  words — the  people. 

Judge  White  is  described  as  a  small,  wiry,  wide-awake,  nervous  man, 
near-sighted,  with  aquiline  nose  aud  thin  face.  He  shared  with  Hon.  Dan- 
iel I).  Pratt,  of  Logausport,  the  highest  honors  of  the  profession  and  of 
public  life  among  the  early  practitioners  of  Northwestern  Indiana. 
Both  were  elder  friends  of  Hon.  David  Turpie,-  whose  fine  record  as  a 
lawyer,  jurist  and  public  man  is  more  intimately  identified  with  the 
history  of  White  County  than  the  careers  of  the  elder  statesmen. 


HISTORY  OF  WIIITP]  COUNTY  93 

Turpie's  Sketches  op  Judge  White 

It  was  the  pleasure  of  the  late  Judge  Turpi,  to  meet  Judge  White 
at  different  periods  of  his  life,  from  boyhood  to  middle  age — in  his 
school  days  at  Lafayette,  in  his  practice  as  a  young  lawyer,  aud  in  the 
halls  of  Congress  after  he  had  acquired  a  high  standing  as  practitioner 
and  judge.  Turpie's  delightful  book,  "Sketches  of  My  Own  Times," 
has  this  first  picture  of  Mr.  White,  which  is  illustrative  of  both  char- 
acters: "In  the  outskirts  of  the  town  (Lafayette)  where  we  lived  was 
an  inn — so  called — so  kept.  It  stood  upon  a  street  corner,  which  we 
passed  every  day  in  going  to  school.  Here  Mr.  Albert  S.  White  had  his 
rooms  and  lodging;  he  was  one  of  the  United  States  senators  from 
Indiana;  he  was  at  this  time  a  bachelor,  had  an  office  down  town,  but 
dwelt  at  the  inn — no  doubt  from  choice,  as  it  was  a  quiet,  pleasant  house, 
and  convenient  for  those  who  called  to  see  him.  He  was  a  man  of  very 
affable  manners,  always  spoke  to  the  school  boys  whom  he  met,  touched 
his  hat  when  we  doffed  ours,  and  occasionally  stopped  to  talk  with  us. 
We  saw  and  noticed  him  day  after  day,  and  often  made  our  small 
reflections  about  the  high  place  which  he  held  and  his  manner  of  life 
in  Washington. 

Young  Turpie  Hears  First  Stump  Speech 

"After  we  had  been  going  to  school  for  a  year  or  two,  one  day  the 
town  was  billed  with  notices  of  a  Whig  meeting  to  be  addressed  by 
Senator  White;  the  time  was  fixed  for  Saturday  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  As  Saturday  was  always  a  holiday  with  us,  we  made  up  a 
party  to  attend  the  meeting,  chiefly  to  hear  him.  The  meeting  was  held 
out  of  doors  and  the  attendance  was  large,  mostly  of  people  from  the 
country.  When  we  arrived  Mr.  White  had  already  commenced  his 
address,  which  was  delivered  from  a  wagon  standing  under  the  shade 
of  an  old  beech,  ne  held  in  his  hand  a  document  from  which  he  read, 
commenting  upon  it'  as  he  proceeded.  This  document  was  the  cele- 
brated Ogle  report.  The  Whigs  charged  at  that  time  that  there  had 
>been  a  very  lavish  and  unnecessary  expenditure  of  public  money  in  fur- 
nishing the  White  House,  its  gardens  and  grounds,  and  that  the  Demo- 
cratic president,  Mr.  Van  Buren.  was  responsible  for  this  expenditure. 
The  first  words  of  the  address  which  I  heard  related  to  the  purchase  of 
golden  spoons  for  the  use  of  the  president's  table.  Mr.  White  said  this 
was  a  mere  waste  of  the  national  revenue,  and  he  sharply  contrasted 
these  costly  spoons  with  those  of  horn  and  wood  still  not  out  of  use 
among  the  people. 

"In  the  course  of  reading  the  report,  he  came  to  an  item  for  the 
purchase  of  a  large  number  of  young  trees  of  the  Morus  Multicaulis, 
Baying  that  his  Latin  was  a  little  rusty,  but  that  lie  understood  these 
words  to  mean,  the  many-leaved  mulberry,  whose  foliage  was  fed  upou 
by  the  silk  worm;  that  the  president  had  gone  into  the  mulberry  trade 
in  order  to  procure,  as  he  supposed,  silk  napkins,  table  cloth  and  towels, 

■  ■■ ________ 


94  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

to  match  the  golden  spoons.     He  added  that  there  was  another  kind 

of  tree  which  would  haw  been 'far  more  appropriate  to  adorn  the  lawn 
and  gardens  of  the  executive  mansion  than  the  Morns  Multieaulis;  that 
tree  was  the  I'linus  Lubrica — in  English,  the  slippery  elm.  When  he 
spoke  of  the  slippery  elm,  he  was  interrupted  by  prolonged  shouts  and 
laughter. 

"Mr.  Van  Buren  was  already  well  known  to  the  public  as  the  Kinder- 
hook  Wizard  and  the  Little  Magician,  and  although  Mr.  White  had 
applied  none  of  these  epithets  to  the  president,  the  audience  readily 
made  the  application.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  address  Mr.  White  became 
more  grave  and  serious,  describing  the  Whig  national  convention  held 
a  few  months  before,  which  had  nominated  General  Harrison  for  the 
presidency.  He  related  the  account  of  Harrison's  government  of  this 
territory;  his  faithful  and  long  continued  safeguarding  of  white  settlers 
on  the  frontier,  his  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes,  his  defeat  of  the 
Prophet  at  Tippecanoe,  the  subsequent  overthrow  and  death  of  Tecumseh 
at  the  Thames,  closing  with  an  appeal,  full  of  force  and  feeling,  to  the 
old  soldiers  and  settlers  of  Indiana  to  stand  by  their  former  friend  and 
commander  as  one  who  had  worthily  deserved  the  highest  honors  of 
the  republic. 

Boys  Abashed  at  White's  Greatness 

"The  speech  was  well  received,  applause  was  manifested  by  the  wav- 
ing of  hats  and  clapping  of  hands,  and  many  of  the  audience  walked  to 
the  speaker's  stand  and  tendered  their  congratulations.  None  of  our 
group  of  school -boys  went  forward;  our  old  acquaintance,  Mr.  White, 
had  suddenly  become  in  some  way  a  stranger  to  us;  he  seemed  upon  the 
stand  before  a  public  assembly  to  be  so  much  greater,  higher,  than  upon 
the  street — we  felt  too  much  abashed  to  approach  him.  This  address, 
made  now  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  was  the  first  stump  speech  I  ever 
heard.  It  was,  judging  from  the  effect  following  it,  an  excellent  speci- 
men. It  gave  life  and  movement  to  the  Whig  campaign,  which  from 
that  day  prospered  without  ceasing  until  it  ended  in  the  election  of 
General  Harrison  to  the  presidency." 

Meeting  of  Alpha  and  Omega 

In  1850,  soon  after  bis  admission  to  the  bar  and  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his  practice,  Mr.  Turpie  again  met  his  elder  practitioner  at  Mon- 
ticello.  Let  him  tell  the  story:  "Mr.  Albert  S.  White  appeared  only 
once  in  the  White  Circuit  Court— it  was  at  the  second  term  after  my 
admission.  He  came  to  present  an  argument  upon  a  demurrer  pending 
in  an  important  cause  which  bad  been  brought  to  our  county  on  change 
of  venue.  He  spoke  more  than  an  hour.  There  was  a  large  audience 
and  a  full  bench,  though  upon  mere  questions  of  law  the  two  associate 
judges  seldom  acted.  Every  one  liked  to  hear  Mr.  White.  He  had  a 
very  copious  and  accurate  command   of  legal   terms  and   phraseology. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  95 

The  ease  involved  the  construction  of  a  will,  and  when  lie  spoke  of  real 
estate  he  used  the  word  devise;  when  of  personalty,  the  word  bequeath; 
and  he  never  confused  them.  His  own  position  was  always  defined  in 
language  measured,  precise  and  deliberate,  with  courteous  deference1  to 
the  court,  implied,  even  more  than  expressed  in  his  tone  and  manner. 
In  criticizing  the  position  of  opposing  counsel,  he  was  trenchant  and 
severe,  but  classic  and  ornate.  He  had  an  elegant  way  of  transposing 
maxims  and  cases  cited  by  the  adverse  party  to  his  own  advantage,  which 
had  all  the  effect  of  surprise  or  accident. 

"At  the  close  of  his  argument  he  was  complimented  in  high  terms 
fromNthe  bench  and  by  the  attorneys  in  attendance.  I  went  forward, 
among  others,  and  offered  my  hand,  giving  him  my  name.  lie  recog- 
nized me,  in  the  friendliest  manner,  as  the  school-boy  of  his  former 
acquaintance.  'Why,'  said  he,  'here  is  a  meeting  of  Alpha  and  Omega; 
you  are  commencing  your  professional  course,  and  I  am  just  closing 
mine.'  lie  told  that  he  had  become  president  of  a  railroad  company 
recently  organized  in  his  city,  which  required  all  his  time  and  attention; 
that  he  had  given  up  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  did  not  think  that  he 
should  ever  appear  in  another  case.  I  was  invited  to  call  on  him  at 
his  room,  and  I  called  in  the  evening.  He  inquired  about  my  previous 
occupation  and  said  he  was  glad  I  had  been  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
country.  The  business  men  about  a  town  who  know  and  become  ac- 
quainted with  a  young  man  as  a  schoolmaster  seem  to  entertain  a  kind 
of  misgiving  as  to  his  ability  for  any  other  pursuit.  If  he  becomes  a 
lawyer  they  avoid  him;  they  are  unwilling  to  consult  him  in  their 
affairs;  they  think  there  is  a  sort  of  dust  of  incapacity  that  settles  upon 
a  school-teacher,  not  to  be  brushed  off;  but  a  teacher  in  the  country  is 
not  so  much  subject  to  this  disparagement.  Kindly  directing  the  con- 
versation to  those  things  most  interesting  to  myself,  lie  gave  me  an  account 
of  his  early  experience  in  the  law  practice  at  Rushville  and  Paoli,  Orange 
county,  where,  as  a  young  man,  he  had  labored  in  the  profession." 

Meet  in  Early  Maturity  and  Old  Age 

When  Mr.  Turpie  went  to  Washington,  in  the  winter  of  18GI3,  to 
serve  out  the  unexpired  term  of  Jesse  D.  Bright  as  United  States 
senator,  he  again  met  Mr.  White,  who  was  serving  his  second  term  in 
the  house  of  representatives;  "nor  did  I  meet  any  one  in  Washington," 
he  says,  "with  more  pleasure  than  my  friend  Albert  S.  White.  lie  had 
previously  served  in  the  House  and  the  Senate  as  a  Whig;  now,  in  his 
old  age,  he  had  been  elected  to  the  House  as  a  Republican.  Hut  these 
political  changes  had  not  affected  in  any  way  the  goodly  and  gracious 
personality  of  the  man. 

Together  They  Call  on  President  Lincoln 

"We  had  lived  in  the  same  section  of  our  state  and,  though  the  tide 
of  events  had  separated  us,  yet  we  had  at  home  many  personal  friends 


96  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

and  acquaintances  common  to  both.  One  of  them  had  taken  office  at 
the  beginning  of  the  new  administration  and  in  the  course  of  his  service 
had  fallen  into  some  embarrassment  that  required  executive  action  for 
his  relief.  We  called  upon  Mr.  Lincoln  together  concerning  this  affair. 
The  president  informed  us  that  the  papers  in  the  case  had  reached  his 
desk,  that  he  had  not  overlooked  them,  neither  had  he  as  yet  looked 
them  over  very'closely.  Mr.  White  made  a  full  statement  of  the  facta; 
I  followed  with  some  remarks  about  the  law  of  the  case.  Mr.  White 
resumed,  speaking  of  his  long  acquaintance  with  the  man,  his  honesty 
and  good  faith;  among  other  things,  of  an  instance  in  which  a  large 
sum  of  money  had  come  into  his  hands  for  which  he  was  not  bound 
by  any  note  or  bond,  yet  he  had  fully  accounted  for  it,  principal  and 
interest,  without  suit.  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  I  noticed,  'paid  very  close  atten- 
tion to  this,  shifted  his  legs  upon  his  knees  (a  bodily  habit  of  his)  and 
seemed  to  be  much  moved  by  parts  of  his  recital.  When  Mr.  White  had 
finished,  the  president  said:  'Gentlemen,  I  shall  carry  this  case,  as  we 
say  in  Illinois,  over  to  the  chancery  side.  We  all  know  what  statutes 
are  made  for — it  is  to  see  that  the  right  thing  is  done;  it  is  my  duty  to 
take  care  that  no  innocent  man  is  wronged  by  them;  by  that  rule  I  shall 
be  guided.'  We  went  away  feeling  hopeful  as  to  our  mission  and  were 
not  disappointed  in  the  result. 

"Mr.  White  did  not  desire  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  the 
House.  At  the  expiration  of  Ins  term  he  was  appointed  by  the  president 
and  confirmed  by  the  Senate  as  a  member  of  an  Indian  commission. 
Talking  of  this  some  time  afterward,  Mr.  Lane  (Henry  S.  Lane,  Mr. 
Turpie's  colleague  in  the  Senate)  said  to  me  that  he  supposed  it  would 
be  the  last  we  should  hear  of  our  old  friend.  It  happened  that  in  a  few 
months  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  United  States  District  Judgeship  for 
the  district  of  Indiana,  and  he  was  immediately  nominated  and  con- 
firmed for  that  office,  but  died  a  short  time  thereafter.  All  Air.  White's 
preferments  were  due  to  the  personal  favor  of  the  president.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  not  at  all  careless;  he  was  very  cautious  in  the  bestowal 
of  his  friendship  and  confidence,  but  when  they  were  once  given  they 
were  given  wholly,  without  reserve.  It  may  be  said  there  might  have 
been  an  unworthy  recipient ;  lie  never  chose  an  unworthy  recipient  when 
he  acted  upon  his  own  personal  judgment  and  observation. 

"I  have  since  deeply  regretted  that  Mr.  White  did  not  live  some 
years  to  preside  in  the  federal  courts  of  our  state.  He  would  have 
brought  to  the  duties  of  the  bench  great  store  of  legal  learning  and 
acumen,  the  most  patient  diligence  in  all  his  work,  accompanied  by  an 
inborn  courtesy,  an  urbane  suavity  of  manner  which  much  becomes  those 
who  sit  in  these  high  tribunals." 

Thompson,  First  Local  Lawyer 

In  April,  18:18,  the  year  after  Albert  S.  White  became  a  member  of 
the  White  County  Bar,  Thomas  M.  Thompson  and  Nathaniel  Nilcs  were 
admitted,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  Joseph  A.  Wright,  after- 


HISTORY' OF  WHITE  COUNTY  97 

ward  governor  of  Indiana,  Hiram  Allen  and  Nathan  Darnell  were 
licensed.  In  the  name  Thomas  M.  Thompson  we  at  last  recognize  a 
resident  oi'  White  County.  His  full  name  was  Thomas  MeKean  Thomp- 
son and  his  father,  after  whom  he  was  named,  was  a  nephew  of  Thomas 
MeKean,  formerly  a  governor  of  Pennsylvania  and  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  1817  the  family  moved  from 
Steubenville,  Ohio,  where  the  son  had  heen  born  seven  years  previously, 
and  located  in  Branville,  that  state,  where  the  future  lawyer  reached 
manhood.  After  receiving  a  collegiate  training  at  Kenyon  College  and 
Miami  University,  he  pursued  his  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  Colonel 
Marthiat,  of  Newark,..  Ohio,  and  soon  after  his  admission  to  the  har  in 
1834  began  practice  at  Indianapolis.  About  four  years  afterward  he 
settled  at  Moiiticello,  as  its  first  local  attorney,  engaging  in  other  occu- 
pations to  tide  over  the  small  years. 

Soon  after  his  admission  to  practice  before  the  White  County  courts 
he  became  deputy  county  clerk,  recorder  and  auditor  under  William  Sill, 
and  when  his  superior  died  in  January,  1816,  was  appointed  to  the  head 
of  the  consolidated  offices,  continuing  to  discharge  their  duties  until  the 
succeeding  general  electi6n  of  August.  The  constitution  of  1851  sep- 
arated these  offices,  and  in  August,  1852,  he  was  elected  auditor  for  a 
term  of  four  years.  Mr.  Thompson  was  a  whig  and,  naturally,  a  repub- 
lican at  the  organization  of  the  party.  He  appears  to  have  been  an 
industrious,  reputable  lawyer  and  official,  never  attaining  prominence 
in  either  capacity;  but,  what  is  more  to  his  credit,  he  has  left  a  name 
which  is  bright  in  kindly  ways  and  liberal  deeds,  and  his  deatli  in  August, 
1881,  was  sincerely  mourned.  Ha  married  Mary  Ann  Sheetz,  member 
of  another  stanch  pioneer  family,  and  both  were  buried  in  the  old 
Sheetz  burial  ground  a  short  distance  above  Moiiticello,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Tippecanoe.  The  wife  preceded  the  husband  many  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children  and  in  their  descendants  are  there- 
fore personified  much  that  stands  for  the  early  bench  and  bar  of  White 
County;  that  fact  will  be  more  evident  when  it  is  considered  that  Zebulon 
Sheetz,  the  founder  of  the  family,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  probate  judges 
who  held  sway  before  their  functions  were  absorbed  by  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas. 

Daniel  D.  Pratt 

At  the  November  term  of  the  Circuit  Court,  in  183'J,  the  members  of 
the  White  County  Bar— that  is,  those  allowed  to  practice  in  itscourts— 
were  increased  by  the  admission  of  Daniel  D.  Pratt  and  Daniel  Mace, 
and  in  April,  1840,  II.  J.  Harris  and  John  L.  Scott  were  entered  on  the 
roll  of  attorneys. 

Mr.  Pratt  earned  a  fine  standing  at  the  bar  and  as  a  public  man. 
During  the  forty  years  of  his  most  pronounced  successes  he  resided  in 
Logansport,  although  he  quite  frequently  appeared  in  the  courts  of 
White  County,  and  was  everywhere  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  elo- 
quent, adroit  and  successful  pleaders  before  a   jury.     As   he  was  also 


-— 


98  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

very  careful  in  the  preparations  of  his  cases  and  based  his  eloquence 
upon  the  facts,  his  standing  as  a  lawyer  was  very  substantial,  resting 
as  it  did  upon  practical  results,  suits  actually  won. 

His  Kind  IIkli-kulness  to  Young  Mkn 

Mr.  Pratt  studied  law  in  Indianapolis  during  his  younger  years,  and 
located  at  Logansport  in  1836.  He  served  one  term  in  the  State  Leg- 
islature, was  in  the  United  States  Senate  from  1869  to  1875,  and  died 
in  his  adopted  city,  and  which  had  adopted  him  as  perhaps  her  fore- 
most citizen,  in  June,  1877.  The  veteran  and  beloved  lawyer  became 
the  preceptor  of  many  young  men  who  were  ambitious  to  succeed  in 
the  profession,  and  who,  in  after  years,  freely  acknowledged  their  indebt- 
edness to  his  generous  and  fatherly  instruction.  Among  the  number 
was  David  Turpie,  who  speaks  of  him  thus,  and  by  his  words  closely 
connects  the  personality  of  Mr.  Pratt  with  the  young  lawyer  who  was 
first  to  give  the  bar  of  White  County  a  high  standing  abroad:  "A  few 
days  after  the  close  of  my  first  school  I  went  to  Logansport,  taking  with 
me  several  letters  of  commendation  addressed  to  Mr.  Daniel  D.  Pratt, 
an  eminent  attorney  of  that  city,  in  whose  office  I  was  desirous  of  pur- 
suing my  law  studies.  Mr.  Pratt  read  the  letters  and  received  me  very 
kindly,  said  I  was  quite  welcome  to  a  place  as  student  in  the  office,  and 
that  he  would  take  pleasure  in  directing  the  course  of  my  reading. 
Mr.  Pratt  was  then,  as  a  member  of  the  bar,  in  the  meridian  of  his  fame. 
He  had,  and  deserved,  the  highest  professional  reputation  and  in  fullest 
measure  the  confidence  of  the  people.  It  was  a  privilege  to  make  my 
studies  under  the  guidance  of  such  a  preceptor.  This  gentleman  was 
considerate  in  his  treatment  of  young  men  and  conscientious  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty  toward  them.  Unless  actually  engaged  in  court, 
he  spent  some  hours  every  Saturday  with  his  students,  questioned  them 
closely  on  the  subject  upon  which  they  were  reading,  answered  himself 
questions  upon  the  same,  and  sometimes  advised  that  a  particular  section 
or  chapter  should  be  read  over,  saying,  by  way  of  encouragement,  that 
he  had,  when  a  student,  taken  the  same  course.  He  accepted  no  com- 
pensation for  his  services;  the  work  which  a  student  did  in  the  office 
was  perhaps  of  some  assistance  to  him,  but  more  to  the  student." 

Judges  and  Attorneys,  1838-43 

At  the  December  term  of  the  Circuit  Court  in  1838  Isaac  Naylor 
succeeded  John  R.  Porter  as  its  presiding  judge,  and  in  April,  1842, 
John  W.  Wright  became  the  third  incumbent.  James  Barnes  continued 
as  an  associate,  while  Thomas  Wilson  was  replaced  by  Thomas  McCor- 
mick;  they  were  the  last  of  the  associate  judges  of  the  Circuit  Court. 
At  the  October  term  of  that  year  Oodlovc  S.  Orth,  afterward  a  con- 
gressman, William  S.  Palmer  and  John  Ilanna  were  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  in  October,  1843,  Samuel  A.  Huff,  subsequently  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  Robert  Jones  were  added  to  the  list. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  9!) 

Horace  P.  Biddle 

At  the  April  term,  1847,  Horace  P.  Biddle  ascended  the  circuit  bench 
as  the  successor  of  John  W.  Wright.  Judge  Wright  was  known  as 
"ready,"  although  not  profound,  in  his  decisions.  After  he  left  the 
bench  he  was  mayor  of  Logansport,  became  influential  in  railroad  mat- 
ters, and  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  at  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia. 

If  ever  there  was  an  able,  versatile  and  eccentric  character  on  the 
bench  of  the  old  Circuit  Court  it  was  Judge  Biddle.  lie  was  a  little, 
fiery  man,  but  although  he  had  not  a  few  personal  encounters  when  he 
was  an  advocate  at  the  Logansport  Bar,  as  a  judge  he  seemed  to  retain 
a  calm  equipoise  and  made  a  fine  record  both  as  a  member  of  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1851  and  as  an  occupant  of  the  Circuit  and 
State  Supreme  courts. 

Biddle  vs.  Pratt 

Daniel  D.  Pratt  was  as  large  physically  as  Horace  P.  Biddle  was  small, 
and  at  the  Logansport  Bar  they  were  sometimes  pitted  against  each  other 
with  exciting  clashes.  Upon  on  occasion,  while  they  were  fighting  out  a 
case  before  Judge  John  U.  Pettit  not  long  after  Biddle 's  term  had 
expired  as  circuit  judge,  Mr.  Pratt  turned  fiercely  upon  his  diminutive 
but  sturdy  antagonist  and  shouted,  "Why,  I  could  swallow  you!" 

Biddle  returned  like  a  flash,  ' '  If  you  did,  you  would  have  more  law 
in  your  belly  than  you  ever  had  in  your  head." 

On  another  occasion  Biddle  was  incensed  at  Pratt's  abuse  and  next 
day  carried  a  sword  into  court  with  him.  Pratt  again  referred  to  Biddle 
in  very  uncomplimentary  language  and  Biddle  slapped  him  iu  the  face 
with  the  flat  of  his  sword.  The  two  men  clinched,  but  Pratt's  powerful 
form  soon  stood  over  the  frail  Biddle,  when  the  latter  was  about  to 
unsheath  his  sword  and  thrust  it  into  Pratt's  ponderous  abdomen,  but 
the  sheriff  separated  the  combatants.  Judge  Pettit  fined  Biddle  $1,000 
for  contempt  of  court,  but  the  fine  was  never  collected.  As  stated, 
Judge  Biddle  was  one  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the  second 
constitutional  convention,  served  for  many  years  as  judge  of  the  higher 
courts,  became  widely  known  for  his  strong  and  polished  pen,  and  died 
in  1900  at  his  home  in  Logansport. 

Characteristics  of  David  Tubpie 

In  1849,  or  about  midway  in  Judge  Biddies  term,  the  local  bar, 
heretofore  represented  by  Mr.  Thompson,  was  re-enforccd  by  a  young 
man  of  twenty-one,  who  was  to  make  history  for  himself,  the  county  and 
the  state— David  Turpie,  lawyer,  judge,  statesman,  classical  scholar  and 
literatteur,  and  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  character  with 
which  this  history  deals.'  The  activities  of  his  broad  career  and  the 
charms  of  his  large  and  strong  personality   (notwithstanding  its  weak- 


100  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

nesses)  embrace,  as  their  fields,  Moiiticello,  Logansport  and  the  capitals 

of  both  the  Statu  of  I  in  liana  and  the  United  States  of  America.  He  was 
a  brilliant  lawyer,  lacking  somewhat  the  patience  to  be  a  profound 
judge;  a  constructive  statesman;  a  cultured  companion  who  did  not  need 
the  printed  page  cither  to  expound  the  gospels  or  present  the  beauties 
of  the  classics;  a  writer  of  the  Goldsmith  and  Irving  grace  of  diction, 
and  a  friend  and  citizen  who,  on  the  whole,  inspired  both  by  spirit  and 
action.  As  a  test  of  his  standing  in  authorship,  when  applied  to  home 
and  domestic  history,  the  best  critics  place  his  "Sketches  of  My  Own 
Times"  in  a  class  by  itself;  in  other  words,  pronounce  it  an  Indiana 
classic. 

Like  other  men  of  genius,  Mr.  Turpie  was  so  wrapped  in  his  own 
thoughts  that  self -consciousness  was  quite  foreign  to  his  nature,  with 
the  result — which  is  also  not  unusual — that  his  most  intimate  friends 
were  never  sure  of  what  treatment  to  expect  from  him ;  whether  the 
geniality  of  unaffected  comradeship  or  a  complete  ignoring  of  bodily 
presence.  "While  such  breaches  of  the  common  standards  of  courtesy 
seemed  to  the  careless  observer  as  little  more  than  freaks  of  an  unbal- 
anced nature,  those  who  were  capable  of  appreciating  Senator  Turpie 
knew  that  his  nature  was  so  absorbed  that  he  had  no  thoughts  for  appear- 
ances. But  such  peculiarities  brought  him  many  enemies  and  unfitted 
him  to  be  a  successful  politician,  although  his  great  force  of  character 
carried  him  repeatedly  into  public  office,  despite  what  in  one  of  less 
strength  would  have  been  insurmountable  obstacles  to  advancement. 

Brief  Facts  op  His  Life 

David  Turpie  was  an  Ohio  man,  born  in  Hamilton  County,  July  8, 
1829.  He  graduated  from  Kenyon  College  in  184S ;  studied  law  with 
lion.  Daniel  D.  Pratt,  of  Logansport,  who  twenty  years  afterward  com- 
menced service  in  the  United  States  senate,  and  soon  after  being  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  that  place  moved  to  Moiiticello  for  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. In  1SG8  he  returned  to  Logansport,  where  he  continued  actively 
engaged  in  the  law  until  1872,  after  which  Indianapolis  was  his  home. 
Ills  death  occurred  in  the  capital  city  April  21,  190!),  when  he  had 
nearly  reached  his  eightieth  year. 

Mr.  Turpie 's  public  career  included  a  seat  in  the  lower  house  of  the 
State  Legislature  as  a  stalwart  democrat,  from  1853  to  1858;  a -term  as 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  1854;  the  completion  of  the 
unexpired  term  of  Jesse  D.  Bright  as  United  States  senator  from  Janu- 
ary to  March,  1863 ;  representative  in  the  State  Assembly  again, 
1874-75,  during  which  In-  served  as  speaker;  a  leading  participation  in 
the  revision  of  the  state  laws,  as  one  of  the  three  members  constituting 
the  board  of  commissioners  appointed  for  that  purpose  whose  labors  cov- 
ered L878-81;  able  professional  service  as  United  States  district  attor- 
ney in  18SG-87;  delegate  at  large  to  the  democratic  national  convention 
of  1888  and,  as  a  deserved  conclusion,  dignified,  useful  and  brilliant 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  101 

performance  of  the  duties  attaching  to  the  United  States  senatorsbip, 
from  1887  to  1899. 

Mr.  Turpie  served  as  United  States  senator  until  the  expiration  of 
his  second  term,  March  3,  1899,  and  made  a  line  record  as  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Census  and  member  of  the  Foreign  Relations  Com- 
mittee. He  was  long  recognized  by  his  fellow  senators  as  a  rich  source 
of  information  and  a  valued  counselor  in  the  general  deliberations  of 
the  upper  house.  Quotations,  facts,  literary  and  practical  information 
of  all  kinds  were  promptly  available  as  the  result  of  a  personal  inter- 
view; so  that  when  in  doubt  about  any  knotty  point  or  authority,  the 
instinctive  advice  would  be  given — "Ask  Turpie." 

Describes  His  Coming  to  Moxticello 

Senator  Turpie  died  at  his  home  in  Indianapolis,  the  later  years  of 
his  life  being  largely  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  his  "Sketches,"  or 
reminiscences,  published  in  1903.  He  himself  tells  of  his  advent  into 
the  community  which  he  was  so  long  to  honor.  "Having  completed  my 
third  term  as  schoolmaster,"  he  says,  "I  went  to  Logansport  a  few  days 
afterward,  made  a  review  of  my  law  reading  and  applied  for  admission 
to  the  bar.  The  examination  lasted  three  hours.  The  report  thereof 
being  favorable,  my  name  was  entered  upon  the  roll  of  attorneys  and  a 
certificate  of  admission  was  given  me  which  bears  date  April  14,  1849. 
I  was  yet  in  my  twenty-second  year.  Before  this  some  conference  had 
occurred  between  Mr.  Pratt  and  myself  concerning  a  suitable  location 
to  commence  the  practice.  He  had  told  me  of  a  large  county  lying 
directly  west  of  the  one  in  which  he  resided,  where  there  was  no  resident 
attorney.  It  was,  as  he  stated,  a  county  of  rich  laud  and,  although 
very  sparsely  settled,  would  become  at  no  distant  day  wealthy  and  popu- 
lous; he  thought  it  was  an  eligible  place  for  a  beginner.  Soon  after  my 
admission,  I  took  a  livery  conveyance  and  was  driven  to  the  capital  of 
White  County.  On  the  day  after  my  arrival,  an  entire  stranger,  I 
called  upon  and  delivered  to  three  gentlemen  residing  there  my  letters 
of  introduction,  thus  commencing  an  acquaintance  not  yet  ended  and 
a  residence  of  many  years." 

Author  op  tiie  Cattle-Lien  Law 

When  Mr.  Turpie  commenced  his  practice  at  Monticello,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  thereafter,  the  farmers  of  White  County  and  neighboring 
country  were  in  the  habit  of  grazing  cattle  driven  in  from  Eastern  Indi- 
ana, Ohio  and  AVestern  Pennsylvania,  for  that  purpose.  Disputes  often 
arose  between  the  herders,  or  agistors,  and  the  eastern  owners  as  to  the 
charges  due  for  such  pasturage  and  services;  as  the  country  where  the 
herds  were  grazed  was  mostly  free  range,  such  charges  were  really  more 
for  herding  than  for  feed:  One  of  these  prairie  herdsmen  having  hail, 
at  the  close  of  the  season,  a  dispute  with  the  owners  of  certain  cattle 
about  the  amount  of  his  bill,  which  they  refused  to  pay,  impounded  the 


102  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

whole  herd,  declined  to  deliver  it  and  forcibly  prevented  the  sheriff 
from  serving  a  writ  of  replevin,  which  they  had  issued  to  recover, 
possession. 

At,  this  juncture  mutual  friends  of  the  parties  intervened,  the 
herder's  bill  was  settled  and  paid  upon  compromise  and  the  cattle  were 
delivered  to  their  owners.  Some  months  after  this,  however,  the  grand 
jury  returned  an  indictment  against  the  herder  and  a  number  of  his 
tenants  and  friends  who  had  aided  him  in  resisting  the  process  of  the 
sheriff.  They  applied  to  Mr.  Turpie  to  assume  their  defense,  who  advised 
them  to  plead  guilty,  as  they  had  no  remedy  under  the  existing  laws; 
but  they  insisted  and  the  ease  went  against  them,  the  judge  instructing 
the  jury  that  the  herders  had  no  lien  upon  the  cattle  at  common  law 
and  were  therefore  trespassers.  The  defendants  were  therefore  all  con- 
victed and  lined.  But  in  the  spring  of  1852  a  number  of  farmers  in  the 
herding  business  urged  that  Mr.  Turpie  become  a  candidate  for  the  Leg- 
islature ui)on  the  platform  of  a  new  cattle-lien  law.  This  he  did  and, 
despite  opposition  from  .Mr.  Pratt  and  other  prominent  men,  the  measure 
was  passed  and  incorporated  into  the  state  statutes.  No  one  service 
which  he  accomplished  during  bis  career  in  the  Legislature  was  more 
generally  appreciated  by  the  farming  element  than  that  mentioned, 
which  is  credited  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1853. 

Good  Squire  IIarbolt 

One  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace  appointed  to  serve  "White 
County  was  Jonathan  IIarbolt,  of  Montieello,  and  no  one  served  longer 
or  more  conscientiously  in  that  office.  The  "Sketches"  thus  picture 
him:  "The  principal  character  in  our  village  was  the  Squire.  Of 
course  the  county  officers  lived  there,  but  they  were  not  so  well  known, 
nor  nearly  so  often  spoken  of  as  the  old  Squire.  He  had  been  a  justice 
of  the  peace  for  a  long  time — in  his  case,,  it  proved  to  be  a  life  office. 
He  was  n  man  of  fifty  years,  a  native  of  Culpeper  County,  Virginia, 
who  had  crossed  the  mountains  on  horseback  when  a  youth  just  out  of 
his  apprenticeship,  and  after  traveling  through  the  West  for  some  time 
settled  down  in  our  village.  By  trade  he  was  a  joiner  and  cabinet- 
maker, and  his  office  and  court  were  held  in  the  carpenter-shop,  a  roomy 
apartment,  where  I  often  appeared  for  parties  litigant.  His  books  and 
papers  were  kept  neatly  in  place,  the  docket  entries  were  clear  and 
legible,  especially  the  signature;  indeed,  the  Squire  may  have  been  a 
little  vain  of  his  handwriting — it  was  the  only  vanity  he  cherished. 

"The  margin  of  the  docket  page  was  reserved  for  costs;  here,  as 
thi>  case  proceeded,  his  fees  were  entered  with  precision  to  the  cent  or 
half-cent;  but  if  lie  was  strict  in  taxation  he  was  liberal  in  collection; 
be  would  at  any  time  throw  oil'  half  his  costs — all  his  costs — if  he  could 
only  induce  the  parties  to  settle  without  further  action.  Great  stress 
was  laid  upon  the  last  word  of  bis  official  title;  peace,  he  said,  was  better 
than  pennies;  peace  was  better  than  to  train  a  lawsuit  or  to  lose  it;  it 
was  his  duty  to  make  peace,  as  well  as  to  keep  it.      In  religion  be  was 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  103 

a.  Presbyterian  of  the  old  school,  a  resolute  stickler  for  t lie  Five  Points 
of  Calvin,  though  no  proselyter;  but  when  attacked,  if  lie  did  not  con- 
vince his  assailant,  he  often  reduced  him  to  silence  by  a  battery  of  well- 
chosen  texts,  aided  by  his  imperturbable  good  humor  and  his  unfeigned 
sincerity.  If  there  were  in  his  creed  any  lack  of  charity,  it  abounded  in 
his  life  and  conversation.  Whenever  he  entered  a  final  judgment  for 
principal,  interest  and  costs,  he  closed  it  with  the  formula:  'And  the 
defendant  in  mercy,'  the  form  used  at  that  time  in  such  cases  in  the 
Circuit  Court.  I  have  frequently  heard  him  repeating  this  clause  over 
and  over  after  he  had  written  it,  the  words  seeming  to  charm  his  ear. 
He  observed  closely;  knew  more  of  men  than  he  said  or  than  'they 
thought,  and,  although  he  was  willing  to  overlook  the  follies  of  mankind 
and  much  commiserated  their  sins  and  shortcomings,  yet  he  treated 
offenses  against  the  statute  in  such  case  made  and  provided,  with  some- 
what more  of  rigor..  His  probity  has  passed  into  a  proverb:  'As  honest 
as  the  old  Squire.'  In  his  prolonged  service  he  had  become  well  versed 
in  the  law  of  his  jurisdiction,  and  was  so  thoroughly  impartial  in  judg- 
ment that  appeals  from  his  court  were  seldom  taken.  In  politics  the 
Squire  was  always  a  Democrat,  and  as  such  he  was  elected  by  the  people 
of  a  district  composed  of  three  counties,  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1851.  He  went  to  Indianapolis,  served  through  the  ses- 
sion of  that  body,  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  his  distinguished 
members,  and  when  he  returned  from  the  capital  resumed  the  duties  of 
a  magistrate,  which  he  continued  to  discharge  until  his  death. 

"The  praises  justly  due  to  the  excellencies  of  such  a  character  may 
in  some  degree  be  reflected  upon  the  people  and  the  constituency  which 
he  served,  who,  if  they  did  not  all  possess  these  qualities,  yet  appre- 
ciated them,  and  upon  this  consideration  honored  their  fellow  towns- 
man with  a  lifelong  trust  and  confidence."  Good  Squire  Ilarbolt  passed 
to  his  future  reward  on  the  12th  of  August,  1872,  in  his  sixty-seventh 
year  and  no  one  has  ever  died  in  Monticello  who  carried  to  the  unknown 
more  kindly  thoughts  and  remembrances. 

Traits  op  Early  Judges  and  Lawyers 

No  writer  has  drawn  with  clearer  or  more  graceful  outlines  the 
relations  of  the  pioneer  bench  and  bar  than  Mr.  Turpie,  if  any  excuse 
were  needed  to  reproduce  those  pictures  of  the  times  in  which  his  young 
manhood  was  cast:  "The  members  of  the  bar  fifty  years  ago  were  a 
convivial  fraternity.  They  made  a  free  use  of  stimulants;  they  drank, 
not  to  any  gross  excess,  but  the  habit  was  general.  In  like  manner,  with 
few  exceptions,  they  played  cards  and  frequently  for  money;  but  the 
slakes  were  small  and  no  one  was  ever  enriched  or  impoverished  by  the 
result.  Our  circuit  judge  (Biddle),  though  he  was  an  inveterate  player, 
would  never  admit  that  be  gambled.  He  had  a  handsome  euphemism 
for  the  occasion.  Approaching  an  attorney  with  whom  he  was  well 
acquainted,  he  would  say  that  he  had  a  little  money  in  his  pocket  about 
which  he  was  uncertain  whether  it  belonged  to  himself  or  to  the  person 


^ 


104  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

lie  addressed,  and  would  invite  him  to  his  room  in  the  evening  so  that 
they  might  have  a  trial  of  the  right  of  property  to  determine  its  owner- 
ship. The  trial  of  course  took  place  at  chambers.  Any  member  of  the 
bar  who  called  might  interplead  and  take  part  in  the  action.  Outsiders 
were  not  admitted;  to  that  extent  the  game  was  exclusive. 

"The  Choctaw  Line" 

"When  a  regular  symposium  was  held,  usually  at  the  close  of  the 
term,  these  games  were  accompanied  by  music,  the  songs  of  the  circuit. 
The  ballads  sung  were  jovial,  but  not  beyond  the  line  of  becoming 
decorum.  'In  the  Season  of  the  Year,'  'Gabriel's  Wedding,'  'Life  Let 
Us  Cherish'  and  the  'Arkansas  Gentleman,' .were  specimens.  The  'Ar- 
kansas Gentleman'  was  a  general  favorite.  It  was  a  sort  of  poetical 
centipede,  having  rhymed  terminals,  though  the  feet  in  the  lines  were 
irregular  and  almost  innumerable. 

"  'This  fine  Arkansas  gentleman  went  strong  for  Pierce  and  King, 
And  when  the  election  was  over  he  went  down  to  Washington  to  get 

an  office  or  some  other  comfortable  thing; 
But  when  he  got  there  the  boys  told  him  that  the  trumps  were  all  played 

and  the  game  was  up,  yet  they  treated  him  so  fine 
That  he  came  back  to  his  plantation  and  lived  happier  than  ever  just  on 

the  Choctaw  line.' 

"The  counterpart  of  this  pilgrim  to  Washington  might  doubtless  be 
found  in  many  places  today ;  no  poet  has  celebrated  his  journey,  and 
even  if  some  of  our  bards  had  done  so  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  any 
member  of  the  bar  would  now  sing  or  even  deign  to  listen  to  such  a 
roundelay. 

"The  Choctaw  Line  became  a  proverbial  expression  in  our  circuit 
for  a  life  of  good  cheer  and  hospitality.  A  witness  called  in  a  certain 
ease  to  a  question  of  character,  after  answering  the  usual  inquiries, 
summed  up  his  statement  with  the  remark  that  the  gentleman  asked 
about  was  an  honest  man,  a  good  neighbor  and  citizen,  and  had  lived  for 
many  years  as  near  to  the  Choctaw  Line  as  any  person  he  had  ever 
known.  This  evidence  was  perfectly  understood  both  by  the  judge  and 
jury  engaged  in  hearing  the  cause. 

Played  "When  School  was  Out" 

"These  convivialities  of  the  bar  were  limited  to  the  members  of  their 
own  brotherhood  and  occurred  when  those  who  participated  in  them  were 
off  duty.  These  same  gentlemen,  when  engaged  in  the  courtroom  in  the 
trial  of  a  case  pending,  were  models  of  the  gravest  propriety.  When  the 
active  business  of  the  term  was  over  the  revels  commenced  ;  all  waited  for 
the  final  adjournment,  and  no  one  ever  thought  of  leaving  the  judge  to 
make  the  journey  alone  to  the  next  appointment.     It  must  not  he  for- 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  105 

gotten  that  these  veterans  of  the  bench  and  bar  were  living  at  the  close 
of  what  might  be  called  on  old  dispensation,  the  distinctive  feature,  of 
winch  was  the  circuit  practice.  Much  of  their  time  was  spent  away  from 
home.  On  their  travels,  mostly  made  on  horseback,  they  encountered 
bad  roads  and  often  worse  weather;  their  professional  work  was  per- 
formed with  great  skill  and  fidelity,  frequently  under  circumstances  of 
much  discomfort.  When  the  labors  of  the  term  were  ended,  or,  to  use 
their  own  expression,  when  school  was  out,  they  felt  as  if  they  had  a  right 
to  some  amusement.  They  took  not  the  least  pains  to  disguise  or  con- 
ceal the  character  of  their  recreations,  as  these  were  not,  in  their  view, 
the  subject  of  any  reasonable  reproach  or  discredit. 

Not  Dollar-Slaves 

"Members  of  the  old  bar  were  not  at  all  inferior  to  those  of  the  new 
in  capacity  or  integrity,  in  dignity,  courtesy  or  learning.  These  patri- 
archs made  no  sort  of  claim  to  virtues,  or  so-called  virtues,  which  they 
did  not  possess,  or  to  habits  which  they  did  not  practice.  They  did  not 
write  elaborate  essays  for  the  magazines  upon  the  subject  of  professional 
ethics,  but  they  thoroughly  understood  and  rigidly  enforced  the  rules 
of  that  species  of  morality.  The  attorney  who  indulged  in  sharp  prac- 
tice against  his  fellow  member  of  the  bar  might  be  once  or  twice  for- 
given, but  he  who  resorted  to  such  means  in  dealing  with  a  client  or  a 
layman  instantly  lost  caste,  and  that  beyond  respite  or  remedy. 

"The  fee  was  regarded  as  a  proper  accompaniment  for  legal  service, 
but  it  was  not  the  chief  object  in  professional  life.  The  lawyers  of 
those  days  were  untouched  by  the  commercial  spirit,  untainted  by  the 
slightest  trace  of  reverence  for  wealth  as  such.  They  felt  in  their  faces 
the  breath  of  the  coming  age;  overheard  in  the  distance  the  gigantic  steps 
of  approaching  material  progress,  and  somewhat  adapted  their  methods 
to  its  action,  but  always  within  the  elemental  lines  of  rectitude  and  jus- 
tice. Sometimes  seated  around  a  blazing  log  fire  in  a  wayside  country 
tavern,  they  discussed  with  keen  zest  and  much  philosophic  foresight  the 
probable  legal  questions  of  the  coming  time.  Having  done  tins,  they  left 
these  subjects,  not  without  deep  concern,  but  with  unfaltering  trust  and 
confidence,  to  the  wise  and  pure  arbitrament  of  the  tribunals  of  the 
future." 

Robert  H.  Milroy 

Robert  II.  Milroy,  who  succeeded  Judge  Biddle  in  November,  1852, 

was  a  resident  of  Delphi,  Carroll  County.  The  Ninth  Circuit,  of  which 
he  was  the  presiding  judge,  was  then  composed  of  White.  Carroll,  Lake. 
Laporte,  Porter,  St.  Joseph,  Marshall,  Starke,  Fulton,  Cass,  Pulaski, 
lloward  and  Miami.  Judge  Milroy  left  a  good  record  as  a  lawyer,  a 
Judge  and  a  soldier,  serving  as  a  captain  in  the  Mexican  war  and  a  col- 
onel in  (I,,.  War  of  the  Rebellion. 


N 


106  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

John  U.  Pettit 

.John  U.  Pettit,  who  became  presiding  judge  in  May,  1853,  served 
about  a  year,  and  then  resigned  for  congressional  honors,  finally  becom- 
ing speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  was  also  one  of  D.  D. 
Pratt's  boys;  was  admitted  to  the  Logansport  bar  in  1841,  but  loeated 
in  tlie  following  year  at  Wabash,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1881. 

»  John  M.  Wallace 

John  .M.  Wallace,  who  was  Judge  Pettit 's  successor,  ascended  the 
bench  in  November,  1854,  and  also  ranked  high  in  his" profession.  Before 
he  became  judge  lie  had  served  with  credit  in  the  Mexican  war  and  was 
afterward  a  colonel  in  the  Civil  war  and  a  paymaster  in  the  regular  army. 

Other  Circuit  Judges,  1855-1915 

John  Pettit,  of  Lafayette,  who  afterward  served  as  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  State  Supreme  Court,  presided  over  the  Circuit  Court  of  White 
County  from  March,  1855,  to  March,  1856,  and  the  following  occupied  the 
bench  from  that  date  until  1888,  when  Alfred  W.  Reynolds,  already 
designated  as  the  first  member  of  the  profession  from  White  County  to 
be  thus  honored,  assumed  his  judicial  duties:  Andrew  Ingham,  com- 
menced his  term  in  March,  1856;  John  Pettit,  September,  1857;  Charles 
II.  Test,  .March,  1858;  David  P.  Vinton,  1870;  Bernard  B.  Daily,  who 
was  the  tirst  judge  of  the  new  circuit  composed  of  AVhite,  Carroll  and 
Pulaski  counties,  May,  1875;  aud  John  II.  Gould,  who  refused  a  third 
term,  October,  1876  to  1888;  Alfred  W.  Reynolds,  1888-94;  Truman  F. 
Palmer,  L894-1906;  and  James  P.  Wason,  of  Delphi,  the  present  incum- 
bent, since  1906. 

The  "Wherefore"  op  So  Many  Judges 

Sill's  unpublished  "History  of  White  County"  thus  condenses  a 
number  of  salient  facts  connected  with  the  White  County  Circuit  Court: 
"Tin'  remarkable  increase  in  population  in  northwestern  Indiana,  and 
.specially  in  White  county,  which  had  more  than  doubled  hi  the  decade 
between  1840  and  1850,  created  a  necessity  for  a  frequent;  change  of 
circuits  and  the  creation  of  new  ones.  The  legislature  could  not  legislate 
a  Circuit  judge  out  of  office  as  it  could  the  judge  of  a  court  created  by 
statute,  for  the  Circuit  Court  was  provided  for  in  the  constitution  of 
the  .stale  and  could  not  he  legally  abolished  ;  but  where  a  circuit  embraced 
(WO  or  more  counties  a  new  circuit  could  be  created  out  of  the  counties 
detached  from  the  old  one,  and  the  governor  would  appoint  a  judge  who 
resided  in  the  new  circuit  to  net  until  his  successor  was  elected  and  quali- 
lied.  This  will  account  I'or  the  great  number  of  judges  holding  the  cir- 
cuit in  White  county.  No  resident  judge  bad  been  elected  from  the 
organization  of  the  county  in  1834  until  the  election  of  Judge  Reynolds 


X 


HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY  107 

in  1888.  In  the  interim  our  judges  had  been  provided  for  us,  either  by 
election,  or  appointment,  from  the  counties  of  Warren,  Tippecanoe, 
Carroll,  Cass,  Miami  and  Jasper.  At  one  time  our  circuit  extended  from 
tile  eastern  line  of  Miami  county  to  the  state  line  on  the  west,  and  north 
to  the  north  line  of  Pulaski  county.  Now  there  are  four  circuits,  and  part 
of  a  fifth,  covering  the  same  territory." 

Reynolds,  First  White  County  Judge 

Judge  Reynolds  was  in  his  twentieth  year  when  Monticcllo  and  White 
County  first  knew  him  as  an  earnest  law  student  whose  course  was  di- 
rected by  David  Turpie.  He  was  a  native  of  Somerset,  Ohio,  liorn  Sep- 
tember 16,  1839,  coming  to  Monticcllo  in  1856.  He  attended  Wabash 
and  Monmouth  colleges  two  years  as  a  preparation  for  his  legal  studies, 
and  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  practiced  for  a  short  time  at  Winamac, 
but  soon  returned  to  Monticcllo,  where  within  a  few  years  he  had  secured 
a  high-class  and  lucrative  clientele. 

As  warmly  sketched  by  a  long-time  friend  at  the  time  of  his  death 
in  his  seventy-fifth  year,  after  he  had  secured  so  firm  a  hold  upon  the 
respect,  admiration  and  affection  of  all:  ''Judge  Reynolds  had  many 
traits  of  character  which  drew  and  held  friends  and  contributed  to  his 
success  at  the  bar.  He  was  in  love  with  his  profession  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  work  which  it  entailed.  He  not  only  mastered  every  detail  of 
his  cases,  but  he  made  his  client's  cause  his  own,  and  was  ready  to  fight 
for  him  if  need  be.  At  the  same  time  he  was  not  exorbitant  in  the  matter 
of  fees  and  was  kindly  discriminating  in  favor  of  the  poor.  Faults  he 
had,  but  ingratitude  was  not  one  of  them.  He  never  forgot  a  friend, 
nor  was  he  prone  to  cherish  malice  against  an  enemy.  For  his  fearless- 
ness, his  determination  and  his  singleness  of  purpose  in  the  pursuit  of 
one  of  the  highest  callings  that  engage  the  human  intellect,  he  will  he 
remembered  by  his  profession  far  and  near." 

Forgot  He  Was  Judge 

.Mr.  Reynolds  was  judge  of  the  White  County  Circuit  Court  from 
1888  to  1804  and  discharged  his  duties  well;  but.  he  was  primarily  an 
advocate  and  at  least  one  instance  is  related,  which  occurred  during  the 
first  year  of  his  judgeship,  illustrating  that  fact,  The  case  of  Dickey  vs. 
Garrigan,  by  change  of  venue  from  Pulaski  County,  was  before  him  in 
December,  188S.  The  judge  was  uneasily  watching  the  maneuvers  by 
which  counsel  for  the  defendant  were  endeavoring  to  illtrodu.ec  indirectly 
ii  piece  of  incompetent  testimony  thai  the  courl  had  once  ruled  out. 
When  at  last  the  main  question,  which  was  clearly  irrelevant,  was  put, 
B  words  were  hardly  out  of  the  lawyer "s  mouth  before  Judge  Rev- 
Ids,  tarried  away  by  the  instincts  of  the  veteran  advocate,  lost  bis 
judicial  consciousness  and  shouted  from  the  bench  "We  objectl"  A 
blind  of  laughter  from  jury,  bar  and  witnesses  at  once  recalled  the  judge 


ii. 


108  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

to.  a  realization  of  his  position,  who  added,  almost  ill  the  same  breath, 
"And  the  Court  sustains  the  objection." 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  six  years  on  the  Cireuit  bench,  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds resumed  his  beloved  practice,  in  which  he  continued  to  be  actively 
engaged  until  stricken  by  his  last  illness  a  few  months  before  his  death 
at  his  home  in  Mouticello,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1913. 

Teuman  1''.  Palmer 

Truman  P.  Palmer  succeeded  Judge  Reynolds  in  1894  and  continued 
on  the  Circuit  Bench  until  1906.  lie  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Truman  F.  Palmer, 
A.  M.,  and  Plumea  (Perry)  Palmer,  M.  E.  L.  The  father  was  a  graduate 
of  Allegheny  College  (about)  1847,  and  the  parents  were  married  at 
Meadville,.  Pennsylvania,  the  same  year.  They  came  to  Indiana  ajid 
the  father  was  attached,  as  a  minister,  to  the  Indiana  conference,  as  a 
member  of  which  body  he  preached  at  Fort  Wayne  and  other  places  until 
January  17,  1851,  when  he  died,  while  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Orland, 
Indiana,  aged  about  twenty-six  years.  The  mother  lived  until  May  23, 
1900,  and  passed  away  at  Burnettsville,  in  White  County,  where  she 
had  lived  most  of  the  time  since  her  husband's  death.  There  were  t\yo 
children:  Emma,  a  widow,  who  resides  with  her  brother,  Truman  F.,  in 
Mouticello.  She  was  for  many  years  a  teacher  in  the  Monticello  schools. 
The  mother  was  well  educated  and  had  excellent  literary  taste.  She 
was  a  writer  of  considerable  note  in  her  younger  days,  but  gave  up  her 
ambitions  in  order  that  she  might  rear  and  educate  her  children.  She 
was  a  teacher  of  English  for  many  years  in  the  old  Thorntown  Academy, 
which  was  one  of  the  prominent  schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  during,  and.  for  a  long  time  after  the  Civil  war.  Of  her  it  is 
said  by  resolution  of  her  church,  which  is  inscribed  on  a  memorial  window 
of  the  church  building  at  Burnettsville,  as  follows:  "She  has  woven  her 
noble  influence  for  good  into  the  lives  anil  characters  of  more  people 
in  this  community  than  any  other  person  who  ever  lived  in  it." 

Truman  F.  Palmer  (2nd)  was  born  at  Orland,  Steuben  County, 
Indiana,  on  the  7th  day  of  January,  1851,  and  three  years  thereafter  came 
with  his  mother  to  White  County,  where  (his  boyhood  at  Burnettsville) 
his  home  has  been  mast  of  the  time  since.  lie  was  educated,  in  a  very 
irregular  way,  at  Battle  Ground  Institute,  Thorntown  Academy,  Farmer's 
Institute,  at  Clinton,  Indiana,  and  Indiana  University,  and  his  profes- 
sional preparation  was  at  the  last  named  institution.  After  graduating 
in  the  law,  he  was  for  four  years  deputy  el,  rk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
White  County,  and  thereafter  (July  •">,  1879)  he  opened  a  law  office  at 
Mouticello.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  except 
for  an  interval  of  twelve  years,  from  1H!M  to  November,  1906,  during 
which  time  he  served,  by  two  successive  elections,  as  judge  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Judicial  Circuit.  He  was  president  of  the  Indiana  State  Bar 
Association  in  1904-05,  and  was  a  delegate  from  the  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciation to  the  International  Bar  Association  in  1904. 

He  is  a  thirty  third  degree  Mason,  crowned  at  Boston  in  September, 


\ 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


109 


1904,  and  is  at  present  one  of  two  members  from  Indiana  of  the  very  im- 
portant Committee  on  Charitable  Foundation  of  the  Supreme  Council. 
lie  has  been  since  November,  1906,  a  member  of  the  legal  firm  of  rainier 
&  Carr,  composed  of  himself  and  Mayor  Benjamin  P.  Carr.  Politics, 
republican. 

James  P.  Wason 

James  P.  Wason  was  born  September  26,  1867,  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  He 
was  the  son  of  Robert  A.  and  Gertrude  L.  Wason  (nee  Preleigh)  and 
came  to  Delphi,  Indiana,  September  24,  1881,  with  his  parents;  attended 
the  common  schools  at  Toledo,  including  the  eighth  grade  and  graduated 
from  the  Delphi  High  School  in  May,  1885;  studied  law  for  a  short  time 
with  the  firm  of  Applegate  &  Pollard  and  then  entered  the  store  of  Bolles 
&  Wason  in  Delphi  in  1887,  where  he  was  employed  until  the  fall  of 
1S94,  when  he  went  to  Ann  Arbor  and  entered  the  law  department  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  graduating  from  there  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  B.  in  June,  1896;  while  at  Ann  Arbor  was  assistant  law  librarian  for 
the  purpose  of  partially  defraying  his  expenses;  formed  a  partnership 
with  John  II.  Cartwright  in  1896,  under  the  firm  name  of  Cartwright 
&  Wason,  which  lasted  until  his  elevation  to  the  bench.  Was  attorney 
.for  the  board  of  commissioners  of  Carroll  County  in  190:5-1904.  Was 
elected  judge  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Judicial  Circuit,  composed  of  Carroll 
and  White  counties,  in  November,  1906,  by  a  majority  of  forty-one  and 
was  re-elected  in  1912,  by  a  majority  of  1,315;  is  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and  also  a  member  of  Mt.  Olive  Lodge, 
P.  &  A.  M,  No.  48 ;  Delphi  Chapter,  R,  A.  M.,  No.  21 ;  Moiiticello  Council, 
No.  70,  R.  &  S.  M.;  Delphi  Commandery,  K.  T.,  No.  40;  Delphi  Lodge, 
K.  Of  P.,  No.  80;  Delphi  Company  U.  R.  K.  of  P.,  No.  86,  and  Tippecanoe 
Tribe,  I.  O.  R.  M.,  No.  505.     In  politics  is  a  democrat. 

The  Probate  Judges 

Like  the  old-time  associates  of  the  circuit  judges  and  the  justices 
of  the  peace,  the  probate  judges  of  White  County  were  "homey"  men, 
often  citizens  of  simple  common-sense  without  legal  knowledge  or  many 
other  intellectual  qualifications.  Yet  they  were  generally  classed  as 
"hmiorubles"  and  invariably  claimed  the  title  of  judge. 

Rodeht  Newell 


Roljerl  Newell,  the  first  probate  judge,  who  was  appointed  by  (lover- 
"•>r  \olilo  in  1835,  was  an  honest,  popular  Big  Creek  farmer,  and  served 
"mil  the  general  election  in  August,  when  lie  resigned  from  the  Ikmh-Ii 
10  acept  a  nomination  for  state  representative.  Judge  Newell  is  do- 
wrihetl  as  a  jolly,  unassuming  man,  and  quite  regardless  of  personal 
fippenrnnees.  Tie  would  often  come  into  court  barefoot  and  COfltletW, 
Willi  the  merest  excuse  for  a  hat.  and  if  the  docket  showed  no  business 


110  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

would  adjourn  court,  and  join  the  boys  in  a  game  of  quoits,  or  in  jump- 
ing, wrestling  and  any  other  sport  at  hand.  If  any  business  turned  up 
he  would  enter  into  its  disposal  with  the  same  zest  as  marked  his  partici- 
pation in  the  sports  of  the  villagers. 

William  M.  Kenton 

Mr.  Newell  was  succeeded  by  William  M.  Kenton,  son  of  the  famous 
frontiersman  and  Indian  lighter  of  Kentucky  and  himself  one  of  the 
largest  landowners  and  most  prosperous  cattlemen  in  the  state.  In  his 
youth  he  had  been  well  educated  at  West  Point,  married  early  and  soon 
afterward  brought  his  wife  and  child  from  Logan  County,  Ohio,  to  what 
was  then  Big  Creek  Township,  Carroll  County.  That  was  in  the  fall  of 
18.T2,  and  Mr.  Kenton  selected  for  his  homestead  a  tract  of  land  three 
miles  west  of  the  present  site  of  Monticello.  In  1851  he  moved  to  Honey 
Creek  Township,  where  he  died,  April  30,  1869,  his  widow  following  him 
on  the  3d  of  July,  1881.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children  and 
many  of  their  descendants  of  the  third  and  fourth  generations  are  still 
living  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Kenton  was  a  man  of  far  more  education  and  dignity  than  his 
predecessor  in  the  probate  judgeship,  although  most  of  his  life  since 
his  youth  had  been  spent  amid  outdoor  scenes  of  primitive  life  in  what 
was  then  the  western  frontier.  But  he  tired  of  his  judicial  dignities  in 
about  a  yar  and  returned  to  his  farm  a  few  miles  west  of  the  Tippecanoe 
River.  It  was  while  living  there  that  Mr.  Turpie  met  him,  not  long 
after  locating  at  Monticello  in  1849.  "The  best  known  citizen  of  the 
county  at  that  time,"  he  says,  "was  William  Miller  Kenton,  a  son  of 
Simon  Kenton,  the  far-famed  Indian  fighter  and  hunter  of  Kentucky. 
His  early  youth  had  been  spent  on  the  farm  and  in  attending  his  father 
in  his  numerous  excursions  in  search  of  lands  and  game.  The  Indians 
where  they  lived  then  gave  little  trouble.  After  the  age  of  sixteen  the 
friends  of  his  father,  who  were  quite  influential,  including  all  the  elder 
congressmen  and  senators  from  his  state,  procured  for  young  Kenton  a 
commission  in  the  navy.  Disliking  this  employment,  after  a  brief  service 
as  midshipman  witli  the  home  squadron  in  the  gulf,  he  resigned.  The 
same  friends  obtained  for  him  an  appointment  to  the  military  academy 
at  W.st  Point,  then  a  very  primitive  institution.  Young  Kenton  here 
excelled  in  the  drill  and  manual  of  arms  and  in  all  athletic  sports  and 
exercises;  but  with  books  he  failed,  not  from  any  lack  of  mental  ability, 
but  from  his  innate  aversion  to  regular  study  and  application.  After  a 
certain  time  spent  at  the  academy,  he  was  honorably  relieved  from  fur- 
ther attendance,  went  home,  married  and,  witli  considerable  means 
derived  from  his  parental  estate  and  other  sources,  removed  to  what  was 
then  Carroll,  later  White  county,  bought  large  tracts  of  government 
land,  ami   was  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  Grand   Prairie. 

"When  I  firs!  knew  him  Kenton  lived  on  a  farm  of  a  thousand  acres 
on  what  was  called  the  Range  Line,  in  the  open  prairie  about  four  miles 
west  from  the  Tippecanoe  River,  ami  owned  another  plantation  of  two 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  111 

thousand  acres  not  far  away.  His  house  was  a  large  one,  a  frame  of  two 
stories.  Here  he  dispensed  a  profuse  hospitality  ;  no  one  was  ever  turned 
away  from  his  door.  Whites  and  Indians  were  equally  welcome.  His 
Indian  visitors  were  frequent,  for  he  had  settled  in  the  county  some  time 
before  their  removal  by  the  government  to  their  new  home  in  the  West. 
Some  of  these  guests  had  seen  and  known  las  father;  they  loved  the  sou 
for  the  father's  sake,  yet  their  attachment  may  have  been  partly  due  to 
the  well  stored  pantry  and  kitchen  which  ministered  to  their  wants. 

"Besides  farming,  Kenton  was  largely  engaged  in  rearing  cattle  and 
live  stock  for  the  market,  and  among  other  things  lie  gave  much  of  his 
time  and  attention  to  the  prosecution  of  certain  land  claims  located  in 
Kentucky,  which  he  had  inherited  from  his  father's  estate. 

"The  younger  Kenton  was  a  man  of  considerable  reading  and  infor- 
mation, fond  of  the  chase,  a  notable  wrestler,  runner  and  boxer,  surpass- 
ing most  of  his  contemporaries  in  these  exercises;  but  he  was  a  person 
of  exceeding  equable  temper,  and  resorted  not  to  force  or  violence  save 
under  extreme  provocation.  lie,  like  his  father,  had  lived  in  his  youth 
so  much  among  the  Indians  as  to  have  contracted  somewhat  of  their 
habits.  He  was  of  a  firm  step,  with  a  decided  military  bearing,  yet 
inclined  to  the  Indian  gait.  His  eyes  were  large  and  brilliant,  constantly 
in  the  attitude  of  expectancy,  as  if  watching  or  awaiting  some  one.  He 
was  in  politics  a  zealous  Whig,  a  personal  friend  and  a  steadfast  adherent 
of  Henry  Clay,"  who  had  also  known  and  befriended  bis  father  in  days 
of  yore. 

"As  the  representative  of  a  district  composed  of  a  group  of  our 
northern  counties,  of  which  White  was  one,  he  had  served,  wit1  much 
acceptance  to  his  constituents  for  several  sessions  in  the  general  assem- 
bly; he  was  a  close  friend  and  ally  of  Albert  S.  White,  and  in  the  Whig 
caucus,  it  is  said,  had  placed  that  gentleman's  name  in  nomination  for 
United  States  senator  when  he  was  chosen  to  that  position.  Kenton's 
conversation  was  very  interesting,  especially  when  it  related  to  the  Hie 
and  adventures  of  his  father. 

"Mr.  Kenton  was  a  very  careful  herdsman  and  feeder,  a  better 
judge  of  live  stock  than  of  the  market.  He  often  made  unfortunate 
sales,  and  as  his  transactions  were  on  a  large  scale,  tin- 1  with  serious 
losses.  Toward  the  close  of  his  life,  in  his  old  age,  lie  fell  into  some 
pecuniary  embarrassment.  His  creditors  came  in  a  cloud,  all  at  once, 
to  summon  him  with  writs  of  indebtedness.  The  old  pioneer  made  a 
gallant  fight,  Some  of  them  he  paid,  with  others  he  settled,  many  at 
them  he  defeated,  and  two  or  three  of  the  most  insolent  claimantB  he 
literally  whipped  into  terms  of  submission.  He  saved  a  large  portion 
of  his  real  estate  and,  though  he  did  not  long  survive  his  campaign  in 
the  courts,  spent  his  last  days  in  comfortable  competency  and  died  in 


peace  with  all  the  world.     His  memory   is  yet    highly    respite 

ed,    ('Veil 

fondly  cherished,  by  the  descendants  of  the  friends  and  neigh! 

tors  with 

whom    he    formerly   associated,   and   whom    he    had    often    aide 

1    in    the 

struggles  of  their  early  life  on  the  frontier." 

With  most  of  his  family  he  was  buried  in  the  old  Kenton  <a 

aveyard. 

*^. 


112  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

about  five  miles  southwest  of  Monticello,  but  about  thirty  years  ago  their 
remains  were  disinterred  and  deposited  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Monticello. 
The  old-fashioned  tombstones  were  left  in  the  original  burial  ground, 
where  they  may  still  be  seen. 

^EISULON    SlIEETZ    AND   AaKON    IIlCKS 

When  .Mr.  Kenton  resigned  after  his  year's  service  as  probate  judge, 
Zebulon  Sheetz  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  county,  as  were  usually  the  occupants  of  the  probate 
bench,  and  was  a  mild,  dignified  Virginian,  who  firmly  suppressed  any 
levity  in  court,  either  on  the  part  of  attorneys  or  laymen.  He  and  Judge 
Newell  were  as  different  as  honest  dirt  and  pure  snow. 

Mr.  Sheetz  was  succeeded,  after  a  creditable  service  of  four  years  by 
Aaron  Hicks,  who  had  come  into  the  Wabash  country  as  one  of  a  colony 
of  Ohio  emigrants  as  early  as  1825,  first  settling  near  the  mouth  of  Rock 
Creek,  in  what  is  now  Grant  County.  He  had  lived  there  for  several 
years  among  the. .Miami  Indians  and  a  sprinkling  of  white  people,  until 
he  migrated  still  westward  beyond  the  Wabash  into  White  County.  He 
was  also  an  advocate  of  decorum,  and  bears  the  reputation  of  a  man  who 
was  rather  timid  in  the  maintenance  of  bis  own  opinion,  or,  better  still, 
of  one  who  was  anxious  to  correct  an  opinion  when  the  evidence  showed 
that  he  was  in  the  wrong.  Judge  Hicks  served  for  six  years,  or  until  the 
office  was  legislated  out  of  existence. 

Altogether  the  probate  judges  of  the  county,  although  selected  from 
the  unprofessional,  were  men  of  integrity  and  fair  practical  ability. 

Court  of  Common  Pleas  Again 

When  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  became  an  established  fact,  under 
the  legislative  act  of  May,  1852,  a  legal  and  a  higher  order  of  talents  was 
demanded.  Ky  that  act  the  state  was  divided  into  thirty-eight  judicial 
districts,  in  each  of  which  a  judge  was  chosen  at  the  succeeding  election 
to  hold  the  office  for  four  years.  As  stated,  it  absorbed  the  Probate 
Court  and  relieved  the  Circuit  Court  of  its  minor  business  concerning 
both  civil  and  criminal  actions. 

Samuel  A.  Huff 

Samuel  A.  Hull',  the  first  of  the  common  pleas  judges,  entered  office 
at  the  January  term  of  1853,  his  district  comprising  Tippecanoe  and 
White  counties.  Then,  and  for  many  years  afterward,  he  was  a  resident 
of  Lafayette,  although  he  spent  the  last  of  his  life  in  Monticello  with  his 
son,  William  .1.  Hull',  of  the  Monticello  Herald.  In  his  early  manhood, 
Judge  Huff  himself  had  been  connected  with  several  Indiana  newspapers. 
Born  at  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  on  the  11th  of  October,  1811,  he 
settled  at  Indianapolis  in  his  nineteenth  year  and  entered  the  counting 
room  of  the  Indiana  Agriculturist j  in  1832  he  became  a  printer  in  the 


■*sr 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  U3 

office  of  the  Indiana  Democrat,  and  in  the  following  year  joined  the  busi- 
ness department  of  the  Lafayette  Free  Press. 

After  three  years  of  such  experimenting,  Mr.  Muff  decided  to  study 
law,  and  commenced  his  course  in  the  libraries  of  John  l'ettit,  afterward 
his  brother-in-law,  anil  Kufus  A.  Lockwood.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  lS>37,  and  practiced  alone  and  in  partnership  with  Judge  Pettit,  Zebu- 
Ion  Baird  and  Byron  W.  Langdon.  When  he  was  elected  to  the  common 
pleas  bench  he  had  acquired  a  substantial  standing  as  a  lawyer  and  had 
become  widely  known  as  an  ardent  Free  Soiler.  He  resigned  the  judge- 
ship after  eighteen  months  of  service,  and  later  vigorously  championed 
the  cause  of  the  new  republican  party,  being  one  of  the  presidential 
electors  from  Indiana  who  cast  his  vote  for  Lincoln  in  1860. 

Several  years  before  his  death  Judge  Huff  moved  from  Lafayette  to 
Indianapolis,  but  the  years  were  telling  upon  his  vitality  and  he  soon 
joined  his  son  in  Monticello.  There  his  death  occurred  ii\  January,  1886. 
His  remains  were  taken  to  his  old  home  for  burial,  where  the  courts  and 
members  of  the  bar,  as  well  as  numerous  friends  outside  the  pale  of  his 
profession,  testified  to  tke  great  ability  and  generous  impulses  of  the 
deceased. 

Common  Pleas  Judges,  185-1-6!) 

David  Turpie  succeeded  Judge  Huff,  but  occupied  the  bench  only 
for  the  July  term  of  1854,  and  Governor  Wright  appointed  Gustavus  A. 
Wood  as  his  successor.  Judge  Wood  occupied  the  common  pleas  bench 
but  one  term — that  of  October,  1854 — and  then  came,  in  succession,  .Mark 
Jones,  who  served  until  1856;  Judge  Wood,  again,  from  December,  1856, 
to  May,  1S61  (with  the  exception  of  the  March  term  of  I860,  at  which 
Godlove  0.  Belnn  presided);  Judge  Godlove,  the  May  term  of  1861; 
David  P.  Vinton,  1861-67;  Alfred  Reed,  1867;  B.  F.  Schermerhorn,  one 
term,  186°,  and  Alfred  Reed,  from  October,  1869,  until  the  court  was 
abolished  in  1873. 

Captain  and  Judge  Alfred  F.  Reed 

In  1867  a  new  common  pleas  district  was  formed,  comprising  the 
counties  of  Carroll  and  White.  Up  to  that  time  the  district  had  con- 
sisted of  Tippecanoe  and  White  counties,  and  all  the  judges,  save  Mr. 
Turpie,  had  been  residents  of  the  former  county.  With  the  new  dis- 
tricting, White  County  felt  that  she  was  entitled  to  representation  upon 
the  lunch,  and  her  wishes  were  gratified  by  the  nomination  and  election 
of  ('apt.  Alfred  F.  Reed,  who  had  practiced  for  a  number  of  years  before 
the  Civil  war,  served  gallantly  as  captain  and  lieutenant,  resigning  his 
scat  in  the  state  senate  to  return  to  the  arduous  duties  of  a  soldier,  and 
after  the  conflict  at  arms  was  over,  quietly  and  earnestly  resinned  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  elected  and  commissioned  judge  id' 
the  Common  Pleas  Court,  October  1,  1869,  and  again  on  October  28, 
1872.     When  the  court  was  abolished  by  act  of  March  (!,  18711,  he  resumed 


114  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  practice  and  speedily  regained  his  former  standing  and  professional 
business,  his  judicial  record  adding  to  botli  as  time  progressed.  Mon- 
ticello  and  White  County  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  his  character  and 
his  acts. 

Captain  Reed  was  born  in  Clark  County,  Ohio,  February  3,  1824. 
.Although  his  parents  first  came  to  Indiana  in  his  childhood,  the  family 
did  not  permanently  locate  in  White  County  until  in  November,  1852. 
After  that  date  Monticello  was  their  home.  In  the  meantime  Alfred  F. 
had  married  and  been  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  practiced  his  profession 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  and  on  August  1,  1861,  was  com- 
missioned captain  of  Company  K,  Twentieth  Regiment  of  Indiana  Vol- 
unteers. As  such  he  .served  until  the  fall  of  1862,  when  he  resigned  to 
assume  his  seat  in  the  state  senate;  but,  after  one  session  at  Indianapolis, 
he  felt  that  his  duties  called  him  to  the  front;  he  then  resigned  the 
senatorship  and  in  March,  1864,  was  commissioned  lieutenant  colonel  of 
the  Twelfth  Indiana  Cavalry,  continuing  as  such  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  lie  was  many  times  wounded  and  the  stress  of  army  life  undoubt- 
edly hastened  his  end,  as  his  death  at  Monticello  occurred  October  23, 
1873,  in  his  fiftieth  year. 

The  Lawyers  op  1834-51 

Before  the  coming  of  Mr.  Reed,  in  1852,  to  engage  in  the  practice, 
the  following  were  the  members  of  the  bar  who  had  professional  business 
at  the  county  seat,  only  two  of  whom — Messrs.  Thompson  and  Turpie — 
were  residents:  William  M.  Jenners,  William  P.  Bryant,  Andrew  lngra- 
liani,  Aaron  Pinch,  Rufus  A.  Lockvvood  and  John  Pettit,  who  first  ap- 
peared in  1834 j  John  W.  Wright,  1835;  Zebulon  Baird,  1836;  William 
Wright,  1837;  Thomas  M.  Thompson  and  Hiram  Allen,  1838;  Daniel  D. 
Pratt.  183!);  1).  Mace  and  W.  Z.  Stewart,  1840;  L.  S.  Oale,  1841;  G.  S. 
Orth,  is  12;  Robert  Jones,  Jr.,  1843;  Samuel  A.  Huff,  David  M.  Dunn 
and  3.  F.  Dodds,  1843;  William  Potter  and  A.  M.  Crane,  1847;  J.  C. 
Applegate,  Elijah  Odell  and  A.  L.  Pierce,  1848;  David  Turpie,  Robert 
II.  Milroy  ami  T.  0.  Reyburn,  1849;  Hiram  W.  Chase,  1850,  and  Abra- 
ham Timmons,  1851. 

Not  long  after  Captain  Reed  located  at  Monticello  as  a  practicing 
attorney,  (lie  roll  of  resident  lawyers  was  augmented  by  the  admission 
of  W.  II.  Khiueliart,  Benjamin  F.  Tilden,  James  Wallace  and  Robert 
W.  Sill,  so  I  hat  White  County  was  no  longer  so  dependent  upon  the 
profession  drawn   from  Logansport,  Lafayette  and  Delphi. 

The  Sills 

The  last  named  was  the  widely  known  Sill  family,  being  a  son  of  the 
founder  in  the  Slate  of  Indiana,  viz.:  William  Sill,  the  first  clerk  of 
While  County,  uho  came  witli  his  wife  to  Washington  County  in  1828. 
two  yours  later  moved  to  Tippecanoe  County,  and  in  the  fall  of  18.30 
settled    in    what    is   now    Prairie    Township,   White    County.     There    lie 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  115 

farmed  and  taught  school  for  a  time,  and  in  18:54  located  in  what  is  now 
Monticello,  erecting  the  first  house  in  town  on  lot  1,  at  southwest  corner 
of  Bluff  and  Marion  streets.  He  served  seven  years  as  county  clerk,  and 
was  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  second  term  when  he  died,  January  7,  1846. 

Robert  W.,  the  oldest  of  the  eight  Sill  children,  studied  law;  was 
sheriff  of  the  county  from  1848  to  1852,  and  not  long  afterward  com- 
menced active  practice  at  Monticello.  At  a  later  day  another  son,  Milton 
M.,  made  a  substantial  record  as  both  a  newspaper  man  and  a  lawyer. 
As  the  author,  also,  of  a  history  of  White  County,  which  he  had  not 
completed  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  has  rendered  a  good  service  to 
the  editor  of  this  work. 

Lawyers  op  1856-90 

In  his  article  on  the  "Bench  and  Bar,"  Milton  M.  Sill  had  this  to 
say  of  his  fellow-practitioners:  "Between  1856  and  1890  many  mem- 
bers were  added  to  the  local  bar.  Johnson  Gregory,  who  had  located 
at  Reynolds;  William  J.  Gridley,  Ellis  Hughes,  Judge  Joseph  IT.  Mat- 
lock, Joseph  W.  Davis,  Judge  A.  W.  Reynolds,  W.  E.  TJhl,  Thomas 
Bushnell;  Robert  Gregory,  a  son  of  Johnson  Gregory;  E.  B.  Sellers, 
•O.  McConahay,  Hugh  B.  Logan,  Daniel  D.  Dale,  W.  S.  Bushnell,  William 
Guthrie,  Judge  T.  P.  Palmer,  John  H.  Wallace,  W.  S.  Hartraan,  Isaac 
Parsons,  George  P.  Marvin,  A.  K.  Sills,  W.  II.  Ilamelle  and  Charles  C. 
Spencer,  all  joined  and  became  members  of  the  White  county  bar  between 
these  dates,  presenting  quite  an  array  of  legal  talent  in  our  eon  its. 

Joseph  H.  Matlock 

"Judge  Matlock  removed  here  from  Pern  with  his  family  and  built 
a  neat  and  commodious  office  on  the  present  site  of  the  Herald  building. 
Ills  first  partner  was  Joseph  W.  Davis,  a  bright  and  promising  young 
lawyer  who  had  moved  from  our  neighboring  county  of  Carroll,  but 
lie  dying  in  the  early  spring  of  1872,  Judge  Matlock  formed  a  second 
partnership  with  Henry  P.  Owens,  a  young  lawyer  from  Kentucky,  and 
■they  together  enjoyed  a  large  and  increasing  practice  until  the  death 

of  Judge  Matlock  in  .      [Editor:  December  29,   1878.]      After  the 

death  of  Judge  Matlock  a  partnership  was  formed  by  Owens  with 
William  E.  Uhl,  which  was  continued  until  the  declining  health  of  Mr. 
Owens  compelled  him  to  retire  from  the  practice  altogether." 

Orlando  McConahay 

Undoubtedly  there  have  been  not  a  few  greater  lawyers  than  Orlando 
McConahay,  there  have  been  none  more  popular  or  charged  with  more 
vim,  either  professional  or  personal.  His  friends  were  legion,  especially 
in  Monticello  and  Monon,  his  home  towns  daring  most  of  his  life  and 
Ihi'  chief  scenes  of  his  practice,  his  official  activities  and  his  personal  con- 
flicts and  complications  of  all  kinds.      lie  came  of  Scotch  Irish  ancestry, 


116  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

his  father,  Rauson,  being  a  native  of  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky.  Three 
years  after  his  marriage  the  father  moyed  to  Tippecanoe  County,  where 
Orlando  was  horn  in  1832.  The  family  home  afterward  became  what 
is  now  Liberty  Township,  and  in  January,  1846,  the  elder  McConahay 
commenced  to  serve  out  the  unexpired  term  of  William  Sill,  the  first 
county  clerk.  This  he  completed,  was  re-elected  to  the  office,  and' com- 
pleted his  official  life  in  L858,  and  his  career  on  earth  a  decade  later. 

The  son,  Orlando,  assumed  the  clerkship  which  the  father  relin- 
quished and  performed  its  duties  for  eight  years.'  In  the  meantime 
he  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  and  located  at  Monticello  for  practice 
at  the  expiration  of  his  official  term  in  1867,  forming  a  partnership 
with  Ellis  Hughes  in  1871. 

Mr.  McConahay 'b  success  r  in  the  office  of  county  clerk  was  his 
IVllow  attorney  and  former  assistant,  Daniel  D.  Dale,  and  there  are  a 
few  of  the  profession  yet  in  the  county  who  remember  the  acrimonious 
triangular  contest  between  Messrs.  Dale,  McConahay  and  Robert  Greg- 
ory, which  raged  with  such  fury  in  LS73.  Without  going  into  the  merits 
of  the  charges  and  counter-charges,  it  will  probably  be  admitted  from 
the  perspective  of  the  present  that  Mr.  Dale,  who  was  generally  pounced 
upon  by  both  Messrs.  McConahay  and  Gregory,  came  out  of  the  fray 
with  his  feathers  considerably  ruffled  and  his  comb  pretty  well  picked 
to  pieces.  McConahay  was  drawn  into  the  fight  at  its  last  stage,  and 
most  of  his  friends  were  sorry  he  mixed  in;  they  felt,  as  was  expressed 
by  a  poetic  contributor  to  the  press,  who  signed  himself  "A  German 
Fellow  Citizen,"  ami  starts  out  with  this  hitch: 

"Veil,  McConahay,  now  how  you  feel, 
Mixed  up  mil   Dale  and  Gregory  into  dem  ugly  steal? 
You  plays  dcr  dickens  mit  yourself  ust  now 
In  uiixen  into  dose  unhealthy  row." 

Mr.  McConahay  built  up  a  fair  practice  in  Monticello,  notwithstand- 
ing his  rather  fiery  temperament  and  somewhat  indiscreet  conduct,  and 
afterward  moved  to  Lafayette,  where  he  remained  about  two  years. 
While  in  I  hat  city  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace.  In  1S85  he  located 
at  Monon,  where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life,  holding  such  offices 
as  town  attorney  and  notary  public. 

Lawyers  in  Active  Practice 

The  members  of  the  bar  of  White  County  who  have  been  enrolled 

si '  I890  "re  as  follows,  those  engaged  in  the  practice  being  indicated 

by  a  •: 

Law  in  ins:  Spencer,  Danielle  &  Cowger,  Monticello;  Palmer  &  Carr, 
Montieillo;  Sills  &  Sills,  Monticello. 

Resident  attorneys :  "K.  B.  Sellers,  Monticello;  *T.  F.  Palmer,  Mon- 
ti''!1". |!"'J  •''  Carr,  Monticello;  *\V.  S.  Dusllncll,  Mont icello  ;  'Will. 
Guthrie,  Monticello;  "W.  D.  Danielle,  Monticello;  *W.  J.  Gridley,  Monti- 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  117 

cello;  *A.  K.  Sills,  Monticello;  "Charles  C.  Spencer,  Monticello;  *George 
P.  Marvin, -Monticello ;-L.  D.  Carey,  Monticello j  M.  B,  Beard,  Woleott; 
James  T.  Graves,  Monticello;  George  W.  Kasscbaum,  .Monticello;  Thomas 
J.  Ilanna,  Monticello;  *A.  R.  Orton,  Monticello;  Clarence  R.  Cowger, 
Monticello;  W.  R.  Taylor,  Monticello;  A.  K.  Sills,  Jr.,  Monticello;  II.  T. 
Brockway,  Monticello;  S.  L.  Callaway,  Monticello;  Henry  C.  Thomp- 
son, Monon;  W.  A.  Ward,  Reynolds. 


Some  White  County  School  Buildings 


T 


CHAPTER  VIII 
EDUCATION  AND  PROMINENT  MEN 

Territorial,  Legislation — Public  Education  Undkr  the  First  Con- 
stitution— Trustees  of  School  Lands — Township  Trustees — 
The  Old-Time  Comfortable  Schooliiouse — Early  Conditions  in 
White  County— The  Three-Days  Schooliiouse — Pioneer  Edu- 
cational Matters — First  Schooliiouse  in  the  County — A  Semi- 
nary Which  Was  Never  Born — The  County  Library  More  For- 
tunate— A  Monticello  School  with  Class — Schools  in  Jackson 
Township — Jonathan  Sluyter's  Good  Work — Spread  op  the 
Spirit  into  Monon — West  Point  School  and  Town  Hall — George 
Bowman,  as  Man  and  Teacher — The  Palestine  and  Nordyke 
Schools — Sproutings    in    Cass    Township — The    State     Brings 

' '  Better  Order — School  Examiners — Building  Schooliiouse  Under 
the  New  Order — The  Teachers — Forerunners  of  the  High 
Schools — The  Farmington  Seminary — Prof.  William  Iuhi.an — 
The  Brookston  Academy — Corn-Crib  and  Regular  Schools — 
First  Round  Grove  Schoolhouse — Present  County  Hoard  of 
Education — Teachers'  Association  and  Institutes — Rules  and 
Regulations  —  Present  Status  of  the  County  System  —  Dr. 
William    S.    IIaymond — Charles   S.    IIartman — Dr.    William    E. 

BlEDERWOLF. 

Nothing  was  ever  done  by  either  the  French  or  British  governments 
to  establish  or  encourage  the  founding  of  public  schools  among  their 
scattered  subjects  in  the  western  wilds,  but  with  the  first,  extension  of 
American  paper  rule  over  the  Northwest  the  cause  was  brought  for- 
ward as  one  of  the  fundamentals  of  popular  sovereignty.  As  has  been 
stated,  a  congressional  ordinance  of  1785  provided  for  the  donation  of 
section  16  in  every  congressional  township  for  the  maintenance  of 
public  schools,  and  the  more  comprehensive  and  famous  measure  of 
1787  declared  that  "religion,  morality  and  knowledge  being  necessary 
to  the  government  and  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  ami  means  of 
education  shall  forever  be  encouraged."  In  this  matter  Hie  fathers  of 
the  Northwest  sustained  the  character  of  the  founders  of  the  United 
States,  and  its  greatest  supporters  ever  since,  of  being  both  idealists  and 
practical  men.  They  first  provided  the  basis  of  a  fund  for  the  popular 
schools;  then  pledged  the  future  American  generations  forever  to  encour- 
age them.  Forever  is  a  large  word,  but  America  has  always  (halt  in 
futures,  and  when  128  years  have  passed  after  that  pledge  was  given, 

11!) 


120  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  generations  of  the  present  are  encouraging  the  cause  of  public  educa- 
tion with  greater  zeal  ami  immeasurably  greater  resources  than  their 
sponsors  oL'  1 787  ever  dreamed  of. 

Territorial  Legislation 

•  Indiana  Territory  had  the  Indians  to  tight,  as  well  as  the  wilderness 
to  break,  but  her  public  men  brought  up  the  subject  repeatedly,  Gov- 
ernor Harrison  in  one  of  his  messages  suggesting  that  military  educa- 
tion be  grafted  into  the  public  system.  In  1807,  after  a  sweeping  pre- 
amble re-dedicating  the  people  to  the  principle  of  popular  education, 
the  Legislature  incorporated  the  Vincennes  University  "for  the  instruc- 
tion of  youth  in  the  .Latin,  Greek,  French  and  English  languages,  mathe- 
matics, natural  philosophy,  ancient  and  modern  history,  moral  philos- 
ophy, logic,  rhetoric  and  the  laws  of  nature  and  nations."  In  the 
following  year  the  Territorial  Legislature  authorized  the  judges  of  the 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas  to  lease  the  school  lands,  and  in  1810  they  were 
authorized  to  appoint  trustees  for  that  purpose;  these  agents,  however, 
were  forbidden  to  lease  more  than  160  acres  to  any  one  person  and  the 
destruction  of  timber  on  the  leased  lands  was  forbidden.  These  acts 
concluded  the  actual  performances  in  behalf  of  the  cause,  but,  consid- 
ering how  many  other  measures  came  before  the  territorial  authorities 
and  legislators  in  the  nature  of  self-defense  and  self-preservation,  it  is 
remarkable  thai  so  much  was  accomplished. 

Public  Education  Under  the  First  State  Constitution 

The  first  state  constitution,  adopted  in  1816,  provided  that  none  of 
the  school  lands  should  be  sold  by  the  authority  of  the  state  previous 
to  1820,  and  that  it  should  he  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly,  as  soon 
as  possible,  "to  provide  by  law  for  a  general  system  of  education, 
ascending  in  a  regular  gradation  from  township  schools  to  a  State  Uni- 
versity, wherein  tuition  shall  be  gratis  and  equally  open  to  all.  And 
for  the  promotion  of  such  salutary  end,  the  money  which  shall  be  paid 
as  an  equivalent  by  persons  exempt  from  military  duty,  except  in  times 
of  war,  shall  be  exclusively,  ami  in  equal  proportion,  applied  to  the 
support  of  county  seminaries;  and  all  fines  assessed  for  any  breach  of 
the  penal  laws  shall  be  applied  to  said  seminaries  in  the  counties  wherein 
they  shall  be  assessed." 

Trustees  of  School  Lands 

The  General  Assembly  of  1816  took  up  the  work  and  made  provi- 
sion for  the  appointment  of  superintendents  of  school  sections,  with 
pouvr  to  base  the  school  hi  mis  for  any  term  not  to  exceed  seven  years, 
and  each  lessee  was  required  to  set  out  annually  on  such  lands  twenty- 
live  apple  ami  twenty-five  peach  trees  until  100  of  each  had  been  planted. 
Between  181G  and  1820  several  academies,  seminaries  and  literary  socie- 
ties were  incorporated  in  the  older  and  more  j     pulous  counties. 


s> 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  121 

The  first  measure  which  provided  for  any  comprehensive  system  of 
public  education  was  passed  in  1824,  the  bill  being  the  result  of  the 
labors  of  a  special  commission  appointed  by  the  Legislature  several  years 
before;  the  act,  which  became  law,  was  "to  incorporate  congressional 
townships  and  provide  for  public  schools  therein." 

Township  Trustees 

After  providing  for  the  election  of  three  school  trustees  in  each  town- 
ship, who  should  control  section  16  and  all  other  matters  of  public  edu- 
cation, the  law  made  provision  for  the  erection  of  sehoolhouses,  as  fol- 
lows: "Every  able-bodied  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
and  upwards,  residing  within  the  bounds  of  such  school  district,  shall 
be  liable  to  work  one  day  in  each  week  until  such  building  may  be  com- 
pleted, or  pay  the  sum  of  thirty-seven  and  one-half  cents  for  every  day 
he  may  fail  to  work."  The  trustees  might  also  receive  lumber,  nails, 
glass  or  other  necessary  building  material,  in  lieu  either  of  work  or 
the  daily  wages. 

The  Old-Time  Comfortable  Schooliiocse 

'The  schoolhouse,  according  to  the  law  of  1824,  provided:  "In  all 
cases  such  school  house  shall  be  eight  feet  between  the  floors,  and  at 
least  one  foot  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  first  floor,  and 
bo  furnished  in  a  manner  calculated  to  render  comfortable  the  teacher 
and  pupils." 

As  no  funds  were  provided  for  the  pay  of  teachers  or  the  erection 
of  buildings,  the  schools  were  kept  open  as  long  as  the  subscriptions  held 
out,  and  the  comfort  of  the  teacher  and  pupils  depended  mi  the  char- 
acter of  the  householders  who  supported  the  institution.  Neither  could 
the  school  trustees  levy  a  tax  except  by  special  permission  of  the  district, 
and  even  then  the  expenditure  was  limited  to  $50. 

In  1832  the  Legislature  ordered  the  sale  of  all  county  seminaries, 
the  net  proceeds  to  be  added  to  the  permanent  school  fund.  Its  action 
did  not  affect  "White  County,  as  its  citizens  did  not  commence  to  collect 
funds  for  that  purpose  until  1831,  when  they  were  organized  under  a 
separate  government.  In  1837  the  county  received  its  quota  of  the  sur- 
plus disbursed  from  the  United  States  treasury  to  the  various  states  dur- 
ing the  preceding  year.  Indiana's  share  was  $800,000,  and  of  that 
sum  the  State  Legislature  set  aside  $573,000  for  the  permanent  use  of 
the  common  schools  of  the  commonwealth;  but  only  the  interest  of  the 
fund  could  be  used  by  the  counties. 

Early  Conditions  in  White  County 

When  "White  County  commenced  its  political  existence  there  were 
no  public  schools,  in  the  accepted  sense,  within  her  lioi'd  rrs,  and  nearly 
twenty  years  were  to  pass  before  anything  like  the  prevailing  system 
of  popular  education  was  to  be  in  force.  The  conditions  then  prevailing 
were  these:  "The  man  or  woman  who  had  a   desire  to   become  an  in- 


122  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

stnietor  would  get  up  ;i  written  agreement  called  a  subscription  paper, 
and  pass'i!  around  among  the  people  of  a  certain  neighborhood  for  sig- 
natures. Tlu:  agreement  usually  railed  for  a  certain  number  of  pupils 
at  a  certain  price  per  pupil,  and  when  the  required  number  was  obtained 
the  school  would  begin.  The  ruling  price  for  a  term  of  three  months 
was  two  dollars  per  pupil,  and  the  number  of  pupils  to  be  taught  was 
to  be  not  less  than  twenty.  The  board  and  lodging  for  the  teacher  would 
be  provided  by  the  patrons  of  the  school,  each  one,  in  turn,  furnishing 
a  share  during  the  term,  or  if  the  teacher  preferred,  which  was  nearly 
always  the  case,  he  or  she  might  choose  a  boarding  place  and  remain 
there  during  the  term  for  a  small  compensation  to  the  patron  of  the 

-  school  whose  home  was  selected.  The  board  and  lodging  of  the  school 
teacher  was  regarded  as  a  small  matter  by  the  early  settlers,  and  one 

.dollar  per  week  was  taken  as  ample  compensation  for  the  trouble 
imposed  by  this  arrangement.  The  first  plan  was  designated  as  'board- 
ing among  the  scholars'  and  the  second  as  'boarding  himself  or  'board- 
ing herself. ' 

Tin;  Tiikee-Days  Schoolhouse 

"The  first  matter  of  importance,  however,  before  the  beginning  of 
the  school,  was  to  provide  a  building  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
teacher  and  pupils;  but  this  was,  also,  an  easy  matter  for  the  pioneers. 
The  settlers  of  a  neighborhood  would  get  together  on  a  specified  day, 
Bay  a  Thursday,  and  begin  the  erection  of  a  school  house  at  some  point 
as  nearly  central  in  the  neighborhood  as  a  site  could  be  procured;  which 
was  always  easy  to  obtain,  as  land  was  worth  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  aire,  and  a  suitable  site  could  be  found  where  the  owner  of 
the  land,  if  he  had  children  of  school  age,  was  only  too  willing  to  donate 
an  acre  or  half  an  acre  of  his  land  for  the  purpose.  Beginning  the 
building  on  Thursday,  they  would  finish  their  work  on  or  before  Sat- 
urday night,  so  that  it  would  be  ready  for  occupancy  on  Monday 
morning." 

Pionkhi;  Educational  Matters 

The  mellow  memories  clinging  to  the  old  log  schoolhouse  have  so 
often  been  spread  upon  the  printed  page  that  we  leave  the  familiar 
ground  for  more  personal  matters  directly  concerning  the  pioneer  schools 
and  teachers  in  the  White  County  field  before  the  commencement  of  the 
modern  era  in  1852. 

First  Schoolhouse  in  the  County 

The  first  schoolhouse  built,  within  the  limits  of  White  County  was 
located  on  the  banks  of  Big  Creek,  in  what  was  known  as  the  Robert 
Wwell  neighborhood'  SO  named  after  that  old  settler,  afterward  pro- 
bate judge,  who  has  already  appeared  several  times  in  the  course  of 
(his  history.  It  stood  on  the  land  of  George  A.  Spencer,  whose  home 
was  also  White  County's  first  courthouse.     The  schoolhouse,  which  was 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  '      123 

constructed  of  round  log.s  and  was  12  by  14  Peet  in  size,  had  been 
built  for  a  family  residence.  After  a  short  occupancy  for  domestic  pur- 
poses it  had  beeri  abandoned,  and  some  time  in  1N34  was  opened  as  a 
school,  Mr.  Spencer  having  kindly  placed  scats  in  it  and  otherwise  trans- 
formed the  room  into  a  temple  of  learning.  .Mr.  Spencer  had  children, 
and  the  other  resident  families  who  supported  the  enterprise  were  headed 
by  Benjamin  Reynolds,  John  Burns,  Robert  Newell,  William  M.  Kenton, 
7ebulon  Dyer,  James  Shafer,  John  Phillips,  and  perhaps  a  few  others. 

From  a  description  which  has  come  down  to  us  from  one  of  the  old 
settlers  it  is  learned  that  a  log  had  been  left  out  of  the  south  side  of  the 
hut  to  admit  the  light,  and  that  two  puncheons,  fastened  together  with 
wooden  pins  and  hung  on  wooden  hinges,  formed  the  door,  which  was 
securely  closed  with  a  wooden  latch  in  a  wooden  catch.  A  string  passed 
through  the  door  above  the  latch  and  served  to  raise  it  from  the  outside 
at  all  times,  unless  the  pupils  caught  the  master  out,  when  it  would  be 
drawn  in  and,  by  barricading  the  window  with  benches,  they  often  suc- 
ceeded in  delaying  the  routine  of  study,  but  such  an  act  was  certain  to 
bring  upon  the  daring  culprits  the  dire  vengeance  of  the  master,  whose 
authority  was  thus  set  at  naught. 

The  first  teacher  in  this  first  school  was  Matthias  Davis,  father  of 
Mrs.  Daniel  McCuaig,  of  Montieello,  a  man  of  rare  mental  qualifications 
for  tbat  period  and  a  kindly  and  conscientious  teacher,  who  delighted  in 
his  work  and  was  beloved  by  his  pupils.  He  could  be  severe,  however, 
when  he  "was  locked  out,"  or  his  authority  otherwise  flouted. 

A  SeiMinary  Which  Was  Never  Born 

Soon  after  the  organizatiou  of  the  county  the  citizens  commenced  to 
agitate  the  founding  of  a  comity  seminary,  authorized  by  the  state 
constitution  of  1816.  The  movement  materialized  in  the  legislative 
enactment  providing  that  certain  fines  and  penalties,  assessed  against 
those  who  swore,  broke  the  Sabbath,  or  engaged  in  rioting,  should  be 
thus  applied.  The  law  provided  that  when  $400  had  been  collected, 
the  board  of  trustees  might  proceed  to  erect  a  seminary  building.  In 
May,  1835,  Jonathan  Ilarbolt  was  appointed  seminary  trustee  to  serve 
for  one  year.  The  fund  went  on  so  slowly  collecting  under  .Mr.  Ilarbolt 
and  his  successors  that  it  had  reached  only  $403  in  June,  1863,  and  $781 
in  1857;  by  that  time  the  new  school  law  established  under  the  con- 
stitution of  1852  had  gone  fully  into  operation,  and  as  there  was  no 
place  in  that  system  for  a  county  seminary,  its  fund  was  turned  over 
to  the  common  schools. 

The  County  Library  More  Fortunate 

The  old  county  library  met  with  a  similar  fate,  funds  for  its  estab- 
lishment being  secured  much  in  the  same  way  as  for  the  seminary. 
Although  quite  unsteady,  the  library  actually  got  upon  its  feet.  A  few 
books  were  purchased  as  early  as  1838  and  small  additions  were  made 
to  the,  original  collection,  so  tbat  by  1845  several  hundred  volumes  were 


124  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

scattered  over  the  county  in  the  homes  of  the  early  settlers.  In  that 
year  the'  board  of  commissioners  organized  themselves  as  trustees  of 
the  county  library,  Allen  Barnes  becoming  president  and  Charles  W. 
Kendall  librarian  and  clerk.  The  clerk  was  directed  to  collect  by  public 
notice  all  the  hooks  in  circulation,  prepare  a  catalogue,  and  purchase, 
such  additional  hooks  as  the  library  funds  would  allow;  also  to  prepare, 
a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the  consideration  of  the  trustees.  It  docs 
not  appear  that  .Mr.  Kendall  ever  served — in  fact,  he  refused  to  serve, 
and  J.  M.  Rit'enberriek  was  appointed  in  his  place;  so  that  Mr.  Rifen- 
berrick  must  have  accomplished  this  preliminary  work.  John  R.  Willey 
became  librarian  in  LSI!),  hut  the  county  institution  had  no  excuse  for 
existence  under  the  new  educational  dispensation  inaugurated  in  1852, 
which  included,  among  other  features,  the  operation  of  township  libra-, 
ries.  The  counts-  library  was  therefore  abandoned  by  the  state  and  its 
books  melted  away;  but  they  undoubtedly  accomplished  some  good  in 
the  way  of  lightening  the  long  hours  of  lonely  pioneer  life,  and  supply- 
ing mental  food  to  a  limited  circle,  at  a  time  when  it  was  so  scarce  and 
therefore  so  highly  valued. 

A  Monticello  School  with  Class 

In  1835,  the  year  after  opening  the  Big  Creek  schoolhouse,  Mathias 
Davis,  of  Carroll  County,  was  called  to  Monticello  to  take  charge  of  a 
more  finished  establishment,  A  frame  building  had  been  erected,  20 
by  30  feet,  with  iron  latches  and  hinges  for  the  door  and  sash  and  glass 
lights  for  the  windows.  The  latter  were  placed  near  the  roof  to  protect 
them  from  the  hoys;  for,  at  that  time,  the  breaking  of  a  window  pane, 
whether  by  accident  or  malice  aforethought,  was  an  expensive  disaster 
which  the  school  authorities  could  not  afford.  Mr.  Davis  remained  at 
the  head  of  the  Monticello  school  until  1838,  and  was  followed,  at  differ- 
ent periods,  by  William  Cahill,  Mr.  Montgomery,  James  Kelley  and 
•Tames  Givcns.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  characteristic  of  ihese 
pioneer  teachers  of  Monticello  was  that  none  of  them  seemed  to  be  able 
to  combine  mentality  and  muscularity  in  the  proportion  which  should 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  situation.  They  ranged  all  the  way  from 
the  clever  but  too  mild  Cahill  to  the  tierce  and  conclusive  Montgomery, 
who  was  sent,  to  jail  for  so  eowhiding  one  of  the  boys  that  pools  of  blood 
were  drawn  upon  the  schoolroom  floor. 

Schools  in  Jackson  Township 

In  the  early  'SOs  a  small  settlement  sprung  up  about  half  a  mile  north 
of  the  old  town  of  I'.urnel I sville,  Jackson  Township,  and  in  1830  a  post- 
office  was  established  there  called  Burnett's  Creek.  About  the  same  time 
the  settlers  got  together  ami  built  a  little  log  schoolhouse  near  by,  and 
William  R,  Dale,  the  postmaster,  also  became  the  schoolteacher. 

Some  time  before-  just  how  lung  it  is  not  of  record — a  small  class 
had  been  taughl  in  a  vacant  hut  owned  by  I'lphraim  Chamberlain;  it 
was  situated   in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  33  and  was  tnught   by 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  125 

James  Renwiek.  This,  which  was  really  the  pioneer  school  in  the  town- 
ship and  one^of  the  first  in  the  county,  was  located  near  the  Carroll 
County  line. 

Jonathan  Sluyter 's  Goon  Work 

In  the  early  autumn  of  1837  Liberty  Township  joined  the  little  group 
of  educators  in  White  County,  through  such  of  her  early  settlers  as 
Messrs.  Funks,  Conwells,  Hall,  Loudens  and  Sluyter.  Mr.  Sluyter  (Jona- 
than W.)  was  especially  enthusiastic  over  the  erection  of  a  log  school- 
house  for  the  dozen  or  fifteen  children  who  were  ready  to  attend;  he  had 
been  in  the  township,  on  his  land  along  the  Tippecanoe,  tor  several 
months,  and  being  a  blacksmith,  as  well  as  considerable  of  a  mechanic, 
the  work  of  erecting  the  schoolhouse  was  largely  intrusted  to  him.  As 
completed,  it  was  of  round  logs,  fifteen  feet  square,  had  a  large  fireplace, 
was  supplied  with  backless  puncheon  seats  and  had  one  window.  David 
MeConahay  was  the  first  teacher  in  that  school,  and  he  was  followed 
within  the  coming  three  years  by  George  Hall,  John  C.  V.  Shields  and 
Lester  Smith. 

Then,  in  1840,  Mr.  Sluyter  again  came  to  the  rescue  and  built  a  sec- 
ond schoolhouse  on  the  site  of  the  first;  the  new  was  an  improvement  on 
the  old,  because  it  was  larger,  built  of  hewn  logs,  had  more  windows  ami 
the  seats  were  more  finished  and  comfortable.  All  of  which  was  to  the 
special  credit  of  Jonathan  W.  Sluyter,  the  head  of  I  he  family. 

Spread  of  the  Spirit  into  Monon 

At  that  time  the  only  school  which  may  be  said  to  have  been  estab- 
lished was  the  one  at  Monticeflo,  which  went  into  a  partial  decline  and 
disgrace.  But  the  educational  spirit  bad  spread  westward  /with  the 
incursion  of  new  settlers  with  their  children,  so  that  in  1840  a  school 
house  was  built  near  the  Town  of  West  Bedford.  Salmne  Renttey  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  teacher  and  Michael  Berkey,  the  second,  with 
David  Hall,  Peter  Scott,  Power  Moore  and  Mary  Lindsay,  trailing  along 
in  about  that  order.  This  was  one  of  the  first  schools  to  be  established 
away  from  the  Tippecanoe  River. 

West  Point  School  and  Town  II  all 

In  1844  a  schoolhouse  was  erected  in  West  Point  Township,  near  the 
site  of  the  house  now  in  use.  It  was  used  for  both  political  and  educa- 
tional purposes;  was  a  town  hall  as  well  as  a  schoolhouse,  the  first  elec- 
tions in  the  township  being  held  therein.  The  structure  was  of  the  round- 
log  variety,  18  by  24  feet  in  size. 

George  Bowman,  as  Max  and  Teacher 

It  was  reserved  for  Monticello  to  mnke  the  first  real  advance  in  offer- 
ing superior  educational  advantages  to  the  students  of  White  County, 


V" 


126  HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY 

through  the  personal  labors  of  (leorge  Bowman  and  his  graded  school. 
Even  in  the, period  of  modern  improvements  in  this  field,  as  of  others,  it 
is  doubtful  if  his  superior  as  :i  thorough  and  inspiring  educator  can  be 
named  among  the  teachers  of  White  County. 

Professor  Bowman  was  bom  near  Martinsburg,  Virginia,  in  1818, 
and  was  left  an  orphan  when  only  six  years  of  age.  With  several  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  lie  was  brought  up  by  relatives  on  a  typical  Virginia  plan- 
tation, his  education  being  obtained  both  in  a  country  school  and  a  rural 
store  in  the  neighborhood.  From  a  very  early  age  books  were  bis  inspira- 
tion and  solace,  and  when  hi'  had  about  reached  his  majority  be  joined 
his  brothers  who  had  settled  at  Delphi,  Carroll  County.  There  he  con- 
tinued his  Virginia  life  by  dividing  his  time  between  study,  teaching 
and  clerking,  his  business  connection  at  Delphi  being  in  the  large  store 
kept  by  Enoeh  Iioweii.  Alter  several  years  of  that  varied  experience, 
he  was  induced  by  several  elderly  friends  to  enter  Wabash  College, 
Crawfordsville.  His  studies  there  were  interlarded  with  various  occupa- 
tions incident  to  "working  through  college,"  such  as  clerking  in  a  coun- 
try store  and  peddling  a  religious  publication  in  White  and  Carroll 
counties. 

In  September,  18  IS,  he  left  college  within  a  year  of  graduation,  and 
married  Miss  K'nlli  Ailgell,  taking  bis  young  wife  to  Monticello,  and  as- 
suming charge  of  the  town  school.  Two  years  thereafter  bis  wife  died, 
leaving  him  an  infant  daughter.  That  misfortune  changed  bis  plans. 
Returning  to  Wabash  College  he  graduated  therefrom  in  lSf>2  and  soon 
afterward  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Delphi  schools.  A  few  months 
after  his  second  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  D.  Piper,  in  1858,  be  returned  to 

Moilticello. 

Just  a  decade  from  the  time  of  his  first  coming  to  Montiecllo,  in  Sep- 
tember, L858,  Professor  Bowman  opened  the  academy,  or  grade  school, 
as  it  was  called,  which  became  such  a  noteworthy  institution  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  educational  system  of  the  county.  He  introduced  the 
studies  of  natural  philosophy,  astronomy,  algebra  and  Latin,  and  young 
men  and  women  for  the  first  time  in  the  educational  history  of  White 
County  had  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  something  more  than  the  funda- 
mentals of  an  English  education.  Composition  and  declamation  were 
cultivated  and  pupils  were  required  to  give  reasons  and  illustrations  in 
support  of  any  theory  or  principle  advanced. 

Tlic  return  of  Mr,  Bowman  to  Delphi,  in  the  fall  of  18o0,  had  been 
discouraging  to  the  cause  of  higher  education,  since  no  instructor  could 
be  found  to  take  his  place.  The  subsequent  history  of  the  movement, 
especially  the  professor 's  pari  in  it,  is  thus  presented:  It  is  probable 
about  this  time  that  an  effort  was  made  to  erect  a  brick  school  building 
at.  Montiecllo.  Whether  the  Rchoolhouse  was  to  be  built  with  the  county 
seminary  funds,  or  as  an  institution  wholly  for  the  District  of  Montiecllo. 
is  not  certain,  but  it  is  known  that  it  was  completed  a  short  distance 
above  the  foundation,  then  abandoned  and  the  material  removed.  For 
some  years  thereafter  several  attempts  were  made,  through  private 
Schools,  to  meet  the  demand  of  parents  both  for  instruction  in  the  com- 


y 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  127 

inon  branches  and  (among  a  more  limited  number)  for  training  in  the 
classics  and  the  advanced  studios.  Among  the  really  excellent  schools 
taught  during  that  period  of  earnest  endeavor  was  one  in  the  Democrat 
Building,  its  teachers  numbering  Maria  Hut  ton  and  Mrs.  Dr.  Haymond. 

The  return  of  the  professor  to  Monticello  in  1K.">S,  after  lie  had  ably 
served  as"  the  principal  of  the  Delphi  schools  for  six  years,  was  heralded 
as* a  saving  event,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  furnish  better  facili- 
ties tRan  he  formerly  commanded.  An  old  warehouse  was  remodeled 
for  school  purposes,  a  bell  was  placed  on  the  roof  and  the  principal  then 
engaged  two  assistants  to  get  the  situation  well  in  hand.  Within  the 
following  three  years  the  Monticello  Graded  School,  as  it  was  called, 
became  an  educational  force  whose  influence  even  spread  beyond  the 
bounds  of  White  County.  It  was  divided  into  three  departments,  cor- 
responding to  the  high,  grammar  and  primary  divisions  of  the  public 
system,  graduates  from  the  high  school  being  prepared  for  college. 

Professor  Bowman's  assistants  in  18G0  were  Miss  Mary  Bowman  and 
II.  II.  Tedford.  He  continued  as  head  of  this  private  graded  school  until 
August,  1862,  when  he  was  mustered  into  the  Union  service  as  captain 
of  Company  D,  Twelfth  Indiana  Volunteers,  the  members  of  which  were 
enlisted  largely  through  his  exertions.  lie  was  captured  at  Richmond, 
and  wounded  both  at  Jackson  and  Missionary  Ridge— al  the  latter  en- 
gagement so  badly  that  he  was  discharged  from  the  service  as  incapaci- 
tated. He  was  honorably  discharged  in  March.  18(i4.  ami  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  returned  to  Delphi,  where  he  remained  until  1870  as  prin- 
cipal of  its  schools  and  engaged  in  farming.  lie  had  bought  a  farm  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tippecanoe,  about  six  miles  south  of  Monticello  in  White 
County,  and  thither  retired  with  his  wife  and  six  children. 

But  Mr.  Bowman  did  not  succeed  as  a  farmer,  and  as  his  widow  w  rote 
pathetically  and  affectionately  years  afterward:  "We  named  our  home 
Hopeful  Bluff  and  lived  on  hope  for  eight  years.  .Mr.  Bowman  was  a 
born  teacher,  but  knew  nothing  about  farming,  consequently  he  failed 
at  every  point.  Those  were  trying  days,  though  filled  with  love  and  many 
happy  hours.  We  had  good  neighbors  and  many  kind  friends.  .Mi'. 
Bowman  was  later  elected  county  superintendent  of  schools,  which  gave 
us  the  opportunity  of  meeting  the  best  of  people.  lie  was  a  kind,  loving 
husband  and  father,  always  looking  on  the  bright  side  of  life.  He  was 
truly  an  optimist." 

Professor  Bowman  served  as  county  superintendent  from  187:>  to 
1881,  and  under  his  administration  the  schools  obtained  aij  impetus  in 
the  right  direction  which  has  never  been  lost.  The  family  had  returned 
to  Monticello  in  1878,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  term  as  county  super- 
intendent of  schools,  Mr.  Bowman  devoted  himself  to  his  beloved  hooks 
(taking  up  the  study  of  Hebrew  after  he  was  seventy)  ;  also  spent  con- 
siderable time  in  teaching  private  pupils,  and  in  1890  he  was  induced. 
partly  by  friends  and  partly  urged  by  his  strong  instincts  as  a  natural 
teacher,  to  assume  regular  duties  in  connection  with  the  county  schools 
of  White  and  Carroll  counties.  But  he  counted  too  confidently  on  his 
old  time  vitality   for  one  in   his  seventy-third  year.      In   the   fall  of   thai 


128  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

year  lie  was  unable  to  rally  before  the  attack  of  a  severe  illness,  and 
passed  away  on  November  -'■>  (Thanksgiving),  1890.  The  deceased  was 
an  earnest  Presbyterian  of  many  years  standing  and  a  Christian  by 
faith  and  i\rvA. 

TJno  Palestine  and  Nordyke  Schools 

The  first  schools  of  Princeton  Township,  in  the  western  border  of 
'White  County,  did  not  come  to  the  surface  until  the  late  '40s,  being 
mostly  established  in  its  central  sections.  The  Palestine  settlement,  the 
first  in  the  township,  claims  to  have  started  the  pioneer  school,  as  does  the 
so-called  Nordyke  Set  I  lenient.  .Neither  as  to  time  nor  stateliness  is  there 
much  to  choose  between  them.  They  were  both  opened  in  1849;  they 
were  both  tfi  by  18  feet  in  dimensions.  While  the  Nordyke  affair  may 
have  had  the  edge  on  the  Palestine  sehoolhouse,  in  that  it  was  built  of 
hewn  instead  of  round  logs,  on  the  other  hand  the  Palestine  structure 
had  two  windows  instead  of  the  usual  one  opening,  and  they  occupied 
its  two  sides  lengthwise;  thus,  matters  of  superiority  were  balanced. 
The  Palestine  School  stood  on  Mortimer  M.  Dyer's  land  and  its  first 
teacher  was  Kdwin  Bond,  while  B.  Wilson  Smith  taught  the  children  at 
the  Nordyke  settlement.  But  Nordyke  finally  triumphed  decisively  over 
the  Palestine  settlement,  by  building  the  first  frame  sehoolhouse  in  the 
township,  about  half  a  mile  north  of  the  old  log  structure,  in  1854. 

Sproutings  in  Cass  Township 

Cass  Township  commenced  its  school  building  in  1S50,  although  sev- 
eral classes  had  been  taught  in  private  houses  for  two  years  previously. 
In  the  winter  o\'  1*18-41)  Samuel  Oruell  taught  a  few  children  in  a 
round-log  cabin  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
.section  (i,  in  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  township  about  a  mile 
east  of  the  Tippecanoe.  Mrs.  Anna  McBeth,  mother  of  James  M.  McBeth, 
assumed  the  work'  in  1849.  The  pupils  who  thus  started  the  educational 
ball  rolling  numbered  twenty-four,  distributed  by  families  as  follows: 
Christopher  Vnndeventer  family,  live;  Horim's,  four;  Daniel  Germber- 
linger,  two;  .John  Baker  (Pulaski  County),  two;  Daniel  Yount,  two; 
Albert  Bacon,  three.  In  the  winter  of  1849-50,  Mrs.  McBeth  opened 
a  school  in  the  family  home,  a  round-log  hut  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  6.  She  was  a  lady  of  great  intelligence, 
coming  of  a  well  educated  Ohio  family,  and  her  twenty  pupils  prospered 
under  her  instruction.  Her  husband  died  a  few  years  afterward,  but 
the  widow  lived  to  be  an  aged  honored  mother  and  grandmother  of  the 
county.  One  of  their  sons  Joseph  was  a  good  soldier  of  the  Civil  war 
and  prominent  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  township,  and  several  of  the 
later  generation  still  reside  in  the  county. 

Tin;  State  Brings  Better  Order 

The  foregoing  are  but  illustrations  which  might  be  deduced  from  every 
sparseB  settled  county  in  the  state,  of  the  struggles  which  were  common 
among  the  pioneers  to  educate  their  children  as  best  they  might.    But  all 


HISTOBY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  120 

such  facilities  were  the  result  of  individual  exertion  and  determination, 
unsystematized  and  virtually  unsupported  by  the  state.  With  the  in- 
auguration of  the  new  constitution  of  1851,  much  of  tins  confusion  and 
working  at  cross  purposes  cleared  away  and  a  working  plan  was  evolved. 
By  legislative  aet  "to  provide  for  a  general  uniform  system  of  Common 
Schools  and  School  Libraries,  and  matters  properly  connected  there- 
with," approved  June  14,  1852,  the  way  was  made  clear  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  public  educational  system  which  is  still  expanding  and 
developing  in  its  details. 

The  free  school  system  of  Indiana  became  practically  operative  on 
the  tirst  Monday  in  April,  1853,  when  the  township  trustees  for  school 
purposes  were  elected.  The  new  law  gave  them  the  management  of  the 
school  affaire  of  the  township,  subject  to  the  action  of  the  voters.  But 
it  was  a  number  of  years  before  White  County  was  able  to  derive  much 
practical  benefit  from  the  system,  as  the  quota  of  the  common  school 
fund  derived  from  the  state  was  small  and  increased  slowly,  as  it  was 
based  upon  the  number  of  children  of  school  age  residing  in  the  various 
districts.  In  the  meantime  most  of  the  actual  management  of  school 
matters  was  vested  in  the  old-time  school  examiner. 

» 

School  Examiners 

The  school  examiners  for  White  County,  whose  services  extended 
into  the  formative  period  of  the  present  common  school  system,  includ- 
ing the  supplementary  law  of  1855-56,  were  as  follows:  James  Kerr, 
1836;  N.  Bunnell,  1838;  Jonathan  Ilarbolt,  1839;  Charles  W.  Kendall, 
1S45;  James  Kerr,  1846;  Charles  Dodge,  1848;  Jonathan  Ilarbolt,  1849; 
George  G.  Miller  and  Robert  Irwin,  1856. 

Building  Sciioolhouses  Under  the  New  Order 

In  1859  the  board  of  three  township  trustees  was  abolished  and  school 
matters  were  placed  in  the  keeping  of  one  trustee,  who  was  enabled  to 
work  to  greater  advantage  with  tlie  examiner  than  under  the  old  sys- 
tem, but  it  was  not  until  nearly  twenty  years  later  that  the  trustee 
assumed  greater  control  of  the  schools  within  his  township.  As  the  inter- 
est of  the  common  school  fund  was  only  available,  under  the  constitution, 
it  usually  became  necessary  for  the  citizens  of  a  district  in  pressing  need 
of  a  schoolhouse  to  contribute  a  part  of  the  expense  incurred  both  in  its 
erection,  furnishing  and  maintenance.  The  law  required  the  trustee  to 
own  the  land  upon  which  every  public  schoolhouse  was  erected  ami  a 
perfect  title  from  the  owner  of  the  land  to  the  trustee  and  his  successors 
in  office  must  be  procured  before  the  building  could  !><•  comnn 'need.  A 
word  from  the  trustee  expressing  the  necessity  Cor  a  new  schoolhouse 
usually  brought  half  a  dozen  offers  from  property  owners  offering  sites 
of  from  half  an  acre  to  a  whole  one.  provided  the  township  would  pay 
the  expenses  of  executing  the  deed  and  recording  it.  Land  was  much 
cheaper  than  money  in  those  days;  but  the  early  BCttlcrs  contributed 
of  both,  as  well  as  of  honest  labor  and  necessary   materials,  Cor  the  erec- 


uo 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


tion.  of  the  building  which  was  to  house  their  children  as  pupils.  Not 
infrequently  the  trustee  erected  a  neat  frame  building  beside  the  old  log 
schoolhouse,  that  the  eutire  township  might  compare  the  two  with  pride 
over  the  improvement  manifest  in  the  new. 


V 


The  Teachers 

Having  procured  their  certificates  of  qualification  from  the  county 
examiner,  the  applicants  for  (lie  position  of  teacher  laid  their  cases 
before  (lie  trustee;  ami  i.lie  primary  selection  rested  with  him,  his  choice 
being  ratified  by  the  patrons  of  the  school.  Sometimes  when  there  was  a 
decided  division  of  neighborhood  sentiment  as  to  the  merits  of  several 


Month  i.i.eo's  First  Graded  School 
This  building  is  now  used  as  a  stable,  and  the  shed  is  an  addition  of  later  years. 

candidates,  a  meeting  was  held  and  the  decision  left  to  a  majority  vote. 
Good  conduct  determined  the  length  of  service,  and  the  question  of  salary 
was  left  to  the  patrons  of  the  school;  the  average  salary  for  the  male 
teacher  of  the  earlier  years  was  .+20  a  month  and  board,  the  female  in- 
structor drawing  about  half  that  amount.  The  farm  hand  was  paid 
about  the  Name  wages,  and  the  fairly-educated  laborer  was  quite  apt  to 
prefer  a  cozy  district  schoolroom  to  outdoor  work,  especially  in  winter. 
So  there  was  seldom  any  dearth  of  district  school  teachers.  As  the  stand- 
ard of  qualification  was  raised,  the  supply  of  male  teachers  decreased, 
which  heralded  a  brighter  day  for  the  prospects  of  the  school  ma'am. 

Forerunners  of  the  High  School 

A  number  of  years  passed,  while  the  public  school  system  in  White 
County  was  gathering  strength  and  getting  into  shape,  be  fori;  high  schools 

were  established  as  an  important  department  of  the  curriculum.  Their 
place  in  the  scheme  was  taken,  for  the  time  being,  by  such  private  insti- 
tutions as   Professor  Bowman's  Graded  School,  the  Farmington  Male 


T 


HISTORY  OP  WTIITE  COUNTY  131 

and  'Female  Seminary  at  what  is  now  Burnettsville  aud  the  Brookston 
Academy.    Professor  Bowman's  school  lias  already  been  sketched. 

/  The  Farmington  Seminars 

The  Farmington  Seminary  was  founded  about  1852  b)  Isaac  Mahuriu. 
The  building  was  erected  by  a  joint-stock  association,  its  certificates  of 
stock  being  redeemable  in  tuition.  After  about  two  years,  Mr  Mahurin 
was  succeeded  by  Hugh  Nickerbocker,  who  taught  three  years,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Baldwin.  Professor  Baldwin's  administration 
of  three  years  gave  the  Seminary  a  fine  reputation  and  its  pupils  came 
from  such  places  as  Logansport,  Lafayette,  Peru,  Delphi  and  Winaniac. 
Other  teachers  followed  who  added  to  its  standing  and  it  finally  became 
the  headquarters  of  those  splendidly  conducted  normal  institutes  con- 
ducted by  such  men  as  Rev.  William  Irelan  and  Prof.  D.  Eckley  Hunter. 

Prof.  William  Irelan 

The  Burnettsville  academy  reached  the  height  of  its  fame  as  a  nor- 
mal training  school  in  1876,  when  Professor  Irelan  was  county  superin- 
tendent of  schools.  There  were  few  men  in  the  county  more  popular 
or  honored.  He  had  served  with  bravery  iu  the  Union  ranks  until  shot 
through  the  eye  at  Missionary  Ridge,  when  he  was  obliged  to  return  to 
his  home  in  Montieello.  He  served  as  county  examiner  from  1865  to 
1868,  and  in  1875,  after  the  change  in  the  law,  was  elected  county  super- 
intendent, his  only  predecessor  in  that  office  being  Prof.  George  Bow- 
man, who  also  succeeded  him.  For  many  years  the  honors  and  popular- 
ity as  educators  in  White  County  were  about  equally  divided  between 
these  two  fine  men  and  citizens.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  Professor 
Irelan  is  best  known  for  the  work  which  he  accomplished  in  the  training 
of  teachers,  during  the  '70s,  as  head  of  the  Burnettsville  institution. 

While  a  resident  of  Burnettsville,  Professor  Irelan  was  the  pastor  and 
moving  spirit  in  the  Christian  Church  at  that  place,  but  about  1886 
moved  with  his  family  to  Topeka,  Kansas,  and  several  years  later  joined 
his  daughter,  Miss  Elma  Irelan,  at  Monterey,  Mexico,  where  she  was 
stationed  as  a  missionary  of  that  denomination.  Dining  bis  absence 
fro  ii  Burnettsville,  the  church  there  of  which  he  had  been  pastor  had 
been  discontinued,  but  during  a  visit  to  Iris  former  parishioners,  made 
in  1909,  he  revived  the  church  anil  then  rejoined  his  daughter  in  Mexico, 
ll  was  under  these  circumstances  that  he  died  on  the  Dt h  of  <  letobcr,  1911, 
•  it  n  ripe  age  and  with  abundant  fruitage  to  his  credit. 

The  Brookston  Agademx 

The  Brookston  Academy  has  had  a  continuous  history  up  lo  (be  pres- 
1  ill  lime,  being  now  represented  by  the  Town  Commissioned  High  School 
<>l'  thai  place.  Dr.  John  Medaris,  suggested  to  the  county  superintend 
••lit,  during  the  later  part  of  the  Civil  war,  the  desirability  of  establishing 
■  in  institution  of  highci  learning  which  should  be  partially  supported  by 
thi'  county,  although  a  township  enterprise.  Meetings  were  held  to  inter- 
pal  Hie  citizens  in  the  movement,  and  the  response  was  so  gratifying  that 


#p 


132 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


during  the  winter  of  1865-66  $7,000  was  subscribed  toward  the  erection 
of  a  suitable  building  at  Brookston.  By  the  fall  of  1866  the  building  was 
inclosed  and  the  association  was  about  $6,000  in  debt.  Tbat  sum  was 
eventually  raised  by  the  sale  of  new  stock.  The  board  of  commissioners 
also  subscribed  to.  the  amount  of  $5,000,  under  the  following  conditions: 
"It  is  ordered  by  the  Hoard  that  $5,000  worth  of  stock  of  the  Brookstou 
Academy  be  taken  by  the  county,  upon  the  condition  that  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  said  Brookston  Academy  shall,  from  henceforth  forever, 
educate  all  orphan  children,  and  all  children  of  widows  who  are  not 
owners  of  real  estate  of  the  value  of  $500,  and  shall  be  bona  fide  residents 
of  the  county  of  White,  free  from  tuition  of  all  kinds,  until  said  children 
shall  attain  their  majority." 

With  the  $11,000  thus  realized  and  an  additional  $4,000  of  borrowed" 
money,  the  academy  building  was  completed  and  opened  in  the  fall  of 


Brookston  Academy 

1S67.  As  it.  stood  in  a  beautiful  grove  just  south  of  the  corporation,  it 
was,  for  those  times,  an  imposing  structure  of  brick,  with  castellated 
towers  in  front  at  either  corner,  and  the  main  entrance  between.  It  was 
80  by  60  feet,  in  size,  two  stories  in  height.  When  the  building  was  com- 
pleted a  debt  of  $8,000  bung  over  it  which  the  trustees  were  unable  to 
lift,  so  that  in  1873  it  was  sold  to  the  trustee  of  the  township,  who,  in 
turn,  leased  it  for  ninety-nine  years  to  the  corporation  of  Brookstou; 
that  arrangement  is  therefore  in  force  until  1972. 

When  Hie  Brookston  Academy  opened  in  1867  Professor  Hart,  a  grad- 
uate of  Yale  College  ami  formerly  principal  of  the  public  schools  .-it 
Danville,  Kentucky,  was  at  the  head  of  its  faculty ;  Miss  Serena  Ilandlcy, 
principal  of  the  grammar  department;  Miss  Sallie  Mitchell,  of  the  inter- 
mediate; .Miss  Jeru  Cook-,  of  Hi,,  primary;  .Miss  Rachel  Hayes,  assistant, 
and  .Miss  I.ida,  Oakes,  teacher  of  music.  The  first  trustees  were  John 
Medaris,  Russell  Stewart,  Samuel  Ramoy,  E.  A.  Drown,  Alfred  Ward  and 


s 


HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY  133 

G.  W.' Cornell.  Doctor  Medaris  was  for  many  years  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  and  by  far  the  most  influential  member  connected  with 
the  management  of  the  academy. 

Corn-crib  and  Regular  Schools 

Honey  Creek  and  Round  Grove  townships  did  not  join  the  class  of 
educators  until  the  second  state  constitution  had  partially  licked  into 
shape  things  educational.  The  first  schoolhouse  built  in  the  former  was 
erected  in  the  original  plat  of  Reynolds  in  1855.  It  was  a  subscription 
affair,  Benjamin  Reynold  donating  the  ground  and  Nathanial  Bunnell 
giving  $25  toward  the  building.  Miss  Nannie  Glazebrook  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  teacher  to  hold  forth  in  this  first  regular  school  in  Honey 
Creek  Township,  albeit  Miss  Ann  Braday  may,  as  tlie  story  goes,  have 
taught  in  a  big  corn-crib  in  the  summer  of  185-1.  The  crib,  which  was 
12  by  30  feet,  is  said  to  have  made  a  very  fair  summer  schoolhouse  and 
furnished  accommodations  for  twenty  pupils  during  the  three  warm 
months. 

First  Round  Grove  Sciioolhouse 

In  1857  the  Stanley  Schoolhouse,  a  frame  structure,  was  erecteu  near 
the  center  of  Round  Grove  Township.  It  w;is  10'  by  18  feet  and  Elizabeth 
Ballintyne  had  the  honor  of  opening  it. 

Present  County  Board  of  Education 

As  now  organized  and  systematized  the  public  srliools  are  under 
the  control  of  the  county  board  of  education,  consisting  of  one  trustee 
from  each  of  the  eleven  townships,  the  presidents  <>f  the  town  and  city 
school  boards  and  the  county  superintendent,  who  is  made  president  of 
the  entire  board.  The  present  county  superintendent  is  Henry  -I.  Reid, 
and  the  township  trustees  who  went  into  office  January  1,  11)15,  as  fol- 
lows: Big  Creek,  Robert  W.  Barr,  Chalmers;  Cass,  William  E.  Stillwell, 
R.  19,  Idaville;  Liberty,  Cassius  D.  Imler,  Montieello;  Jackson,  David  A. 
Seroggs,  Idaville;  Monon,  Henry  C  Thompson,  Mononj  Honey  Creek, 
Levi  Reynolds,  Reynolds;  Union,  William  Pasehcn,  Montieello;  Round 
Grove,  J.  E.  Burdge,  Brookston  ;  West  Point,  Andrew  Humphreys,  Wol- 
cott;  Prairie,  Edgar  M.  Ferguson,  Brookston;  Princeton,  B.  -1.  Dibell, 
Wolcott. 

II.  C.  Johnson  is  president  of  the  eity  school  board  of  Montieello-, 
and  the  following  are  presidents  of  the  town  hoards:  Brookston,  Laurie 
T.  Kent;  Burnetts  Creek,  John  C.  Duffey;  Monon,  Carl  C.  Middlestadt; 
Wolcott,  Charles  Martin. 

Teachers'  Association  and  Institutes 

Tlie  teaching  force  oF  the  county  is  in  close  combination  through  the 
Teachers'  Association  and  the  township  institutes.  The  president  of 
the  association  is  T.  S.  Cowger,  of  Monon,  and  the  principals  of  Hie 

township    institutes   are:    Big   Creek-,    J.    C.    Downey;    Cass,    [vy    Morris; 

Honey  Creek,  F.  E.  Young;  Jackson,  Fred  Francis ;  Liberty.  Roll  a  B<  n 


134  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

jamin;  Monon,  T.  .S.  Cowger;  Prairie,  Finis  Oilar;  Princeton,  Russell 
Wooden;  Round  Grove,  Gus  (Jollins;  Union,  each  teacher  in  turn,  prin- 
cipal; West  Point,  John  Humphreys. 

The  County  Teachers'  Institute  is  held  annually  the  last  week  in 
August  anil  the  following  dates  are  reserved  i'or  the  township  institutes: 
First  Saturday,  Big  Crcok,  Honey  Creek,  Prairie  and  Round  Grove; 
second  Saturday,  Jackson,  Princeton,  Union  and  West  Point;  third  Sat- 
urday, Cass,  Liberty  and  Monon. 

Rules  and  Regulations 

The  While  County  Board  of  Education  has  promulgated  a  set  of 
►rules  and  regulations  lor  the  government  of  the  public  schools  which 
are  worthy  of  slinly.  They  bear  with  insistence  on  the  necessity  for  the 
observance  of  orderly  and  moral  conduct,  the  restrictions  as  to  the  use 
of  tobacco  and  cigarettes  being  especially  strict,  as  witness: 

"Tobacco  shall  not  be  brought  to  school,  and  using  tobacco  on  the 
way  to  or  from  school  shall  be  considered  conclusive  evidence  that  tobacco 
was  brought  to  school. 

"Pupils,  teachers,  superintendents,  principals,  janitors  and  hack 
drivers  shall  not  use  tobacco  while  at  school  work.  The  carrying  of 
pipes  to  school  is  prohibited.  Pupils  with  the  odor  of  tobacco  on  their 
person  or  clothing  shall  be  dismissed  from  any  session  of  school  and  a 
persistent  violation  of  this  rule  shall  be  a  just  cause  for  expulsion. 

"As  to  cigarettes,  below  is  Section  1,  Chapter  223,  page  643,  of  Law 
of  1913:  'Section  1 — Be  it  enacted  by  the  general  assembly  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  under  the  full  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  by  himself  or  through  any  other  person  or  by  any 
means,  directly  or  indirectly  to  buy,  receive  or  acept  for  his  own  use  or 
the  use  of  any  other  person  whatsoever,  or  to  keep  or  own  or  to  have  in 
his  possession,  to  sell  either  as  principal  or  agent,  or  to  use  any  cigarette, 
cigarette  paper,  cigarette  wrapper  or  any  paper  or  wrapper  containing 
morphine,  nicotine,  oil  of  hemp,  or  any  deleterious  or  poisonous  ingredi- 
ents or  substance,  or  intended,  suited,  made  or  prepared  for  the  purpose 
of  being  Idled  with  tobacco  for  smoking,  or  any  substitute  for  such  ciga- 
rette paper,  cigarette  wrapper  or  other  such  paper.'  " 

The  truant  laws  are  strictly  enforced,  hygienic  measures  are  formu- 
lated and  the  modern  movement  of  encouraging  the  transformation  of 
schools  into  social  centers  is  given  full  support.  Domestic  science  and 
home  sewing  are  strongly  urged,  and  the  suggestions  as  to  getting  the 
most  practical  good  out  of  the  agricultural  course  are  as  follows:  "In 
the  one  room  schools,  only  the  boys  of  the  8th  grade  will  be  required  to 
do  the  work  in  Agriculture. 

"The  boys  in  the  7th-grade  and  girls  in  the  8th  grade  may  do  the 
work  if  the  teacher  thinks  it   advisable. 

"Do  the  work  as  outlined  in  the  State  Course  and  in  the  Tentative 
Course  of  Study  in  Agriculture.  If  the  teacher  does  not  have  a  Tenta- 
tive Course  of  Study  in  Agriculture,  he  may  get  one  of  the  county 
superintendent. 

"Special   emphasis   is  to   be   placed   OH   soils  and   cl'Ops.      Use   'I'loduc 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  135 

live  Farming'  by  Davis  as  a  text,  but  only  such  parts  as  are  needed  to 
follow  the  course. 

"Perforin  as  many  experiments  as  possible." 

Young  peoples'  reading  circles  are  warmly  encouraged  and  tins  sen- 
sible warning  is  sent  out:  "Teachers  should  see  that  children  have  clean 
games  and  sport,  both  indoors  and  out.  Every  teacher  ought  to  know 
enough  good  games  and  sports  to  be  able  to  start  one  or  more  when  the 
children  do  not  seem  to  play  some  good  game  of  their  own.  The  best  way 
to  get  rid  of  bail  games  or  unsatisfactory  play  is  to  suggest  a  good  game 
or  Sport  and  teach  them  how  to  play  it. 

"Ball,  beau-bags,  jumping-rope,  horse-shoe,  dare-base,  blind-man's 
buff,  L'ondon  Bridge,  black-man,  tag,  see-saw,  tap-ring,  drop  the  hand- 
kerchief, guessing  games,  ciphering." 

The  last  session  of  the  Indiana  Legislature  gave  the  stale  the  most 
advanced  law  on  industrial  and  vocational  education  of  any  of  the  states. 
It  made  the  age  limit  for  compulsory  attendance  at  school  sixteen  years 
instead  of  fourteen  unless  the  child  obtains  work  papers.  It  gave  the 
state  uniform  text  books  for  the  high  school.  It  created  another  class  of 
teachers  under  the  minimum  wage  law  and  several  other  laws  were  en- 
acted of  great  importance  to  the  public  schools  of  the  slate.  In  all  of 
which  progressive  legislation  White  County  is  receiving  its  due  benefit 
as  a  stable  unit  of  the  great  state  system  of  public  instruction. 

Phesent  Status  of  the  County  System 

The  last  figures  compiled  by  County  Superintendent  Keid  Eor  1915 
indicate  that  the  total  value  of  property  in  White  County  now  amounts 
to  $15,246,560,  the  enrollment  of  those  of  school  age  to  4,330,  number  of 
teachers,  124,  and  number  of  sehoolhouses,  91).     The  details  follow: 

Townships  and  Value  of 
Corporations               Enrollment     Teachers     Houses       Property 

Big  Creek  270  7  5  +1 ,280,900 

Cass    277  9  9  538,870 

Honey  Creek 268  7  8  1 , 1 1)9,380 

Jackson    276  8  5  931,330 

Liberty 276  10  9  648,410 

Monon    253  9  10  1,395,810 

Prairie   211  8  10  1,906,830 

Princeton 213  9  in  1,329,850 

Round  Grove 110  6  H  864,380 

Union   202  9  Id  1,279,440 

West  Point  212  9  9  1 ,250,080 

Hrookston  269  •".  1  375,280 

liurnettsville    239  I  I  185,760 

Monon 384  8  I  428,730 

Wolcott 29.")  6  1  374,470 

Monticello    575  10  2  1,:!  17.0 10 

Totals 4,330  121  99  $15,246,560 


136  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

IJk.  William  S.  EIaymond 

No  more  learned  or  versatile  character  lias  ever  cast  his  lot  with  the 
progress  of  While  County  than  Dr.  William  S.  Ilaymond,  successful  phy- 
sician and  sure,  (in,  mathematician,  linguist,  railroad  president,  congress- 
man, orator  and  author,  Two  decades  of  his  remarkable  career  were  spent 
in  Almitieello;  in  that  city  was  laid  the  foundation  of  his  later  and  broader 
fame,  which  was  honestly  and  fairly  earned  as  a  resident  of  Indianapolis, 
but  toward  whatever  place  he  railed  his  home,  the  affection  and  admira- 
tion of  his  old  friends  in  White  County  were  earnestly  directed.  His 
death  at  the  state  capital  occurred  December  23,  1885,  in  bis  sixty-third 
year. 

From  the  many  obituaries  and  eulogies  which  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  state,  the  following  from  the  Indianapolis  Journal  of  Decem- 
ber 26,  L885j  is  selected  as  both  concise  and  complete :  "The  funeral  of  Dr. 
William  S.  Ilaymond will  take  place  from  his  late  residence,  No.  399 
College  avenue,  this  afternoon  at  1 :30.  He  was  born  in  Harrison  county, 
near  Clarksburg,  Virginia,  February  20,  1823.  At  the  age  of  twenty, 
though  only  possessed  of  a  common  school  education,  he  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  accomplished  mathematicians  in  the  State.  At  twenty- 
three,  be  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and  after  qualifying  himself  for 
his  profession  moved  West  and  located  at  Monticello,  where,  in  1852, 
he  began  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery,  soon  after  which  he  grad- 
uated at  r.ellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  New  York.  He  soon  came 
to  rank  with  the  foremost  men  of  his  profession  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  state,  and  at  different  times  contributed  valuable  papers  to  the 
medical  journals.  While  busily  engaged  in  his  practice,  he  daily  devoted 
himself  to  the  study  of  languages,  his  course  embracing  Latin,  Greek, 
French,  German,  Spanish  and  Italian.  He  also  made  it  a  regular  habit 
from  year  to  year  to  iv\  iew  geometry  and  other  branches  of  mathematics. 
In  the  fall  of  186J  he  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  in  the  Forty-sixth 
Indiana  Regiment,  lie  remained  in  the  army  until  1863,  when,  by  reason 
of  ill  health,  he  was  compelled  to  return  home.  In  1866  he  received  the 
unanimous  nomination  by  the  Democrats  and  Liberals  as  their  candidate 
for  the  State  Senate,  but   was  defeated  for  election. 

"In  1  S7l2  \h-.  Haymoud  was  elected  president  of  the  Indianapolis. 
Delphi  and  Chicago  Railroad  Company,  and  held  that  office  until  his 
election  to  Congress  two  years  later.  He  was  the  first  person  who  saw 
clearly  the  importance  of  opening  a  through  railroad  line  which  would 
give  the  Western  Slates  direct  trade,  by  way  of  Port  Royal,  with  South 
America,  the  West  Indies  ami  Europe.  On  this  subject  he  addressed,  by 
special  invitation,  n  joint  railroad  convention  at  Augusta,  Georgia,  in 
.May,  1873.  The  project  having  attracted  widespread  attention,  a  com- 
pany was  formed  of  which  Dr.  FTnymond  was  made  president.  At  a 
large  railroad  convention  held  in  Chicago  in  October,  1873,  the  proposed 
road  was  strongly  favored.  Bankers  of  large  capital  and  credit  had 
pledged  substantial  aid  to  the  enterprise,  when  the  panic  inaugurated 
by  the  failure  of  Jay  Cooke  so  unsettled  financial  matters  that  operations 

Were   suspended. 


HISTORY  OF  "WHITE  COUNTY  137 

"Jn  1871  Dr.  Haymond  received,  without  solicitation,  the  unanimous 
nomination  to  Congress  from  the  Truth  (Schuyler  Colfax's)  district,  and 
was  triumphantly  elected — the  lirst  Democratic  victory  in  twenty-two 
years.  He  retired  at  the  close  of  the  terra  March  1,  1877.  His  eulogy  on 
the  death  of  the  speaker,  Hon  Michael  C.  Kerr,  was  pronounced  by  com- 
petent judges  the  finest  literary  effort  made  on  the  occasion.  He  was 
renominated  for  Congress  in  187G,  but  met  with  a  serious  accident  about 
the  last  of  August  of  that  year  which  came  near  terminating  his  life, 
confining  him  to  his  bed  for  several  months.  Tie  was  defeated,  the  dis- 
trict'being  largely  Republican  and  because  he  was  unable  to  give  his 
personal  effort  and  presence  to  the  campaign. 

"The' Doctor  was  endowed  with  a  rare  executive  ability  and  as  an 
organizer  had  few  superiors.  In  deportment  he  was  modest,  suave  and 
rather  reticent;  but  his  social  qualities  were  pleasant  and  lasting  to 
those  who  made  his  acquaintance.  About  ten  years  ago,  desiring  to 
occupy  a  new  field  of  labor  and  lessen  the  physical  drudgery  under 
which  he  was  tiring  through  professional  labors,  be  removed  to  this  city. 
He  took  an  active  and  leading  part  in  the  organization  of  the  Central 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  of  this  city,  with  which,  in  various 
positions,  he  was  connected  until  his  death." 

■  .To  the  foregoing,  the  editor  may  add  that  while  in  Congress  Doctor 
Haymond  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  mosl  widely  informed 
men  in  that  body.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Commit  tee  on  Banking  and 
Currency,  which,  at  that  time  especially,  was  dealing  with  matters  vital 
to  the  stability  of  the  country.  It  is  stated,  on  good  authority,  that  upon 
one  occasion  when  a  certain  congressman  went  to  Speaker  Cox  to  consult 
him  about  some  financial  matter,  he  gave  this  advice:  "You  go  and  sec 
Haymond;  he  knows  more  about  finance  than  any  man  on  the  commit- 
tee." The  doctor's  friends,  who  know  of  his  characteristic  thoroughness, 
may  well  believe  the  story. 

In  Doctor  Haymond 's  list  of  accomplishments  mention  should  also 
be  made  of  the  "History  of  Indiana,"  of  which  he  is  the  author,  which 
was  published  in  1879.  It  contains  much  valuable  matter,  well  arranged, 
but  largely  deals  with  civil  and  political  matters  marshaled  under  the 
different  gubernatorial  administrations. 

Looking  at  the  subject  from  all  sides,  no  man  who  has  ever  resided  in 
White  County  and  gone  forth  to  participate  in  movements  high  and 
broad  in  their  scope,  has  earned  a  more  enduring  reputation  than  that 
of  Dr.  W.  S.  Haymond. 

CnARLES  S.  Hartman 

Hon.  Charles  R.  Hartman,  a  native  of  Monticello,  where  be  was  born 
March  7,  18(11,  gained  prominence  in  the  West.  He  was  edncnterl  in  the 
public  schools  of  bis  native  town  and  his  marriage  to  .Miss  flora  B. 
lines,  of  Monticello,  as  well  as  bis  admission  to  the  bar,  fell  in  1884.  As 
be  also  moved  to  I'.ozcman  to  enter  practice  in  thai  year,  it  certainly 
made  a  distinct  division  in  his  life. 


138  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Mr.  Hartman,  although  so  young,  came  into  rapid  notice,  and  the  very 
year  of  thus  becoming  a  resident  of  Gallatin  County,  Montana,  was 
elected  to  the  probate  judgeship.  After  serving  a  term  of  two  years  on 
that  bench,  he  resumed  practice  as  a  lawyer  and  in  1888  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  Territorial  Legislature.  Although  defeated,  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  the  following  year,  under 
which  Montana  Vas  admitted  to  the  Union  of  states.  Mr.  Hartman  served 
through  the  Fifty-third  and  the  Uil'ty-lith  sessions  of  Congress,  his  terms 
commencing  in  1893  and  1899,  respectively.  He  then  returned  to  his 
large  law  practice  in  Bozeman  and  in  1913  President  Wilson  appointed 
him  minister  to  represent  the  United  States  in  Ecuador  where  he  now 
resides. 

Rev:  William  E.  Biedebwolf 

The  editor  also  presents  with  pardonable  pride  a  human  product  of 
White  County,  whose  enthusiasm  and  inspiration  for  the  higher  forces 
of  life  are  spreading  his  ( Ihristianizing  influence  over  the  land;  reference 
is  made  to  Rev.  William  10.  Biederwolf,  whose  home  is  still  in  Monticello, 
but  the  headquarters  of  his  evangelical  work,  Chicago.  Thence  he  sends 
out  his  individual  literature  through  the  Glad  Tidings  Publishing  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  is  the  head,  and  formulates  his  plans  for  bis  cam- 
paigns against  the  common  enemy  ;  his  weapons  are  an  all-absorbing  per- 
sonal conviction  that  he  is  lighting  for  God  and  truth,  with  a  thorough 
intellectual  and  theological  training  and  a  natural  eloquence  behind  his 
faith;  an  accomplished  patient,  helpful  and  earnest  wife  as  a  sympathetic 
and  tactful  partner  in  all  his  work;  and  his  Christian  assistants  who  are 
specially  assigned  to  evangelical  work  at  different  points  in  bis  itinerary, 
which  embraces  every  section  of  the  United  States.  Previous  to  the  out- 
break of  the  world -war  be  was  under  an  engagement  to  engage  in  evan- 
gelical work  in  London,  hut  that  dire  event  made  all  European  plans 
impossible. 

Mr.  Biederwolf  is  of  German  blood,  as  his  name  implies,  and  was 
born  at  Monticello,  September  21),  1867.  He  graduated  from  Wabash 
College  in  1890,  from  Princeton  College  in  1894  aud  from  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  in  1S9.r>.  lie  rounded  out  his  mental  and  theologi- 
cal training  with  post-graduate  studies  in  various  German  universities 
covering  two  years.  The  funds  which  enabled  him  to  enjoy  this  scholas- 
tic privilege  were  derived  from  the  New  Testament  Fellowship  which  he 
had  won  at  the  Princeton  School  of  Theology.  In  1897,  the  year  follow- 
ing his  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  Casad,  of  Monticello,  he  entered  the  Presby- 
terian ministry  and  was  culled  to  the  Broadway  Church,  at  Logans- 
port.  At.  the  second  call  for  volunteers  during  the  Spanish-American 
war  he  offered  his  services  as  chaplain  of  the  Cue  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
lirsl  Indiana  Regiment.  In  thai  capacity  he  served  six  months  in  the 
United  Stales  and  a  like  period  in  Cuba,  after  which  he  returned  to  the 
Logansport  Church  and  continued  his  pastorate  there  until  1900. 

In  the  year  named  Mr.  Biederwolf  resigned  from  the  pulpit  to 
give  himself  to  the  cause  of  evangelization,  in  which  he  is  one  of  the 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  139 

foremost  figures  in  America.  He  is  president  of  the  Interdenominational 
Association  of  Evangelists;  general  secretary  of  the.  Family  Altar 
League;  general  secretary  of  the  Evangelistic  Commission  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  America;  and  a  director  of  the  Winona 
(Ind.)  Assembly  and  Bible  Conference  and  the  Industrial  Evangelical 
Foundation.    He  is  a  prohibitionist  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word. 

The  books  which  Mr.  Biederwolf  has  written  and  publishes  through 
the  Glad  Tidings  Publishing  Company  are:  A  Help  to  the  Study  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer?;  The  Growing  Christian; 
The  Christian  and  Amusements;  The  White  Life;  The  Square  Man;  Un- 
varnished Facts  About  Christian  Science;  Russell  ism  Unveiled  and  Spir- 
itualism. He  also  issues  the  Family  Altar  Magazine,  a  monthly  publica- 
tion and  the  official  organ  of  the  Family  Altar  League. 


110 


[LISTORY  OP  VVIIITE  COUNTY 


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Specimen  Cattle  and  Hues  op  White  County 


CHAPTER  IX 

COUNTY  SOCIETIES 

County  Agricultural  Society — Pioneer  Live  Stock  Men — Local 
Agricultural  Societies — Initial  Meeting  in  Big  Cheek  Township 
— Fair  of  the  Tri-County  Farmers'  Association — White  County 
Society  Organized — First  and  Best  County  Fair — The  Second 
Fair — Division  Over  County  Seat  Removal — Attempts  at  Revival 
— The  Old  Settlers'  Association — First  Meeting  at  John  Burns' 
Grove — First  Known  Officers — President  George  A.  Spencer — 
First  Well-ordered  Association — Pioneers  of  1829-67 — White 
County  Historical  Society — White  County  Medical  Society — Dr. 
John  W.  Medaris — Dr.  Madison  T.  Didl  ake. 

There  are  several  societies  of  county-wide  interest  and  influence,  the 

efforts  and  aets  of  which  are  both  worthy  of  record.  Some  of  their  aims, 
laudable  though  they  he,  have  failed  of  accomplishment  from  lack  of 
membership  and  financial  means;  but  the  future  may  still  bring  realiza- 
tion to  such  efforts,  which  have  been  directed  through  co-operative  chan- 
nels toward  the  education  and  improvement  of  the  citizens  of  the  county, 
either  in  specialties  or  in  general. 

County  Agricultural  Society 

No  organization  of  that  character  was  founded  earlier  or  more  per- 
sistently supported  by  a  chosen  few  than  the  Agricultural  Society  and 
its  practical  manifestation,  the  county  fair.  Now  it  seemed  alive;  then 
dead;  perhaps  the  next  step  was  a  revival,  and  the  following  a  decline; 
so  that  for  many  years  neither  the  farmers  nor  the  townsmen  knew  what 
to  expect.  The  society  is  now  supposed  to  be  sleeping,  albeit  the  general 
sentiment  is  growing  that  it  should  be  awake  and  doing. 

Pioneer  Live  Stock  Men 

County  agricultural  societies  were  authorized  by  enactment  of  the 
Slate  Legislature  in  1838.    The  farmers  and  live  stock  men,  especially  of 

Honey  Creek.  Big  Creek  and  Union  townships,  held  a  number  of  t- 

ings,  but  were  not  strong  enough  in  numbers  to  organize  at  thai  early 
time.  Besides  raising  barely  enough  grain  for  their  family  consumption, 
tlie  agricultural  activities  of  White  County  for  some  twuiity  years  after 
its  organization  consisted  largely  in  raising  horses,  cattle  and  hogs  for 

Ml 


142  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  markets  ill  Cincinnati,  Pittsburgh,  Philadelplua  ami  New  York. 
Sometimes  the  live  stock  was  fattened  for  eastern  parties;  sometimes 
raise!  by  the  home  farmers  and  driven  to  the  East.  One  of  the  first 
men  to  make  tile  venture  of  driving  Stock  to  the  eastern  markets  was 
Sylvamis  VauVooret,  of  Reynolds,  Id  the  fall  of  1849,  he  started  a 
mixed  drove  of  cattle  and  horses  East,  with  no  definite  market  in  view, 
and  eontinued  Ids  journey  as  far  as  New  York  City  before  lie  was  able 
to  sell  at  satisfactory  prices. 

Hut  these  ventures,  as  a  rule,  proved  to  be  unprofitable,  and  the  farm- 
ers who  grazed  the  herds  of  eastern  owners  on  the  free  range  got  into  all 
kinds  of  wrangles  as  to  compensation;  the  consequence  was  that  along 
in  the  '50s  they  commenced  to  improve  their  home  stock  and  own  the 
herds  and  droves  for  which  they  eared.  These  pioneer  live  stock  men 
most  favored  the  Morgan,  Lexington  and  Copper  Bottom  horses;  Short 
Horn,  Durham  and  Hereford  eattle,  and  the  Berkshire  and  Cheshire 
hogs.  The  first  men  to  give  their  serious  attention  to  the  improvement  of 
stock  in  the  county  were  Samuel  Alkire  and  John  Barr,  of  Prairie 
Township,  cattlemen;  John  Burns,  Philip  Wolverton,  Jonathan  High 
and  Benjamin  Reynolds,  Big  Creek,  who  bred  cattle,  horses,  hogs  and 
sheep;  Isaac  Leahy,  Wist  Point  Township,  horses;  Peter  Price  and  John 
Roberts,  Dnioa  Township,  and  Isaac  Adams,  horses,  cattle  and  hogs; 
James  EC.  and  William  Wilson,  Monon,  the  same;  and  Christian  Vande- 
venter  and  Robert  and  Crystal  Scott,  Liberty  anil  Cass  townships,  hogs 
and  cattle. 

Local  Agricultural  Societies 

The  result  was  that  before  long  eastern  buyers  came  regularly  to 
White  County,  instead  of  vice  versa,  and  the  home  farmers  and  live  stock 
men  commenced  again  to  talk  about  organizing  a  County  Agricultural 
Society.  The  townsmen,  many  of  whom  had  agricultural  interests,  also 
joined  in  the  movement.  The  people  of  Monticello  and  Reynolds  were 
particular  enthusiastic,  the  People's  Agricultural  Society  being  organ- 
ized in  the  former  place  in  the  late  Tills  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  agri- 
culture, horticulture  and  stock  bleeding  in  the  county. 

Initial  Meeting  in  P.iu  Creek  Township 

But  the  movement  which  led  directly  to  the  organization  of  a  county 
society  originated  in  Big  Creek  Township,  the  home  of  George  A.  Spencer 
and  Benjamin  Reynolds.  At  a  meeting  held  on  the  13th  of  October,  1857, 
of  m  liich  Albert  S.  While  was  chairman  and  B.  D.  Smith,  secretary,  it.  was 
resolved  "that  Ibis  meeting  deem  it  expedient  that  an  effort  be  made  to 
organize  an  Agricultural  Society  Cor  White  county,  and  that  the  citizens 
of  l  he  county  be  requested  to  assemble  at  Monticello,  on  Saturday,  Novem- 
ber 14th,  a1  noon,  to  consult  upon  the  subject,  and,  if  deemed  advisable. 
to  take  the  proper  steps  for  the  organization  of  such  society.  A  general 
attendance  from  each  township  is  requested." 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  ip; 

Fair  of  tije  Tim-County  Farmers'  Association 

In  the  meantime  the  Farmers'  Association,  which  had  been  organized 
in  the  preceding  February,  met  at  Burnettsville  with  a  membership  ol 
about  forty,  and  ou  November  7th  had  an  exhibition  or  fair  at  thai 
place.  Tins  appears  to  be  the  lirst  event  t'  the  kind  in  White  Count} 
and,  notwithstanding  rather  inclement  weather,  a  fair  attendance  of 
spectators  and  exhibitors  was  reported  from  Cass,  White  and  Jasper 
counties,  which  constituted  the  territory  covered  by  the  association.  The 
exhibits  embraced  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  vegetables  and  grain  and 
specimens  of  domestic  work. 

White  County  Society  Organized 

But  the  people  of  White  County  felt  that  they  were  strong  enough 
to  have  a  society  and  a  fair  of  their  own;  hence  the  Monticello  meeting 
of  November  14th.  It  was  held  at  the  courthouse.  Judge  David  Turpit: 
presided  and  addressed  the  meeting  on  the  necessity  of  organizing  u 
County  Agricultural  Society.  Committees  on  articles  of  association  and 
membership  were  appointed,  after  which  an  adjournment  was  taken 
until  December  7th.  On  that  day  the  society  was  formed  for  the  "  Pro- 
motion of  the  interests  of  agriculture,  manufactures  and  the  arts  in 
this  county."  A  constitution  was  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  regu- 
lations prescribed  by  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  the  following 
officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  year:  President,  Albert  S.  White;  vice 
president,  Lucius  Pierce ;  treasurer,  Randolph  Brearly;  directors — li.  \V. 
Sill,  Honey  Creek;  Anderson  Irons,  West  Point;  John  B.  Bunnell, 
Princeton;  C.  Hayes,  Prairie;  John  C.  Hughes,  Liberty;  W.  II.  King, 
Cass;  James  Elliott,  Jackson;  Peter  Price,  Union;  A.  A.  Cole,  Motion, 
and  George  A.  Spencer,  Big  Creek. 

First  and  Best  County  Fair 

At  various  meetings  held  within  the  following  four  months  ('1111111111 
tecs  were  appointed  to  prepare  a  premium  list  for  the  county  fair  to  be 
held  in  the  coming  autumn  and  to  procure  grounds  and  erect  the  neci 
sary  buildings  for  the  exhibition  of  live  stock,  products  of  the  farm  and 
garden  and  the  display  of  domestic  manufactures.      In  the  spring  ol 
1858  the  directors  received  the  reports  of  the  committees,   from   which 
the  cheerful  prospect  evolved  that,  after  building  a  portion  of  the  pens 
and  sheds  and  thereby  draining  the  treasury,  it   would   be  necessary   t" 
raise  $4,000  to  meet  the  premiums  which  had  been  offered.     The  strain 
was  eased   somewhat  by   substituting   diplomas    for   cash    premium 
many  articles,  the  change  being  generally  accepted  with  good  },''""'' 

prize  ribbons  could  be  kept  for  future  display  and  glory,  while  u-\ 

could  not. 

The  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  reported  thai   IVtci    l'i 
had  generously  donated  ;|  forty-acre  trad  of  laud  aboul  half  a  mil. 


1 1 I  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

of  town  on  the  north  side  of  the" highway,  and  that  buildings  were  so  far 
advanced  that  they  would  be  ready  for  occupancy  by  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber, The  time  fixed  for  holding  the  fair  was  the  last  week  in  that  month, 
when  it  was  assumed  that  the  --rains  and  vegetables  of  the  county  would 
be  sufficiently  matured  to  be  placed  on  exhibition  to  the  best  advantage. 

This  first  fair  was  a  grand  success,  despite  the  fact  that  the  country 
bad  not  yet  recovered  from  the  monetary  panic  of  1857,  for  the  general 
election  was  at  hand  and  various  candidates  for  state  and  county  offices 
were  in  attendance.  That  feature  of  itself  drew  many  to  the  fair.  The 
exhibition  was  a  novelty  and  was  really  creditable.  Furthermore,  the 
funds  which  the  people  brought  with  them  purposely  to  spend  were 
enhanced  by  generous  contributions  from  office-seekers.  No  fair  was 
therefore  more  of  a  success  than  the  first. 

One  iu  attendance  wrote  of  the  exhibition,  years  afterward,  in  this 
strain:  "The  exhibits  of  grain,  vegetables  and  farm  products  were  ex- 
tensive. Wagon  loads  of  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  cabbages,  pumpkins, 
squash,  corn,  oats,  wheal  and  rye  were  brought  in  by  the  farmers  and 
entered  for  premiums.  The  breeders  of  fine  stock — cattle,  horses,  hogs 
and  sheep — were  well  represented.  There  were  many  men  living  in  the 
county  wlio  bad  for  a  long  time  made  a  specialty  in  the  breeding  of  the 
best  slock  obtainable,  and  to  them  we  are  indebted  for  the  high  repute  of 
White  County  in  the  production  of  the  best  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and 
swine  of  any  of  her  sister  counties  in  this  part  of  the  State. 

"But  horses,  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep  were  not  the  only  stock  on  exhi- 
bition at  our  Fair.  Chickens,  turkeys,  geese  and  Guinea  fowls  were  also 
brought  and  entered  in  their  classes  for  premiums.  The  woman  depart- 
ment was  no)  neglected  either.  Premiums  were  offered  for  home-made 
laces,  embroideries,  quilts,  bedspreads,  woolen  socks  and  other  wearing 
apparel;  also  for  the  best  live  pounds  of  butter,  the  best  loaf  of  bread, 
the  best,  cake,  the  best  home-made  cheese  and  many  other  articles  involv- 
ing the  culinary  art." 

The  unexpected  success  of  the  County  Agricultural  Society  in  its 
first  venture  at  holding  a  fair  made  the  managers  quite  sanguine  of  the 
future,  and  bi  arch  was  immediately  instituted  for  permanent  grounds. 

Tjue  Second  Fair 

The  second  fair  held  at  the  Montieello  grounds  in  1859  was  less 
encouraging  for  several  reasons.  Times  had  become  really  hard;  the 
country  was  Hooded  with  worthless  money;  Wild-Cat  banks  were  wind- 
ing up  their  unbusinesslike  affairs  everywhere,  and  stores  and  manu- 
factories wore  either  failing  or  reefing  their  sails  in  an  endeavor  to 
weather  the  .storm,  (ioo.l  money  was  at  such  a  discount  that  the  few 
banks  which  had  conducted  their  business  within  reason  were  grimly 
holding  oil  to  it,  although  constantly  beseiged  by  business  men  who 
were  stdl  solvent,  but  could  hardly  keep  afloat  without  a  medium  of 
exchange  of  .some  kind. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  145 

Division  Over  County  Seat  Removal 

Then  there  was  the  prevailing  agitation  over  the  transfer  of  the 
county  seat  from  Montieello  to  Reynolds,  which  divided  the  member- 
ship of  the  County  Agricultural  Society  and  threatened  to  disrupt  it. 
But  these  differences  were  finally  compromised,  although  the  move- 
ment had  its  retarding  effect.  Neither  did  the  second  fair  present  a 
drawing  card  in  the  presence  of  public  speakers  whom  the  people  of  the 
county  were  eager  to  hear,  as  no  election  of  importance  was  pending. 

Despite  these  drawbacks  the  exhibits  were  most  creditable,  those  in 
the  lines  of  agricultural  products,  machinery,  manufacturers  and  stock 
being  superior  to  those  of  the  first  fair.  About  this  time  the  first  thresh- 
ing machines  were  appearing  in  the  grain  fields  of  White  County  farm- 
ers. They  were  operated  by  horses.  It  is  hard  to  realize,  in  this  con- 
nection, that  it  was  twenty  years  after  the  county  was  organized  that 
threshing  machines  commenced  to  be  manufactured  in  the  United  State's. 
Reverting  to  the  county  fair  of  1859,  the  truth  is  that  its  exhibits  were 
good,  but  the  attendance  was  very  poor,  and  the  society  received  a  blow 
which  seemed  to  benumb  its  activities. 

The  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  committee  on  grounds  and  the  society 
generally  was  that  the  site  of  the  county  fair  should  be  near  the  county 
seat,  and,  as  Reynolds  and  Montieello  were  still  contending  for  that 
honor,  the  choice  of  grounds  was  greatly  complicated;  in  fact,  a  decision 
was  never  made.  The  citizens  favoring  Reynolds  had  offered  the  society 
forty  acres  of  land  near  that  place,  where  a  fair  was  afterward  held,  and 
further  agreed  to  aid  in  its  improvement,  provided  the  society  would 
make  it  a  permanent  location  for  the  county  fair  to  be  held  in  the  future. 
A  majority  of  the  committee,  however,  was  opposed  to  Reynolds,  either 
as  a  location  for  the  county  seat  or  the  county  fair,  and  voted  to  post- 
pone the  purchase  of  fair  grounds  until  the  state  of  the  treasury  should 
warrant. 

Attempts  at  Revival 

That  time  never  came  and,  although  fairs  were  held  for  several  years 
afterward,  the  County  Agricultural  Society  was  finally  dissolved.  An 
efforl  was  made  to  revive  it  in  1874,  at  a  time  when  the  people  were 
just  recovering  from  the  panic  of  1873.  Several  citizens  of  Montieello 
leased  a  tract  of  land  from  William  Rothrock,  a  mile  south  of  town, 
prepared  the  grounds,  advertised  the  enterprise  ex  ■■nsively,  offered 
liberal  premiums  to  exhibitors  and  held  the  fair.  Although  it  was  a 
success  and  resulted  in  leaving  several  hundred  dollars  in  the  treasury, 
the  farmers  and  stockmen  of  the  county  did  not  follow  up  the  move- 
ment, and  no  attempt  has  since  been  made  to  hold  a  county  agricul- 
tural fair.  Various  local  fairs  are  held  at  such  points  as  Brookston, 
Motion,  Woleott  and  Montieello,  the  monthly  sale  of  horses  at  the  county 
■•••it  being  perhaps  the  most  prosperous  of  these  enterprises.  The  advis- 
ability of  again  organizing  a  society  which  shall  combine  all  these  inter- 
•'s|  -  'Hid,  in  other  ways,  stimulate  agricultural,  horticultural  and  live 


146  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

stock  matters  throughout  the  county,  is  periodically  discussed  and  may 
result  in  another  and  a  stronger  County  Agricultural  Society. 

Tjit;  Old  Settlers'  Association 

The  old  settlers  of  White  County  have  been  organized  since  1838, 
their  annual  meetings  having  always  been  occasions  of  warm  sociability 
and  great,  interest.  Since  the  fall  of  1911  the  contributions  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  county  contained  in  the  speeches  and  papers  prepared  by 
the  old  settlers  have  been  preserved  through  the  efforts  of  the  White 
County  Historical  Society,  which  was  organized  in  that  year.  That 
organization  has  been  a  credit  to  its  name,  and  among  its  other  good 
works  is  its  practical  support  given  to  this  history  of  White  County. 

First  Meeting  at  John  Burns'  Grove 

All  the  ace anils  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Association  state  that  its  "first 
organized  meeting"  took  plain;  at  the  grove  of  George  Spencer,  Big 
Creek  Township,  in  September,  1858,  but  make  no  mention  of  a  gather- 
ing held  in  the  previous  month  at  the  grove  of  John  Burns,  on  the 
Grand  Prairie.  -Mi'.  Burns,  a  genial  Ohio  man,  then  in  his  fiftieth  year, 
had  settled  in  what  afterward  became  Big  Creek  Township  as  early  as 
1830.  Be  had  I  lieu  barely  passed  his  majority,  although  he  had  been 
married  four  years.  Upon  bis  80-acre  tract  he  erected  a  little  log  cabin, 
with  dirt  floors,  but  at  the  time  of  the  old  settlers'  gathering  in.  his 
grove  he  had  a  large,  finely  improved  farm,  and  eventually  became  the 
most  extensive  land  owner  and  live-stock  breeder  in  Big  Creek  Township. 

The  first  meeting  of  old  settlers,  whether  it  could  be  called  organized 
or  not,  was  held  in  the  Burns  grove  about  the  middle  of  August,  1858, 
as  staled  in  a  communication  published  in  the  White  County  Jackson- 
ian,  August  18th  of  that  month.  The  account  of  this  initial  meeting  is 
written  so  unaffectedly  as  to  be  refreshing,  despite  the  formality  of  some 
of  the  expressions.  It  is  therefore  reproduced:  "On  Friday  last  a  most 
agreeable  entertainment  came  off  at  the  grove  of  Air.  John  Burns  on 
the  Grand  Prairie,  Information  had  spread  abroad  that  there  would 
be  an  'old  settlers'  festival'  at  the  time  and  place  above  mentioned,  and 
early  in  the  forenoon  the  settlers,  old  and  young,  came  flocking  in  from 
all  directions  until  at  10  o'clock,  when  the  organization  took  place,  quite 
a  mass  of  citizens,  male  ,md  female,  had  collected  on  the  grounds. 

"Judge  Test  was  chosen  President  of  the  day,  who,  in  a  succinct 
and  felicitous  manner,  staled  the  object  of  the  meeting  and  in  turn  the 
old  settlers  <>f  White  county  told  the  tales  of  their  early  adversities,  the 
successes  thai  attended  their  perseverance  and  industry,  their  many 
privations  and  discomforts;  how  glad  they  were  to  see  the  face  of  a 
friend,  or  that  of  a  stranger,  if  he  had  even  come  from  the  same  State 
they  had  left;  the  difficulties  of  obtaining  supplies  for  necessary  wants. 

the   places  whence   Ihey  came,  etc.,  etc. 

"I  assure  you,  .Mr.  fMitor,  of  the  many  entertainments  in  which    I 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  147 

have  participated  I  never  partook  of  more  enjoyment  than  upon  this 
occasion.  Each  old  settler,  in  a  style  of  unvarnished  frankness  and 
truth,  gave  his  experience;  and  to  me  what  they  said  was  more  refresh- 
ing than  if  they  had  clothed  their  language  with  flowers  of  faultless 
beauty  and  formed  their  sentences  with  the  precision  of  a  well-arranged' 
garland.  And  it  was  pleasant  to  look  upon  the  form,  the  honest  brow, 
the  well-deve"loped  man-,  now  numbered  among  the  patriarchs  of  the 
county  and  who  can  look  back  with  so  much  enjoyment  upon  a  life  well 
spent  in  the  service  of  Ins  country  and  for  his  posterity.  In  these  exor- 
cises the  clergy  also  added  their  experience,  and  opened  and  closed  the 
ceremonies  with  an  invocation  of  all  good  and  all  peace  to  those  present, 
and  all  mankind. 

"The  ladies — God  bless  them! — were  out  in  large  numbers,  giving 
a  zest  and  affording  a  brightness  to  e\  try  surrounding  scene  ;  for  without 
these  angels  of  beauty  what  would  be  the  life  of  man? 

"The  vocal  music  was  good,  and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  did 
the  singing  acquitted  themselves  handsomely. 

"The  presiding  officer.  Judge  Test,  who  had  said  so  many  good 
things,  closed  the  proceedings  before  dinner  with  many  happy  remarks 
well  adapted  to  the  occasion,  including  his  own  backwoods  experience,  all 
of  which  was  well  received  and  rapturously  applauded  by  the  audience. 

"In  accordance  with  the  arrangements  prescribed  by  the  committer, 
the  company  repaired  to  the  well-arranged  dinner  table,  one  hundred 
yards  long,  covered  with  the  substantial  and  luxuries  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  furnished  by  the  ladies,  whose  hearts  always  overflow 
with  kindness  and  liberality,  and  by  the  bounty  of  the  hospitable  pro- 
prietor of  the  grove,  Mr.  Burns.  The  provisions  were  discussed  with 
much  relish,  and  many  thanks  were  littered  to  the  old  settlers  for  tin- 
comforts  and  plenty  which  their  industry  and  hardships  had  been  the 
means  of  bestowing. 

"After  the  festivities  at  the  table,  the  party  returned  to  the  stand 
where  appropriate  seutiments  were  given  and  received  with  much  good 
cheer;  and  when  the  ceremonies  of  the  day  were  pronounced  closed  the 
young  and  gay,  with  light  and  buoyant  hearts,  repaired  to  an  eligible 
part  of  the  grove  and  'tripped  the  light,  fantastic  toe'  so  merrily  as  t<> 
make  them  forget,  until  the  sun  sat  in  the  prairies,  the  toils  and  priva- 
tions of  their  progenitors.  But  if  these  amusements  of  the  young  wen- 
lively  and  gay,  they  were  perfectly  innocent  ami  harmless,  with  which 
no  sensible  person  should  find  the  slightest  fault. 

"And  shall  I  speak  of  this  lovely  grove — this  delightful  spot  .'  lien- 
is  the  residence  of  our  hospitable  friend,  Mr.  Burns,  which  he  sought 
it  long  while  ago  when  there  were  few  to  dispute  his  wise  selection  of  ;r 
home— and  he,  too,- is  an  old  settler.  Tlis  farm  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
prettiest  in  the  county,  and  his  liberality  toward  the  old  settlers  and 
his  neighbors  shows  that  he  lias  a  heart  To  enjoy  it.  And,  indeed  all 
around  his  chosen  residence  appear  green  fields,  well  cultivated  Farms. 
lovely   groves,  cattle  on   a   thousand   hills,   presenting  an   amphitheatre 


148  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

of  enchantment.     Travel  where  you  will,  at  this  season  of  the  year  you 
cannot  look  upon  a  more  lovely  landscape. 

"What  is  more  rational,  what  more  entertaining,  what  more  inter- 
esting than  similar  gatherings  to  this,  when  the  harvest  is  over  and  the 
husbandman  is  at  his  ease?" 

First  Known  Officers 

If  may  he  that  a  regular  organization  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Assoeia- 
tion  was  effected  at  tin-  meetings  said  to  have  been  held  at  the  grove  of 
George  A.  Spencer,  one  of  the  first  three  pioneers  of  Big  Creek  Town- 
ship—  the  gatherings  of  September,  1858,  and  September,  1859. 
Although  several  hundred  people  are  reported  to  have  been  present  at 
the  latter  gathei-ing,  there  is  no  record  of  its  proceedings.  The  first 
officers  known  to  have  been  elected  were  those  chosen  on  September  8, 
1860;  also  at  Spencer's  grove.  At  that  time  Mr.  Spencer  was  himself 
chosen  president  of  the  association;  Thomas  Spencer,  John  Roberts  and 
William  M.  Kenton,  vice  presidents;  Lucius  Pierce,  marshal;  J.  J. 
Barnes,  secretary.  At  this  meeting  addresses  were  delivered  by  Charles 
II.  Test,  Alfred  Reed  and  Rev.  IT.  C.  McBride. 

President  George  A.  Spencer 

George  A.  Spencer,  whose  name  has  already  appeared  so  often,  was 
for  nearly  forty  years  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  county. 
He  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but  in  his  youth  became  a  resident 
of  Perry  County,  Ohio.  There  he  was  afterward  married  and  served 
in  the  War  of  1812.  In  1829  he  walked  from  his  Ohio  home  to  a  locality 
about,  three'. miles  west  of  the  Tippecanoe,  where  he  decided  to  settle 
with  his  family.  In  the  following  year  he  bought  320  acres  at  the  land 
sale  in  Crawfordsville,  bringing  his  family  on  from  Ohio  soon  after- 
ward. This  land  he  improved,  increased  his  holdings  to  fully  1,000 
acres,  and  resided  on  the  original  homestead  until  his  death  in  January, 
18G7.  As  stated,  the  first  courts  of  White  County  were  held  in  Mr. 
Spencer's  house',  and  as  its  first  treasurer  he  also  made  his  early  home 
doubly  official.  Afterward  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  about 
twenty-five  years.  By  trade  he  was  both  a  tanner  and  carpenter,  which 
fact,  in  connection  with  his  standing  as  a  farmer  and  a  citizen,  made 
him  one  of  the  most  useful  and  widely  known  men  in  White  County. 
Mr.  Spencer  was  too  old  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  but  several 
of  his  sons  acquitted  themselves  well  in  that  regard,  and  the  Spencer 
familj  in  While  County  has  always  stood  for  honor  and  stability. 

f'utsr   Wi:i.i.-Oi;ni',i;i;i)   ASSOCIATION 

The  old  Settlers'  Association,  of  which  Mr.  Spencer  was  perhaps  Hie 
liist  president,  virtually  left  no  records  until  the  early  '70s,  the  anxie- 
ties, horrors  and  responsibilities  of  the  ('ivil   war  overshadowing   much 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 


14!) 


of  that  uncertain  period.  I>ut  the  16th  of  August,  1873,  was  its  red 
letter  day,  as  the  old  settlers  then  assembled  at  the  courthouse  in  Mou- 
ticello,  eleeted  permanent  officers  and  arranged  to  keep  a  record  of  all 
subsequent  meetings  of  the  association.     The  officers  thus  chosen  were  as 

follows:  Alfred  Reed,  president;  diaries  \V.  Kendall,  secretary;  Israel 
Nordyke,  treasurer;  Peter  Price,  William  Burns  (son  of  old  John  Burns 
and  the  first  or  second  child  horn  in  the  county),  Robert  Rothrock, 
Solomon  McCidly,  Noah  Davis,  Thomas  Downey,  Samuel  Smelcer, 
Nathaniel  Rogers,  John  Burns,  Joseph  McBeth,  Joseph  II.  Thompson, 
William  Jordan  and  Austin  Ward,  vice  presidents.  All  persons  who 
had  resided  in  the  county  for  twenty-one  years  were  made  eligible  to 
membership  and  the  secretary  was  directed  to  enter  the  names  of  all 


£  '■ 

I 

; 

Pioneek  Home 

applicants,  with  the  dates  of  their  first  residence  in  the  county.  At 
each  annual  meeting  he  was  also  to  record  deaths  or  removals  from  the 
county.  Thus  was  the  Old  Settlers'  Association  put  upon  a  business- 
like basis,  which  has  since  endured  and  brought  so  much  pleasure  and 
profit  to  its  members.  The  annual  meeting  is  fixed  as  the  la., I  Saturday 
in  August.  The  citizens  of  Montieello  have  been  especially  enthusiastic 
and  liberal  in  support  of  the  entertainments,  which  are  so  thoroughly 
appreciated  by  the  thousands  who  now  throng  to  the  gatherings  of  the 
old  settlers,  their  relatives  and  friends,  wherever  found,  hut  mostly  col- 
lected from  within  the  limits  of  White  County. 

Pioneers  ok  lM-!)-<>7 


As  entered  in  the  record  hook  of  the  assoeiation  the  following  are  the 
best. -known  of  the  old  settlers  who  have  joined  that  organization,  with 
the  years  of  their  coming: 

1829  —Joseph  11.  Thompson,  Robert  Rothrock,  Mary  Thompson, 
Calvin  ('.  Spencer,  Matilda  Peircc,  Eliza  M.  Kendall,  Louisa  Virden. 


,i,     ^1 


1 '   -     A  \ 


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ml 


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y, 

o 

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o 

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p. 

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HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY  151 

L830 — John  Herron,  Jacob  Buchanan,  Geoi'ge  D.  Washburn. 

1831 — -John  Burns,  Samuel  Alkire,  Catherine  Hartley,  John  Roberts, 
Win.  Burns,  Catherine  Orr,  Peter  Priee,  Qeorge  W.  Spencer,  Joseph 
Rothrock,  Samuel  Smeleer,  Jeremiah  Bishcr,  Robert  Neal,  G.  W.  Red- 
ding; Martha  Roberts. 

1832 — John  Gates,  John  Gray,  Solomon  McCully,  Thos.  Spencer, 
Margaret  Remvick. 

1833 — John  Worthington,  Andrew  llauna,  J.  M,  Smeleer,  Orlando 
McConahay,  Abram  N.  Bunnell,  David  McConahay,  Elizabeth  Sill, 
Miranda  Reynolds,  Nancy  Bunnell,  Samuel  Virden,  T.  W.  Berkey,  Ann 
Smith,  Lucy  Jane  Grose,  Mary  A.  Kenton,  Isaac  Davis,  .Mary  Davis, 
Susie  Redding,  Adam  Gibson,  Harriet  E.  Rinker,  Silas  M.  Virden,  Oliver 
S.  Dale. 

1834 — Allen  Barnes,  John  Hannah,  Nathaniel  White,  Nathaniel  Bun- 
nell, Stephen  Bunnell,  Sophia  Bunnell,  Elizabeth  S.  Cowger,  Samuel 
Shafer,  Susanna  Shafer,  Milton  M.  Sill,  Elizabeth  Neal,  Isaac  S.  Vinson, 
Sarah  Line,  Peter  Bishop,  Sarah  A.  Cowger,  Abraham  Bunnell,  Rachel 
Redding,  George  W.  Redding. 

1835 — G.  II.  Gibson,  Alexander  Barnes,  William  Brier,  William 
York,  John  York,  Matilda  Dodge,  William  Spencer,  William  M.  Ruth, 
Rowland  Hughes,  Jane  Cullen,  Ellis  II.  Johnson,  Abram  Snyder,  L.  T. 
Korn,  William  Duncan,  Rachel  Cornell,  Richard  11.  Cornell,  Benjamin 
Greenfield,  George  II.  Mitchell,  George  B.  Smith. 

1836 — Hiram  Sluyter,  Zachariah  Rothrock,  Morgan  H.  Dyer,  Aaron 
Price,  Esther  M.  Hall,  Randolph  Brearley,  John  1).  Scroggs,  Davis  C. 
Scroggs,  Gideon  E.  Scroggs,  Eliza  C.  Rothrock,  Daniel  M.  Tilton,  Elisha 
Warden,  James  Downey,  Elizabeth  Sluyter,  \V.  11.  Rinker,  Henry 
Chamberlain,  Richard  Imes,  Sr.,  Margaret  Nutt,  Nelson  Hornbeek,  Eliz- 
abeth Reese,  Hannah  C.  Franklin. 

1837 — Jonathan  Oats,  Hugh  Lowe,  James  C.  Reynolds,  Georgianna 
M.  Reynolds,  Mary  C.  Patterson,  .Mary  J.  Reynolds,  George  Snyder, 
Henry  Snyder,  Sarah  Rothrock,  Eli  Cowger,  Liberty  M.  Burns,  Martha 
Greenfield,  Walter  Billingsley,  Mary  Simonds. 

1838— Elizabeth  Shriner,  'Mary  Sill,  James  W.  Mason.  Dan  id  J. 
Tilton,  Perry  Spencer,  Esther  Rinker,  George  Elston,  J.  W.  Watkins, 
Hlmira  Woltz,  Samuel  Heckendorn,  William  Kinney,  Ann  ,\1.  Ford. 
t'lark  S.  Little,  Mary  Hull',  Phebe  Hornback,  Henrj   T.  Little. 

1839— Abraham  Neal,  Hugh  B.  Logan,  H.  C.  Neal,  .John  C.  Kan-. 
Hannah  Stout.  Reuben  Stout,  J.  W.  Welch,  0.  0.  Slceth,  John  Harvey, 
Charles   W.    Kendall,   Samuel   E.   Logan,    David    < '.   Ted  ford,    Wi 
Dowell,  J.  Lytle,   Maria   Eraser,  John    D.   Ranker,   Louisa    L.-ar,    Mary 
Failing,  Elizabeth  Wiley,  Mary  E.  Tovvnsley. 

IS  10     William    I).    Edson,   Elisha    ET.    Davis,    Letelia    Davis,   J.    C, 
Grewcll,   Philip   Benjamin,   William   S.   Davis,   George    IVrrigOj    I' 
Gates,  Susan  Patton,  J.  E.  Dunham,  Sarah  McConahay,  Hour)   Murray, 
Asa  Bailey,  Jonas  Monbeck,  John  Hornbeek,  Mar)   Grace  Wirt. 

1841 — John  P.  Shafer.  Noali  Davis,  Israel  haws.  Theodore  J,  D   vi 


152  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Owen  C.  Davis,  William  \V.  Davis,  Philip  Benjamin,  Elizabeth  Sluyter, 
Sarah  Bunnell,  Thomas  [tinker,  William  Boze,  Jane  M.  Sleeth. 

1842 — Isaac  Price,  Bushrod  W.  Cain,  Mary  Wright,  Lorin  Cutler, 
James  McKinney,  Catharine  McKinney,  Alexander  Yount,  W.  W.  Me- 
Culloch,  Rebecca  Little,  John  Eldridge. 

184.'J — Thomas  Barnes,  J.  S.  Spencer,  Lucius  Peirce,  Mary  A.  Barns, 
William  II.  Gray,  Samuel  G.  Neal, 

1841  -Theodore  M.  Davis,  T.  A.  Rohison,  N.  J.  Robison,  Wm.  II. 
Brannan,  Adin  Nordyke,  Israel  Nordyke,  Samuel  Fleming,  William  Orr, 
John  Matthews,  Katherinc  J.  Chamberlain,  S.  P.  Cowger. 

1845 — Isaac  B.  .Moore,  John  ('.  Hughes,  James  W.  Bulger,  Minerva 
Bulger,  Simon  Bailey,  Louisa  Bailey,  E.  II.  Johnson,  Albert  Bacon, 
William  Haas,  Emily  Yount,  John  Short,  John  Wright,  Jane  Wickham, 
Lucy  1''.  Miller,  W.  T.  Dobbins,  James  R.  Moore,  George  B.  Woltz. 

1847 — Elizabeth  Hughes,  Lydia  Worthington,  John  Snyder,  Nathan 
C.  Pettit,  Sarah  Monheck. 

1848 — fohn  Wilburn,  Catherine  A.  Logan,  Ainer  S.  McElhoes,  iMary 
McElhoes,  Joseph  1-.  Hall,  Nancy  Hall,  Eliza  Perrigo,  Sarah  Bailey, 
•John  P.  Carr,  Samuel  Cromer,  James  Spencer,  Emeline  Hughes,  -John 
Shell,  Catherine  Hughes. 

184!) — Calvin  Cooley,  David  Droke,  David  S.  Drokc,  Edward  Rey- 
nolds, Joseph  DeLong,  Joseph  Paugh,  Catherine  DeLong,  Robert  Ginn, 
Ellen  R.  (linn,  A.  II.  Wingard,  Sarah  Cromer,  John  II.  Switzer. 

1850  -  Charles  Reid,  Eliza  J.  Wickham,  Nicholas  Myers,  Mary  Roach, 
Samuel  Snyder,  Philip  M.  Benjamin. 

1851 — Daniel  Morse,  Thomas  E.  Barnes,  Jr.,  James  M.  Thornton, 
l.i/./ie  Clark,  Levi  Mowrer,  M.  J.  Anderson,  Alexander  Reed. 

1852 — Thomas  K.  Moore,  W.  P.  Edwards,  Louisa  A.  Moore,  William 
B.  Keel'er,  .Matilda  J.  Mowrer,  John  W.  Brown,  George  Cullen,  Ira 
Keller,  E.  McDonald,  Hamilton  Templeton,  Philip  Wolverton,  W.  S. 
Bushnell. 

1853 — Elisa  Dickey,  S.  E.  Brannan,  Elizabeth  Hughes,  Peter  Carna- 
han,  Susan  Carnahan,  John  X.  Harbert,  Job  J.  Holmes,  Frank  Carna- 
han,  Robert  L.  Cox. 

1854 — Elmira  J.  Thomas,  Mrs.  McBeth,  John  Horen,  Ferdinand 
Hays,  Jane  Bishop,  Solomon  Del/ell. 

1855— Shelton  Rutlicrford,  Verlina  Rutherford,  Permelia  Bacon, 
James  Coble,  Wm.  II.  .McKinney,  Peter  Loftus,  Margaret  Loftus,  Miranda 
Dickey,  Richard  Cornell. 

1856— Solomon  Crose,  James  A.  Barr,  E.  J.  Berkey,  W.  J.  Gridley, 
Samuel  Town, ley,  Thomas  Cooper,  Cornelia  Crouch. 

1857— Robert  Gregory. 

1858—  Amaziali  Davisson,  Sarah  A.  Davisson. 

1859  George  I'ld. 

1860  John  Moriarty,  Hiirriel  Moriarty. 
1861— Nathaniel  Sweet,  John  Morrell. 

186.'}— Charles  J.  Ilntton,  Nancy  A.  Hutton,  John  L.  Pitts. 

1866  -  Samuel   B.  Wright. 

1867  -Amlrcw  Goble. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  153 

White  County  Historical  Society 

At  the  White  County  Old  Settlers'  meeting,  held  at  Monticello, 
August  26,  1911,  the  importance  of  a  county  historical  society  was 
presented  and  urged  by  William  H.  Hamelle,  and  accordingly  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  organize  such  a  society  for  White  County.  The 
committee,  consisting  of  J.  B.  VanBuskirk,  William  II.  Hamelle,  Bernard 
G.  Smith,  James  P.  Simons  and  Will  S.  Bushnell,  met  at  the  office  of 
Spencer  &  Hamelle  on  the  evening  of  September  1,  1911,  and  effected  an 
organization  to  be  known  as  "The  White  County  Historical  Society," 
with  the  following  officers:  President,  William  II.  tlamelle;  vice  presi- 
dent, Will  S.  Bushnell;  secretary,  Jay  B.  VanBuskirk ;  treasurer, 
Bernard  G.  Smith.  The  president  was  authorized  to  purchase  the  neces- 
sary records  and  books  for  the  society,  and  the  meeting  adjourned. 

The  charter  members  of  the  society  are  as  follows: 

Monticello— B.  G.  Smith,  Will  S.  Bushnell,  Wm.  K.  O'Connell,  Mrs. 
P.  V.  Mikesell,  R.  D.  Roberts,  Wm.  P.  Bunnell,  B  V.  Price,  Sr.,  George 
G.  Breese,  C.  D.  Meeker,  J.  D.  Timmons,  T.  \V.  O'Connor,  Miss  Anna 
Magee,  T.  J.  Woltz,  Wm.  P.  Cooper,  J.  B.  Roach,  George  Biederwolf, 
A.  B.  Clark,  George  P.  Marvin,  Wm.  II.  Hamelle,  J.  B.  VanBuskirk, 
H.  D.  Shenk,  Charles  C.  Spencer,  Perry  Spencer,  John  M.  Turner, 
Sanford  Johnsonbaugh,  George  K.  Hughes,  Prank  It.  Phillips,  I'..  P>. 
Baker,  Wm.  M.  Reynolds,  John  McConnell,  S.  A.  Carson,  [I.  C.  Johnson, 
M.  T.  Didlake,  J.  P.  Simons,  Felix  R.  Roth,  Wm.  Guthrie,  and  J.  C. 
Jones. 

Chalmers — S.  M.  Burns  and  James  YanYoorst. 

Monon — John  W.  Brannan,  Thomas  S.  Cowger,  Eli  \V.  Covvger  and 
John  C.  Lowe. 

Reynolds— C.  C.  Wheeler. 

Brookston — Robert  II.  Little,  John  C.  Vanatta,  .fames  E.  Carson, 
Alex.  L.  Telfer,  Guy  G.  Jennings,  Joseph  H.  Kious,  August  S.  Bordner, 
and  A.  P.  Gosma. 

The  objects  of  the  society,  as  stated  in  its  constitution,  •"shall  be 
the  collection  and  preservation  of  all  material  calculated  to  shed  light 
on  the  natural,  civil  and  political  history  of  White  county;  the  publica- 
tion and  circulation  of  historical  documents;  the  promotion  of  useful 
knowledge;  and  the  friendly  and  profitable  intercourse  of  such  citizens 
as  are  disposed  to  promote  these  ends." 

Annual  public  meetings  were  inaugurated,  the  first  one  being  held 
in  Library  Hall,  Monticello,  April  19,  1912.  At  this  meeting  a  paper 
on  the  early  history  of  Indiana,  by  W.  II.  Ilainelle,  was  read  by  the 
secretary,  and  .lames  M.  McBeth  read  a  history  of  the  McBoth  family, 
which  he  had  prepared  by  request.  Short  talk,  giving  cordial  endorse- 
ment of  the  work  and  purpose  of  the  society  were  made  by  .lames  M. 
McBeth,  Judge  T.  P.  Palmer,  IT.  C.  Johnson,  Rev,  A.  P.  .Martin  and  .1.  P. 
Loughry.  .Music  was  furnished  by  the  high  school  orchestra  and  a  ladies 
quartette  composed  of  Miss  Marjorie  McBeth,  Miss  (Irflcc  Clapper,  Miss 
Ruth   Vogel  and  Miss  Julia    McCuaig. 


154  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Records  were  procured  and  the  work  of  gathering  historical  material 
and  col  lectins  and  indexing  il  by  the  must  approved  system  was  begun. 
.Mailer  pertaining  to  the  early  history  of  the  county,  and  especially 
biographical  sketches,  both  of  pioneers  and  later  residents,  were  espe- 
cially solieited,  all  such  contributions  to  be  sent  to  the  secretary. 

The  present  officers  of  the  society  are-.  President,  William  II.  Hamelle; 
vice  president,  Will  S.  Bushnell;  secretary,  Jay  B.  VanBuskirk;  treas- 
urer, Bernard  G.  Smith. 

Executive  Committee — William  II.  Hamelle,  Jay  B.  VanBuskirk, 
Bernard  ti.  Smith,  -lames  P,  Simons  and  Will  S.  Bushnell,  all  of 
Montiecllo. 

Advisory  Board  -Cass  Township,  Joseph  McBeth,  Idaville;  Jackson, 
•Geo.  II.  Mitchell,  Idaville;  Liberty,  James  Spencer,  Buffalo;  Union, 
•  las.  M.  McBeth,  Montiecllo;  Monon,  Eli  Cowger,  Monon;  Honey  Creek, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Gardner,  Reynolds;  Big  Creek,  S.  M.  Burns,  Chalmers; 
Princeton,  Albert  Plummer,  Wolcott;  West  Point,  Walter  Carr,  Reyn- 
olds; Round  Grove,  A.  L.  Telfer,  Brookston;  and  Prairie,  Thos.  W. 
Sleeth,  Brookston. 

White  County  Medical  Society 

The  physicians  of  White  County  have  always  stanchly  upheld  the 
ethics  of  their  profession,  and  they  justly  point  with  pride  to  the  founder 
of  their  medical  society,  Dr.  William  S.  Hayinond,  long  of  Montiecllo 
and  afterward  a  resident  of  Indianapolis  and  a  figure  of  national  fame.  It 
was  shortly  alter  his  return  from  army  service  as  a  surgeon,  in  broken 
health,  that  lie  called  a  meeting  of  his  fellow  practitioners  in  White 
County  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  society.  Eight  physicians  met 
at  his  office  in  Monticello.  Dr.  II.  P.  Anderson  was  made  chairman  and 
alter  the  adoption  of  a  constitution,  which  had  been  previously  prepared, 
these  permanent  officers  were  elected:  Doctor  Haymond,  president;  Dr. 
John  Medaris,  vice  president;  Dr.  John  A.  Blackwell,  secretary. 

The  time  of  meeting  was  fixed  for  the  second  Tuesday  in  each  month, 
various  committees  were  appointed,  and  Doctor  Anderson  was  selected 
to  read  a  paper  upon  any  topic  he  should  choose  at  the  next  meeting. 
The  socidy  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  Reynolds  on  the  second  Tuesday 
of  the  following  May.  None  but  physicians  of  the  regular  school  were 
admitted  to  membership;  practitioners  in  other  counties  were  admitted 
to  honorary  membership,  and  three  active  members  constituted  a  quorum 
for  the  transaction  of  business. 

P.esides  those  already  mentioned,  some  of  the  prominent  early  niem 
'",|,s  were  < '.  A.  Barnes,  W.  II.  Ball,  J.  R.  Skidrnore,  John  A.  Wood, 
William  Spencer.  J.  II.  Thomas,  William  Mote.  A.  V.  Moore,  II.  D.  Rid 
dili-,  C  K.  Laiuoii,  R,  A.  tlarcourl  and  A.  |i.  Ballou. 

Meetings  of  the  society  were  held  quite  regularly  until   1869,  after 
which    there   was  a    break    for  about    six   years.      In   October,    1875,   they 
were  resumed,  at  which  time  some  chances  in  the  laws  were  made. 
•  Mi.  Mitchell  did  iibout  mil  ami  his  si ess,,,  hits  not  boon  named. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  155 

'Doctor  Raymond  shared  with  Dr.  John  W.  Medaris,  of  Brookstou, 
the  honors  of  prominence  ami  ability  in  the  membership  of  the  County 
Medical  Society.  The  former,  however,  while  a  citizen  of  more  extended 
fame,  withdrew  from  the  historical  Held  of  White  County  in  the  early 
'70s,  when  hi'  moved  to  Indianapolis  and  entered  upon  the  broader  plane 
of  his  life. 

Or.  John  W.  Medaris 

Doctor  Medaris,  although  a  physician  of  middle  age  when  he  became 
a  resident  of  Brooksfon  in  1859,  continued  to  make  that  place  his  home 
and  the  center  of  his  faithful  practice,  his  Masonic  activities  and  his 
splendid  educational  work — all  tending  to  the  progress  of  White  County 
— for  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century.  At  the  time  of  his  death  on 
September  21,  1911,  he' was  in  his  ninety -seventh  year;  the  oldest  per- 
son in  "White  County,  probably  the  oldest  Mason  in  the  state  (having 
joined  the  order  in  1846)  and  the  veteran  of  the  White  County  .Medical 
Society,  having  survived  Doctor  Ilaymond  for  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century. 

Doctor  Medaris  was  born  in  Clearmont,  Ohio,  October  22,  1814,  was 
educated  in  his  native  state,  and  received  his  medical  training  in  the 
Miami  School  of  Medicine  at  Cincinnati  and  the  Sterling  School  of 
Medicine,  Columbus.  After  his  graduation  he  began  practice  at  Hart- 
ford, Ohio,  and  in  1859  located  at  Brookstou.  The  town  was  then  very 
young  and  the  doctor's  circuit  of  practice  was  often  many  miles  out  in 
the  country,  over  terrible  roads  and  through  storms  and  mud.  lint, 
like  others  of  his  fellows,  he  accepted  such  hardships  with  good  cheer 
as  matters-of-course  in  the  career  of  the  country  doctor.  No  member  of 
the  profession  was  more  widely  known  or  beloved  than  Doctor  Medaris. 

In  1867,  three  years  after  the  founding  of  the  county  medical  so- 
ciety, Doctor  Medaris  realized  another  of  his  ambitions,  which  was  par- 
ticularly his  triumph,  in  the  building  of  the  Brookstou  Academy,  one  of 
the  prominent  educational  institutions  of  Northern  Indiana.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  had  served  as  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, having  been  detailed  by  Governor  Morton  to  give  medical  aid 
and  assistance  to  the  Union  soldiers  of  White  County  detained  in  the 
.Memphis  hospitals.  Hut  he  was  best  known  throughout  the  slate  for 
his  enthusiasm  and  steadfastness  in  Masonry,  which  endured  for  sixty- 
live  years — from  the  time  he  joined  the  order  until  his  death.  Through- 
out its  official  life  lie  was  one  of  the  stanchest  and  dearest  friends  of  the 
Old  Settlers  Association,  and  at  its  meeting  of  August,  lull,  held  the 
month  before  his  death,  appeared  to  be  in  his  usual  health.  A  few  days 
before  he  was  called  away  to  the  Future  which  knows  no  centuries,  lie 
received  a.  dispatch  announcing  the  death  of  his  daughter,  nl  her  home 
in  Danville.  The  attendant  shock,  with  a  decline  in  his  physical  strength 
which  had  been  noted  a  short  time  previously,  undoubtedly  hastened  his 
end.  A  strong  personality,  which  was  evinced  in  practical  accomplish- 
ments, honesty  and  sincerity,  with  a.  generosity  which  often  went  far 
beyond  tin-  bounds  of  self  protection,  and  an  abiding  affection  for  those 


156  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

nearest  him,  as  well  as  a  broad  charity  for  all,  were  the  marked  traits 
in  this  revered  patriarch. 

Among  the  members  of  the  profession  who  joined  the  White  County 
Medical  Society  at  a  later  date  than  those  mentioned  were  Doctors  A.  B. 
Jones,  P.  A.  Grant,  R.  M.  Del/ell,  R.  S.  Black,  William  Tracey,  W:  V. 
Trowbridge,  John  Harcourt,  .Madison  T.  Didlake,  AV.  Holtzman,  Robert 
J.  Clarke,  S.  II.  Parke,  J.  II.  Reed,  R.  M.  Reagan,  J.  W.  McAllister,  F.  E. 
Lester,  II.  R.  Minnick,  ■).  E.  Chaffee,  James  L.  Carr,  George  R.  Clayton, 

W.  II.  Clark,  E.  1'.  Washburn  and  Walter  McBeth. 

> 

I)u.  Madison  T.  Didlake 

One  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  of  what  may  be  called  the  second 
generation  of  physicians,  who  are  still  in  practice,  is  Dr.  Madison  T. 
Didlake,  of  Montieello.  He  is  a  Kentuckian  who  passed  the  earlier 
stages  of  his  development  as  a  resident  of  Bloomington,  Illinois.  There 
he  finished  his  literary  education  witli  two  years  of  study  at  the  Wes- 
leyan  University,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  began  his  professional  train- 
ing under  Dr.  C.  R.  Parke,  of  Chicago.  In  the  winter  of  186G-67  he 
graduated  from  the  Chicago  Medical  College,  and  for  several  years  there- 
after practiced  at  Augusta,  Arkansas,  and  Stanford,  Illinois.  In  1871 
he  commenced  his  professional  career  in  White  County  by  locating  at 
Wolcott,  but  since  1881  lias  been  a  practitioner  at  Montieello.  Besides 
enjoying  a  large  practice,  Doctor  Didlake  has  served  in  several  public 
capacities,  being  county  treasurer  in  1880-8-4  (two  terms). 

The  White  County  Medical  Society  of  today  has  a  membership  of 
twelve,  with  the  following  officers:  Guy  R.  Coffin,  president;  Madison 
T.  Didlake,  vice  president;  Grant  Goodwin,  secretary,  all  of  Montieello; 
and  Augustus  J.  Blickenstalf,  of  Wolcott,  treasurer. 


CHAPTER  X 

HISTORY  OF  THE  PRESS 

The  Dawn  of  Newspapekdom — The  Prairie  Chieftain — Preserving 
Newspaper  Files — End  of  the  Chieftain — The  White  County 
Register — Three  Obscure  Newspapers — White  County  Jackson- 
ian — White  County  Democrat — Monticello  Democrat — Demo- 
crat-Journal-Observer Company — Monticello  Spectator — Monti- 
cello  Herald — The  National — Monticello  Times — Monticello 
Weekly  Press — The  Daily  Journal — White  County  Republican 
— White  County  Citizen — Other  Monticello  Publications — 
Early  Newspaper  Field  at  Reynolds — The  White  County  Ban- 
ner— The  Brookston  Reporter — Other  Brookston  Items — The 
Reynolds  Broom  and  Sun — The  Reynolds  Journal — Idaville  Ob- 
server— The  Monon  Dispatch — Monon  Times — Monon  News — W. 
J.  Huff — The  Wolcott  Enterprise — Chalmers  Despatch — Bur- 

nettsville  enterprise burnettsville  dlspatch bltrnettsvllle 

News — General  Progress. 

By  J.  B.  VanBuskirk 

Formerly  editor  of  the  Monticello  Herald 

The  early  newspaper  history  of  White  County  is  largely  traditional. 
No  files  of  the  early  newspapers  were  preserved,  and  it  would  be  hard 
to  establish  the  the  existence  of  some  of  them  but  for  an  occasional  men- 
tion of  their  names  in  the  court  records.  Up  to  the  year  1850  the  pub- 
licity required  by  law  in  certain  legal  proceedings  was  secured  either  by 
posting  notices  in  public  places  or  by  publication  in  newspapers  of  ad- 
joining counties.  In  this  way  the  names  of  the  LaKayette  Journal,  the 
LaFayette  Courier,  the  Logansport  Journal,  the  Delphi  Times,  the  Car- 
roll Express  and  other  papers  outside  of  White  County  are  enshrined  in 
the  old  records  of  the  clerk's  office  as  recognized  "newspapers  of  general 
circulation"  in  those  early  days  before  White  County  had  a  newspaper. 

The  Dawn  of  Newspaperdom 

That  era  of  darkness  came  to  an  end  in  1850,  sixteen  years  after 
White  County  was  born.  The  harbingers  of  the  dawn  were  two  men  who 
came  from  other  states  and  combining  their  money,  their  credit  and 
tluir  muscle,  dispersed  the  gloom  by  founding  the  Prairie  Chieftain. 
These  men  were  Abram  V.  Reed,  a  brother  of  the  late  Judge  Alfred 

157 

.  -..        . „ j 


1.38  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Reed,  and  John  K.  Lovejoy.  The  former  came  from  Urbana,  Ohio,  where 
he  had -been  publishing  a  democratic  paper  under  such  disadvantages 
that  it  had  finally  suspended,  lie  was  postmaster  at  Monticello  under 
President  Pierce's  administration  and  died  here  during  his  term  of  office 
in  June,'  1856.  His  brother,  Col.  Alfred  Reed,  was  the  administrator 
of  his  estato,  and  it  required  almost  nine  years  to  get  it  out  of  court,  the 
record  showing  the  administrator  was  not  discharged  until  May  11,  1865. 
The  printing  office  of  the  decedent  was  inventoried  at  $500  and  was  sold 
to  James  E.  Kobison,  who  gave  his  note  with  M.  M.  Sill  and  R.  W.  Sill 
as  sureties.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Mr.  Robison  ever  became  an  editor, 
but  on  the  settlement  of  the  Reed  estate  two  judgments  against  him  were 
listed  as  assets.  John  K.  Lovejoy,  who  came  from  Illinois,  was  a  brother 
of  Ilalsey  Lovejoy,  a  merchant  here  who  was  one  of  Monticello 's  bulwarks 
of  integrity  and  sobriety.  Lovejoy,  the  printer,  was  of  a  different  tem- 
perament and  less  inclined  to  take  life  seriously.  He  soon  retired  from 
the  Chieftain  and  moved  West.  He  afterward  engaged  in  the  newspaper 
business  at  Downieville,  Nevada,  and  died  in  that  state  in  1877.  During 
his  residence  in  Nevada,  he  won  some  newspaper  notoriety  by  betting  a 
coffin  with  a  neighbor  that  he  would  live  a  year.  He  won  the  bet  and  on 
receiving  the  coffin  remarked,  "It  was  a  good  bet.  I  shall  want  the 
wooden  overcoat  before  long,  and  it  will  be  handy  to  have  around." 

The  Prairie  Chieftain 

It  is  common  tradition  that  the  Chieftain  was  published  in  the  old 
courthouse,  a  frame  building  which  stood  on  the  present  site  of  Mrs.  S. 
P.  Cowger's  residence,  209  South  Main  Street,  and  so  it  was,  at  least 
during  a  part  of  its  existence,  but  it  probably  first  saw  the  light  else- 
where, for  at  the  time  of  its  birth  the  old  courthouse  was  still  occupied  as 
a  county  building,  its  successor  not  being  completed  until  1851.  Its 
crowded  condition,  which  occasioned  the  building  of  a  new  courthouse, 
would  hardly  have  permitted  the  use  of  any  part  of  it  for  a  printing  office 
before  that  time.  Just  where  the  squeak  and  rumble  of  the  Chieftain's 
old  handnrcss  first  broke  upon  Monticello's  expectant  ear  is  now  un- 
known and  will  likely  remain  so  forever.*  But  it  was  migratory,  and 
according  to  a  statement  from  Mr.  James  Spencer  of  Buffalo,  who  was 
once  the  "devil"  of  the  office,  the  last  days  of  the  Chieftain  were  spent 
in  a  building  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Illinois  and  Washington 
st  reets. 

In  former  sketches  of  White  County's  newspaper  history  the  date 
of  the  Prairie  Chieftain's  first  issue  has  been  assigned  to  1849,  but  from 
the  court  records  and  from  the  serial  number  of  the  paper  as  shown 
in  a  facsimile  copy  still  extant,  it  appears  that  the  publication  must  have 
begun  in  July,  1850. 

"An  InipnctUm  of  tlio  court  records  since  the  above  was  written  shows  that  for 
several  month,  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Chieftain  the  sessions  of  the  Circuit  Court 
were  held  In  the  New  School  1'rcsliyterian  Church.  It  is  possible,  therefore.,  that  the 
ambition  of  White  County  for  a  newspapei  led  the  fathers  to  vacate  the  courtroom 
to  give  it  an  abiding  place. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  15!* 

The  Prairie  Chieftain  and  its  early  successors  wore  not  bad-looking 
specimens  of  the  printer's  art.  They  were  printed  on  "all-rag"  paper, 
which  cost  25  cents  per  pound.  It  was  before  the  era  of  straw  and  wood 
pulp,  which  has  so  cheapened  the  production  of  paper  that  publishers 
now  think  the  times  are  out  of  joint  if  they  have  to  pay  more  than  two  or 
three  cents  per  pound.  It  was  also  before  the  days  of  stereotype  plate 
matter  and  ready-print  sheets,  so  that  the  early  country  newspaper  was 
an  exclusively  home  production.  It  was  limited  to  four  pages,  and  an 
advertisement  once  set  remained  the  same  yesterday,  today  and  forever. 
Though  all  the  matter  was  home-set,  there  was  a  sad  dearth  of  home  news 
in  the  columns  of  these  old  newspapers.  Practically  all  the  reading  mat- 
ter was  select  misijellany  from  current  magazines,  speeches  from  the  Con- 
gressional Globe,  and  news  clippings  from  far-away  weekly  newspapers. 
The  metropolitan  daily  was  of  no  use  to  the  Mouticello  editor  in  those 
days,  when  mails  arrived  only  once  a  week,  and  even  the  weeklies  were 
several  days  old  before  reaching  here.  Under  such  circumstances,  it 
seems  strange  that  the  local  newspaper  did  not  resort  more  largely  to 
local  news,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  local  happenings  were  lew 
in  such  a  sparse  population,  and  that  the  editor  from  necessity  was  also 
foreman,  compositor,  pressman  and  sometimes  "devil."  having  him  little 
time  for  news  gathering  or  editorial  writing.  Yet  it  must  be  recorded 
that  the  first  murder  trial  in  White  County  received  a  treatment  in  the 
Prairie  Chieftain  which  would  do  credit  to  some  of  its  present-day  suc- 
cessors. Its  issue  of  November  4,  1850,  contained  a  nine-column  report 
of  the  trial  of  Cantwell  and  Dayton  for  the  murder  of  David  Jones,  in- 
cluding all  the  testimony,  the  judge's  charge  to  the  jury,  the  names  of 
.the  jurors,  their  verdict,  the  overruling  of  the  motion  for  a  new  trial, 
and  the  sentencing  for  life.  It  was  a  piece  of  newspaper  enterprise  which 
caused  that  issue  of  the  Chieftain  to  be  in  great  demand,  and  copies  of 
it  were  preserved  for  many  years  even  in  adjoining  counties.  Yet  at  the 
present  writing  not  even  a  single  copy  of  this  historic;  issue  can  be  found, 
though  the  late  Milton  M.  Sill,  in  his  unpublished  and  uncompleted  "His- 
tory of  White  County,"  mentions  a  copy  which  belonged  to  the  late 
Dr.  R.  J.  Clark,  who  had  secured  it  from  a  Mr.  Harvey,  a  relative  in 
Tippecanoe  County. 

All  hail  to  the  man  who  never  throws  anything  away,  be  its  current 
value  much  or  little!  He  is  as  rare  as  copies  of  the  Prairie  Chieftain 
itself.  A  veteran  printer  of  this  city  might  now  be  the  owner  of  untold 
literary  wealth  if  he  had  not  hung  James  Whitcoinh  Riley's  autograph 
poems  on  the  dead  hook  like  common  copy,  as  he  set  them  day  after  day 
in  a  country  print  shop  many  years  ago. 

Preserving  Newspaper  Files 

The  idea  of  preserving  files  of  local  newspapers  had  not  taken  root 
with  our  county  fathers  at  that  early  day,  though  as  early  as  18p3  the 
Indiana  Legislature  enacted  a  law  authorizing  county  commissioners  to 
subscribe  for  local  newspapers  and  keep  them  on  file  in  the  county  re- 


160  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

corder's  office  at  their  option.  This  procedure  appears  to  have  been 
adopted  in  White  County  as  early  as  1857  or  1858,  but  not  very  faith- 
fully executed.  The  papers  were  carried  off  or  mutilated,  and  up  to  1883 
the  files  kept  in  the  recorder's  office  were  very  scattering,  and  no  attempt 
had  been  made  to  preserve  them  in  bound  form.  During  the  term  of  Mr. 
James  P.  Simons  as  recorder  he  suggested  to  the  board  the  advisability 
of  binding  their  newspaper  files,  and  upon  the  order  of  the  board  he 
gathered  up  and  arranged  the  accumulations  of  past  years  and  had  them 
decently  bound.  Since  that  time  this  precedent  has  been  followed > at 
intervals  of  one  or  two  years,  and  now  a  more  or  less  complete  file  of  the 
county  scat  papers  may  be  found  in  the  recorder's  office,  extending  back 
as  far  as  1858,  though  very  fragmentary  as  to  the  earlier  years  of  this 
period. 

After  the. departure  of  John  K.  Lovejoy  for  the  West  his  partner, 
Mr.  Reed,  continued  the  publication  of  the  Chieftain  alone  until  the 
summer  of  1854,  when  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  John  Carothers,  who  also 
came  from  Urbana,  Ohio.  Mr.  Carothers  severed  his  connection  with 
the  paper  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  but  continued  his  journalistic 
career  elsewhere.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was  publisher  of  the  Cham- 
paign County  Union  at  Urbana,  Illinois.  Later  he  returned  to  Urbana, 
Ohio,  and  was  living  there  in  1896,  at  which  time  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  Herald  recalling  his  newspaper  days  in  Monticello.  He  was  moved 
to  write  the  letter  by  receiving  a  copy  of  the  Herald  containing  a  fac- 
simile of  the  first  page  of  the  Prairie  Chieftain  as  it  appeared  during  his 
connect  ion  with  the  paper. 

End  op  the  Chieftain 

The  existence  of  the  Prairie  Chieftain  came  to  an  end  some  time  in 
1854  or  1855,  but  the  manner  of  its  taking  off  is  veiled  in  obscurity. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  "struck  the  rocks"  on  account  of  hard 
times,  its  death  being  hastened,  perhaps,  by  the  appearance  of  another 
paper  in  a  field  barely  large  enough  for  the  support  of  one.  The  Chieftain 
was  a  democratic  paper,  and  the  county  was  democratic,  but  the  issues 
which  led  up  to  the  Civil  war  a  few  years  later  were  already  coming  to 
the  front,  and  even  in  White  County  the  discussion  of  these  issues  was 
waxing  hot.  Though  the  impression  has  prevailed  that  only  one  paper 
at  a  time  existed  in  White  County  up  to  1859,  it  is  certain  that  the 
Chieftain  had  a  contemporary  in  its  last  days,  for  in  its  issue  of  August 
17,  1854,  appears  an  account  of  a  meeting  held  in  Prairie  Township  at 
which  a  series  of  resolutions  condemning  the  Nebraska  Bill  was  adopted 
and  ordered  published  "in  the  two  papers  of  the  county." 

Tin:  White  County  Register 

The  other  paper  is  said  to  have  been  the  White  County  Register,  a 
paper  bearing  the  name  of  Richard  T.  Parker  as  publisher  and  Benjamin 
V,  Tildeu  as  editor,  the  latter  being  an  attorney  from  Starke  County, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  161 

Ohio.  Mr.  Tilden  diet!  in  the  fall  of  1854,  and  the  Register  apparently 
died  with  him.  Its  press  and  materials  were  sold  by  Rowland  Hughes, 
Ins  executor,  upon  an  order  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court,  and  Mr.  Tilden 's 
estate  was  settled  as  insolvent  after  long  litigation.  Richard  T.  Parker 
and  Leonard  II.  Miller,  two  printers  who  had  been  connected  with  the 
office,  each  claimed  a  one-third  interest  in  the  equipment,  and  objected 
to  the  order  of  sale.  Their  objection  was  overruled,  and  they  prayed  an 
appeal  to  the  Circuit  Court,  but  their  appeal  was  denied  and  the  sale 
was  made.  The  press  was  sold  for  $225  to  James  P.  Luse,  of  LaFayette, 
who  had  previously  held  a  lien  of  $167  on  it,  probably  for  purchase 
money. 

» 

Three  Obscure  Newspapers 

In  the  meantime  there  appeared  and  disappeared  three  other  papers, 
whose  origin  and  history  it  is  impossible  to  trace  accurately.  Nobody 
now  living  remembers  them  by  name,  and  their  existence  seems  like  "the 
baseless  fabric  of  a  vision."  Yet  the  court  records  show  that  in  1855  aud 
1856  the  Monticello  Tribune,  the  Monticello  Republican  and  the  Monti- 
cello  Union  were  legally  recognized  as  newspapers  of  general  circula- 
tion. Whether  they  represented  three  separate  efforts  of  three  venture- 
some men  to  fill  a  long-felt  want  or  were  only  the  afterglow  of  some  van- 
ished luminary  which  had  preceded  them,  can  only  be  surmised.  The 
Tribune  appeared  early  in  1855,  but  no  copy  of  it  survives,  and  even 
the  name  of  its  editor  is  unknown.  A  little  later  in  the  same  year  the 
Monticello  Republican  is  mentioned  frequently  in  the  records  as  the 
vehicle  for  legal  notices,  and  early  in  1856  the  Union  comes  upon  the 
field  in  the  same  capacity. 

Whether  these  three  papers  were  contemporaneous  or  successive,  what 
party,  element  or  interest  they  represented,  how  much  "velvet"  was 
accumulated  by  them  or  hard  earnings  sunk  in  them,  what  was  their 
ancestry  or  what  their  progeny,  are  questions  akin  to  "Who  were  the 
mound  builders?"  or  "What  became  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel?"  The 
voice  of  history  is  silent,  and  to  all  our  inquiries  we  hear  only  the  raven 
echo,  "Nevermore!"  As  if  to  tantalize  the  historian  and  make  it  im- 
possible to  dismiss" these  three  old  papers  as  a  myth,  one  solitary  copy 
of  the  Monticello  Republican  is  now  on  file  at  the  public  library.  It  is 
dated  "Sept.  22,  1855.  Volume  1,  number  21."  It  bears  the  name  of 
Thomas  T.  Scott  as  editor  and  the  motto,  "Liberty  and  union,  now  and 
forever,  one  and  inseparable!"  Its  name  hints  that  the  political  party 
which  afterward  became  such  an  important  factor  in  history  was  then 
struggling  into  existence  in  White  County,  but  its  editorial  columns  give 
no  hint  of  its  political  bias.  They  only  convey  a  hint  of  the  paper's 
approaching  dissolution.     The  editor  says: 

"Two  of  our  hands  went  fishing  a  few  days  since  and  on  their  return 
stated  that  they  could  bang  their  hats  on  the  ague  fumes  they  saw  while 
absent.    Today  the  'ague  fumes'  have  hung  them  on  their  beds  and  set 

Vol.1  -I| 


162  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

them  to  shaking  teeth  for  a  livelihood.  *  *  *  It  will  be  impossible 
for  us  to  publish  a  paper  on  our  next  publication  day.  Ague,  the  fiustrat- 
ing  'yaller  teller, '  has  got  us  down,  clear  down." 

This  was  probably  the  swan  song  of  the  Monticello  Republican.  Its 
editor  is  said  to  have  died  here,  but  he  left  no  estate,  and  his  name  does 
not  appear  on  the  public  records.  His  paper  contained  a  number  of 
Craw  t'ordsville  advertisements,  from  which  it  is  inferred  that  he  came 
from  that  city. 

After  the  Republican  had  passed  away  the  Union  seems  to  have  run 
a  similar  brief  course.  In  a  proof  of  publication  dated  September  2, 
18,")G,  Henry  ('.  Kirk  makes  affidavit  that  "the  publisher  has  departed 
this  life  ynd  no  copy  of  his  paper  containing  said  notice  is  within  reach 
of  the  affiant."  The  publisher's  name  is  not  stated,  but  it  appears 
from  an  action  brought  by  the  administrator  of  A.  V.  Reed's  estate  to 
collect  a  note  that  it  was  none  other  than  A.  V.  Reed  himself,  the 
former  editor  of  the  Prairie  Chieftain.  The  defendants  in  the  suit 
were  James  E.  Robison,  Robert  W.  Sill  and  Milton  M.  Sill,  who,  it 
was  alleged  in  the  complaint,  were  partners  in  the  publication  of  a 
paper  called  the  Political  Frame  at  the  time  the  note  was  given,  July 
24,  1856,  and- that  they  had  purchased  therewith  the  press  and  other 
material  of  the  Union  to  be  used  in  the  publication  of  their  oddly  named 
paper.  For  more  than  a  year  the  Frame  was  apparently  the  sole  occu- 
pant of  the  newspaper  field  in  White  County.  For  the  first  few  months 
it  was  under  the  management  of  Robert  W.  Sill,  but  in  March,  1857, 
the  name  of  II.  C.  Kirk,  then  sheriff  of  the  county,  appeared  at  the 
masthead.  Though  the  name  of  the  paper  smacked  strongly  of  politics, 
it  had  no  avowed  political  allegiance,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered.  Mr. 
Kirk,  its  last  editor,  said  in  his  salutatory:  "Politically,  the  Frame  shall 
remain  as  heretofore,  'independent  in  all  things,  neutral  in  nothing.' 
It  shall  be  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  the  people  upon  all  local 
and  national  questions."  Whether  the  Political  Frame  died  or  was 
translated  or  passed  by  transmigration  into  the  Jacksonian,  is  not  cer- 
tain, but  it  ceased  to  appear  in  the  year  1857.  Both  its  editors  closed 
their  newspaper  career  in  good  health  and  lived  for  many  years 
'fterward. 

White  County  Jacksonian  - 

Early  in  November,  1S57,  John  H.  Seott,  of  Logansport,  came  here 
and  issued  the  first  number  of  the  White  County  Jacksonian,  having 
purchased  the  press  and  material  of  the  Political  Frame.  The  word 
"Democratic"  appeared  in  large  type  just  below  the  heading  on  the 
first  page  and  there  was  no  question  about  its  politics.  Mr.  Scott  was 
regarded  as  a  good  newspaper  man,  and  his  paper  gave  promise  of 
great  success,  but  consumption  claimed  him  and  he  died  about  one  year 
after  launching  his  enterprise  here.  His  widow  became  the  wife  of  the 
late  Andrew  Trook,  whose  perseverance  and  devotion  as  a  fisherman 
are  still  remembered  by  many  of  the  older  generation. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  16.5 

Having  now  reached  the  end  of  what  may  be  called  the  antebellum 
period  we  may  treat  with  less  detail  the  remaining  newspaper  history  of 
Monticello,  as  the  newspapers  of  the  later  era  have  been  more  gen- 
erally preserved  and  are  accessible  to  the  public  to  speak  for  themselves. 

"VViiite  County  Democrat 

In  the  spring  of  1859  James  W.  MeEweu  came  here  from  Pennsyl- 
vania and  bought  the  plant  of  the  Jacksonian.  .Mr.  Scott  before  his 
death  had  changed  the  name  of  his  paper  to  the  White  County  Demo- 
crat, and  Mr.  McEwen  continued  it  under  the  same  name.  For  a  time 
his  office  was  located  upstairs  in  the  north  end  of  the  Commercial  Block, 
but  in  later  years  it  occupied  the  old  Presbyterian  church  on  Court 
Street,  which  gave  him  the  advantage  of  a  ground  floor  office  and 
plenty  of  room.  In  1866  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  N.  C.  A.  Rayhouser,  and 
under  this  partnership  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Con- 
stitutionalist. Mr4  Rayhouser  retired  from  the  firm  after  a  few  months, 
and  in  1870  Artemus  P.  Kerr  bought  an  interest,  which  he  retained 
until  August,  1873.  .On  his  retirement  Mr.  McEwen  continued  to 
publish  the  Constitutionalist  until  January,  1877,  when  he  sold  his 
plant  here  to  A.  J.  Kitt  and  D.  A.  Fawcett  and  moved  to  Rensselaer. 

Monticello  Democrat 

The  new  firm  took  possession  January  26,  1877,  and  moved  the 
office  to  rooms  in  the  Reynolds  block  upstairs.  They  changed  the  name 
of  the  paper  to  the  Monticello  Democrat  and  its  first  issue  appeared 
February  3,  1877.  In  the  following  April  Mr.  Kitt  bought  Mr.  Faw- 
cett's  interest  and  changed  the  form  of  the  paper  to  a  five-column 
quarto.  Fawcett  went  to  Delphi  and  started  a  paper  called  the  News. 
After  six  months  as  sole  proprietor,  during  which  time  the  Democrat 
showed  the  same  ability  and  spiciness  that  have  always  marked  Mr. 
Kitt's  newspaper  ventures,  he  sold  the  office  to  Will  B.  Hoover,  a  young: 
man  who  had  been  doing  reportorial  work  for  the  Logansport  Journal, 
and  whose  father,  Dr.  R.  B.  Hoover,  was  engaged  in  medical  practice  at 
Purnettsville.  He  took  possession  October  30,  1877.  He  was  ambi- 
tious and  enthusiastic  in  his  work,  but  his  health  failed  and  he  died  at 
the  home  of  his  father  in  Purnettsville,  September  21,  187«T  lie  was 
succeeded  in  the  newspaper  business  by  Jasper  If.  Keyes,  who  took 
charge  of  the  Democrat  September  26,  1879.  On  March  20,  1881,  his 
office  was  wrecked  by  a  fire,  and  for  several  months  White  County  was 
without  a  democratic  paper. 

In  the  following  July  a  man  named  Cleveland  J.  Reynolds,  of  un- 
known antecedents,  appeared  on  the  scene  and  started  a  democratic 
paper  called  the  Times.  He  proved  to  be  a  brazen  pretender  and  early 
in  January,  1882,  he  absconded  after  borrowing  various  amounts  ranging 
from  $25  to  $150  from  prominent  supporters  of  his  paper.     He   was; 


164  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

never  seen  here  again,  and  following  his  departure  there  was  another 
interval  of  darkness  for  the  democratic  party  of  White  County  r 

But  on  June  16,  1882,  appeared  the  first  issue  of  the^Vhite  County 
Democrat,  which  has  continued  without  a  suspension  or  change,  of 
name  to  this  day.  It  was  published  by  Harry  P.  Owens  and  Wm.  E. 
Uld,  both  of  whom  were  lawyers  and  members  of  the  White  County 
bar.  The  subsequent  history  of  the  Democrat  is  thus  related  by  Mr. 
James  P.  Simons,  who  for  nearly  twenty  years  graced  the  editorial 
tripod  of  that  paper  and  by  his  long  tenure  and  able  editorial  man- 
agement gave  to  the  Democrat  a  statewide  influence:  "In  January, 
188IJ,  Mr.  Uld  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner,  who  a  few  months  later 
sold  a  half  interest  to  Mr.  A.  B.  Clarke,  of  Remington,  who  was  a 
practical  printer,  and  who  has  continued  with  the  paper  almost  con- 
tinuously since  that  time,  even  down  to  the  present  day.  In  the  fall 
of  1883  Mr.  Owens  sold  his  remaining  interest  to  another  young  lawyer, 
Mr.  Walter  S.  Ilartman,  who  later,  in  1884,  sold  his  interest  to  his 
brother,  Mr.  A.  D.  Ilartman,  the  firm  name  continuing  Clarke  &  Hart- 
man  until  1886,  when  the  Ilartman  interest  was  sold  to  John  A.  Roth- 
rock.  In  1889  Mr.  Clarke  removed  to  Colorado  and  Mr.  A.  B.  Crampton, 
of  Delphi,  bought  his  interest  and  the  publishers  were  Crampton  & 
Rothrock,  continuing  thus  until  Mr.  Rothrock  purchased  the  Cramp- 
ton interest,  continuing  the  publication  alone  until  December,  1894, 
when  he  sold  the  entire  plant  to  Messrs.  J.  P.  Simons  and  A.  B.  Clarke, 
the  latter  having  returned  from  Colorado  some  time  previously.  These 
gentlemen  assumed  charge  under  the  firm  name  of  Clarke  &  Simons. 
The  senior  member,  being  a  practical  printer,  took  charge  of  the  me- 
chanical end  of  the  work  while  Mr.  Simons  assumed  charge  of  the  news 
and  editorial  departments,  and  this  arrangement  continued  for  almost 
twenty  years— until  May,  1914,  when  Mr.  Simons  sold  his  interest  to 
Mr.  Charles  L.  Foster  of  Idaville." 

Dio.uocrat-Journal-Observer  Company 

Mr.  Foster's  connection  with  the  paper  began  in  December,  1912, 
at  which  time  the  Democrat,  the  Idaville  Observer,  the  Reynolds  Jour- 
nal and  the  Evening  Journal  (Monticello's  only  daily  paper)  were 
incorporated  under  one  management  known  as  the  Democrat-Journal- 
Observer  Company.  The  Reynolds  Journal  was.  soon  afterward  dis- 
continued, but  the  other  publications  have  continued  up  to  the  present 
time  under  the  same  corporate  management,  from  which,  however,  Mr. 
Simons  has  withdrawn.  The  present  officers  are  A.  B.  Clarke,  president; 
Joshua  I).  Foster  (father  of  Chas.  L.  Foster),  vice  president,  and 
('has.  \j.  Poster,  secretary-treasurer. 

MnXTK.'KU.O   SPECTATOR 

•    By  1859  tlie  republican  party  had  grown  strong  enough  to  create  a 
Held  for  a  republican  newspaper  in  White  County,  and  the  want  was 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  165 

supplied  by  the  brothers  James  and  Benjamin  Spencer,  who  started  the 
Monticello  Spectator,  a  sprightly  six-column  folio.  Its  first  issue 
'appeared  May  12,  1859.  The  pre'ss  and  type  were  brought  from 
Rensselaer,  where  they  had  been  used  in  the  publication  of  the  Gazette, 
a  paper  on  which  one  or  both  the  brothers  had  formerly  been  employed 
as  printers.  Some  of  the  cases  and  stands  thus  imported  are  still  in  use 
in  the  present  office  of  the  Montieello  Herald,  which  is  a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  Spectator. 

The  Spectator  was  a  typographical  beauty  and  reflected  great  credit 
on  the  printers  who  produced  it.  It  was  all  home  print  ami  showed 
more  than  ordinary  editorial  ability.  It  was  not  long  in  getting 
embroiled  with  its  neighbor  the  Democrat  on  political  issues,  and  from 
first  to  last  it  was  engaged  in  a  sturdy  game  of  "give  and  take"  on  the 
questions  of  state  rights,  abolition  of  slavery,  "nigger  supremacy,"  free 
soil  and  other  issues  which  divided  the  political  parties  of  that  day. 
The  Spencer  brothers  had  not  reached  the  days  of  voting  contests,  and 
they  were  opposed  to  betting,  but  in  the  summer  of  1S60  they  offered  to 
send  the  Spectator  "to  all  responsible  Douglasites  of  White,  Pulaski 
and  Benton  counties,  payable  when  Lincoln  carries  Indiana."  It  is  not 
recorded  that  they  swelled  their  subscription  list  perceptibly  by  the 
offer  or  lined  their  coffers  with  Douglas  gold,  though  Lincoln  did  carry 
Indiana  at  the  November  election.  Early  in  September  of  I860  Benja- 
min Spencer  retired  from  the  firm  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  his 
brother  James  conducted  the  paper  alone  until  it  was  transferred  to 
Milton  M.  Sill  early  in  1862,  after  which  he  donned  the  blue  and  went. 
to  the  front. 

Monticello  Herald 

Mr.  Sill  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  the  Monticello  Herald, 
which  it  still  bears.  Its  first  issue  under  the  new  name  was  February  14, 
1862.  Of  this  venture  Mr.  Sill  himself  says  in  bis  uncompleted  history 
of  White  County:  "The  proprietor  within  a  month  learned  that  he 
had  purchased  one  of  the  very  largest  and  sleekest  white  elephants. 
The  expense  of  publication  so  far  exceeded  the  income  that  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year  he  found  his  balance  sheet  showed  a  deficit  of  more 
than  twelve  hundred  dollars.  He  still  continued  the  publication;  how- 
ever, watching  for  an  opportunity  to  let  go,  until  in  the  fall  of  186:5 
he  accepted  a  position  in  the  War  Office  at  Washington  and  placed  the 
paper  in  charge  of  James  G.  Staley,  who  continued  its  publication  until 
January,  1864,  sold  the  plant  to  A.  II.  Harritt,  raised  a  company  of 
volunteers  for  the  128th  reginfent,  went  to  the  front  and  was  killed  in 
the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tennessee.  What  became  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale  of  the  Herald  office  the  owner  never  learned  and  did  not  care  to 
inquire.  He  found  on  his  return  in  the  summer  of  1S(M  seventy-five 
dollars  in  the  hands  of  the  Auditor  for  the  publication  of  the  delinquent 
list  in  his  absence,  which  he  promptly  accepted  in  full  of  all  claims 
and  was  heartily  grateful  to  the  purchaser,  .Mr.  Harritt,  for  stepping 
in  as  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Herald  in  his  stead." 


. 


166  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Mr.  Harritt  bad  been  principal  of  the  schools  here  and  he  took  two  of 
his  pupils  into  the  office  with  him  as  "printer's  devils."  Under  his 
kindly  tolerance  they  were  permitted  to  issue  a  little  paper  of  their 
own  which  they  called  The  Junior,  and  which  cannot  be  omitted  in  a 
veracious  history  of  the  newspapers  of  the  county.  It  was  about  9  by  12 
inches  in  size  and  bore  the  names  of  A.  P.  Kerr  and  J.  B.  VanBuskirk 
as  editors  and  publishers.  It  lasted  until  it  began  to  consume  more 
time  than  even  the  most  indulgent  of  employers  could  afford  to  grant, 
and  then  the  Juuior's  wind  was  gently  shut  off.  Both  of  these  juvenile 
publishers  afterward  drifted  into  the  real  thing — one  as  a  publisher  of 
the  Constitutionalist  and  the  other  of  the  Herald. 

Mr.  Harritt  was  a  vigorous  and  aggressive  editor  and  the  Herald 
under  his  management  was  an  important  factor  in  the  republican 
vietory  of  1864  in  White  County.  In  February,  1865,  he  sold  a  half 
interest  to  Win.  II.  Dague  of  Logansport,  and  six  months  later  Mr. 
Dague  became  sole  owner.  He  continued  to  publish  the  Herald  until 
1869,  when  he  sold  the  plant  to  Mr.  S.  P.  Conner  and  entered  the 
practice  of  law  here.  In  1870  Mr.  Conner  sold  a  half  interest  to  W.  J. 
Huff,  son  of  Judge  Samuel  A.  Huff  of  LaFayette.  After  the  election 
in  the  fall  of  1870  Mr.  Conner  became  dissatisfied  with  the  political 
outlook  and  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Huff,  who  remained  sole  proprietor 
until  November,  1874,  when  he  sold  a  half  interest  to  J.  B.  VanBuskirk. 
In  the  meantime  the  fashion  of  country  journalism  had  changed.  A 
man  named  Kellogg  had  devised  the  plan  of  furnishing  country  pub- 
lishers their  papers  ready  printed  on  one  side  at  only  a  trifle  more 
than  the  cost  of  blank  paper.  The  Herald  had  adopted  the  ready-print 
plan,  had  enlarged  to  an  eight-column  folio  and  was  devoting  more 
space  than  formerly  to  local  news.  In  1877  the  office  was  moved  from  a 
tumble-down  shack  a  few  doors  south  of  the  court  house  on  Main  Street 
to  the  Kendall  Building  on  the  present  site  of  the  O'Connor  block.  In 
1879  it  exchanged  its  old  hand  press  for  a  Potter'  cylinder  and  soon 
afterward  added  a  steam  engine.  No  firm  of  country  printers  .ever 
worked  harder  or  more  harmoniously  to  build  up  a  business  than  the 
firm  of  Huff  &  VanBuskirk.  In  1884  they  built  the  present  Herald 
building  on  Broadway  and  moved  into  it  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  In 
1885  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  six-column  quarto  form  which  it  still 
retains.  Mr.  Huff  on  account  of  eye  trouble  decided  early  in  1888  to 
move  to  California  and  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner,  who  continued 
the  business  alone.  During  a  period  of  four  years  ( 1900-190:])  the 
Herald  was  published  by  Mr.  Ed  F.  Newton,  under  lease.  In  January, 
1904,  the  management  was  resumed  by  the  owner,  who  continued  as 
editor  and  publisher  until  January,  1915,  when  he  sold  the  office  entire 
to  the  Monticcllo  Herald  Company,  headed  by  Mr.  Charles  S.  Preston, 
I'li'rk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  under  whose  management  it  still  continues. 

The  National 

The    National,   a    weekly    paper,   was   established   here    in    1878    by 
.Jaeol)  Clay  Smith  as  the  organ  of  the  greenback  party,  which  wnx  then 


> 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  167 

causing  quite  a  political  stir  in  White  County.  The  party  soon  died, 
buj,  except  for  an  interval  of  about  four  years,  the  National  continued 
to  be  published  until  1905,  when  it  was  compelled  to  suspend  by  the 
sickness  and  death  of  its  owner.  He  died  August  4th  of  that  year.  In 
1 892  it  passed  for  a  time  into  the  hands  of  W.  I.  Ilarbert,  who  continued 
its  publication  a  few  months  under  the  name  of  the  People's  Advocate, 
representing  the  interests  of  the  populist  movement.  The  first  issue  of 
the  Advocate  appeared  July  9,  1892,  but  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
Ilarbert  moved  the  plant  to  Reynolds  and  in  partnership  with  W.  D. 
Wattles  launched  the  Broom,  a  short-lived  publication  similar  to  the 
Advocate.  Mr.  Smith,  who  in  the  meantime  had  been  employed  as  a 
printer  in  the  Democrat  office,  revived  the  National  in  1896,  and  though 
in  its  later  years  it  had  no  local  organization  to  represent,  he  kept  it 
alive  until  his  health  failed  nine  years  later.  The  plant  was  sold  piece- 
meal by  his  widow,  the  press  being  bought  by  the  Democrat  and  used  as 
a  proof  press. 

Monticeli.o  Times 

During  the  stirring  local  discussion  in  1892  which  preceded  the 
building  of  the  present  courthouse,  Isaac  Parsons,  then  editor  of  the 
Monon  News,  established  a  paper  here  called  the  Montieello  Times.  Its 
plant  was  located  in  an  old  building  on  the  present  site  of  the  Baker-Uhl 
Building,  and  its  first  issue  appeared  September  16th.  The  editor  said 
in  his  salutatory:  "The  Times  will  he  thoroughly  Democratic  and  free 
from  all  local  dissensions.  Its  aim  and  purpose  will  be  to  harmonize 
and  solidify  the  party."  Notwithstanding  this  programme  of  peace, 
harmony  and  solidarity,  the  real  purpose  of  the  new  paper  was  to 
provide  a  vehicle  for  certain  legal  advertising  which  the  acerbities  of 
the  courthouse  campaign  had  loosened  from  its  accustomed  moorings. 
Having  reaped  its  harvest,  and  the  animosities  of  the  courthouse  war 
having  abated  to  some  extent,  the  Times  withdrew  from  the  field  early 
in  the  following  year. 

For  about  a  year  the  Herald  and  Democrat  again  occupied  the  field 
alone,  "scrapping"  continuously,  as  had  been  their  custom  for  several 
years — a  custom  which  prevailed  almost  up  to  the  closing  of  the  grave 
upon  one  of  the  contending  editors.  It  was  a  barbaric  mode  of  journal- 
ism, apparently  necessitated  by  force  of  circumstances  in  those  days. 
It  was  afterward  moderated  to  a  more  civilized  plane  of  warfare,  and 
for  many  years  the  journalism  of  the  county  seat  of  White  County  has 
been  a  model  to  the  newspaper  world. 

Monticello  Weekly  Press 

The  Montieello  Weekly  Press  was  the  name  of  a  paper  launched  by 
Cary  M.  Reynolds  and  Harry  T.  Bott  in  April,  1891.  It  was  a  five- 
column  quarto  and  independent  in  politics.  Its  plant  was  located  in  an 
upstairs  room  on  North  Main  Street.  Mr.  Pott  soon  retired  from  the 
firm,  and  about  February  1,  189"),  Mr.  Reynolds  sold  the  entire  outfit  |o 


168  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

W.  J.  Hull',  who  was  then  in  tbe  grocery  business  here.  Mr.  Huff  moved 
the  plant  to  the  Woltz  Building  on  Washington  Street,  enlarged  the 

paper  to  a  six-column  quarto  and  in  August,  1895,  added  a  daily  edition. 
Later  he  abandoned  the  independent  held  and  made  the  Press  a  repub- 
lican paper,  hut  in  spite  of  his  long  experience  and  the  excellent 
Character  of  his  paper  it  proved  a  losing  venture,  and  in  September, 
1SD7,  the  Press,  both  weekly  and  daily,  suspended,  and  the  unexpired 
subscriptions  of  the  weekly  were  completed  by  the  Herald  and  Democrat. 

The  Daily  Journal 

In  the  meantime  another  daily  paper  called  the  Daily  Journal  had 
been  launched  by  the  original  founders  of  the  Press,  Messrs.  Reynolds 
and  Pott,  and  though  it  had  a  struggle  for  existence  it  weathered  every 
storm,  and  after  a  checkered  career  of  nearly  twenty  years  seems  now 
to  be  a  permanent  fixture  among  the  newspapers  of  the  city.  It  made 
its  first  appearance  .March  7,  1896,  as  a  morning  paper  but  was  soon 
changed  to  an  evening  edition  and  has  so  remained  to  this  day.  Mr. 
Pott  was  succeeded  in  the  firm  by  Fred  A.  Clarke,  who  ultimately 
became  sole  proprietor,  his  partner  going  to  Indianapolis,  where  he  is 
now  employed  as  a  linotype  operator  on  the  News.  In  the  fall  of  1903, 
.Mr.  Clarke  sold  the  plant  to  Ed  F.  and  Chas.  E.  Newton  and  migrated 
to  New  York  City,  where  he  has  taken  high  rank  as  a  job  printer, 
and  is  now  a  proofreader  for  the  Kellogg  Publishing  Company.  The 
Journal  office  was  at  that  time  located  opposite  the  Forbis  Hotel  on 
Main  St  net,  on  the  ground  floor  of  what  is  still  known  as  the  Journal 
Building.  Its  publication  was  continued  by  Newton  Bros,  until  Decem- 
ber, 1912,  when  it  was  merged  with  the  Democrat,  the  Idaville  Observer 
and  the  Reynolds  Journal,  and  is  still  published  by  the  Democrat- 
Observer-Journal  Company.  Both  the  Newton  brothers  followed  the 
Journal  into  its  new  environment.  Until  the  spring  of  1915  Charles  E. 
Newton  was  retained  as  its  editor,  while  his  brother  Ed  for  a  time  was  in 
charge  of  the  Idaville  Observer,  later  being  assigned  to  the  Reynolds 
Journal  and  performing  various  other  functions  for  the  company.  Since 
April,  1915,  .Mr.  Ed  X.  Thacker  has  been  editor  of  the  Journal. 

White  County  Republican 

In  December,  1899,  a  paper  called  the  White  County  Republican  was 
started  in  Monticello  by  Ashbel  P.  Reynolds,  who  installed  a  second-hand 
printing  plant  at  his  residence  on  Water  Street,  whence  the  paper  was 
issued,  with  D.  A.  Reynolds  as  publisher  and  Milton  M.  Sill  as  editor. 
It  ivpiesniled  the  views  of  a  limited  element  who  were  opposed  to  the 
Herald's  attitude  on  certain  questions  of  that  day,  and  for  a  lime  waged 
an  animated  campaign  against  what  it  regarded  as  factionism  in  the 
republican  party.  Not  finding  sufficient  support,  it  suspended  publi- 
cation within  a  year,  and  the  plant  was  again  on  the  market.  It  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Ilanna  &  Chilcott,  and  was  used  in  the  publi- 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  169 

cation  of  a  paper  called  the  Independent,  and  later  for  a  paper  called 
the  Socialist.  Both  of  these  ventures  were  short-lived,  and  the  plant  was 
finally  dismembered,  part  of  it  being  removed  to  P.uruettsville  and  part 
to  Brookston. 

White  County  Citizen 

In  the  spring  of  191-1  a  weekly  paper  called  the  White  County 
Citizen  was  launched  at  Monticello  as  the  organ  of  the  progressive  party 
by  Mr.  W.  L.  Murlin,  who  came  here  from  Grant  County,  bringing  a 
printing  plant  with  him.  His  office  was  at  first  located  in  the  south  end 
of  the  Porbis  Hotel  Building  on  the  ground  floor.  The  first  issue  of 
the  Citizen  appeared  May  29th  as  a  six-column  quarto.  After  the 
November  election  it  was  reduced  to  a  seven-column  folio  and  changed 
to  a  semi-weekly.  Later  Mr.  Murlin  tried  the  experiment  of  a  daily 
edition,  but  the  response  was  not  encouraging,  and  the  daily  was  limited 
to  three  issues,  which  appeared  December  17th,  18th  ami  19th.  The 
semi-weekly  continued  until  the  first  day  of  January,  when  it  too 
suspended.  At  the  time  of  the  Citizen's  demise  its  office  was  located  in 
a  room  on  North  Main  Street. 

Other  Monticello  Publications 

In  addition  to  the  publications  above  mentioned  there  have  been 
several  church  and  school  periodicals  which  have  found  a  field  of  use- 
fulness and  run  a  more  or  less  successful  course  in  Monticello.  The 
Gleaner  was  the  name  of  a  bright  church  quarterly  published  here 
during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  S.  C.  Dickey  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
during  the  latter  '80s.  A  similar  periodical  called  the  .Methodist 
Quarterly  was  published  by  Rev.  W.  B.  Slutz  during  his  two  years 
pastorate  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  from  the  fall  of  1887  to  the  fall  of  1889. 
These  quarterlies  were  in  magazine  form  and  represented  the  activities 
of  their  respective  churches  at  one  of  the  happiest  periods  of  their 
history.  A  publication  called  the  Bulletin,  on  a  somewhat  different 
plan,  was  issued  in  1892-93  by  Elder  P.  M.  Fishbuni,  pastor  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

At  one  time  the  high  school  maintained  a  periodical  called  the  Bee, 
and  of  late  years  the  Armiger  has  become  a  household  word  as  the 
annual  publication  of  the  senior  class.  It  is  a  work  of  art  rivaling  many 
college  annuals. 

Mention  must  be  made  of  one  more  periodical  which  was  issued  for  a 
short  time  from  the  Journal  press  about  1907.  Tt  was  the  Soapmaw 
Journal,  a  freak  conceived  by  a  printer  named  Harney  Fret/..  He  was 
an  erratic  genius  witli  an  artistic  temperament  which  shone  forth 
occasionally  in  music,  poetry  and  the  drama.  At  one  time  during  his 
stay  here  hi'  engaged  in  a  public  debate  at  the  opera  house  with  an 
alleged  clergyman  imported  for  the  occasion,  on  the  subject  of  the 
personality  of  the  devil.     Barney  took  the  orthodox  side  of  the  question 


170  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

uiul  vanquished  the  dominie,  but  the  gate  receipts  hardly  paid  the  hall 
rent.  The  name  of  his  publication  was  composed  of  the  initials  indicat- 
ing the  name  of  his  cult,  viz:  "'Society  of  America's  Progressive  Men 
and  Women."  Unfortunately  it  was  mistaken  abroad  for  an  organ  of 
the  soap  industry,  and  mail  continued  to  arrive  here  for  it  from  makers 
of  soap  and  other  toilet  articles  long  after  the  Soapmaw  Journal  had 
ceased  to  exist. 

Early  Newspaper  Field  at  Reynolds 

Outside  of  Monticello,  Reynolds  was,  in  years  past,  considered  the 
best  newspaper  point  in  White  County.  It  is  nearer  the  center  than 
any  other  large  town,  and  until  it  definitely  abandoned  its  aspirations 
for  the  county  seat,  a  possible  future  of  large  growth  beckoned  not  a 
few  to  the  place.  Monticello  held  the  newspaper  field  for  more  than 
twenty-one  years,  during  which  period,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Prairie 
Chieftain,  the  Tribune,  the  Republican,  the  Union,  the  Register,  the 
Political  Frame,  the  White  County  Jacksonian,  the  White  County 
Democrat,  the  Spectator,  the  Herald,  and  the  Constitutionalist,  all  suc- 
cessively or  contemporaneously  held  the  stage  at  the  county  seat,  from 
1850  to  1871,  before  Reynolds  ventured  into  newspaperdom. 

The  White  County  Banner 

On  February  24,  1871,  appeared  at  Reynolds  the  first  issue  of  the 
White  County  Banner,  witb  the  Reynolds  Publishing  Company  as  pub- 
lishers and  Kleist  &  Wood  as  editors,  according  to  the  heading  on  the 
first,  page.  On  the  second  page  the  name  of  Rudolph  Kleist  appeared  as 
editor.  It  was  a  five-column  folio,  20  by  26  inches  in  size,  and  its  name 
is  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  Abram  VanVoorst,  an  old  settler  of  the 
locality  and  father  of  Henry  VanVoorst,  afterward  county  auditor.  In 
1872  J.  I].  Dunham,  a  young  lawyer  and  ex-superintendent  of  the  Rey- 
nolds schools,  purchased  the  paper  and  managed  it  for  a  year.  He 
changed  its  name  to  the  Central  Clarion,  which  in  1876  became  the  White 
County  Register.  Under  that  name  it  suspended  in  1878 — in  after  years 
.Mr.  Dunham  explained  why:  "The  cause  of  its  suspension  was  a  change 
in  the  law  governing  the  publication  of  sheriff's  sales.  The  original  law 
directed  Hint  they  be  published  in  the  newspaper  nearest  the  land  to  be 
sold,  which  law  was  changed  to  permit  them  to  be  published  in  any  paper 
in  I  he  county  of  general  circulation.  When  this  patronage  was  withheld 
from  the  paper  it  could  fight  the  battle  no  longer."  Evidently,  the 
Rainier  should  not  have  depended  upon  one  solitary  source  of  supply  to 
keep  it  floating  on  the  breeze. 

'I'm;  Reynolds  Broom  and  Sun 

Another  eccentric  Reynolds  newspaper  enterprise  was  represented 
in  the  Broom,  which  had  its  origin  in  the  National  established  at  Mon- 
ticello by  the  greenback  party  in  the  spring  of  1878. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  171 

The  plant  was  bought  by  W.  I.  Harbert  in  1892  and  moved  to 
Reynolds,  where  the  Broom  was  started  in  the  interests  of  the  people's 
party.  Assoeiated  with  Harbert  in  its  publication  was  W.  D.  Wattles, 
a  man  of  considerable  ability,  who  afterward  gained  some  distinction  as 
a  socialistic  writer.  The  Broom  barely  outlived  the  campaign  which 
called  it  into  existence. 

The  Reynolds  Sun,  established  by  L.  II.  Crom  in  1899,  had  a  similar 
brief  career. 

The  Reynolds  Journal 

Reynolds'  last  newspaper  was  the  Journal,  which  issued  its  last 
number  October  24,  1913,  after  having  been  in  operation  about  three 
years.  It  was  issued  under  the  same  management  as  the  Idaville 
Observer  and  was  taken  over  with  that  paper  by  the  new  corporation 
formed  at  Monticello  in  1912  and  known  as  the  Democrat-Journal- 
Observer  Company,  a  full  account  of  which  is  given  in  the  history  cf 
the  press  at  the  county  seat.  Irvine  Gardner,  Margaret  P.  Snyder  and 
Ed  Heimlich  were  at  different  times  resident  editors  of  the  Journal,  but 
toward  the  close  of  its  .career  it  was  edited  by  Ed  P.  Newton,  who  visited 
the  town  once  or  twice  a  week  from  the  county  scat. 

The  Brookston  Reporter 

The  second  newspaper  to  be  established  outside  the  county  seat  was 
the  Brookston  Reporter,  and  it  is  still  in  the  swim.  It  was  founded 
April  3,  1873,  by  M.  H.  Ingram,  and  in  August  of  the  following  year 
Mas  purchased  .by  David  S.  and  Chester  C.  French,  father  and  son. 
Originally,  the  Reporter  was  a  six-column  folio,  but  was  later  doubled 
in  size.    It  has  always  been  independent  in  politics. 

David  S.  French  and  Chester  C.  Fuench 

The  elder  French  was  an  Ohio  man,  who  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist  Church  arid  held  several  charges  in  Illinois,  as  well  as  public 
office,  before  he  moved  his  family  to  Brookston  in  1868.  In  1874  when, 
in  partnership  with  his  son,  he  purchased  the  Reporter,  the  younger 
man,  Chester  C,  had  secured  a  liberal  education  ill  Chicago  and  made 
some  progress  in  medicine  under  Dr.  John  Medaris.  father  and  sou 
continued  in  partnership  until  1880,  when  the  latter  (('.  ('.  French) 
became  sole  proprietor  of  the  Reporter,  Rev.  David  S.  French  having 
i lied  on  November  6th  of  the  year  named. 

Besides  his  connection  with  the  Brookston  Reporter  for  about  thirty 
years,  Chester  C.  French  attained  prominence  ill  the  county  as  a  public 
speaker  and  held  such  offices  as  census  enumerator  and  town  clerk.  In 
July,  1905,  lie  sold  the  newspaper  to  John  A.  Metzgcr,  an  experienced 
newspaper  man,  who  still  conducts  it. 


172  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Other  Brookston'  Items 

The  Reporter  was  leased  to  J).  A.  Faweett  for  about  six  months  in 
1878,  and  to  George  II.  Healey  for  a  year  or  more  in  1897-9S.  Ilealey 
afterward  started  a  paper  called  the  Brookston  Gazette,  which  was 
afterwards  published  by  Wesley  Taylor  and  finally  absorbed  by  the 
Reporter. 

A  paper  called  the  Brookston  Magnet  was  started  in  that  town  by 
S.  M.  Burns  in  November,  1SS7,  but  the  plant  was  sold  and  moved  to 
Sheldon,  Illinois,  in  September,  18S8. 

The  Academy  Student  was  the  name  of  a  school  journal  published 
at  Brookston  in  1872  by  Prof.  Thomas  VanSeoy,  principal  of  the  Brook- 
ston Academy. 

*  Idaville  Observer 

Tdaville  made  her  first  venture  in  journalism  in  the  early  '80s 
through  George  \V.  Lucy  and  Mell  P.  Pilling,  who  started  the  Inde- 
pendent. Within  the  following  two  years  Mr.  Pilling  assumed  the 
ownership  and,  in  the  spring  of  18S6,  passed  the  plant  along  to  Al.  Good. 
Next  the  Independent  was  bought  by  Rev.  Gilbert  Small,  who  purchased 
a  new  press  and  printing  outfit.  lie  enlisted  his  sons  Bert  and  Will  in 
the  enterprise  and  in  June,  1886,  appeared  the  first  number  of  the 
Idaville  Observer,  under  the  auspices  of  Small  Brothers. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  a  typographical  career  for  both  these  brothers, 
Bert  being  now  connected  with  the  American  Press  Association,  and 
Will  a  successful  traveling  salesman  for  the  Barnhart  Bros.  Type 
Foundry.  The  Observer  has  since  passed  through  many  hands.  Among 
its  owners  and  editors  in  after  years  were  Wm.  II.  Heiny,  Frank 
Downs,  John  L.  Moorman,  Byron  McCall,  Sanderson  brothers  (Harry 
and  Bert),  II.  E.  MeCulley,  R.  M.  Isherwood  and  Charles  L.  Foster. 
Mr.  Foster  took  charge  in  1!)04,  and  under  his  management  it  is  said 
to  have  become  an  actual  money-maker  as  well  as  an  ideal  country 
newspaper.  In  1912  it  became  a  part  of  the  Democrat-Journal-Observer 
syndicate  of  Monticello,  but  still  retains  its  local  identity  by  means  of 
a  resident  manager. 

The  Monon  Dispatch 

Motion's  first  paper  was  the  Dispatch,  which  made  its  first  appearance 
in  September,  1884,  with  Stokes  &  Martin  as  publishers.  A.  K.  Sills, 
J.  II.  Turpie  and  Charles  Downing  were  early  financial  backers  of  the 
enterprise,  and  Downing  afterward  became  the  sole  owner.  Later  it 
drifted  into  the  hands  of  a  man  named  Faweett,  and  ultimately  was 
succeeded  by  the  Monou  Leader,  which  made  its  first  appearance  early  in 
January,  1887,  with  Charles  Cook  as  "editor  and  proprietor"  and  Dr. 
•J.  T.  Reed  as  associate  editor.  After  various  vicissitudes  the  plant  was 
sold  and  removed  to  Ladoga  in  January,  1889. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  1715 

The  Monon  News 

John  M.  Winkley,  who  had  lately  been  postmaster  of  Monon,  then 
established  a  paper  called  the  Times,  which  after  about  two  years  was 
succeeded  by  the  Monon  News.  The  latter,  which  has  survived  to  this 
day,  was  published  by  Isaac  Parsons,  formerly  a  lawyer  at  LaFayctte. 
He  had  two  or  three  sons  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  business. 
During  the  Parsons  regime  another  paper,  called  the  Review,  was  started 
at  Monon  by  a  man  named  Moore,  but  it  withdrew  from  the  field  after  a 
few  months,  and  its  subscription  list  was  transferred  to  the  Monticello 
Press.  In  November,  1897,  Parsons  sold  the  plant  to  W.  D.  Harlow,  a 
hotel  manager  at  Monticello,  who  had  formerly  been  connected  with  the 
Crawfordsville  Star.  He  found  the  newspaper  path  at  Monon  not  a 
smooth  one,  and  after  a  year  or  two  he  disposed  of  it  to  It.  M.  Streeter, 
of  Winamac.  Later  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  Mr.  Jones,  who  sooii 
afterward  took  French  leave.  He  was  succeeded  by  a  man  named  Weeks, 
who  died  in  1905,  leaving  the  plant  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Peetz.  Mr. 
C.  A.  McAllister,  still  a  resident  of  Monon,  was  also  publisher  of  the 
News  for  a  time. 

The  News  gained  a  state-wide  celebrity  under  the  management  of 
Mrs.  Peetz  by  its  enthusiastic  support  of  her  husband  for  state  statisti- 
cian, to  whom  she  always  referred  editorially  as  "our  husband."  Mr. 
Peetz  was  elected,  and  in  December,  1908,  the  paper  was  sold  to  W.  J. 
Huff,  a  veteran  printer  and  journalist,  who,  with  his  sons,  Edgar  J.  and 
Walter  S.,  have  since  conducted  the  business. 

W.  J.  Huff 

The  senior  proprietor  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  his  native  town 
of  LaFayette.  There  Mr.  Huff  published  the  Liliputian  for  about  a 
year  and  a  half  and  in  1870  moved  to  Monticello,  where  he  became  part 
owner  of  the  Herald;  six  months  later  he  was  sole  proprietor  and  in 
1874  went  into  partnership  with  J.  B.  VanBuskirk.  In  1871  he  was 
also  appointed  postmaster  and  held  that  office  until  October,  188"). 

Mr.  Huff  has  been  handicapped  in  his  career  by  an  affliction  of 
the  eyes,  and  in  1888  he  gave  up  the  newspaper  business  on  that  account 
and  removed  to  California.  He  soon  returned,  however,  and  re-entered 
the  newspaper  mid.  Prior  to  locating  at  Monon  lie  was  engaged  in 
journalism  at  Valparaiso,  Monticello,  Greenwood,  Spencer,  Kirklin  and 
New  Richmond.  Though  he  is  now  practically  blind,  (he  News  has 
developed  wonderfully  under  his  management  and  is  now  equipped 
with  a  linotype  and  other  modern  machinery,  placing  it  in  the  trout 
rank  of  White  Count}-  newspapers. 

Mr.  Huff  is  the  son  of  the  will  known  Judge  Samuel  A.  Hull',  who 
was  a  printer  at  Indianapolis  in  his  earlier  years  and  spent  the  hulk  of 
his  manhood  as  a  citizen  of  LaFayette,  engaged  in  legal  practice,  and 
in  judicial  and  political  activities. 


174  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  Wowjott  Enterprise 

The  Woleott  Enterprise  was  founded  by  Everett  A.  Walker  on  the 
1st  of  April,  1892.  Mft  Walker  continued  to  edit  and  publish  it  until 
September,  1907,  when  the  paper  was  sold  to  Edward  N.  Thacker,  and 
in  -May,  1908,  Mr.  Thacker  was  succeeded  by  the  present  editor  and 
proprietor,  L.  M.  Kean.  The  Enterprise  was  the  first  paper  in  White 
County  to  install  a  typesetting  machine. 
'  0 

Chalmers  Ledger 

The  first  paper  published  at  Chalmers  was  the  Ledger.  It  made  its 
appearance  in  November,  1893,  with  a  Mr.  Patterson  as  editor  and  pub- 
lisher, though  a  man  named  Clark  from  Battle  Ground  had  done  the 
preliminary  prospecting  and  installed  the  plant.  "Wilbur  Walts  was  its 
publisher  at  two  different  periods  in  its  career,  the  last  in  1899,  under 
lease  from  L.  M.  Crom,  who  had  become  its  owner.  In  the  spring  of 
1900  the  Ledger  was  sold  to  George  H.  Healey,  who  published  it  for 
several  months  in  connection  with  his  other  paper,  the  Brookston 
Gazette. 

Chalmers  Despatch 

The  Chalmers  Despatch  was  founded  in  April,  1900,  by  Wilbur  A. 
Walts.  Mr.  Walts  was  succeeded  as  publisher  of  the  Despatch  by  Grant 
Mullendore  about  1902,  and  he  in  turn  by  Francis  M.  Smith  about  a 
year  later.  Since  May  3,  1909,  Arthur  F.  Knepp  has  been  owner,  editor 
and  publisher.  During  the  campaign  of  1912  a  paper  called  the  Pro- 
gressive was  issued  from  the  Despatch  office,  but  it  suspended  soon  after 
the  election. 

Bl'rkettsville  Enterprise 

Burnettsville's  first'  paper  was  the  Enterprise,  established  in  1888 
by  J.  E.  Sutton,  who  printed  it  at  Logansport  in  connection  with  the 
Logansport  Reporter.  Benton  Pizer  was  the  local  manager.  He  was 
succeeded  about  1891  by  Randolph  J.  Million,  who  continued  in  charge 
for  some  time  after  he  had  moved  to  Monticello  to  practice  law,  but  in 
1894  it  suspended  for  lack  of  a  local  manager. 

BURNF.TTSVII.I.E  DlSPATCH 

The  Bumettsville  Dispatch  was  founded  about  1900  by  Sylvester  W. 
Rizer,  being  financed  largely  by  .1.  ('.  Duffey.  After  a  few  months  Mr. 
Pizer  was  succeeded  by  Guy  Ilaima  and  Charles  Chilcott,  who  later 
turned  it  over  to  Frank  Stuart,  who  assumed  the  financial  obligations 
of  the  paper.  He  sold  it  after  a  year  or  so  to  Harriett  Fuller,  anil 
shoitlv  afterward  it  ceased  to  exist. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  17:"> 

BURNETTSVILLE   NEWS 

The  Bufnettsville  News,  the  first  paper  actually  printed  in  Burnetts- 
ville,  was  established  by  J.  Rolland  Doan,  November  21,  1007.  He  was 
a  practical  printer  and  also  a  successful  manager.  When  he  married  a 
Delphi  girl  soon  after  his  debut  as  a  publisher  he  raised  the  subscription 
price  of  his  paper  accordingly  and  averted  a  deficit.  He  sold  the 
News  February  23,  1915,  to  A.  0.  Townsley  and  Frank  Beshoar,  who 
.have  since  continued  its  publication  under  the  firm  name  of  Frank 
Beshoar  &  Co. 

General  Progress 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  county  in  Indiana  has  more  newspapers  in 
proportion  to  its  population  than  White  County.  At  the  time  the 
present  writer  entered  the  newspaper  business  here  in  1874  there  was 
only  one  paper  outside  of  the  county  seat — the  Brookston  Reporter,  lit 
the  early  days  the  old  Washington  hand  press  was  the  stock  in  trade  of 
the  country  newspaper.  An  expert,  with  a  faithful  roller  boy  to  ink 
the  forms,  could  work  off  a  "token,"  or  240  papers,  in  an  hour  with  it. 
The  first  cylinder  press  in  the  county  was  a  second-hand  Campbell, 
introduced  by  James  W.  McEwen  when  he  moved  the  Democrat  office  to 
the  old  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1879  the  Herald  exchanged  its  hand 
press  for  a  new  Potter  cylinder,  and  of  late  years  the  old  hand  press 
has  disappeared  even  from  the  humblest  printing  office  in  the  county. 
The  old  process  of  setting  type  by  hand  is  also  becoming  obsolete,  and 
now  four  of  the  printing  offices  in  the  county  are  equipped  with  linotypes 
— the  Herald  and  Democrat  at  Monticello,  the  News  at  Monon,  and  the 
Enterprise  at  Wolcott. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MILITARY  MATTERS 

A  Soldier  of  1814-15 — The  Mexican  War  Trio— Messrs.  Ford,  Steele 

and  mccormick — prompt  responses  to  uphold  tiie  union the 

Three-Months'  Recruits — First  War  Sacrifice — White  County's 
Larger  Contingents  —  The  Monticello  Rifles  —  Company  E, 
Forty-sixth  Regiment — Capt.  R.  W.  Sill's  Company — Represen- 
tations in  the  Sixty-third  Regiment — Capt.  George  Bowman's 
Company — Company  F,  Ninety-ninth  Regiment — The  Threat- 
ened Draft  of  1862 — Escape  from  the  1863  Draft — The  Six 
Months'  Company — Capt.  James  G.  Staley— TnE  Heavy  Calls  of 
1864 — The  Drafts  of  1864  and  1865 — Summary  of  Number  of 
Troops  Raised — Bounty  and  Relief  Voted — The  Spanish-Ameri- 
can War. 

The  broad  participation  of  White  County  in  military  matters  did  not 
commence  until  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war,  although  both  the  War  of 
1812  and  the  Mexican  war  appear  to  have  drawn  into  their  meshes 
several  of  the  citizens  of  that  section. 

A  Soldier  of  1814-15 

The  only  direct  interest  which  the  local  historian  can  take  in  the 
former  war  lies  in  the  fact  that  Ira  Bacon,  a  member  of  the  first  board 
of  county  commissioners,  came  in  at  the  tag  end  of  hostilities,  as  is 
proven  by  his  honorable  discharge  to  the  following  effect:  "Ira  Bacon, 
a.  private  in  Captain  Van  Meter's  company  of  Ohio  Militia  in  the. service 
of  the  United  States,  has  faithfully  performed  a  six  months'  tour  of 
duty,  ami  is  hereby  honorably  discharged  from  the  service  at  Fort  Meigs, 
this  22d  day  of  February,  1815."  The  paper  is  signed  by  John  Russell, 
major  commanding  Port  Meigs,  and  Jacob  Linn,  sergeant. 

The  Mexican  War  Trio 

White  County's  connection  with  the  Mexican  war  is  more  intimate. 
Two  of  her  boys  lost  their  lives  in  that  conflict,  and  one  of  the  three  to 
enlist  relumed  to  his  Jackson  Township  home  without  his  right  foot  and 
carrying  with  him  Severn]  severe  wounds.  The  trio  who  thus  first 
broughl  war  home  to  (lie  people  of  the  county  were  William  F.  Ford,  U. 
II.  Steele  and   Keveridge   AleCormiek,   ami   they  all   were  residents  of 

176 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  177 

that  township.     At  that  time  there  were  about  3,000  people  in  the  entire 
county. 

The  contingent  from  Jackson  Township,  White  County,  joined  Cap- 
tain Tipton's  Company  E,  of  the  United  States  .Mounted  Rifles,  which 
rendezvoused  at  Logansport.  The  hoys  had  enlisted  on  the  6th  of  June, 
1846,  for'  a  term  of  five  years.  The  regiment  was  mounted  and  fully 
equipped  at  St.  Louis  'and  in  the  winter  of  1846  embarked  from  New 
Orleans  for  Vera  Cruz.  It  is  not  necessary  to  write  a  history  of  the 
Mexican  war  jjs  an  excuse  for  the  presence  of  these  three  brave  soldiers 
from  "White  County.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  they  met  the  hardships 
of  the  war  with  American  grit,  and  that  two  of  them  were  shattered  at 
Ccrro  Gordo. 

Messrs.  Fohd,  Steele  and  McCormick 

In  the  first  day's  tight  Ford  received  a  bad  saber  cut  on  the  left  thigh 
just  above  the  knee,  but  he  came  back  pluckily  for  the  second  day's 
engagement.  At  this  trial  with  fate  he  was  not  so  fortunate,  as  a  shell 
shot  away  his  right  foot  just  above  the  ankle,  one  wrist  was  pierced  by  a 
lance  and  another  by  a  bullet,  and  a  bayonet  made  a  jagged  wound 
through  the  lower  jaw.  While  lying  helpless  on  the  battlefield  he  was 
sufficiently  conscious  to  tear  an  epaidette  from  the  uniform  of  the 
wooden-legged  Santa  Anna,  the  Mexican  commander,  who  had  left  it 
behind  with  other  personal  effects.  When  lie  became  convalescent  he 
retained  this  memento  as  a  priceless  relic  of  his  war  experience,  and, 
on  the  whole,  considered  it  of  more  value  than  the  monthly  pension  which 
he  drew  from  the  Government 

Ford's  two  comrades  were  not  so  tenacious  of  life.  McCormick  also 
was  badly  wounded  at  Cerro  Gordo  by  a  ball  which  ranged  across  his 
breast  and  shattered  the  left  arm  near  the  shoulder.  The  al tending 
surgeon  found  it  necessary  to  remove  the  humerus  from  the  socket,  but 
the  operation  proved  too  great  a  shock  to  McCormick,  who  soon  died. 
Steel  gave  up  his  life  near  Chapultepec  as  the  result  of  some  bowel 
disorder. 

Prompt  Responses  to  Uphold  the  Union 

White  County  was  one  with  every  other  section  of  Indiana  in  its 
prompt  response  to  the  presidential  call  for  troops  to  suppress  the  rebel- 
lion. Its  population  was  about  9,000  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  and 
at  times  during  the  height  of  the  conflict  fully  a  fourth  of  its  citizens  of 
military  age  were  absent  at  the  front.  Seven  full  companies  were  raised 
and  many  more  soldiers  formed  part  of  other  commands.  The  linancial 
resources  of  the  county  were  also  strained  to  the  limit,  more  than  $101,000 
being  raised  officially  in  bounties  and  measures  of  relief,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  thousands  of  dollars  represented  by  the  private  donations  in  clothing, 
provisions  and  hospital  and  field  supplies  (or  the  sick,  wounded  and  dead. 

Port  Sumter  surrendered  to  General   Beauregard,   the  Confederate 


178  HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY 

commander,  on  Saturday,  the  l:ith  of  April,  1861,  the  following  day 
President  Lincoln  issued  his  call  for  75,000  troops,  and  within  an  hour 
from  its  publication,  Robert  II.  Milroy,  a  Mexican  war  veteran,  of  Jasper 
County,  began  to  recruit  a  company  at  Rensselaer.  By  the  16th  the  gov- 
ernor and  adjutant-general,  as  well  as  citizens  generally,  were  issuing 
proclamations  and  calls  for  public  meetings  to  give  expression  to  Union 
sentiment  and  raise  recruits.  Colonel  Milroy,  in  his  bills,  announced  that 
"the  volunteer  wants  two  shirts  and  two  days'  provisions  in  his  sack" 
and  that  he  woftld  be  on  hand  at  the  points  specified  in  his  call  to  "re- 
ceive all  who  may  wish  to  join  Ins  two  hundred  men  from  Jasper." 

The  call  for  a  Union  meeting  issued  on  the  16th,  inviting  the  citizens 
of  Montieello  and  vicinity  to  gather  at  the  courthouse  "to  give  expression- 
of  sentiment  in  support  of  the  Government  in  its  present  peril  and  of 
the  Caw  here  and  elsewhere,"  was  to  be  addressed  by  Judge  Turpie  and 
others,  and  was  signed  by  Isaac  Reynolds,  A.  R.  Orton,  J.  C.  Reynolds, 
R.  Brearley,  <>.  MeConahay,  M.  Henderson,  Hugh  I?.  Logan,  Daniel  D. 
Dale,  Thomas  l'.ushnell,  Thomas  D.  Crow,  W.  S.  Haymond,  James  B. 
Belford,  Joseph  Rothrock,  Richard  Brown,  William  Rees,  P.  R.  Faling, 
0.  W.  Kendall,  1).  Turpie,  Major  Levi  Reynolds,  A.  Ilanawalt,  R.  Hughes, 
T.  1'.  [den,  Thomas  Bunnell,  Thompson  Crose,  E.  J.  C.  Hilderbrand,  J. 
Harbolt,  James  Wallace,  James  W.  McBwen,  IT.  II.  P.  Anderson  and 
John  Ream. 

The  Three-Months'  Recruits 

Not  only  at  Montieello,  but  in  every  township  in  the  county,  were 
held  enthusiast  ie  Union  meetings,  attended  by  both  sexes,  and  by  the  19th 
the  Montieello  Spectator  announced  the  following:  "About  one  hundred 
men,  residents  of  the  county,  have  enlisted  in  their  country's  defense, 
some  of  whom  joined  Colonel  R.  II.  Milroy 's  company  from  Rensselaer. 
Of  these  J.  J.  Staley,  Watson  Brown,  Martin  Cochell,  Francis  Sweet, 
-Lewis  Murray,  Edward  Neff,  James  Stevenson  and  brother,  went  from 
this  place.  Twenty-live  were  from  Bradford  and  twenty  from  Reynolds." 
These  men  all  joined  Colonel  Milroy 's  Ninth  Regimen'  of  Indiana  Volun- 
teers, and  a  number  of  other  men  from  "White  County  went  direct  to 
Indianapolis  and  were  received  into  Company  K,  of  the  Tenth.  This  first 
contribution  of  men,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  three-months'  recruits. 

First  War  Sacrifice 

One  of  the  first  to  enlist  was  a  young  man  named  John  Brown,  a 
grandson  of  Gen.  Simon  Kenton,  the  famous  Kentucky  frontiersman. 
While  tin!  regiment  was  en  route  to  Indianapolis,  somewhat  more  than  a 
week  after  the  fall  of  Sumter,  young  Brown  was  killed  by  the  ears  at 
Clark's  Hill  the  first  war  sacrifice  by  the  people  of  White  County.  The 
corpse  was  brought  hack  and  buried  near  Miller  Kenton's  residence,  three 
miles  southwest  of  Montieello. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  the  White  County  boss  who  had  left  for 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  179 

the  three  months'  service  returned  to  their  homes,  several  of  them 
wounded.  The  most  serious  engagement  in  which  the  Ninth  and  Tenth 
Indiana  regiments  had  participated  was  that  at  Rich  Mountain,  where 
Colonel  Milroy  acquitted  himself  so  gallantly.  The  reception  accorded 
the  home-comers  was  enthusiastic  and  affectionate,  neither  of  which  mani- 
festations were  to  warfe,  through  the  coming  years  of  trial  and  bitter 
experience.  A  month  before!,  Capt.  Alfred  Reed's  company  of  three- 
years'  men  had  marched  to  the  front  and  the  returning  short-term 
soldiers  were  received  at  his  residence  by  his  good  wife  and  the  other 
ladies  of  the  town.  Other  houses  at  Monticello  were  thrown  open  to 
them;  but  they  did  not  long  linger  in  the  smiles  of  peace,  but  com- 
menced at- once  to  recruit  and  enlist  for  the  companies  which  were  being 
so  rapidly  organized  for  "three  years  or  the  war." 

White  County's  Larger  Contingents 

White  County  furnished  the  following  companies  for  the  Union  serv- 
ice in  the  Civil  war:  Company  K,  Twentieth  Regiment,  Capts.  Alfred 
Reed  and  J.  C.  Brown;  Company  E,  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  Capts.  Wil- 
liam Spencer,  Henry  Snyder  and  Charles  P.  Fisher;  Company  (!,  same 
regiment,  Capts.  Robert  W.  Sill,  Joseph  D.  Cowdin,  Woodson  S.  Mar- 
shall, James  Hess  and  Joseph  L.  Chamberlain;  Company  (I,  Sixty-third 
Regiment,  Capts.  John  Hollodyke  and  T.  S.  Jones;  Company  1),  Twelfth 
Regiment,  Capts.  George  Bowman  and  B.  F.  Price;  Company  P,  Ninety- 
ninth  Regiment,  Capts.  George  H.  Gwinn  and  Andrew  Cochran  ;  Company 
K,  One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth  Regiment  (six  months),  Capt.  Elijah  C. 
Davis;  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eight h,  Capts.  James  G. 
Staley  and  Henry  G.  Bliss;  Company  G,  One. Hundred  and  Fifty-first 
Regiment  (White  and  Pulaski  counties),  Capt.  Carter  L.  Vigus. 

The  Monticello  Rifles 

Some  time  in  April  the  Monticello  Rifles  was  formed,  offered  its  serv- 
ices to  the  state  and  entered  into  a  vigorous  course  of  drilling  so  as  to 
be  in  readiness  for  whatever  might  come.  On  the  9th  of  .May  the  enthu- 
siastic young  soldiers  learned  from  Governor  Morton  that  their  services- 
would  not  be  required,  with  an  order  to  immediately  forward  the  guns, 
in  their  possession.  The  Rifles  were  considerably  chagrined,  but  meta- 
phorically stood  by  their  guns  though  they  actually  sent  them  to  Indi- 
anapolis, with  the  following  protesting  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  That  White  county  feels  that  her  interest  in  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union  and  the  honor  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  is  etjiial  to  that  of 
any  other  county  in  the  state  or  the  United  States  and  she  should  have 
the  opportunity  of  manifesting  it  on  the  field  of  battle. 

"Resolved,  That  we  shall  maintain  our  organization  and  keep  alive 
the  tender  of  our  services  to  the  State  at  any  time  they  may  he  required." 

Whatever  the  cause,  the  chief  executive  of  the  slate  notified  the   Moil 

tieello   Rifles  about  the'   middle  of   May   that    their  services  had   been 


180  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

accepted  and  that  they  should  proceed  to  Camp  Tippecanoe,  Lafayette, 
on  the'  5th  of  July.    This  information  created  not  only  much  enthusiam 

but  profound  satisfaction,  the  public  sentiment  being  well  expressed  by 
the  Spectator  of  July  12th  in  the  following  paragraph :  .  ■ 

"Departure  of  Captain  Reed's  Company!  White  County  Re- 
deemed \—  The  most  interesting  scene  since  the  opening  of  the  war,  so 
far  as  relates  to  our  town  and  county,  occurred  in  this  place  on  the  first 
of  the  present  week.  ( )n  Tuesday  the  glad  news  came  that  Captain  Reed's 
company,  \?hich  was  being  organized  in  our  midst,  had  been  accepted  and 
would  march  next  day  to  Camp  Tippecanoe,  taking  position  in  Colonel 
Brown's  regiment.  It  was  immediately  announced  that  there  would  be  a 
farewell  meeting  at  the  court  house  in  the  evening.  The  parents  and 
friends  of  the  volunteers  flocked  out  until  the  house  was  crowded.  Pro- 
ceedings were  opened  with  prayer  and  music.  After  the  company  had 
formed  in  line  and  everybody  had  shaken  hands  with  the  brave  boys  and 
bid  them  good-bye,  the  meeting  adjourned  to  assemble  next  morning  at 
the  railroad,  where  a  nice  flag  was  presented  the  company,  Rev.  Mr.  Smith 
making  the  speech,  and  more  farewells  were  said." 

The  Monticello  Rifles,  under  Captain  Reed,  journeyed  to  Indianapolis 
to  join  the  other  units  of  the  Twentieth  Regiment,  which  was  there 
organized  on  July  22d.  The  Monticello  boys  elected  Alfred  Reed  as  cap- 
tain; John  T.  Richardson,  first  lieutenant;  Daniel  D.  Dale,  second  lieu- 
tenant; and  John  C.  Brown,  first  sergeant.  The  company  was  mustered 
into  the  service  as  K,  of  the  Twentieth  Indiana,  and,  as  an  organization, 
passed  through  four  years  of  trying  warfare.  It  became  first  actively 
engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Ilatteras  Inlet,  North  Carolina;  participated 
in  the  engagement  between  the  Merrimac,  Cumberland  and  Congress,  the 
capture  of  Norfolk,  Virginia;  in  the  Peninsula  campaign  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  and  the  battles  of  Fair  Oaks,  Manassas  Plains  and  Fred- 
ericksburg, in  1862;  thi'  hat  lies  of  Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg,  in 
1863,  and  the  Campaign  of  the  Wilderness,  the  sieges  of  Petersburg  and 
Richmond  and  the  final  opera) ions  against  the  Confederate  Army  of  Vir- 
ginia, which,  with  minor  events,  covered  the  last  two  years  of  its  service. 
The  regiment,  with  Company  K,  was  mustered  out  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, on  July  12,  1865. 

Company  E,  Forty-sixth  Regiment 

The  second  complete  organization  to  enter  the  service  from  White 
County  was  Company  10,  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  with  Dr.  William  Spen- 
cer, captain;  Eli  R.  Herman.  Brst  Lieutenant;  and  Henry  Snyder,  second 
lieutenant.  These  men  had  pushed  the  enlistment  during  the  latter  part 
of  September  and  the  earlier  portion  of  October,  and  on  the  loth  of 
the  latter  month  the  company  departed  for  Logansport  to  be  organized 
and  incorporated  into  the  Forty-sixth  Regiment  under  Graham  N.  Fitch. 
Before  starting  the  hoys  listened  to  a  farewell  address  from  the  court- 
house steps  delivered  by  T.  I>.  Crow,  to  which  Captain  Spencer  replied. 

The  regimen!    saw   its  Brut   active  service  in  Missouri  as  a   part   of 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  181 

General  Pope's  army,  afterward  campaigning  in  Arkansas,  in  operations 
against  Arkansas  Post,  Duvall's  Bluff,  etc.  It  also  participated  in  the 
Yazoo  River  Expedition,  tlie  Siege  of  Vicksburg  and  the  Battle  of  Cham- 
pion Hills,  before  it  was  incorporated  into  the  Army  of  the  Department' 
of  the  Gulf  unek'r  Hanks.  It  suffered  in  the  misfortunes  of  the  Red  River 
Expedition,  and  was  finally  mustered  out  of  the  service  in  September, 
1865.     • 

Capt.  R,  W.  Sill's  Company 

* 

Company  G,  which  was  composed  entirely  of  White  County  men,  also 
faithfully  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  Forty-sixth  Regiment.  Much  of 
the  company  was  enlisted  while  Spencer's  was  being  organized,  the  most 
active  figure  in  the  work  being  R.  "W.  Sill,  and  that  he  was  to  be  captain 
of  it  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  There  was  evidently  some  rivalry  be- 
tween the  two  organizations,  although  perhaps  not  bitter  enough  to  call 
forth  the  following  from  the  Spectator,  after  the  departure  of  Captain 
Spencer's  command  for  the  camp  at  Logansport :  "Now  for  Captain 
R.  W.  Sill's  company.  Let  it  be  filled  up  immediately,  and  cursed  be  the 
craven-hearted  cur  that  offers  opposition  to  it.  It  is  a  double  duty  we 
owe  to  Mr.  Sill  and  our  bleeding  country  to  help  the  matter  on.  Let's 
do  it  like  men." 

Joseph  D.  Cowdin  and  John  M.  Berkey,  who  were  Mr.  Sills'  most 
active  assistants,  were  elected  first  and  second  lieutenants,  respectively, 
when  the  company  formally  organized  at  Logansport. 

Company  G  finally  departed  from  Monticello  on  the  21st  of  Novem- 
ber, the  event  being  celebrated  by  a  dinner  given  by  the  ladies  of  the 
town  at  the  house  of  J.  C.  Reynolds  and  ceremonies  at  the  court  house, 
which  included  speeches  by  Colonel  Fitch  of  the  Forty-sixth,  Judge  Tur- 
pie  and  others,  a  sword  presentation  to  Captain  Sill  and  a  flag  presenta- 
tion to  the  company.  On  the  11th  of  December  the  company,  fully 
organized  and  equipped,  was  sworn  into  the  service  of  the  United  States 
with  other  units  of  the  regiment. 

A  few  men  from  White  County  also  entered  Companies  A,  C,  II  and 
I  of  the  Forty-sixth.     , 

Representations  in  the  Sixty-tiiiiui  Reqiw  ent 

The  Sixty-third  Regiment  had  a  large  representation  from  White 
County.  During  the  early  months  of  18G2,  Capt.  M.  I''.  Johnson,  Lieuc. 
Joseph  W.  Davis  and  others  enlisted  about  two  thirds  of  a  company 
which  afterward  became  D,  of  the  Sixty-third.  In  August  ('apt.  John 
Ilollaway  of  Norway,  Lieut.  George  W.  Jewett  of  Reynolds,  Lieut.  Aden 
Nordyke  of  SeahVId,  and  others,  enlisted  a  full  company,  'I.  of  thai  regi- 
ment. From  January  to  August  of  1862  more  than  200  men  lcfl  the 
county,  about  150  joining  the  Sixty-third.  Company  (i  was  organized 
with  John  Ilolloway  as  captain. 

Company  D  formed  part  of  a  battalion  which  participated  in  Second 
Bull   Run,  but  G.  which  was  one  of  six  companies  raised  under  the  call 


182  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

of.Jialy,  1862,  remained  at  Indianapolis  until  December,  engaged  in  guard 
duty,  and  until  April,  1864;  was  chiefly  employed  in  guarding  the  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee  railroads.  At  that  time  as  part  of  the  Twenty-third 
Army  Corps  it  became  a  part  of  .Sherman's  army,  then  about  to  enter  the 
Atlanta  campaign.  The  Sixty-third  gave  a  good  account  of  itself  at 
Resaca,  Lost  Mountain  and  the  engagements  around  Atlanta,  the  Battle 
of  Franklin  and  the  pursuit  of  Hood.  The  portion  of  the  regiment  com- 
prising Company  G  was  mustered  out  in  June,  1865;  that  containing 
Compaifcv  I),  in  the  month  previous.  As  a  regiment  it  had  a  public  recep- 
tion in  the  capital  grounds,  Indianapolis,  before  its  final  discharge  from 
the  service. 

Capt.  George  Bowman's  Company 

The  enlistments  in  White  County  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1862 
were  especially  active.  Even  by  June  of  that  year  more  than  one-fourth 
of  the  voting  population  of  the  county  was  in  the  field.  Two  full  com- 
panies were  raised  under  the  presidential  call  of  July.  George  Bow- 
man's company  (I),  of  the  Twelfth  Regiment)  was  the  first  to  get  in 
marching  order — the  fifth  full  organization  to  enter  the  service  from 
"White  County  for  three  years  or  during  the  war. 

During  July  war  meetings  were  held  throughout  the  county  as  an 
impetus  to  enlistment.  Au  especially  enthusiastic  meeting  was  held  at 
Idaville,  on  the  26th  of  July,  upon  which  occasion  Belford,  Callahan  and 
Wallace,  loyal  democrats  all,  vigorously  delivered  patriotic  addresses,  and 
urged  all  men,  without  regard  to  party,  to  stand  by  the  Union.  A  rous- 
ing meeting  was  also  held  at  Monticello. 

On  the  same  day  of  the  meeting  at  Idaville,  two  meetings  were  held 
in  Liberty  Township,  where  eight  volunteers  joined  Captain  Bowman's 
company.  Early  in  August  the  company  received  marching  orders.  On 
the  5th  of  August  the  boys  were  given  a  picnic  dinner  at  Norway,  on 
which  occasion  C.  J.  L.  Foster  and  others  spoke  to  the  large  crowd  that 
had  assembled  to  hid  the  boys  good-bye.  Essays  were  read  by  Miss  Arnold 
and  others;  and  patriotic  toasts  were  responded  to  amid  the  enthusiastic 
cheers  of  the  populace  and  the  shrill  rattle  of  fife  and  drum. 

The  following  officers  had  been  chosen  on  the  1st  of  August:  George 
Bowman,  captain;  .1.  A.  Blackwell,  first  lieutenant;  Benjamin  F.  Price, 
second  lieutenant.  On  the  same  day  a  large  meeting  was  held,  Rev.  J.  W. 
T.  McMullen  delivering  the  oration.  One  hundred  dollars  was  raised  in 
a  few  minutes  fur  the  families  of  the  boys  who  were  on  the  eve  of 
departure  for  the  uncertainties  of  the  field  of  war.  On  the  5th,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  picnic  at  Norway,  the  company  started  for  Indianapolis, 
followed  by  the  sorrowing  farewells  of  friends.  In  less  than  two  weeks 
the  company,  with  its  regiment,  the  Twelfth,  marched  out  in  battle  array 
on  the  field  of  Richmond,  Kentucky,  fought  gallantly,  was  captured, 
paroled  and  scattered.  Several* of  its  boys  were  killed,  among  them  Ben- 
jamin McCormiek  and  Samuel  Mclntire,  and  Joseph  II.  Rooks  died  of 
bis  wounds.     Col.  William  II.  Link,  who  commanded  the  regiment,  also 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  183 

died  of  his  wounds.  Captain  Bowman  received  a  slight  wound.  After 
the  exchange  of  prisoners  the  regiment  joined  General  Grant's  army  and 
participated  in  the  Vieksburg  campaign.  It  was  with  Sherman  from 
Memphis  to  Chattanooga  and  at  Mission  Ridge,  in  November,  186:?,  again 
suffered  serious  losses.  At  that  engagement  Captain  Bowman  was  so 
badly  wounded  that  he  was  sent  home  and  was  never  able  afterward  to 
join  the  service.  It  afterward  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  Bragg,  the  relief 
of  BurnsKle  at  Knoxville,  all  the  engagements  of  the  Atlanta  campaign 
and  the, movements  through  the  Carolinas  northward.  The  company  and 
regiment  were  mustered  out  at  Washington,  D.  O,  on  the  8th  of  June, 
1865. 

Company  F,  Ninety-ninth  Regiment 

By  August,  1862,  a  full  company  had  been  raised  at  Brookston  and 
vicinity,  which  was  incorporated  into  the  Ninety-ninth  Regiment,  with 
George  W.  Gwinn  as  captain,  Andrew  Cochran,  first  lieutenant,  and  G.  S. 
Walker,  second  lieutenant.  About  the  same  time  Capt."  Sidney  W.  Sea 
and  others  enlisted  one-half  of  Company  K,  Nineteenth  Regiment  (Fifth 
Cavalry),  the  recruits  coming  mostly  from  the  western  part  of  the 
county. 

Captain  Gwin's  Company  F,  of  the  Ninety-ninth  Regiment,  was 
ordered  to  South  Bend  and  was  mustered  into  the  service  in  October, 
1862.  It  did  not  get  into  action  until  the  following  May,  during  the 
Vieksburg  campaign.  At  Jackson,  Mission  Ridge,  Chattanooga,  Resaca, 
Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta,  Savannah  and  Fort  McAllister,  it 
became  thoroughly  fireproof  during  two  years  of  battling  and  cam- 
paigning. 

TnE  Threatened  Draft  of  1862 

After  the  departure  of  Captain  Bowman's  company,  it  was  found  that 
the  county  was  not  wholly  free  from  the  approaching  draft  of  Septem- 
ber 15th,  and  measures  were  immediately  instituted  to  till  the  required 
quota.  Lieut.  J.  W.  Berkey  opened  a  recruiting  office,  as  did  also  others. 
One  of  the  largest  war  meetings  held  during  the  rebellion,  assembled  at 
the  courthouse  on  the  11th  of  August  to  raise  volunteers.  It  was  adver- 
tised that  Colfax  and  Colonel  Hathaway  would  be  present,  and  tins 
brought  out  a  vast  crowd;  but  these  distinguished  men  were  unable  to 
attend,  and  home  talent  was  called  upon.  The  following  statement  of 
vounty  affairs  was  made  out  about  the  1st  of  September: 


Volun- 

Townships            Militia  teers 

Prairie    275  137 

I'.ig  Creek   106  41 

Union    216  139 

Mouon    127  64 

Liberty  120  52 


Con- 

Volun- 

Number 

scien- 

teers in 

Subjecl 

upts 

tious 

Service 

to  Draft 

22 

39 

St 

49 

to 

12S 

157 

25 

55 

102 

20 

44 

100 

184 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


Townships  Militia 

Jackson 175 

Princeton "95 

West  Point  60 

Honey  Creek 74 

Cass ' . .      65 

Pound  Grove  ....       27 

-    t 

Total  1,337 


Con- 

Volun- 

Number 

Volun- 

scien- 

teers in. 

Subject 

teers 

Exempts 

tious 

Service 

to  Draft 

85 

41 

5 

81 

120 

95 

18 

2 

91 

75 

42 

10 

36 

50 

55 

17 

52 

57 

27 

13 

3 

24 

46 

15 

1 

14 

26 

751 


258 


20 


700 


1,059 


It  was  to  be  nearly  two  years  after  Captain  Gwin's  command  went  to 
the  front  before  another  complete  company  was  to  go  forth  from  White 
County  pledged  to  stand  by  the  colors  for  three  years  or  longer — if  the 
war  should  endure  so  long.  The  recruits  in  the  meantime  went  into  such 
commands  as  the  Ninth,  Twentieth,  Forty-sixth,  Seventy-second,  Seventy- 
third  and  the  Eighty-sixth  and  Eighty-seventh;  and.  still  Moloch  called 
for  more.  Volunteers  did  not  satisfy  him,  but  military  necessity  in  the 
shape  of  the  draft  threatened;  bounties  were  also  offered  and  paid  by 
the  county,  above  the  regular  wages  pledged  by  Uncle  Sam,  and  by  pulling 
every  string  and  straining  every  nerve,  White  County  escaped  what  was 
considered  a  partial  reflection  on  patriotism  until  the  fall  of  1864.  But 
that  was  certainly  a  period  of  stress  and  trial. 

Escape  from  the  1863  Draft 


As  the  shadow  of  tin.'  draft  of  1863  approached,  the  press,  the  pulpit 
ami  public  leaders  everywhere  in  the  county  renewed  their  efforts  to  keep 
White  Counts-  in  I  lie  rapidly  diminishing  column  of  sections  which  had 
never  been  subject  to  tin1  draft.  The  efforts  of  that  year  were  also  suc- 
cessful, although  over  100  more  men  had  to  be  raised  in  townships  where 
there  wire  not  enough  males  to  do  the  work  of  peace  which  normally  fell 
to  them.     Rul  war  was  war  even  in  those  days. 

In  November,  1863,  a  committee  was  appointed  at  a  Monticello  war 
meeting,  consisting  of  It.  MuConahay,  James  Wallace,  M.  Henderson, 
Lucius  Pierce  and  Thomas  Uushnell  to  push  enlistments  and  forestall  the 
draft.  Their  manifesto,  published  in  the  .Monticello  Herald  of  November 
inili,  was  as  follows:  "The  quota  of  this  county  under  the  draft  about  to 
be  made  is  LOG  men,  and  is  apportioned  among  the  several  townships  as 
follows:  Union,  16;  Honey  Creek,  5;  Liberty,  10;  Cass,  4;  Monon,  10; 
Princeton,  8;  Weal  Point,  6;  Round  Grove,  2;  Big  Creek,  8;  Jackson,  14: 
Prairie,  23. 

"If  lliis  number  is  raised  by  voluntary  enlistment  our  county  will  not, 
be  subject  to  the  draft,  hut  if  it  is  not  raised  the  draft  will  certainly  fall 
upon  us.  1 1  it  hciio,  we,  as  a  county,  have  occupied  n  proud  position 
an ;,'  the  enmities  of  a  slate  of  whose  record  ill  this  war  Indianians  may 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  185 

well  be  proud.  We  have  been  among  the  few  counties  that  waited  not 
for  the  compulsions  of  a  draft. 

"Shall  we  maintain  our  position,  or  shall  we  falter  in  this,  the  last,  we 
hope,  and  the  trying  hour  of  the  war?  We  believe  the  people  of  White 
County  with  one  voice  will  exclaim:  No!  we  will  not  falter  in  our  efforts, 
nor  fail  in  our  undertakings,  but  will  ever  stand  true  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  Union  and  the  crushing  out  of  this  wicked  rebellion. 

"We,  therefore,  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  work  of  enlistment 
in  the  several  townships,  would  appoint  the  following  township  com- 
mittees : 

"Prairie — Thomas  B.  Davis,  Dr.  John  Medaris  and  E.  P.  Mason. 

"Big  Creek — John  R.  Jefferson,  Clinton  Crose  and  George  R.  Spencer. 

"Monon — J.  L.  Watson,  Dr.  John  T.  Richardson  and  William  G. 
Porter. 

"Liberty — Thomas  WTickersham,  H.  G.  Bliss  and  George  Cullen. 

"Jackson — Eli  R.  Herman,  Andrew  Hanna  and  D.  McConahay. 

"Princeton — John  B.  Bunnell,  David  Wright  and  R.  C.  Johnson. 

' '  West  Point— C.  II.  Test,  0.  P.  Murphy  and  David  Deffinger. 

"Cass — Edward  P.  Potter,  W.  0.  Hopkinson  and  Hannibal  McCloud. 

"Honey  Creek — Frank  Howard,  I.  S.  Vinson  and  Nick  Young. 

"Round  Grove — A.  Ward,  Stewart  Rariden  and  Patrick  Carroll. 

"We  recommend  that  each  of  said  several  committees  should  appoint 
a  township  meeting  for  as  early  a  day  as  possible  ami  advise  this  com- 
mittee of  the  time  and  place  of  meeting,  aud  speakers  will  be  furnished." 

The  general  and  the  township  committeemen  worked  diligently  aud 
enthusiastically — at  least,  the  draft  did  not  fall  upon  White  county  in 
1863. 

The  Six-Months'  Company 

In  the  meantime,  under  the  call  of  June  15th  for  100,000  six-months' 
men,  Capt  Elijah  C.  Davis  and  Lieuts.  Joseph  W.  Davis  and  Isaac  H. 
Jackson  enlisted  a  full  company,  which  was  mustered  in  as  K,  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Sixteenth  Regiment,  on  the  17th  of  August,  L863.  The 
camp  of  rendezvous  was  at  Lafayette  and  the  first  two  months  of  service 
was  occupied  in  guarding  the  United  States  arsenal  near  Detroit,  .Michi- 
gan, and  in  routine  duties  in  Kentucky.  In  October  it  participated  in 
engagements  at  Blue  Springs  and  Walker's  Ford,  but  the  remainder  of 
its  six-months'  term  was  largely  passed  in  guard  and  fatigue  duty.  It 
was  mustered  out,  with  other  commands  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Six- 
teenth, at  Lafayette. 

Under  the  call  of  October  17,  1863,  which  asked  for  300.000  soldiers 

for  three  years,  the  work  of  recruiting  the  L06  men  d Bndcd  of  White 

County  progressed  with  vigor,  as  heretofore  noted.  Capt.  D.  M.  Craves, 
of  Newton  County,  appeared  at  various  points  in  the  eounty,  and  called 
for  recruits  for  the  Twelfth  Cavalry.  He  had  rousing  meetings  at  Monti- 
cello,  I'.rookston  aud  elsewhere. 

Lieutenant  William  C.  Kent  opened  an  enlistment  office  for  the  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth  Regiment.     The  papers  at  that  lime  pub- 


L86  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

lishcd  very  flattering  offers  of  bounty  to  both  veterans  and  new  recruits — ■ 
to  the  former  $410,  and  to  the  latter  $380,  per  annum.  The- extensive 
and  enthusiastic  efforts  soon  freed  the  county.  Many  entered  the  old 
regiments.  Ahonl  half  the  company  i  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
sixth  was  from  White  County,  as  was  also  about  one-third  of  Company  F 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  (Twelfth  Cavalry),  and  one-half 
of  Company  K  of  the  same.  Among  the  recruiting  officers  during  the 
months  of  November  and  December,  1SG3,  and  January,  1864,  were  D.  M. 
Craves,  Henry  II.  Caves,  B.  0.  Wilkinson  and  W.  C.  Marshall.  In  De- 
cember,  1K63,  a  large  war  meeting  at  IJrookston  was  presided  over  by 
Benjamin  Lucas,  president,  and  W.  B.  Chapman,  secretary.  Judge  Tur- 
pie  delivered  the  oration. 

C.u'T.  James  G.  Staley 

Through  the  winter  months  and  on  into  the  spring  of  1864,  the  enlist- 
ment for  Company  F  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth  Regiment 
continued.  This  company  was  enlisted  mostly  by  Capt.  James  G.  Staley, 
Lieuts.  W.  C.  Kent  and  Henry  G.  Bliss.  The  regiment  rendezvoused  at 
Michigan  City.  Captain  Staley 's  company  was  full  about  the  middle  of 
March,  1864.  While  yet  at  Camp  Anderson,  Michigan  City,  the  members 
of  this  company  purchased  a  fine  sword  which  was  formally  presented  to 
Captain  Staley  by  the  regimental  chaplain,  Rev.  William  P.  Koutz,  of 
Monticello. 

Company  V  was  the  seventh  and  the  last  full  company  to  be  enlisted  in 
White  County  for  the  three-years'  service.  Its  regiment  was  mustered 
into  the  service  March  18,  1864,  and  first  took  the  field  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee. In  tlie  .Atlanta  campaign  it  fought  at  Resaca,  Dallas,  New  Hope 
Church,  Lost  .Mountain,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta  and  Jonesboro.  As 
part  of  Thomas's  army  it  joined  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood,  and  at  the  hard- 
fought  Battle  of  Franklin,  November  30,  1864,  its  brave  captain,  James 
(i.  Staley,  was  killed. 

One  of  Captain  Staley's  comrades  writes  of  his  death  and  career  as 
follows:  "In  I  he  beginning  of  the  war  he  responded  to  the  call  of  our 
country  and  served  faithfully  as  a  member  of  the  Ninth  Indiana  for  more 
than  two  years,  lie  was  commissioned  captain  of  Company  P,  128th 
Indiana,  iu  January,  18G4,  and  in  .March  left  the  place  of  rendezvous 
with  his  regimenl  to  take  part  in  the  memorable  campaign  of  Atlanta. 
During  that  toilsome  service  of  marching,  digging,  guarding,  watching 
and  lighting,  lasting  four  months,  without  the  soldiers  being  beyond  the 
sound  of  musketry  or  artillery,  lie  nobly,  patiently,  heroically  performed 
his  pari.  On  the  lib  of  October  we  loft  Decatur,  Georgia,  to  begin  the  fall 
campaign,  and  after  much  skirmishing  and  marching  several  hundred 
miles  in  Ceorgia  and  Alabama,  we  reached  Franklin,  Tennessee,  closely 
pressed  by  the  enemy  in  superior  force.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  a 
description  of  the  engagement,  mil    I   will  state  that  the  l2Sth   Indiana 

occupied  breastworks  near  the  extre left  of  our  line;  that  the  onemj 

charged  right  up  to  and  planted  (heir  colors  on  our  works,  and  that  their 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  187 

dead  and  dying  which  filled  the  ditches,  sufficiently  proved  how  bloody 
aud  disastrous  was  their  repulse. 

"When  tlie  assault  was  made,  Captain  Staley  was  standing  up  watch- 
ing the  enemy  and  directing  the  fire  and  the  us.'  of  the  bayonets  of  his 
men.  Just  then  Captain  Bissell,  of  the  same  regiment,  was  shot  through 
the  head  and  fell  against  Lieutenant  Lliss,  who.  with  the  assistance  of 
Captain  Staley,  laid  him  upon  the  ground  and  planed  a  blanket  under 
his  head.  This  had' scarcely  been  done  when  some  one  called  out  'They 
are  coming;  again,'  and  all  prepared  to  receive  the  enemy.  As  Captain 
Staley  turned  to  the  works,  a  minie  hall  struck  him  in  the  forehead,  and 
he,  too,  fell  into  the  arms  of  Lieutenant  Bliss  and  died  almost  instantly. 
There  was  no  time  then  to  listen  to  parting  words.  A  desperate  hand-to- 
hand  conflict  was  straining  every  nerve  for  the  possession  of  the  works. 
The  deadly  musket  shot,  the  clash  of  arms  as  bayonet  came  to  bayonet 
and  sword  to  sword,  the  hurried  breathing  of  the  men  through  their  shut 
teeth,  their  words  of  encouragement  and  mutterings  of  vengeance,  with 
the  thunders  of  the  two  pieces  of  artillery  that  flanked  the  company,  com- 
bined to  bring  into  heroic  exercise  every  muscle  of  the  body  and  every 
power  of  the  mind. 

"Darkness  came  on  and  still  the  fighting  continued.  Every  man  was 
needed  to  repulse  the  desperate  assaults  of  the  enemy.  The  body  of  Cap- 
tain Staley  was  carried  to  the  rear  by  the  stretcher  corps  and  buried  in 
the  same  grave  with  that  of  Captain  Bissell,  near  the  large  brick  dwelling 
house  on  the  hill  south  of  Franklin.  This  statement  was  made  by  Lieuten- 
ant Bliss.  The  grave  where  the  heroes  slept  was  left  unmarked,  but  to 
have  done  otherwise  was  impossible.  Though  we  hail  repulsed  the  rebel 
army,  it  was  determined  to  withdraw  under  cover  of  darkness,  and  at  mid- 
night we  retreated  a'cross  Harpetb  river  and  abandoned  the  battlefield  and 
Franklin  to  the  enemy." 

Captain  Staley's  remains  were  recovered  and  brought  home,  through 
the  efforts  of  the  Christian  Commission,  arriving  at  Monticello  on  Febru- 
ary 7,  1865,  and  on  the  12th  were  rcinterred  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

This  last  of  the  long-term  companies  to  be  raised,  as  a  whole,  in  White 
County,  saw  service  after  Captain  Staley's  death  at  Nashville,  in  the 
later  pursuit  of  Hood,  at  Newbern  and  Wise's  Fork,  North  Carolina,  and 
at  other  points  marking  the  closing  operations  of  the  war.  The  regiment 
was  not  .mustered  out  of  the  service  until  early  in  1866. 

The  Heavy  Calls  op  1864 

The  heavy  calls  of  February  and  March,  1864,  and  finally  the  call  of 
July  18th  of  500,000  men  for  one,  two  and  three  yearn,  somewhat  dag- 
gered the  county;  but  the  citizens  began  to  make  earnes!  efforts  to  meet 
the  demand.  A  most  hopeful  feeling  prevailed  at  this  time,  as  it  was 
already   apparent    that  the  rebellion   was   wavering   before   the   final    fall. 

About  half  of  Company  B  of  (he  One  Hundred  and    Forty-second 

went  from  Idaville  during  the  month  of  September,  1864,  ('apt.  .lames 
Thomas   and    Limits.    [{..    11.    Cary   and    K.    \V.    Clary    enlisting   the    men. 


W  188  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

About  twenty-five  men  from  the  county  utered  Company  II  of  the 
same  regiment.  About  fifteen  recruits  entered  Company  C  of  the 
Forty-second  in  October.  Some  fifty  recruits  joined  Company  G  of  the 
Sixty-third  during  the  summer  months  of  1864.  Late  in  1S64  and 
early  in  1865  about  fifty  recruits  joined  Company  F  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Twerity-eigliih.  Among  the  recruiting  officers  in  the 'county 
dwriog  the  latter  part  of  1864  was  M.  P,  Smith. 

The  Drafts  of  1864  and  1865 

•  Until  the  fall  of  L864,  the  county  had  warded  oft'  the  draft  by  her 
tenders  of  money,  the  appeals  of  her  orators  and  the  influence  of  her 
women,  but  the  calls  of  February,  .March,  April  and  July,  of  that  year, 
placed  a  burden  on  her  which  could  not  be  sustained  through  voluntary 
enlistment.  The  county  quota  of  February,  1864,  with  some  deficiency, 
was  210;  of  .March,  84;  and  of  July,  237;  or  a  total  of  531.  The  draft 
took  place  in  October,  at  .Michigan  City,  under  Provost  Marshal  K.  G. 
Shryod-,  but  the  required  number  did  not  report  and  a  supplementary 
draft  took  place.  One  of  the  reasons  why  it  was  difficult  at  that  time 
to  fill  the  ranks  at  home  was  that  higher  bounties  were  offered  in  large 
cities  south  and  east  than  those  in  White  County,  and  many  left  accord- 
ingly. Such  men  were  credited,  of  course,  to  the  localities  paying  the 
bounty,  and  were  thus  lost  to  White  County. 

The  call  of  December,  1864,  stimulated  anew  the  enlistment.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  months  of  18G4-G5  war  meetings  were  held  everywhere 
to  clear  the  county,  but  the  work  was  slow.  Another  draft  came  off  at 
Michigan  City  in  the  early  part  of  April,  1865,  by  which  163  men  were 
raised  in  White  County,  most  of  whom  were  one-year  men. 

Summary  of  Number  of  Troops  Raised 

The  lasl  report  made  by  the  military  authorities  on  April  14,  1S65, 
when  all  efforts  to  raise  troops  had  been  suspended,  showed  that  White 
County  had  furnished  thirty-five  more  men  than  were  required  by  all 
the  calls  of  the  war. 

A  recapitidat ion  of  the  numBer  of  soldiers  raised  in  the  county  dur- 
ing the  entire  period  of  the  Civil  war  would  stand  thus:  From  the  out- 
break of  the  war  until  September  1,  1862,  751  volunteers  had  joined 
tin-  Union  army.  The  calls  of  .July  and  August,  of  that  year,  brought 
out  220  men;  about  90  joined  the  six-months'  service,  under  the  call 
of  October,  1863;  106  were  furnished  under  the  call  of  October,  1863; 
L70  under  the  February  and  .March  calls,  in  1864;  237  under  the  call 
of  July,  same  year;  and  163  under  the  last  call  of  the  war  in  December, 
1864.  It  is  (.slim. tied  that  full.v  1(10  men  left  the  county  to  enlist;  and 
to  all  these  items  must  be  added  the  35  surplus  above  all  calls.  Thus 
the  volunteers,  recruits,  conscripts  and  veterans  from  White  County, 
some  of  whom  enlisted  more  than  once  for  short  periods,  numbered 
1,872. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  189 

Bounty  and  Relief  Voted 

Albeit  a  labor  of  love,  it  would  be  an  impossibility  to  give  an  ade- 
quate picture  of  the  relief  work  performed  by  the  men  and  women  of 
White  County  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  both  of  those  at  the  front  and 
those  left  at  home.  The  great  bulk  of  it  can  never  be  measured  by 
dollars' and  cents;  so  that  we  can  only  say  that  an  important  feature 
of  that  work  was  included  in  the  various  sums  raised  by  t lie  county,' 
in  its  official  capacity,  which  is  divided  into  the  bounty  and  relief 
funds. 

The  first  action  taken  by  the  county  commissioners  in  the  direction 
of  relief  to  soldiers'  families  was  in  August,  1862,  when  township  trus- 
tees were  authorized  to  provide  for  the  reasonable  wants  of  the  families 
of  soldiers  in  the  field,  keeping  proper  vouchers,  upon  the  presentation  . 
of  which  they  would  be  reimbursed  from  the  county  treasury.  It  was 
not  until  the  26th  of  November,  1863,  that  the  commissioners  authorized 
the  payment  of  $100  bounty  to  volunteers  under  the  call  of  October, 
but  after  that,  and  even  long  after  the  war  had  ended,  large  amounts 
were  paid  out.  Xo  proper  record  seems  to  have  been  kept  of  these 
important  disbursements.  The  following  imperfect,  exhibit,  taken  from 
the  adjutant-general's  report,  is  the  best  that  can  be  given  of  the  county 
bounty  and  relief  funds: 

Bounty  Relief 

White  County   $60,500  $      48.80 

Prairie    25,000  1,776.86 

Big  Creek 450  34.92 

Union    675  812.83 

Monon   50  262.95 

Liberty    100  68.89 

Jackson   150  544.35 

Princeton    3,300  

West  Point 1 ,228  48.30 

Cass  :?:?;*  1,370.37 

Honey  Creek   392.58 

Round  Grove  4,100  6.30 

Total    $95,886  $5*364.15 

Grand  total $101,250.1.") 

The  Spanish-American  War 

In  the  Spanish-American  war,  White  County  was  rondy  for  anything 
which  came  her  way  and  furnished  one  company  nearly  complete,  known 
as  I,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-first  Indiana  Volunteers.  William  Guthrie 
went  out  as  captain;  Anthony  A.  Anheir,  as  first  lieutenant;  and  John 
R.  Ward,  as  second  lieutenant.  Dr.  W.  E.  Rioderwolf,  of  Montieello, 
chaplain  of  the  regiment,  was  also  the  historian  of  Company  I.     From 


190  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

his  account  il  is  learned  that  the  first  meeting  looking  toward  the  rais- 
ing of  a  company  tot-  White  County  was  called  by  Tippecanoe  Post  Xo. 
51,  <;.  A.  K.,  t<>  li.'  held  at  the  courthouse,  April  21,  1898.  A  company 
was  organized  then  and  there,  and  the  governor  was  notified  that  it  was 
ready  to  serve  at  a  moment's  warning.  He  replied  that  the  company 
would  be  needed  and  that  the  boys  should  get  into  military  shape.  In 
fact,  events  moved  so  rapidly  that  on  June  30th  Captain  Guthrie  received 
gubernatorial  orders  to  report  with  his  eompany  at  Indianapolis  on  the 
following  Monday.  Hut  the  boys  were  allowed  to  spend  the  Fourth  at 
home  on  the  Monticello  Fair  Grounds. 

The  White  County  contingent  was  mustered  into  the  service  at  Indi- 
anapolis on  .Inly  13,  1898,  as  Company  I,  and  on  August  7th  was  ordered 
to  Jacksonville,  Florida,  to  be  incorporated  into  the  Seventh  Army  Corps 
under  Gen'.  Fife  Hugh  Lee.  It  reached  that  city  August  14th  and  during 
its  two  months'  stay  there  lost  six  of  its  men  by  disease — Clarence  1>. 
Kuns,  Wallace  I).  Stivers,  George  Kepperling,  William  G.  Weaver, 
Joseph  F.  Turner  and  Jacob  W.  Dexter. 

The  regiment  spent  the  period  from  October  24th  to  December  12th 
at  Savannah,  and  arrived  at  Havana,  Cuba,  on  the  14th  of  the  latter 
month,  going  into  camp  near  Quemados  about  ten  miles  southwest  of  the 
city.  There  the  command  remained  in  that  vicinity  during  the  remainder 
of  the  winter,  drilling  and  doing  guard  duty  at  various  points.  On 
March  2!>th  the  home-coming  commenced — the  regiment  landing  at 
Savannah  March  fllst  and  being  mustered  out  on  April  30th.  It  arrived 
a1  Indianapolis  on  the  morning  of  May  3d,  and  reached  Monticello  at 
noon.  The  boys  were  welcomed  at  the  state  house  by  Governor  Mount 
and,  what  was  nearer  to  their  hearts,  by  their  mothers  and  fathers, 
brot tiers  and  sisters,  wives  and  sweethearts,  at  Monticello.  The  home 
welcome  extended  over  a  period  which  is  unknown  to  the  writer,  the 
public  receptions  covering  several  days. 

ho  addition  to  furnishing  Company  I  to  put  down  the  war,  White 
County  sent  sixteen  men  into  the  Eleventh  United  States  Infantry,  who 
participated  in  the  Porto  Rico  expedition;  furnished  twelve  to  the  160th 
Indiana  Volunteers;  three  to  the  Second  U.  S.  Infantry,  of  whom  Gustavo 
]'>.  Stahlraan  was  killed  in  the  Santiago  expedition;  three  to  the  Twenty- 
third  U.  S.  Infantry  which  took  part  in  the  fourth  expedition  to  the 
Philippines;  three  to  the  Sixth  Illinois  Volunteers,  who  went  to  Porto 
Rico;  three  to  the  157th  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  smaller  numbers  to 
Troop  L,  U.  S.  Cavalry,  Third  U.  S.  Artillery  and  16th  U.  S.  Infantry. 


CHAPTER  XII 

UNION  TOWNSHIP 

General  Features — Soil  and  Products — Settled  Before  the  Town- 
ship Was  Organized — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  Price— "Heap  Bid 
Scare"  of  1832 — Land  Entries  in  18.31-34 — Entry  of  Monticello 's 
Site — Bounds  of  Original  Plat — Site  Controlled  Mainly  by 
Residents — Hiortii  and  Mount  Walleston — Leases  to  William 
Sill — Martin  Ciierrie's  Woolen  Mill — Tin:  Flour  Mill  in  Motion 
— IIiortii  Very  Exclusive — Mount  Walleston  Platted — Hiortii 
Interests  Pass  to  the  Kendalls — Boom  at  Mount  Walleston — 
The  Kendalls  Withdraw — Rowland  Hughes  of  Monticello — 
Infant  Industries  at  the  County  Seat — First  Township  Officers 
— Jeremiah  Bisher — The  Old  Kenton  Grave  Yard — Entered 
Government  Lands  in  1835 — The  Busy  Land  Year,  1836 — Hard 
Times  Check  Land  Entries — Excluded  Sections — Entries  in 
1841-54 — Land,  the  Basis  of  Solid  Prosperity  -Construction  ok 
Good  Roads. 

Union  Township  was  one  of  the  four  divisions  of  White  County  at 
its  organization  in  183-4,  and  included  all  of  the  present  territory  west  of 
the  Tippecanoe  River  and  north  of  the  line  dividing  Townships  25  am!  26 
north,  together  with  the  attached  territory  of  what  now  constitutes  the 
counties  of  Newton  and  Jasper  and  the  western  portion  of  Pulaski.  The 
political  steps  by  which  it  was  reduced  to  its  present  body  include  I  he 
creation  of  Monon  Township  in  1836,  of  Liberty  in  1837,  and  Honey 
Creek  in  1856. 

General  Features 

Thus  Union  Township  was  reduced  to  about  thirty-seven  and  a  half 
square  miles.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north,  chiefly  by  Liberty,  with  its 
northwestern  section  lying  against  Monon  Township;  Oil  the  east  by 
Liberty  and  Jackson  townships  and  the  Tippecanoe  River,  which  partly 
separates  it  from  Carroll  County,  on  the  south  by  Big  Creek  Township 
ami  Carroll  County,  and  on  the  west  by  Big  Creek  and  Money  Creek 
townships. 

The  township  has  more  high  hills  ami  low  valleys  than  any  other 
political  division  in  the  county,  although  the  valleys  are  limited  to  a 
small  area  and  the  hills  to  the  timber  bind  lying  along  tin-  river.  Smith 
of  Monticello  the  lands  become  a  portion  of  the  Grain!   Prairie.     The 

1!)1 


L 


19S 


HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY 


northern  port  inn  of  the  township,  west  of  the  Tippecanoe,  is  a  succession, 
of  sand  ridges,  and  flat  timber  land,  with  such  .stretches  of  prairie  inter- 
vening as  the  valley  of  Money  Creek.  That  part  of  the  township  lying 
east  of  the  river  was  much  more  heavily  timbered  than  the  sections  west 
of  it.  as  it  was  protected  from  the  prairie  fires  which  swept  over  the 
country  from  that  direction.  Only  a  thin  fringe  of  timber  marked  the 
western  hanks  of  the  Tippecanoe,  with  here  and  there  a  tree  in  the  open 
plain,  hut  in)  thickets  of  hazel,  plum,  sassafras,  oak,  hickory,  cedar, 
sumaTh,  mulberry,  elder  or  honey  Locust  ever  survived  the  annual  fires, 
from  which  the  eastern  banks  were  exempt,  until  those  tracts  were  settled 
and  protected. 

Soil  and  Pkoducts 

The  soil  of  l'n ion  Township  in  the  timbered  portions  east  of  the  river 
is  a  heavy  loam  with  a  subsoil  of  clay,  sand  and  gravel,  and  well  adapted 


"--~"? 


Indiana  Corn 


to  grain,  grass,  roots,  fruit  and  vegetables.  In  the  higher  timbered  part 
it  is  a  lighl  loam,  with  a  deep  subsoil  of  sand  and  gravid  intermixed 
with  (day.  The  northwestern  portions  of  the  township  may  be  described 
.as  clay  ridges  traversing  a  rather  low  prairie.  So-called  "ridge  farms," 
lying  quite  high  and  dry.  with  their  easily  cultivated  soil,  have  come  into 
considerable  favor,  as  they  are  nicely  adapted  to  live  stock  and  fruit 
raising.  The  main  brandies  of  (he  Tippecanoe  River  in  Union  Town- 
ship are  Pike  Creek,  flowing  in  from  the  east,  and  Uoney  Creek,  ils 
western  tributary.  By  nature,  this  portion  of  the  county  is  well  drained, 
and  no  township  is  heller  provided  with  ditches. 

The  chief  products  of  the  township  are  wheat,  corn,  oats  and  rye,  in 
the  grains;  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  cabbages,  parsnips,  carrots,  beets 
anil  tomatoes,  in  vegetables ;  melons  and  berries  of  all  kinds. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  193 

Settled  Before  the  Township  Was  Organized 

Quite  a  number  of  settlers,  most  of  them  with  their  families,  located 
in  what  is  how  Union  Township  before  the  county  was  organized,  the 
most  pro  incut  of  these  being  John  Rothrock  and  his  son,  Roberl  ;  Peter 
Price,  John  Roberts,  Reuben  .Stout,  James  Shafer,  Jeremiah  Bisher,  Hans 
Erasmus  Iliorth,  Peter  B.  Smith,  Melchi  dray,  Matthew  [Topper,  Zebulon 
Sheetz,  Samuel  Gray,  James  Spencer,  William  Orr,  John  Orr,  Mahlon 
Praser,  Sr.,  Abraham  Lowther,  John  Wilson,  Richard  Worthington, 
Henry  Baum  and  George  R.  Bartley. 

The  first  entry  of  land  from  the' United  States  Governmcni  in  what  is 
now  Union  Township  was  made  by  John  Rothrock,  who,  on  November  30, 
1830,  purchased  a  large  tract  in  section  3,  township  26  north,  range  3 
west,  and  some  time  afterward  erected  a  log  house  thereon.  He  was 
soon  followed  by  Peter  Price,  his  brother-in-law,  who  bought  160  acres 
in  sections  32  and  33,  on  Jane  13,  1831;  on  thai  day  also  George  R. 
Bartley  purchased  land  in  the  same  section. 

.  Mb.  and  Mrs.  Peter  Price 

While  there  is  no  dispute  over  the  claim  that  Mr.  Rothrock  entered 
the  first  land  in  what  is  now  Union  Township,  Air.  Price  is  generally 
credited  with  being  the  first  permanent  settler.  In  all  likelihood,  he  has 
that  honor  because  he  brought  with  him  his  wife  and  child,  lluis  founding 
the  first  family  and  homestead  in  the  new  country.  Born  in  Berks 
County,  Pennsylvania,  February  11,  17!)!*,  lie  lived  for  several  years 
before  coming  West  in  Lancaster  and  Mifflin  counties,  that  stale.  While 
a  resident  of  the  latter  he  met  and  married  Asenath  Rothrock,  a  native 
of  Mifflin  County  and  about  three  years  his  junior.  They  were  married 
in  1S21  and  in  the  spring  of  1831  started  for  the  valley  of  the  Tippecanoe 
with  their  infant  son,  Joseph,  John  Rothrock  and  his  sons,  William  and 
Robert. 

The  Prices  and  Rothrocks  traveled  by  wagon  and  reached  a  locality 
a  short  distance  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  and  just  beyond  the  present 
limits  of  Monticello  in  the  early  part  of  June,  1831.  He  entered  his 
''eighty"  on  the  18th  of  the  month,  as  stated,  and  (here  he  lived  a  useful 
life  until  it  was  ended  in  the  peace  of  well-spent  years,  July  1!',  1K77. 

At  their  coming  to  White  County,  Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Trice  had  been  bereft 
of  two  little  ones,  bringing  the  third  to  their  western  home.  Si\  children 
Were  added  lo  their  Hock  on  the  banks  of  the  Tippecanoe,  three  of  their 
'-ons  living  to  serve  in  the  Union  army  from  Whit.'  County. 

Mrs.  Price  was  a  woman  of  rare  worth,  and  after  the  dentil  of  her 
husband  continued  to  reside  at.  the  old  homestead  with  her  son.  ('apt. 
Benjamin  I'1.  Price,  until  her  death  January  18,  I8i)2,  in  her  ninetieth 
year.  As  age  crept  steadily  on,  her  visits  to  Monticello  became  rare,  but 
to  her  many  friends  who  called  upon  her  she  was  ever  a  cheerful,  com- 
panionable lady  of  (he  pioneer  generation.  One  of  her  favorite  tales  was 
the  "heap  hi;;'  scare"  of  June,  1832. 


V„l. 


,      194  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

"Heap  Big  Scare"  op  1S32 

In  this,  the  year  of  the  Blac.k  Hawk  war,  there  were  probably  twenty 
Families  in  what  is  now  White  County.  Throughout  the  spring  of  18152 
tales  of  massacres  and  murders  so  worked  upon  the  fears  of  the  scattered 
settlers  that  some  of  them  packed  their  goods  into  wagons  and  tied  to 
the  south  side  of  the  Wahash,  driving  their  live  stock  before  them.  Every 
prairie  lire  was  a  possible  sign  of  Indian  devastation,  but  not  a  lew 
families  bravely  clung  to  their  barricaded  houses  and  guarded  farms. 
To  assure  both  the  brave  and  the  timid  that  no  hostile  Indians  had  pene- 
trated to  that  distant  point,  a  company  of  about  twenty  men  was  formed 
at  Delphi  under  Capt.  Andrew  Wood,  and,  well  armed  and  provisioned, 
marched  out  on  the  (I rand  Prairie  and  thence  up  the  Tippecanoe  as  far 
as  the  house  of  Melchi  Gray  near  the  mouth  of  the  Monon.  No  Indians 
were  found,  except  some  timid  Pottawattamies  who  were  as  frightened 
over  the  prospect  of  a  raid  by  Black  Hawk's  warriors  as  were  the  most 
fearful  of  the  whites  who  had  deserted  their  homes. 

Mrs.  Peter  Price,  who  had  then  been  about  a  year  in  her  new  home, 
relates  thai  her  family  had  remained  unconscious  of  any  danger  until 
early  one  . I une  morning,  when  George  A.  Spencer  rode  rapidly  up  to 
their  cabin  door  on  his  horse  and  shouted  "Halloo,  Peter,  get  up!  The 
d — d  In j ins  are  coming  and  are  killing  everybody."  In  about  a  minute 
everybody's  clothes  were  on  and  the  messenger  surrounded  and  bom- 
barded with  rapid-lire  questions.  It  was  decided  to  leave  immediately, 
and  hurried  preparations  were  made  to  take  the  most  valuable  articles 
and  leave  the  remainder  to  the  torch  of  the  savages.  Mrs.  Price  and 
her  children  were  taken  to  the  house  of  a  friend  below  Delphi,  while  Mr. 
Price  returned  to  near  the  mouth  of  Spring  Creek,  Prairie  Township, 
when;  some  twelve  or  fifteen  families  bad  collected  and  made  rather 
formidable  preparations  to  receive  the  enemy.  Every  man  and  boy  was 
on  guard  and  every  gun  was  loaded  and  in  place.  It  is  also  stated  that 
a  sort  of  blockhouse  was  erected.  Some  thought  the  danger  was  to  come 
from  the  I'ollawattauiies,  while  others  feared  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  from 
the  Mississippi  River  region.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  may  be  repeated 
the  1'ottawattamics  w.re  as  much  frightened  as  any  of  the  whites,  and  all 
wenl  to  the  Indian  agcnl  for  advice  and  protection.  They  thought  the 
\  whiles  were  going  to  attack  them  for  .some  reason  not  apparent.  It  was 
a  period  of  "creeps  and  horrors"  all  'round. 

Land  Entries  in  18:11-31 

In  .Inly.  1831,  Samuel  Cray  entered  land  in  section  7,  ami  Pavirl 
Miller  in  section  6,  during  August,  ami  in  November  of  that  year  Mahlon 
Fraxer,  Sr.,  boughl  a  trad  south  of  Mr.  Rothroek's  in  section  3. 

Hans  K.  [iiortli  her. une  a  laud  owner  in  section  2]  during  duly,  1832, 
iii  section  20  during  August,  and  in  section  8,  in  September;  during 
( Ictober  of  that  year  .lames  Spencer  entered  land  in  sections  17  and  18, 


HISTORY  OP  WIM'i'i;  COUNTY  L95 

Benjamin  N.  Spencer  in  section  17,  Klisha  Rawls  in  section  6,  and  Thomas 
King  in  .sect ion  5. 

The  year  1833  brought  purchasers  of  land  as  follows:  llcnrj  Baum, 
section  5,  and  James  Johnson,  seefion  31,  in  March;  Thomas  Wilson, 
section  17,  and  Samuel  Gray,  section  18,  in  April;  Jacob  Dewey,  section  1, 
in  May;  Benjamin  Price,  section  .'!,  in  June;  Mi-lchi  Gray,  in  October, 
and  Richard  Worthington,  in  November,  botli  in  section  7. 

Jn  1884,  at  dates  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  county,  John 
Wilson  entered  land  in  section  17,  on  the  21sl  of  April;  Joseph  .lames, 
in  section  13,  Jjtmc  4th ;  John  Tcdford,  in  mm- I  ion  36,  on  the  LOth  of  thai 
month;  George  R.  Bartley,  in  section  33,  on  the  1-th,  and  James  Staugh- 
ton,  in  section  6,  July  5th,  two  weeks  before  the  meeting  of  the  first 
hoard  of  commissioners.  Afterward,  but  in  the  year  of  the  county's 
birth,  the  following  appeared  in  the  list  of  land-holders:  Roberl  Rothrock, 
section  33,  September  6th;  Samuel  Rifenberrick,  section  33,  November 
22d;  Zebulon  Sheetz,  same  section,  November  1st,  as  well  as  in  section  27, 
on  the  same  date. 

»  Entry  op  Monticelix)'s  Site 

The  main  portion  of  Monticello  was  platted  on  section  33,  the  first  pub- 
lic sale  of  lots  occurring  on  the  7th  of  November,  1834.  It  is  a  matter  of 
record  that  Robert  Rothrock  entered  the  land  at  LaPorte,  in  behalf  of 
John  Rothrock,  his  father,  II.  B.  Hoirth  and  John  Barr  (county  agenl  , 
for  the  purpose  of  which  they  placed  $137.77'/.  in  his  hands.  He  signed 
a  $1,000  bond  to  transfer  to  them  "the  south  half  of  the  northeast  quarter 
and  the  north  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  Section  33,  Township  27 
north,  Range  3  west,  containing  in  all  1  1  < »  22-100  acres,  which  lots  were 
purchased  for  the  purpose  of  a  county  seat  in  White  county."  This  he 
finally  did. 

Bounds  of  Origin  vl  Plat 

The  old  plat  of  Monticello  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Marion 
Street,  east  by  Tippecanoe  or  Bluff  Street,  smith  by  Jefferson  and  west  by 
Illinois.  Legally,  with  the  express  condition  that  the  county  scat  should 
forever  remain  at  .Monticello,  the  site,  as  conveyed  by  Robert  Rothrock 
to  County  Agent  Barr,  with  a  quit  claim  to  all  titles  of  Messrs.  Barr, 
I  Noil h  and  John  Rothrock  in  the  same,  the  description  of  the  boundaries 
of  the  original  site  is  as  follows:  Beginning  at  a  point  where  the  west, 
line  of  Illinois  Street  in  the  said  Town  of  Monticello  running  north  as  the 
town  plat  of  the  said  town  is  laid  out  would  intersi  i  i  the  north  line  <>l' 
the  southwest  quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  wet  ion  33,  tow  nship  27 
north,  range  3  west,  thence  east  with  the  north  line  ol  s  lid  l'i  iction  In  the 
Tippecanoe  River,  thence  with  the  ilieauderings  of  the  aid  fiver  to  the 
south  line  of  the  northwest  fraction  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  sect  iou  33, 
township  27  north,  range  :i  west,  thence  with  (lie  south  line  of  said  last 
mentioned  fraction  west  to  a  point  where  the  west  line  nf  said  Illinois 
Street  aforesaid  extended  south  won!, I  inti  rsecl   <aid  last  mentioned  line, 


196  t  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

thence  ninth  with  the  vvesl  line  o£  said  Illinois  Street  extended  as  afore- 
said to  the  place  of  beginning.  That  tract  was  laid  out  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1834,  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Barr,  assisted  by  Asa 
Allen,  Melchi  Gray  and  Joshua  Lindsey,  surveyors. 

Site  Contkolled  Mainly  By  Residents 

Little  opportunity  was  given  to  non-resident  land  speculators  to  obtain 
laud  in  the  immediate  viciuitj  of  Monticello,  as  it  was  all  taken  by  resi- 
dents soon  alter  the  eounty  seat  was  located.  There  was  one  notable 
exception.*  Jacob  Walker  and  William  M.  Jenners,  of  Lafayette,  and 
Benjamin  Reynolds,  of  Big  Creek  Township,  succeeded  in  purchasing  a 
considerable  trad  of  Ceorge  R.  Bartley  adjoining  the  original  plat  of 
the  town,  on  the  south  and  west,  and  laid  out  Monticello 's  first  addition 
in  October,  1836.  Barr's  addition  followed  in  April,  1837.  Notwith- 
standing that  residents,  as  a  rule,  controlled  the  site,  they  did  not  become 
wealthy  from  their  investments,  as  the  value  of  real  estate  at  the  eounty 
seat  never  rose  rapidly  ;  it  never  experienced  a  boom,  as  the  growth  of  the 
eounty  seat  was  substantial  rather  than  spectacular. 

Hiorth   ini)  Mount  Walleston 

The  lumber  for  the  first  buildings  erected  at  Monticello,  as  well  as 
for  other  structures,  like  little  frame  schoolhouses  and  churches  put  up 
in  the  central  and  northern  portions  of  the  eounty,  came  largely  from 
the  sawmill  which  Mr.  Hiorth  had  commenced  to  operate  in  1833.  It 
is  said  that  he  was  a  venturesome  Norwegian  sailor,  who,  with  a  com- 
panion, known  as  Peter  B.  Smith,  had  tired  of  his  rovings  and,  having 
saved  a  neat  sum  of  money,  invested  in  about  1,000  acres  of  land  about 
two  miles  ninth  of  what  was  to  become  the  county  seat;  of  that  coming 
event,  he  was  naturally  in  ignorance. 

Mr.  Iliorth's  large  trad  was  located  in  the  vicinity  of  a  pronounced 
hill,  afterward  known  as  Mount  Walleston,  and  about  1833  he  constructed 
a  dam  across  the  Tippecanoe  River  on  his  land  in  section  21  and  there 
creeled  ;l  sawmill,  as  stated.  In  that  enterprise  his  old  sailor  friend, 
Smith,  was  a  partner.  As  Iliorth's  mill  was  the  pioneer  industry  of  the 
county  ami  the  water  power  on  his  land  was  the  means  of  establishing 
other  mills  at  thai  point,  which,  in  turn,  proved  the  foundation  for  the 
once  flourishing  Village  of  Norway,  the  writer  pauses  a  moment  here  to 
enter  into  local  details. 

Leases  tci  William  Sill 

In  April.  1843,  after  he  had  operated  his  sawmill  for  about  ten  years, 
Hiorth  leased  all  the  water  power  of  the  dam,  except  sufficient  to  run  his 
industry.  In  William  Sill,  (>r  Montieello.  The  lease  also  covered  adjacenl 
land  not  to  exceed  three  acres,  and  stipulated  that  Hiorth  was  to  keep 
Hie  dam  in   repair.     The  arrangement   was  for  ten  years,  at  $150  per 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  197 

annum,  and  whatever  improvements  Sill  made,  such  as  graveling  or 
erecting  buildings,  were  to  be  taken  over  by  Hiorth  at  a  fair  valuation 
when  the  lease  expired.  A  few  months  alter  the  lease  was  made,  Sill 
was  also  given  power  to  sublet  portions  of  the  water  power,  provided  lliat 
lie  did  not  allow  anyone  the  pidvilege  of  erecting  a  sawmill;  Hiorth  con- 
sidered that  industry  his  monopoly. 

Martin  Cherrie's  Woolen   Mill 

In  September,  1843,  Hiorth  leased  his  sawmill,  with  the  neces  vy 
water-power,  to  Martin  Cherrie  for  a  period  of  nine  years;  the  lease  also 
included  land  for  a  log  yard  ami  a  dwelling.  The  new  proprietor  agreed 
to  build  a  better  mill,  using  so  much  of  the  old  machinery  as  was  possible. 
At  the  same  time  Sill  subleased  to  Cherrie,  for  nine  years,  sufficient 
water  power  to  operate  a  carding  and  fulling  mill  and  a  small  piece  of 
ground  for  a  dyeing  yard,  the  consideration  for  all  these  privileges  being 
$75  per  year. 

'-,  The  Flour  Mill  in  Motion 

In  1S44  William  Sill  began  the  erection  of  bis  merchant  grist  mill, 
setting  it  in  motion  during  the  following  year,  for  years  il  was  the 
finest  establishment  of  the  kind  for  miles  around  and  brought  both  busi- 
ness and  permanent  settlers  to  the  locality. 

Mr.  Cherrie  entered  into  a  contract  with  Arthur  Russell,  in  January, 
1845,  calling  for  the  erection  and  equipment  of  a  wool-carding  ami  cloth 
dressing  mill,  32  by  25  feet,  to  be  completed  by  October  1st  of  that  year. 
Russell  was  then  to  superintend  the  mill  for  the  nine  years  stipulated  by 
the  lease,  was  to  employ  all  help  and  to  receive  annually,  out  of  the 
profits  of  business,  $280.  The  contract  was  canceled  In  December,  1S45, 
but  not  before  the  carding  mill  had  been  set  in  operation. 

HinKTii,  Vert  Exclusive 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Hiorth  had  fallen  a  victim  to  consumption. 
Although  enterprising,  he  had  not  encouraged  the  coming  of  new  settlers. 
When  he  built  the  dam  he  had  in  mind  not  only  the  erection  of  a  sawmill, 
but  of  a  silk  factory,  and,  in  view  of  tin-  latter  enterprise,  he  planted 
on  his  land  quite  a  grove  of  white  mulberry  trees.  Thai  enterprise,  like 
others,  came  to  naught  because  of  his  failing  health,  but  when  the  other 
proposed  mills  commenced  to  assume  shape  and  a  number  of  people 
settle, I  in  the  locality  he  refused  to  sell  his  land  to  encourage  immigration, 
and  to  the  platting  of  a  town  he  was  [irmly  opposed.  1 1  is  entries  of 
Governmenl  laud  had  made  him  by  far  the  largest  resident  land  owner 
in  the  township.  Ilis  holdings  in  sections  20  ami  21  embraced  all  of  the 
Norway  prairie  and  the  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Tippecanoe  IJiver, 
giving  him  a  monopoly  of  the  water  power  as  well  as  tic  In  si  farming 
I, m, I  of  Hie  prairie.  We  have  seen  what  land  and  privileges  he  con 
di  icciulcd   to  lease,  and   he   permitted   the  building  of  (me   house  mi   hi" 


198  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

immense  trael  Cor  the  accommodation  of  the  miller  and  his  family;  but 
beyond  thai  ami  his  own  residence,  no  building  of  homes  was  permitted. 
Al  his  death  his  widow,  who  was  made  his  solo  legatee,  inaugurated  a 
more  friendly  and  generous  policy. 

'  Mount  Walleston  Platted 

In  March,  1845,  soon  after  her  husband's  death,  the  widow,  Bergetta 
[Tiortli,  employed  John  Armstrong  to  lay  out  ninety-six  lots  on  the 
northwest  fraction  of  section  21,  township  27  north,  range  3  vest,  and 
named  the  village  .Mount  Walleston.  The  plat  shows  Hiorth,  Washington 
and  franklin  streets  as  running  east  and  west,  and  Francis,  Broadway, 
Norway  and  Hill,  north  and  south  thoroughfares^  Soon  after  Sill's 
grist  mill  and  Cherrie's  woolen  mill  were  in  operation,  prospectors  were 
attracted  fo  Mount  Walleston,  lots  in  the  town  plat  were  sold  and  the 
erection  id'  houses  and  stores  became  brisk.  Hill  operatives,  blacksmiths, 
carpenters  and  merchants  soon  formed  quite  a  settlement.  Lumber  was 
for  sale,  large  quantities  of  flour  were  manufactured  for  county  eon- 
sumption  and  shipment,  and  farmers  came  for  miles  around  to  have  their 
wool  carded  ami  fulled.  A  ferry  was  also  started,  so  that  passengers  and 
teams  were  broughl  to  Mount  Walleston  from  the  eastern  sections,  a 
postofiicc  was  established  and  Monticello  hail  a  real  rival. 

[Iiobtii  Interests  Pass  to  the  Kendalls 

The  infusion  of  in  iv  ami  strong  blood  into  the  community  had  caused 
the  progress  noted.  Perhaps  the  most  important  event  tending  to 
stimulate  the  locality  was  the  throwing  upon  the  market  of  the  Hiorth 
property,  which  included  the  cream  of  the  township.  In  February,  1848, 
*/  all  the  lands  iii  White  Count),  formerly  owned  by  Hans  F.  Hiorth  and 
then  held  by  his  widow,  were  sold  to  C.  W.,  F.  G.,  and  11.  C.  Kendall 
of  Monticello  for  $6,100.  Two  years  before,  Mrs.  Hiorth  had  married 
Clans  L.  Clausm,  a  Norwegian  clergyman,  and  after  thus  disposing  of 
the  property  .  v.  hich  was  somev  hat  encumbered,  she  left  with  her  husband 
for  Wisconsin  ami  later  removed  to  New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

IJoOM   it  Mount  Walleston 

-s^  The  Kendalls  located  at  Mount  Walleston  ami  until  Us56  conducted  a 
general  store  ami  the  sawmill  ami  flouring  mill.  Their  coming  was  the 
signal  I'm-  various  improvements  both  of  their  own  properties  and  the 
woolen  factory,  operated  by  the  lessees.  (I.  15.  Woltz  and  Arthur  Russell. 
The  Kendalls  furnished  the  latter  additional  water  power  to  provide 
for  a  considerable  increase  in  machinery  and  a  thin!  set  of  buhrs  was 

added  to  the  two  sets  which  had  I n  in  use.    Their  general  store  carried 

a  large  stock  and  the  town  became  the  center  of  trade  for  a  radius  of 
country    which    extended    iul ighhnring    counties.      Town    lots    were 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  199 

readily  sold  and  buildings  were  erected  on  them  by  the  purchasers.    All 
the  trades  and  some  of  the  professions  were  represented. 

Among  the  first  settlers  of  the  town  were  James  W.  Bulger,  the 
miller;  Arthur  Russell  and  his  partner  in  the  woolen  mill,  George  B. 
Woltz;  Rev.  Abram  Snyder,  father  of  Capt.  Henry  Snyder,  who  owned 
and  operated  a  large  tannery;  Abram  and  Watson  Lowther,  blacksmiths 
and  gunsmiths;  Cyrus  Short,  father  of  John  Short,  the  hotel  keeper; 
Dr.  Harrison  P.  Anderson  and  Dr.  J.  II.  Lower,  physicians;  William 
Weeks,  carpenter  and  millwright,  and  Abram  and  Peter  Reprogle. 

The  Kendalls  Withdraw 

By  1856  it  became  reasonably  apparent  that  Norway,  or  Mount 
Wallestou,  had  seen  its  best  days,  and  that  Monticello  had  not;  con- 
sequently, the  Kendalls  withdrew.  R.  C.  Kendall  sold  his  interests  to 
his  two  brothers,  who,  in  turn,  disposed  of  the  properties  to  Emanuel 
Shoup,  the  father-iudaw  of  Francis  G. ;  R.  C.  and  F.  G.  Kendall  moved 
to  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  Charles  W.  returned  to  Monticello.  He  resumed 
his  place  at  the  county  seat  as  one  of  its  leading  business  men  and  citizens ; 
became  its  first  republican  postmaster  and  died  at  Monticello  in  1875. 

Rowland  Hughes,  of  Monticello 

In  the  meantime  Monticello  had  made  more  substantial  progress. 
New  comers  were  welcomed  and  two  years  after  the  town  was  platted  its 
future  was  so  assured  that  Rowland  Hughes  opened  a  tavern.  He  was 
one  of  those  sturdy  Pennsylvanians,  who  did  so  much  for  the  town,  the 
township  and  the  county,  in  the  early  days.  He  had  been  married  to  a 
Green  County  (Ohio)  girl,  Nancy  lines,  in  1833,  two  years  later  he 
moved  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  and  in  December,  1835,  entered  land  in 
section  27,  just  northeast  of  Monticello.  In  1836  he  opened  his  tavern 
at  the  county  seat,  established  his  dry  goods  store  in  1839  and  until  his 
death  in  May,  1883,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent,  popular  and  respected 
men  in  the  county.  In  its  early  history  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Legislature,  always  taking  an  outspoken  and  active  interest  in  public 
affairs.  Mr.  Hughes  was  also  strong  in  his  attachment  to  home  and 
family,  and  left  a  wife  and  four  of  their  seven  children. 

Infant  Industries  at  the  County  Skat 

As  early  as  1838  Joseph  Rothroek  had  built  a  "brush  dam"  across 
the  Tippecanoe  River  just  below  Monticello.  He  erected  a  small  sawmill 
and  two  years  later  Daniel  M.  Tilton  established  a  tiny  canting  mill, 
both  affairs  being  as  extensive  as  the  weak  wnter  power  could  keep  in 
motion.  A  short  time  after  its  erection  the  carding  mill  burned  to  the 
ground,  despite  the  exertions  of  the  bucket,  brigade  from  Monticello; 
but  the  sawmill,  though  standing  close  beside  it,  was  saved. 

But  little  progress  was  made  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  county  seat 


200  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

until  1848,  when  the  Monticello  Hydraulic  Company  was  incorporated 
to  develop  the  water-power  at  that  place.  Both  the  old  and  the  new 
hydraulic  companies  were  strong  forces  in  the  early  development  of 
Monticello  and  the  township,  hut  the  details  of  their  operations  belong 
to  the  chapter  devoted  especially  to  the  history  of.the  county  seat. 

First  Township  Officers 

On  the  day  of  the  creation  of  Union  Township  (July  19,  1834)  the 
county  commissioners  appointed  the  following  officers  for  the  new  town- 
ship: Peter  Price  and  Klias  Lowther,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Samuel 
Cray,  Sr.,  and  James  Johnson,  fence  viewers;  William  Wilson,  road 
supervisor.  At  the  same  time  an  election  for  a  justice  of  the  peace  was 
ordered  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  the  following  August,  Joshua 
Lindsey  being  the  choice  of  the  voters.  In  May,  1835,  Melchi  Gray 
became  inspector  of  elections  for  Union  Township.  The  foregoing  are 
the  first  political  items  obtainable,  and  mention  various  individuals  who 
have  been  introduced  in  foregoing  pages. 

Jeremiah  Bisher 

Among  the  old-timers  who  settled  previous  to  the  organization  of 
the  township,  and  whose  name  has  already  appeai'ed,  was  Jeremiah 
Bisher,  liven  in  his  younger  manhood  he  appears  to  have  been  rather 
an  eccentric  character;  it  will  be  remembered  that  he  was  brought  before 
the  Circuit  Court,  at  its  first  session,  charged  with  malicious  mischief 
in  tying  the  tail  of  one  of  bis  neighbor's  fractious  horses,  thereby 
causing  the  animal  to  injure  itself.  But  he  survived  that  ordeal  as  well 
as  many  trials  of  a  more  serious  nature  incident  to  a  resident  of  some 
forty-four  .wars  in  Union  Township.  His  death  occurred  ou  his  large 
and  comfortable  homestead,  four  miles  southwest  of  Monticello,  in  May, 
1S7.r),  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  the  old  Kenton  grave  yard  about  a 
mile  from  his  residence. 

The  Old  Kenton  Crave  Yard 

In  some  ways  that  is  quite  a  historical  spot,  as  the  grounds  doubtless 
contain  the  grave  of  the  first  white  person  buried  within  the  limits  of 
While  County.  The  epitaph  reads:  "John  W.  E.  Rogers,  son  of 
Nathaniel  and  Riichel  Rogers.  Died  May  18,  1833,  aged  18  years,  11 
11108,  and  7  days." 

In  this  Hiuue  deserted  country  grave  yard  were  also  buried  William 
M,  Kenton,  sou  of  Simon  Kenton,  the  famous  Kentucky  frontiersman, 
and  four  of  his  children.  About  thirty  years  a«o  his  son  removed  their 
remains  to  the  cemetery  north  of  Monticello,  but  left  the  tombstones 
Standing.  William  M.  Kenton  died  April  30,  18(5!),  in  his  sixty-third 
year. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  201 

Entered  Government  Lands  in  1835 

Those  who  entered  land  in  Union  Township  in  1835,  most  of  whom 
settled  thereon  at  the  time  or  soon  after,  were  as  follows:  George  A. 
Brock,  in  sections  14  and  23,  January  15th;  .lames  Parker,  section  32, 
March  4th,  and  Richard  Armstrong,  section  83,  March  11th;  George!  W. 
Sill,  in  section  27,  April  24th;  Robert  Rothrock,  section  4,  June  17th; 
David  Seroggs,  section  36,  July  13th;  Peter  Martin;  section  33,  August 
24th;  Samuel  Shannahan,  section  31,  September  22(3;  Jonathan  Ilutt, 
section  15,  November  16th,  and  in  section  23,  December  nth;  William 
Price,  section  21,  November  7th;  John  llanawalt,  section  21,  November 
10th,  and  section  28,  same  date;  James  Harrison,  section  14,  Novemher 
16th;  Isaac  S.  Vinson,  section  31,  November  12th;  Amos  Wiley,  section  8, 
December  28th;  Thomas  Crose,  section  8,  December  Kith;  James  Shafer, 
section  27,  Deeemher  22d ;  Henry  Glassford,  sections  25,  26  and  36, 
Deceniher  12th  and  Andrew  T.  Ream,  section  28,  December  30th. 

The  Busy  Land  Year,  1836 

One  of  the  busiest  years  in  the  matter  of  land  entries  in  Union 
Township  was  1836,  as  witness  the  following:  Henry  Knsminger  entered 
land  in  section  36,  on  January  20th;  in  section  36,  February  15th; 
section  23,  March  18th;  sections  24  and  25,  same  date  ;  sections  26  and  27, 
February  5th.  Daniel  Cain  entered  land  in  section  10,  on  January  ISth, 
and  in  February,  Peter  Martin  filed  claims  in  sections  21  and  35;  Ira 
Bacon,  in  section  8;  and  Jacob  Pitzer,  in  section  17.  In  March,  1836,  the 
following  entered:  Harvey  Rayhill,  in  section  17;  Eli  Cowger,  section 
22;  Daniel  Baum,  section  15;  Joseph  Skidmore,  sections  14  and  23; 
Matthew  Hopper,  section  28,  and  John  Ross,  section  32.  Richard  Worth- 
ington  entered  lands  in  section  32,  in  April,  and  in  section  2!),  during 
May.  In  May  Isaac  Reynolds  filed  his  claim  in  section  18;  William 
Ingram,  in  section  2Q;  and  John  L.  Piper,  in  sections  17  and  20.  The 
month  of  June,  1836,  brought  the  following  as  land  claimants:  Thomas 
Downing,  in  section  32;  Harrison  Skinner,  in  sections  20  and  28;  Isaac  S. 
Piper,  in  section  17;  and  Reuben  Hull,  in  section  28.  In  -Inly  came 
Jacob  Meyer  to  section  2'J,  and  in  August,  George  Paugh,  to  section  24. 
The  November  claimants  were  Peter  B.  Smith  (Iliorth's  partner),  in 
section  18,  and  Daniel  M.  Tilton,  section  31.  Mr.  Tilton  also  filed  a  claim 
in  section  2!)  during  December,  and  in  the  same  month  the  following 
entered  land:  Zacheus  Rothrock,  in  section  14;  Andrew  T.  Ream,  in 
section  28,  and  John  Press,  in  section  29. 

Hard  Times  Check  Land  Entries 

The  hard  times  of  1837-38  frightened  purchasers  of  hind  and  during 
that  year  only  four  made  claims  in  Union  Township,  viz. :  Elijah  Adams 
in  section  7;  Isaiah  Broderick,  in  section  13;  Peter  Wieklow,  in  section 
14,  and  William  Ingram,  in  section  17.  The  only  one  to  enter  land  in 
1838  was  Thomas  Ilollaway,  in  section   14;  the  year  183!)  is  also  saved 


202  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

from   being  "blanked"   by   a  solitary  claimant,   Richard  Tilton,   who 
entered  land  in  section  19. 

w  Excluded  Sections 

After  1840,  there  were  few  tracts  in  the  township  subject  to  entry 
and  purchase  from  the  Government  at  the  regular  price  of  $1.25  per  acre. 
Of  course,  sectiou  1C,  being  school  laud,  was  not  available  for  entry, 
wbile  section  30  and  a  portion  of  section  29  were  canal  lands  and  also 
excluded  from  private  ownership  at  Government  prices. 

Entries  in  1841-54 

In  the  '40s,  the  years  1847  and  1848  showed  the  greatest  improvement 
in  land  purchases.  In  1841  Samuel  E.  Burns  entered  a  claim  in  section 
18,  and  in  1844,  Peter  B.  Smith  filed  on  a  tract  in  section  4.  The 
following  entries  were  made  in  the  late  '40s:  In  1845,  Samuel  E.  Burns 
and  William  A.  Logan,  section  18;  in  1846,  Henry  James  and  Mary  E. 
McKee,  section  13;  in  1847,  Levi  Reynolds,  Matthew  Reynolds  and 
George  Tames,  section  6 ;  Loren  Cutler,  section  13 ;  Abram  Snyder, 
section  14,  and  Randolph  Brearley,  section  18;  in  1848,  Thomas  O'Brien, 
section  18,  Daniel  Cain,  sectiou  19,  and  William  Fincer,  Sardis  Cutler 
and  Robert  Rothroek,  section  24.  Three  entries  are  recorded  for  1850 — 
Ashley  Pierce,  Mary  L.  Pierce  and  Lewis  Pierce,  all  in  section  19.  In 
April,  1854,  Henry  Kahler  and  Lanty  T.  Armstrong  entered  land  in  the 
island  lying  in  the  Tippecanoe  River,  section  34,  east  of  Monticello, 
which  dosed  the  record  for  lands  purchased  of  the  Government  in  Union 
Township. 

Land  the  Basis  of  Solid  Prosperity 

We  have  gone  somewhat  extensively  into  the  subject  of  laud  entries, 
as  they  formed  the  basis  of  so  much  permanent  prosperity  throughout 
the  township,  especially  among  the  old  families  who  have  been  engaged 
in  farming  operations  for  several  generations.  In  fact,  with  the  exception 
of  Monticello,  the  activities  of  that  portion  of  the  county  are  almost 
entirely  rural,  as  Norway,  which  once  aspired  to  something  metropolitan, 
is  now  but  n  pretty  hamlet,  with  a  fertile  outlying  country. 

Construction  of  Good  Roads 

Union  Township  has  given  much  of  its  time  and  substance  to  the 
improvement  of  highways  within  its  borders,  and  has  already  incurred  a 
bonded  indebtedness  of  $47,G97  in  the  construction  of  gravel  roads.  The 
expenditure  has  been  divided  among  the  different  roads  as  follows: 
Ballard  road,  $2,400;  Spencer,  $5,200;  Dobbins,  $400;  Eepp,  $4,250; 
Shook,  $3,000;  Mills,  $G,0G7;  Christy,  $3,430;  Miller,  $4,950;  Roberts, 
$12,000;  Scroggs,  $0,000.  This  is  in  addition  to  the  Brechfiel  pike  lead- 
ing to  Buffalo  ami  several  miles  of  stone  and  gravel  roads  not  shown  in 
the  above  statemont. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

'  MONON  TOWNSHIP 

Cornelius  Sutton,  First  Settler — Early  Settlers,  Voters  and  Offi- 
cials— Land  Entries  Before  1840 — Swamp  Lands  Purchased — 
Good  Roads — Limestone  Deposits — Tiie  Timdered  Tracts— Bia  and 
Little  Monon  Creeks — First  Mills  Built — West  Bedford — The 
Cooper  Mill — Last  Gasp  of  West  Bedford — New  Bradford  and 
Monon — First  Events  in  the  Township — Simon  Kenton's  Daugh- 
ters and  Grandchildren — Early  Postoffices — Oakdale,  or  Lee. 

In  response  to  a  petition  signed  by  eleven  citizens,  the  board  of 
commissioners  for  White  County  created  Monon  Township  on  the  5th  of 
January,  1836.  It  then  embraced  all  of  the  county  north  of  the  line 
dividing  sections  16  and  21,  township  27  north,  range  3  west  and  west 
of  the  line  dividing  ranges  2  and  3,  and  it  did  not  assume  its  present 
area  and  form  until  Liberty  Township  was  erected  in  1837,  Princeton  in 
1844  and  Honey  Creek  in  1855.  The  first  change  in  its  boundaries  was 
in  September,  1836,  when  it  was  only  about  nine  months  old,  at  which 
time  its  south  line  was  moved  one  mile  to  the  north. 

Cornelius  Sutton,  First  Settler 

The  first  settler  in  Monon  Township  of  whom  there  is  any  account — 
and  that  is  rather  unsatisfactory — was  Cornelius  Sutton,  a  wandering 
trapper,  who,  about  1835,  located  his  shack  and  himself  near  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Big  and  Little  Monon  creeks.  He  was  chosen  one  of  the 
two  overseers  of  the  poor  at  the  first  election  in  the  following  year;  but 
that  is  not  necessarily  placing  him  in  the  list  of  really  prominent  men, 
as  in  order  to  fill  the  offices  nearly  all  the  residents  of  the  township  had 
to  serve  in  some  capacity. 

Early  Settlers,  Voters  and  Officials 

During  the  year  of  the  township's  organization,  1836,  the  following 
became  residents  within  its  limits:  John  Cowger,  Amos  Cooper,  Silas 
Cowger,  Thomas  Macklen,  John  McNary,  Joseph  J.  Keiley,  John  Parker, 
Harvey  Sellers,  Lycurgus  Cooper  and  John  Kepperling;  and  there  were 
about  as  many  more  who  bad  already  located  when  the  township  was 
created.  That  is  a  safe  statement,  since  at  the  first  election  held  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Sutton,  on  the  first  Monday  (the  4th)  of  April,  1836,  tho 

203 


204 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 


following  voted:  Samuel  Gray,  David  Berkey,  Elihu  Line,  Thomas 
Wilson,  Ira  Bacon,  James  K.  Wilson,  Cornelius  Sutton,  John  McNary, 
Elias  Lowther,  William  Wilson,  James  II.  Sutton,  Melchi  Gray,  Silas 
Cowger  and  Isaac  W.  Blake.  Melchi  Gray  and  Messrs.  Line  and  Baker 
acted  as  judges,  and  Samuel  Cray  and  Mr.  Berkey,  as  clerks.  The 
officers  elected  were  Silas  Cowger  for  justice  of  the  peace;  Isaac  W, 
Black,  constable;  Elias  Lowther,  supervisor;  Cornelius  Sutton  and  James 
K.  Wilson,  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  Elihu  Line,  inspector  of  election. 
Samuel  Gray  and  Joseph  K.  Sutton  each  received  seven  votes  for  fence 


Old-Fashioned  FireJ?lace 


viewer — a  very  important  office  in  the  early  times — and  the  record  does 
not  bring  down  to  us  the  ultimate  choice. 
,  The  second  election,  in  18:17,  was  held  at  the  house  of  Silas  Cowger, 
on  the  Monon,  and  the  third,  at  the  cabin  of  John  Cowger.  The  Cowger 
family  became  both  prominent  and  permanent,  and  its  members  arc  still 
factors  in  the  progress  of  the  township. 

Land  Entries  Before  1840 

Among  those  mentioned,  as  well  as  others  who  came  to  the  township 
previous  to  1840,  the  following  entered  land  in  Monon   Township,  the 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  205 

earliest  tracts  taken  up  being  in  sections  which  include  the  present  site 
of  the  Village  of  Motion  and  adjacent  tracts  to  the  east  and  southeast: 
In  1832  William  Wilson  entered  claims  in  section  11;  Thomas  Wilson, 
Sr.,  in  section  22;  David  Berkey,  in  sections  24  and  25;  Ira  Bacon,  in 
sections  26  and  27 ;  Thomas  Murphy,  in  sections  25  and  36. 

1833 — Joseph  Wilson,  section  11;  William  Wilson,  section  22;  Elias 
Lowther,  section  25. 

1834— Joseph  Wilson,  section  22 ;  Daniel  Griffith,  sections  22  and  28 ; 
Frederick  Spilkey,  section  26. 

1835 — John  Britton,  sections  18  and  30;  John  Sidcnbender,  section  31; 
John  Pixler,  same  section ;  John  Covvger,  sections  1  and  18 ;  Thomas 
WTilson,  section  14;  Thomas  King,  section  15. 

1836 — John  Renner,  section  17;  Daniel  Murray,  section  18;  Isaac  W. 
Blake,  section  19;  Benjamin  Ball,  sections  21  and  22;  Thomas  Downey, 
section  25;  Dennis  Line,  section  1. 

1837 — Michael  Aker,  section  8 ;  Samuel  Korn,  section  17 ;  Jacob  Dibra, 
section  29 ;  Harvey  Sellers,  section  30 ;  Charles  S.  Lowe,  section  1 ; 
Benjamin  Ball,  section  20. 

1838— Ayres  Peterson,  section  19. 

1839 — John  McNutt,  section  18;  Abraham  Hershe,  section  29;  Samuel 
Peterson,  section  29. 

Swamp  Lands  Purchased 

Although  most  of  the  land  entered  was  eventually  settled  by  residents, 
at  a  later  day  much  of  the  so-called  "swamp  land"  was  purchased  by 
non-residents.  Some  was  really  overflowed ;  other  tracts  were  on  the 
sand  ridges,  high  and  dry. 

Three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  section  19  was  purchased  by  I.  and 
D.  C.  Chamberlain,  Samuel  Duncan  and  Marion  Reed,  residents,  and 
Solomon  Sturges,  non-resident.  Two  hundred  acres  in  section  30  became 
the  property  of  John  Duncan  and  James  Johnson,  residents,  and  of  Mr. 
Sturges.  The  greater  portions  of  sections  1,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  22,  23, 
24,  25,  26,  and  27  were  entered  as  swamp  lands,  with  smaller  tracts  in 
sections  2,  3,  33,  34,  and  36.  In  other  words,  a  large  portion  of  Western 
Monon  Township  was  entered  as  swamp  lands.  These  entries,  with 
scattering  tracts,  legally  placed  more  than  a  quarter  of  Monon  Township 
under  water ;  that  portion  is  far  from  the  facts,  although  considerable  of 
its  area  was  lowJand. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  to  the  township,  before  any  effort  had 
been  made  at  drainage,  a  large  area  of  the  township  was  covered  by  water 
the  greater ,part  of  the  year.  It  was  a  favorite  breeding  place  for  aquatic 
wild  fowl  and  fur-bearing  animals  and  drew  thither  many  hunters  and 
trappers.  Thus  the  settlement  of  the  country  by  substantial  farmers  was 
slow. 

Good  RoXds 

Monon  Township  has  not  only  spent  largely  of  her  means  in  the 
matter  of  reclaiming  her  swamp  lands  and  bringing  them  under  culti- 


206  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Vation,  but  is  among  the  foremost  of  the  townships  (third  in  the  list)  in 
furthering  the  good  roads  movement,  through  which  the  farming  com- 
munities are  brought  into  close  touch  with  the  markets,  even  though  miles 
from  the  railroad.  In  the  construction  of  gravel,  or  macadam  roads, 
which  has  been  pushed  with  such  good  results  for  the  past  twenty  years, 
Monon  Township  has  cheerfully  incurred  a  bonded  indebtedness  of 
$58,280,  divided  among  the  different  roads  as  follows:  McDonald, 
$19,080;  Jacks,  $4,200;  Graham,  $4,800;  Kentnick,  $11,200;  Porter, 
$8,000;  Hughes,  $5,000;  Noland,  $6,000. 

Limestone  Deposits 

A  solid  bed  of  limestone  underlies  much  of  the  fertile  soil  of  Monon 
Township,  its  most  prominent  outcroppings  being  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Big  and  Little  Monon  creeks.  The  quarrying  of  this  stone,  the  deposits 
of  which  vary  in  thickness  from  one  to  seven  feet,  and  the  operation  of 
kilns  for  the  manufacture  of  lime,  were  carried  on  to  a  considerable 
extent  in  the  pioneer  times;  but  the  limestone  has  been  utilized,  for  some 
years  past,  in  the  building  of  highways,  not  only  in  many  sections  of 
White  County,  but  in  neighboring  territory.  Perhaps  the  largest  crush- 
ing plant  and  lime  manufactory  in  the  county  is  now  in  operation  about 
a  mile  south  of  Monon. 

The  Timbered  Tracts 

Originally,  the  southern  half  of  the  township  was  heavily  timbered, 
and  consequently,  ns  in  the  case  of  the  other  townships,  was  first  settled. 
There  were  also  considerable  tracts  of  timber  land  in  the  eastern  portion, 
on  both  sides  of  Big  Monon  Creek,  extending  as  far  north  as  the  second 
tier  of  sections  from  the  northern  line  of  the  township.  Most  of  the 
first  growth  has,  of  course,  been  removed,  although  these  portions  of  the 
township  are  still  the  best  wooded. 

Bio  and  Little  Monon  Creeks 

Monon  Township  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  county,  being  nearly 
equal  in  area  to  two  congressional  townships.  The  spelling  of  the 
name  of  the  creeks,  from  which  it  is  designated,  was  formerly  Monong; 
the  Indians  even  went  further  and  called  the  Big  Monon,  the  Metamonong 
— Mcta  being  "big."  These  streams  are  the  most  beautiful  tributaries 
of  the  Tippecanoe  in  White  County,  and  have  been  a  blessing  to  the 
township  in  every  way. 

First  Mills  Built  ** 

As  early  as  18:15  Elias  Lowther  commenced  to  build  a  grist  mill  on 
Little  Monon  Creek,  near  its  mouth,  and  finished  it  during  the  following 
yenr.     Whether  Mr.  Lowther  made  the  buhrs  himself  or  Dr.  Samuel 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  207 

Korn,  who  was  then  a  resident  of  Tippecanoe  County,  is  not  material; 
the  main  point  is  that  they  were  well  made  and  hung  true  and  did  the 
work  required  of  them  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  settlers  until  1840.  In 
that  year  the  mill  shut  down  and  the  huhrs  were  purchased  by  Charles  S. 
Lowe,  a  Miami  County  farmer  and  merchant  whose  homestead  had  been 
in  section  24,  about  three  miles  east  of  the  present  Village  of  Monon,  for 
several  years. 

Mr.  Lowe  erected  a  new  mill  on  Big  Monon  Creek,  near  his  homestead, 
using  the  buhrs  of  the  first  mill  in  his  own  enterprise ;  the  same  stones 
are  said  to  have  done  good  service  afterward  in  Jasper  County,  and  the 
old  grist  mill  was  subsequently  transformed  into  a  sawmill,  which  was 
operated  by  Larkin  and  Gustavus  Lowe,  sons  of  the  founder.  The  Lowe 
Mill  was  one  of  the  most  widely  known  landmarks  in  Monon  Township 
and  the  Lowe  farm  and  residence  were  favorite  centers  of  social  life. 

West  Bedford 

This  brings  us  to  the  story  of  the  founding  of  West  Bedford,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  old  Lowther  mill.  The  town  was  platted  by 
David  Berkey  on  the  21st  day  of  April,  1837,  on  the  north  side  of  Little 
Monon  Creek  and  the  west  side  of  the  Big  Monon,  near  the  confluence  of 
those  streams  with  the  Tippecanoe  River.  The  survey  was  made  by  Asa 
Allen,  county  surveyor.  The  plat  comprised  100  lots  and  the  village 
flourished  for  fifteen  years,  or  until  it  became  evident  that  the  Louisville, 
New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad  was  going  some  three  miles  west  of  its 
limits. 

The  Cooper  Mill 

In  1845  Amos  Cooper  and  Nathaniel  Hull  threw  a  dam  across  the 
Big  Monon  three  miles  north  of  West  Bedford  and  erected  a  large  frame 
grist  mill,  at  a  cost  of  between  $5,000  and  $G,000.  They  also  bought  a 
large  stock  of  general  merchandise  and  opened  a  store.  This  combined 
enterprise  was  beneficial  to  the  township,  but  rather  detracted  from  the 
importance  of  West  Bedford  and  drew  business  from  such  merchants 
of  that  town  as  Martin  Judah  and  "Jack"  llcaton.  In  the  early  time 
there  were  several  saloons  in  the  village,  and,  as  the  sale  of  liquors 
required  no  license  then,  the  general  stores  sold  whiskey,  gin  and  other 
strong  drinks.  In  fact,  for  a  number  of  years  West  Bedford  had,  and 
firmly  maintained,  a  bad  reputation  for  sobriety. 

Last  Gasp  op  West  Bedford 

The  last  revival  of  business  at  West  Bedford  was  its  death  gasp,  for 
while  the  railroad  was  in  process  of  construction  to  the  westward  in-1853 
its  employees  were  obliged  to  depend  for  some  time  upon  the  board,  pro- 
visions and  lodgings,  as  well  as  the  wet  goods,  which  could  be  supplied 
of  the  merchants,  hotel  keepers  and  resident  families  of  the  village.  But 
on  the  18th  of  March,  1853,  James  Brooks,  president  of  the  Louisville, 


208  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  . 

New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad,  platted  the  Town  of  New  Bradford, 
and  the  exodus  from  West  Bedford  commenced  in  earnest.  Within  a 
few  months,  the  old  town  had  been  virtually  deserted  for  the  new. 

New  Bradford  and  Monon 

It  is  certain  that  President  Brooks,  of  the  railroad,  meant  that  his 
town  should  be  launched  with  eclat.  The  original  plat  contained  410 
lots  on  either  side  of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  line,  and 
he  at  once  commenced  the  construction  of  a  large  roundhouse.  Resi- 
dences and  stores  were  rapidly  built,  and  within  a  few  months  an  addition 
of  more  than  sixty  lots  was  made  to  the  original  town. 

It  was  more  than  forty  years  before  the  name  New  Bradford  was 
legally  replaced  by  that  of  Monon — designating  the  village  as  well  as  the 
postoffice.  The  name  Monon  was  given  to  the  first  postoffice  established 
in  the  township,  about  1838,  at  the  house  of  David  Berkey  on  the  farm 
afterward  owned  by  Samuel  Lowe.  Mr.  Berkey  was  also  postmaster  and 
continued  as  such  until  the  office  was  moved  to  the  house  of  James  K. 
Wilson,  just  east  of  the  present  Village  of  Monon.  The  postoffice 
remained  as  Monon  both  under  Mr.  Wilson's  administration  and  that  of 
his  successor,  Lewis  Chamberlain,  who  assumed  its  duties  in  1854  as  the 
postmaster  at  New  Bradford.  It  was  not  until  1879  that  New  Bradford 
was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  Monon,  thus  making  the  name  of  the 
postoffice  and  the  village  uniform.  The  ambitions  of  its  founder  have 
been  fairly  realized,  as  it  is  the  second  center  of  population  in  the  county 
and  an  attractive,  brisk  and  substantial  town. 

First  Events  in  the  Township 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  was  John  Wilson,  son  of 
James  K.  and  Nancy  Wilson  (nee  Clayton),  whose  birthday  was  June  1, 
1834.  During  the  year  1835  the  following  were  born  in  the  township : 
Laviuia  Lowther,  Margaret  Bacon,  Dennis  Blake,  Elizabeth  Wilson  and 
Clarissa  Barkey. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  Mrs.  Thomas  Wilson,  in  the  fall  of  1834. 

James  Harrison  and  Elizabeth  Ivers  were  the  first  to  be  married  in 
Monon  Township,  about  the  year  1838.  In  the  following  year,  Amos 
Cooper  and  Mary  Edwards  were  wed,  and  about  the  same  time,  Benjamin 
Ball  and  Martha  Kenton. 

Simon  Kenton's  Daughters  and  Grandchildren 

The  last  named  was  a  granddaughter  of  Simon  Kenton,  the  famed 
Indian  fighter  and  frontiersman.  Three  of  his  daughters  were  also  early 
settlers  of  the  township.  They  married  Daniel  Murray,  Jacob  Meyer 
and  James  J.  Brown,  and  all  died  within  the  limits  of  the  township. 
Mrs.  Murray  and  Mrs.  Meyer  were  interred  in  the  cemetery  at  Monon 
Methodist  Episcopal  Chapel,  about  three  miles  northeast  of  the  village. 


-         — ' 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  -         .,209 

Jacob  Meyer  died  at  an  early  date  and  his  widow  married  Matthias  M. 
Thornton,  dying  herself  without  issue. 

Mrs.  Murray  had  a  large  family,  and  five  of  her  sons  served  in  the 
Civil  war,  their  records  being  such  as  were  a  credit  to  the  family  name. 
Lewis  Murray  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  in  the  regular  army  and 
died  in  the  service  at  Indianapolis. 

The  first  religious  organization  in  Monon  Township  was  probably 
the  Presbyterian  Society  established  at  West  Bedford  in  1839.  Reverend 
Williamson  was  its  first  pastor  and  the  early  members  were  Thomas 
Downey  and  wife,  William  Wilson  and  wife,  and  Mrs.  Kepperling. 

West  Bedford  also  had  the  first  schoolhouse  in  the  township,  built  in 
1840.  »Salome  Bentley  was  the  teacher  of  this  pioneer  school  and  was 
succeeded  by  Michael  Berkey.  The  second  schoolhouse  in  the  township 
was  erected,  about  1852,  at  Cooper's  Mill. 

Early  Postoffices 

Outside  of  Monon,  a  number  of  postoffices  have  been  established  in 
the  township,  some  of  which  have  been  discontinued  because  of  a  shifting 
of  population,  others  moved  into  other  townships  and  still  others  absorbed 
by  the  rural  free  delivery. 

Cathcart  postoffice  was  established  about  1846,  in  the  western  part  of 
the  township,  with  Robert  B.  Overton  as  postmaster.  It  was  situated  on 
the  farm  afterward  occupied  by  Thomas  Jacks  and  was  discontinued  in 
1863. 

Flowerville' postoffice  was  established  in  1867,  with  A.  A.  Cole  as 
postmaster.  It  was  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  on  a 
tract  of  land  owned  by  William  Lowe  and  the  heirs  of  John  Berkey. 
In  1869  it  was  moved  into  Liberty  Township  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Tippecanoe  and  later  was  discontinued  but  a  store  is  still  located  there. 

Oakdale,  or  Lee 

The  only  existing  postoffice  in  Monon  Township  outside  the  village  is 
Lee,  in  the  northwest  corner,  about  a  mile  from  the  Jasper  County  line 
.on  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  (Monon)  Railroad.  It  became 
a  postoffice,  in  1882,  with  Calvin  Anderson  as  postmaster,  and  although 
it  was  platted  in  1886  as  Oakdale  it  is  generally  known  as  Lee  in  honor 
of  Uncle  Sam 's  sponsorship. 

In  August  of  the  latter  year  it  was  platted  by  Benjamin  A.  Linville 
and  Noble  J.  York,  who  laid,  out  120  lots  on  fractions  of  sections  3,  10 
and  11,  township  28  north,  range  5  west.  It  is  about  five  miles  northwest 
of  Monon  and  is  the  center  of  a  rich  district  of  drained  lands,  admirably 
adapted  to  live  stock.  Eventually,  it  will  also  be  surrounded  by  a  pro- 
ductive grain  district,  numerous  large  farms  having  been  opened  of  late 
years.  Aside  from  artificial  ditches,  with  which  the  adjacent  country  is 
well  supplied,  the  land  is  drained  by  Pinkamink  Creek,  a  branch  of  the 
Iroquois  River  flowing  wcstwardly  through  the  neighboring  County  of 

Vol.   '  3-14 


210  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Jasper.  Oakdale,  or  Lee,  is  an  important  shipping  point  for  hay. 
Hundreds  of  tons  are  baled  at  the  station  every  year  and  shipped  abroad, 
and,  with  the  improvement  of  the  surrounding  farming  lands,  it  has 
become  an  equally  good  point  for  the  marketing  and  shipping  of  grain. 


V 


■ 


, 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PRAIRIE  TOWNSHIP 

As  a  White  County  Township — Natural  Features — Drainage 
Through  Moots  and  Spring  Creeks — Products  op  the  Soil — 
Eastern  Timber  Lands  First  Settled — Generous  Bill  op  Fare — 
The  Pioneer  Landlords  of  1829-34 — Hard  Times  Retard  Entries — 
Royal  Hazelton,  First  Permanent  Settler — Samuel  Alkire — 
Thomas  Kennedy — First  Voters  and  Officials — Educational  and 
Religious  Beginnings — J.  C.  Moore,  Prosperous  Farmer  and 
Inventor — Other  Early  Landholders — Loren  anp  Ralph  A.  Cut- 
ler^— First  Sawmills — Brookston,  Industrial  and  Commercial 
Center — Village  of  Springboro — Improvement  in  Rural  Condi- 
tions— Leading  Good  Roads  Township. 

Prairie  Township  comprises  sixty-six  square  miles  in  the  southern- 
most portion  of  White  County,  with  Carroll  County  to  the  east  and 
Tippecanoe  to  the  south.  It  is  in  the  shape  of  parallelogram,  eleven 
miles  east  and  west  and  six,  north  and  south. 

The  present  township  is  the  remnant  of  one  of  the  largest  civil 
divisions  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  When  attached  to  Carroll  County, 
before  the  organization  of  White,  Prairie  Township  had  an  area  of  2,000 
square  miles,  or  more  than  five  times  the  area  of  the  county  to  which  it 
was  attached  for  judicial  and  political  purposes.  Its  territory  comprised 
all  of  White  County  west  of  the  Tippecanoe  River,  Jasper  and  Newton 
counties  as  a  whole,  and  a  part  of  Benton  and  Pulaski  counties.  That 
was  the  very  cream  of  the  prairie  country  in  Northwestern  Indiana; 
hence  the  name  which  is  still  attached  to  the  reduced  township. 

As  a  White  County  Township 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  White  County 
on  July  19,  1834,  an  order  was  issued  creating  Congressional  Township 
No.  25,  to  be  known  as  Prairie.  The  new  division  contained  102  square 
miles,  and  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Big  Creek  Township,  on  the 
east  and  south  by  Carroll  and  Tippecanoe  counties,  respectively,  and  on 
the  west  by  Benton  County.  Thus  the  boundaries  remained  until  1854, 
when  West  Point  Township  was  taken  from  Big  Creek  and  constituted 
the  northern  boundary  of  nine  out  of  the  seventeen  sections  then  form- 
ing its  northern  tier.  In  1858  Round  Grove  Township  was  carved  from 
the  western  portion  of  Prairie  Township,  thus  reducing  its  area  by 
thirty-six  square  miles  and  forming  it  as  at  present. 

211 


212  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Natural  Features 

From  the  very  first,  Prairie  Township  was  considered  an  agricultural 
star  of  the  first  magnitude.  The  prime  reasons  for  its  superiority  were ' 
that  it  had  not  only  richness  of  soil,  both  in  its  western  prairie  sections 
aud  its  eastern  areas  of  timbered  lands,  but  a  splendid  natural  drainage 
and  a  gently  undulating  land  surface,  which  made  it  unnecessary  to  resort 
to  artificial  means  to  realize  handsomely  from  the  first  fruits  of, the  land. 

Probably  three-fifths  of  the  entire  township  is  prairie  land,  its  eastern 
half  being  comparatively  level,  with  gentle  undulations  here  and  there 
and  timber  areas  and  stretches  lying  adjacent  to  the  streams.  The 
western  part  is  almost  barren  of  timber,  save  the  Round  Grove  and  a 
stretch  of  timber  reaching  into  the  township  by  that  name;  this  is  called 
by  the  settlers  Slim  Timber,  and  is  one  of  several  similar  wooded  fingers 
which  protrude  into  the  Grand  Prairie  from  West  Point  and  Princeton 
townships.  The  soil  of  the  prairie  portions  of  the  township  is  a  rich 
black  loam,  with  a  subsoil  of  sand  and  gravel;  in  the  timbered  tracts 
the  loam  has  a  clay  subsoil.  There  are  no  high  ridges  of  sand  any- 
where, such  as  are  found  in  the  northern  townships  of  the  county.  Yet, 
after  all  has  been  said  as  to  the  appropriateness  of  the  township's  name, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  it  was  more  to  the  point  before  Round  Grove 
was  lopped  of?. 

Drainage  through  Moots  and  Spring  Creeks 

The  eastern  portion  of  Prairie  Township  is  timbered  chiefly  with 
white  oak,  though  there  are  other  varieties  of  wood  found  near  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Tippecanoe  and  along  Moots  and  Spring  creeks,  its  tribu- 
taries which  are  the  natural  channels  for  the  drainage  of  the  township. 
Moots  Creek  has  its  source  in  the  extreme  northwestern  sections,  wind- 
ing in  a  general  southeasterly  direction  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
township,  about  a  mile  from  its  eastern  line,  and  thence  passing  into 
Tippecanoe  County  on  its  way  to  join  the  Tippecanoe.  Spring  Creek 
rises  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township.  It  also  flows  southeast  and 
empties  into  the  Tippecanoe  River  at  Springboro,  the  oldest  town  in  the 
township,  where  the  first  postoffice  was  established  on  the  stage  line  from 
Lafayette  to  Michigan  City.  It  was  five  miles  east  of  Brookston,  one 
of  those  several  "paper  towns"  in  AVhite  County,  crumpled  up  by  the 
lack  of  a  railroad.  Its  site,  where  the  creek  joins  the  river,  with  a 
series  of  bluffs  rising  from  the  smaller  to  the  larger  stream,  was  pic- 
turesque, and  still  is;  but  natural  beauty  could  not  make  Springboro 
grow.  '       ' 

Spring  Creek  itself  is  not  as  long  as  Moots,  but,  by  reason  of  the- 
living  springs  which  feed  it  so  abundantly  and  unvaryingly  along  its 
entire  course,  its  volume  of  water  is  probably  much  greater.  Both 
streams  have  made  the  township  ideal  for  stockmen,  and  in  the  early 
times  many  large  tracts  of  land  on  their  banks  were  fenced  off  for  the 
pasturage  and  raising  of  cattle. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  - 


213 


Products  of  the  Soil 

The  native  grasses  have  almost  disappeared  from  the  township,  the 
area  of  prairie  land  having  been  broken  up  aud  cultivated  to  corn,  oats 
and  other  grain.  Timothy  is  largely  cultivated,  yielding  two  or  three 
tons  to  the.  acre,  and  after  the  crop  is  removetl  the  meadow  land  is 
utilized  for  pasture  until  the  stock  is  housed  for  the  cold  months.  Red 
clover  is  also  cultivated  to  some  extent.  Corn  is  the  principal  grain 
product  of  the  township,  and  it  can  be  grown  both  on  prairie  and  timber 
soil.  The  yield  from  the  open  lands,  however,  averages  sixty  bushels  to 
the  acre,  while  that  of  the  timber  tracts  is  not  quite  as  much.  Oats,  rye 
and  buckwheat  are  other  cereals  which  do  well,  while  grapes  and  other 
fruits  are  raised  with  profit  on  the  hills,  which  lie  chiefly  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  township  where  the  creeks  empty  into  the  Tippecanoe. 

Eastern  Timber  Lands  First  Settled 

In  view  of  the  natural  features  of  Prairie  Township,  it  is  easy  to 
understand  why  its  eastern  sections  were  quite  well  settled  before  the 
fertile  prairies  of  the  west  were  scarcely  scratched.  The  explanation  is 
so  well  put  by  one  who  wrote  from  observation  that  we  quote :  ' '  The  first 
settlers  of  Prairie  township  were  mainly  from  Virginia,  Kentucky  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  not  a  matter  for  wonder  that  they  preferred  the 
wooded  section  for  a  dwelling  place.  Grubbing  and  clearing  the  land  of 
timber  was  a  familiar  pastime  with  them  in  the  states  whence  they  had 
moved,  but  ditching  and  breaking  the  tough  sod  of  the  prairie  was  work 
to  which  they  were  comparative  strangers.  They  knew  how  to  cut  down 
a  tree  and  make  rails  from  the  body  to  enclose  their  land,  and  cord  wood 
from  the  top  for  fires  in  the  winter,  and  to  cook  their  meals  at  all  seasons, 
but  ditching  and  breaking  prairie  sod  were  altogether  out  of  their  line 
of  work,  and,  besides,  after  the  ditches  were  completed  and  the  land 
ploughed,  the  fencing  of  the  fields  remained.  Why  not  clear  out  this 
timber  land  at  once  and  leave  the  prairie  for  a  later  but  more  unfortu- 
nate emigrant  to  subdue?  The  choice  was  between  labor  with  which 
they  were  familiar  and  that  to  which  they  were  unaccustomed,  and  was 
quickly  and  easily  decided  in  favor  of  the  timber  section. 

Generous  Bill-of-Fare 

' '  It  was  of  small  moment  to  them  what  part  of  their  real  estate  was 
cultivated,  whether  timber  or  prairie.  Either  would  produce  more  than 
was  sufficient  for  their  wants,  and  there  was  no  market  for  the  surplus 
grain  and  vegetables  at  home,  and  the  price  offered  in  the  distant  markets 
would  not  repay  them  for  the  time,  labor  and  expense  required  for  trans- 
portation. The  yield  from  a  very  small  field  was  sufficient  to  supply  the 
necessary  food  for  the  family  and  stock,  with  which  latter  every  farmer 
was  provided.  The  hogs  required  little  attention,  as  they  roamed  at  will 
in  the  woods,  and  grew  and  fattened  on  the  mast,  principally  white  oak 


i  ■' 


■ 


ti.trititrt  ih 


214  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

acorns,  of  which  nature  afforded  an  ample  supply.  The  cattle,  in  sum- 
mer, fattened  on  the  rich  grass  of  the  prairies  and  required  in  winter 
only  the  same  grass  made  into  hay.  Horses,  too,  gained  a  rich  living  in 
summer  on  the  grass  of  the  prairie,  and  in  winter  the  prairie  hay,  with 
oats  and  corn  added,  kept  them  in  good  condition  for  the  next  season's 
work. 

"Not  much  attention  was  given  by  the  first  settlers  to  the  raising  of" 
wheat  for  bread.  It  was  a  long  distance  to  a  mill  which  would  make 
flour,  and  when  procured  it  was  far  inferior  in  quality  to  that  made  in 
the  roller  mills  of  today.  Corn  meal  and  hominy  was  an  excellent  sub- 
stitute. Hog  and  hominy  was  the  main  food  of  the  family  throughout 
the  winter,  though  a  great  variety  was  easily  obtained  at  the  will  of  the 
settler.  Game  was  abundant ;  deer,  squirrels,  wild  turkeys,  geese,  ducks, 
quail  and  prairie  chickens,  were  found  without  hunting,  and  the  settler 
need  not  go  beyond  the  limit  of  his  clearing  to  procure  a  supply.  Wild 
honey  was  found  in  the  woods  and  fish  in  the  stream.  The  sugar  maple 
furnished  the  settlers  with  molasses  and  sugar  for  the  household,  though 
there  were  not  many  children  old  enough  to  enjoy  the  delights  of  a  sugar 
camp.  In  the  summer,  the  wild  strawberries,  blackberries,  raspberries 
and  whortleberries,  plums,  grapes  and  other  small  fruits,  were  added 
to  the  larder ;  and  melons  of  all  kinds,  pumpkins,  squashes,  citrons,  Irish 
and  sweet  potatoes,  came  in  their  season — the  berries  and  fruits  to  be 
had  for  the  gathering  and  the  vegetables  for  the  planting  of  the  seed, 
with  little  attention  afterward. 

"With  this  array  of  luxuries,  there  was  small  danger  of  the  settlers 
suffering  anxiety  from  the  distress  of  any  probable  famine  overtaking 
them  in  their  new  homes." 

The  Pioneer  Landlords  of  1829-34 

The  first  lands  entered  in  Prairie  Township,  generally  with  the  inten- 
tion of  establishing  homes  upon  them,  were  in  sections  3,  5,  17,  20,  22, 
26,  29,  31,  33  and  34.  With  the  exception  of  the  tract  entered  in  section 
33,  all  of  the  lands  filed  upon  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  town- 
ship in  1834  were  not  located  west  of  the  present  site  of  Brookston.  The 
following  are  the  names  of  these  pioneer  landlords,  most  of  whom  became 
settlers:  In  1829— -Jesse  L.  Watson,  80  acres  in  section  3 ;  William  Phillips 
and  Jesse  Johnson,  each  80  acres  in  section  26;  William  Kennedy,  80 
acres  in  section  34;  and  Robert  Barr,  80  acres  in  section  36. 

1830— Bazil  Clevenger,  80  acres  in  section  33;  Charles  Wright,  80 
acres  in  section  22 ;  Frederick  Smith,  146  acres  in  section  31 ;  Christian 
Church,  80  acres  in  section  32;  John  Graham,  80  acres  in  section  5; 
Samuel  Alkire,  80  acres  in  same  section. 

1831 — Robert  Harvey,  80  acres  in  section  31. 

1832— Solomon  McCollach,  78  acres  in  section  29;  William  Gay,  160 
acres  in  section  29;  Jiunes  Gay,  40  acres  in  section  32;  William  Gay,  40 
acres  in  section  31 ;  William  Gay,  Jr.,  40  acres  in  section  31. 

1833 — John  Bcecher,  40  acres  in  section  31. 


' 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  '   215 

1834 — John  Young,  80  acres  in  section  17 ;  Daniel  Brown,  50  acres 
in  section  18;  Jacob  W.  Brooks,  80  acres  in  section  20;  Isaac  Thomas,  80 
acres  in  section  29. 

Hard  Times  Retard  Entries 

Land  entries  and  settlements  did  not  commence  in  the  western,  or 
prairie,  part  of  the  township,  until  the  late  '40s,  and  little  real  estate 
was  purchased  anywhere  from  1837  to  1842,  which  may  be  termed  the 
period  of  hard  times  and  readjustment  of  values.  As  payment  for  Gov- 
ernment lands  were  made  in  gold  and  silver  during  the  first  period  of  the 
township's  settlement,  and  "hard  money"  was  very  scarce,  the  entries 
languished  during  the  reaction  from  wild  cat  methods  of  finance. 

Royal  Hazelton,  First  Permanent  Settler 

The  first  settlers  in  what  is  now  Prairie  Township  do  not  appear  in 
its  list  of  land  owners.  Royal  Hazleton  is  credited  with  being  the  leader 
of  the  procession  of  permanent  residents  in  that  section,  and  some  claim 
that  Joseph  H.  Thompson,  of  Big  Creek  Township,  must  yield  the  honor 
to  him  as  the  pioneer  of  the  entire  county.  Mr.  Hazelton  settled  upon 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  22,  about  a  mile  southeast  of  the  present 
site  of  Brookston,  in  the  early  part  in  1829,  and  there  erected  a  round- 
log  shanty,  with  a  roof  of  clapboards  and  a  floor  of  puncheons,  16  by  14 
feet  in  dimensions.  He  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  before  White 
County  was  organized,  the  returns  for  which  are  still  on  file  at  Delphi, 
the  county  seat  of  Carroll  County.  Mr.  Hazelton 's  name  appears  in- the 
list  of  voters  who  east  their  ballots  at  the  second  election  held  after 
White  County  was  organized,  in  August,  1835 ;  also  as  the  second  school- 
teacher in  the  township.  Which  is  all  that  is  of  record  regarding  the 
first  housekeeper  and  permanent  settler  in  Prairie  Township. 

It  is  said  that  about  the  time  of  Hazelton 's  coming,  one  John  Ault 
built  a  pole  cabin  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township,  lived  with  his 
family  therein  for  about  three  months,  and  moved  thence  to  Big  Creek 
Township. 

Samuel  Alkire 

In  the  list  of  those  who  entered  land  in  1830  has  been  noted  the  name 
of  Samuel  Alkire,  who  took  up  eighty  acres  in  section  5,  the  extreme 
northeastern  corner  of  the  township  adjoining  Big  Creek  Township.  He 
was  an  Ohio  man  and  brought  his  family  to  that  locality,  where  they 
remained  for  about  a  year  and  then  moved  to  Illinois.  But  evidently 
the  Prairie  State  did  not  satisfy  them  as  well  as  Prairie  Township,  for 
they  were  all  back  within  twelve  months  and  the  father  was  prospecting 
near  his  former  entry.  He  finally  entered  600  acres,  the  line  between 
Prairie  and  Big  Creek  townships  cutting  his  domain ;  but  he  erected  his 
cabin  on  the  Big  Creek  portion,  so  thereafter  was  a  non-resident  of  Prai- 


11  . 


216  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

rie  Township.  His  worthy  descendants  are  still  in  that  part  of  the 
county,  his  son  John  being  six  years  of  age  when  the  family  settled  in 
section  5,  Prairie  Township.  . 

Thomas  Kennedy 

Although  it  is  recorded  that  William  Kennedy  entered  eighty  acres 
of  land  in  section  34,  on  the  13th  of  Noyember,  1829,  his  location  being 
about  three  miles  southeast  of  the  present  site  of  Brookston,  he  did  not 
settle  on  his  tract  until  about  two  years  afterward.  The  parents  brought 
with  them  an  infant  son,  Thomas,  who  is  now  in  his  eighty -fifth  year  and  . 
a  resident  of  Brookston.  As  no  one  living  in  the  township  has  a  better 
claim  to  being  a  connecting  link  between  the  old  and  the  present,  the 
editor  takes  pleasure  in  presenting  the  following  sketch : 

One  of  the  last  surviving  members  of  the  group  of  earliest  settlers  in 
White  County  is  Thomas  Kennedy,  now  living  retired  in  Brookston.  He 
.  is  past  fourscore  years  of  age,  and  more  than  eighty  years  of  his  life- 
time have  been  spent  within  the  limits  of  White  County.  His  earliest 
associations  and  memories  are  with  conditions  and  people  which  have 
long  since  passed  away.  He  is  now  living  quietly  at  Brookston,  enjoying 
the  fruits  of  the  labors  of  earlier  years  and  a  freedom  from  the  more 
active  cares  of  life.  No  family  has  lived  for  a  longer  time  with  more 
usefulness  and  honor  in  Prairie  Township  than  the  Kennedys. 

Thomas  Kennedy  was  born  near  Circleville,  Pickaway  County,  Ohio, 
November  22,  1831.  Iii  1833  his  parents,  William  and  Marie  (Mont-  , 
gomery)  Kennedy,  with  their  only  son,  Thomas,  moved  by  wagon  over 
corduroy  roads  and  trails  to  Indiana,  finally  locating  about  3V&  miles 
southeast  of  Brookston  in  Prairie  Township.  There  William  Kennedy 
bought  for  himself  and  his  brother,  Graham  Kennedy,  400  acres  at  public 
sale.  What  he  paid  for  this  land  is  unknown,  but  $1.25  an  acre  was  the 
minimum  price  and  it  was  not  more  than  $2.00  an  acre.  He  later  entered 
eighty  acres  from  the  Government.  For  temporary  purposes  he  lived  in 
a  round-log  cabin  owned  by  Robert  Barr,  and  on  his  own  land  subse- 
quently built  a  hewed  log  cabin  with  stick  and  mud  chimney,  puncheon 
flooring  laid  (not  nailed)  down  and  an  open  fireplace.  A  part  of  the 
land  he  secured  was  wooded  and  part  prairie.  There  William  Kennedy 
began  to  farm,  raising  wheat  and  enough  corn  to  feed  hogs.  On  one 
occasion,  in  the  fall  of  1845,  he  drove  his  hogs  to  Lafayette,  where  he 
had  them  slaughtered  for  the  by-product,  and  then  sold  the  dressed 
meat  at  $2.25  net  per  hundred  weight.  On  another  occasion  he  sold  a 
bunch  of  cows  for  $8.00  per  head. 

William  Kennedy  and  wife  had  two  daughters  born  to  them  after 
coming  to  White  County.  One  died  when  about  eight  years  of  age,  and 
the  other  married  Dr.  William  H.  Ball,  by  whom  she  had  a  family  of 
children,  some  of  whom  are  still  living  in  this  section  of  Indiana,  though 
she  is  herself  deceased.  William  Kennedy  was  born  in  1794  and  died 
in  1848,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four.  He  was  about  thirty-nine  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  White  County.    He  was  a  man  five  feet  ten  inches  high, 

-    ^-■-■^  ■■■-■  -       -       I-      -  ■         ■    ■    - 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  217 

square  built,  weighed  about  170  pounds  and  was  alert,  herd-working  and 
progressive.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  of  Irish  ancestry.  In  politics 
he  was  a  whig,  and  his  death  occurred  before  the  dissolution  of  that 
party  and  the  rise  of  the  republican  organization. 

Thomas  Kennedy,  the  only  direct  issue  of  his  father's  marriage  now 
living,  is  eighty-four  years  of  age  and  with  the  exception  of  two  years  has  • 
spent  his  entire  life  in  Prairie  Township.  He  grew  up  at  home  and 
helped  in  the  -work  of  the  farm  and  has  spent  many  weary  days  in  the 
arduous  toil  of  wood  and  field.  He  attended  his  first  school  in  1839. 
There  was  no  schoolhouse,  and  a  room  at  the  home  of  Robert  Barr  was 
utilized  for  that  purpose,  a  Miss  Rothrock  being  the  teacher.  Later  a 
cabin  schoolhouse  was  built.  In  1852  Mr.  Kennedy  taught  a  term  of 
school  in  Tippecanoe  County,  and  in  1857-58  taught  in  Prairie  Township. 
His  examination  for  a  certificate  was  wholly  oral,  and  covered  the  sub- 
jects of  orthography,  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  Thus  at  an  early 
age  he  began  bearing  his  part  of  the  responsibilities  of  community  life. 

After  his  father 's  death  he  took  charge  of  the  home  farm.  His  mother 
died  in  1862.  Prior  to  this  time,  on  November  11,  1858,  he  married 
Catherine  Bushong.  Their  six  children  now  living  are :  John  C,  a  resi- 
dent of  Brookston  and  owns  240  acres  of  land  in  Prairie  Township.  He 
married  Elizabeth  E.  Wolever  and  has  no  children.  They  are  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  Mr.  Kennedy  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  politically  is  a  democrat.  Jacob  B.,  who  is  an  active  agri- 
culturist, married  Nellie  Wolever  and  has  two  children,  Thomas  W.  and 
John  T.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and 
in  politics  he  is  a  democrat.  William  S.,  an  agriculturist  and  stock 
raiser,  is  a  resident  of  Kirby,  Arkansas.  He  married  a  Miss  McCauley. 
Thomas  J.  is  a  resident  of  Oklahoma  and  a  farmer.  Mary  E.,  who  has 
resided  in  Chicago  ten  years,  is  a  professional  nurse,  having  taken  her 
course  of  instruction  at  the  Passavant  Hospital.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Church  and  fraternally  an  Eastern  Star.  Martha  J,  is  also 
a  professional  nurse,  having  received  her  training  in  the  Home  Hospital 
at  Lafayette,  Indiana. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  having  sold  the  old  homestead,  Mr.  Kennedy 
moved  to  a  place  about  two  miles  northwest  of  Brookston,  where  his 
wife  died  in  the  fall  of  1881.  November  22,  1891,  he  married  Elizabeth 
Hay.  In  January,  1896,  Mr.  Kennedy  moved  to  Brookston,  where  he  has 
since  lived  retired.  He  still  owns  240  acres,  which  is  operated  by  his  son, 
Jacob  B.  Mr.  Kennedy  is  a  democrat  in  politics  and  served  as  assessor 
of  Prairie  Township  from  1886  to  1895,  inclusive.  In  1855  he  joined 
the*  Masonic  fraternity,  and  has  always  kept  up  his  membership,  being 
now  one  of  the  oldest  Masons  in  this  part  of  Indiana. 

First  Voters  and  Officials 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners,  held  July 
19,  1834,  the  civil  organization  of  Prairie  Township  was  furthered  by 
their  order  that  all  elections  during  the  first  year  should  be  held  at  the 


218  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

house  of  William  Woods.  Solomon  McColloch  was  at  the  same  time 
appointed  inspector  of  elections;  Samuel  Smelcer,  supervisor  of  roads; 
William  Walter,  overseer  of  the  poor;  and  Samuel  Alkire  and  William 
Phillips,  fence  viewers. 

The  first  election,  as  provided  for  by  the  board,  was  held  at  Mr. 
Woods'  house  on  the  6th  of  April,  1835,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Me- 
Colloch.  The  following  men  voted  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  list 
comprised  most  of  the  landholders  and  citizens  in  the  township :  Charles 
Wright  and  Thomas  C.  Smith  (judges),  John  Barr  and  William  Gay 
(clerks),  Solomon  McColloch,  George  Brown,  William  Gay,  Jr.,  Daniel 
Brown,  Ezekiel  W.  Brown,  William  Woods,  William  Watson,  William 
Sill,  James  Gay  and  Henry  Smelcer.  Mr.  Woods  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace;  Daniel  Brown,  constable;  William  Gay,  inspector  of  elections; 
Solomon  McColloch  and  John  Barr  received  fourteen  votes  each  for  super- 
visor of  roads ;  William  Gay  and  William  Phillips,  fourteen  votes  each  for 
overseers  of  the  poor ;  and  William  Smelcer  and  John  E.  Metcalf,  thirteen 
votes  each  for  fence  viewers. 

The  following  cast  their  ballots  at  the  house  of  William  Woods  in 
August,  1835 :  Royal  Hazelton,  John  Barr,  John  Young,  John  Barr,  Jr., 
Simon  Hornbeck,  Oliver  Hammond,  James  Barr,  Robert  Barr,  William 
Woods,  Benjamin  Newell,  John  Blair,  Elisha  Bowles,  Joseph  Bostick, 
Solomon  McColloch,  Willis  Pherly,  James  Gay,  John  Price,  William  Gay, 
James  Kent,  John  Gay,  James  C.  Moore,  Simeon  Smith,  John  E.  Metcalf, 
Joseph  Sayre,  Thomas  Sutton  and  Samuel  Smelcer. 

Educational  and  Religious  Beginnings 

The  first  schools  and  religious  organizations  were  established  in  the 
several  log  cabins  which  were  built  just  southeast  of  what  is  now  Brooks- 
ton,  in  the  early  '30s.  One  Harrison  taught  the  pioneer  school  in  that 
locality,  and  he  was  closely  followed  by  Royal  Hazelton,  who  had  erected 
the  first  house  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  22. 

The  religious  pioneers  of  Prairie  Township  were  the  Methodists,  who 
held  services  in  the  house  of  J.  C.  Moore,  then  a  young  carpenter  and 
mechanic  who  had  accompanied  his  parents  from  Wayne  County,  Indiana, 
in  1832.  Near  the  same  place,  in  a  hewn-log  schoolhouse,  also  built  by 
him,  the  first  class  of  Methodists  was  organized;  its  members  included 
Philip  Davis,  John  Davis  and  wife,  and  Joseph  Bostick,  wife  and  son.  In 
1844  the  Methodists  also  erected  a  frame  church  about  two  miles  south- 
west of  Brookston's  future  site. 

J.  C.  Moore,  Prosperous  Farmer  and  Inventor 

J.  C.  Moore,  who  thus  came  into  early  notice,  became  widely  known 
in  the  county  as  a  builder,  farmer  and  inventor.  He  assisted  in  erecting 
the  second  building  in  Monticello  and  in  constructing  the  first  court- 
house, and  in  his  earlier  manhood  his  services  as  a  carpenter  and  me- 
chanic were  in  constant  demand.    Residents  for  miles  around  would  come 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  219 

to  his  home  farm  and  plough,  or  do  other  work  for  him,  while  he  did 
their  repairing  or  made  new  implements.  He  thus  followed  farming 
and  mechanics  for  fifteen  years ;  then  gave  most  of  his  time  to  his  inven- 
tions, which  included  a  hay  and  straw  stacker,  a  machine  for  loading  and 
unloading  cars  and  vessels,  and  a  steam  ditcher  and  grader.  He  became 
prominent  and  well-to-do,  owning  460  acres  of  land  in  White  County 
and  more  than  500  in  Missouri. 
*  •  -  *'~ 

Other  Early  Land  Holders 

Besides  those  already  mentioned,  the  following  are  recorded  in  the 
tract  book  in  the  county  recorder's  office  as  having  entered  various 
parcels  of  land  in  Prairie  Township :  Lewis  Watson,  in  1829 ;  William 
Ivers,  Robert  Graham  and  Barney  Davis,  in  1830 ;  Joseph  Parker,  James 
K.  Woods,  Robert  Barr,  Jacob  Klepinger  and  Jesse  L.  Watson,  in  1831 ; 
John  E.  Metealf  and  Joseph  Bostick,  1832;  Adam  Best,  Samuel  Best, 
Samuel  Smelcer  and  Thomas  C.  Smith,  1833 ;  R.  P.  Wilson  and  George  P. 
McCulloch,  1834  j  John  Davis,  James  H.  Moore,  James  Kent  and  Aaron 
Yarnell,  1835;  Benjamin  Creamer,  Thomas  Hazelton,  Van  McCullough,. 
William  H.  Watson,  Charles  M.  Watson,  John  Metts,  John  Beauchamp, 
Moses  Beauchamp,  Risden  Beauchamp,  James  Beauchamp,'  Cyrus  Barr, 
Ranson  McConahay  and  Alexander  Redding,  1836;  Jonathan  Birch, 
1837;  Samuel  Ramey,  Manly  Ramey  and  H.  Alkire,  1841;  Jesse  W. 
Robinson,"  Nelson  Hornback,  Asa  Haff,  John  Matthews,  George  Shigley, 
Jackson  Alkire,  John  Parrish,  John  Russell,  John  Ramey,  John  Thichart 
and  Zadock  Russell,  Jr.,  1846;  Jason  Alkire,  John  Price,  John  Kious, 
Milam  A.  Kious,  John  Davis,  John  Mahin,  Solomon  Hays,  Samuel  Batch- 
elder,  John  C.  Hutchins,  Richard  Eastman,  Thomas  Chilton  and  Jason 
Alkire,  1847 ;  John  Ramey,  James  Smith,  James  Griffith  and  Henry  C. 
Parker,  1848 ;  Joseph  W.  Davis,  1849 ;  John  P.  Carr  and  Solomon  Carr, 
1850;  Andrew  Swearingen,  1851. 

Loren  and  Ralph  A.  Cutler 

Ralph  A.  Cutler,  who  is  now  a  resident  of  Brookston  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year,  is  the  oldest  member  of  a  family  which  has  been  identified 
with  the  progress  of  various  townships  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county 
for  a  period  of  sixty-three  years.  When  a  lad  of  twelve  years  he  was 
brought  by  his  parents  from  his  native  county  of  Pickaway,  Ohio.  Loren 
Cutler,  his  father,  had  loaded  his  family,  consisting  of  wife  and  five  chil- 
dren, into  a  strong  emigrants'  wagon,  which,  in  due  time,  landed  the 
household  and  all  its  effects  on  what  was  known  as  the  Cochran  place,  a 
short  distance  from  Idaville,  Jackson  Township.  After  living  there  for 
two  years  as  a  renter,  Mr.  Cutler  bought  eighty  acres  on  Pike  Creek, 
Union  Township,  paying  $300  for  the  tract.  There  he  lived  until  his 
death  in  1882,  his  family  having  in  the  meantime  increased  by  the  addi- 
tion of  five  children.  Although  over  six  feet  in  height,  the  deceased  was 
of  frail  health.     Five  of  his  sons  are  yet  living  in  White  County,  of 


220  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

whom  the  eldest  is  Ralph  A.,  who  has  been  a  resident  of  Prairie  Township 
since  1852. 

Mr.  Cutler  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  as  a  farmer,  his  only 
real  venture  into  side  channels  being  when  he  hauled  all  the  timber  which 
went  into  the  construction  of  the  Monticello  dam.  When  he  located  in 
Prairie  Township  in  1852  he  bought  160  acres  of  land,  which  he  subse- 
quently sold  and  purchased  100  acres  in  Liberty  Township.  He  well 
remembers  when  he  was  a  boy  of  marketing  corn  which  had  been  raised 
by  himself  and  brother,  at  Monticello,  for  16  cents  per  busheL  In  1862, 
when  in  his  prime  as  a  farmer,  he  raised  6,000  bushels  of  corn,  for  which 
he  received  11,  17  and  22  cents  per  bushel,  in  three  lots  of  2,000  bushels 
each.  .  • 

Mr.  Cutler  is  the  father  of  five  children  (his  wife  dying  in  1912),  of 
whom  a  son  and  a  married  daughter  are  living. 

First  Sawmills 

Moots  Creek  furnished  water  power  for  the  two  early  sawmills  which 
supplied  the  settlers  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  with  lumber  for 
their  houses  and  farm  buildings.  The  first  industry  in  that  line  was 
established  by  Robert  Barr  in  1838.  He  dammed  the  creek  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  above  where  the  mill  was  located,  in  section  31,  and  con- 
structed a  race  which  worked  well  when  the  water  was  high  enough, 
usually  in  the  spring  months.  The  saw  was  one  of  those  up-and-down 
arrangements  and  was  kept  quite  busy — when  there  was  power — for 
about  a  decade.  For  many  years  some  of  the  old  timbers  remained  to 
mark  the  spot  where  the  first  sawmill  of  the  township  was  erected. 

The  second  and  last  sawmill  was  erected  in  the  Gay  settlement,  in  the 
southeastern  corner  of  the  township,  about  1862.  It  was  built  by  P.  M. 
Kent,  who  also  attached  machinery  for  grinding  wheat  and  corn.  The 
grist  mill  was  discontinued  after  about  a  year  of  well-meant  efforts,  and 
the  sawmill  struggled  along  for  five  years,  when  the  entire  enterprise 
was  abandoned. 

Brookston,  Industrial  and  Commercial  Center 

Since  that  time  the  industries  of  the  township  have  centered  at 
Brookston,  now  a  village  of  1,000  people,  situated  on, the  main  line  of 
the  Monon  route  and  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  and  productive  country 
of  fruits,  grains  and  live  stock.  It  is  to  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
county  what  Monon  is  to  the  northwestern — the  chief  trading  and  bank- 
ing center  for  a  prosperous  country  covering  a  radius  of 'several  miles. 

Brookston  was  platted  in  April,  1853,  when  the  Louisville,  New 
Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad  was  put  through  that  section  of  the  county, 
and  was  named  in  honor  of  James  Brooks,  who  was  then  president  of  the 
railwny  company.  It  has  grown  steadily,  which  fact  largely  accounts  for 
the  increase  in  population  of  the  township  as  a  whole.  In  1890  there 
were  1,885  people  in  Prairie  Township  and  in  1910,  2,181. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  221 

Village  of  Spkingboro 

Some  time  during  the  prosperous  days  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal, 
probably  just  a  few  years  prior  to  the  Civil  war,  while  Pittsburg,  over 
on  the  Wabash,  was  an  important  trading  point,  there  sprung  up  in  the 
little  valley  at  the  mouth  of  Spring  Creek,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Prairie 
Township,  a  little  village  called  Springboro.  The  first  house  was  prob- 
ably built  by  a  German  from  the  wine  producing  countries  of  Southern 
Europe,  who  planted  an  extensive  vineyard  on  the  southern  slope  of  the 
hill  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley  and  engaged  extensively  in  the  pro- 
duction of  wine.  He  also  kept  a  general  store  which  was  used  as  a  - 
distributing  point  for  the  neighborhood  mail  sent  out  there  from  the 
regular  postoffice  at  Pittsburg.  This,  with  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  cooper 
shop  and  two  or  three  dwellings,  constituted  the  village  in  its  most 
prosperous  days. 

Springboro  was  located  on  what  was  known  as  the  Finch  Grove  Road, 
leading  from  Pittsburg  to  Brookston,  only,  a  short  distance  from  where 
that  road  crossed  the  Tippecanoe  River,  and  first  became  generally  known 
over  the  county  in  December,  1869,  when  Asa  Haff  and  others  filed  a 
petition  asking  that  a  bridge  be  built  at  that  point.  As  the  river  here 
forms  the  boundary  line  between  the  counties  of  Carroll  and  White,  a 
joint  meeting  of  the  boards  of  commissioners  of  the  two  counties  was 
held  "at  the  house  of  Lucas  Trontle"  February  9,  1870,  at  which  it  was 
ordered  that  a  bridge  "be,  built  of  wood,  covered,  weatherboarded  and 
painted."  On  March  8th  this  order  was  set  aside  and  another  joint 
meeting  called  for  March  30,  1870,  also  "at  the  house  of  Lucas  Trontle." 
This  meeting  was  held  under  considerable  difficulties.  The  roads  were 
almost  impassable  and  the  White  County  officials  were  compelled  to  go 
to  Brookston  by  railroad  and  thence  to  Springboro  in  a  wagon  drawn 
by  six  horses,  arriving  there  late  in  the  evening.  There  were  present 
from  Carroll  County  James  W.  Glasscock,  John  A.  Troxell  and  Warren 
Adams,  commissioners ;  John  A.  Kane,  auditor;  John  W.  Jackson,  sheriff; 
Barney  Daily,  county  attorney;  and  several  other  interested  parties 
from  Pittsburg  and  Delphi.  From  White  County  there  were  Christopher 
Hardy  and  James  C.  Gress,  commissioners — Theodore  J.  Davis,  the  other 
White  County  commissioner,  not  being  able  to  reach  the  meeting — George 
Uhl,  county  auditor;  William  E.  Saunderson,  deputy  sheriff;  and  Thomas 
Bushnell,  county  attorney.  It  was  then  ordered  that  an  iron  bridge  be 
built,  Carroll  County  to  pay  in  round  numbers  seven-elevenths  and  White 
County  to  pay  four-elevenths  of  the  cost.  A  contract  was  later  let  and 
the  bridge  built  at  a  total  cost  of  $22,540.98 ;  and  Charles  Angel,  Lucas 
Trontle,  Isaac  Wilson,  Levi  Riley,  James  Gny,  John  W.  Jackson,  John 
Gay  and  Cyrus  Barr  bound  themselves  to  pay  the  first  year's  interest 
on  this  amount. 

This  old  history  is  of  special  interest  at  this  time,  as  the  bridge  here 
mentioned  has  been  condemned  after  forty-five  years  of  service  and  a 
petition  for  a  new  structure  is  now  pending,  again  requiring  the  joint 
action  of  the  two  counties. 

■*"'*'■-  -  ■ "-  ■  -»■'■  --- 


222  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Improvement  in  Rural.  Conditions 

While  there  has  been  little,  if  any,  increase  in  the  population  of  the 
rural  districts  in  the  township,  those  who  have  remained  to  improve  their 
homesteads  and  raise  their  grain  and  live  stock  have  reached  a  high 
grade  of  comfort  and  contentment;  for  to  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil 
they  have  added  such  artificial  developers  as  fertilizers,  crop  rotations 
and  scientific  drainage.  What  is  as  much  to  the  point,  in  the  way  of 
bringing  comfort  and  contentment  to  the  farmers  of  Prairie  Township — 
they  can  now  get  their  produce  to  market,  even  if  they  are  raised  miles 
from  the  railroad. 


Leading  Good  Roads  Township 

In  the  -early  days  before  the  inauguration  of  the  Good  Roads  Move- 
ment, it  was  almost  impossible  for  the  farmers  to  market  their  products  in 
the  western  or  prairie  districts — in  the  very  sections  of  the  bumper  crops. 
The  fall,  winter  and  spring  rains,  which  rarely  failed,  made  passage  over 
the  dfrt  roads  with  loaded  wagons  almost  an  impossibility.  It  made  little 
difference  how  much  work  was  done  in  the  way  of  grading  and  ditching. 
As  one. who  has  floundered  through  those  muds  remarked  in  disgust,  "the 
higher  the  grade  the  deeper  the  mud. ' '  Until  the  surface  of  the  prairies 
was  frozen  over  in  winter  or  dried  by  the  summer  suns,  the  farmers  were 
forced  to  allow  their  grain  to  lie  in  the  cribs  and  bins,  awaiting  a  favor- 
able time  to  deliver  it  to  market. 

The  last  thirty,  especially  the  past  twenty,  years  have  brought  a  rad- 
ical change  for  the  better  in  the  construction  of  roads  which  enable  the 
farmers  to  readily  get  everything  they  raise  to  the  desired  market. 
Among  the  townships  of  the  county,  Prairie  leads  in  the  progress  of  the 
Good  Roads  Movement  within  her  bounds.  The  bonded  indebtedness  in- 
curred in  the  construction  of  fine  macadam  or  gravel  roads  which  thus 
accommodate  her  farmers  and  residents  as  a  whole,  amounts  to  $85,570, 
divided  among  the  different  roads  as  follows :  Schneider,  $2,400 ;  Kelley, 
$6,400;  Dobbins,  $3,600;  Carson,  $4,000;  Sleeth,  $2,750;  Nagle,  $2,850; 
Vanderbilt,  $5,000;  Redding,  $3,780;  Holwerda,  $2,650;  Anderson, 
$4,500;  Younger,  $4,500;  Brackney,  $13,600;  Gay,  $17,640;  Krapff, 
$5,400;  Fewell,  $6,500. 


nhi  ■!  i   nm     m»m 


CHAPTER  XV 
JACKSON  TOWNSHIP 

South  Half  First  Settled — Pioneer  Settlers  and  Land  Owners — 
The  Hannas — Entered  Land  Before  Township  Organization — 
Pioneer  of*  1835-38 — First  Recorded  Election — Daniel  Dale, 
Leading  Politician — Hanna  Rejects  Democracy — The  Wheel  of 
Life— -Pioneer  School  Matters — Burnett's  Creek  Postoffice — 

,  High1  Standard  of  Morality — Smith's  Distillery  of  1840-50 — 
Violent  Deaths — The  Mormon  Branch  of  1842-45 — Farmington 
Male  and  Female  Seminary — Burnettsville  Founded — Sharon 
and  Burnettsville  Consolidated — Idaville  Founded — Drainage 
and  Good»Road3., 

Jackson  was  one  of  the  four  townships  created  when  White  County 
was  set  off  into  civil  divisions  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  com- 
missioners in  July,  1834,  and  included  all  of  its  territory  east  of  the 
Tippecanoe  River.  It  assumed  its  present  area  of  thirty-six  square  miles 
through  the  creation  of  Cass  and  Liberty  townships,  in  1837.  and 
the  subsequent  demarkation  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  Union  Township. 

South  Half  First  Settled 

The  south  half  of  the  township  was  first  settled,  as  it  was  com- 
paratively level,  well  timbered  and  not  subject  to  overflow,  as  were  the 
lands  in  the  northern  sections.  The  rich  loam,  with  subsoil  of  clay,  was 
found  to  be  adapted  to  the  raising  of  wheat  especially,  with  corn,  oats, 
rye,  roots,  fruits  and  vegetables  following  closely  as  second  choice.  As 
most  of  the  first  settlers  were  thrifty  farmers  from  Pennsylvania,  Ohio 
and  New  York,  with  quite  a  number  from  Virginia,  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  who  usually  came  stocked  with  horses,  cows  and  poultry,  and 
provided  with  farm  implements  and  enough  cash  to  "pull  them  through 
until  they  got  on  their  feet, ' '  they  naturally  selected  the  southern  portion 
of  the  township  in  preference  to  the  dreary-looking  swamp  lands,  inter- 
spersed with  high  ridges,  which  stretched  away  to  the  north.  They 
could  not  await  the  time  when  that  waste  would  be  reclaimed  and 
brought  into  the  market  as  even  more  productive'  than  the  tracts  favored 
by  nature. 

Pioneer  Settlers  and  Land  Owners 

The  dispute  as  to  priority  of  settlement  in  Jackson  Township  is  even 
more  lively  than  in  the  majority  of  such  discussions,  since  several  located 

223 

-■-     -  -      ■--■■■      -  ........         ..,..■'.■ 


224  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY - 

in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Town  of  Burnettsville,  about  1831 — Eliab 
Fobes,  John  Scott,  Joseph  James,  Thomas  Harless  and  Aaron  Hicks. 
From  the  records  showing  the  entries  of  Government  lands  it  seems  that 
Fobes  filed  a  claim  on  land  in  section  25,  at  or  very  near  the  present  site 
.  of  Burnettsville,  and  that  the  Hicks  tract,  about  an  equal  distance  from 
that  place  and  Idaville,  was  not  entered  until  June  18,  1834.  Mr. 
James,  also  mentioned  as  one  of  the  pioneers,  selected  a  tract  earlier  in 
the  month  in  section  18,  on  the  western  border  of  the  present  township. 

Robert  Qinn  entered  lands  in  section  10  (the  only  early  landsman  to 
venture  into  the  wet  tracts  of  the  north)  in  May,  1830,  and  in  May, 
1836,  he  filed  a  claim  in  section  22.  And  he  later  became  well  known  in 
local  affairs. 

The  Hannas 

Robert.  Hanna  appears  to  have  been  the  prime  mover  in  the  list  of 
those  who  purchased  Government  lands  in  the  township  and  afterward 
resided  therein — they  and  their  children.  On  June  21,  1831,  he  entered 
land  in  section  35,.  just  north  of  the  Carroll  County  line.  Several  of 
his  grandsons,  now  well  along  in  years,  are  farmers  in  that  locality. 
Two  of  his  sons,  Andrew  and  John  Hanna,  became  prominent  residents 
of  the  township. 

Andrew  came  with"  his  father  from  Ohio  in  1833 ;  was  present  at  the 
first  town  meeting  and  cast  the  only  whig  vote.  He  prospered  as  a 
farmer  to  such  an  extent  that  he  became  the  owner  of  900  acres  of  land, 
served  as  county  commissioner,  was  an  influential  churchman,  and 
founded  Idaville.  - 

John  Hanna,  the  elder  brother,  located  in  Jackson  Township  in  1834, 
the  year  after  his  father's  arrival,  and  after  farming  for  many  years 
became  prominent  in  the  mercantile  affairs  of  both  Burnettsville  and 
Idaville.  ne  also  was  present  at  the  first  township  election,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  petit  jurors  of  the  county.  He  assisted  in  building  the 
first  schoolhouse  and  was  considered  one  of  the  founders  of  Burnettsville. 

Entered  Land  Before  Township  Organization 

The  tract  book  of  the  county  giving  the  entries  of  Government  land 
in  Jackson  Township  indicates  that  the  following  also  had  become  land 
owners  previous  to  the  first  election  for  township  officers  held  in  Novem- 
ber, 1834:  Thomas  McCormick,  in  section  33,  November  23,  1831;  John 
Scott  and  Thomas  Martindale,  in  section  24,  on  February  8  and  July  30, 
1832,  and  William  James,  in  section  35,  on  October  5th  of  the  same  year; 
Joseph  Belen,  in  sectipn  24,  March  6,  1833;  T.  J.  James,  in  the  same 
section,  on  August  15th,  of  that  year;  Daniel  Dale  in  section  25,  August 
22,  1833 ;  James  James,  in  section  36,  January  26,  1833,  and  in  section 
11,  June  4,  1834,  as  well  as  in  section  18,  on  the  same  date ;  James  Davis, 
in  section  23,  July  14,  1834;  George  Gibson,  in  section  25,  September  22, 
1834,  and  John  Vinnedge,  in  the  same  section,  November  17th  of  that 
year;  William  R.  Dale,  in  section  26,  June  18,  1834;  John  Tedford,  on 

...  ....     -.._.^». — ,      . 


♦  '  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  225 

:  '    '•"  . 

the  same  date,  in  section  31;  Christopher  Birch,  in  section  34,  May  9, 
1834 ;  George  Hornhack,  same  section,  May  19th,  and  the  following,  also 
in  the  same  section,  with  dates  of  1834  as  given :  Amos  Barnes,  May 
29th ;  Allen  Barnes,  May  29th ;  Thomas  Harless,  October  6th ;  and  John 
McDowell  and  Solomon  Burket,  same  date;  Thomas  McLaughlin,  in- 
section  36,  July  23,  1834. 

Pioneees  of  1835-38 

The  years  from  1835  to  1838,  inclusive,  brought  many  of  the  resi- 
dents of  the  township  who  joined  in  her  progress  of  many  subsequent 
years.  Those  who  entered  lands  during  that  period  fairly  cover  the  list 
of  these  pioneers.  The  tract  book  gives  them  as  follows:  1835 — Jona- 
than Shull,  in  section  23,  September  25th ;  Ephraim  Miller,  in  section  24, 
'September  4th;-.Delancy  Marvin,  in  section  26,  October  2d;  Andrew 
Renwick,  September  9th;  Daniel  I.  Skinner,  October  2d;  Joseph  D. 
Beers,  December  2d,  and  Jeremiah  Sullivan,  December  2d  also — all  in 
section  28 ;  James  McCain,  in  section  31,  November  12th ;  Samuel  Smith, 
April  30th,  and  John  Dille,  September  1st,  both  in  section  32 ;  Solomon 
McCully,  June  15th;  Ephraim  Chamberlain,  November  7th,  and  James 
Hamill,  also  November  7th — all  in  section  33;  Charles  B.  Hamilton, 
January  16th,  in  section  35 ;  and  James  Williams,  in  section  36.  ■ 

1836— Thomas  B.  Ward,  July  12th,  in  section  13;  Stephen  Nutt, 
September  30th,  in  section  14;  Robert  Ginn,  May  28th,  and  Thomas 
McCormick,  October  4th,  in  section  15;  Robert  Ginn,  May  28th,  in 
section  22 ;  Dennis  Springer,  November  14th,  in  section  23 ;  C.  J.  Hand, 
January  26th,  in  section  24;  Ezekiah  S.  Wiley,  January  8th,  Dennis 
Springer,  November  14th,  and  William  Wiley,  December  5th,  all  in 
section  26;  Setfi  Irelan,  January  13th,  and  Thomas  Beard,  April  30th, 
in  section  27;  John  Parr,  July  15th,  in  sections  30  and  31;  James 
Courtney,  January  18th,  John  Hamill,  January  19th,  Andrew  Hanna, 
February  4th,  and  Aaron  Hicks,  March  30th,  in  section  33. 

1837 — John  Miller,  May  31st,  in  section  10 ;  James  Hicks,  September 
27th,  and  A.  T.  Stanton,  September  14th,  in  section  13;  Lewis  Shull, 
January  6th,  John  York,  August  15th,  and  Robert  Gibson,  December 
19th,  in  section  14;  John  Miller,  May  31st,  in  section  15;  Samuel  M. 
Cochran,  February  15th,  in  section  21;  George  B.  Garlinghouse,  Sep- 
tember 29th,  in  section  22;  John  A.  Billingsley,  April  26th,  and  Andrew 
Hanna,  January  13th,  in  section  26;  William  Burns,  April  26th, 
William  W.  Mitchell,  May  22d,  Benjamin  Durn,  June  24th,  and  Cyrus 
B.  Garlinghouse,  September  2d,  in  section  27;  Samuel  M.  Cochran* 
February  15th,  and  Benjamin  Deen,  April  26th,  in  section  28. 

1838 — Jeremiah  Dunham,  October  15th,  in  section  13,  aud  William 
York,  February  3d,  in  section  23. 

Quite  a  number  of  those  who  entered  lands  during  this  formative 
period  of  the  township  became  well  known  both  in  township  and  county 
affairs.  Solomon  McCully,  who  settled  in  section  33  during  1835,  became 
one  of  the  commissioners,  and  Thomas  McCormick,  who  came  in  1836 

ToLI—  II 


226  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

and  located  in  section  15,  nearly  in  the  center  of  the  township,  was 
appointed  an  associate  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court.  Aaron  Hicks,  who 
took  up  land  in  that  year  in  section  33,  in  the  southern  part,  served  as 
the  first  sheriff  of  the  county  and  was  its  probate  judge  for  some  time. 
Andrew  Hanna,  who  first  became  interested  in  lands  in  section  26,  just 
west  of  the  present  site  of  Burnettsville,  afterward  became  one  of  the 
founders  of  Idaville.  Lewis  Shull  and  John  York  took  up  tracts  further 
north  in  section  14,  and  their  families  became  well  known  both  at 
Burnettsville  and  in  the  farming  communities  of  section  10.  The  names 
of  others  who  settled  in  Jackson  Township  in  the  decade  previous  to 
1840  will  be  drawn  into  the  current  of  this  history  as  the  story  progresses. 

First  Recorded  Election 

The  first  recorded  election  in  Jackson  Township  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Daniel  Dale,  on  the  present  site  of  Burnettsville,  November  7, 
1834,  and  the  following  cast  presidential  ballots:  Jonathan  Shull, 
Ephraim  Million,  Lewis  Shull,  James  Courtney,  Robert  Hanna,  Ezekiel 
S.  Wiley,  Joseph  James,  Eliab  Fobes,  George  Gibson,  Hugh  Courtney, 
John  Gibson,  Joseph  James,  John  Morris,  Joseph  Winegarner,  Allen 
Barnes,  George  Hornbeck,  William  Wiley,  Aaron  Hicks,  John  Hanna, 
John  Smith,  John  Lowery,  William  Gibson,  Stephen  Nutt,  Robert  P. 
Gibson,  William  Price,  John  D.  Vinnage,  William  R.  Dale  and  William 
James.  Of  these  twenty-eight  votes,  twenty-six  were  cast  for  the  Van 
Buren,  or  democratic  electors,  and  two  for  the  Harrison,  or  whig  ticket. 
At  the  time  of  this  election,  which  is  the  first  recorded  as  having  been 
held  in  the  township,  voters  were  legally  entitled  to  cast  their  ballots 
anywhere  in  the  county  of  their  residence,  so  that  the  foregoing  list  is 
not  a  true  index  of  settlers  in  Jackson  Township,  although  many  names 
are  recognized  as  actual  residents. 

Daniel  Dale,  Leading  Politician 

Aaron  Hicks  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  elected  after  the 
organization  of  the  county  and  the  township,  and  to  Daniel  Dale  was 
accorded  the  privilege  of  naming  it.  As  he  was  a  staunch  Jacksonian 
democrat,  he  named  it  accordingly.  It  was  Mr.  Dale's  house  which  was 
the  political  center  of  the  township  for  a  number  of  years  and,  as  per 
the  order  of  the  county  commissioners,  most  of  the  early  elections  were 
held  there.  In  1837  and  1838  the  poll  lists  show  the*  following  new 
names:  Dennis  Pringer,  Enos  H.  Stewart,  William  W.  Mitchell, 
Solomon  McCully,  Madison  Reeves,  Lewis  J.  Dale,  Jephtha  York,  Thomas 
McLaughlan,  Andrew  J.  Hanna,  Silas  Gitt,  Alexander  Hornback,  John 
A.  Billingsley,  Samuel  Smith,  John  Street  and  James  T.  Mitchell. 

Hanna  Rejects  Democracy 

The  township  continued  to  be  overwhelmingly  democratic,  and  at  ono 
of  the  early  elections  the  whigs  were  able  to  marshal  only  Andrew  Hanna 


t  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  227 

as  a  supporter  of  their  ticket  in  Jackson  Township.  Dale  and  the  other 
good  democrats  tried  to  induce  Hanna  to  make  their  vote  unanimous,' 
but  the  lone  whig  was  firm  and  cast  his  ballot  as  his  conscience  dictated, 
and  he  enjoyed  his  brief  triumph  in  1840,  when  Harrison  was  elected 
President,  but  died  in  office  after  only  a  few  months  of  service.  Old 
settlers  used  to  smile  at  the  sanctity  of  the  ballot  box,  as  gauged  by  the 
accommodations  furnished  by  Brother  Dale,  which  consisted  of  an  old 
weather-beaten  hat  over  which  was  spread  a  handkerchief — sometimes 
gay,  but  never  any  too  clean.  The  Dale  house  in  which  these  early 
elections  were  held  stood  for  many  years  unmoved  and  almost  unchanged. 

The  Wheel  of  Life 

'  Joseph  James,  whose  homestead  was  in  section  18,  in  the  western  part 
of  the  township,  'first  appeared  on  the  records  as  a  land  owner  in  1831, 
which  is  given  as  the  year  of  his  actual  settlement.  He  had  a  large 
iamily,  several  of  them  small  children,  when  several  other  pioneers  took 
up  claims  previous  to  1834.  The  inference  is  that  some  one  of  his  babies 
was  the  first  child  born  in  Jackson  Township,  although  the  first  record 
of  a  birth  is  that  of  Alexander  Barnes,  in  February,  1835,  and  George  H. 
Mitchell,  deceased,  of  Idaville  always  claimed  this  honor.  Two  of  Mr. 
James'  children  also  appear  to  have  died  previous  to  December  2,  1835, 
when  Amos  Barnes,  the  father  of  Alexander,  passed  away.  His  was  the 
first  death.    The  family  had  lived  in  the  township  about  a  year. 

In  the  spring  of  1836,  John  D.  Vinnage  and  Rachel  Gibson  were 
married,  the  first  couple  to  be  united  in  the  township.  Tims  the  wheel 
commenced  to  revolve  of  marriages,  births  and  deaths.  • 

Pioneer  School  Matters 

In  other  respects,  the  year  1836  was  an  uneventful  one.  In  that 
year  the  first  schoolhouse  in  the  township  was  built  near  what  is  now 
the  southeast  corner  of  Burnettsville — a  log  cabin,  like  all  of  its  kind  in 
those  days — and  William  Dale  was  selected  to  teach  the  children  of  the 
neighborhood.  It  is  said  that  even  before  this  first  regular  schoolhouse 
was  thrown  open,  a  vacant  house  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  33, 
near  the  Carroll  County  line,  had  been  occupied  with  a  small  class 
under  the  instruction  of  James  Renwick.  But  that  arrangement  lacked 
the  permanency  attached  to  the  schoolhouse  of  1836. 

The  second  schoolhouse  in  the  township  was  built  about  1842,  and 
stood  on  the  farm  afterward  owned  by  Thomas  Barnes.  Among  the  early 
teachers  in  that  house  were  William  Barnes,  Melinda  Noah  and  Hender- 
son Steele. 

The  third  schoolhouse  was  built  about  1847  on  Solomon  McCully's 
land,  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  George  Hall  was  the  first  teacher, 
followed  by  Joseph  Thompson,  George  Barnes,  John  Bright,  Ashbury 
Shultz,  William  P.  Montgomery  and  Josephus  Tam. 


228  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Burnett's  Creek  Postoffice 

In  the  eventful  year  of  1836  a  postoffice  was  established  to  accom- 
modate the  settlers  of  the  township,  who  had  largely  concentrated  in  its 
southeastern  sections  in  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now  Burnettsville. 
It  was  called  Burnett's  Creek  (named  after  the  stream  which  waters 
the  eastern  half  of  the  township),  and  William  R.  Dale  was  appointed 
postmaster,  thus  continuing  the  importance  of  the  family  name.  The 
postoffice  was  located  at  Farmington,  now  Burnett's  Creek,  and  it  is 
still  thus  designated,  although  the  village  is  incorporated  as  Burnettsville. 

High  Standard  of  Morality 

From  very  early  times  the  type  of  the  communities  in  Jackson 
Township  was  fixed  as  one  of  morality  and  religious  conformity.  The 
pioneer  settlers  largely  belonged  to  the  Seceders'  Church  and  strictly 
enforced  morality  among  their  members  and  children.  The  first  meet- 
ings of  the  sect,  known  as  the  Christian  Church,  were  held  at  the  house 
of  Alexander  Scott  near  Farmington,  or  Burnettsville.  The  Methodists 
commenced  to  organize  classes  about  1837  and,  at  a  somewhat  later  day, 
the  Baptists.  In  the  early  '40s,  members  of  the  Associate  Reformed  and 
kindred  churches  formed  societies  at  what  is  now  Idaville;  so  that  at  a 
very  early  date,  Jackson  Township  was  noted  as  a  section  of  the  county 
which  was  especially  moral  and  religious,  if  not  austere  in  its  type. 
Drunkenness,  carousing,  swearing  and  fighting,  which  were  so  prevalent 
in  some  other  sections,  were  uncommon  in  Jackson  Township,  and  the 
few  saloons  opened  were  not  supported,  and  never  have  been  to  any 
extent.  In  fact,  the  high  standard  of  conduct  fixed  so  early  has  been, 
on  the  whole,  well  maintained. 

Smith's  Distillery  of  1840-50 

In  the  early  '40s  two  events  occurred  to  especially  stir  the  moral 
sense  of  the  communities  of  Southern  Jackson  Township;  the  first  was 
the  establishment  of  a  distillery  and  the  second,  the  planting  of  a  branch 
of  the  Mormon  Church.  About  the  year  1840  Samuel  Smith  set  up  a 
small  still  on  his  land,  about  a  mile  southwest  of  where  Idaville  now 
stands  and  near  enough  the  Carroll  County  line  to  draw  custom  from 
its  people.  He  bought  or  bartered  small  quantities  of  corn  which  he 
made  into  whiskey,  his  orders  from  the  Jackson  Township  people  con- 
sisting in  great  bulk,  of  stock  for  vinegar  and  liniment,  bitters  to  ward 
off  the  ague,  and  the  straight  liquor  for  snake  bites  and  general  emerg- 
encies. Notwithstanding  the  scandal  it  produced  among  the  strict 
disciplinarians  of  the  township,  the  distillery  was  operated  by  Smith 
until  his  death  in  1850. 

Violent  Deaths 

A  number  of  violent  deaths  have  occurred  in  Jackson  Township 

which  have  caused  much  excitement  and  justly  so,  as  some  of  them  were 

—  .>.,,-..  -.,. — i  ..:-  .....  ,-    .,_  ..■■  ,  .. _ 


Jl-  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  229 

in  the  nature  of  horrors.  In  the  spring  of  1860,  Albert  Burns,  a  man 
somewhat  past  middle  age,  who  had  resided  on  his  farm  two  miles  north 
of  Burnettsville,  for  several  years,  shot  his  wife,  from  whom  he  had 
once  been  divorced;  attempted  to  kill  her  youngest  child  whom  he 
disowned,  and  then,  after  having  placed  two  chairs  between  his  wife 
and  the  fireplace  that  his  victim  might  not  get  into  the  fire  in  her  death 
struggles,  turned  the  weapon  upon  himself.  His  death  was  probably 
instantaneous.    The  wife  and  mother  lived  until  the  following  morning. 

In  1877,  a  bartender  at  Idaville  named  Richard  M.  Herron,  was 
found  dead,  his  face  and  clothes  covered  with  blood,  about  two  miles 
east  of  Monticello.  John  Kelly,  proprietor  of  the  saloon  at  which  he 
was  employed  and  John  Toothman,  whom  he  had  displaced  as  bar- 
tender, were  arrested  on  the  charges  of  having  murdered  Mr.  Herron. 
The  victim,  after  he  received  his  injuries,  stopped  at  the  house  of 
John  M.  Shafer,  three  miles  east  of  Monticello.  At  the  time  he  was 
■  cGVered  with  blood,  but  proceeded  on  his  way.  That  was  the  last  seen 
of  him  until  his  body  was  discovered  about  two  days  afterward.  A 
nolle  pros  was  entered  as  to  Toothman,  and  he  became  a  witness  for 
the  state  against  -Kelly,  who  was  convicted  of  manslaughter,  and 
sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  six  years.  He  obtained  a  new  trial, 
which  resulted  in  a  sentence  of  eighteen  years.  Mr.  Herron  was  an  old 
soldier  and  some  of  his  relatives  yet  live  in  White  County. 

About  1855  William  Crose  shot  himself  about  a  mile  southwest  of 
Idaville.  It  is  believed  he  eommitteed  suicide  while  in  a  state  of  religious 
excitement. 

In  1854  Silas  Tarn  was  killed  by  lightning  just  outside  of  Burnetts- 
ville. About  1861  a  conductor  named  Anthony  had  his  leg  terribly 
crushed  by  a  freight  train,  in  consequence  of  having  his  foot  caught 
in  a  frog,  and  died  at  the  house  of  Alexander  Rodgers,  Idaville.  In  the 
following  year  three  men  were  severely  injured  by  the  derailing  of  a 
"train  east  of  that  place,  one  of  whom  died  within  a  day. 

About  the  summer  of  1870,  Daniel  Leslie  was  killed  by  lightning, 
which  struck  the  postoffice.  The  bolt  also  tore  the  boots  from  the  feet  of 
James  C.  Hutchinson,  so  that  he  had  to  wear  felt  slippers  for  several 
wee^s  because  of  the  soreness  of  his  feet. 

The  Mormon  Branch  of  1842-45 

The  Mormon  Society,  or  branch, '  continued  to  proselyte  from  1842 
to  1845,  when  its  members  scattered,  several  of  them  joining  the  migra- 
tion to  Nauvoo,  Illinois.  "  Their  bishop,  Alva  L.  Tibbetts,  organized  his- 
converts  at  a  private  house  about  three  miles  north  of  where  Burnetts- 
ville is  situated,  and  within  the  following  three  years  gathered  a  mem- 
bership of  sixty-five,  of  whom  about  two-thirds  resided  in  Jackson 
Township.  Three  families  whose  homes  were  within  its  limits  joined 
the  migration  to  Nauvoo;  one  of  them  returned  to  the  home  neighbor- 
hood in  Jackson  Township,  after  an  experience  of  two  weeks  which 
tended  to  sober,  if  not  subdue ;  another  crossed  the  Mississippi  into  Iowa, 


230  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

when  the  Mormons  were  expelled  from  Nauvoo  in  1846,  and  the  third 
followed  the  general  exodus  to  Salt  Lake  City.  During  the  existence 
of  the  branch  near  Burnettsville,  the  Mormons  established  a  cemetery 
two  miles  north  of  Idaville  in  which  several  interments  were  made. 

Farmington  Male  and  Female  Seminary 

In  1852,  two  years  before  Burnettsville  was  platted,  and  while  the* 
locality  was  known  as  Farmington,  the  famous  Male  and  Female  Semi- 
nary was  founded  by  Isaac  Mahurin.  Aaron  Hicks  and  William  York, 
Joseph  Thompson  and  Elijah  Eldridge  were  its  first  trustees.  The 
Farmington  Male  and  Female  Seminary,  as  it  was  called,  became  quite 
noted  as  an  educational  institution,  as  has  been  more  fully  described  in 
the  chapter  devoted  to  such  matters. 

Burnettsville  Founded 

In  March,  1854,  Franklin  J.  Herman,  a  settler  of  1839,  laid  out  the 
Town  of  Burnettsville  on  his  land,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
25.  The  original  plat  comprised  thirty-eight  lots,  and  in  1855,  Prudence 
Dale,  widow  of  William  Dale,  made  the  first  addition  to  it,  a  tract  of 
sixteen  lota. 

Mr.  Herman,  the  founder  of  Burnettsville,  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  for  twenty-five  years  and  died  in  1861,  one  of  the  most  respected 
citizens  of  the  township.  He  was  the  father  of  eleven  children  and 
several  of  his  descendants  have  been  identified  with  Burnettsville  and 
its  progress.  One  of  the  sons,  F.  A.  Herman,  was  its  postmaster  for  a 
numuer  of  years. 

Sn.\RON  and  Burnettsville  Consolidated 

In  1860  Thomas  Wiley  and  James  B.  Eliott  laid  out  the  Town  of 
Sharon  near  the  northern  limits  of  Burnettsville.  As  it  was  a  station 
on  the  new  railroad  known  as  the  Logansport,  Peoria  and  Burlington 
(now  the  Panhandle  of  the  Pennsylvania  Company),  the  new  town  grew 
rapidly,  the  business  interests  of  Burnettsville  being  soon  transferred  to 
it  bodily.  In  1864  the  postoffice  of  Burnett's  Creek  was  moved  from 
Burnettsville  to  Sharon,  and  later  the  two  villages  were  consolidated 
under  the  name  of  the  old  town.  As  stated,  it  is  still  Burnettsville  town 
and  Burnett's  Creek  postoffice,  but  Uncle  Sam,  through  his  postal 
Jepartment,  may  in  time  correct  the  incongruity. 

Idaville  Founded 

In  July,  1860,  Andrew  Hanna,  John  B.  Townsley  and  John  McCully, 
nil  pioneers  of  the  township,  also  laid  out  another  town  on  the  Panhandle 
line  three  miles  west  of  Sharon,  or  Burnettsville.  At  first  it  was  called 
Ilanua,  but  the  name  was  soon  clianged  to  Idaville.    The  original  plat 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  231 

was  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  and  the  northeast 
quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  28  and  comprised  twenty -two 
lots ;  the  first  additions  to  it  were  made  by  Mr.  Townsley  in  1865.  Ida- 
ville  has  never  been  incorporated  as  a  town.  It  has  suffered,  both  by 
storm  and  fire,  the  conflagration  of  1902  destroying  the  business  portion 
of  the  village. 

Burnettsville  and  Idaville  are  pretty  towns,  and,  as  centers  of  trade 
and  banking,  are  supported  by  a  prosperous  country  both  to  the  nolth 
and  south.  Burnettsville  has  a  slight  advantage  in  population  and 
business,  and  both  are  pleasant,  homelike  places. 

Drainage  and  Good  Roads 

.  Jackson  Township  is  practically  an  agricultural  section  of  the 
county,  and  contains  about  one-ninth  of  its  entire  population.  Its 
northern  sections  have  been  artificially  drained  through  several  large 
systems  of  ditches  which  are  carried  through  Liberty  and  Union  town- 
ships to  the  Tippecanoe  River;  so  that  at  least  half  of  the  township, 
which  was  originally  considered  waste  land,  has  been  reclaimed  and 
brought  under  productive  cultivation..  Its  only  natural  waterway  is 
Burnett's  Creek,  which  drains  its  central,  eastern  and  southeastern 
portions  into  the  Wabash  River. 

In  the  matter  of  good  roads,  although  Jackson  Township  is  not  fore- 
most, in  the  movement,  much  progress  has  been  made  in  the  construction 
of  highways  of  macadam  or  gravel,  so  that  few  farmers  are  now  incon- 
venienced when  they  desire  to  market  their  produce.  The  township  is 
bonded  for  nearly  $35,000  on  this  account,  the  indebtedness  being 
apportioned  as  follows:  Personett  Road,  $1,920;  Brown,  $4,000;  Reiff, 
$3,800 ;  Mertz,  $4,800 ;  Bryan,  $11,550 ;  Bishop,  $4,140 ;  Harvey,  $4,700. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

BIG  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 

Physical  and  Agricultural  Features — First  Settler,,  Joseph  H. 
Thompson — George  A.  Spencer  and  Benjamin  Reynolds — Spencer- 
Reynolds  Colony — The  Historic  Spencer  House — Benjamin 
Reynolds'  After-Career — John  Burns — Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 
Burns — Land  Owners  and  Settlers  op  1830-33 — Chills  and 
Fever — First  Township  Officers — First  School  in  the  County — 
Land  Entries  in  1835-36 — Election  in  1836 — The  Great  Hunt  of 
1840 — Those  Who  Bought  Land  in  1837-51 — B.  Wilson  Smith's 
Picture  of  1846 — Increase  of  Real  Settlers — First  Frame  School 
House — Mudge's  Station  and  Chalmers— First  Iron  Bridge — . 
Swamp  Lands  Reclaimed — Smithson  or  Wheeler — Leader  in 
Good  Roads  Movement. 

Big  Creek  was  one  of  the  four  original  townships  created  by  the 
county  board  of  commissioners  at  its  first  meeting  July  19,  1834.  It 
was  designated  as  Congressional  Township  No.  26,  "with  all  the  terri- 
tory attached  thereto,"  contained  ninety-seven  and  a  half  square  miles, 
or  62,200  acres,  and  comprised  substantially  a  strip  of  territory  six 
sections  from  north  to  south,  extending  through  the  county  north  of 
Prairie  Township.  In  1845  fifty-four  square  miles  of  its  original  area 
was  carved  away  to  form  West  Point  Township,  and  at  still  later  dates 
both  Honey  Creek  and  Union  townships  abstracted  enough  sections  from 
its  remaining  body  to  reduce  it  to  thirty-two  and  seven-eighths  square 
miles. 

Physical  and  Agricultural  Features 

The  township  derives  its  name  from  the  stream  which  rises  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  West  Point  Township,  about  two  miles  from  the 
western  county  line,  thence  flows  northeasterly  to  a  point  just  south  of 
Smithson,  or  Wheeler,  and  thence,  after  a  course  due.  east  for  about  a 
mile,  turns  abruptly  to  the  south  and  southeast.  Big  Creek  crosses  the 
line  into  Prairie  Township,  cuts  off  the  northeast  corner  of  that  town- 
ship and  discharges  into  the  Tippecanoe  River  a  mile  south  of  Oakdale 
Mills,  in  Carroll  County. 

The  surface  of  the  township  is  varied — in  the  northern  part,  broad 
and  level  stretches  of  prairie  bordered  by  timber,  in  the  western  sections 
more  generally  prairie,  and  in  the  eastern  portions,  the  heaviest  wooded 

232 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  233 

lands.     The  best  timbered  tracts  are  confined  to  Big  Creek  and  its 
branches. 

Although  both  the  timber  and  prairie  portions  are  somewhat  broken 
and  rolling,  this  natural  condition  has  never  interfered  with  the  culti- 
vation of  the  rich,  deep  loamy  soil  which  predominates  throughout  the 
township.  The  subsoil  is  chiefly  sand  and  gravel,  though  clay  is  found 
in  the  lowlands  of  the  northern  sections.  Grain,  grass,  vegetables  and 
fruits  flourish,  especially  since  the  swampy  lands  have  been  ditched 
and  drained.  It  has  always  been  considered  one  of  the  best  live  stock 
regions  in  the  county,  and  not  a  few  of  the  early  settlers  gave  much 
attention  to  the  breeding,  purchase  and  sale  of  cattle,  horses  and  hogs. 
Prominent  among  these  may  be  mentioned  George  A.  Spencer,  Benjamin 
Reynolds,  John  Burns,  Thomas  Bunnell,  Thomas  Spencer,  John  Rob- 
erts, Jeremiah  Bisher  and  Philip  Wolverton — names  that  stand  for  much 
that  was  best  in  the  early  progress  of  the  township. 

First  Settler,  Joseph  H.  Thompson 

Big  Creek  Township  was  the  first  portion  of  the  county  to  be  perma- 
nently settled,  and  the  agreement  is  quite  general  that  Joseph  H.  Thomp- 
son led  them  all.  He  followed  close  on  the  heels  of  the  Government 
surveyors,  who  had  been  running  their  section  lines  for  several  months 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state.  Although  he  came  early  in  1829 
and  brought  his  family  with  him  to  occupy  the  rough  cabin  he  had 
erected  in  section  25,  Thompson  did  not  enter  his  land  until  Decem- 
ber 19th. 

George  A.  Spencer  and  Benjamin  Reynolds 

In  the  meantime  George  A.  Spencer  and  Benjamin  Reynolds,  two 
young  men  from  Perry  County,  Ohio,  had  arrived  on  foot  and  pitched 
their  camp,  consisting  of  a  carpet-bag  and  a  blanket,  at  a  spot  which 
might  now  be  described  as  the  borderland  between  Big  Creek  and  Union 
townships.  The  time  was  in  the  autumn  of  1829.  Selecting  a  site  on 
a  hillside  in  what  was  then  section  13,  Big  Creek  Township,  they  de- 
cided to  build  a  round-log  cabin  twelve  feet  square,  so  as  to  secure 
their  claim.  They  commenced  at  once  to  cut  logs,  but  after  a  few  had 
been  laid,  it  was  agreed  that  Spencer  should  return  to  Ohio  for  the 
families  about  to  migrate  west,  while  Reynolds  was  to  have  the  cabin 
ready  when  needed.  Winter  was  already  well  advanced  before  Spencer 
started  for  Perry  County,  and  it  was  the  middle  of  the  season  before 
he  reached  home. 

Spencer-Reynolds  Colony 

On  the  first  of  the  following  June,  George  A.  Spencer  and  James 
Spencer,  with  their  families  and  supplies,  as  well  as  the  Reynolds  house- 
hold, were  loaded  into  three  two-horse  wagons  and  commenced  to  move 


"1 


234  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

toward  the  farther  West.  Alter  a  journey  of  twenty  days  they  arrived 
in  sight  of  the  Hoosier  home,  which  had  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Reynolds, 
and  resided  therein  until  late  in  November.  By  that  time  Mr.  Reynolds 
had  erected  a  cabin  in  section  13  and  the  two  Spencers  had  completed 
their  houses  in  section  12.  The  first  shack  was  then  discarded  by  the 
fifteen  Spencer  and  Reynolds  colonists,  being  easily  thrown  to  the 
ground,  and  the  three  families  divided  into  separate  households. 

The  Historic  Spencer  House 

George  A.  Spencer's  house  was  the  first  of  the  three  to  be  completed. 
It  was  built  of  hewn  logs,  16  by  20  feet  in  size,  and  in  the  middle  '80s 
is  thus  described,  with  all  the  old-time  associations  clinging  to  it:  "This 
house  is  still  standing  and  most  of  the  logs,  though  placed  in  position 
fifty-three  years  ago,  are  as  sound  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  that 
they  were  taken  from  the  forest.  In  1831  there  were  two  additions 
attached  to  the  original  building,  and  a  few  years  later  the  same  part 
was  wea,ther-boarded,  and  this  is  the  reason,  no  doubt,  that  it  is  in  such 
a  good  state  of  preservation.  Mr.  Spencer  set  out  the  first  orchard  in 
Big  Creek  township.  The  first  lot  of  trees  was  planted  in  the' spring 
of  1834,  two  of  the  trees  remaining,  either  of  which  is  thirty  inches  in 
diameter.  A  ten  minutes'  ride  on  horseback  from  the  present  residence 
of  Calvin  C.  Spencer  (son  of  George  A.)  will  bring  you  to  the  site  of 
the  old  historic  Spencer  house. 

.  "This  structure  of  the  long-ago  was,  in  early  times,  a  welcome 
mansion  to  many  a  lone  and  weary  Tippecanoe  Indian,  a  home  to  all 
new-comers,  and  a  place  of  rest  and  refreshment  to  all  those  of  what- 
ever color  or  tongue  that  needed  rest.  Though  this  house  was  the  second 
in  the  township,  though  it  was  one  of  freedom  and  much  welcome  to 
whomsoever  could  ask  admittance  to  its  threshold,  it  has  a  more  extended 
history,  for  here  it  was  that  the  first  Circuit  Court  in  White  county 
was  held.  In  this  cabin  the  White  Circuit  Court  was  held  for  two 
years.  The  first  term  of  court  was  commenced  on  the  13th  day  of 
October,  1834.  At  this  bar  a  number  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers 
of  those  times  practiced,  and  on  this  bench  some  of  the  best  jurists  of 
that  day  sat.  Among  those  who  dealt  out  justice  at  this  bar  may  be 
mentioned  the  names  of  Rufus  Lockwood,  John  U.  Pettit,  Albert  S. 
White,  Samuel  Huff,  Ira  Ingraham  and  James  Lane.  The  lawyers  all 
boarded  in  the  cabin  Court  House,  and  Mrs.  Spencer  did  the  cooking  for 
the  'loosc-tongued'  gentlemen,  while  Mr.  S.  cared  for  the  lawyers' 
horses  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  time  in  keeping  the  'boys' 
straight 

"Mr.  Spencer  was  a  strict  temperance  man,  and  always  clung  to  the 
fittest  of  things  of  life;. as  a  natural  consequence,  he  would  not  allow 
swearing  in  his  house.  A  large  oak  tree  stood  about  ten  rods  distant 
from  the  house,  and  it  is  said  that  Mr.  S.  would  not  allow  any  swearing 
between  that  tree  and  the  cabin.  Some  time  elapsed  before  the  lawyers 
could  prevail  upon  Mr.  Spencer  to  get  them  their  kind  of  liquid  re- 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  235 

freshments,  but  finally  the  old  gentleman  brought  home  a  keg  of  the 
most  approved  brand  of  Kentucky  whiskey,  and  that  night  the  cabin  of 
justice  lost  all  its  dignity.  Conviviality  reigned  until  far  into  the 
night  and  did  not  end  there,  as  after  the  lawyers  went  to  bed  they 
indulged  in  hilarious  pillow-fights,  kicked  and  pulled  each  other  around, 
and  in  various  other  ways  spoiled  their  case  with  the  sober  landlord,  who 
never  again  allowed  them  to  '  whiskey-up '  in  his  house.  But  Mrs.  Spencer, 
or  Aunt  Sally,  held  them  to  the  Spencer  House,  notwithstanding  this 
check,  and  what  time  the  lawyers  were  not  engaged  in  the  court  room, 
or  playing  ball,  they  were  bragging  about  Aunt  Sally  and  her  cooking." 
In  the  general  history  of  the  county  we  have  given  the  main  facts 
of  Mr.  Spencer's  life,  including  its  official,  agricultural  and  social 
identification  with  this  section  for  nearly  forty  years.  He  was  the  father 
of  eight  children,  several  of  whom,  like  Calvin  C,  were  also  leading 
citizens.    A  number  of  his  sons  served  in  the  Union  army, 

Benjamin  Reynolds'  After-Career 

When  Mr.  Reynolds  came  to  Big  Creek  Township  he  had  suffered 
reverses  which  made  him  almost  penniless;  he  was,  however,  pluckily 
"starting  over  again."  He  had  enjoyed  little  education  in  schools,  but 
was  practical,  honest  and  hard-working.  He  had  operated  a  stage 
line  from  Vincennes  to  Toledo  for  a  number  of  years  previous  to  1828, 
when  a  distemper  carried  away  so  many  of  his  horses  as  to  ruin  him 
financially.  Mr.  Reynolds  had  made  little  headway  toward  recovery 
when  he  ventured  beyond  the  Tippecanoe  with  his  friend,  George  A. 
Spencer.  His  stage  line  had  followed  the  valleys  of  the  Wabash  and 
Maumee  rivers  and  he  had  become  well  acquainted  with  Northwestern 
Indiana  before  he  located  in  Big  Creek  Township.  Being  a  man  of 
more  active  temperament,  both  of  mind  and  body,  than  his  good  friend 
Spencer,  he  soon  became  the  agent  for  various  eastern  parties  in  the  loca- 
tion of  lands  on  commission,  which  enabled  him  to  become  the  owner  of 
some  15,000  acres  in  Indiana  and  Illinois.  At  a  later  day  he  obtained 
the  contract  for  excavating  many  miles  of  the  State  Ditch,  portions  of 
which  he  sublet.  He  was  largely  influential  in  building  the,  Louisville, 
New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad,  as  well  as  the  Pan  Handle  Line,  in 
both  of  which  he  became  a  large  stockholder.  Ho  was  also  interested  in 
the  Junction  Railroad  and  had  the  misfortune,  about  1855,  of  losing 
$100,000  through  his  investments  therein.  The  year  before,  he  had 
founded  the  Town  of  Reynolds.  During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Reynolds 
met  with  his  third  serious  financial  reverse,  aa  he  was  obliged  to  pay 
fully  $40,000  in  bail  debts.  But  he  was  vigorous  and  elastic  and  had 
nearly  recovered  his  former  standing  before  his  death  in  his  home  town- 
ship, on  June  6,  1869.  His  son,  Isaac  Reynolds,  born  in  1831,  was  the 
first  native  white  child  of  the  township.  Two  of  his  sons  (Levi  Reynolds 
and  a  younger  brother)  cultivated  the  home  farm  after  the  father's 
death  until  the  estate  was  sold  under  administrator's  sale,  when  it  was 
bought  by  the  widow  and  divided.    Levi  Reynolds  moved  to  Monticello 


236  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

in  1878,  but  after  three  years'  residence  there  returned  to  the  old  home- 
stead and  became  quite  well  known  in  local  affairs,  both  official  and 
agricultural.  Large  tracts  of  land  in  sections  6,  7  and  13,  of  what  is 
now  Union  Township,  are  still  held  by  the  Spencer  family. 

John  Buens 

On  November  2,  1830,  John  Burns  entered  land  in  section  30,  south- 
eastern part  of  the  township,  and  in  the  following  year  settled  upon  his 
"eighty,"  with  his  young  wife.  Although  then  only  in  his  twenty-third 
year,  he  had  been  married  since  1826.  The  young  people  commenced 
their  married  life  in  White  County  in  a  rude  log  cabin  with  a  dirt  floor, 
but  .they  prospered  in  amassing  both  property  and  a  large  family.  Be- 
fore Mr.  Burns'  death  he  had  become  the  owner  of  1,200  acres  of  land 
and  was  probably  the  largest  land  owner  in  the  township.  He  was 
widely  known  as  a  breeder  of  cattle,  hogs  and  horses. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Burns 

William  Burns,  the  eldest  of  the  six  children  of  John  Burns,  was 
born  in  Big  Creek  Township  April  23,  1831,  soon  after  the  family  came 
from  Ohio,  and  is  claimed  to  have  been  either  the  first  or  second  white 
child  born  in  the  county.  Until  be  was  twenty-three  years  of  age  he 
was  employed  on  his  father's  farm,  by  which  time  he  had  saved  $700, 
with  which  he  bought  a  partially  improved  farm  of  120  acres  near  the 
family  homestead.  In  October,  1860,  he  married  Miss  Etna  Mclntyre, 
an  Ohio  lady,  who  for  ten  years  had  been  housekeeper  for  her  twin 
brother  on  the  old  Burns  Farm.  As  man  and  wife  they  lived  a  peaceful 
and  useful  life  for  more  than  fifty-two  years,  not  far  from  where  they 
commenced  housekeeping.  Like  his  father,  William  Burns  became  well 
known  as  a  live  stock  farmer.  His  wife  died  March  19,  1913,  and  he 
followed  her  three  days  later.  They  were  buried  side  by  side  in  River- 
view  Cemetery,  Monticello,  and  left  a  son  and  a  daughter — Samuel  M. 
Burns,  of  Chalmers,  and  Mary  Etta  Brown,  of  Urbana,  Ohio. 

Land  Owners  and  Settlers  of  1830-33 

On  the  same  day  that  John  Burns  entered  his  land,  November  2, 
1830,  James  Kerr  bought  80  acres  in  section  24;  John  Miller,  in  section 
19;  Mnhlon  Frazer,  in  section  9;  on  the  following  day  Daniel  Baum 
entered  80  acres  in  section  8  and  Robert  Newell  80  acres  in  section  18 ; 
John  Bostick,  80  acres  in  section  12,  on  the  12th  of  October,  same  year; 
Joseph  II.  Graham,  80  acres  in  section  8,  November  15,  1830;  John 
Stockton,  80  acres  in  section  7,  on  November  20th,  and  Jeremiah  Bisiier 
filed  his  claim  on  December  20th,  also  of  the  year  1830. 

About  the  time  that  John  Burns  located,  in  1831,  Samuel  Gray  and 
John  Roberts  became  residents  of  the  township,  the  latter  having  entered 
lund  late  in  the  preceding  fall.     Samuel  Alkire  entered  a  tract  within 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  237 

the  township  August  18,  1832,  and  the  following  became  land  owners 
in  1833:  Stephen  Bunnell,  John  Wesley  Bunnell,  Nathaniel  Bunnell, 
Sr.,  and  Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Jr.,  December  10th ;  Benjamin  Reynolds, 
Christmas  Day ;  John,  C.  Kilgore,  June  4th ;  John  Barr,  Jr.,  June  10th ; 
William  M.  Kenton,  November  26th. 

The  Beazy  family  also  arrived  in  1833 — Isaac  Beazy,  wife  and  six 
children — but  evidently  were  in  no  condition  to  iuvest  in  land.  They 
came  all  the  way  from  Perry  County,  Ohio,  and  the  different  members 
of  the  family  rode  two  horses,  in  shifts.  They  were  old  friends  of 
George  A.  Spencer,  who  made  room  for  them  in  his  own  house  until  he 
and  Mr.  Beazy  could  erect  a  separate  cabin  for  the  newcomers.  Mr. 
Beazy  was  employed  by  Mr.  Spencer,  and  his  family  lived  on  the  Spencer 
farm  for' a  number  of  years. 

Chills  and  Fever 

Big  Creek  Township,  in  common  with  other  sections  of  the  county 
which  had  any  considerable  portion  of  lowlands,  was  scourged  with 
ague,  or  chills  and  fever.  The  trouble  would  generally  commence  in 
July  and  continue  until  midwinter;  and  the  shakes  of  1833  were  long 
remembered  as  the  most  severe  and  prevalent  of  any  recorded  in  the 
history  of  the  township.  It  is  said  that  only  two  residents  escaped  their 
onslaught — Calvin  C.  Spencer  and  a  small,  tough  negro  boy.  Although 
boneset  and  other  tried  remedies  were  freely  used,  chills  and  fever 
continued  to  grip  the  township  for  at  least  a  decade,  or  until  the 
settlers  became  convinced  that  stagnant  water  and  their  drinking  supply 
were  largely  the  cause  of  the  scourge,  and  acted  accordingly. 

First  Township  Officers 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  in  July, 
1834,  when  Big  Creek  Township  was  created,  the  house  of  George  A. 
Spencer  was  designated  as  the  place  for  holding  elections  the  first  year, 
and  James  Kerr  was  appointed  inspector.  Benjamin  N.  Spencer  was 
also  named  as  supervisor  of  roads,  George  A.  Spencer  and  Armstrong 
Buchanan,  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  Benjamin  Reynolds  and  Henry 
Ba^cus,  fence  viewers.  As  the  Spencer  home  was  the  headquarters  of 
the  county  government  for  several  years  while  the  official  quarters 
were  being  prepared  at  Monticello,  Big  Creek  Township  was,  if  any- 
thing, overburdened  with  circumspection ;  it  had  more  government  than 
it  could  well  bear. 

First  School  in  the  County 

The  creation  of  the  county  was  the  signal  for  the  inauguration  of  its 
educational  forces.  In  1834  its  first  school  was  taught  by  Clinton  Mun- 
son  in  a  cabin  which  stood  on  George  A.  Spencer's  land— a  round-log 
affair,  12  by  15  feet;  as  several  log  houses  had  been  built  on  his  land,  it 


238  t  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

is  impossible  to  say  what  one  was  thus 'honored.  It  is  stated  that  the 
expense  of  its  erection  was  borne  by  the  resident  families  of  George  A. 
Spencer,  Benjamin  Reynolds,  John  Burns,  Robert  Newell,  William  M. 
Kenton,  Zebulon  Dyer,  James  Shafer,  John  Phillips  and  perhaps  a  few 
others.  It  was  the  first  schoolhouse  built  within  the  limits  of  White 
County.  A  log  had  been  omitted  from  the  south  wall  to  admit  the  light ; 
two  puncheons,  fastened  together  with  wooden  pins  and  bung  on  wooden 
hinges,  formed  the  door,  which  was  securely  closed  with  a  wooden  latch 
in  a  wooden  catch ;  a  string  passed  through  the  door  above  the  latch 
and  served  to  raise  it  from  the  outside  on  ordinary  occasions — the  ex- 
ceptions being  when  the  bad  boys  arrived  before  the  schoolmaster,  when 
it  would  be  drawn  in,  the  window  barricaded  with  benches  and  other- 
wise placed  in  a  state  to  withstand  a  siege.  The  first  teacher  of  this 
particular  school  was  Matthias  Davis. 

Land  Entries  in  1835-36 

The  following  entered  lands  during  1835:  Barzilla  W.  Bunnell, 
January  9th;  James  Barnes,  December  10th;  John  Lewis,  September 
9th;  Benjamin  Reynolds,  December  8th;  John  Brady,  November  23d; 
William  Cornell,  October  20th ;  John  Beaver,  December  19th ;  Levi  John- 
son, November  16th. 

In  1836:  Thomas  Spencer,  January  1st;  Mahlon  Fraser,  May  9th; 
Isaac  N.  Parker,  January  4th ;  David  Fisher,  May  9th ;  William  Warden, 
May  24th;  Ninirod  Warden,  May  24th;  Noah  Dixon,  November  28th; 
James  Barnes,  January  21st;  Joshua  Rinker,  January  13th;  Mary 
Thompson,  June  15th;  Nathan  Goff,  December  13th;  John  Brady,  same 
date;  and  Eliza  N.  Bunnell,  February  23d. 

Election  op  1836 

At  the  fall  election  of  1836,  held  at  the  house  of  George  A.  Spencer, 
on  the  first  Monday  in  November,  the  following  voted,  most  of  the 
names  being  already  familiar:  Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Sr.,  Joseph  H. 
Thompson,  Thomas  Donavan,  John  Luce,  Jesse  Grooms,  William  Carr, 
Benjamin  Reynolds,  Thomas  Bunnell,  James  Shafer,  Joseph  Phillips, 
George  A.  Spencer,  Isaac  Davis,  Ellis  H.  Johnson,  John  W.  Bunnell, 
Daniel  Lane,  Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Jr.,  B.  Bunnell  and  Armstrong  Bu- 
chanan. Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Isaac  Davis  and  John  Bunnell  acted  as 
judges.  • 

The  Great  Hunt  op  1840  • 

But  although  the  township  was  organized  and  its  citizens  were  exer- 
cising their  full  American  rights,  it  was  still  a  frontier  country,  and 
continued  to  be  so  considered  for  years.  A  good  illustration  of  that  fact 
is  the  Great  Hunt  of  1840.  The  district  in  which  the  chase  occurred 
was  bounded  north  by  Monon  Creek,  east  by  the  Tippecanoe  River,  south 
by  the  Wabash  River  and  west  by  the  line  between  White  and  Benton 


..i-  * , 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  239 

counties.  Men  and  boys  were  stationed  along  these  boundaries  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  apart,  and  at  8  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  "drive"  com- 
menced to  "close  in"  at  a  rate  of  advance  which  would  bring  them  to 
what  is  now  known  as  Reynolds'  Grove  at  2  o'clock  P.  M.  In  that  grove 
three  scaffolds  had  been  erected  on  which  the  marksmen  of  the  day  were 
stationed.  No  other  members  of  the  party  were  allowed  to  carry  guns. 
It  is  said  that  men  attended  this  chase  from  a  territory  twenty-five  miles 
distant,  and  the  spoils  of  the  chase  comprised  fifty  deer  and. many  more 
wolves.  The  reward  of  the  marksmen  was,  as  usual,  a  specially  large 
portion  of  the  whiskey  and  provisions  which  had  been  hauled  to  head- 
quarters for  the  consumption  of  all  the  participants  in  the  hunt. 

Those  Who  Bought  Land  in  1837-51 

The  entries  of  land  in  Big  Creek  Township  continued  until  the  early 
'50s,  although  they  were  quite  rare  during  the  hard  times  of  the  late 
'30s  and  the  early  '40s.  This  period,  1837-51,  records  the  following  as 
new  land  owners,  with  dates  of  entry :  Jonathan  Johnson,  February  1, 
1837,  and  Henry  Linda,  October  20th,  of  the  same  year ;  Joshua  II.  Scarff 
and  Jacob  Hanaway,  October  5  and  January  25,  1839,  respectively ;  Okey 
S.  Johnson  and  Catherine  E.  Davis,  both  on  June  2,  1842 ;  Moses  Karr 
•and  Joseph  Karr,  January  24  and  May  23,  1843 ;  John  Ilolliday  and 
John  R.  Jefferson,  January  31  and  May  28,  1844 ;  Robert  Bartholomew, 
September  20,  1845;  Ellis  H.  Johnson,  May  28th  of  that  year;  John 
Burget,  July  29th,  also  1845 ;  in  1846— Abel  T.  Smith,  May  26th ;  David 
W.  Parker,  August  19th;  John  W.  Johnson,  June  29th;  John  Matthews, 
April  25th;  John  Bunnell,  July  18th;  and  Silas  Adams,  April  13th;  in 
1847 — Bushrod  W.  Cain,  December  18th;  John  Friend,  September  llth-j 
Abraham  Lukens,  June  21st ;  Ambrose  Mudge,  December  14th ;  John 
Alkire,  March  5th;  Ezekiel  Matthews,  June  26th;  Thomas  Chenovveth, 
August  17th;  in  1848 — William  Vanscoy,  January  26th;  John  R.  Jeffer- 
son, October  5th;  Ellis  H.  Johnson,  January  26th;  and  Abel  T.  Smith, 
same  date;  Joseph  D.  Moore,  June  19,  1849;  Ira  M.  Chcnoweth,  August 
20,  1850;  and  David  Parker,  July  28,  1851. 

Increase  of  Real  Settlers 

All  of  the  foregoing  entries  (and  the  statement  applies  to  those  which 
have  preceded  the  immediate  list)  were  made  by  White  County  settlers, 
but  not  all  of  them  were  by  residents  of  Big  Creek  Township.  A  few 
of  them  relinquished  their  interests  and  migrated  to  other  parts,  but 
the  majority  improved  their  properties,  founded  homesteads  and  added 
to  their  holdings,  either  by  the  purchase  of  adjoining  Government  lands 
or  of  tracts  which  had  been  thrown  upon  the  market  by  non-residents. 
Especially  was  this  the  ease  with  those  who  bad  early  begun  the  raising 
of  live  stock.  Others  became  the  owners  of  larger  farms  than  they 
could  profitably  cultivate,  and  were  forced  to  lease  portions  of  their  land 


■  •  ---■■ 


240  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

to  tenants,  who  would  pay  them  in  rental  or  in  a  stipulated  proportion 
of  the  crops. 

B.  "Wilson  Smith's  Picture  of  1846 

Although  Ahel  T.  Smith  entered  his  first  lands,  a  short  distance 
southwest  of  Smithsou,  or  Wheeler,  in  the  spring  of  1846,  he  did  not 
start  with  his  family  from  their  old  Virginia  home  until  the  fall  of  the 
year.  More  than  sixty  years  afterward,  one  of  his  sons,  B.  Wilson  Smith 
(then  four-score  years  of  age),  was  writing  as  follows: 

"We  left  our  home  near  Bridgeport,  Harrison  county,  Virginia  (now 
West  Virginia),  October  17,  1846.  There  my  father,  mother  and  six 
children — the  oldest  (Mrs.  Haymond)  nearly  18  years,  and  youngest  a 
babe  less  than  two  months.  I  write  this  on  the  64th  anniversary  of 
our  departure.  We  came  overland  all  the  way — saw  but  one  railroad 
track  in  all  the  way — at  Springfield,  Ohio.  We  had  a  three-horse  wagon 
and  carriage.  I  was  past  16  years  of  age.  I  drove  the  wagon  all  the 
way. 

"We  reached  the  county  of  White  in  the  morning  of  November  24th. 
Had  stayed  at  Battle  Ground  the  night  before,  then  called  Harrisonville. 
We  passed  from  Tippecanoe  county  into  White  county  at  a  point  a 
little  north  of  Forgy  Kious'  home  and  went  north,  crossing  Moots'  Creek 
a  little  west  of  the  home  of  Mr.  Smelser,  then  county  commissioner. 
Then  on  north,  along  the  county  road,  past  John  Kious',  over  Hickory 
Ridge,  and  northwest  to  Kent's  Point.  Mr.  Kent  lived  there  then.  My 
father  had  known  him  and  bought  cattle  of  him  when  he  lived  on  Darby 
Plains,  west  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  lived  in  a  cabin  near  the  old  grave- 
yard. John  Price,  his  son-in-law,  lived  a  little  northeast  of  him.  Our 
course  was  then  straight  on  north  to  the  home  of  John  Brady  on  Big 
Creek,  one-fourth  mile  west  of  Tucker  schoolhouse,  built  in  1861.  There 
was  no  house  then  where  Chalmers  is  now,  nor  until  we  reached  Brady's, 
except  the  home  of  Joseph  H.  Thompson  away  to  the  right  on  the  hill, 
nnd  the  Jack  Burgett  cabin,  one-fourth  mile  to  the  west.  We  passed  close 
by  their  cabin  on  the  cast  side.  We  reached  Mr.  Brady's  at  nightfall. 
He  and  his  wife  were  Virginians — he  from  the  south  branch  of  the 
Potomac,  and  she  from  Clarksburgh.  She  was  a  Britton,  a  very  promi- 
nent family.  She  and  my  mother  had  been  schoolmates.  Her  sister  had 
married  Nathan  GolT,  a  man  of  money  and  influence — the  Goff  whose 
name  so  often  occurs  as  former  owner  of  lands  in  Big  Creek  and  West 
Point  townships. 

"We  brought  in  our  wagon  a  large  box  of  clothing  and  valuables 
from  Mrs.  Goff  to  her  sister,  Mrs.  Brady,  and  the  family.  At  that  time 
the  Mexican  War  was  on,  and  Mrs.  Brady's  brother,  Major  Forbes 
Britton,  was  a  very  prominent  officer  in  General  Taylor's  family. 

"Mr.  Brady's  house  was  built  of  hewed  logs  and  was  about  16x18 
feet  square.  His  family  was  seven  or  eight,  ours  eight,  and  the  man  who 
came  with  us  from  LaFayette,  hauling  a  load  of  furniture  and  pro- 
visions; and  yet  we  all  stayed  in  that  not  large  house  of  one  room  and 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  241 

ate  and  slept  there.  I  mention  this  as  a  graphic  picture  of  pioneer  times 
in  White  county.  This  county  had  been  organized  but  twelve  years  at 
that  time. 

"The  24th  of  November  had  been  a  pleasant  day,  a  little  cool  and 
raw,  but  gave  no  indication  of- a  marked  change  of  weather.  But  before 
the  morning  dawned  a  fierce  northwester  was  in  full  swing,  and  snow 
was  falling  and  ice  freezing  fast.  We  had  to  go  two  miles  west  to  our 
cabin,  which  stood  about  ninety  rods  southwest  of  Smithson  station.  We 
had  to  cut  the  ice  to  get  across  Little  Creek  and  unload  our  furniture 
and  provisions  in  the  storm,  and  leave  it  till  the  occupant  of  the  cabin 
could  get  his  family  and  household  effects  out,  which  he  kindly  did. 
Father  had  bought  the  cabin  and  squatter  right  of  him  the  spring  pre- 
vious. The  cabin  was  14x16  feet,  outside  measurement,  of  split  logs, 
making  the  inside  measurement  13x15,  one  window,  one  door,  no  loft  to 
speak  of,  and  yet  a  family  of  eight  stored  themselves,  furniture  and  pro- 
visions, in  this  small  cabin  for  the  entire  winter  and  spring,  till  a  new 
addition  and  hall  and  porch  could  be  added.  Yea,  more,  they  lived 
happily — toiled  hard,  never  complained,  and  saw  the  fruits  of  their  toil 
in  120  acres  fenced,  a  good  corn  and  oats  crop,  and  70  acres  of  prairie 
broken  and  sowed  in  wheat. 

"At  the  time  of  our  coming  to  White  county  there  was  not  a  town  on 
the  line  of  the  Monon  railroad  from  the  Battle  Ground  to  Michigan  City. 
West  Bedford,  three  miles  east  of  Monon,  was  a  small  town  with  a  post- 
office,  and  New  Durham  was  2y2  miles  east  of  the  present  town  of  West- 
ville.  Of  course  there  was  no  railroad,  nor  till  seven  years  later.  Monti- 
cello  was  a  small  town  with  no  mills  or  water  power.  The  two  princely 
houses  were  those  of  Chas.  Kendall  and  William  Sill,  who  died  about 
that  time.  Monticello  had  a  postoffice,  so  also  Burnett's  Creek  and  West 
Bedford.  These  were  all,  and  they  only  had  weekly  mail,  carried  on 
horseback  from  Logansport  to  White  Post.  The  only  mills  of  any  special 
import  were  those  at  Norway.  They  had  French  burr  stones  and  made 
good  flour.  They  also  carded  wool.  The  Van  Rensselaer  had  been  de- 
stroyed, i.  e.,  the  dam,  by  the  great  floods  of  1844.  The  only  church 
building  of  any  pretension  was  the  New  School  Presbyterian  at  Monti- 
cello,  of  which  the  afterward  celebrated  Mr.  Cheever  had  charge.  I 
knew  him  twenty  years  later  when  in  the  full  prime  of  his  great  career. 
The  Methodists  had  no  church  in  the  county.  The  charges  were  not 
even  a  circuit,  but  Monon  Mission.  The  only  schoolhouse  in  Monticello 
then  was  the  frame  building  that  stood  on  the  lot  where  Mrs.  Israel 
Nordyke  lately  lived.  No  schoolhouse  in  Big  Creek  township  except  an 
old  abandoned  one  near  old  Father  Nathaniel  Bunnell's,  built  of  round 
logs,  with  mortar  and  stick  chimney,  but  in  the  last  month  of  the  year 
the  neighbors  joined  together  and  built  a  hewed  log  schoolhouse  about 
one-fourth  of  a  mile  east  of  the  present  Tucker  schoolhouse,  which  was 
built  15  years  later.  In  this  log  schoolhouse  the  first  Methodist  quarterly 
meeting  that  I  ever  attended  was  held  in  March,  1847.  Rev.  S.  C.  Cooper, 
Oreencastle,  was  presiding  elder,  and  Rev.  Burns  preacher  in  charge. 

"My  sister  Margaret,  afterward  Mrs.  Dr.  Ilaymond,  taught  the  first 

Vol.  i— u 

■■   "■  ■  ■  — ' 


242  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

school.  Living  as  we  did  90  rods  southwest  of  Sraithson  station,  our 
nearest  neighbors  were  Mrs.  Abigail  Johnson  and  her  family,  nearly  one- 
fourth  mile  east,  Henry  Lindsey  one-fourth  mile  west,  then  David  Parker 
ft  fourth  mile  further  on,  and  then,  a  half  mile  further  west,  the  widow 
Biddle,.and  one-fourth  mile  further,  John  R.  Jefferson.  There  were  no 
neighbors  south  nor  north  nor  east  nearer  than  two  miles,  and.  west 
(Isaac  Beesy)  three  miles.  The  country  was  new,  and  the  people  did 
not  crowd  each  other  much.  There  was  no  newspaper  then  or  before 
published  in  White  county.  Not  much  of  politics  or  political  excitement. 
I  remember  the  presidential  election  of  1848.  My  father  and  I  left  homa 
at  the  same  time,  going  in  opposite  directions — he  east,  I  west.  When  we 
met  again  lie  had  voted  for  Taylor  and  Pilmore  at  the  voting  place  of  the 
township,  the  old  seat  of  county  government,  Geo.  A.  Spencer's,  and 
I  had  secured  a  school  in  Princeton  township — the  Nordyke  neighbor- 
hood. It  was  my  first  school,  and  the  first  taught  in  the  township.  The 
13th  day  of  November  just  passed  was  the  sixty-second'anniversary  of  its 
opening.  May  I  say  that  all  of  our  family  (children)  were  school 
teachers,  and  all  taught  in  White  county  except  the  youngest — Henry 
Clay. 

"Do  you  wonder  that  I  have  a  great  love  for  White  county?  I  never 
had  any  enemies  there.  I  have  touched  shoulders  with  many  of  your  early 
citizens  in  the  life  struggle.  Your  noble  building,  the  schoolhouse  at 
Monticello — I  laid  the  cornerstone  and  delivered  the  oration  in  186!). 
Every  foot  of  your  504  square  miles  is  destined  to  be  valuable.  Your 
noble  river,  the  classic  Tippecanoe,  is  destined  to  continue  the  most 
beautiful  stream  in  the  State,  and  every  hamlet,  village  and  town  to 
grow  in  wealth  and  importance  through  the  coming  years.  The  fondest 
dreams  of  the  early  days  will  more  than  come  true,  and  the  civilized 
and  cultured  Anglo-Saxon  continue  to  hold  and  cultivate  lands  wbere 
once  the  proud  hostile  Miami  held  savage  sway." 

First  Frame  Schoolhouse 

As  the  population  increased,  especially  in  the  northeastern  part  of' 
the  township  toward  Monticello,  the  settlers  prepared  to  give  their  chil- 
dren better  educational  conveniences.  The  county  was  divided  into 
school  districts,  No.  1  being  embraced  in  that  territory.  In  1850  the  first 
frame  schoolhouse  in  the  township  was  erected  in  section  12,  not  far 
from  the  original  log  cabin,  used  for  that  purpose,  on  the  Spencer  farm. 

Mudge's  Station  and  Chalmers 

The  settlers  felt  greatly  encouraged  when  the  Louisville,  New  Albany 
&  Chicago  Railroad  was  completed  through  the  township  in  1853,  and 
Gardner  Mudge  contributed  land  in  section  34  to  be  used  as  the  site  of 
a  station.  The  locality  was  known  for  years  as  Mudge's  Station,  but 
it  did  not  bud  into  the  Town  of  Chalmers  until  1873,  when  it  was  first 
platted. 

■■  ■  ■ - —  ■         -         -  ■-■         -  - 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  243 

First  Iron  Bridge 

In  the  early  '70s  several  important  improvements  were  m'ade  in 
the  township,  among  others  being  the  building  of  its  first  iron  bridge 
across  Big  Creek,  just  north  of  the  residence  of  John  Burns.  It  was 
completed  in  1872  and  was  100  feet  long;  quite  a  structure  for  those 
days  and  that  locality.  It  has  since  been  replaced  by  a  more  substantial 
structure. 

Swamp  Lands  Reclaimed 

In  the  '80s  the  settlers  commenced  to  take  up  the  work  of  draining 
the  northern  swamp  lands  in  earnest,  and  the  result  was  to  reclaim  large 
tracts  which  had  been  held  unimproved,  some  of  the  owners  being  non- 
residents. As  these  lands  came  into  the  market  as  fertile  and  valuable 
farm  properties,  they  were  purchased  by  actual  settlers  and  divided  into 
smaller  tracts.  Thus  the  northern  part  of  the  township  received  a 
noticeable  accession  of  population. 

Smithson  or  Wheeler 

One  of  the  results  of  this  movement  was  the  platting  of  the  Town  of 
Wheeler  in  section  9.  It  was  laid  out  on  the  farm  of  Hiram  M.  Wheeler, 
on  the  main  line  of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad. 
The  postoffice  at  that  point  was  named  Smithson,  in  honor  of  Lieut. 
Bernard  G.  Smith,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  a  son  of  Abel  T.  Smith, 
who  came  to  the  neighborhood  in  1846  and  was  for  years  prominent  in 
township  affairs.  He  died  in  1875.  Although  the  town  was  platted  as 
Wheeler,  the  railroad  station  is  usually  known  by  the  name  of  the 
postoffice,  Smithson. 

Leader  in  Good  Roads  Movement 

Besides  being  early  in  the  movement  of  artificial  drainage,  the 
farmers  of  Big  Creek  Township,  with  the  solid  support  of  the  townsmen 
of  Chalmers,  took  the  initiative  in  the  improvement  of  the  highways  of 
the  county,  and,  in  proportion  to  their  population  and  wealth,  are  still 
in  the  front  ranks  of  the  good  roads  reform.  In  that  regard  the  bonded 
indebtedness  of  the  township  is  the  fifth  largest  among  the  eleven  town- 
ships of  the  county.  Its  total  of  $46,977  is  divided  among  the  several 
roads  as  follows:  Dobbins,  $800;  Redding,  $470;  Anderson,  $4,500; 
Younger,  $4,500;  J.  H.  Moore,  $9,334;  Friday,  $4,800;  Mills,  $1,733; 
Morrison,  $8,000 ;  Lane,  $12,840. 


I    .ll-r   ii 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HONEY  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 

Draining  and  Road  Building — Honey  Creek — Joshua  Rinker  and 
WiFE-pTiiE  Bunnell  Families — Smith,  Hiorth's  Old  Partner — 
Settlers  and  Land  Buyers  of  1835 — Entered  Lands  in  1839-53 — 
Two-thirds  Owned  by  Non-Residents — Founding  of  Reynolds — 
Guernsey — Township  Created — Schoolhouse  and  Town  Hall, — 
Pioneer  Citizen  Voters — Public-Spirited  Township. 

As  a  civil  body,  Honey1  Creek  Township  dates  from  1855.  Its  terri- 
tory was  a  part  of  the  original  Union  Township,  created  in  1834  as  one 
of  the  four  divisions  of  the  vast  "White  County  of  that  day.  Monon  Town- 
ship was  lopped  off  from  the  parent  body  in  1836  and  Princeton  in  1844 ; 
then,  in  1855,  another  thirty-six  square  miles  was  taken  from  the  west- 
ern portion  of  Union  to  form  Honey  Creek  Township,  which  also,  about 
1905,  was  presented  with  five  square  miles  from  Big  Creek  Township  to 
the  south.  Although  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  forty-one  square  miles 
of  better  land  in  the  county  than  lie  within  the  limits  of  Honey  Creek 
Township,  their  fertility  and  productiveness  have  been  fairly  earned, 
as  no  section  has  given  more  freely  of  its  time  and  means  to  reclaim  them 
from  their  primal  disadvantages. 

Draining  and  Road  Building 

Even  for  a  number  of  years  after  the  civil  organization  of  the  town- 
ship, its  soil  was  largely  water-soaked  and  most  of  the  land  was  consid- 
ered unmarketable,  but  about  1880  the  settlers  took  up  the  matter  of 
ditching  in  an  earnest  and  practical  way.  By  1882  they  had  some  twenty 
miles  of  good  public  ditches,  besides  many  constructed  at  private  ex- 
pense, and  with  the  rapid  reclaiming  of  the  lands  the  farmers  also  did 
their  full  share  in  constructing  good  gravel  and  stone  roads;  so  that  with 
the  increased  yield  of  their  lands  they  provided  the  means  of  getting 
the  produce  to  market  in  the  most  advantageous  way.  At  the  present 
time,  there  is  very  little  land  in  Honey  Creek  Township  which  is  not 
under  a  fair  state  of  cultivation  and  which  is  not  easily  accessible  to  either 
a  substantial  macadam  road  or  a  line  of  railroad. 

In  the  construction  of  its  system  of  macadam  or  gravel  roads,  Honey 
Creek  Township  lias  incurred  a  bonded  indebtedness  of  $38,886,  divided 
as  follows:  Weaver  Road,  $8,400;  Ballard,  $2,400;  J.  II.  Moore,  $1,866; 
Wheeler,  $4,060;  Ward,  $4,050;  Miller,  $4,950;  byroads,  $12,000;  Lane, 
$1,160. 

244 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  245 

Honey  Creek 

Ditching  and  road  building  have  been  made  especially  necessary  in 
Honey  Creek  Township  because  of  the  sluggish  and  widespread  waters 
of  the  stream  which  gives  it  its  name.  Honey  Creek  rises  in  the  adjoin- 
ing townships  of  West  Point  and  flows  in  a  northeasterly  direction 
through  the  township  and  empties  into  the  Tippecanoe  River  three  miles 
north  of  Monticello,  in  Union  Township.  Speaking  of  this  stream,  one 
of  the  oldest  residents  of  the  county  says:  "It  might  with  greater  pro- 
priety be  termed  a  lake,  for  it  had  no  well-defined  channel  from  its 
entrance  into  the  township  to  its  passage  out,  but  was  one  vast  sheet  of 
water  without  perceptible  outlet,  varying  in  width  from  a  few  hundred 
feet  to  a  mile  or  more,  until  within  two  miles  of  its  outlet  it  became  a 
rapid  stream,  with  well-defined  channel,  flowing  through  heavily  wooded, 
rugged  bluff  lands,  from  thence  to  the  river.  It  was  only  after  the  ex- 
penditure of  much  money  and  a  vast  amount  of  labor  that  a  channel  of 
any  kind  was  made  through  the  township,  and  by  deepening  and  widen- 
ing it  from  year  to  year  the  water  has  been  removed  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  render  the  larger  part  of  the  land  susceptible  to  cultivation.  There 
is  not  another  township  in  the  whole  county  where  so  much  has  been  done 
to  improve  natural  conditions,  nor  is  there  one  which  has  equaled  Honey 
Creek  in  its  advance  in  material  wealth  and  prosperity." 

Previous  to  the  building  of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago 
Railroad  through  the  township  in  1853-54,  and  the  platting  of  Reynolds 
in  the  latter  year,  few  settlers  had  ventured  into  what  generally  was  put 
down  as  a  water-logged  part  of  the  county.  Conditions  were  better  in, 
the  southern  half  of  the  township  than  in  the  northern,  and  the  con- 
sequence was  that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  pioneers  who  located 
before  the  railroad  came  along  settled  in  sections  22,  26,  27,  28,  34  and  35. 
By  reference  to  any  fair  map  it  will  be  seen  that  these  sections  cover  the 
present  site  of  Reynolds  and  certain  portions  of  the  township  within  two 
miles  of  it. 

Joshua  Rinkeb  and  Wipe 

The  first  settlers  of  Honey  Creek  Township  were  Joshua  Rinker  and 
wife — the  former  of  German  blood  and  the  latter  (Louisa  Recce)  of 
Scotch  ancestry — both  Virginians,  who  in  1834  located  in  what  was  then 
the  newly  organized  County  of  White  and  Union  Township.  Mr.  Rinker 
threw  up  a  little  log  cabin  somewhere  in  section  34  and  there  the  sturdy 
couple  established  themselves  as  the  first  residents  in  what  is  now  Honey 
Creek  Township.  Long  afterward  it  was  stated  by  William  II.  Rinker, 
who  was  the  third  of  their  eight  children  and  was  born  in  that  locality 
in  May,  1836,  that  for  the  first  two  years  of  his  residence  there,  Joshua 
Rinker  farmed  on  shares,  and  that  in  1836  he  entered  130  acres  of  land 
in  Big  Creek  and  Honey  Creek  townships.  At  first  he  erected  the  rude 
log  cabin  noted,  but  afterward  built  the  first  brick  house  of  the  township. 
His  wife  died  in  April,  1864,  and  he  followed  her  in  December,  I860. 


246  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  son,  William  H.  Rinker,  married  into  the  old  Bunnel  family,  and 
lived  for  years  on  his  farm  not  far  from  the  old  homestead  in  sectipn  34. 

The  Bunnell  Families 

Nathaniel  Bunnell,  the  founder  of  the  family,  various  members  of 
which  have  become  so  well  known  in  Honey  Creek  Township,  was  reared 
and  married  in  Kentucky.  When  a  young  man  he  was  engaged  in 
■  the  Ohio  River  trade  and  was  one  of  a  crew  who  brought  the  first  load 
of  merchandise  from  Marysville,  Kentucky,  to  Chillicothe,  Ohio.  Soon 
afterward  he  moved  into  Ohio,  and,  after  making  several  changes  of 
location  and  serving  in  the  War  of  1812  within'  the  following  thirty 
years,  settled  with  a  large  family  in  what  is  now  Honey  Creek  Township. 
The  Tract  Book  shows  that  he  entered  his  first  tract  of  land  in  section 
34  on  the  9th  of  December,  1833,  and  he  probably  did  not  settle  upon 
it  until  the  following  spring  or  summer,  following  closely  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  Rinkers.  The  families  naturally  became  neighbors,  and, 
quite  as  naturally,  the  young  people  commenced  to  intermarry. 

In  April,  1834,  both  Nathaniel  and  Thomas  Bunnell  entered  lands 
in  section  27,  and  various  members  of  the  family,  representing  several 
generations,  have  resided  at  Reynolds  and  in  neighboring  territory. 
Nathaniel  Bunnell  died  on  his  farm  in  section  34  in  the  year  1850. 

Smith,  Hiobth's  Old  Partneb 

It  is  said  that  Peter  B.  Smith,  the  partner  of  Hans  E.  Hiorth  in 
the  sawmill  established  in  the  Norwegian  settlement  two  miles  north  of 
Montieello,  settled  in  section  1,  northeast  corner  of  what  is  now  Honey 
Creek  Township,  as  early  as  1834.  If  he  did  so  there  is  no  record  of 
any  purchase  of  lands  by  him  at  that  time;  he  may  have  been  simply 
scouting  for  timber  lands.  His  first  entry  in  that  section  was  not  made 
until  1846. 

Settlers  and  Land  Buyers  ok  1835 

In  1835  the  settlers  included  the  Coles — Joseph,  James  and  Moses — 
and  about  the  same  time  Jesse  Grooms  and  the  Johnsons — Frank,  Moses 
and  Addison.  Within  the  following  two  years  also  came  Stephen  Miller 
to  section  26,  V.  McColloeh  to  section  27  and  John  Wilson  to  section  22. 

Early  settlers  also  report  that  a  bachelor  by  the  name  of  Day  came 
into  the  township  in  the  same  year  and  began  settlement  in  section  35. 

In  1835  the  only  people  to  enter  lands,  according  to  the  records,  were 
also  Bunnels — John  Wesley  Bunnell,  in  section  26,  and  Eliza  Ann 
Bunnell,  in  section  33,  both  oil  December  16th. 

In  1836  the  Tract  Book  gives  the  following:  Daniel  M.  Tilton,  in 
section  1  (the  only  recorded  land  owner  of  the  early  times  to  invest  in  the 
northern  sections  of  the  township),  December  12th;  Levi  Reynolds,  May 
25th ;  Benjamin  II.  Dixon,  February  4th,  and  Harrison  Skinner,  June 
2d— all  in  section  28 ;  and  Thomas  Brownfield,  in  section  34,  May  3d. 

ii  ■  ■    i  i  i  ,  ■  - 


J 


HISTORY  OF  WIIITE  COUNTY.  247 

Entered  Lands  in  1839-53 

The  Tract  Book,  which  is  the  only  reliable  authority  by  which  to' 
determine  the  entries  of  lands  in  the  township,  records  the  following 
as  having  bought  real  estate  of  the  Government  after  1836,  until  the 
township  was  organized  in  1855:  Joshua  Rinker  (as  stated)  in  section 
i34,  August  1,  1839;  William  M.  Kenton,  in  section  25,  November  20, 
1843,  and  in  section  24,  October  9,  1848;  in  1844— Richard  Imes,  in 
section  1,  April  20th;  William  Turner,  in  section  13,  November  9th; 
Ellis  -H.  Johnson,  in  section  29,  February  16th ;  John  R.  Jefferson,  in 
section  31,  May  2d,  and  Richard  J.  Tilton,  in  section  36,  November  9th ; 
James  P.  Moore,  Sr.,  and  James  P.  Moore,  Jr.,  in  section  6,  November 

25,  1845;  in' 1846— Peter  B.  Smith,  in  section  1,  October  17th;  Joseph 
Coble,  in  section  11,  September  6th;  William  Turner,  in  section  17, 
September  28th ;  Adin  and  Israel  Nordyke  (residents  of  Princeton 
Township),  in  section  19,  October  5th;  David  H.  Morse,  in  section  21, 
July  14th;  Thomas  Spencer,  in  section  24,  September  26th,  and  in 
section  25,  October  14th;  Nathaniel  White,  in  section  26,  September 
29th ;  Isaac  Beasy,  January  19th ;  Okey  S.  Johnson,  May  13th,  and  John 
B.  Lowe,  May  21st,  all  in  section  29;  and  James  Shaw,  in  section  34, 
February  25th  ■  in  1847 — Liberty  M.  Burns,  in  section  15,  February  7th ; 
David  Marshall,  in  section  22,  October  19th;  Lewis  C.  Marshall,  in 
section  23,  October  19th ;  James  Witherow,  in  section  25,  June  22d,  and 
James  Barnes,  in  same  section,  July  6th;  David  H.  Morse,  in  section 

26,  August  9th;  Aaron  Chamberlain,  in  section  30,  April  15th;  Isaac 
Beasey,  in  same  section,  May  18th;  in  1848 — William  M.  Kenton,  in 
section  24,  October  9th;  David  Marshall,  in  section  26,  same  date; 
Nathaniel  Bunnell,  in  section  34,  December  9th,  and  Jordan  Cain,  in 
section  36,  March  13th;  in  1850 — Abraham  Smith  (a  resident  of  Prince- 
ton Township),  in  section  19,  April  12th;  John  Lawrie  (a  citizen  of 
West  Point  Township),  in  section  29,  December  16th,  and  John  Day,  in 
section  34,  September  24th;  Loreno  Morse,  James  Shaw,  James  Brooks, 
John  B.  Cowan  and  K.  T.  and  N.  Bunnell,  section  35,  October  8,  1851; 
John  Bunton,  in  section  31,  March  5,  1852,  and  Levin  Tucker,  in  section 
29,  October  24,  1853. 

Two-Thirds  Owned  by  Non-Residents 

At  the  organization  of  the  township  in  1855,  it  is  estimated  that  fully 
two-thirds  of  its  area  was  in  the  hands  of  non-residents.  The  swamp  and 
military  warrant  lands  taken  up  were  as  follows : 

Swamp  Lands    Military  Lands 
Sections  (acres)  (acres) 

1 80 

2 440 

3 600  40 


248                          HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

• 

Swamp  Lands 

Military  Lands 

Sections                                                    (acres) 

(acres) 

4 360 

80    • 
240 

i 
80 

5 400 

6 120 

7 320 

8 480 

9 180 

10 280 

40 

11 .' 400 

12 280 

60 
80 

14 480 

15 480 

17 220 

18 640 

_ 

19 280 

160 

20 600 

40 

21 600 

22 400 

23  ... . 440 

120 

•   . 

24 

80 

25 

200 

26 160 

27 160 

29 280 

30 : 480 

... 

31 240 

160 

32 '.    .    ,     560 

40 
160 

- 

33 160 

34 80 

36 

40 

1,620 

To  the  foregoing  grand  total  12,460  acres  of  swamp  and  military 

lands  taken  up,  with  few  exceptions  by  land  speculators  residing  outside 

the  county,  are  to  be  added  various  tracts  of  canal  lands 

in  sections  27, 

29  and  34,  which  were  held 'out  of  the  Government  lands 

subject  to  free 

entry  at  $1.25  per  acre.     Two  hundred  acres  of  these  lands  in  section 

27  were  purchased  by  Joseph  Cole,  Marshall  II.  Johnson  and  Micajah 

F,  Johnson ;  John  Lawrie,  of  West  Point  Township,  bought  forty  acres 

in  section  29,  and  Joseph  Day  and  Benjamin  Reynolds  entered  200  acres 

in  section  34.     Other  scattering  tracts  bought  up  by  speculators,  non- 

resident in  Honey  Creek  Township,  would  bring  the  total  of  "foreign" 

holdings  up  to  the  14,640  acres,  as  estimated. 

1 

HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  249 

Founding  op  Reynolds 

This  condition  undoubtedly  interfered  with  the  early  settlement  of 
the  country,  which  failed  to  show  much  progress  until  the  building  of 
the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad.  While  the  line  was 
in  process  of  construction  through  the  township  the  Town  of  Reynolds 
was  laid  out  by  Benjamin  Reynolds,  George  S.  Rose,  Christian  Cassell, 
William  M.  Kenton  and  Joseph  H.  Thompson.  The  original  plat  was 
recorded  August  22,  1853,  and  shows  155  lots  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  33.  The  village  was  named  after  Benjamin  Reynolds,  its  acknowl- 
edged founder,  who  erected  the  first  building  on  its  site,  the  hotel  which 
held  its  own  in  the  central  part  of  the  county  for  many  years  thereafter. 
Thomas'  Bunnell  and  William  M.  Kenton  made  the  first  addition  to 
Reynolds  in  1855.  The  town  had  many  energetic  and  able  men  who 
pushed  it  along,  notwithstanding  its  early  setback  during  the  inflated 
and  uncertain  times  of  1857-58.  The  Pittsburgh,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis 
Railroad  (Pennsylvania)  was  completed  through  the  township  in  1859 
and  gave  another  boom  to  Reynolds,  which,  during  the  following  decade, 
especially,  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  rival  to  Monticello  "away  off  on 
the  eastern  borders  of  the  county."  Being  the  junction  of  the  two  lines, 
although  it  had  prosperous  and  substantial  business  houses,  it  was 
known  for  many  miles  around  as  "a  tough  railroad  town,"  with  all  that 
expression  implies.  But,  although  all  of  its  ambitions  were  not  realized, 
it  being  incorporated  in  1875,  it  has  long  been  an  orderly  place,  and  has 
progressed  steadily  as  one  of  the  best  interior  centers  in  the  county. 
Reynolds  is  the  banking  and  the  trade  center  of  quite  a  district,  espe- 
cially to  the  north,  and  its  dealings  in  grain  and  live  stock  are  con- 
siderable. 

Guernsey 

The  only  other  center  in  the  township,  which  is,  however,  of  com- 
parative unimportance,  is  Guernsey,  a  station  on  the  Monon  route  in 
section  12,  northeastern  part  of  the  township.  The  place  has  never 
been  platted;  is  only  a  small  hamlet  and  derives  its  name  from  the 
postoffice  established  there. 

Township  Created 

Very  soon  after  the  Town  of  Reynolds  was  platted,  Benjamin  Rey- 
nolds, Leander  H.  Jewett,  Abram  Van  Voorst  and  others  signed  a  petition 
and  presented  it  to  the  court  of  county  commissioners,  praying  that 
congressional  township  27  north,  range  4  west,  should  be  constituted 
Honey  Creek  Township.     At  its  June  term,  1855,  that  body  so  ordered. 

SCHOOLHOUSE  AND  TOWN  II  ALL 

Not  long  after  the  township  was  created  and  before  any  i  f  its  officials 
had  been  elected  the  proprietors  of  the  new  town  of  Reynolds  mado 


250  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

arrangements  to  build  a  schoolhouse  on  its  site.  It  was  one  of  the  first 
buildings  to  be  erected.  Nathaniel  Bunnell  gave  $25  for  the  purpose, 
Benjamin  Reynolds  donated  the  ground  and  other  settlers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood contributed  enough  by  subscription  to  complete  the  building, 
which  was  to  serve  both  as  a  schoolhouse  and  a  town  hall. 

Pioneer  Citizen  Voters        '  • 

The  first  election  in  Honey  Creek  Township  was  held  at  the  Reynolds 
schoolhouse  on  the  7th  of  April,  1856,  and  the  forty-three  who  cast  their 
ballots  at  that  time  were  Abram  Van  Voorst,  D.  L.  Hamilton,  Newton 
Organ,  M.  M.  Sill,  0.  S.  Dale,  J.  S.  Goddard,  Ira  Keller,  James  Cole, 
Aaron  Wood,  Joseph  Cole,  Thomas  Glassford,  Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Thorn- 
ton Williams,  Samuel  Iloren,  Washington  Burns,  Robert  W.  Sill,  Fred- 
erick Medorse,  Jesse  Holtom,  Marshall  Johnson,  Addison  Johnson,  Joshua 
Rinker,  George  Williams,  Thomas  Cain,  John  Reffcoots,  S.  A.  Miller, 
Abraham  Irvin,  Daniel  Coble,  A.  M.  Dickinson,  Patrick  Horn,  R.  R. 
Pettit,  John  Horcn,  L.  H.  Jewett,  Isaac  Barker,  Isaac  S.  Vinson,  John 
Bates,  Lewis  Kruger,  J.  W.  Bulger,  J.  N.  Bunnell,  Nathaniel  White, 
James  Torpy,  Isaac  M.  Cantwell,  John  Callis  and  Frederick  Helm.  The 
result  was  to  elect  Samuel  Horen  as  township  trustee,  for  a  term  of  three 
years;  Abram  Van  Voorst,  for  a  two  years  term,  and  A.  M.  Dickinson, 
for  one  year;  Leander  H.  Jewett  and  M.  M.  Sill,  justices  of  the  peace 
for  two  years;  R.  R.  Pettit  and  Homer  Glassford,  constables  for  one 
year;  Nathaniel  Bunnell,  township  treasurer,  one  year,  and  Joshua 
Rinker,  Newton  Organ  and  James  Coble,  road  supervisors,  one  year. 
At  this  election  thirty-five  votes  were  received  for  a  road  tax.  Ira 
Kclls  and  Aaron  Wood  acted  as  judges,  and  0.  S.  Dale  and  M.  M.  Sill 
as  clerks. 

There  was  even  a  more  complete  turn-out  at  the  election  on  the 
Second  Tuesday  in  October  of  that  year;  this  was  the  first  state  election 
held  in  the  township  and  nearly  every  voter  in  it  reported  at  the  Rey- 
nolds schoolhouse.  The  names  follow:  James  Himes,  William  White, 
Aaron  Wood,  A.  M.  Dickinson,  J.  B.  Bunnell,  Abram  Van  Voorst,  J.  II. 
Thomas,  Stephen  Miller,  L.  H.  Ambler,  Thornton  Williams,  Marion 
Hamilton,  Samuel  Harper,  Isaac  Ruger,  J.  S.  Reynolds,  Samuel  Iloren, 
J.  W.  Brasket,  William  Harper,  R.  R.  Pettit,  Thomas  Harper,  John 
N'oali,  William  ITeaden,  Michael  Foundry,  F.  Herper,  L.  H.  Jewett,  F.  N. 
Uolam,  Lewis  Shall,  F.  Kefsis,  James  S.  Miller,  George  F.  Miller,  Jacob 
H.'iiHtiir,  .lames  Dale,  M.  M.  Sill,  James  Kenton,  A.  Page,  J.  S.  Goddard, 
M  Poram,  John  Candent,  E.  Lickory,  John  Boles,  Charles  Keller,  Henry 
Waking,  M.  T.  Johnson,  John  Cole,  Anderson  Johnson,  George  Williams, 
James  Cole,  Benjamin  Clark,  Hugh  Irvin,  Ira  Keller,  John  Lealy, 
I 'at  rick  Henry,  I).  L.  Hamilton,  N.  W.  Bunnell,  G.  Helar,  A.  A.  Ferry- 
fold,  Isaac  Kentwell,  Joseph  Skevtington,  John  Cox,  John  Jeffcoots,  B.  T, 
Meyers,  A.  Weisc,  George  Emery,  Nathaniel  White,  C.  Perry,  Joshua 
Perry,  James  Pettit,  Jerry  Hamilton,  Thomas  Spencer,  Solomon  Me- 
Colloch,  James  M.  Bragg,  John  Horn,  Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Adam  Morgan, 


_J 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  251 

Joshua  Rinker,  Atlin  Nordyke,  Patrick  Horn,  Patrick  Poating,  James 
Turpie,  Joseph  Dale,  P.  Hartman,  W.  P.  Stark,  Joseph  DcLong,  Abram 
Irvin  and  Newton  Organ.     ' 

Public-Spirited  Township 

After  the  founding  of  Reynolds,  most  of  the  pioneer  institutions  and 
movements  of  the  township  originated  in  that  town ;  consequently,  many 
of  the  details  connected  with  such  early  matters  are  reserved  for  the 
special  sketch  of  the  village.  Even  in  the  encouragement  of  such  enter- 
prises as  the  construction  of  roads  and  ditches,  which  affect  the  township 
at  large^  the  people  of  Reynolds  have  always  been  helpful  to  the  extent 
of  their  means.  In  fact,  as  a  whole,  it  is  a  township  which  enjoys  a 
marked  public  spirit. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

PRINCETON  TOWNSHIP 

Joseph  Stewart,  Mighty  Hunter — The  Palestine  Settlement — The 
Godfather  of  the  Township — Thomas  Gillpatrick — Black  Oak 
Settlement — Township  Created  and  Named — State  and  Town- 
ship Elections — The  Nordyke  Settlement — The  ScuooLnousE 
Competition — Land  Entries,  1842-47 — Saddled  with  Land  Specu- 
lators— Fever  and  Ague,  or  Chills  and  Fever — Is  It  Any  Won- 
der?— Reclaimed  Lands  and  Good  Roads — Pioneer  Settlement 
Determined  by  Natural  Conditions — Cattle  Raising  and  Herding 
— Light  Ahead — Wolcott  and  Its  Founder — Seafield. 

Princeton  Township  is  one  of  the  few  portions  of  White  County  in 
which  pioneer  settlement  and  civil  organization  were  almost  coincidents. 
As  created  in  1855  by  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  it  comprised 
seventy-eight  square  miles — not  only  its  present  area,  but  the  fifteen 
westernmost  sections  of  Monon  Township.  Legally  and  specifically,  its 
bounds  were  thus  described :  Commencing  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
section  1,  township  28  north,  range  5  west,  and  running  south  on  said 
section  line  to  the  north  line  of  Big  Creek  Township ;  thence  west  along 
said  line  to  the  west  line  of  White  County;  thence  north  along  this  line  to 
the  corner  of  White  County;  thence  east  along  said  county  line  six 
miles;  thence  north  on  said  county  line  five  miles;  thence  east  three  miles 
to  the  place  of  beginning.  Monon  Township  afterward  regained  its 
three  western  tiers  of  five  sections  each,  thus  reducing  Princeton  to  its 
present  area  of  sixty-three  square  miles — nine  miles  from  east  to  west, 
and  seven  from  north  to  south. 

Joseph  Stewart,  Mighty  Hunter 

Joseph  Stewart,  a  young  hunter  and  trapper  without  family,  was  the 
first  white  man  to  settle  within  the  limits  of  Princeton  Township.  He 
entered  forty  acres  in  section  2,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township, 
on  the  10th  of  December,  1841,  but  probably  in  the  early  spring  of  that 
year  had  built  his  shack  on  a  sand  ridge  which  ran  through  his  tract. 
Unincumbered  as  he  was,  the  young  sportsman  had  little  use  for  a 
dwelling  except  as  a  storehouse  for  his  guns,  traps  and  skins.  At  that 
time  there  was  no  habitation  within  ten  miles  of  his  hut.  A  winding 
patli  through  the  brush  led  to  the  front  from  the  west,  and  shortly  after 
his  arrival  Stewart  fenced  and  cultivated  a  few  acres  of  land  in  his  back- 
yard.    For  several  years  his  cabin  was  a  favorite  resort  of  hunters  and 

252 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  253 

travelers  in  that  region.  Stewart  could  narrate  marvelous  tales  of  his 
narrow  escape  from  the  horns  of  wounded  hucks,  from  packs  of  wolves 
and  individual  catamounts,  panthers  and  lynx.  The  sides  of  his  cahin, 
well  covered  with  the  skins  of  deer  and  wolf,  bore  some  evidence  as  to  a 
portion  of  these  blood-curdling  tales,  but  signs-manual  as  to  his  prowess 
against  the  wild  cats  of  the  forest  were  lacking. 

The  Palestine  Settlement 

After  Stewart,  the  mighty  hunter,  came  such  modest  tillers  of  the 
soil  as  Henry  Pugh,  Nathaniel  Rogers  and  John  Cain,  all  of  whom 
located  in  1842  on  sections  5  and  8  and  commenced  what  was  long  known 
as  the  Palestine  settlement.  Of  this  colony  the  family  of  Henry  Pugh 
is  said  to  have  Been  the  first  to  arrive,  moving  from  Union  Township  in 
January,  1843,  and  installing  themselves  in  the  hewn-log  cabin  erected 
by  the  father  and  husband  during  the  previous  fall  in  section  8.  Pugh 
was  one  of  the  most  noted  woodsmen  in  the  township  and  cut  the  logs 
for  not  only  his  own  house  but  for  the  cabins  erected  by  his  two  neigh- 
bors, and  his  services  in  that  line  were  often  called  into  requisition  as 
other  settlers  came  into  the  northern  part  of  the  township,  ne  was  what 
you  might  call  a  handy  man  to  have  'round  in  those  days. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  Messrs.  Rogers  and  Cain  became  residents  of 
the  Palestine  settlement,  building  their  cabins  in  section  5,  to  the  north 
of  Pugh 's  house.  The  cabins  erected  by  Pugh  and  Cain  were  16  by  20 
feet  each,  while  the  one  built  by  Nathaniel  Rogers  was  1G  by  22  feet. 

The  Tract  Book  shows  that  John  Cain  entered  land  in  section  32, 
north  of  section*  5,  in  January,  1842,  and  that  Nathaniel  S.  Rogers  pur- 
chased a  tract  in  the  same  section  during  the  following  month. 

In  June,  1842,  Daniel  and  John  Nyce  entered  lands  in  section  2  and 
settled  on  their  tracts  soon  after  Rogers  and  Cain  had  completed  their 
cabins. 

The  Godfather  op  the  Township. 

In  1843  Cornelius  Vandervolgen  came  over  from  England  in  the 
good  ship  "Princeton"  and  located  in  section  1,  thus  becoming  a  resident 
of  Palestine.  As  will  be  seen,  the  township  received  its  name  at  his  sug- 
gestion. Anson  Jewett,  in  section  7,  Cornelius  Stryker  in  section  10, 
and  others,  also  settled  in  that  part  of  the  township,  investing  quite 
largely  in  canal  lands. 

Thomas  Gillpatrick 

In  February,  1844,  Thomas  Gillpatrick  entered  lands  in  section  22, 
southeast  of  the  central  part  of  the  township,  in  what  afterward  became 
the  Nordyke  settlement.  He  probably  located  in  the  following  spring,  as 
he  was  on  band  to  vote  at  the  fall  election  of  1845. 


254  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

'Black  Oak  Settlement 

About  this  time  a  settlement  to  the  northwest  of  Palestine  was  formed 
'  in  Princeton  Township.  James  Brown,  an  Ohio  man,  was  the  first  to 
arrive  in  that  locality.  His  cabin  was  even  smaller  than  those  first  erected 
by  the  founders  of  Palestine,  being  only  14  by  18  feet.  He  was  soon 
followed  by  Jacob  Myrtle  and  Messrs.  Gooddale  and  Hemphill,  who  called 
their  little  cluster  of  cabins  Black  Oak  settlement. 

Township  Created  and  Named 

.  By  the  spring  of  1844  there  were  enough  settlers  in  the  western  part 
of  Union  Township  to  warrant  a  separate  government,  and  in  March 
they  presented  to  the  Court  of  County  Commissioners  a  petition  looking 
to  that  end.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Vandervolgen  suggested  that  it  be 
called  Princeton,  in  honor  of  the  grand  old  vessel  in  which  he  "came 
over."  As  now  known,  that  body  accepted  the  name  and  announced  the 
boundaries  of  the  new  township. 

State  and  Township  Elections 

The  first  election  held  in  Princeton  Township  was  for  state  officers, 
the  following  voters  discharging  their  duties  at  the  house  of  Daniel 
Nyee,  in  section  2,  on  the  4th  of  August,  1845:  Nathaniel  Rogers,  Cor- 
nelius Vandervolgen,  William  Bunnell,  John  C.  Lielfor,  Nathaniel  B. 
Volger,  Daniel  Nyce,  John  Cain,  Mortimer  Dyer,  Henry  Pugh,  R.  C. 
Johnson,  Joseph  Stewart,  Isaac  Chase,  Elias  Esra,  Adin  Nordyke,  John 
C.  Morman,"  Israel  Nordyke,  Thomas  Gillpatrick  and  Anson  Jewett. 

At  the  first  election  for  township  officers,  held  on  the  first  Monday 
of  April  (6th),  1846,  the  following  cast  their  votes:  Elias  Morman, 
Israel  Nordyke,  John  Cain,  John  Birch,  John  Moran,  John  Lear,  Thomas 
Gill,  Joseph  Lear,  Anson  "Wood,  Henry  Pugh,  Daniel  Nyee,  J.  R.  Ben- 
ham,  Andrew  Morman,  Mortimer  Dyer,  James  Street,  Adin  Nordyke, 
Benjamin  Gillpatrick,  Elias  Esra,  Cornelius  Stryker,  Anson  Jewett, 
Nathaniel  Rogers  and  Leandcr  II.  Jewett.  Elias  Esra  was  chosen  super- 
visor of  roads,  twenty  votes  being  cast  for  him ;  Robert  Nordyke,  inspector 
of  elections,  by  the  same  vote;  Elias  Morman  and  Anson  "Wood  were  tied 
for  the  office  of  fence  viewer,  two  votes  being  cast  for  each ;  James  Street, 
constable,  with  twenty  votes  to  his  credit. 

The  Nordyke  Settlement 

Although  the  first  recorded  entry  of  lands  by  Adin  and  Israel  Nor- 
dyke is  given  as  October  13,  1846,  in  section  21,  it  is  evident  from  the 
foregoing  list  of  voters  that  various  members  of  the  family  had  already 
effected  a  lodgement  in  the  central  portion  of  the  township.  "Within  the 
succeeding  few  years  the  well  known  Nordyke  settlement  sprung  up  i" 
that  neighborhood,  and  vied  for  superiority  with  the  Palestine  people, 
several  miles  to  the  northwest. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  255 

The  Schoolhouse  Competition 

•  Perhaps  the  most  earnest  contest  was  over  the  matter  of  schoolhouses. 
The  Nordyke  institution  was  opened  ahout  1848,  with  B.  Wilson  Smith 
in  charge;  was  built  of  hewn  logs,  and  was  16  by  18  feet  on  the  ground. 
But  it  had  only  one  window! 

The  Palestine  schoolhouse  that  stood  on  Mortimer  Dyer's  land  was 
of  the  same  dimensions  as  those  of  its  rival,  but  had  two  windows— one 
on  each  side— extending  the  entire  length  of  the  building.  To  modify 
this  advantage  over  the  Nordyke  schoolhouse  it  was  only  a  round-log 
structure;  so  that  the  most  unprejudiced  judges  said  that  honors 
were  even. 

This  state  of  affairs  existed  until  1854,  when  the  Nordyke  settlement 
erected  the  first  frame  schoolhouse  in  the  township,  about  half  a  mile 
north  of  the  first  log  building,  which  lost  the  day  to  the  Palestine  settle- 
ment. , 

.     Land  Entries,  1842-1847 

Among  those  who  entered  lands  in  Princeton  Township  previous  to 
1848,  not  already  mentioned,  were  John  Porter,  in  section  36,  north- 
western part  of  the  township,  August  26,  1842;  Comfort  Olds,  January 
11,  and  William  Coon,  May  29,  1843,  both  in  section  2,  just  southeast 
of  the  Porter  claim;  Elizabeth  Pugh,  in  section  8,  September  5,  1845; 
Mortimer  Dyer,  in  section  9,  August  10,  and  in  section  36  (range  6), 
August  18,  1845;  Robert  C.  Johnson,  in  section  15  (range  5),  and  Hiram 
F.  Lear,  in  section  33  (township  28,  range  5). 

In  1846  settlements  in  the  township  became  more  numerous.  The 
following  entered  lands  in  township  27,  range  5:  Peter  Penham,  in 
section  1;  Jonathan  White,  section  15;  Adin  and  Israel  Nordyke,  in 
section  21,  and  Alfred  Harrison  and  Benjamin  Harrison,  in  section  28. 

In  1847  Hiram  F.  Lear  purchased  land  in  section  4 ;  Richard  J.  Tilton 
in  section  7;  Anson  Jewett  in  section  8;  James  McKillip  and  James 
Holliday  in  section  10;  John  Burch  in  section  15  j  Richard  J.  Tilton 
and  Rebecca  J.  Tilton  in  section  17;  William  W.  Wynkoop  in  section 
25;  Christopher  Burch  in  section  32;  James  E.  Adams  ami  John  Stewart, 
in  section  33;  David  Wright  in  section  34,  and  Isaac  Beascy  in  section  36. 
In  section  35,  township  28,  range  6,  Newton  Stewart  entered  lands  on 
October  25,  1847. 

There  was  a  period  of  several  years  after  1847  when  few  settlers 
came  into  the  township,  but  the  influx  commenced  again  in  the  early 
'50s,  by  the  latter  portion  of  that  decade  was  quite  brisk,  and  between 
1856  and  1860  the  population  nearly  doubled. 

Saddled  with  Land  Speculators 

Princeton  Township  shared  the  fate  of  Honey  Creek  and  most  of 
the  other  northern  townships,  in  the  matter  of  having  its  lands  monop- 
olized by  non-resident  speculators  in  the  early  period  of  its  development. 


256  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

First  they  bought  up  large  tracts  of  swamp  land  and  canal  lands,  and 
later  added  to  their  holdings  by  purchasing  all  the  land  warrants  they 
could  lay  their  hands  on,  and  paying  ex-Mexiean  soldiers  a  song  in  cash 
for  good  Government  titles.  These  large  areas  they  held  at  prices  far 
in  excess  of  the  regular  Government  price,  and  as  settlers  were  able  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  cheaper  rates  in  neighboring  townships  or  coun- 
ties, Princeton  and  all  the  other  speculator-ridden  sections  were  care- 
fully avoided  by  those  who  really  sought  land  upon  which  to  found 
homes.  It  was  not,  in  fact,  until  the  Government  lands,  at  $1.25  per 
acre,  had  been  exhausted  in  adjacent  territory,  and  there  had  arisen  a 
general  economic  and  sanitary  demand  for  the  drainage  of  the  swamp 
lands,  with  a  consequent  increase  of  taxes  upon  the  properties,  that  the 
speculators  were  routed  in  favor  of  the  homeseekers. 

When  the  non-resident  landlords  found  that  they  could  not  hold  these 
tracts  for  a  rise  without  paying  something  in  return  for  their  increase  in 
value,  they  attempted  to  unload  them  on  residents.  Even  as  late  as 
1855  the  land  held  under  the  military  land  warrants  was  offered  at  less 
than  the  Government  price.  But  no  purchasers  were  found,  as  residents 
had  all  the  land  they  wanted,  and  many  of  them  were  deeply  in  debt  for 
the  tracts  they  had  purchased  from  the  trustees  of  the  Wabash  &  Erie 
canal.  Much  of  this  land  had  been  sold  on  time,  with  a  small  advance 
payment,  the  certificate  of  purchase  stipulating  that  in  case  of  non- 
payment of  the  balance,  when  due,  the  first  payment  would  be  forfeited 
and  tlie  land  resold.  Thousands  of  acres  of  canal  lands  were  thus  sold 
in  Princeton  and  other  townships  of  the  county  at  $2  per  acre,  the  first 
payment  being  sometimes  forfeited  two  or  three  times  on  the  same  tract 
of  land. 

Fever  and  Ague,  or  Chills  and  Fever 

But  perhaps  the  chief  drawback  to  the  settlement  of  families  in 
Princeton  Township — and  until  he  had  a  family  with  him  no  man  was 
considered  a  fixed  asset  of  the  community — was  the  unhealthfulness  of 
the  region,  so  much  of  which  was  covered  by  water  a  large  portion  of 
the  year.  Had  it  been  flowing  water,  the  situation  would  not  have  been 
so  bad ;  but  most  of  it  was  stagnant,  a  breeder  of  disease  in  the  specialty 
of  fever  and  ague,  or  chills  and  fever;  it  matters  little  which  is  named 
first  or  last — the  combination  is  equally  hideous. 

For  thirty-five  or  forty  years  Princeton  Township  was  known  as  one 
of  the  bad  ague  districts  of  the  county,  and  for  a  number  of  years  after 
its  organization  the  plague  regularly  appeared  with  the  cessation  of 
the  rainy  season  and  the  commencement  of  summer  heat.  The  worst 
season  of  all  was  that  of  1844-45,  as  it  continued  to  rage  for  eight  or  nine 
monlhs.  Copious  rains  lasted  from  May  10  to  July  4,  1844,  and  all  but 
the  highest  ground  in  the  township  was  virtually  under  water.  One  of 
the  pioneers  says  that  it  rained  so  hard  and  long  that  for  two  days  and 
a  night  the  water  stood  six  inches  deep  on  his  cabin  floor,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  get  under  the  dining  table  to  protect  himself  from  the  down- 
pour.   All  the  ground  under  cultivation  had  been  prepared  for  corn,  but 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  257 

planting  was  impossible.  The  rain  slackened  a  little  about  the  1st  of 
July,  and  by  the  4th  the  hot  season  commenced.  The  entire  country 
then  commenced  to  be  wrapped  in  heavy,  oppressive  vapor,  and  the 
people,  soaked  and  weakened  for  the  preceding  two  months,  now  began 
to  be  racked  with  alternate  waves  of  chills  and  fever.  July  and  August 
saw  the  epidemic  at  its  height,  and  there  were  not  enough  well  persons 
in  the  township  to  care  for  those  who  were  seized  with  it.  The  trouble 
was  not  considered  under  control  until  the  midwinter  of  1S44-45.  Dur- 
ing this  period  of  suffering  and  discouragement,  as  well  as  during  the 
successive  ague  seasons,  the  house  of  John  IT.  Lear,  in  section  4,  northern 
part  of  the  township,  was  known  as  the  quinine  depot  for  the  north- 
western part  of  the  county.  Mr.  Lear  would  purchase  the  drug  in 
wholesale  quantities,  and  haul  it  by  ox-team  to  any  stricken  settlement 
or  locality,  and  then  the  neighbors  would  come  and  get  enough  to  meet 
their  cases,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  purchaser.  He  was  not  a 
regular  practitioner,  but  was  known  for  miles  around  as  the  "ague 
comforter;"  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  records  to  show  that  he  ever 
collected  for  his  specific  unless  the  recipient  was  well  able  to  pay. 

Is  rr  Any  "Wonder? 

It  is  asserted  by  those  who  came  to  the  township  at  an  early  day 
that  for  ten  years  after  its  first  settlement  there  was  absolutely  no  pure 
water  within  its  limits ;  and  in  that  regard  it  was  no  exception  to  other 
swamp  districts  in  the  northern  part  of  White  County.  The  wells  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  were  holes  in  the  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge  on 
which  their  residences  and  outhouses  were  usually  built.  These  sources 
of  the  family  drinking  supply  were  sometimes  walled  with  oak  plank 
and  covered,  but  more  often  unwalled  and  uncovered.  A  downpour  of 
rain  would  fill  these  holes  with  surface  water  and  filthy  washings  to  the 
very  top,  which  abomination  was  drawn  upon  for  drinking,  cooking  and 
all  other  domestic  purposes.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  ague,  malarial  fevers 
and  all  other  forms  of  filth  diseases  victimized  these  unfortunates,  and 
that  most  of  them  for  years  were  completely  unfitted  for  labor  during 
six  months  of  the  twelve  ? 

Reclaimed  Lands  and  Good  Roads 

Better  conditions  commenced  to  prevail  with  the  drainage  of  the 
swamp  lands,  and,  with  the  gradual  extension  of  that  work  and  the 
building  of  good  roads  so  as  to  minimize  the  dangers  to  health  from  k- 
posure  in  the  open,  the  settlers  of  Princeton  Township  enjoy  all  the  bene- 
fits of  modern  sanitary  precautions.  Within  the  past  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  Princeton  Township  has  been  among  the  foremost  sections 
of  the  county  in  the  reclamation  of  its  lowlands  and  their  improvement 
in  respect  both  to  agriculture  and  residence  uses. 

In  this  connection  high  credit  should  be  given  her  citizens  for  their 
faithful  work  in  the  construction  of  good  roads  throughout  their  terri- 

Yol.    1.— 17 


258  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

tory.  In  this  movement,  which  lias  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  test  of 
public  spirit  in  ull  country  districts,  Princeton  stands  second  among 
the  townships  of  the  county,  being  only  surpassed  by  Prairie.  The 
bonded  indebtedness  incurred  by  the  different  roads  (macadam  or 
gravel)  is  as  follows:  Princeton  Township,  $14,680.25;  Lear,  $5,250; 
Diemer,  $5,200;  Swyginan,  $4,100;  Dawson,  $12,800;  M.  G.  Dobbins, 
$9,900;  Pugh,  $5,400;  Chenoweth,  $4,400;  Mooy,  $3,800.  Total, 
$G5,530.25. 

Pioneer  Settlement  Determined  by  Natural  -Conditions 

The  first  settlements  in  the  township  were  made  chiefly  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  sections,  or  the  timber  regions.  The  western  and  southern 
portions  were  generally  prairie  lands,  almost  treeless  and  decidedly  mo- 
notonous. The  pioneer  settlement,  or  Palestine,  was  made  on  the  border 
between  the  timber  and  prairie  country,  and  nearly  all  of  those  who 
located  in  that  part  of  the  township  bought  and  improved  the  prairie 
land  immediately  adjoining  their  wooded  farms. 

A  branch  of  the  Little  Monon  Creek  is  the  only  running  stream  of 
water  in  the  township  and  was  a  large  determining  factor  in  early  set- 
tlement. It  rises  in  Benton  County,  flows  northeasternly  across  the 
northwest  corner  of  West  Point  Township,  enters  Princeton  near  the 
center  of  its  southern  line,  and  continues  in  the  same  general  direction 
diagonally  through  its  southern,  central  and  northeastern  sections,  into 
Monon  Township,  and  forms  a  part  of  what  is  now  the  Hoagland  ditch 
which  drains  most  of  this  section  of  the  county. 

This  stream  was  the  only  natural  outlet  for  the  vast  body  of  water 
which  accumulated  on  the  lowlands  of  the  southern,  central  and  north- 
eastern portions  of  the  township,  but  as  much  of  this  low  land  area  was 
below  the  bed  of  the  creek  the  natural  drainage  was  a  very  slow  process 
and  was  to  a  large  extent  replaced  by  evaporation.  A  few  who  resided 
close  to  the  stream  resorted  to  artificial  drainage,  but  most  land  owners 
preferred  to  cultivate  their  sand  ridge  land,  which  although  less  pro- 
ductive, required  less  care.  They  even  favored  the  dreary  prairie 
stretches  of  the  southwest  and  west.  In  a  word  this  branch  of  the  Little 
Monon  was  a  determining  factor  in  the  early  settlement  of  Princeton 
Township,  in  that  most  of  the  newcomers  avoided  it  and  its  overflowing 
borders. 

Cattle  Raising  and  Herding 

Rut  the  prairie  lands,  especially  those  which  were  high  and  un- 
dulating, increased  in  favor.  They  afforded  fine  pasturage  for  cattle,  of 
which  fact  the  settlers  of  the  '50s  and  '60s  were  not  slow  to  take  prac- 
tical advantage.  In  the  palmy  days  of  the  business,  when  the  farmers 
were  not  only  raising  cattle  of  their  own,  but  herding  large  numbers  for 
eastern  dealers,  the  country  was  not  unlike  the  Far  West  of  a  later  day, 
ulbeit  on  a  minor  scale. 

I'm  in  n  Timn  i   ■!      ...■■.    i  i  ii    .        ■  ■  ii      ii ■■■■ i       —  .  .    . ■ ■ 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  259 

This  interesting  and  important  feature  of  the  early  times  in  Princeton 
Township,  when  all  its  progress  seemed  to  depend  on  the  development 
of  its  agricultural  wealth,  is  thus  drawn  by  one  who  witnessed  most  of 
it  himself:  "The  business  of  herding  cattle  on  the  prairie  became  quite 
an  industry  to  the  settlers,  and  there  were  few  of  them  who  failed  to 
prepare  pounds  by  fencing  from  one  to  ten  acres  of  their  land  with 
rails,  and  stake  and  double-rider  the  lot,  preparatory  to  receiving  a 
herd  in  the  pasturing  season.  The  number  of  cattle  taken  by  the  settler 
depended  upon  his  ability  to  care  for  a  greater  or  a  less  number,  ranging 
from  250  to  500  head;  but  it  was  found  that  not  more  than  300  head 
could  be  advantageously  kept  in  one  herd  to  obtain  the  best  results. 

"The  price  paid  by  the  owners  for  herding  was  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  per  month  for  each  animal  cared  for,  until  competition  among  the 
settlers  to  secure  a  herd  reduced  it  to  ten  cents  per  head.  For  this  sum 
the  settler  must  furnish  the  herder,  -and  salt  for  the  cattle  at  stated 
periods,"  and  at  the  end  of  the  season  account  for  every  animal  short  of 
the  number  counted  in  to  him  in  the  spring.  If  one  died,  the  production 
of  the  hide  and  horns,  with  the  owner's  brand  tbcreon,  was  satisfactory; 
otherwise,  the  value  of  the  animal  was  deducted  from  the  amount  paid 
for  the  herding. 

"The  furnishing  a  herder  was  a  matter  of  small  moment  to  the  set- 
tler, as  all  members  of  the  family,  boys  and  girls  alike,  were  trained  from 
infancy  to  be  expert  riders,  and  it  was  not  unusual  to  see  a  whole  family 
out  on  the  herding  ground,  rounding  up  and  guarding  three  or  four 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  until  they  should  become  accustomed  to  their 
surroundings  and  learn  the  route  from  the  pound  to  the  herding  ground 
in  the  morning  and  the  return  route  in  the  evening;  after  which  the 
herd  caused  little  trouble  during  the  remainder  of  tlie  season,  unless  a 
hailstorm  or  something  unusual  should  frighten  them  and  cause  a  stam- 
pede, in  which  case  it  required  good  generalship  and  plenty  of  nerve 
on  the  part  of  the  herder  to  save  the  animals  from  partial,  if  not  total 
loss. 

"A  herd  of  cattle  properly  cared  for  during  the  season  would  take 
on  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  Hesh  per  head, 
and  as  much  as  three  hundred  pounds  have  been  added  to  the  weight  of 
thirty  three-year-old  cattle  in  the  six  months  of  pasturage.  This  latter, 
however,  was  in  exceptional  cases  and  under  most  favorable  conditions, 
largely  dependent  on  the  care  and  attention  of  the  herder. 

"Another  fruitful  source  of  revenue  to  the  settlers  was  the  feeding 
of  the  herd  during  the  winter,  if  the  owner  desired  it.  In  those  early 
days  a  steer  was  not  considered  marketable  until  after  he  had  passed 
the  fourth  year,  and  as  food  was  plentiful,  and  practically  no  market 
available  for  it,  the  owners  would  often  contract  with  the  settlers  to  keep 
the  herd  during  the  winter  at  varying  prices  per  month  per  head,  de- 
pendent upon  the  manner  and  material  to  be  used  in  the  wintering.  Tf 
the  diet  was  prairie  hay  and  corn  fodder,  with  an  occasional  change  to 
wheat  or  oats  straw,  a  very  moderate  price  would  be  charged,  but  if 
the  cattle  were  to  be  fed  grain,  in  addition  to  the  hay  and  fodder,  addi- 


260 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


tional  Compensation  was  received.  The  feed  lot  was  located  on  the  high- 
est ground  obtainable,  usually  a  sand  ridge  covered  with  brush  and  young 
timber,  through  which  narrow  roadways  would  be  made  for  the  passage 
of  wagons  containing  the  feed  for  the  cattle;  and  the  feed,  whether  hay, 


I'uivtny  of  WolcuU  Euterprti* 


Hon.  Anson  Wolcott 


fodder  or  shock  corn,  would  be  unloaded  along  the  roadways  so  as  to 
give  every  nniinal  in  the  lot  a  chance  to  get  a  portion  of  it.  For  water, 
a  pond  would  be  enclosed  in  the  lot,  and  it  was  no  difficult  matter  to 
find  one  sufficient  to  supply  a  large  herd  during  the  winter  mouths;  the 
only  difficulty  was  to  keep  it  open  in  freezing  weather." 


'■-•  -■-  ■ 


J 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  261 

Ligiit  Ahead 

Until  the  completion  of  the  Pittsburgh,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Rail- 
road through  the  township  on  the  last  day  of  November,  1859,  the 
farmers  were  unable  to  market  either  their  live  stock  or  their  produce 
in  any  way  which  'could  encourage  them  to  expand  their  operations.  In 
that  event  and  year  they  saw  light  ahead. 

WOLCOTT  AND  ITS  FOUNDER 

The  comfort,  prosperity  and  health  of  all  the  residents  of  the  town- 
ship were  advanced  by  the  advent  of  what  is  now  the  Pennsylvania  road, 
and  by  the  platting  of  Wolcott,  a  conveniently  situated  center  for  the 
purchase  of  supplies  and  general  trading,  in  May,  1861.  It  was  laid 
out  in  the  eastern  part  of  section  25  and  the  western  portion  of  section 
30,  by  E.  G.  Wolcott  and  Anson  Wolcott,  his  brother  and  attorney  in 
fact,  an  able  New  York  lawyer,  then  in  his  fortieth  year,  who  had  been 
a  resident  of  the  township  for  three  years.  In  1847  he  had  been  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  and 
in  1852  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  After  the  platting 
of  this  town,  Mr.  Wolcott  devoted  himself  to  its  improvement,  practiced 
his  profession  and  became  interested  in  questions  of  state  and  politics. 
In  1868  he  had  so  far  attained  leadership  in  the  republican  party  as 
to  be  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  served  in  the  sessions  of  1869  and 
1871.  For  many  years  he  was  adjudged  one  of  the  most  able  and  thor- 
oughly educated  men  in  the  county,  and  was  mentioned  several  times 
as  a  candidate  for  Congress.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Wolcott  on  Janu- 
ary 11,  1907.  A  more  detailed  biography  will  be  found  in  connection 
with  the  history  of  the  Town  of  Wolcott. 

The  Town  of  Wolcott,  notwithstanding  its  setback  occasioned  by  the 
fires  of  recent  years,  is  one  of  the  progressive  centers  of  trade  and  civic 
activities  in  the  county. 

Seapield 

Three  miles  east,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  is  the  Town  of  Sea- 
field,  platted  by  M.  C.  Hamlin,  in  June,  1863.  It  is  the  center  of  a  pro- 
ductive farming  district,  but  as  Wolcott  is  only  three  miles  to  the  west, 
and  Reynolds  six  miles  to  the  east,  there  is  little  chance  for  its  ex- 
pansion as  a  village. 


CHAPTER   XIX  : 

LIBERTY  TOWNSHIP 

Timber  Lands  and  Lowlands — The  Indian  Village: — Crystal  D.  W. 
Scott — Coming  of  Jonathan  Sluyter  and  Moses  Karr — The 
Township  Created — First  Election  and  Officials — Change  of 
Boundaries — Divided  into  Road  Districts — Settlers  Previous  to 
1840— Unusual  Progress  in  1840-50 — Pioneers  Sell  Improved 
Lands — Non-Resident  Purchasers — Kean's  Creek  Swamp  Lands 
— The  Sluyter  Schooliiouses — Religion  at  the  Scott  Settle- 
ment— First  Marriage  and  First  Death — Buffalo  Postoffice 
Established — John  C.  Karr  and  the  Town— Thomas  B.  Moore — 
Karr's  Addition  to  Buffalo — The  Iron  Bridge— Sitka— The 
Hughes  and  VanVoorst  Families. 

The  form  taken  by  the  thirty-four  and  a  half  sections  of  land  com- 
prising Liberty  Township,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  White  County, 
is  largely  determined  by  the  meanderings  of  the  Tippecanoe  River, 
which  shapes  about  two-thirds  of  its  western  boundary,  the  continua- 
tion of  that  line  northward  being  from  a  point  where  the  southern  line 
of  section  16  crosses  the  stream;  the  northern,  southern  and  eastern 
boundaries  were  purely  land  lines.  The  Tippecanoe  passes  diagonally 
througli  the  three  upper  tiers  of  sections,  the  river,  as  a  whole,  forming 
the  highway  along  which  were  scattered  the  first  settlements  of  both 
red  men  and  white. 

Timber  Lands  and  Lowlands 

Along  the  river  valley,  and  for  some  distance  inland,  in  the  western 
and  southwestern  portions  of  the  township,  were  forests  of  white  oak, 
sugar  maple,  poplar,  ash,  hickory  and  walnut,  with  a  thick  undergrowth 
of  hazel,  plum,  haw,  mulberry  and  sassafras,  but  the  eastern  sections 
were  largely  marsh  land,  interspersed  with  low  ridges  of  sand.  The 
latter  tracts  were  sprinkled  with  undergrowths,  but  showed  nothing  in 
the  way  of  large  timber.  The  lowlands  were  naturally  last  to  come  into 
the  market,  and  were  not  taken  up  to  any  extent  until  after  the  passage 
of  the  state  law,  in  the  early  70s,  by  which  ditching  companies  were 
formed  and  the  benefited  lands  assessed  for  the  drainage  improvements. 
Then  the  speculators  commenced  to  sell  and  subdivide  their  large  idle 
tracts. 

The  Indian  Village 

When  the  first  settlers  came  into  the  county  in  1829-30  they  found 
two  Indian  villages  within  its  present  limits;  the  smaller  one  was  about 

262 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  263 

half  a  mile  north  of  the  locality  now  occupied  by  Monticello,  and  the 
larger  Pottawattamie  village  was  on  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Tippecanoe 
five  miles  above,  near  what  was  afterward  known  as  Holmes'  ford,  some 
three  miles  west  of  the  present  hamlet  of  Sitka.  The  village  embraced' 
nearly  100  wigwams  and  about  400  Indians,  and  adjoining  it  were  three 
or  four  acres  of  communal  land  cultivated  to  corn,  pumpkins,  squashes 
and  Irish  and  sweet  potatoes.  As  the  river  furnished  fish,  and  the  woods 
opossum,  deer  and  other  game,  their  diet  did  not  lack  in  variety,  although 
their  cooking  and  seasoning  were  not  to  the  white  man's  taste.  The 
Pottawattamies  were  dirty,  hospitable  beggars  and  thieves,  and  the  few 
settlers  of  Liberty  Township  who  located  in  the  valley  while  these  red 
men  infested  it  were  pleased  indeed  when  they  finally  abandoned  their 
village,  in  1838,  and  started  for  their  Kansas  reservation. 

Crystal  D.  W.  Scott 

Crystal  D.  W.  Scott  is  claimed  to  have  been  the  first  .white  settler  in 
what  is  now  Liberty  Township.  The  date  of  his  coming  is  placed  as 
early  as  1835,  although  he  does  not  appear  to  have  entered  lands  in 
sections  1  and  11  (township  28,  range  3)  until  August  13,  1836.  On  the 
24th  of  that  month  Greenup  Scott  purchased  a  tract  in  section  11;  All 
these  lots  were  along  the  river  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  township. 

The  following  entered  lands  at  even  earlier  dates  than  the  Scotts: 
Thomas  Macklin,  in  section  3,  township  27,  range  3,  April  15,  1834;  Amos 
Wiley,  in  same  section,  December  28th  of  that  year;  James  Crose,  Decem- 
ber 16,  1835,  in  section  33,  township  28,  range  3;  James  Sampson,  in 
section  9,  November  16,  1835 ;  John  Parker,  in  section  21,  township  28, 
range  3,  July  21,  1836 ;  John  Cobler,  in  section  28,  February  1st  of  that 
year;  James  W.  Hall  and  Jacob  Meyer,  in  same  section,  July  21st  and 
July  25th,  respectively ;  Thomas  T.  Benbridge,  in  section  33,  April  12th 
of  that  year;  John  Bell,  in  section  34,  July  14th,  and  the  following  in 
township  27,  range  3,  in  the  year  1836 :  Nimrod  Warden,  William 
Warden  and  Jacob  Slater,  in  section  4;  William  Flomming,  in  section 
5;  Samuel  Benson  and  Jacob  Cornell,  in  section  9. 

The  following  entered  land  in  township  28,  range  3,  after  Crystal 
D.  W.  Scott,  in  1836;  William  Fisher,  Samuel  Simmons,  Joseph  Smith, 
Andrew  Beauchamp,  William  Ross  and  James  W.  Mclntyre,  in  section 
1 ;  Elihu  Harlan,  in  section  11 ;  Nathaniel  Bell,  in  section  12 ;  William 
Wilson,  in  section  13;  John  W.  Berry,  in  section  14;  George  I.  Baum, 
Jabez  B.  Berry,  Mercer -Brown  and  John  B.  Niles,  in  section  15,  and 
William  Greathouse,  in  section  23,  and  George  Snyder,  in  section  34. 

Jonathan  W.  Si-uyter  and  Moses  Karr 

In  1836  Jonathan  W.  Sluyter  left  the  State  of  New  York  and,  with  his 
wife  and  Hiram  and  Abraham  Sluyter,  Ins  sons,  began  settlement  on  a 
tract  of  land  which  embraced  the  present  site  of  Buffalo.  The  account  of 
their  trip  has  come  down  to  us  through  his  living  descendants.   Obviously 


264  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

of  Dutch  ancestry,  his  immediate  ancestors  settled  in  the  Empire  State 
while  it  was  yet  a  portion  of  England's  colonial  possessions.  His  branch 
of  the  family  took  root  in  Sullivan  County,  where  Mr.  Sluyter  himself 
married  Elizabeth  J.  Hall,  of  English  parentage.  In  the  spring  of  1836 
he  started  with  his  family  overland  for  the  western  prairies  of  Illinois. 
They  went  by  way  of  Philadelphia,  and  as  night  overtook  them  in  the 
city  they  camped  around  their  wagon  in  one  of  its  streets.  The  trip 
lasted  all  summer,  through  roadless  forests  and  swamps,  under  chilling 
rains  and  hot  suns,  until  the  weary  pilgrims  finally  reached  Logansport, 
and,  several  weeks  later,  the  Tippecanoe  River. 

On  account  of  the  high  water,  the  travelers  were  unable  to  cross  the 
stream,  and,  as  the  season  was  already  well  advanced,  Mr.  Sluyter  de- 
cided to  camp  temporarily  on  the  spot.  The  family  moved  into  a  deserted 
log  cabin,  and,  after  spending  the  winter  therein,  concluded  to  locate 
permanently.  The  deciding  factor  in  the  situation  had  grown  out  of 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Sluyter  had  built  a  forge  and  worked  up  quite  a  trade 
with  the  Pottawattamies  of  the  village  below,  his  specialty  being  the 
fabrication  of  steel  arrowheads  at  one  cent  each.  He  had  learned  to  talk 
their  language  and  established  a  nice  business  with  his  red  friends  both 
in  barter  and  cash. 

Mr.  Sluyter  sold  his  original  place  to  a  Mr.  Bowen,  and  then  entered 
240  acres  of  unimproved  land  in  and  about  section  28.  In  that  locality 
he  continued  to  work  at  blaeksmithing ;  also  cleared  and  cultivated  his 
land.  Later  he  purchased  land  in  section  15,  and  when  a  postoffice  was 
established  on  his  farm  in  1857  he  had  it  named  Buffalo  and  was  ap- 
pointed its  postmaster.  It  was  at  that  locality  that  he  passed  his  last 
years.  His  three  sons  were  all  born  in  New  York  State  before  he  came 
west ;  one  of  them  died  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  but  the  other 
two  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives  in  White  County,  and  their  de- 
scendants are  yet  living  in  the  localities  where  Jonathan  W.  Sluyter 
first  invested  in  lands. 

The  year  1836  also  brought  into  Liberty  Township  such  men  as 
'Squire  James  W.  Hall,  William  Fisher  and  George  J.  Baum,  whose 
land  entries  have  been  noted.  Mr.  Baum  cleared  ten  acres  of  his  land 
in  section  15  and  built  a  cabin,  but  soon  left  the  township. 

Among  those  who  settled  in  the  township  shortly  before  or  about  the 
time  of  its  organization  were  Lewis  Elston,  in  1836,  and  Rev.  Abram 
Sneathcn,  James  Hughes,  John  Parker  and  Moses  Karr,  in  1837.  Mr. 
Karr  returned  to  his  home  in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  after  entering  his 
land,  but  brought  his  family  with  him  in  1839  "and  became  a  permanent 
resident. 

The  Township  Created 

At  the  September  term  of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners  it  was 
ordered  that  all  that  portion  of  White  County  lying  cast  of  the  Tippe- 
canoe River  and  north  of  the  north  line  of  section  16,  township  28  north, 
range  3  west,  constitute  a  new  civil  township  to  be  designated  Liberty; 
and  it  was  farther  ordered  that  all  that  portion  of  Pulaski  County  lying 


HISTORY  OF  WniTE  COUNTY  265 

immediately  north  of  the  new  township  be  attached  thereto.  Until  1848, 
what  is  now  known  as  Cass  Township  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
Liberty  Township;  consequently  Christopher  Vandeventer  and  other 
pioneers  who  are  claimed  hy  Cass  Township,  appear  among  the  lists  of 
voters  applicable  to  the  period,  1838-48. 

First  Election  and  Officials 

The  first  election  held  in  Liberty  Township,  at  the  house  of  Crystal 
D.  W.  Scott,  on  the  first  Monday  of  April,  1838,  brought  out  the  follow- 
ing voters:  Christopher  Vandeventer,  Joseph  Smith,  John  McDowell, 
Greenup  Scott,  Benjamin  Grant,  Andrew  Beechum,  Jonathan  "W.  Sluy- 
ter, Crystal  D.  W.  Scott,  James  W.  Hall,  Thomas  Hamilton,  John 
Parker  and  James  Baum.  These  gentlemen  unanimously  cast  their  bal- 
lots for  Mr.  Hall  for  justice  of  the  peace;  Crystal  D.  W.  Scott,  inspector 
of  elections ;  Mr.  Sluyter,  constable ;  Messrs.  Smith  and  Hamilton,  over- 
seers of  the  poor ;  Mr.  Parker,  supervisor,  and  Mr.  Beechum  and  Greenup 
Scott,  fence  viewers. 

Change  of  Boundaries 

At  the  May  term  of  the  Commissioners'  Court,  in  1838,  a  petition 
was  presented  signed  by  Jonathan  Sluyter  and  other  citizens  of  Liberty 
and  Monon  townships,  asking  for  a  change  of  boundaries,  in  accordance 
with  which  the  board  ordered  that  the  east  side  of  Monon  Township, 
with  the  following  bounds,  be  attached  to  Liberty:  Leaving  the  Tippe- 
canoe River  at  the  point  where  the  south  line  of  section  16  crosses  the 
river,  thence  west  parallel  with  the  section  line  to  the  southwest  corner 
of  section  16,  township  28,  range  3,  and  thence  north  parallel  witli  the 
section  line  to  the  north  boundary  of  White  County. 

In  the  following  August  (1838)  the  following  voted:  Abram 
Sneathen,  Andrew  Beechum,  Evan  Thomas,  Christopher  Vandeventer, 
John  Parker,  Crystal  D.  "W.  Scott,  William  Davison,  James  W.  Hall, 
Thomas  Hamilton,  Elijah  Sneathen,  Benjamin  Grant,  V.  Sluyter,  James 
G.  Brown,  Joseph  Smith,  William  Cary  and  W.  W.  Curtis. 

Divided  into  Road  Districts 

In  the  early  part  of  1839  the  township  was  divided  into  two  road 
districts;  all  of  the  territory  lying  north  of  section  16  constituted  district 
No.  1,  and  all  south,  district  No.  2.  At  the  April  election  for  that  year 
John  McNary  was  chosen  constable;  Crystal  1).  \V.  Scott,  inspector  of 
elections;  John  McDonald,  supervisor  for  (he  First  district,  and  Andrew 
Beechum,  for  the  Second  district;  John  Morris  and  Greenup  Scott,  fence 
viewers;  and  Daniel  Baum  and  Elijah  Sneathen,  overseers  of  the  poor. 
C.  D.  W.  Scott,  Thomas  Lansing  and  John  McNary  were  judges,  and 
S.  W.  Hall  and  Christopher  Vandeventer,  clerks. 


266  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Settlers  Previous  to  1840 

The  following  is  a  list  of  actual  settlers  who  located  in  Liberty  Town- 
ship previous  to  1840,  many  of  the  names  having  already  appeared: 
Crystal  D.  W.  Scott,  Greenup  Scott,  Jonathan  Sluyter,  Thomas  Maekin, 
Lewis  Elston,  Abraham -Lowther,  Abram  Sneathen,  James  Hughes,  John 
Parker,  Moses  Karr,  William  Comvell,  Christopher  Vandeventer,  Joseph 
Smith,  John  McDowell,  Benjamin  Grant,  Andrew  Beauchamp,  James  W. 
Hall,  Thomas  Hamilton,  James  Baum,  Evan  Thomas,  William  Davison, 
Elijah  Sneathen,  James  G.  Brown,  William  Carey,  John  MeNary,  John 
McDonald,  John  Morris,  Thomas  Lansing,  William  Fisher,  Jacob  Funk, 
Joseph  James,  George  Baum,  Robison  Grewell,  Henry  Hanawalt,  David 
Cress,  Robert  Scott,  William  Greathouse,  John  S.  Hughes,  Thomas 
Wiley,  John  Cobler,  Samuel  Simmons,  William  Ross,  James  W.  Mc- 
Entyre,  Daniel  Baum,  Perry  A.  Bayard,  William  Fleming,  James  B. 
Cahill,  James  Sampson,  Samuel  Benson,  Jacob  Cornell,  Jonathan  Baker, 
James  Crose,  Samuel  Funk,  John  Mikesell,  David  Bolinger,  John  Bell, 
George  Snyder,  Rodney  M.  Miller,  Jabez  B.  Berry,  Charles  Wright, 
Matthew  Hopper,  David  and  Ransom  McConnahay  and  William  and 
James  Hickman. 

Unusual  Progress  in  1840-50 

With  the  Pottawattamiea  fairly  out  of  the  country  and  the  lifting 
of  the  financial  clouds  which  for  a  number  of  years  had  obscured  the 
fair  prospects  of  the  Middle  West,  immigration  to  Liberty  Township 
took  a  decided  forward  move,  in  common  with  most  of  the  other  sec- 
tions of  the  county.  In  1840  the  population  of  the  county  was  1,832 ;  in 
1850,  4,771 — a  larger  percentage  of  increase  than  has  ever  occurred 
during  one  decade. 

Pioneers  Sell  Improved  Lands 

Many  of  those  who  arrived  during  that  progressive  period  pur- 
chased land  which  had  been  partially  improved  by  the  pioneers,  and  as 
a  rule  they  bought  to  advantage.  With  much  Government  land  still 
accessible  at  $1.25  an  acre,  it  was  difficult  for  the  pioneer  farmers  to 
refuse  $6  or  $8  per  acre.  True,  it  had  cost  them  several  years  of  labor 
in  fencing,  clearing  and  building,  but  with  the  money  received  from  the 
later  comers  they  figured  that  they  could  still  purchase  Government 
lands  and  have  a  neat  sum  in  bank.  On  the  other  hand,  the  second 
generation,  or  incursion  of  farmers,  were  generally  family  men,  with 
boys  and  girls  of  mature  and  helpful  ages,  some  of  them  ready  to  assume 
their  posts  in  the  community  as  founders  of  households.  In  such  cases 
it  seemed  the  wiser  part  to  obtain  holdings  which  were  already  more  or 
less  productive. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  267 

Non-Resident  Purchasers 

.  When  those  who  sold  their  farms  at  the  advanced  price  attempted 
to  purchase,  at  the  Government  figures  they  often  found  that  most  of 
the  choicest  pieces  remaining  were  owned  by  non-residents,  who  were 
'holding  them  for  a  ris6.  Thus  it  was  that  not  a  few  of  the  earlier  set- 
tlers suffered  eventually  because  they  chose  the  immediate  profits..  But 
although  a  considerable  body  of  the  Government  land  passed  into  the 
hands  of  foreigners,'  as  a  rule  Liberty  Township  suffered  less  from  the 
manipulations  of  speculators  than  some  of  the  other  districts  of  the 
county.  As  much  of  the  land  held  by  non-residents  was  unfenced,  also, 
the  home  farmers  used  it  as  pasturage  for  their  live  stock,  and,  in  view 
of  that  fact,  'an  advantage  accrued  to  the  actual  settlers. 

In  the  '70s,  when  the  drainage  of  the  swamp  lands  commenced  in 
earnest,  the  situation  was  reversed  and  the  stockmen,  and  even  owners 
of  timber  farms,  often  objected  that  the  construction  of  certain  ditches, 
for  which  they  were  assessed,  was  more  to  the  benefit  of  the  speculators 
than  the  resident  farmers.  The  contentions  over  the  building  of  the 
Kean's  Creek  ditch,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  were  of  the 
most  acrimonious  nature,  and  caused  much  fruitless  litigation  and  hard 
feeling.  It  happened,  too,  that  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  drainage 
company  had  lands  along  the  line  of  the  proposed  ditch,  which  were 
assessed  accordingly. 

Kean's  Creek  Swamp  Lands 

The  headwaters  of  Kean's  Creek  were  in  a  pond  half  a  mile  in  width 
and  from  four  to  six  feet  deep  just  beyond  the  east  line  of  the  township 
and  within  Cass.  Thence  the  stream  flowed  westward,  in  an  irregular 
course,  and  emptied  into  the  Tippecanoe  River  in  section  9.  The  work 
of  the  Kean's  Creek  Draining  Company,  organized  under  the  state  act, 
consisted  in  widening,  deepening  and  straightening  the  channel  of  the 
creek  for  a  distance  of  two  miles,  and  thereby  a  large  tract  of  land  was 
reclaimed.  Thus,  in  the  face  of  much  opposition,  was  inaugurated  a 
movement  which  has  brought  into  the  market  for  the  benefit  of  resident 
farmers  many  valuable  tracts  of  land. 

The  Building  of  Good  Roads 

Liberty  Township  is  not  among  the  wealthiest  districts  in  the  county, 
but  in  consideration  of  its  means  it  has  accomplished  much  both  in 
the!  matters  of  draining  its  swamp  lands  and  constructing  gravel  roads 
within  its  limits.  In  the  prosecution  of  the  latter  work  it  has  incurred 
a  bonded  indebtedness  of  nearly  .+1(3.000,  divided  as  follows:  Bible 
road,  $3,300;  Koch,  $3,600;  J.  T.  Moore,  $2,400;  Holmes,  $2,210;  Cran- 
mer,  $-1,440.     Total,  $15,950. 


268  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  Sluytek  Sciioolhouses 

In  the  old  rough  days,  when  Liberty  Township  included  so  much  of 
northeastern  White  County,  the  people  were  just  as  busy  in  proportion 
to  their  numbers  as  they  are  today,  in  the  very  human  occupations  of 
teaching  and  learning,  preaching  and  listening,  marrying  and  giving  in 
marriage,  being  born  and  dying.  In  the  summer  of,  1837  Jonathan  W. 
-  Sluyter,  one  of  the  expert  axmen  of  the  township,  got  out  the  logs  for 
the  first  schoolhouse  built  in  the  township.  It  stood  in  the  east  half  of 
section  15,  on  his  land  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  the  Tippe- 
canoe. He  did  not  stop  to  hew  the  timber,  as  half  a  dozen  children  were 
impatiently  ( 7)  awaiting  its  opening.  The  cabin  was  15  feet  square,  and 
David  McConnahay  is  said  to  have  thrown  it  open  to  the  neighborhood, 
and  in  came  the  Funks,  Conwells,  Halls,  Sluyters,  Louders,  and  perhaps 
some  other  children  whose  names  have  not  come  down  in  history. 

When  George  Hall  succeeded  McConnahay,  a  little  later,  the  attend- 
ance had  reached  fifteen  pupils.  In  1838  John  C.  V.  Shields  taught  a 
term  in  the  log  schoolhouse,  and  Lester  Smith  succeeded  him. 

In  1840  Mr.  Sluyter  built  a  second  schoolhouse  near  the  first,  hewing 
the  logs  and  otherwise  improving  upon  his  former  work,  and  about  five 
years  afterward  a  still  better  building  was  erected  further  south  in 
section  22. 

Religion  at  the  Scott  Settlement 

The  means  for  religious  instruction  came  hand-in-hand  with  those 
provided  for  the  training  of  the  mind.  The  first  denomination  to  or- 
ganize a  class  in  the  township  was  the  New  Light,  which  commenced 
its  meetings  in  the  cabin  of  Crystal  D.  W.  Scott  in  1837.  Rev.  John 
Scott,  a  circuit  rider,  held  services  there  and  elsewhere  for  two  years. 
In  1839  a  church  was  built  in  the  new  Scott  settlement,  northeastern 
part  of  the  township ;  it  was  constructed  of  round  black  oak  logs  and  was 
25  feet  square.  Rev.  Abram  Sneathen,  founder  of  the  church,  min- 
istered to  it  spiritually,  and  the  following  were  among  its  first  members : 
Crystal  D.  W.  Scott  and  wife,  Greenup  Scott  and  wife,  Jonathan 
W.  Sluyter  and  wife,  and  Mrs.  Gruell  and  daughter,  Sarah.  The 
church  was  maintained,  for  a  time  with  increasing  attendance,  during 
a  period  of  about  ten  years. 

First  Marriage  and  First  Death 

Marriageable  girls  and  women  did  not  have  long  to  wait  in  those 
days,  the  demand  far  exceeding  the  supply.  The  marriage  of  Mrs. 
Gruell's  daughter,  Sarah,  to  Elijah  Sneathen,  in  the  spring  of  1839, 
caused  therefore  no  surprise  in  the  Scott  settlement.  This  was  the 
first  wedding  in  the  township.  It  is  not  known  who  performed  the  cere- 
mony, as  James  W.  Hall,  who  had  been  elected  justice  of  the  peace  the 
year  before,  died  shortly  before  the  wedding.     He  would  have  been  the 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  269 

logical  candidate  for  the  honor  and  the  fee.  Instead,  'Squire  Hall's 
death  was  the  first  in  the  township,  and  his  remains  were  buried  iu  what 
was  afterward  known  as  Hughes'  burying  ground. 

Buffalo  Postoffice  Established 

In  1857  the  first  postoffice  in  the  township  was  established  at  the 
farmhouse  of  Jonathan  Sluyter,  with  that  gentleman  as  postmaster.  As 
Postmaster  Sluyter  had  a  great  admiration  for  Buffalo,  in  his  native 
state,  he  had  induced  the  Government  authorities  to  name  the  postoffice 
in  honor  of  the  New  York  city.  After  several  years  the  postoffice  was 
discontinued  at  that  point,  and  in  1867  one  was  established  across  the 
river,  called  Flowerville.  The  latter  was  maintained  until  the  Town  of 
Buffalo  was  platted  in  in  1886,  when  the  postoffice  by  that  name  was 
reestablished. 

John  C.  Kark  and  the  Town 

Buffalo,  as  a  town,  was  laid  out  on  July  24,  1886,  by  John  C.  Karr, 
an  Ohio  man,  who  had  come  with  his  father  (Moses  Karr)  and  settled 
with  other  members  of  the  family  about  two  miles  west  of  the  present 
site.  In  1849  he  had  married  and  located  on  the  farm  lying  along  the 
east  shores  of  the  river,  a  portion  of  which  was  platted  as  the  Town  of 
Buffalo.  He  died  in  August,  1899,  the  father  of  eleven  children.  Both 
the  Karr  and  the  Sluyter  families  still  hold  valuable  farming  lands  south 
of  Buffalo,  in  sections  15  and  22. 

Thomas  B.  Moore 

Across  the  river  from  Buffalo  are  also  large  holdings  of  land  repre- 
senting the  wisely-directed  industry  and  ability  of  another  early  settler 
in  this  part  of  the  township,  Thomas  B.  Moore.  He  was  a  native  of  the 
Buckeye  State  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  in  1852,  commenced  to 
buy  property  in  section  10  and  elsewhere  adjacent  to  the  western  borders 
of  the  Tippecanoe.  "What  was  long  known  as  Moore 's  ford,  on  his  farm, 
was  one  of  the  best  crossings  in  the  township,  but  lias  long  ago  given 
place  to  a  fine  iron  bridge  at  that  locality.  Mr.  Moore  became  the  heaviest 
land  owner  resident  in  the  township,  dealt  largely  in  live  stock,  served 
for  many  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  was  a  leader  in  Methodism,  and 
altogether  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  northern  White  County.  His 
successors  do  him  and  the  family  honor. 

Karr's  Addition  to  Buffalo 

Although  Buffalo  obtained  no  railroad  connections,  it  was  backed 
by  a  good  country  and  in  1896  Mr.  Karr  made  an  addition  to  the  original 
plat  of  thirty-four  lots,  by  which  lie  nearly  doubled  its  site.  Until  his 
death  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  locality  and  passed  the  las)   years 


270  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

of  his  life  there.     His  wife  also  died  at  Buffalo  in  1896,  her  husband 
joining  her  three  years  later. 

The  Ikon  Bridge 

Soon  after  the  bridge  at  Moore's  ford  was  completed,  a  county  pub- 
lication had  the  following  description  of  it:  "The  new  iron  bridge 
across  the  Tippecanoe  river  at  what  is  widely  known  as  Moore's  ford 
is  one  of  the  best  in  the  county.  The  bridge  is  in  two  parts — one  165 
feet,  long,  and  the  other,  135  feet.  It  has  stone  abutments  and  was 
erected  in  1882  at  a  cost  of  about  $14,000.  The  Columbia  Bridge  Com- 
pany at  Dayton,  Ohio,  has  the  honor  of  putting  up  this  creditable 
structure."- 

Sitka 

The  hamlet  of  Sitka,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township  and  north- 
east corner  of  section  3,  originated  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  Hughes, 
VanVoorst  and  other  families  in  that  part  of  the  township,  with  the 
usual  demand  for  postal  accommodations.  In  April,  1880,  a  postoffice 
was  finally  established  at  the  point  named,  with  M.  Allison  Hughes  as 
postmaster.  In  connection  with  the  office  he  conducted  a  small  general 
store. 

The  Hughes  and  VanVoorst  Families 

John  C.  Hughes  owned  the  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  highway  and 
donated  ground  for  a  Baptist  Church  and  the  congregation  known  as  the 
Church  of  God.  Both  of  these  societies  erected  large  frame  church 
buildings;  a  house  built  nearby  for  the  postoffice,  and  stores  and  resi- 
dences were  put  up  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  on  the  land  of  Mrs. 
Mary  VanVoorst,  widow  of  Sylvanus.  William  Stitt,  an  old  resident  of 
the  township,  started  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  J.  A.  Read  purchased  the 
Hughes  business.  The  residences  of  Mrs.  VanVoorst  and  Rowland 
Hughes,  son  of  John  C.  Hughes  and  father  of  M.  Allison  Hughes,  the 
postmaster,  were  situated  south  of  the  village. 

Sitka  is  six  miles  northeast  of  Monticello,  and  four  south  of  Buffalo. 
It  has  no  railroad  connections,  is  considerably  off  the  line  of  travel  and 
is  only  of  sectional  importance  as  being  a  convenient  trading  center  for 
a  limited  territory.  Since  the  expansion  of  the  rural  free  delivery 
system  even  the  postoffice  at  Sitka  has  been  abolished. 


CHAPTER    XX 

CASS  TOWNSHIP 

Inaccurate  Government  Surveys — Christopher  Vandeventer,  First 
Settler— Land  Entries  in  1838-48— Political  Township  of  Cass 
— Pioneer  Schools — Nucleus  op  Headlee — Land  Entries  in 
1849-52— Mrs.  John  E.  Timmons  and  Jacob  D.  Timmons— Non- 
residents Held  Two-Thirds  op  Township—Early  Dearth  of 
Markets — The  Trips  to  Logansport — Norway  to  the  Rescue — 
Improvements — Headlee. 

Cass  is  one  of  the  three  townships  in  White  County  which  conforms 
to  the  congressional  dimensions  of  thirty-six  square  miles,  or  six  miles 
square;  Jackson,  to  the  south,  and  Round  Grove,  in  the  southwest  corner, 
are  the  others.  It  is  all  of  congressional  Township  28  north,  Range  2  west, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  Liberty,  on  the  south  by  Jackson,  on  the 
east  by  Cass  County  and  on  the  north  by  Pulaski  County.  In  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  the  county,  well  out  of  the  valley  of  the  Tippecanoe  and 
away  from  both  canal  and  railroad  communications,  it  was  for  years 
known  as  the  "lone  township."  To  add  to  the  drawbacks  which  re- 
tarded its  progress,  two'-thirds  of  its  area,  small  though  it  was,  was 
taken  up  by  land  speculators  who  lived  outside  the  township.  The  first 
Government  surveys  were  so  imperfect  as  to  throw  not  a  few  of  the  early 
buyers  and  actual  residents  into  great  confusion  ami  frighten  others 
who  were  inclined  to  locate. 

Inaccikate  Government  Surveys 

Milton  M.  Sill,  county  surveyor  in  1850,  thus  explains  the  matter 
which  has  created  such  disturbance  in  the  early  land  transactions  within 
the  township :  "On  the  west  boundary  line  the  section  corner  for  Sections 
1  and  12,  Congressional  Township  28,  Range  3,  was  placed  twenty-four 
rods  west  of  the  true  line,  and  there  was  no  evidence  that  the  line  had 
been  extended  from  that  corner  north  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
township.  Two  or  three  years  afterward  the  errors  were  discovered 
and  a  resurvey  of  the  township  made,  but  this  only  created  confusion 
in  the  minds  of  the  settlers,  and  the  notes  of  the  first  survey  having  been 
forwarded  to  the  county  and  duly  recorded,  county  surveyors  were  pre- 
sented with  a  problem  difficult  of  solution,  finding  two  government 
corners  plainly  marked  at  nearly  every  section  and  quarter  section 
corner  in  the  township.  It  was  not  solved  for  nearly  twenty  years  after 
the  first  survey  was  made. 

271 


272     ,  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

"In  1859  the  county  surveyor  was  called  on- to  make  a  survey  in  the 
township,  and  finding,  as  others  had  before  him,  a  large  surplus  of  gov- 
ernment corners  not  down  in  his  notes,  called  on  the  commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office  in-  Washington  for  explanation,  and  in  reply 
the  notes  of  the  resurvey  were  forwarded  with  directions  to  follow 
them  as  the  true  notes.  The  change  in  the  western  boundary  line  of  the 
township  by  the  substitution  of  the  field  notes  of  the  resurvey  had  the 
effect  of  reducing  the  population  of  the  township  by  one  family,  that 
of  Edward  McCloud,  who  had  built  his  residence  near  the  western 
boundary  line  as  indicated  in  the  notes  of  the  first  survey,  and  had  been 
exercising  his  rights  as  a  citizen  of  Cass  township  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  when  in  reality  he  was  a  resident  of  Liberty  township." 

The  first  settlements  in  what  is  now  Cass  Township  were  made  in 
the  late  '30s,  more  than  a  decade  before  it  was  set  off  from  the  eastern 
portion  of  Liberty.    They  were  in  its  extreme  northern  sections — 3,  4,  5, 

6,  7  and  10. 

Christopher  Vandeventer,  First  Settler 

By  common  consent,  Christopher  Vandeventer,  of  an  old  Dutch 
family  from  New  York,  is  accorded  the  post  of  honor  as  the  township's 
first  permanent  settler.  In  the  spring  of  1837  he  threw  up  a  cabin  of 
unhewn  logs,  20  by  2G  feet  in  size,  in  section  7,  on  the  south  branch  of 
Indian  Creek,  and  his  followers  of  the  succeeding  two  years  in  the  north 
tier  of  sections  also  chose  the  heavily  timbered  lands  and  the  high  and 
dry  prairie  tracts.  White  oak  prevailed  and  nothing  could  be  better  for 
substantial  building  purposes. 

Land  Entries  in  1838-48 

It  is  claimed  that  Daniel  Yount  located  in  section  12  in  1837,  and 
that  Edwin  Perry  settled  on  section  27  (in  the  southern  part  of  the 
township)  in  1838,  but  the  Tract  Book  indicates  only  the  following 
entries  of  land  previous  to  1840:     Christopher  Vandeventer,  in  section 

7,  December  1,  1838;  Samuel  Burson,  in  section  6,  on  the  3rd  of  the 
month,  and  Joseph  Smith,  in  the  same  section,  on  the  17th;  Leonard 
Shoemaker,  in  section  3,  July  30,  1839,  and  Thomas  McMillan,  in  sec- 
tion 4,  on  June  21st  of  that  year. 

From  1840  to  1848,  inclusive — the  latter  being  the  year  when  the 
township  was  formed — the  following  entered  lands:  In  1840,  John 
Layman,  in  sections  5  and  6 ;  John  Smith,  in  section  7,  and  Edward  Mc- 
Cloud, in  section  10;  Daniel  Yount,  in  section  8,  September  24,  1842; 
David  VtiiiBlaricum,  in  section  1,  and  John  W.  Williams,  in  section  24, 
both  in  August,  1843.  In  1844,  Levi  Hartmann,  in  section  2;  William 
McBeth,  in  section  G;  Samuel  Fry,  in  section  24,  and  Thomas  Tovvnsley, 
in  sections  33  and  34.  In  1845,  Tavner  Reams,  in  section  5;  Isaiah  Brod- 
erick,  in  section  27,  and  Ephraim  Million,  in  section  28.  In  184G,  Wesley 
Noland,  in  sections  1  and  2;  Isaac  AV.  Hunt  and  John  Ilarro,  in  section 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  273 

11;  Albert  Bacon,  in  section  18,  and  Edwin  Perry,  in  section  28.  In 
1847,  Benjamin  Mattix,  in  section  7  j  John  Cromer  and  James  R.  Fowler, 
in  section  32;  Benjamin  Bare,  in  section  34,  and  Robert  Acre,  in  section 
35.  In  1848,  Gideon  Irwin  and  Alexander  Bailey,  in  section  3;  Jonathan 
Reams,  in  section  5;  Gideon  Irwin,  in  section  10;  William  Poole,  in  sec- 
tion 22;  George  Dixon,  in  section  26;  Harrison  Dixon  and  Charles  Reed, 
in  section  27 ;  Noah  W.  Ausman,  in  section  2(J ;  Elias  Vanaman,  in  sec- 
tion 35,  and  Daniel  Vanaman,  in  section  36. 

Political  Township  op  Cass 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1848,  it  was  ordered  by  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners  that  all  that  portion  of  Liberty  Township  contained  in 
congressional  township  28  north,  range  2  west,  be  declared  a  political 
township  and  receive  the  name  of  Cass.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  thus 
designated  in  honor  of  Lewis  Cass,  who  is  one  of  the  most  prolific  god- 
fathers of  political  bodies  identified  with  American  history  and  geog- 
raphy. It  was  further  ordered  by  the  board  that  the  place  of  holding 
elections  be  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Yount;  and  Albert  Bacon  was  ap- 
pointed inspector  of  elections  for  the  year  1848. 

Pioneer  Schools 

Soon  after  the  civil  organization  of  the  township  preparations  were 
made  to  open  a  school  in  a  log  cabin  which  stood  on  the  northeast  quarter 
of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  6,  near  the  Pulaski  County  line.  Its 
first  term  was  taught  by  Samuel  Gruell  in  the  winter  of  1848-49,  and 
Mrs.  Anna  McBeth  taught  the  summer  term  of  1849.  To  that  school 
Christopher  Vandeventer  sent  five  pupils;  Daniel  Germberlinger,  two; 
Tavner  Reams,  two;  William  McBeth,  two;  Peter  Prough,  two;  John 
Baker,  of  Pulaski  County,  two;  Daniel  Yount,  two;  Albert  Bacon,  three, 
and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Horim,  four. 

The  second  school  was  taught  by  Mrs.  McBeth  in  the  log  house  that 
stood  on  the  land  of  William  McBeth,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  6.  The  term,  covering  the  winter  of  1849-50, 
was  attended  by  about  twenty  pupils. 

As  a  number  of  settlers  were  locating  their  claims  toward  the  south 
a  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1850  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  8.  It  was  constructed  of  hewn  logs,  22  by  2G  feet,  and 
was  a  marked  improvement  over  all  that  had  gone  before.  Among  the 
teachers  who  held  forth  therein  were  William  McBeth,  Alvin  Hall,  Milton 
Dexter,  Walter  Hopkins  and  James  Potter,  Whal  was  long  known  as 
King's  Schoolhouse,  on  section  (5,  was  built  about  1853,  and  four  years 
later  two  frame  schoolhouses  were  erected— one  on  the  northeast  quarter 
of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  7  and  the  other  near  the  center  .J 
section  9.  * 

Vol.  1-18 


274  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Nucleus  of  Headlee 

"  The  first  settlers  of  Cass  Township  had  scarcely  got  the  roofs  of 
their  log  cabins  over  their  heads  before  Rev.  Abram  Sneathen,  the  pioneer 
circuit  rider  of  Northern  White  County  and  Southern  Pulaski,  began  his 
spiritual  visits,  but  the  first  regular  class  was  organized  at  the  house  of 
Ilatvey  Ileadlee  in  1851.  A  sabbath  school,  the  first  in  the  township, 
was  organized  about  the  same  time.  The  first  members  of  the  class  were 
Harvey  Headlee,  Margaret  Ileadlee,  Garrison  Q.  Lister,  Joanna  Lister, 
John  Wiley,  Mary  Wiley,  Silas  Ileadlee,  Jane  Reames  and  John  Downs. 
These  religious  organizations  resulted  from  quite  a  settlement  in  the 
northern  portions  of  sections  8  and  9,  which,  over  thirty  years  afterward, 
found  further  expression  in  the  platting  of  the  Town  of  Ileadlee.  A 
postoffice  by  that  name  was  established  as  early  as  1870. 

Land  Entries  in  1849-52. 

In  1849  the  following  entries  of  land  are  recorded  for  Cass  Township : 
Elam  Yount,  in  section  9 ;  Jacob  Young,  in  section  7 ;  William  Poole,  in 
section  23;  William  Baker,  in  section  25;  David  Younkman,  in  section 
27;  William  Timmons,  in  section  33,  and  Jacob  Yanney,  in  section  36. 

Mrs.  John  E.  Timmons  and  Jacob  D.  Timmons 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  named  (1S49)  the  widow  of  John  E.  Timmons, 
with  a  large  family  of  children,  moved  to  Cass  Township  to  join  some  of 
her  relatives  who  had  already  settled  there.  Her  son,  Jacob  D.  Timmons, 
was  then  two  years  of  age,  his  father  having  died  when  he  was  but  eight 
months  old.  The  family  came  from  Pickaway  County,  Ohio,  and  upon 
her  arrival  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township  Mrs.  Timmons  sold  her 
horse,  to  which  she  added  $50  in  cash,  for  eighty  acres  of  unimproved 
land  in  the  east  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  32.  There  the 
neighbors  erected  for  her  a  round  log  cabin,  and  she  set  pluckily  to 
work  to  rear  and  educate  her  children.  As  time  passed  and  they  in- 
creased in  years  and  capabilities,  they  assisted  in  the  work,  but  the  heavy 
burden  fell  on  her  willing  shoulders.  She  spun  the  cloth  and  made  their 
garments,  lived  economically  and  worked  incessantly  and  lovingly  until 
her  task  of  years  was  done.  In  1856  the  round  log  cabin  gave  way  to 
one  of  hewn  timber,  to  which  was  added  a  frame  lean-to  for  a  kitchen. 
This  good  pioneer  mother  died  in  1889,  a  member  of  the  Dunkard  Church. 
The  son,  Jacob  D.,  became  the  well  known  banker  of  Monticello,  who 
located  there  in  1898  and  was  afterward  president  of  the  State  Bank  and 
the  Farmers  State  Bank.  Mr.  Timmons  is  yet  the  owner  of  about  1,000 
acres  of  White  County  land,  and  his  holdings  include  the  eighty  acres 
first  purchased  by  his  mother,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated  as  a 
boy  and  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 

In  the  year  1850,  following  that  which  marked  the  coming  of  the 
Tiiinnoiis  family,  the  following  entries  were  made:     Thomas  Wiley,  in 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  275 

section  5;  Samuel  L.  Steele,  in  section  8;  John  S.  Beaver,  in  section  9, 
and  .Daniel  Dilts,  in  section  15.  In  1851  I.  Shepard  entered  land  in 
section  15,  and  in  1852,  Thomas  Townsley,  in  section  21;  Noah.  Uavis, 
in  section  29,  and  Peter  Roller  in  section  35. 

Non-Residents  Hold  Two-Thirds  op  Township 

Altogether  15,280  acres  of  swamp,  canal  and  military  warrants  lands 
were  taken  up  by  purchasers,  or  only  eighty  acres  short  of  two-thirds 
of  the  entire  township,  and  of  that  amount  a  very  small  portion  passed 
into  the  hands  of  actual  settlers  until  many  years  had  elapsed.  Now 
nearly  the  entire  township  is  occupied  by  its  owners. 

The  sections  most  largely  covered  by  such  claims  were  as  follows: 
Section  3 — Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  taken  by  military  land  war- 
rants, forty  for  swamp  and  eighty  for  canal,  the  last  purchased  by 
Frederick  Ott,  March  11,  1850. 

Section  4 — Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  taken  by  military  land 
warrants. 

Section  5 — Four  hundred  acres  covered  by  military  land  warrants. 

Section  8 — Two  hundred  and  forty  military  and  330  acres  swamp 
lands. 

Section  9 — Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  taken  by  military  land 
warrants  and  eighty  acres  swamp,  purchased  by  Casper  Orb,  John  Wiley, 
Daniel  Dilts,  Joseph  Fry  and  William  Shepard. 

Section  12 — Four  hundred  acres  taken  by  military  land  warrants  and 
240  acres  swamp. 

Section  13 — Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  military  and  1G0  acres 
swamp  lands. 

Section  14 — Two  hundred  and  forty  acres  military  and  400  swamp 
lands. 

Section  15 — Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  military  lands. 

Section  17 — All  military  lands. 

Section  18 — Four  hundred  acres  taken  for  swamp  lands. 

Section  19 — Three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  military  and  1C0  swamp 
lands. 

Section  20 — Two  hundred  acres  swamp,  eighty  acres  canal  and  360 
acres  military  lands. 

Section  21— Three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  military  and  200  acres 
swamp  lands. 

Section  22 — Two  hundred  acres  canal,  200  acres  swamp  and  120  acres 
military  lands. 

Section  23 — Four  hundred  acres  swamp  and  L60  aires  canal  lands. 

Section  24— Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  military  lands. 

Section  26— Three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  military  and  210  acres 
swamp  lands. 

Section  30— Four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  military  lands  and  160 
acres  swamp. 

Section  32 — Three   hundred    and   twenty   acres   military   lands,    120 


276  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

acres  canal  and  forty  acres  swamp — the  last  purchased  by  Sothey  K. 
Tinjmons,  of  Jackson  Township. 
■  Section  -3G — Three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  military  lands. 

Early  Dearth  op  Markets 

Those  who  settled  in  Cass  Township  in  the  late  '30s  and  the  '40s 
were  virtually  confined  to  the  northern  and  western  sections  and  had  no 
good  market  town  nearer  than  Logansport,  twenty-five  miles  distant  on 
the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal.  Even  that  was  not  so  perfect  but  that 
some  of  them  went  to  Michigan  City  or  even  Chicago  to  trade  to  better 
advantage.  The  township  was  a  great  huckleberry  district  and  Monti- 
cello  and  nearer  points  were  often  supplied,  while  grain  and  the  less 
perishable  products  were  reserved  for  better  and  more  distant  markets. 

/  The  Trips  to  Logansport 

The  early  trips  to  Logansport  were  often  taken  over  almost  impassable 
roads,  through  unbridged  streams  and  roadless  bogs,  but  the  slow  but 
patient  ox  team  usually  managed  to  accomplish  them  in  two  or  three 
days.  Then  the  produce  was  sold  or  traded  for  groceries  and  clothes, 
sometimes  in  sufficient  quantities  to  cover  a  year's  consumption. 

Usually  five  or  six  settlers  went  in  company,  camping  wherever  night 
overtook  them,  as  there  were  few  houses  along  the  route.  Every  man 
would  clean  up  bis  rifle,  mould  his  bullets  and  fill  his  powder  horn,  pre- 
pared for  the  deer,  turkeys  and  other  wild  game  met  along  the  way, 
and  as  all  of  them  were  expert  hunters  by  both  instinct  and  practice, 
they  seldom  reached  Logansport  without  having  added  several  saddles  of 
venison  to  their  loads  of  produce  for  sale  in  the  market.  Then,  again, 
in  case  one  of  the  teams  got  mired,  or  anything  else  went  wrong,  some 
one  was  on  hand  to  "help  out." 

Norway  to  the  Rescue 

These  periodical  trips  to  Logansport  were  continued  until  the  com- 
pletion of  the  merchant  and  custom  mill  at  Norway,  eight  or  ten  miles 
southwest,  in  Union  Township.  When  it  passed  from  the  widow  of  Hans 
E.  Iliorth  to  the  Montieello  Kendalls,  in  1848,  the  new  proprietors  opened 
a  large  and  quite  complete  general  store,  and  the  settlers  of  Cass  Town- 
ship were  greatly  benefited  by  both  enterprises.  They  could  then  go 
to  Norway,  return  the  same  day  and  have  their  grain  ground,  or  dispose 
of  it  in  the  raw  state  for  as  good  an  assortment  of  supplies  as  they  could 
gel  in  Logansport.  The  roads,  too,  were  in  better  condition,  being  for  the 
great  part  over  the  high  bluffs  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  instead  of 
through  the  marshes  and  over  the  sand  ridges  toward  the  east  and 
Logansport.  The  burden;  of  the  early  farmers  of  the  township  were 
even  further  lightened  when  (in  1857)  the  bridge  over  the  Tippecanoe 
was  built  at  Norway. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  277 

Improvements 

Of  course,  within  the  past  thirty  years,  transportation  conditions 
have  greatly  improved,  botli  through  the  drainage  of  the  lowlands  and 
the  construction  of  better  roads  through  the  township.  The  work  of 
ditching  commenced  in  the  early  '80s,  the  first  ditches  constructed  being 
the  Read,  Davis,  Leazenby,  Huffman,  Ileadlee,  Riggle  and  Robins.  By 
1884  there  were  over  sixty  miles  of  public  drainage  in  the  township  and 
the  good  work  has  been  continued  so  at  the  present  time  there  are  com- 
paratively few  tracts  of  waste  land  within  its  bounds. 

The  township  is  still  without  a  railroad,  but  the  settlers  have  a  daily 
mail  to  and  from  Monticello,  by  way  of  Sitka  and  Buffalo,  and  north 
from  Headlee  (the  only  village  in  the  township)  to  Winamac,  which, 
with  the  extension  of  the  telephone  system  over  that  part  of  the  county, 
affords  convenient  communication  with  the  outside  world. 

Headlee 

Headlee  is  a  pleasant  little  hamlet  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. It  has  never  been  incorporated,  although  it  was  platted  in  Novem- 
ber, 1888.  Its  proprietors  were  Harvey  Ileadlee,  Hannibal  McCloud, 
Fred  Reames,  B.  E.  Dutton,  J.  E.  Dutton  and  John  Fry. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
WEST  POINT  TOWNSHIP 

Natural  Features  of  the  Township — Neighboring  Market  Towns — 
Road  Building — First  Settlers  and  Land  Owners — Isaac  S.  Vin- 

"  son  and  Wife — First  Land  Entry — Sickness  Drove  Away  the 
Prices — Land  Entries  of  1835 — Would  Rather  Hunt  Than  Eat—. 
The  Van  Voorsts  and  Their  Frame  Houses — Doctor  Halstead 
Buys  Land — William  Jordan  Locates — Other  Entries  in  1836-45 
— Township  Voters — The  Van  Voorst  Frame  Schoolhouses — 
Churches  of  the  Township— Anderson  Irion  and  David  Dellinger 
— Land  Entries,  1847-51_ — Parmelee's  Meadow  Lake  Farm. 

The  political  township  of  West  Point  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  civil 
divisions  of  White  County,  comprising  a  congressional  township  and  a 
half,  or  fifty-four  square  miles.  It  is  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
county  and  is  bounded  north  by  Princeton  (of  equal  length),  east  by 
the  southwest  section  of  Honey  Creek  Township  and  Big  Creek  Town- 
ship, south  by  the  three  westernmost  sections  in  the  north  tier  of  Prairie 
and  the  entire  boundary  of  Round  Grove  Township,  and  west  by  Benton 
County.  Nearly  the  entire  northeast  quarter  of  the  township  was 
covered  with  timber,  the  remainder  being  included  in  the  Grand  Prairie. 
A  distinct  point  of  wooded  land  extends  westward  into  the  prairie  country 
some  distance  beyond  the  general  timber  line,  and  that  physical  feature 
decided  the  early  settlers  to  name  the  township  West  Point,  when  it  was 
organized  in  1845. 

Natural  Features  of  the  Township 

The  wooded  lands  generally  occur  massed  in  the  northeastern  sections. 
There  are  two  exceptions  to  the  rule  in  Long  Grove,  a  small  wooded  tract 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  and  in  Jordan's  Grove,  a  larger 
timbered  area  in  the  southwest,  which  derives  its  name  from  William 
.Jordan,  who,  with  other  members  of  the  family,  entered  much  land  in 
that  locality  at  an  early  day. 

The  natural  drainage  of  West  Point,  Township  is  chiefly  due  to  B\<x 
Creek  and  the  Little  Motion;  the  former  rises  in  the  township,  and  both 
water  its  northwestern  sections.  The  timbered,  or  northeastern  portion, 
was  a  succession  of  low  sand-ridges,  with  intervening  swamp  lands 
sprinkled  with  ponds.  Now, all  of  it  is  drained  and  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.     The  prairie  lands  of  the  south  are  broken  by  undulations 

278 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  279 

and  small  hills,  those  of  the  north  and  west  being  generally  level.     The 
prevailing  soil  is  a  black  loam,  with  subsoil  of  sand,  gravel  and  clay. 

Neighboring  Market  Towns 

Although  West  Point  Township  has  neither  railroad  nor  postoffice, 
it  Is  more  advantageously  situated  than  some  distriets  which  have  these 
facilities.-  Since  its  rather  useless  array  of  non-resident  land  owners  has 
•been  largely  replaced  by  settlers  prone  to  make  improvements,  the  wet. 
lands  have  been  reclaimed,  and  good  roads  constructed  so  as  to  bring  the 
farmers  within  easy  access  to  such  neighboring  markets  as  Wolcott  and 
Reynolds  to  the  north  and  Chalmers  and  Brookston  to  the  southeast. 
Wes*t  Point  Township  has  had  one  postoffice — Forney,  established  in  1881 
on  the  old  Lafayette  and  Wolcott  mail  route,  in  the  southwestern  part 
,of  the  township — but  that  was  absorbed  by  the  rural  free  delivery  which 
is  of  so  much  general  utility. 

Road  Building 

In  the  building  of  the  macadam  or  gravel  roads  which  are  of  such 
widespread  benefit  to  the  people,  the  township  has  incurred  a  debt  of 
nearly  $30,000.  Of  that  amount  the  J.  II.  Moore  road  is  credited  with 
$11,200;  Hewitt,  $2,380;  Krapff,  $10,800;  Pugli,  $5,400. 

First  Settlers  and  Land  Owners 

The  first  settlements  in  the  township  were  made  in  1835  by  Shelby 
Hudson  and  Oscar  Dyer,  who  entered  lands  on  Christmas  day  of  1834 
in  section  15,  northeast  of  the  central  part  of  the  township.  They  did 
not  settle  until  the  following  spring,  when  each  built  a  hewn-log  cabin 
half  a  mile  apart,  16  by  18  feet  in  size.  Eacli  had  its  clapboard  roof, 
an  opening  for  one  window  made  by  the  omission  of  a  log  section,  ami 
the  big,  invariable  fire-place. 

Isaac  S.  Vinson  and  Wife 

How  long  the  bachelors  Hudson  and  Dyer  remained  on  the  ground 
is  not  divulged  by  any  accessible  records,  but  it  is  known  that  Isaac  S. 
Vinson,  who  had  brought  his  wife  and  two  children  to  Union  Township 
from  Ohio,  about  the  time  that  they  built  their  cabins  on  the  banks  of 
Big  Creek,  appeared  in  that  locality  in  the  spring  of  1838  and  bought 
the  Hudson  land,  with  improvement— if  the  shack  could  be  thus  dignified. 
But  it  was  a  family  shelter  and  a  protection  against  wild  beasts.  Tin' 
Pottawatamies  had  an  encampment  just  across  Big  Creek,  hut  they  wen- 
friendly  and,  at  times,  of  actual  use. 

From  all  the  accounts  which  filter  down,  Mrs.  Vinson's  bartering 
with  the  dusky  brothers  w^s  largely  in  her  favor,  such  exchanges  as  the 
saddles,  or  hindquarters  of  a  deer,  for  two  cold  corn  cakes,  or  a  number 


280  HISTORY  OF  AVIIITE  COUNTY 

of  saddles  for  a  loaf  of  broad,  being  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary.  In 
those  days  deer  and  game  birds  were  especially  plentiful,  and  one  winter 
the  lady  of  the  house  made  a  trap  and  caught  101  prairie  chickens. 

The  Vinsons  remained  on  their  homestead  on  Big  Creek  for  a  number 
of  years,  during  which  Mr.  Vinson  bought  land  in  section  12,  and  in 
1855  moved  to  the  new  town  of  Reynolds  in  Honey  Creek  Township, 
where  "the  man  of  the  house  established  himself  in  business  and  as  a 
hotel  keeper.-  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vinson  raised  a  large  family.  The  father 
died  in  August,  1883,  at  the  Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Indian- 
apolis, where  he  had  passed  a  number  of  years  laboring  under  religious 
mania.  His  remains  were  brought  to  Monticello  and  buried  from  the 
residence  of  one  of  his  sons. 
/ 

First  Land  Entry 

The  first  entry  of  land  in  the  township  was  made  by  John  T.  Bunnell, 
June  18,  1834,  his  tract  being  in  section  15,  as  were  the  lots  of  Hudson 
and  Dyer.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  Bunnell  ever  made  any  im- 
provements on  his  land,  or  participated  in  township  affairs. 

Sickness  Drove  Away  the  Prices 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Vinson  family,  however,  John  Price 
and  his  wife  came  into  the  township,  but  the  latter  was  taken  ill  and 
the  couple  returned  to  their  Ohio  home.  Mr.  Price  appeared  on  his 
claim  soon  afterward  alone,  but  was  stricken  with  inflammatory  rheu- 
matism, and  for  three  months  lay  in  almost  a  helpless  condition  at  the 
Vinson  house.  During  the  following  spring  he  sold  his  property  and 
left  the  township  permanently.  < 

Land  Entries  op  1835 

From  the  Tract  Book  it  appears  that  in  1835  the  following  made 
land  entries  in  West  Point  Township:  Andrew  Brown,  in  section  11; 
John  Lewis,  in  section  12,  and  Armstrong  Buchanan,  in  section  14. 

"Would  Rather  Hunt  Than  Eat 

The  next  person  to  settle  in  the  township  after  Shelby  Hudson 
and  Oscar  Dyer  was  Isaac  Beezy,  a  noted  hunter,  who  came  in  1837. 
But  he  was  of  the  uneasy,  erratic  kind,  and  his  stay  was  short.  It  is 
said  that  his  desire  for  hunting  was  so  keen  that  he  would  go  for  days 
without  eating;  as  many  as  twenty  unskinned  deer  are  known  to  have 
been  in  his  smoke-house,  frozen  stiff,  and  the  gaunt  Beezy  still  hunting 
more.  The  hunter  never  made  much  improvement  on  his  land,  soon  left 
the  township  and  settled  in  Pulaski  County,  where  he  was  killed  by  an 
ex-convict. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  281 

The  Van  Voorsts  and  Tiikik  Frame  Houses 

In  1841,  John  and  Sylvanus  Van  Voorst  came  from  Ohio  and  pur- 
chased large  tracts  of  canal  lands  in  sections  14  and  22,  probably  300 
acres.  John  also  bought  160  acres  in  section  10.  They  brought  their 
houses  with  them,  procuring  the  frames  in  Toledo,  which  they  shipped, 
with"  other  necessary  material,  by  way  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  to 
Delphi  and  thence  by  wagon,  twenty-five  miles,  to  West  Point  Township. 
The  house  of  John  Van  Voorst  was  a  large  two-story  frame  and  was 
placed  on  a  high  knoll  in  the  prairie  near  the  point  of  timber  which  gave 
the  township  its  name.  Its  site,  as  well  as  its  size,  made  it  by  far  the 
most  imposing  house  in  the  township. 

Abram  Van  Voorst,  who  died  at  the  Monticello  home  of  his  son, 
Henry,  in  1899,  did  not  locate  in  section  12  on  the  border  of  Big  Creek. 
Township,  until  1849.  Most  of  his  life  in  White  County  was  spent  as  a 
resident  of  Reynolds. 

Doctor  Halstead  Buys  Land 

In  1841  and  1845  Dr.  John  Halstead,  the  first  physician  in  the  town- 
ship, entered  considerable  canal  land  in  sections  2  and  4,  in  the  north- 
eastern part,  and  is  said  to  have  actually  located  for  practice  and 
speculation  in  1844.     He  came  with  his  brother,  Bartlett  Halstead. 

William  Jordan  Locates 

About  the  same  time  William  Jordan,  a  resident  of  Tippecanoe 
County,  moved  into  the  township,  settling  on  his  entry  in  section  35, 
southwestern  portion,  which  lie  had  taken  up  in  1842.  Hi;  afterward 
purchased  the  bulk  of  the  480  acres  of  canal  lands  in  section  36,  but 
fixed  his  homestead  on  the  tract  in  section  35,  which  comprised  the  large 
and  beautiful  grove  bearing  his  name.  Within  the  eighteen  square  miles 
comprising  the  east  half  of  congressional  township  26,  range  6,  and  the 
west  third  of  West  Point  Township,  the  Jordan  family  represented,  for 
many  years,  its  sole  residents. 

Other  Entries  in  1836-45 

Besides  those  already  mentioned,  the  following  entered  land  in  the 
sections  designated,  previous  to  and  including  the  year  of  the  formation 
of  the  political  township  in  1815:  In  1836— Thomas  11.  Brown,  in  sec- 
tion 1,  township  26  north,  range  5  west,  and  in  section  12  of  the  same; 
Andrew  Brown,  in  sections  12  and  13,  and  Thomas  Price,  in  section  15; 
in  1839— Joshua  II.  Scarff,  in  section  1,  and  George  McGaughcy,  in  sec- 
tion 11;  in  1841 — Jesse  T.  Vinson  and  Jacob  Nyce,  in  section  1;  John 
Halstead,  in  section  21,  and  William  .1.  Galford,  in  section  13;  Mary 
Halstead,  in  1844,  and  John  Halstead,  in  1845,  both  in  section  4. 


282  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Township  Voters 

At  the  June  term  of  the  Commissioners'  Court,  in  1845,  it  was  ordered 
by  that  body  that  all  of  congressional  township  26  north,  range  5  west, 
.  and  all  west  of  that  to  the  county  line,  should  comprise  the  political 
township  of  West  Point.  In  the  preceding  year  a  log  schoolhouse  had 
been  built,  L8  by  24  feet,  and  this  was  designated  as  the  place  for  holding 
elections.  At  the  first  election,  held  in  the  following  August,  the  fourteen 
citizens  of  the  township  who  turned  out  to  exercise  their  rights  of  the 
elective  franchise  were  Ira  Emery,  Sylvanus  Van  Voorst,  Alexander 
Page,  Jesse  Tinnison,  William  Vodyce,  Isaac  Beezy,  William  Jordan, 
John  Ilalsfead,  Barney  Spencer,  Gideon  Breeount  and  Isaac  S.  Vinson, 
several  of  whom  will  be  recognized  as  acquaintances. 

i 

The  Van  Voorst  Frame  Schoolhouses 

Several  years  after  the  building  of  the  old  West  Point  schoolhouse, 
Abram  Van  Voorst  erected  two  frame  buildings  for  educational  purposes, 
one  on  section  7  and  the  other  on  section  15.  As  there  were  no  sawmills 
in  the  township,  he  hauled  the  material  for  their  construction  from 
Delphi.  Each  of  these  frame  schoolhouses  was  20  by  24  feet,  cost  $500 
and  was  considered  quite  a  demonstration  of  township  enterprise.  All 
the  Van  Voorsts  were  promoters  of  frame  buildings,  and  induced  quite 
a  number  of  the  early  settlers  to  enter  the  ranks  of  progress  in  that 
regard. 

Churciies  of  the  Township 

The  religious  needs  of  the  pioneers  were  met  almost  immediately  by 
such  old  and  faithful  circuit  riders  as  Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  who  preached  quite  often  at  the  old  Vinson  house  and  other 
cabins  before  the  organization  of  a  regular  class  in  1844.  In  that  year 
a  little  log  church  was  erected  on  section  2,  range  5.  Later  the  United 
Brethren  held  services  in  Schoolhouse  No.  2,  and  the  Presbyterians  and 
other  denominations  have  organized  societies  with  varying  success. 

Anderson  Irion  and  Dawd  Dellingeb 

In  1858  ('apt.  Anderson  Irion  and  David  Dellinger  became  settlers 
of  the  township.  The  former,  who  had  received  his  title  because  he  had 
organized  a  company  for  the  Mexican  war  while  residing  in  Fayette 
county,  Ohio,  located  in  West  Point  Township  about  seven  miles  south- 
east of  Wolcott,  and  became  quite  prominent  in  county  affairs,  serving 
as  commissioner  and  in  other  public  capacities.  Several  of  Captain 
Irion's  sons  also  became  prosperous  farmers  and  leading  citizens. 

David  Dellinger  also  came  from  Ohio  and  bought  a  large  farm  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  township,  seven  miles  southwest  of  Reynolds.  l5otli 
he  and  Captain  Irion  made  a  specialty  of  raising  live  stock. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  283 

Land  Entries,  1847-51 

Probably  at  the  time  (1853)  these  two  well  known  residents  settled 
in  West  Point  Township  its  entire  fifty-four  square  miles  could  not 
show  twenty-five  families.  Many  of  those  who  can!  ■  during  the  period 
previous  to  the  early  '50s  were  single  young  men,  some  of  them  speculat- 
ing and  others  prospecting  for  future  homes.  Those  who  entered  lands 
from  1845  to  1852  were  as  follows:  In  1847 — John  Nyce,  Sarah  Adams, 
Samuel  P.  Edmonson,  Sarah  J.  Halstcad  and  Walter  McFarland,  in 
section  4,  and  Isaac  S.  Vinson,  in  section  12;  in  1848 — Isaac  M.  Cantwell, 
in  section  9,  and  Nicholas  Van  Pelt  and  Samuel  McFeer,  in  section  10 ; 
in  1849— John  Herron,  in  section  2;  Drury  Wood,  in  section  5;  Grant 
Wynkoop  and.  James  Wynkoop,  in  sections  G  and  7;  Peter  B.  Kennedy, 
in  section  7 ;  Henry  Britton,  in  section  12,  and  Marquia  Iligson,  in  section 
22;  Eli  Meyers,  in  section  12,  in  1850;  in  1851 — James  Stroud,  in  section 
6,  and  Daniel  Davis,  in  section  23. 

Parmelee's  Meadow  Lake  Farm  ' 

It  is  estimated  that  of  the  fifty-four  square  miles  comprising  the  area 
of  the  township  fully  forty  were  purchased  by  non-residents,  mostly  as 
military,  canal  and  swamp  lands.  That  fact  usually  was  a  great  draw- 
back to  actual  settlement  and  improvements,  although  there  was  one 
noteworthy  exception  to  the  rule.  As  late  as  1879  Frank  Parmelce,  the 
widely  known  'bus  man  and  storage-house  proprietor  of  Chicago,  pur- 
chased what  was  known  as  the  Meadow  Lake  Farm,  a  fine  stretch  of 
1,700  acres  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township,  31/-  miles  south  of 
Wolcott.  Within  the  following  two  years  he  erected  a  handsome  resi- 
dence and  magnificent  farm  buildings,  and  founded  one  of  the  finest 
live  stock  farms  in  the  state.  His  specialty  was  Hereford  cattle.  But 
the  Parmelee  case  was,  as  stated,  a  grand  exception. 

With  the  drainage  of  the  swamp  lands,  the  fair  assessment  of  the 
benefited  properties,  the  subdivisions  of  large  tracts  held  for  purely 
speculative  purposes  and  the  construction  of  adequate  highways,  the 
residents  of  West  Point  Township  have  long  been  comfortable  and  con- 
tented citizens. 


F 


CHAPTER  XXII 

.  "  '  ROUND  GROVE  TOWNSHIP 

Slim  Timber  and  Round  Grove — First  Settler,  Truman  Rollins — 
Early  Land  Entries — The  Stockton  Purchases — Became  Land 
Owners  in  1850-53 — Carved  Out  of  Old  Prairie  Township — Elec- 
tions and  Voters — Various  Pioneer  Matters — Former  Postofpices 
— Progress  in  the  Township. 

Round  Grove  Township  comprises  the  thirty-six  square  miles  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  White  County,  and  is  described  by  the  surveyors 
as  the  west  half  of  congressional  township  25  north,  range  5  west,  and 
the  east  half  of  congressional  township  25  north,  range  6  west. 

Slim  Timber  and  Round  Grove 

Round  Grove  was  the  western  part  of  the  original  Prairie  Township, 
created  in  1834,  and  remained  attached  to  it  until  it  assumed  a  separate 
political  body  in  1858.  It  is  in  the  eastern  borders  of  the  Great  Prairie 
and  has  only  two  pronounced  tracts  of  timber  within  its  limits;  the 
narrow  strip  near  the  north  line  is  appropriately  called  Slim  Timber, 
and  the  considerable  wooded  area  known  as  Round  Grove  (from  winch 
the  township  is  named)  lies  in  the  southeastern  portion,  mostly  in 
section  29. 

The  first  settlements  were  made  in  the  northwestern  and  the  south- 
eastern sections  of  the  township,  and  most  of  the  logs  for  the  pioneer 
cabins  in  those  localities  came  from  Round  Grove,  which  covered  an  area 
of  some  fifty  acres.  Although  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  Charles  L. 
Stockton  entered  the  land  in  section  29,  which  virtually  embraces  the 
famous  grove,  in  183<*i,  lie  did  not  take  up  his  residence  in  the  township 
until  years  afterward. 

First  Settler,  Truman  Rollins 

Truman  Rollins,  pronounced  to  be  the  first  who  came  to  reside  perma- 
nently, was  a  farmer  of  Tippecanoe  County  and  did  not  arrive  on  the 
wild  prairie  of  section  11,  in  what  is  now  the  northwestern  portion  of 
the  township,  until  the  spring  of  1850.  It  did  not  take  Rollins  long  to 
cut  enough  logs  from  Round  Grove  for  his  cabin  of  10  by  18  feet.  As  it 
stood  in  the  open  prairie,  it  was  the  only  building  in  what  is  now  Round 
drove  Township,  and  there  was  none  other  for  miles  around.  Besides 
the  tract  upon  which  he  built,  Mr.  Rollins  had  entered  lands  in  section 

284 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  285 

10,  during  1846,  and  in  section  15,  1848,  and  lie  subsequently  bought 
various  pieces  of  swamp  land  in  section  14.  He  was,  therefore,  the 
leading  land  owner  in  the  northwestern  sections. 

Jeremiah  Stanly,  a  son-in-law  of  Rollins,  also  ventured  into  the  town- 
ship, in  the  spring  of  1850,  and  for  a  short  time  shared  the  solitary 
cabin.  A  little  later  lie  erected  a  house  of  his  own,  within  calling 
distance  of  his  father-in-law.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  Thomas  Rollins 
also  appeared  on  the  scene  and  shared  the  pioneer  cabin  with  its  builder. 

Early  Land  Entries 

The  first  entry  recorded  for  what  is  the  present  Round  Grove  Town- 
ship is  that  of  John  White,  who  filed  his  claim  on  certain  lands  in  section 
22,  township  25,  range  6,  near  the  western  county  line,  in  February, 
1835.  The  second  is  that  already  briefly  noted,  of  Charles  L.  Stockton, 
in  section  29,  township  25,  range  5.  Then,  in  April,  1846,  comes  the 
Rollins  entry  in  section  10.  In  1847  the  following  entered  lands  in 
township  25,  range  5 :  John  Rowland,  in  section  19 ;  Newberry  Stock- 
ton, in  section  20;  James  S.  Chilton,  in  section  29. 

The  following  purchases  of  Government  land  were  made  in  township 
25,  range  6:  In  1848 — Patrick  H.  Weaver,  in  sections  10  and  11;  Tru- 
man Rollins,  in  section  15,  and  E.  C.  Buskirk,  in  section  22;  in  1849 — 
James  Carson,  in  section  10,  and  Martin  Bishop,  in  sections  10  and  11. 
These  tracts  were  in  the  western  and  northwestern  sections  of  the 
township. 

The  Stockton  Purchases 

In  1850,  about  the  time  that  Truman  Rollins  was  actually  making 
settlement  and  taking  up  lands  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  town- 
ship, both  Charles  L.  and  Newberry  Stockton  were  about  lo  enter  exten- 
sive tracts  of  land  in  sections  30,  31  and  32,  south  and  west  of  Round 
Grove.  In  section  30  alone  they  purchased  160  acres  of  canal  lands. 
Their  descendants  still  own  large  farming  tracts  in  that  portion  of  the 
township. 

Became  Land  Owners  in  1850-53 

Other  entries  in  1850  were  by  Cornelius  Morris,  in  section  19,  town- 
ship 25,  range  5,  and  Patrick  II.  Weaver,  in  section  14  ;  Jacob  Weaver,  in 
section  15,  and  Daniel  Brawley,  in  section  22,  township  25,  range  6. 

The  following  entered  lands  in  1851,  in  township  25,  range  5:  John 
Carroll,  in  section  7;  Charles  White,  in  section  S,  and  Jasper  Vidito,  in 
section  1!).  In  township  25,  range  6,  these  entries  were  made:  Truman 
Rollins,  in  section  11;  John  Carroll,  in  section  12,  and  Austin  Ward, 
in  section  13. 

In  1S52  the  following  entered  lands  in  township  25,  range  5:  All 
of  section  4  purchased  by  Phineas  M,  Kent,  and  certain  lots  by  Newberry 


286  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Stockton  in  section  10.     Martin  Bishop  purchased  lands  in  section  14, 
and  Michael  Carroll,  in  section  12,  township  25,  range  6 — also  in  1852. 

In  1853  Stewart  Rariden  and  Samuel  II.  Buskirk  became  owners  of 
land  in  section  18,  township  25*  range  5,  and  Austin  Ward  in  section 
13,  township  25,  range  6. 

Carved  Out  op  Old  Prairie  Township 

The  board  of  county  commissioners  received  a  petition  from  a  majority 
of  the  voters  in  the  territory  of  White  County  west  of  the  middle  of 
range  5,  congressional  township  25,  praying  that  they  erect  a  new  political 
township  therefrom,  and  the  prayer  was  granted  soon  after  it  was  offered, 
in  December,  1858.  Austin  Ward  suggested  that  it  be  called  Round 
Grove  Township,'  and  it  was  thus  carved  out  of  old  Prairie  Township ; 
thereafter  the  voters  in  that  part  of  the  county  were  not  obliged  to  go  to 
Brookston  when  they  wished  to  exercise  their  rights. 

Elections  and  Voters 

The  final  touches  to  the  new  township  were  made  on  the  31st  of 
December,  when  the  board  ordered  that  an  election  should  be  held  at 
the  Round  Grove,  or  Stanly  schoolhouse,  which  had  been  built  near  the 
center  of  the  township  during  the  previous  year.  It  was  a  frame  build- 
ing, 1G  by  18  feet,  and  well  worthy  of  such  an  honor.  Austin  Ward, 
the  godfather  of  the  township,  was  appointed  inspector  of  elections,  and 
he  was  on  hand  at  the  schoolhouse  to  see  fair  play  at  the  appointed  time 
— the  first  .Monday  in  April,  1859. 

At  this  first  election  in  Round  Grove  Township,  Stewart  Rariden  and 
John  Rollins  acted  as  judges  of  election  and  Samuel  Ballintyne  as  clerk, 
and  the  following  fifteen  cast  their  ballots:  John  Larrabee,  Robert 
McQueen,  Roger  Baker,  John  Apes,  Stephen  E.  Baker,  James  Carrol, 
Thomas  Rountene,  Michael  T.  Buskirk,  Granville  Ward,  Jeremiah  Stanly, 
Stewart  Rariden,  John  Rollins,  Austin  Ward,  Samuel  Ballintyne  and 
Milton  W.  Weaver.  The  township  officers  elected  were :  Samuel  Ballin- 
tyne, justice  of  the  peace;  Stewart  Rariden,  constable;  Milton  Weaver, 
trustee,  and  Joseph  Harris,  supervisor. 

At  the  state  election,  held  at  the  Round  Grove  schoolhouse  on  the 
second  Tuesday  in  October,  1860,  the  number  of  voters  was  increased 
by  ten,  as  will  be  proven  by  the  list:  William  Beck,  Thomas  Rollins, 
Granville  Ward,  Isaiah  Bice,  Samuel  Ballintyne,  Stephen  E.  Baker, 
James  Carrol,  John  Apes,  Edward  Steely,  Robert  N.  Brink,  James  Mar- 
tin, L,  !'..  Stork!,, n,  William  II.  Martin,  Patrick  Conner,  Stewart  Rariden, 
Jeremiah  Stanly,  John  Demso,  Nimrod  Leister,  M.  W.  Weaver,  Robert 
McQueen,  Austin  Ward,  Michael  Buskirk,  Samuel  D.  Barnes  and  L.  W. 
Wolgamutb. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  287 

Various  Pioneeu  Matters 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  is  supposed  to  have  been 
Samuel  Rariden,  son  of  Stewart  and  Mary  Jane  Rarideii;  Nancy  Buskirk 
was  born  at  about  the  same  time. 

The  first  person  who  died  in  Round  Grove  Township  was  Truman 
Rollins,  whose  remains  were  interred  in  a  private  burial  ground  in 
Tippecanoe  County.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  was  also  the  first 
settler. 

The  first  persons  married  were  Francis  M.  Mullendore  and  Jane 
Ward,  who  afterward  became  residents  of  Monticello. 

Elizabeth  Ballintyne  was  the  first  teacher,  and  she  taught  in  the 
Stanly  schoolhouse,  or  District  School  No.  1. 

A  Methodist  class  was  organized  about  1  870,  and  among  its  members 
were  Isaac'  Smith,  Robert  Smith,  Joh;i  Russell,  George  Mitchner  and 
Thomas  Guntrip,  with  their  wives. 

Former  Postoffices 

There  has  been  two  postoffices  in  Round  Grove  Township — one  at 
Round  Grove,  established  in  1879,  and  the  other  at  Dern,  established  in 
1881.  The  first  postmaster  at  the  latter  was  Dr.  A.  Jackson  Dern,  the 
only  physician  of  the  township  for  some  time. 

Progress  in  the  Township 

These  postoffices  have  been  absorbed  for  some  years  by  the  rural  free  " 
delivery,  which  is  such  a  convenience,  not  to  call  it  a  blessing  to  such 
farming  communities  as  compose  the  population  and  assure  the  prosperity 
of  Round  Grove  Township.  It  has  now  little  undrained  land,  and  as 
the  soil  is  rich  and  well  cultivated  the  district  stands  well  as  a  constant 
producer  of  good  crops  of  corn,  oats  and  hay.  Its  citizens  have  also 
been  faithful,  to  the  extent  of  their  means,  in  the  construction  of  sub- 
stantial gravel  roads.  In  the  prosecution  of  that  work  the  various 
highways  have  incurred  the  following  debts:  Hewitt,  $2,380;  Parks, 
$7,200 ;  Demerle,  $5,920 ;  Eller,  $6,560 ;  Krapff,  $5,400.     Total,  $27,460. 


i    :;.-.        ■  Woiillcelln  Herald 

From  Courthouse  Tower  Looking  South 


:    S Ilu  II.  r,  1.1 

From  Courthouse  Looking  North 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

FOUNDING  OP  MONT rCELLO 

Entries  Covering  Original  Town — First  Buildings  and  Pioneer 
Merchant — Circuit  Rider  on  the  Raw  Ground — Carrying  the 
Gospel  Under  Difficulties — Baptists  and  Methodists  Organize — 
The  Busy  Year,  1836 — Young  Town  Considerably  Soaked— 
Business  Directory  for  1836 — Ferry  Established — Smith,  IIiorth 
and  the  Kendalls — Establishment  of  the  Local  Press — First 
Water  Power  and  Mills — Wool  Center  and  Woolen  Manufac- 
tures— The  Tippecanoe  Hydraulic  Company — N.  B.  Loughry  and 
Sons — Becomes  a  Railroad  Town — Monticello  in  1852 — Village 
Government  Abandoned — Walker,  Jenner  and  Reynolds'  Addi- 
tion— Barr's  Addition — Boom  Not  in  Evidence— Third  Addition 
— Civil  War  Overshadows  All, — Fourth  and  Fifth  Additions — 
George  W.  Ewing  a  Site  Owner — Second  and  More  Stable  Cor- 
poration. 

A  general  picture  of  the  founding  of  Monticello  must  have  hcen 
formed  in  the  reader's  mind  if  he  has  perused  the  chapters  devoted  to 
the  county  government  and  the  history  of  Union  Township.  The  purpose 
of  the  chapters  which  follow  is  to  develop  the  details  in  connection  with 
the  establishment  and  progress  of  the  urban  centers  of  population 
throughout  the  county,  which  are  led  by  its  substantial  and  beautiful 
official  seat  and  metropolis,  Monticello. 

Entries  Covering  Original  Town 

When  the  county  seat  was  laid  out  by  John  Barr,  county  agent,  on 
the  third  of  November,  1834,  its  site  embraced  the  following  entries  of 
land  at  Crawfordsville  and  LaPorte:  Eighty  acres  by  Peter  Price, 
being  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  quarter,  seel  ion  33,  township  27 
north,  range  3  west,  on  the  13th  of  June ;  George  Hartley,  same  date,  east 
half  of  the  southwest  quarter,  and  on  June  7,  1833,  78,68  acres,  the 
south  fraction  of  the  southeast  quarter;  Roberl  Rothrock  (in  behalf  of 
John  Barr,  Hans  E.  IIiorth  and  John  Rothrock),  •">!). 17  acres,  being  the 
south  half  of  the  northeast  quarter,  and  51.05  acres,  being  the  north 
half  of  the  southeast  quarter,  on  September  6,  L834,  and  Zcbuion  Sheetz, 
36.36  acres,  being  the  east  fraction  of  the  section  (33)  east  of  the  river, 
on  the  1st  of  November,  1834. 
coi.  i—  it 

28!) 


290  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

First  Buildings  and  Pioneer  Merchant 

In  the  following  spring  tlio  county  office  was  erected  on  the  courthouse 
square.  It  was  a  little  wooden  building  for  the  clerk,  auditor  and 
recorder,  all  combined  in  the  personof  William  Sill.  About  the  same 
time  Henry  Orwig,  late  of  Delphi,  who  had  bought  a  lot  at  the  sale  of 
the  preceding  November,  completed  his  house  and  store  under  one  small 
roof  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Broadway  and  Bluff  streets,  and  in  May, 
1835,  commenced  to  sell  from  his  $500  stock  of  miscellanies.  Public  and 
private  business  started  simultaneously.  Orwig  might  have  been  ar- 
rested, as  he  had  no  lieeii.se  to  sell,  but  the  people  winked  at  the  legal 
irregularity,  as  they  were  only  too  glad  to  be  accommodated  even  to  the 
extent  of  his  small  ability.  After  several  months  of  experiment,  however, 
Monticello's  first  merchant  made  up  his  mind  to  stay  and  he  therefore 
obtained  his  license  in  the  fall  of  1835.  Samuel  Heckendorn  opened  the 
first  furniture  shop  in  Monticello.  Jonathan  Harbolt  was  the  first  under- 
taker.    He  would  be  called  a  funeral  director. 

Circuit  Rider  on  the  Raw  Ground 

Robert  Rothrock  was  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  first  sermon 
preached  in  Monticello  was  about  the  time  the  town  was  laid  out,  in  the 
fall  of  1834,  and  that  a  circuit  rider  named  Stalker  was  the  worthy  man 
who  thus  inaugurated  religious  training  at  the  county  seat.  Thereafter, 
he  appeared  at  the  settlement  monthly  until  February,  1S36,  when  a 
small  class  was  formally  organized.  Its  members  were  Zebulon  Sheetz, 
wife,  mother  and  son;  John  Reese,  wife,  mother  and  two  sisters;  Okey 
S.  Johnson,  wife  and  sister;  Lewis  Dawson;  Bethsheba  Cowan  and  her 
three  daughters;  Jonathan  Harbolt  and  wife,  and  Asa  Allen  and  wife. 
The  class  met  quite  regularly  at  the  cabin  of  John  Wilson  just  west  of 
town,  that  gentleman  having  joined  soon  after  its  formation. 

Soon  afterward,  the  church-goers  commenced  to  split  up  iuto  denom- 
inational societies,  the  completion  of  the  schoolhouse  furnishing  them 
with  a  regular  meeting. place. 

Carrying  the  Gospel  Under  Difficulties 

Milton  M.  Sill  claims  that  the  first  resident  minister  of  an  organized 
church  in  White  County  was  Alexander  Williamson,  of  the  Presbyterian 
faith.  He  located  in  Monticello  and  delivered  sermons  in  all  parts  of 
the  county,  at  the  homesteads  of  members  of  his  flock  who  lived  too  far 
away  from  town  to  attend  the  regular  morning  services  and  would  per- 
haps be  compelled  to  deny  themselves  this  comfort  unless  the  preacher 
should  go  to  their  homes.  Thus  it  happened  that  the  minister,  after 
delivering  his  morning  discourse  at  Monticello,  would  travel  ten  or 
fifteen  miles  in  tin?  afternoon  and  deliver  a  second  one  at  night.  In 
pleasant  weather  this  was  not,  a  severe;  hardship,  but  with  the  coming 
of  storms  and  almost  impassable  roads,  the  preacher  was  placed  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  291 

same  class  as  the  country  doctor.  But  Mr.  Williamson  was  very  diligent 
and  faithful  in  his  work,  and  never  disappointed  his  country  parishioners 
if  it  was  possible  t<  carry  the  gospel  to  them.  His  outside  meetings  were 
generally  held  at  the  house  of  Zebulon  Sheetz,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  until  the  completion  of  the  sehoolhousc  at  Monticello  in  1830'. 

Baptists  and  Methodists  Organize 

Elders  Reese,  Miner  and  Corbin  organized  the  Baptist  society  soon 
after  the  Presbyterians  formed  a  society.  Elder  Miner,  of  Lafayette, 
had  charge  of  the  society,  but  in  his  absence  Elder  Reese  officiated,  the 
Monticello  meetings  usually  being  held  at  the  house  of  the  latter. 

In  the  winter  of  1836-37  a  protracted  meeting  was  held  in  the  school- 
house,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  Methodist  class  and  the  calling 
of  Ilachaliah  Vreedenburg  to  the  mission.  The  combined  school  and 
meeting-house  was  a  frame  building,  20  by  30  feet,  with  iron  latches  and 
hinges,  as  well  as  real  glass  for  the  windows.  It  was  far  above  the 
average  of  such  structures  and  remained  both  a  temple  of  learning  and 
a  temple  of  worship  for  a  full  decade. 

The  Busy  Year,  1836 

In  the  meantime  the  material  interests  of  Monticello  were  also  grow- 
ing apace.  The  year  1836  was  especially  busy.  Carpenters,  blacksmiths, 
doctors,  merchants,  ministers,  lawyers,  speculators  and  mechanics  of  every 
descriptions  began  to  appear,  and  the  building  of  houses  and  shops  was 
rapidly  lining  out  the  principal  streets  of  the  town. 

Young  Town  Considekaui.y  Soaked 

In  May,  1836,  Rowland  Hughes  opened  his  tavern,  having  paid  $5 
for  the  license,  and  about  the  same  time  Parcel  and  Nicholson,  and  Ford, 
Walker  and  Company,  were  licensed  as  general  storekeepers,  each  firm 
paying  $10  for  the  privilege  of -selling  their  goods.  Landlord  Hughes 
bought  the  privilege  of  selling  liquor  at  his  hotel,  and  Patrick  Sullivan 
opened  a  regular  saloon  soon  afterward.  Such  attractions  were  not 
resisted  by  the  Indians  just  above  Monticello  and  several  miles  further 
north  in  what  is  now  Liberty  Township.  The  squaws  came  from  tin- 
villages  with  their  bead  work  and  other  fancy  articles  and  the  braves 
brought  skins  or  venison,  which  were  as  often  exchanged  for  bud  whiskey 
as  for  good  food.  Sullivan  was  indicted  several  times  for  selling  whiskey 
to  the  Pottawattamies,  but  Hughes  was  more  careful  to  confine  his 
traffic  in  strong  drink  to  the  white  villagers.  For  a  number  id'  years, 
especially  while  the  Indians  lingered,  Monticello  had  rather  a  bad  name 
as  a  whiskey-soaked  town. 

Business  Directory,  fob  1S3G 

In  this  busy  year  of  1836  William  Sill  also  opened  a  general  store,  as 
did  Reynolds  and   Cassel.      Aside    from   those  mentioned,   the   following 


r 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  293 


were  factors  in  the  Montieello  expansion:  Peter  Martin,  merchant; 
James  Parker,  sheriff;  Dr.  Samuel  Rifenberrick,  general  merchandise; 
Mr.  Perces,  grocer;  Jonathan  Harbolt,  James  McKinley,  T.  R.  Dawson, 
Christian  Dasher,  Robert  Spencer,  Salmon  Sherwood  and  John  Ilana- 
walt,  carpenters;  G.  R.  Bartley,  Nathaniel  White  and  John  Ream, 
farmers;  Joseph  Skidmore  and  Thompson  Crose,  blacksmiths;  Rev. 
Joshua  E*indsey,  minister,  justice  of  the  peace  and  postmaster;  Jacob 
Meyer's,  tailor;  Daniel  M.  Tilton,  tailor  and  deputy  postmaster;  Jacob 
Thomas,  shoemaker;  Asa  Allen,  surveyor;  Widows  Bott  and  Reese; 
Jacob  Franklin,  cabinet  maker;  William  Brock,  plasterer  and  cabinet 
maker;  Oliver .  Hammon,  small  store,  and  Abraham  Snyder,  tanner. 

At  that  time  the  town  had  the  frame  schoolhouse  and  the  little  frame 
courthouse.  Not  long  after  the  courthouse  was  blown  down  by  a  heavy 
wind ;  Robert  Spencer,  its  builder,  was  placed  under  a  cloud  as  to  his 
efficiency,  and  Jonathan  Harbolt  had  the  satisfaction  of  re-erecting  it. 
Montieello  had  then  a  population  of  about  100  men,  women  and  children. 

Perry  Established 

In  May,  1837,  Peter  Martin  was  licensed  to  conduct  a  ferry  across  the 
river  at  Montieello,  and  was  required  to  keep  a  boat  large  enough  to 
carry  teams  and  a  smaller  boat  for  persons. 

Smith,  Hiorth  and  the  Kendalls 

In  the  following  spring  Peter  B.  Smith,  who  had  been  associated  with 
Hans  E.  Hidrth  in  the  Norway  water  power  and  mills,  opened  a  general 
store  at  Montieello,  whither  he  appears  to  have  transferred  most  of  his 
interests.  Hiorth  afterward  purchased  a  share  in  the  business,  which 
he  probably  held  until  his  death  in  1844.  The  Kendall  brothers  were 
the  next  important  business  men  to  enter  the  Montieello  field  with  large 
stocks  of  general  merchandise,  and  were  leading  merchants  during  the 
decade  previous  to  1848,  when  they  took  over  the  Hiorth  properties  at 
Norway,  but  two  of  them  afterward  returned  to  the  county  seat  and 
re-entered  business. 

Jacob  Beck  and  John  Brady  came  as  rivals  of  Rowland  Hughes  in 
the  hotel  line,  about  1840,  and  Merriam  and  Company  opened  another 
store  in  1844.  In  1846  Messrs.  Reynolds  and  Merriam  became  partners, 
besides  whom  there  were  engaged  in  mercantile  affairs,  William  Sill, 
Rowland  Hughes,  Charles  W.  Kendall,  Rifenberrick  and  Brcarley, 
Andrew  Sproule  and  William  Sheetz  and  Company. 

Establishment  of  the  Local  Pre 

The  late  '40s  were  rather  full  of  events  which  had  a  bearing  on 
the  progress  of  Montieello;  the  leading  ones  were  the  establishment  oT 
the  Prairie  Chieftain,  the  first  newspaper  of  the  county,  and  the  prac- 
tical development  of  the  water  power  tinder  the  management  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  295 

Monticello  Hydraulic  Company.  The  Chieftain  met  with  a  fair  patron- 
age during  the  five  years  of  its  existence,  and  various  newspapers  have 
since  succeeded  one  another,  with  more  or  less  close  connection,  up  to 
the  present;  the  Chief  tain,  .which  issued  its  first  number  July  3,  18-19, 
demonstrated  that  Monticello  and  the  county  would  support  a  good, 
earnest  newspaper, "and  its  founding  was  therefore  an  important  event 
for  both. 

Fiest  Water  Power  and  Mills 

The  Monticello  Hydraulic  Company  inaugurated  a  long  line  of  indus- 
tries which  accomplished  much  toward  the  early  growth  of  the  place. 
The  act  by  .which  it  was  constituted  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  iu 
February,  1848,  and  named  as  its  incorporators  Phillip  Wolverton,  John 
Burns,  Ashley  L.  Pierce,  Henry  Ensmiger,  Randolph  Brearley,  John  C. 
Merriam,  Zachariah  VauBuskhk,  Isaac  Reynolds  and  Zebulon  Sheetz. 
In  1849  the  company  bought  small  tracts  of  land  from  Mr.  Sheetz  and 
Rowland  Hughes  and  a  dam  was  thrown  across  the  river.  A  site  was 
then  leased  to  Messrs.  Reynolds  and  Brearley,  who  erected  a  large  frame 
grist  mill'for  merchant  work,  and  Iloagland  and  Conklin  built  a  woolen 
factory  at  about  the  same  time.  Mr.  Sheetz  next  built  a  sawmill  and  a 
second  establishment  of  that  kind  was  established  by  Iloagland  and 
Conklin,  the  latter  being  subsequently  transformed  into  a  furniture 
factory.  Reynolds  and  Brearley  added  to  their  interests  by  erecting  a 
large  frame  warehouse,  which  Professor  Bowman  leased  for  his  school 
in  1859. 

Wool  Center  and  Woolen  Manufactures 

The  leases  of  the  water  power  at  Monticello  controlled  by  the  old 
Hydraulic  Company  were  for  ten  years  and  carried  with  them  small 
pieces  of  land  adjacent  to  the  dam.  For  many  years  the  grist,  saw  and 
woolen  mills  were  in  profitable  operation  and  were  the  means  of  drawing 
and  holding  many  useful  citizens  to  the  town.  As  a  wool  center  it  became 
well  known. 

In  the  early  years  Northwestern  Indiana  was  noted  as  a  productive 
sheep  country,  and  White  County  shared  in  ils  good  name  in  that  regard. 
Probably  Peter  Price  became  the  largest,  if  not  the  first  of  the  wool 
dealers  at  Monticello,  and  for  a  number  of  years  before  the  factory  was 
built  collected  large  quantities  of  the  raw  material  and  hauled  it  in 
wagons  to  Delphi,  LaFayette  and  other  places  on  the  Wabash  and  Erie 
Canal,  and  even  as  far  as  Michigan  City,  lie  also  kept  at  his  house  wesl 
of  town  woolen  cloths,  which  were  either  sold   for  cash  or  traded   for 

wool. 

During  the  Civil  war  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods  was  a  brisk 
industry  everywhere  that  it  could  lie  conducted.  At  Monticello  the 
prospects  were  so  good  that  Kingsbury  and  Lynch  renewed  the  lease  of 
the  water  power  necessary  to  run  their  factory  for  another  ten  years. 


2%  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  other  establishments  on  the  dam  did  the  same,  and  all  through  the 
war  that  locality  hummed  with  business.  In  IStib  Markle  and  Cowdin 
erected  the  woolen  factory  on.  the  east  side  of  the  river.  The  Dales, 
Kcefer  and  Roberts  and  perhaps  others  were  afterward  identified  with 
it,  but  about  1880  the  building  was  outfitted  as  a  merchant  grist  mill 
and  later  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Tug  Tippecanoe  Hydraulic  Company 

In  April,  1872,  the  Tippecanoe  Hydraulic  Company  had  been  organ- 
ized as  an  indirect  successor  to  the  old  Monticello  Company.  Its  object 
was  the  development  of  the  water  power  at  or  near  the  county  seat,  and 
its  first  trustees  were  Albert  Reynolds,  W.  S.  Ayres,  Robert  M.  Strait, 
J.  C.  Blake  and  William  Braden.  The  Monticello  Lumbering  and  Barrel 
Heading  .Manufacturing  Company  was  formed  at  about  the  same  time, 
its  projectors  being  mostly  members  of  the  Hydraulic  Company. 

Nelson  B.  Lougiiry  and  Sons 

Among  the  first  to  take  advantage  of  the  improved  conditions  brought 
about  by  the  reorganization  of  local  hydraulic  and  manufacturing  inter- 
ests was  Nelson  B.  Loughry,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  who  had  migrated 
to  Lafayette  with  his  family  when  forty  years  of  age.  At  the  time  of 
his  departure  for  the  West  he  had  become  somewhat  prominent  both 
as  a  merchant  and  a  public  man.  In  1858  he  moved  with  his  wife  and 
family  to  Monon  Township,  where  for  about  fourteen  years  he  was 
engaged  in  milling  and  agriculture,  in  which  pursuits  his  three  sons 
received  a  thorough  training.  It  was  in  1872,  the  year  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Tippecanoe  Hydraulic  Company,  that  Mr.  Loughry  purchased 
the  mill  which  had  been  erected  in  1850  and  promptly  set  to  work  to 
improve  it.  Both  in  this  work  and  in  the  subsequent  operation  of  the 
plant  Mr.  Loughry  had  the  efficient  assistance  of  his  sons,  Joseph  E., 
Albert  W.  and  Cloyd.  Joseph  E.  had  had  active  charge  of  the  milling 
interests  since  1869  and  in  1872  the  firm  of  Loughry  Brothers  was 
formed.  The  father  died  in  181)0.  It  is  needless  to  say,  except  for  the 
benefit  of  strangers  in  that  part  of  the  state,  that  under  the  management 
of  the  three  Lougiiry  brothers  it  has  become  one  of  the  best  equipped 
mills  in  Northern  Indiana.  In  the  early  period  of  their  industrial  and 
business  career,  the  Loughrys  also  operated  a  furniture  factory  opposite 
their  mill.  They  also  promoted  other  lines  of  manufacture,  became 
interested  in  the  financial  matters  of  Monticello  and  for  a  number  of 
years  were  considered  perhaps  the  leading  men  of  affairs  in  White 
County,  and,  after  all  these  years,  they  are  still  leaders. 

Becomes  a  Railroad  Town 

The  early  '50s  were  charged  with  great  expectations  and  resulted  in 
not  a  few  actualities.     Although  the  people  were  disappointed  over  the 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  297 

fact  that  the  New  Albany  and  Salem  Railway  did  not  materialize  in 
Monticello,  the  Logansport,  Peoria  &  Burlington  was  actually  completed 
and  Monticello  made  a  station.  -The  village  was  also  incorporated  in 
1853,  the  streets  were  drained-and  graded  and  sidewalks  built  and  im- 
proved. The  county  seat  was  made  a  little  uneasy  by  the  founding  of 
Reynolds  in  1854,  and  its  rise  for  a  number  of  years,  but  considered  that 
its  advantages  over  its  ambitious  sister  to  the  west  were  made  permanently 
superior  when  what  is  now  known  as  the  Pittsburgh,  Chicago  and  St. 
Louis  Railroad  was  completed  through  the  township  in  1859,  thus  giving 
the  village  a  western  outlet.  Trains  did  not  commence  to  pass  over  the 
Tippecanoe  River  to  the  eastward  until 'January,  1860,  which  marked 
the  completion  of  the  Logansport,  Peoria  and  Burlington  line. 

Monticello  in  1852 

During  the  period  of  the  early  '50s  the  churches  of  Monticello  had 
obtained  a  foothold  and  no  class  of  its  citizens  had  a  better  opportunity 
to  observe  people  and  conditions  than  the  ministers.  One  of  the  Metho- 
dist clergy,  Rev.  L.  Nebeker,  thus  draws  his  picture:  "My  personal 
recollections  of  this  place  began  in  the  fall  of  1852,  when  appointed  by 
Bishop  Baker  at  the  first  session  of  the  Northwest  Indiana  Conference, 
held  at  Terre  Haute  that  year.  On  my  arrival  I  was  directed  to  Dr. 
Rifenberrick's  for  a  temporary  home.  We  were  cordially  received  by 
the  Doctor  and  his  good  wife,  the  latter  still  living  in  Greencastle  as  the 
widow  of  the  late  Rev.  Daniel  De  Mott. 

"The  church  was  new,  having  been  built  and  dedicated  under  the 
administration  of  the  Rev.  John  Leach,  one  year  intervening  between 
his  and  my  term,  filled  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Calvert.  This  was  a  year  of  turmoil. 
Mr.  Calvert  got  into  difficulty  with  a  local  preacher  by  the  name  of 
John  Kistler  and  produced  partisan  feeling  throughout  the  entire  circuit, 
which  reached  as  far  west  as  Palestine,  fifteen  miles.  One  half  of  the 
year  passed  before  a  reconciliation  could  be  effected. 

"There  were  at  that  time  in  the  medical  profession  in  Monticello, 
Drs.  Rifenberrick,  Spencer  (father  of  Dr.  William  Spencer),  Gray, 
Haymond  and  Brearley,  the  last  not  practicing. 

"In  the  law  my  recollection  takes  in  only  'Bob'  Sill  and  David 
Turpie,  now  of  Indianapolis.  Rowland  Hughes,  Jonathan  P.  Ritehey, 
Daniel  Tilton  and  'Cub'  Reynolds  were  the  merchants,  all  selling  gro- 
ceries, boots,  shoes  and  notions.  Isaac  Reynolds  and  Dr.  Brearley  owned 
and  managed  the  mill  at  the  west  end  of  the  dam.  Crose  &  McElhoe 
were  partners  running  a  blacksmith  shop.  A  .Mi'.  Kiefhaber  also  ran 
one.  There  were  two  Presbyterian  churches,  Old  and  New  schools,  pre- 
sided over  respectively  by  Rev.  John  Wmnpler  and  Rev,  George  I).  Miller. 
These,  with  the  Methodist,  constituted  the  religious  organizations  of  the 
place  at  that  time. 

"Here  I  found  D.  P.  Barnes,  now  of  the  Michigan  conference,  an 
honored  member,  having  a  number  of  times  been  sent  by  that  body  and 
now  leads  the  delegation  in  the  next  general  conference.     The  family 


298  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

were  in  moderate  circumstances  and  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
woolen  mill  here.  Young  Barnes,  then  in  his  teens,  had  attended  the 
winter  school  and  at  the  close.took  part  in  the  closing  literary  exercises. 
Noticing  the  lad  was  gifted  with  a  fine  oratorical  voice  and  exhibited  good 
taste  and  modest  demeanor,  I  suggested  the  propriety  of  attending 
college. 

"Daniel  Dale  was  a  character  in  those  days.  Though  he  lived  at 
'Git-away'  (Purnettsville)  he  was  frequently  in  Monticcllo.  I  have 
a  very  vivid  recollection  of  my  first  interview  with  the  old  gentleman. 
lie  was  a  loud  talker,  rather  dogmatic  in  manner,  and  spoke. with  a 
great  deal  of  positivencss.  The  question  of  securing  a  railroad  to  this 
place  was  the  topic.  An  east  and  west  road  going  out  from  Logansport 
was  under  contemplation. 

"  'How  much  will  it  require  to  secure  the  road  through  Monticello V  I 
inquired.  He  named  the  amount.  I  said  it  would  be  hard  to  raise  so 
large  an  amount  of  money,  would  it  not? 

"  'Oli,  no,'  said  he,  'if  you  can  get  the  people  together  and  pump  an 
acre  and  a  half  of  thunder  and  lightning  into  them,  the  money  can  be 
raised  easily.' 

"There  was  another  son  of  the  old  gentleman,  Levi,  living  then  at 
Delphi,  long  since  dead.  He  was  an  attorney  and  frequently  visited 
Monticello;  a  kind  of  Lincoln  style  physique,  and  somewhat  in  his  fond- 
ness for  repartee — quite  a  plain  man.  On  one  occasion,  meeting  him 
here,  I  was  surprised  to  see  a  reckless  display  of  jewelry.  Among  other 
things  a  very  large  metal  watch  chain  hung  about  his  neck  and  down 
to  his  watch  in  the  vest  pocket. 

"I  said,  'Brother  Dale,  you  seem  to  be  coming  out.' 

"  'Yes,  I  have  determined  to  lie  rich  if  it  costs  me  all  I  am  worth.' 

"Since  then  I  have  seen  a  great  many  who  seemed  to  have  come  to  the 
same  determination. 

"There  were,  some  eight  or  ten  miles  west,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Ashbury  Chapel,  some  Virginians  who  had  entered  land  and  were  mak- 
ing farms.  If  they  were  not  the  titled  F.  F.  V.'s  they  certainly  were 
worthy  of  it.  Abel  T.  Smith  and  "William  Vanscoy,  with  their  families, 
will  be  remembered  and  honored  by  those  who  knew  them,  and  their 
impress  on  society  will  be  felt  for  generations  by  those  who  did  not 
know  them.     *     *     * 

"I  shall  never  forget  my  first  visit  to  Palestine,  the  western  extremity 
of  the  circuit.  After  leaving  Brother  Thompson's,  a  little  southeast  of 
where  Reynolds  now  stands,  there  was  a  wild  stretch  of  six  or  seven 
miles  without  a  human  habitation.  Having  passed  this  and  found  a 
man  building  fence,    I   inquired  of  him   for  Palestine. 

"  'Do  you  see  that  sehoolhouse  up  on  the  ridge  yonder?'  pointing 
lo  a  round-log  building  with  clapboard  roof  weighted  down  with  heavy 
poles,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  but  in  plain  view  on  an  oak  ridge. 

"  'Yes.'  1  said. 

"  'Well,  that  is  Palestine.' 


HISTORY  OV  WHITE  COUNTY  290 

"I  hardly  need  say  my  dreams  of  a  land  of  milk  and  honey  with 
grapes  of  Eschol  vanished  quicker  than  it  takes  to  tell  you." 

During  the  pastorate  "of  Brother  Leach  he  made  an  appointment 
to  preach  at  the  Monoifschoolhouse  on  a  week  night.  It  was  the  fall  of 
the  year,  the  evenings  were  getting  long,  and  at  the  time  of  which  we 
speak  the  air  was  crisp  and  cool,  when  the  preacher,  accompanied  by 
Brother  Will  Bott,  and,  by  the  way,  incidents  and  anecdotes  will  be  in- 
complete without  Brother  Bott's  name,  together  witli  many 'others  fig- 
uring in  it.  The  preacher  and  Will,  late  in  the  afternoon,  took  up  their 
journey  for  the  evening  appointment,  giving  themselves  just  time  to 
reach  the  place  by  the  time  the  people  were  there.  Arriving,  they  found 
the  people  on  hand,  and  had  kindled  a  fire  in  the  box  stove  that  occupied 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  from  the  opening  at  the  hearth  proceeded 
all  the  light  they  had.  On  the  arrival  of  the  preacher  and  his  traveling 
companion,  all  conversation  ceased,  which  up  to  that  time  had  embraced 
all  the  range  of  crops,  coon  hunts,  corn  huskings  and  general  neighbor- 
hood gossip,  and  everything  was  quiet,  subdued  and  dark. 

"As  Brother  Leach  sat  warming  himself  and  musing  on  the  situation, 
the  spirit  of  song  took  possession  of  him,  and,  though  I  can't  afford  to 
give  you  much  music  in  this  lecture,  at  the  price  I  get  for  it,  I  will  give 
you  this  as  sung  by  the  preacher  that  night  while  wanning  by  the  stove: 

"  'Plunged  in  a  gulf  of  dark  despair, 
We  wretched  sinners  lay, 
Without  one  cheering  beam  of  hope 
Or  spark  of  glimmering  day.' 

"While  the  hymn  was  being  sung  some  parties  slipped  out  to  the 
nearest  neighbors  and  returned  with  candles  to  light  up  the  house." 

Village  Government  Abandoned 

The  incorporation  of  the  Village  of  Monticello  was  soon  Hollowed 
by  the  election  of  the  following  officers:  Jacob  Ilanaway,  Ferdinand 
Kcifhaber,  William  S.  Itaymond,  A.  V.  Reed  and  John  Wilson,  tins 
tees;  John  R.  Willey,  marshal,  clerk,  treasurer  and  assessor.  The  vil- 
lage form  of  government,  as  inaugurated  in  1853,  only  endured  for  a 
year,  and  was  then  abandoned  by   mutual  consent. 

Walker's,  Jenners'  and  Reynolds'  Addition 

Up  to  this  time  two  additions  had  been  made  to  the  original  plat, 
both  of  them  within  three  years  after  the  town  was  laid  out.  The  par- 
ticulars of  these  accessions  to  its  area  are  thus  presented  by  the  late 
Milton  M.  Sill:  "Little  opportunity  was  given  to  non-resident  bind 
speculators  to  obtain  land  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  county  seat, 
as  it  was  all  taken  by  the  resident  settlers  very  soon  after  the  county 
scat  was  located.  Messrs,  Jacob  Walker  and  William  M.  Jennets,  of 
Lafayette,  and  Benjamin  Reynolds,  of  Big  Creek  township,  succeeded, 


oOO  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

however,  in  purchasing  land  of  George  R.  Bartley  adjoining  the  original 
plal  of  the  town  on  the  south  and  west,  and  laid  out  the  first- addition  to 
the  town  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  October,  1836.  It  was  named 
Walker's,  .Jenners'  and  Reynolds'  addition  to  Monticello,  and  still  re- 
tains the  name.  It  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  lots,  with 
streets  and  alleys,  the  streets  varying  in  width  from  Railroad  street  one 
hundred  |eet  to  Water  street  thirty  feet,  and  the  streets  and  alleys  in 
the  original  were  extended  through  their  addition  of  the  same  width  as 
in  the  original  plat.  The  venture  did  not  prove  to  be  a  financial  success, 
as  town  lots  were  not  ready  sale  at  the  prices  asked  by  the  proprietors, 
and  -Mr.  Reynolds  parted  witli  his  interest  in  the  addition  soon  after  it 
was  laid  out. 

Barb's  Addition 

"The  Board  of  County  Commissioners  directed  the  county  agent  (Mr. 
Barr)  by  an  order,  entered  of  record,  to  lay  out  and  plat  the  remaining 
land  donated  for  the  county  seat,  and  accordingly,  on  the  27th  day  of 
April,  18.37,  one  hundred  and  five  lots  were  added  to  the  original  plat, 
and  called  Barr's  addition,  to  designate  it  from  the  town  first  platted. 
Two  additional  streets  were  platted  in  Mr.  Barr's  addition,  one  on  the 
north  marking  the  northern  limit  of  the  land  donated,  and  named  North 
street,  running  east  and  west  parellel  with  the  streets  in  the  original 
plat  and  sixty-six  feet  in  width,  and  one  on  the  river  bank,  one  hundred 
feet  in  width,  connecting  Main  Cross  street  on  the  south  with  North 
street  and  used  by  the  traveling  public  to  gain  access  to  the  ferry  landing 
located  about  midway  between  Washington  street  and  Main  Cross  street: 
but  after  the  removal  of  the  ferry  landing  to  the  foot  of  Marion  street, 
the  southern  part  of  River  street  was  abandoned,  and  that  portion  of  it 
south  of  Washington  street  was  never  afterward  used  as  a  public  thor- 
oughfare. 

""With  the  addition  of  .Mr.  Barr's  and  Walker's,  Jenners'  and  Rey- 
nolds* to  the  original  plat,  Monticello  assumed  the  proportions  of  a 
town  on  paper,  but  was  in  fact  only  a  respectable  village.  A  few  lots  in 
the  new  addition  were  sold,  mainly  those  on  the  east  side  of  Tippecanoe 
street,  between  Main  Cross  and  Marion  streets,  they  being  much  larger 
than  those  in  the  original  plat,  and  more  than  twice  the  size  of  the 
largest  lot  in  the  Walker  addition,  but  the  sales  were  made  chiefly  to 
residents  who  already  owned  vacant  and  unimproved  lots  in  the  original 
plat,  and  if  improvement  was  made  on  their  new  purchase  it  was  only  a 
stable  or  fence  enclosing  their  lot  for  the  purpose  of  utilizing  it  for  a  calf 
pasture. 

"The  supply  of  lots  far  exceeded  the  demand,  and  though  the  prices 
asked  were  ridiculously  low.  but  few  were  disposed  of  for  several  years 
after  the  Barr  addition  was  made  to  the  town. 

Boom  Not  in  Kvidknce 

"Those  who  had  purchased  town  lots  at  the  first  sab',  expecting  a 
boom  in  prices  by  reason  of  the  selection  of  Monticello  as  the  county 


302  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

seat  were  grievously  disappointed.  No  boom  was  realized.  Crass  grew 
in  the  streets  and  dog  fennel  and  other  noxious'weeds  covered  the  vacant 
lots  on  the  west  and  south  of  the  original  plat,  and  cattle,  horses,  sheep 
and  hogs  roamed  at  will  through  the  town.  Invidious  remarks  were 
made  that  the  town  was  finished  and  only  needed  fencing  to  make  a 
suitable  pasture  field  for  the  stoek.  Some  wicked  boys  and  young  men, 
acting  on  this  suggestion,  one  summer  night,  whilst  their  parents  were 
peacefully  slumbering  in  bed  and  perhaps  dreaming  of  the  future  profits 
to  be  realized  from  the  sale  of  their  vacant  lots,  actually  did  build  a  rail 
fence  across' the  two  principal  streets  (Main  and  Main  Cross),  taking 
the  rails  from  the  neighboring  fields  adjoining  the  town.  The  fence  was 
well  constructed  and  duly  staked  and  double  ridered,  and  completely 
spanned  the  two  streets  on  the  south  and  east  of  the  court  house  square. 
The  perpetrators  of  Ibis  indignity  were  never  discovered,  and 'but  little 
effort  was  made  to  find  them.  The  fence  was  removed  in  the  morning 
by  the  owners  of  the  rails,  who  were  the  only  parties  whose  equanimity 
was  seriously  disturbed  by  the  boys'  foolish  prank. 

"After  thi'  organization  of  the  Hydraulic  Company  and  the  improve- 
ment of  the  water  power,  the  town  improved  somewhat  and  lots  increased 
in  value,  eligible  sites  for  business  houses  and  residences  on  the  principal 
streets  selling  for  one  hundred  dollars,  and  in  a  few  instances  more. 
This  was  a  great  advance  over  former  prices,  and  property  owners  began 
to  assume  a  more  cheerful  demeanor. 

Third  Town  Addition 

"The  third  addition  to  the  town  was  made  by  James  C.  Reynolds 
on  Hie  16th  day  of  December,  1851:.  It  consisted  of  fourteen  lots  on  the 
west  side  ami  fronting  Illinois  street,  between  Washington  and  North 
streets. 

"There  was  no  crying  demand  for  additional  town  lots  at  that  time. 
There  were  vacant,  unimproved  lots  fronting  on  every  street  of  the 
town  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  or  more,  in  the  aggregate,  awaiting 
purchasers  at  prices  ranging  all  the  way  from  ten  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  so  that  the  supply  already  far  exceeded  the  demand,  but 
he  sueeeeded  in  disposing  of  a  few  lots  between  Washington  and  Marion 
streets,  and  frame  buildings  were  built  on  them  by  the  purchasers. 

Civil  War  Overshadows  All 

"The  Logansport,  Peoria  ami  Burlington  Railroad,  now  a  part  of 
the  Pennsylvania  system  known  as  the  Panhandle,  after  a  long  delay 
from  its  beginning,  was  completed  in  I860,  the  first  train  passing 
through  Monlieello  on  the  first  day  of  January  of  that  year.  With  a 
railroad  the  hope  that  the  county  seat  question  was  finally  settled  was 
entertained  by  the  real  estate  property  owners  of  Montieello,  and  their 
hope  was  realized  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  probably  more  on  account 
of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  beginning  early  in  the  year  1861,  than  the 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  303 

possession  of  railway  facilities.  The  war  question  was  the  vital  one 
overtopping  all,  others  in  which  the  citizens,  not  alone  in  Monticello 
and  Reynolds,  but  the  whole  country,  were  deeply  interested,  and  until 
it  was  finally  determined,  county  scat  and  other  minor  questions  were 
relegated  to  the  rear  and  almost,  if  not  entirely,  forgotten  for  the  time 
being. 

Fourth  and  Fifth  Additions 

"The  fourth  addition  to  Monticello  was  made  April  13,  1860,  when 
George  Snyder,  one  of  the  first  settlers,  who  owned  a  farm  adjoining  the 
town  on  the  north,  made  his  addition  of  eight  lots  on  the  north  side  of 
the  railroad 'and  fronting  on  the  right  of  way. 

"The  fifth  addition  was  made  by  Sylvanus  Van  Voorst  and  called  by 
him  the  Vest  addition.  It  consisted  of  two  tiers  of  lots  lying  between 
the  extension  of  Main  Cross  street  on  the  south  and  North  street  on  the 
north.  There  were  thirty-six  lots  in  this  addition,  with  street  sixty  feet 
in  width  between,  running  the  entire  length  of  the  addition.  This  street 
was  named  Julia  Ann  street  at  the  suggestion  of  Professor  George  Bow- 
man, who  had  before  purchased  a  small  tract  of  ground  fronting  on 
Main  Cross  street  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  new  street,  where  he  lived 
when  the  addition  was  made.  The  name  has  since  been  changed  to  Dewey 
street,  in  honor  of  Admiral  Dewey,  the  hero  of  Manila." 

George  "W.  Ewing  a  Site  Owner 

Among  the  land  owners  of  what  has  become  a  portion  of  the  site 
of  Monticello  and  which  was  acquired  before  the  first  incorporation  of 
the  town  in  1853,  none  was  so  widely  known  as  George  W.  Ewing,  of 
Fort  "Wayne.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  a  large  fortune  in  trade  with 
the  Indians  of  the  Northwest,  and,  in  the  course  of  his  negotiations  and 
travels,  invested  his  profits  in  real  estate  at  St.  Louis,  Chicago  (when 
it  was  a  frontier  town),  Fort  Wayne  and  many  other  sections  in  Indiana. 
Mr.  Ewing  acquired  title  to  large  tracts  in  White  County,  embracing 
land  covering  what  is  now  known  as  the  Dreifus  and  Haugh  addition. 
He  was  a  man  of  courtly  carriage  and  conveyed  the  impression,  which 
was  fully  borne  out  by  acquaintance,  of  great  breadth  and  strength  of 
character.  He  had  the  sagacity,  energy  and  patience  not  only  to  estab- 
lish an  immense  and  widely  extended  trade  with  the  Indians  in  their 
native  homes,  but  to  follow  them  to  the  reservations  allotted  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, and,  with  the  perfected  business  machinery  and  tried  person- 
ality of  his  establishments,  continue  the  dealings  with  them  commenced 
in  a  former  generation.  This  policy  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  spend 
much  of  his  time  in  Washington,  giving  personal  attention  to  his  claims 
and  treaty  interests.  Another  portion  of  the  year  he  spent  in  journeys 
of  inspection  among  his  western  trading  posts,  anil  the  third,  in  visits  to 
his  old  friends  at  Fort  Wayne  ami  in  other  portions  of  Indiana,  includ- 
ing Monticello.  lie  was  an  especial  friend  of  David  Ttirpic,  who  largely 
looked  after  his  real  estate  interests  at  the  county  seat.     Mr.  Ewing  had 


304  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

much  public  influence  and  in  his  earlier  years  was  somewhat  active  in 
slate  politics.  Hut  his  mental  and  physical  energy  was  too  great  to  he 
confined  even  to  Indiana. 

Second  and  More  Stable  Corporation 

Notwithstanding  the  drains  of  the  Civil  war,  Montieello  continued 
to  increase'  in  population  and  business,  the  "boom  period"  of  stimulated 
industries  and  inflated  prices  affecting  it,  as  elsewhere  in  the  country 
secure  from  the  actual  ravages  of  the  armed  conflict.  In  1862  the  town 
incorporation  was  effected  under  which  the  local  government  was  con- 
ducted for  over  half  a  century.  That  important  step  was  taken  mainly 
through  the  persistent  efforts  of  Alfred  R.  Orton,  son  of  a  prominent 
lawyer  and  public  man  of  Perry  County,  Ohio,  and  himself  a  prominent 
merchant  of  Montieello  at  the  time  it  became  an  incorporated  town.  He 
afterward  became  county  surveyor.  He  is  yet  an  honored  resident  of 
Montieello. 

In  response  to  a  petition  numerously  signed  and  presented  to  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners,  that  body  ordered  an  election  to  be 
held  at  the  courthouse,  in  April,  1862,  for  the  first  town  officials,  and 
it  resulted  as  follows:  A.  Ilanawalt,  Z.  VauBuskirk,  James  Wallace, 
John  Saunders  and  1).  K.  Ream,  trustees;  W.  II.  Parcels,  treasurer  and 
marshal,  and  .Milton  M.  Sill,  clerk  and  assessor.  Richard  Brown  was 
the  first  school  trustee. 

The  subsequent  history  of  Montieello,  after  its  more  permanent  in- 
corporation as  a  town,  is  given  in  the  chapter  which  follows,  which  also 
embraces  sketches  of  religious,  social  and  benevolent  organizations  the 
record  <>t'  which,  in  some  cases,  antedates  the  life  of  the  1862  town  by 
mam-  years. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

TOWN  AND  CITY 

Town  Backs  a  New  School — The  Old  High  School— Pioneers  op 
the  Public  School  System — Legal  Complications — How  the 
Snarl  Was  Untangled  —  Superintendent  J.  W.  Hamilton  — 
Better  Town  Schools — Present  High  School  Building — Sta- 
tistics of  the  Present — Superintendents  and  Teachers — The 
Grades  Buildings — System  as  a  Whole — Monticello  Public 
Library — Good  Water  and  a  Good  System — The  Telephone  Ex- 
change— Riverview  Park — The  Reynolds  Additions — Turner's 
Addition  —  Cleveland  Street  Created  —  Hughes'  Addition  — 
Cochell's  and  Praser's  Addition — McCuaig's  Addition — Dreifus 
and  Haugii's  Addition — McLean  and  Brearley's  Addition — Later 
Additions  to  the  Townsite — Citizens'  Addition — Additions  to  the 
City — City  Hall — Improvements  of  Water  Power — Pkesent-Day 
Industries — Four  Banks — State  Bank  of  Monticello — Monti- 
cello  National  Bank — White  County  Loan,  Trust  and  Savings 
Company — Farmers'  State  Bank. 

For  several  years  after  the  permanent  incorporation  of  the  Town  of 
Monticello  its  population  increased  quite  rapidly,  and  there  was  prog- 
ress all  along  the  line.  Such  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  as 
Samuel  Heckendorn,  David  McCuaig,.  W.  S.  Ilaymond  and  John  Saun- 
ders; William  Reese,  the  treasurer  and  marshal;  I).  D.  Dal  A.  W. 
Reynolds  and  Robert  Gregory,  clerks,  and  other  town  officials,  did  what 
they  could  to  regulate  the  health  and  morals  of  the  new  town,  and  in 
March,  1869,  the  Town  Board  approved  articles  of  association  which 
brought  into  being  the  Monticello  Hook  and  Ladder  Company.  Tin; 
fire  fighters  were,  of  course,  all  volunteers  and  relied  upon  buckets  and 
the  Tippecanoe  River,  with  such  wells  as  private  citizens  had  at  their 
disposal.  But  it  was  a  start  in  the  direction  of  protection  againsl  fire— 
the  department,  and  the  ordinances  in  force  of  a  precautionary  nature. 

Town  Backs  a  New  School 

Tin-  educational  system  of  the  town  had  been  mainly  advaueed 
through  the  private  labors  of  such  citizens  as  Prof.  George  Bowman 
and  Rev.  William  Irelan,  but  in  the  .war  ISC,:)  the  school  trustees  be- 
stirred  themselves  as  an  official  body  and  presented  a  petition  to  lie' 
Town  Board  praying  that  a  specified  amount  of  corporate  bonds  should 
be  issued  to  defray  the  expense  of  constructing  a  new  school  building; 

Vol.  1  -811 

:;o:> 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  CO  TNT  Y  307 

whereupon,  on  motion  of  \V.  S.  Raymond,  the  following  ordinance  was 

passed : 

"Section  1 — Bt  it  ordained  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Incorporated  Town 
of  Mdritieello,  White  County,  Indiana,  That  for  the  purpose  of  advancing 
educational  interests  in  the  town  and  county  aforesaid,  the  Hoard  of 
Trustees  hereby  order  issued  to  the  School  Trustees  of  Monticello  twenty 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  coupon  bonds  of  the  denomination  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars  each,  with  interest  at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent  per  annum 
from  date;  and  the  interest  on  said  bonds  is  to  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer 
of  said  corporation,  at  his  office  in  said  town;  and  said  bonds  are  made 
redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  said  corporation  after  two  years  and  within 
ten  years  after  the  issue  thereof. 

"Section  2 — It  is  declared  that  an  emergency  exists  for  the  imme- 
diate taking  effect  of  this  ordinance;  therefore  it  shall  lie  in  force  from 
and  after  its  passage." 

The  Old  High  School 

The  bonds  were  issued  and  sold  and  with  the  proceeds  the  old  high 
school  building  on  West  Broadway  was  erected.  At  thai  time  it  was  one 
of  tlie  finest  brick  schoolhouses  in  Northwestern  Indiana.  The  first  term 
in  the  new  building  began  in  September,  1870,  the  school  trustees  then 
being  Harrison  P.  Anderson,  William  S.  Ilaymond  and  Charles  W. 
Kendall.  I.  M.  Gross  was  principal,  and  his  assistants  were  Albert  S. 
Nordyke,  James  M.  McBeth,  Annie  Henderson  and  Lodie  Heed. 

Pioneers  of  the  Puhi.ic  Systeji 

During  the  first  twenty  years  of  corporate  existence,  the  school  trus- 
tees of  the  town  included  Richard  Brown,  II.  1'.  Anderson,  -I.  A.  Wood, 
A.  Ilanawalt,  Ira  Kingsbury,  W.  S.  Davis,  Lucius  Tierce,  M.  A.  Kerr, 
W.  J.  Gridlcy,  William  Davis,  0.  W.  Kendall,  A.  W.  Reynolds,  .1.  S. 
Hurtt,  Thomas  Bushnell,  P.  M.  Mullcndore,  Robert  .1.  Clark,  U.  M.  Sill, 
S.  P..  Bushncll,  J.  II.  McCollum,  Samuel  Ileckcudorn.  W.  S.  Bushnell 
and  .1.  B.  Smith.  Besides  I.  M.  Cross,  the  principals  of  the  school  dur- 
ing that  period  were  J.  A.  VanLandingham,  .1.  R.  Owens  ami  .1.  G.  Royer, 
who,  with  the  school  trustees  named,  placed  the  public  school  system  of 
education  on  a  fair  basis. 

Legal  '  Iomi'Lications 

The  efforts  of  the  school  authorities  were  considerably  retarded,  even 
disorganized,  by  the  financial  complication  growing  nut  of  the  $20,00(1 
bond  issue  through  which  Hie  handsome  new  building  was  completed. 
Under  the  ordinance  authorizing  their  issue  the  interest  was  fixed  at  In 
per  cent,  and  the  time  limit  at  ten  years.  As  the  limitation  approached, 
the  citizens  became  less  and   less  inclined   1  <>  pay   that   high   rate  of  in 


308  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

tcrcst,  and  in  1878  measures  were  taken  to  refund  the  bonds  at  7 
per  cent.  New  paper  to  the  amount  of  #21,000  was  issued  and  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Joseph  C.  Wilson,  a  leading  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Monticello.  He  sold  the  bouds,  but  the  non-appearance  of  the 
funds  caused  the  citizens  to  voice  their  uneasiness  through  the  columns 
of  the  local  press.  Through  the  united  efforts  of  people  and  press  Mr. 
Wilson  was  placed  under  bonds,  a  precaution  which  had  not  before  been 
taken.  Notwithstanding  which,  the  First  National  closed  its  doors,  Mr. 
Wilson  departed  for  Canada,  and  the  Town  of  Monticello  was  left  with 
a  bonded  school  debt  of  about  $-40,000,  of  which  $21,000  was  drawing 
7  per  cent  interest  and  the  balance  10  per  cent. 

Then  ensued  a  tangle  of  legal  complications.  Suit  was  first  instituted 
against  Wilson's  bondsmen  and  then  against  M.  L.  Bundy,  receiver  of 
the  First  National  Bank,  to  recover  $10,000  alleged  to  have  been  de- 
posited by  Wilson  as  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  realized  from  the  bond 
sales.  About  $7,000  was  recovered  by  the  latter  suit,  but  nothing  from 
the  former. 

How  the  Snarl  Was  Untangled 

The  town  next  decided  to  resist  the  payment  of  both  interest  and 
principal  of  the  refunded  bonds,  and  suit  was  therefore  brought  against 
the  corporation  by  A.  L.  Merrill,  representing  the  bond  holders,  to  col- 
lect the  full  amount  guaranteed  on  the  face  of  those  securities.  The 
court  decided  that  the  new  refunded  bonds  were  invalid,  upon  the  fol- 
lowing ground:  ".Municipal  corporations  have  no  power  to  issue  or 
make  commercial  paper.  That  power  must  come  from  the  Legislature. 
•The  town  had  no  authority  at  the  time  to  refund  its  debt." 

This  was  the  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  an 
action  on  the  bonds,  and  not  in  an  action  for  money  had  and  received, 
regardless  of  the  validity  of  the  bonds.  The  court  held  that  there  being 
no  express  statutory  authorization  of  the  bond  issue  they  were  void  as 
being  issued  ultra  vires.  Merrill  vs.  Monticello,  138  U.  S.  673.  This  is 
known  as  a  ruling  ease  on  this  proposition  of  law  decided  in  1891.  After 
this  decision  holding  these  bonds  void  Merrill,  for  himself  and  other  bond 
holders,  on  November  -J,  1892,  commenced  a  new  suit  in  the  United 
States  District  Court  at  1  ndianapolis,  seeking  to  recover  the  amount  of 
the  bonds  in  another  form  of  action,  known  as  a  bill  in  equity,  to  require 
the  Town  of  Monticello  to  pay  over  the  proceeds  of  the  bonds,  to  charge 
the  town,  as  trustee,  with  the  sum  of  $0,988.43  recovered  by  it,  and 
also  to  compel  the  town  to  assign  the  bond  given  by  Wilson  to  account 
for  the  money  realized  by  him  from  the  sale  of  bonds. 

The  town  defended  (in  this  grounds,  to-wit :  Want  of  equity,  six- 
year  statute  of  limitations,  and  general  laches,  which  defense  was  sus- 
tained, and  Merrill  appealed  to  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
fur  the  Seventh  District  at  Chicago,  when  in  1896  this  decision  of  the 
United  States  District    Court   was  sustained. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  309 

Superintendent  J.  \V.  Hamilton 

Thus,  after  years  of  litigation,  matters  were  finally  adjusted  in  the 
courts,  and  the  schools  progressed  through  it  all.  To  no  one  person 
were  the  improvements  more  indebted  than  to  John  VV.  Hamilton,  who 
became  superintendent  in  1889  and  continued  as  such  for  more  than 
twenty"  years.  Under  his  administration  the  high  school  courses  were 
expanded  to  modern  breadth,  and  the  South  Side  School  was  erected  on 
South  Main  Street.  To  meet  the  demands  of  the  growing  town  the  old 
high  school  building  had  been  doubled  in  capacity,  and,  with  its  destruc- 
tion by  fire  on  August  25,  1905,  had  been  replaced  by  the  massive  strue- 
still  occupied. 

First  Big  School  in  a  Feed  Stable 

In  its  historical  edition  of  December  8,  1910,  the  Herald  has  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  paper  on  the  Montieello  schools : 

"In  nothing  does  Montieello  show  a  greater  contrast  between  past  and 
present  than  in  her  schools.  It  is  within  the  memory  of  citizens  still 
living  when  the  'select  school'  was  our  only  dependence — when  a  sub- 
scription paper  was  circulated  to  hire  a  teacher,  and  if  there  were  not 
enough  signers  there  was  no  school.  Up  to  1859  schools  were  held  wher- 
ever a  temporary  room  could  be  found.  One  of  the  first,  if  riot  the  first, 
was  held  in  a  building  on  the  bluff  long  since  torn  down.  It  was  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Nordyke  property,  and  its  existence  is  now  almost 
a  tradition.  Other  schools  were  taught  in  the  'old  court  house'  (now 
Cowger's  feed  store),  in  upper  rooms  of  the  Commercial  Block,  in  the 
old  Kendall  building  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Baker-Uhl  build- 
ing, and  at  private  residences. 

"About  1859  the  township  trustees,  then  three  in  number,  leased  the 
old  building  still  standing  in  the  rear  of  the  Hotel  Forbis  and  occupied 
by  Job  Wickersham  as  a  feed  stable.  Previous  to  that  time  it  had  been 
used  as  a  warehouse  for  the  storage  of  grain.  When  plastered  and  par- 
titioned off,  with  two  rooms  below  and  one  above,  and  equipped  with 
home-made  desks  and  a  bell,  which  surmounted  the  comb  of  the  roof 
without  belfry  or  other  protection,  it  was  regarded  as  a  palatial  institute 
of  learning  and  served  its  purpose  well  for  about  ten  years.  Here  George 
Bowman  conducted  the  first  graded  school  in  Montieello,  and  here  many 
of  the  present  residents  of  Montieello,  now  from  50  to  70  years  old,  got 
most  of  their  education. 

Better  Town  Schools 

"In  18t;9  a  more  pretentious  building  was  erected  mi  the  site  of  Hie 
present  high  school  building.  Years  later  it  was  enlarged  by  an  addi 
tion  on  the  east  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  growing  school  population. 
In  1891  an  additional  building  was  erected  on  South  .Main  street,  which 
still  accommodates  the  lower  grades  of  thai  part  of  the  city. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  1111 

Present  High  School  Building 

"In  August,  1905,  fire  destroyed  the  high  school  building,  and  it  was 
restored  by  the  erection  of  the  present  imposing  structure.  The  iirst 
(loor  of  tliis  building  is  set  apart  for  the  lower  grades.  It  contains  seven 
commodious  and  well  lighted  grade  rooms — three  on  the  south  side  of 
the  corridor,  two  on  the  north  side,  and  two  in  the  east  end  of  the  build- 
ing, each  with  a  cloak  room  adjoining  and  each  equipped  with  a  cabinet 
for  supplies. 

"On  the  second  floor  at  the  east  end  of  the  building  is  an  assembly 
room  with  a  floor  dimension  of  55  by  GO  feet,  and  a  rostrum  on  the  west 
side.  Adjojuing  this  room  on  the  west  and  occupying  the  place  of  the 
old  office  is  a  library  room.  Next  is  a  suite  of  three  office  rooms  ap- 
proached through  one  vestibule.  The  superintendent's  room  is  16  by  25 
feet  in  size.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  I  he  whole  building  is 
the  reception  room  on  this  floor,  which  takes  the  place  of  the  old  dark 
corridor.  Here  is  a  hall  1C  by  GO  feet  in  size,  well  lighted  from  above 
and  flanked  on  the  south  side  by  a  cloak  room  extending  its  full  length 
and  separated  from  the  main  room  only  by  a  low  wall,  from  which  col- 
umns rise  at  intervals  to  the  ceiling.  South  of  this  are  two  large  reci- 
tation rooms  and  one  grade  room.  The  latter  is  in  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  building  and  is  used  by  the  eight  li  grade.  On  the  north  side  are 
three  recitation  rooms. 

"On  the  third  floor  are  the  physical,  chemical  and  biological  labora- 
tories, three  large  rooms  with  the  necessary  laboratory  equipment,  plumb 
ing,  etc.  These  rooms  connect  with  a  lecture  room  on  the  same  floor, 
which  is  lighted  with  a  skylight  and  furnished  with  raised  scats,  making 
a  delightful  little  amphitheater. 

"All  the  rooms  in  the  building  are  well  lighted  and  well  arranged, 
and  nobody  can  view  the  work  of  the  architects  without  realizing  that 
they  understood  all  the  modern  requirements  in  school  architecture 
Every  sanitary  precaution  has  been  observed,  and  even  the  blackboards 
are  provided  with  closed  troughs  which  i five  the  chalk  dust  and  pre- 
vent it  from  circulating  in  the  rooms.  Toilet  rooms  are  on  every  floor 
and  also  in  the  basement.  Each  floor  is  also  supplied  with  sanitary 
drinking  fountains. 

"The  basement  contains  the  heating  plant.  The  air  is  heated  by 
steam  coils  and  forced  to  every  part  of  the  building  by  a  ten-foot  revolv- 
ing fan.  This  is  supplemented  by  steam  radiators  in  different  parts 
of  the  building.  Every  room  is  supplied  with  an  automatic  heat  regu- 
lator, by  which  the  temperature  may  be  kept  at  any  degree  desired  by 
simply 'turning  a  button.  The  whole  building  is  lighted  with  electric 
lights. 

"In  the  basement,  besides  the  space  used  for  the  heating  plant  and 
toilet    rooms,   there  arc  several   large   rooms  that    are   utilized    for   play 

rooms  in  bad  weather  and  for  luncheon  ro s.    One  room  in  the  northwest 

corner  is  especially  well  lighted  and  will  be  used  hereafter  for  work  in 
the  manual  training  department." 


312  ,    HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Statistics  of  the  Present 

The  schools  of  Montiecllo  are  now  under  the  superintendent}'  of 
James  M.  Leffel,  who  succeeded  Mr.  C.  F.  Jackman  in  1914.  The  system 
is  maintained  at  the  high  standard  required  by  the  educator  of  today, 
and  the  following  figures  indicate  its  present  status:  Enrollment,  600 ; 
'average  attendance,  498;  number  of  pupils  in  the  high  school,  170;  num- 
ber in  the  fifth  to  eighth  grammar  grades,  inclusive,  189;  number  in  the 
first  to  fourth  primary  grades,  inclusive,  241.  The  average  attendance 
at  the  high  school  building  on  West  Broadway  is:  High  school,  151: 
grades,  271;  and  at  the  South  Side  School,  76. 

Superintendents  and  Teachers 

Superintendents  since  1883:    J.  G.  Royer, Sinclair,  B.  F.  Moore, 

J.  W.  Hamilton  (1S90-1912),  C.  F.  Jackman,  and  James  M.  Leffel. 

Present  high  school  faculty:  J.  M.  Leffel,  superintendent,  physics; 
II.  1'].  Elder,  principal  and  teacher  of  science;  Miss  Grace  Lowe,  domestic 
science;  J.  [I.  Bachtcnkircher,  penmanship;  Miss  Louise  Miller,  music 
and  art,  and  Perry  Patmore,  manual  training  and  agriculture,  also  super- 
visors for  grades  and  high  school;  A.  R.  Staggs,  history  and  physiology; 
Miss  Ethel  Roberts,  Latin  and  English;  G.  W.  Gray,  public  speaking; 
Miss   Emma  Shealy,  English,  and  C.  T.   Steward,  mathematics. 

West  building  teachers:  Grade  1,  Miss  Ora  Orton,  38  pupils;  grade 
2,  Miss  Blanche  Cullem,  40  pupils;  grade  3,  Miss  Margaret  Roach; 
grade  I.  .Miss  Lida  Wigmore;  grade  5,  Miss  Mary  Laurie;  grade  6,  Miss 
Flossie  Thompson;  grade  7,  Miss  Isabel  O'Dowd;  grade  8,  J.  F.  Duncan. 

South  building  teachers:  Grade  1,  Miss  Jennie  Burns;  grade  2,  Miss 
Marllia  Walls. 

Possibly  the  must  important  departure  of  the  school  policy  is  the 
establishment  of  vocational  training  as  a  part  of  the  high  school  curric- 
ulum. In  September,  1915,  a  course  in  vocational  agriculture  was  offered 
to  all  students  who  care  to  prepare  themselves  for  scientific  farming. 
Students  will  be  allowed  to  enter  this  department  who  do  not  care  to 
take  work  in  any  oilier  branches  offered  in  the  high  school.  Students 
taking  (lie  regular  high  school  course  will  be  allowed  to  take  work  in  the 
agricultural  department.  Mr.  0.  E.  Ackerson,  who  is  employt  1  for  the 
cah mlar  year,  will  spend  his  time  on  the  farms  or  truck  gardens  in  tin- 
city,  working  with  the  agricultural  students  during  the  summer  months 
while  school  is  not  in  session.  School  authorities  are  very  anxious  th  it 
great  hcnclil  may  come  to  the  whole  county  from  this  new  project. 

The  Grades  Buildings 

The  west  building  was  originally  erected  in  July,  1869.  It  was 
burned  in  August,  1905,  and  immediately  rebuilt  at  an  approximate  cost 
of  $50,000. 

The  south  building  was  completed  in   February,  1S!)2,  at   a  cost   ol 

$10,000. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  313 

System  as  a  Whole 

The  Monticello  public  schools  are  equipped  with  commodious  build- 
ings; which  comply  with  nil  the  requirements  of  the  state  laws  regarding 
school  structures.  The  school  lias  thorough  equipment  throughout  the 
grades  and  high  school. 

-  Since  1914  the  school  has  been  a  member  of  the  North  Central  Asso- 
ciation of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools.  The  association  maintains 
high  standards  of  scholarship  for  instructors,  requires  thorough  equip- 
ment of  laboratories,  limits  sizes  of  classes,  requires  a  broad  curriculum 
and  a  wholesome  school  spirit  in  all  schools  belonging  to  the  association. 
All  graduates  of  high  schools  in  the  association  are  admitted  to  colleges 
in  the  West  and  many  in  the  East  without  entrance  examinations. 

The  Monticello  Public  Library 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  of  1903  some  little  agitation  was  started 
with  reference  to  a  public  library.  J.  \V.  Hamilton,  superintendent  of 
the  public  schools,  contributed  occasional  articles  to  the  newspapers, 
setting  forth  its  need  and  urging  that  some  action  be  taken  in  the  matter. 
Assisted  by  the  ministers  of  the  churches,  particularly  the  Rev.  H.  G. 
Rice,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Mr.  Hamilton  succeeded  in  interesting 
the  business  men.  As  a  result,  a  subscription  paper  was  started,  and 
fifty-two  men,  each  subscribing  $8.00,  made  the  +410  required  by  law 
for  the  organizing  of  a  public  library. 

Under  the  law  of  March  4,  1904,  the  following  persons  were  ap- 
pointed to  serve  as  a  board  of  trustees:  W.  II.  Hamelle  and  Mrs.  T.  P. 
Palmer,  appointed  by  the  town  council;  J.  W.  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  M.  T. 
Didlake,  by  the  school  board,  and  Dr.  J.  I).  McCann,  Mrs.  E.  R.  Brown 
aud  Miss  Anne  Magee  by  the  .judge  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

These  persons  met  in  the  county  clerk's  office  and  were  duly  qualified 
on  the  evening  of  April  6,  1903.  An  organization  was  formed  by  elect- 
ing W.  H.  Hamelle,  president;  Mrs.  .M.  T.  Didlake,  vice  president  ;  Mrs. 
T.  P.  Palmer,  secretary,  and  Miss  Anne  Magee,  treasurer.  Miss  Magee 
was  appointed  to  collect  the  subscription,  and  she  proved  a  successful 
collector. 

The  county  commissioners,  represented  by  Messrs.  Inskecp  and  Ball, 
tendered  the  use  of  the  two  northwest  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  of  the 
courthouse  for  the  library  until  permanent  quarters  were  obtained.  One 
of  the  first  steps  taken  by  the  board  was  to  have  tlu-se  rooms  put  in  proper- 
condition  for  library  purposes.  MissMereia  Ilogland,  who  was  then  state 
organizer  of  the  Public  Library  Commission,  made  some  suggestions  in 
regard  to  the  furnishing. 

The  floors  of  both  rooms  were  covered  with  plain  brown  linoleum, 
and  the  first  room  to  be  used  as  a  slack  and  circulating  room  was  papered 
in  a  soft  shade  of  tan.  Shelves  were  placed  on  three  side  walls,  and  a 
kitchen  table  was  bought  of  Iv  R.  BrOWIl  to  serve  for  a  elmrgillK  desk. 
The  record  room,  to  lie  used    for  a  reading  room,  was  papered   in   plain 


314 


1IIST0WY  OF   WHIT  14  COUNTY 


dark  green.  Thr  furniture  consisted  of  a  magazine  case  made  I)}'  George 
Coen,  a  leather  top  library  table,  and  a  half  dozen  chairs. 

On  April  28,  1006,  Miss  [Iogland  was  invited  to  meet  with  and  advise 
the  board  as  to  the  proper  course  to  pursue.  She  advised  the  adoption 
of  the  Dewey  decimal  system  of  classification,  named  the  qualifications 
to  be  considered  in  electing  a  librarian,  and  discussed  the  question  of 
bo&ks.  W.  II.  Hamelle  presented  a  list  of  seventy  books,  from  which 
fifty  were  to  be  selected  by  the  board  as  a  gift  from  his  private  library. 

It  was  decided  to  canvass  the  town  for  like  donations,  and  a  circular 
letter,  which  read  as  follows,  was  sent  to  each  citizen:  "The  members 
of  the  library  board  wish  to  assure  you  that  no  effort  is  being  spared 
to  put  the  Monticello  Public  Library  upon  a  substantial  and  permanent 
footing.     The  people  are  manifesting  a  lively  interest  in  the  enterprise, 


Public  Library,  Monticello 


and  they  arc  exceedingly  anxious  to  see  the  library  opened  to  the  public 
at  the  earliest  possible  day. 

"Under  the  operation  of  the  law  the  public  funds  will  not  be  avail- 
able for  a  year  or  more.  The  money  subscribed  will  suffice  only  for  the 
equipment  of  the  rooms  and  the  partial  remuneration  of  a  librarian. 
and  the  purchase  of  a  limited  number  of  books.  In  view  of  these  facts, 
the  library  board  has  decided  to  have  a  'book  shower'  Saturday,  June  G, 
1906.  They  have  also  decided  to  make  a  personal  appeal  to  the  citizens 
of  Monticello  to  contribute  to  the  library  as  many  books  as  they  feel 
able  to  give. 

"Only  standard  books  will  he  accepted.  Paper-back  books  are  not 
wanted.  Every  book  donated  will  he  labeled  showing  the  donor's  name. 
The  library  rooms  will  be  open  Tuesday  and  Thursday  of  next  week 
from  1  to  S  ]).  m.,  at  which  time  books  will  be  received.  The  great 
'shower'  will  oeetir  Saturday,  dune  (I. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  315 

"In  closing,  may  we  not  ask  you  to  assist  in  starting  this  library  at 
once  by  contributing  such  books  as  yon  can  give  and  such  as  you  think 
desirable*  Very  respectfully, 

"Tut:  Public  Library. " 

Over  800  books  "were  received  as  a  result  of  the  canvass.  The  greatest 
number  of  books  received  from  any  one  person  was  received  from  E.  B. 
Sellers,  the  number  being  173.  .Many  of  the  books  given  by  .Mr.  Sellers 
were  recent  books  of  fiction,  and  they  were  of  great  service  in  creating 
an  interest  in  reading. 

Judge  T.  F.  Palmer  gave  the  American  Cyclopedia,  which  proved 
to  be  one. of  the  most  useful  gifts  to  the  library. 

Among  others  who  gave  many  good  books  were  \V.  S.  Bushnell, 
Charles  C.  Spencer,  W.  S.  Pierce,  B.  R.  Brown,  Mrs.  Carrie  Ilartman. 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  II.  G.  Rice. 

A  letter  was  sent  to  Mrs.  Bowman,  then  residing  in  Canada  with  her 
daughter,  asking  for  a  donation  from  the  library  of  her  husband,  ('apt. 
George  Bowman.  She  responded  to  the  request  the  following  winter  by 
having  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Anna  Hoffman,  of  Bloomington,  Indiana, 
make  a  selection  from  the  books  stored  in  the  Bowman  home  on  South 
Main  Street.  Many  of  the  books  are  in  line  print,  some  in  Greek,  Latin 
and  middle  English,  but  they  are  valuable  as  representing  the  library 
of  a  man  whose  name  stands  for  education  in  the  history  of  White  County. 

Mr.  Hamelle  made  the  first  purchase  of  books  for  the  library.  The 
board  authorized  him  to  expend  $35  for  such  bonks  as  deemed  necessary. 

Miss  Anne  Magee,  Mrs.  E.  R  Brown  and  J.  \V.   Hamilton  were  ap- 
pointed as  a  committee  to  pass  upon  all  books  received.    ,).  \V.  Hamilton, 
Mrs.  M.  T.  Didlake  and  Mrs.  E.  R.  Brown  were  appointed  a  committee 
oTi  constitution  and  by-laws. 
I       It  was  through  the  suggestion  of  Reverend  and  .Mrs.  Dodd,  of  the 
]  Christian  Church,  that  Nora  Gardner  was  elected  librarian.     They  were 
s1'  personal  friends  of  Miss  Gardner's,  and    knowing  her  appreciation   of 
\.       books,  suggested  her  name  to  Mrs.  Didlake  and  prevailed  upon  her  to 
apply  for  the  position.     She  was  elected  and  has  done  line  anil   faithful 
/      service.    Miss  Gardner  spent  a  few  weeks  in  a  library  studying  catalog- 
f       ing,  and  Miss  Katharine  Fisher,  of  the   Attica    Public    Library,  spent 
three  weeks  in  Monticello  instructing   Miss  Gardner  and   helping   her 
catalog  the  books  which  had  been  presented  and  purchased. 

The  two  had  many  interesting  experiences  in  going  over  the  books 
which  bad  been  given.  One  day.  after  looking  over  a  basketful  that  had 
been  brought  in,  Miss  Fisher  remarked:  "Arc  the  people  of  this  town 
as  religious  as  their  books?     1  never  saw  so  many  200's." 

On  the  afternoon  of  September  1.  I'm::,  tie  Monticello  Public  Library 
was  opened  to  the  public.  That  morning  IF'  women  of  the  hoard  met 
in  the  library  rooms,  mopped  the  floors,  washed  the  windows,  dusted  the 
furniture  and  added  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  rooms  bj  placing  a  few 
potted  plants  in  the  windows.  With  1,02:1  newly  labeled  books,  it  seemed 
like  a  hopeful  enterprise. 


316  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY   ' 

Among  the  books  which  had  been  given,  or  purchased  there  was  no 
Bible.  Someone  suggested  that  they  could  not  open  a  public  library 
without  the  King  James  translation,  so  Doctor  McCann  and  Mr.  Hamelle 
went  to  the  McConnell  drug  store  and  purchased  a  handsome  Bible, 
-  which  they  gave  to  the  library.  A  number  of  persons  visited  the  library 
that  day,  and  twenty-one  books  were  lent.  The  undertaking  was  a 
greater  one  than  either  the  library  board  or  the  librarian  dreamed  of 
on  that  sunny  afternoon.  Bat  Atlas  could  never  have  carried  the  world 
if  he  had  known  the  size  of  it. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year  there  were  1,455  volumes  in  the  library, 
452  reader's  cards  had  been  issued,  and  the  circulation  had  been  6,667. 
The  second  year  there  was  a  decrease  in  the  circulation  of  161  volumes, 
although  the  inlere*st  seemed  as  good.  The  librarian  frequently  had  a 
<rstory  hour"  for  the  children.  The  stories  were  usually  taken  from 
the  classics;  sometimes  they  were  told,  but  more  often  they  were  read. 

During  the  three  years  that  the  home  of  the  library  was  in  the  court- 
bouse  the  hours  were  from  1  to  5  every  afternoon  of  the  week,  with  the 
additional  hour's  of  from  9  to  12  on  Saturday  morning. 

The  Winona  (Tub  and  the  University  Club  held  their  meetings  in 
the  library  rooms. 

In  April,  1905,  J.  \V.  Hamilton  was  elected  president  of  the  board 
to  succeed  .Mr.  liaiuclle,  and  Dr.  J.  D.  McCann,  vice  president,  to  succeed 
Mrs.  Didlake. 

The  question  of  a  donation  from  Andrew  Carnegie  began  to  be  agi- 
tated, and  on  December  12,  1905,  the  president  of  the  board  was  in- 
structed to  write  to  Mr.  Carnegie  and  ascertain' what  steps  should  be 
taken.  On  January  20,  1906,  an  offer  of  $10,000  for  a  building  was 
■  made  by  Mr.  Carnegie,  provided  the  board  would  ensure  a  building  site 
and  $1,000  yearly  for  its  support.  After  the  town  council  had  passed 
on  the  appropriation  of  $1,000  yearly  for  library  purposes,  the  question 
of  a  site  for  a  building  aroused  much  interest. 

Larlrin  Lowe  offered  a  lot  north  of  his  residence  on  North  Main 
Street;  A.  A.  Anlieir  and  1.  Dreifus  one  on  West  Broadway.  The  lot 
north  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  considered,  but  the  price  seemed 

beyond  reach.     Th isl  favored  lot,  I  hat  at  the  end  of  East  Broadway, 

because  of  its  central  and  attractive  location,  was  purchased  in  1906  of 
Adam  Bennett,  a  resident  of  hong  Beach,  California. 

Mr.  Carnegie's  gift  for  a  building  was  then  accepted.  Charles  E. 
Kendrick,  of  Fori  Wayne,  Indiana,  was  employed  as  architect,  ami  the 
contract  for  building  was  let  to  Mr.  hevindouski,  of  Lafayette.  J.  W. 
Hamilton,  Dr.  .1.  D.  McCann  and  W.  II.  Hamelle  constituted  the  building 
committee. 

While  the  building  was  in  progress,  the  librarian  succeeded  in  organ- 
izing all  of  the  chilis  of  the  town  into  a  Local  Union  for  the  purpose  of 
furnishing  the  new  library.  The  story  of  how  this  organization  made 
over  $."i()0  is  both  interesting  and  amusing.  To  mention  "A  Fate  of 
Pleasure"  to  any  of  its  members  brings  forth  a  smile,  hut  the  women 
who  carried  out  I  he  enterprise  deserve  the  highest  praise,  ami  they  have 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  217 

left  a  monument  of  their  work  which  will  last  for  years  to  come.  They 
presented  the  library  with  three  reading  tables,  twenty-eight  chairs,  a 
charging  desk,  a  newspaper  rack,  a  magazine  ease,  an  umbrella  rack,  a 
grate  for  the  fireplace,  three  dozen  mission  folding  chairs  for  the  lecture 
room,  and  $11  for  a  book  fund.  Later  the  Nickel  Plate  Club  presented 
the  handsome  clock,  and  the  University  Extension  Club  the  picture  "The 
Capture  of  Andromache."  When  the  building  was  completed  the  Uni- 
versity Extension  Club  was  given  the  use  of  it  for  a  three  clays'  art 
exhibit. 

In  August  the  library  was  moved  from  the  courthouse  to  its  new 
home.  Thefe  was  no  formal  opening,  but  when  all  was  in  order  the 
doors  were  thrown  open  to  the  public,  and  thus  began  the  real  lib-  of 
the  Monticello  Public  Dibrary. 

In  1908  Mr.  Hamelle  was  succeeded  on  the  board  by  J.  P.  Simons. 
Tn  1909  Mr.  Simons  was  elected  president  of  the  board;  Dr.  J.  D.  Mc- 
Gann,  vice  president,  and  Mrs.  Didlake,  secretary. 

In  1910  the  library  board  offered  to  open  the  public  library  to  Union 
Township,  if  it  cared  to  take  advantage  of  township  extension.  A  peti- 
tion to  that  effect  from  the  township  to  the  advisory  board  failed  to  pass. 
It  was  repeated  in  1913  with  the  same  result.  Persons  living  outside  of 
the  city  limits  have  always  been  granted  the  privileges  of  the  library 
for  a  small  sum. 

Mrs.  Blown  and  Mr.  Hamilton  were  always  interested  in  the  library. 
There  were  very  few  days  that  Mr.  Hamilton  did  not  visit  the  library 
to  see  how  tjie  work  was  progressing.  He  endeavored  to  make  his  teachers 
realize  what  it  might  do  for  them.  In  1913  Doctor  McCann  was  elected 
president  of  the  board,  and  Mr.  Simons,  vice  president,  the  librarian 
•to  act  as  secretary. 

The  lecture  room  has  been  used  for  many  interesting  occasions. 
Among  them  was  an  exhibit  of  the  paintings  and  drawings  of  Pansy 
Hartman,  of  Toledo,  Ohio.  The  organizations  holding  regular  meetings 
there  are  the  Winona  Club,  Men's  Bible  League,  University  Extension 
Club,  Camp  Fire  Girls,  White  County  Historical  Society,  and  a  Lutheran 
service  held  ouce  a  month. 

There  are  now  3,369  books  catalogued  and  in  use.  ll!>  I, omul  vol- 
umes of  magazines,  over  1,100  unbound  magazines  and  pamphlets,  and 
three  daily  newspapers,  one  weekly  paper  and  twenty-one  current  maga- 
zines.    The  circulation  for  1913  was  8,789  books  and  619  magazines. 

The  library  hours  have  been  from  1  to  'J  1'.  .M .  on  week  days,  and 
from  10  A.  M.  to  9  P.  M.  on  Saturday,  and  during  the  winter  months 
from  2  to  5  P.  M.  on  Saturday. 

There  have  been  both  sunny  days  ami  cloudy  days  in  the  building  up 
of  the  library.  The  moving-picture  show,  the  automobile,  ami  (he 
revival  of  hand-made  embroidery  ami  lace  have  to  some  extent  thwarted 
tin1  influence  of  hooks. 

The  firs!  decade  of  the  Monticello  Public  Library  has  passed,  -lust 
what  the  influence  has  been  cannot  be  estimated.  Approaching  the  com- 
ing decade,  we  see  a  readjustment  and  a  building  up  along  new  lines. 


318 


HISTORY  OF   WHITK  COUNTY 


for  a  library  is  not  only  a  storehouse  of  the  records  of  the  past  but  one 
of  new  ideas  for  immediate  and  future  use. 

Good  Water  and  a  Good  System 

* 

Monticcllo  lias  been  very  fortunate  in  the  construction  of  her  water- 
works and  the  building  of  the  entire  system,  which  have  brought  to  the 

doors  of  the  most  modest  citizen  an  unfailing  supply  of  pure  water. 
The  town  has  been  not  only  fortunate  in  the  discovery  of  such- a  supply, 
but  in  obtaining  the  services  of  competent  and  careful  engineers  and 
business  men  from  the  very  first.  The  builders,  the  town  management 
and  the  water  itself  have  all  contributed  to  the  health,  comfort  and 
good  name  of  Montieello. 

The  system  was  installed   in   1895  under  the  direction  of  the  town 


I  i^H  I 


Water  Works,  Monticelu: 


board,  which  was  then  composed  of  Sanford  Jolmsonbaugh,  Frank  I\ 
Berkey,  Henry  ('.  Crouch,  Thad  E.  Hanway  and  Michael  Howard,  with 
Charles  C.  Spencer  as  attorney.  At  the  foot  of  the  river  bluff  on  the  north 
side  of  Washington  Street  they  struck  a  gushing  spring,  the  supply  of 
which  still  seems  inexhaustible.  At  least  it  flows  as  vigorously  as  when 
first  tapped,  and  the  analysis  of  the  state  chemist,  who  labels  it  "This  is 
good  water,"  shows  the  following  composition:  Albuminoid  ammonia, 
.0(11  per  cent;  free  n 1 1 1 1 1 1 « > 1 1 i ;i .  .027;  iron,  .18;  chlorine,  .7;  total  solids, 
L.2;  lixed  solids,  32.2.  There  are  no  traces  of  nitrates,  lead  or  colon 
bacilli,  the  last-named  announcement  by  the  state  chemist  being  evidence 
that  the  water  contains  nothing  which  could  cause  disorders  of  digestion 
or   fevers  which  originate  in   infection   through   the  digestive  tract. 

Complete,  the  total  eosl  of  the  plant      as  $28,000,  and  the  town  never 
made  a  better  investment.     Later  expenses  made  necessary  a  bond  issue 


HISTORY  OF   WHITE  COL'NTY 


31!) 


of  $35,000  to  meet  the  indebtedness.  The  plans  were  furnished  by  Con- 
suiting  Engineer  W.  S.  Shields,  of  Chicago,  and  the  system  installed 
by  Webster  P.  Biishnell,  local  engineer.  The  original  plan  provided  for 
about  four  miles  of  ,»nains,  but  it  lias  been  much  expanded  to  meet  tin- 
wants  of  a  growing  community. 

The  brick  well,  or  reservoir,  which  encloses  the  spring,  is  12  feet  in 
diameter,  and  the  town  consumes  an  average  of  225,000  gallons  daily, 
although  the  capacity  of  the  works  is  much  more.  The  pumping  station, 
at  the  foot  of  fhe  bluff  on  Washington  Street,  is  a  neat  brick- building 
with  a  70-foot  smoke  stack,  and  is  equipped  with  two  Woi'thington 
engines. 

Pressure  is  supplied  by  a  standpipe  110  feel   high  and  of   126,000 


:sy  of  Munliccllu  Herald 


Electric  Plant  an*i>  Dam 


gallons  capacity,  located  at  the  highest  point  on  the  bluff.  Direct  pres- 
sure is  added  in  case  of  fire,  and  on  a  test  a  stream  has  been  thrown 
over  the  courthouse  tower,  about  140  feet  in  height. 

In  the  summer  of  1915  eleven  3-inch  wells  were  driven  from  10  t" 
20  feet  in  depth  in  the  bottom  of  the  well,  and  these  were  connected 
with  the  pumps,  when  it  was  found  they  would  .supply  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  pure  water  which  at  the  well  had  a  temperature  of  about 
42°  Fahr. 

Thus  the  water  service  is  not  only  tin'  strongest  protection  the  eil;\ 
has  against  fire,  hut  is  its  chief  conservator  id'  the  public  health  -  mean 
in<r  the  health  of  the  men,  wo u  and  children  of  Monticello. 


320  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  Telephone  Exchange 

There  arc  other  agencies  under  private  control,  and  promotion  which 
have  so  large  an  influence  on  the  well-being  of  the  people  that  they 
justly  come  under  the  classification  of  public  institutions.  Among  them 
none  are  more  worthy  of  commendation  than  the  telephone  system, 
which  is  already  a  power  for  efficiency,  convenience  and  comfort,  and 
acknowledged  by  all  progressive  communities  to  almost  fall  under  the 
head  of  necessities.  In  1911  the  Monticello  telephone  exchange  erected 
a  handsome  two-story  stone  building  on  the  north  side  of  the' public 
srpuara  for  the  accommodation  of  its  operatives  and  the  public.  Its 
cable  system  comprised  25,000  feet  of  underground  and  aerial  wires,  and 
■  was  installed  by  the  Dean  Electric  Company,  of  Elyria,  Ohio.  The 
switchboard  lias  an  ultimate  capacity  of  2,000  local  lines. 

Riverview  Park 

What  is  known  as  Riverview  Park,  and  for  many  earlier  years  as 
Edgewater,  is  managed  by  an  association  of  citizens.  It  has  a  club- 
house and  lias  been  more  or  less  improved.  It  is  naturally  a  beautiful 
stretch  of  ground,  opposite  the  center  of  the  city  on  the  eastern  shores 
of  the  Tippecanoe,  and  must  eventually  become  recreation  grounds  of 
such  general  resort  as  lo  reach  the  plaue  of  a  "public  institution."  The 
park  is  located  in  what  is  known  as  East  Monticello,  which  was  laid 
out  in  1867  by  Sheldon  Whitman,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  county, 
who  is  now  a  respected  citizen  of  Monticello. 

The  Revxolds'  Additions 

In  tlie  early  part  of  the  same  year  that  East  Monticello  was  platted 
(January,  1867)  James  C.  Reynolds  made  his  second  addition  of  twenty- 
eight  lots  to  (lie  town.  This  addition  was  immediately  west  of  and  ad- 
joining his  first  addition  and  tilling  the  space  between  his  first  addition 
and  the  west  addition.  'I'lie  street  on  the  north  was  named  Fo^'er  Street 
in  honor  of  William  Foster,  superintendent  of  the  Logansport,  Peoria  & 
Burlington  Railroad,  and  was  a  continuation  of  North  Street  from 
Illinois  Street  west  through  the  first  and  second  additions,  as  well  as 
the  west  addition  to  its  western  line.  Railroad  Street  was  also  extended 
north  through  the  addition  to  Foster  Street. 

Prior  to  the  laying  OUl  and  platting  of  this  second  addition,  Messrs. 
Zachariah  V&nBnskirk,  Dr.  William  S.  Haymond,  Thomas  Bushnell  and 
Cassius  M  Fisk,  all  residents  of  the  town,  purchased  the  interests  of 
William   .M.  Jetiners  and   the  heirs  of  Jacob   Walker,   in  all  the  lots 

remaining    unsold     in     Walker.    Jeimers    and     Reynolds'    addition,     and 
offered  them  for  sab'  at  an  advance  over  former  prices. 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1874,  Mr.  Reynolds  made  his  third  addition, 
comprising  all  but  two  acres,  before  donated  by  him  to  the  school  trustees 
of  the  town  and  on  which  the  school  building  was  erected,  of  a  forty- 


HISTORY  OE  WHITE  COUNTY 


321 


acre  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  town  on  the  west,  anil  south  of  .Main 
Cross  Street.  Mr.  Reynolds  had  purchased  a  block  of  lots  in  Walker, 
Jenners  and  Reynolds'  addition  north  of  the  railroad  and  secured  their 
vacation,  which  he  renumbered  and  included  the  lots  so  numbered  in  his 
third  addition. 

On  the  24th  day  of  October,  187-1,  he  made  a  fourth  addition  to  the 
to\vi>,  beginning  on  the  north  line  of  the  corporation  and  running  south 
on  the  center  of  the  highway  intersecting  .Main  Street,  to  Hie  north  line 
of  section  33,  thence  east  to  the  river,  thence  north  with  the  meanderings 
of  the  river  to  the  corporation  line,  and  thence  west  to  the  place  of  begin- 
ning, containing  100  acres,  and  being  much  larger  than  any  addition 
ever  made  to  the  town. 


View  from  the  Monticello  Stand  Pice 

On  the  6th  day  of  October,  1883,  John  W.  Christy,  administrator  of 
his  father's  estate,  made  an  addition  of  sixty  lots  to  Die  town  on  the 
east  side  of  Main  Street  and  adjoining  the  addition  of  Walker,  Jenners 
and  Reynolds  on  the  north. 

Turner's  Addition 


On  the  5th  day  of  May,  1886,  John  M.  Turner,  a  son  of  William 
Turner,  one  of  the  first  settlers,  who  is  now  a  resident  of  the  township 
and  an  active  and  prosperous  farmer  though  more  than  eighty  years  of 
age,  and  Anna  E.  Turner,  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Harrison  1'. 
Anderson,  also  an  old  settler,  but  now  decenBod,  made  an  addition  of  ten 
lots  to  the  town  on  land  lying  between  the  highway  intersecting  Main 
Street  and  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad  (.Mom,,;, 
Route),  and  west  of  ;m,l  opposite  the  northern  part  of  .hones  ( '.  Rey- 
nolds' fourth  addition. 

Vol.  I      -'I 


322     .  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Cleveland  Street  Created 

On  the  2nd  day  'of  Juue,  1887,  Henry  P.  Bennett,  an  old  settler, 
long  a  resident  of  the  town,  made  an  addition  of  eighty  lots  in  the 
extreme  southern  part  of  the  town  east  of  the  extension  of  Main  Street 
to  the  corporation  line  on  the  south,  which  is  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  addition.  Two  additional  streets  were  opened  through  the  addi- 
tion, from  east  to  west,  intersecting  Main  Street.  The  street  south,  and 
near  the  center  of  the  addition,  was  named  Cleveland  Street,  in  honor  of 
Mr.  Cleveland,  who  was  then  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
other,  on  the  north  line  of  the  addition,  was  named  North  Street.  Tippe- 
canoe and  Water  streets  were  extended  south  through  the  addition  to 
the  corporation  line. 

Hughes'   Addition 

The  addition  succeeding  the  Bennett  addition  was  made,  on  the  27th 
day  of  August,  188!),  by  the  heirs  and  legatees  of  Rowland  Hughes, 
deceased:  Mary  Failing  and  husband,  Peter  R.  Failing,  Sarah  C.  Crouch 
and  husband,  Jeptha  Crouch,  Clara  A.  Purcupile  and  husband,  John  J. 
Pureupile,  and  Cornelia  Crouch  and  husband,  Henry  C.  Crouch.  It. 
consisted  of  forty-eight  lots  on  the  west  side  of  Main  Street  and  east  of 
the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railway,  and  immediately  north 
of  a  part  of  Walker,  Jcnners  and  Reynolds'  addition,  and  a  part  of 
James  C.  Reynolds'  third  addition. 

CoCIIELl/s   AND   FrASER's   ADDITIONS 

On  the  18th  day  of  November,  1889,  Abner  Cochell,  a  son  of  John 
Cochell,  one  id'  the  first  settlers,  made  an  addition  of  sixteen  lots  to  the 
town.  Mi'.  Codicil's  addition  is  located  between  Mr.  Bennett's  addition 
on  the  south  and  .Mr.  Christy's  addition  on  the  north,  and  extends  from 
.Main  Street  on  the  west  to  Water  Street  on  the  east.  Tippecanoe  Street 
is  extended  smith  through  the  addition  of  the  same  width  as  in  the 
original  plat. 

On  the  28th  day  of  May,  L8!)l,  Lincoln  M.  Fraser,  a  son  of  Willia.m 
Fraser,  and  grandson  of  Mali  Ion  Fraser  and  John  Roberts,  who  were 
among  the  very  first  settlers  in  the  township,  made  an  addition  of  nine 
lots  to  the  town.  Mr.  Eraser's  addition  consists  of  three  tiers  id'  lots  on 
the  west  side  of  Main  Street  immediately  opposite  the  south  end  of  that 
pari  of  Christy's  addition  fronting  west  on  .Main  Street. 

On  the  Ith  day  of  dune,  188f),  Rev.  George  W.  Washburn,  Ion;-  a 
resident  of  the  town,  and  pastor  of  the  Baptist  congregation  at  Monti 
cello,  made  ,111  addition  of  five  lots  to  the  town.  His  addition  is  located 
immediately  north  of  and  adjoining  the  east  part  of  Christy's  addition 
fronting  north  on  Ohio  Street,  which  is  extended  through  his  addition 
lo  its  easl  line,  ils  west  line  being  Water  Street  extended  north  to  the 
intersection  of  Ohio  Street. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  323 

McCuaig's  Addition 

On  the  1st  day  of  November,  L890,  David  McCuaig,  an  old  and  higldy 
respected  resident  of  the  town,  lately  deceased,  made  an  addition  of 
twenty  lots.  Mr.  McCuaig's  addition  is  immediately  south  of  the  Largest 
part  of  James  C.  Reynolds'  third  addition,  adjoining  the  Walker, 
Jenners  and  Reynolds  addition  on  the  east,  and  extends  west  to  the 
corporation  line. 

Dkkifus  and  Haugh's  Addition 

On  the  13th  day  of  September,  1894,  Messrs.  Dreifus  and  ITaugh, 
two  citizens  of  Delphi,  made  an  addition  of  L20  lots  to  the  town.  This 
addition  is  located  on  the  north  side  of  Main  Cross  Street  and  west  of 
and  adjoining  the  west  addition,  running  thence  to  the  corporation  line. 

McLean  and  Brearley's  Addition 

On  the  27th  day  of  October,  ISO.l,  William  K.  McLean  and  Jones 
Brcarley,  trustees  for  the  Tippecanoe  Canning  Company,  made  an  addi- 
tion of- ten  lots  to  the  town.  This  addition  is  located  on  the  west  side 
of  Main  Street,  opposite  the  north  end  of  Bennett's  addition,  and  extends 
west  to  the  east  line  of  Illinois  Street  if  extended  south.  A  street  GO 
feet  wide,  named  by  the  trustees  South  Street,  is  opened  to  the  public 
on  the  north  side  of  the  addition,  and  an  alley  running  north  and  south 
passes  midway  between  the  lots. 

Later  Additions  to  the  Townsite 

Aha  J.  Martin's  addition  was  made  August  1."),  ISO!).  Tt  comprises 
lots  1  to  9,  inclusive,  in  the  north  end  of  the  town  between  Railroad  and 
Illinois  streets. 

Martin's  second  addition,  on  the  east  side  of  Illinois  Street,  lets  1 
to  7,  was  made  September  12,  11)02. 

On  December  16,  1912,  was  made  William  I s'  addition  to  the  south 

end  of  the  town,  embracing  lots  1    to  21. 

Thomas  W.  O'Connor's  addition  to  the  southeast  end  of  the  site, 
which  covered  lots  1  to  36,  and  A,  l>  and  C  lots,  was  made  on  the  17th 
of  March,  1903. 

Two  additions  to  the  south  end,  lots  I  to  11  and  12  to  30,  were  made 
November  21,  1905,  by  Charles  A.  and  Sarah  .1.  Ilolladay,  and  in  the 
same  locality  Mary  Failing  added  twelve  lots  to  the  town. 

( 'iri/.i:.\s'  Addition 

On  June  V.l,  1907,  a  Large  addition,  known  as  the  Citizens',  was  made 
north  of  the  Pennsylvania   and   west   of  the   MoilOt)   tracks.      I  Vniard    A. 
Vogel  was  trustee  of  the  association  which  platted  it,  and  the  tract  en\ 
ercd  lots  1   to  152. 


324  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Additions  to  the  City 

The  Industrial  addition  to  the  northwestern  part  of  the  city  was 
made  August  17,  1909,  ami  consisted  of  lots  1  to  97. 

On  the  15th, of  February,  1910,  was  made  the  Citizens'  second  addi- 
tion to  northwest  Montieello,  with  Charles  W.  Davis,  trustee,  which 
comprised  lots  153  to  164. 

J.  M.  Ridley's  addition  in  the  south  end  was  platted  May  24,  1910, 
and  ('(insists  of  lots  1  to  7. 

The  original  site  of  Montieello  and  the  additions  thereto  cover  an 
area  of  1,000  acres,  or  over  one  and  a  half  square  miles. 

City  Hall 

The  city  is  well  paved,  well  built,  and  clean,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
supplied  with  pure  water  through  a  modern  system  of  distribution.  It 
has  also  a  carefully  conducted  health  department. 

.Montieello  has  had  two  good  mayors — Thomas  W.  O'Connor  and 
Benjamin  P.  Carr. 

The  city  hall,  which  stands  on  the  north  side  of  Washington  Street 
and  half  a  block  west  of  Main,  is  a  handsome  and  convenient  brick 
structure  erected  in  1904,  at  a  cost  of  about  $12,000.  It  is  the  handi- 
work, both  as  to  plans  and  construction,  of  Samuel  Young,  a  local 
architect,  and,  as  its  corner-stone  testifies,  was  erected  while  John  H. 
.Miller,  Alvin  Witz,  Charles  Roth,  P.  B.  Robison  and  the  late  J.  H.  Hen- 
derson were  members  of  the  board  of  trustees.  The  marshal's  office  and 
jail,  as  well  as  quarters  for  the  fire  apparatus,  are  on  the  ground  floor, 
the  second  story  being  given  up  to  the  council  chamber  and  offices  for  the 
local  departments. 

Improvements  op  Water  Power 

In  1906  a  new  corporation,  the  Tippecanoe  Electric  and  Power  Com- 
pany, began  to  improve  the  dam  and  the  water  power  at  the  county  scat. 
At  the  east  end  of  I  In-  new  and  improved  dam  three  flood  gates  were 
constructed  to  regulate  the  supply  of  water.  Their  foundation  was 
gradually  undermined  by  the  strong  current,  and  on  the  night  of 
August  11,  1910,  they  were  washed  away.  Instead  of  replacing  the 
flood  gates,  the  dam  was  extended  the  full  width  of  the  river,  another 
fifty  feet.  The  pari  of  the  dam  thus  extended  was  three  feet  lower  than 
the  other  portion,  and  the  How  of  water  was  regulated  by  flashboards 
set  on  the  crest  of  the  dam.  These,  with  the  old  race  on  the  east  side, 
which  was  lie  n  utilized  ,is  a  spillway,  assured  k  iter  control  of  the  water 
supply  Until  \\i\i\rr  the  old  plan  of  Hood  gates.  The  apron  of  the  entire 
dam  was  coveivil  with  concrete  at  that  time,  and  the  channel  of  the  river 
deepened  on  the  wcsl  side.  The  lntter  improvement  had  the  effect  of 
carrying  the  water  away  from  the  wheels  and  increasing  the  water  head. 


HISTORY  OF  YVIIITK  COUNTY 


325 


Present-Day    [ndustbies 

All  these  improvements,  with  the  continuous  upkeep  of  the  enter- 
prise, have  constituted  an  unfailing  assurance  of  electrical  power  and 
light  for  not  only  the  present,  but  the  future  of  many  years.  Among 
the  chief  manufactories  which  have  taken  advantage  of  such  extended 
facilities  for  supplying  industrial   power  are   the   Tippecanoe  Thread 


rtesy  of  MoutlcellQ  Herald 


City  1Iau„  MoNTrcEixo 


Mills,  owned  by  the  Marshall  Field  estate,  of  Chicago,  ami  managed  by 
George  T.  Stevenson.  T.  II.  Reynolds  is  president,  and  II.  I>.  James, 
vice  president  of  the  Thread  Mills  Company,  which  owns  the  plant.  The 
industry,  which  was  established  in  February.  1910,  consists  of  the  manu- 
facture o\'  sewing  and  embroidery  threads.  An  addition  to  the  original 
plant  was  made  in  1911,  an. I  the  mills  now  employ  1U55  hands  and  put  out 
$200,000  worth  of  threads  annually. 


HLSTORY  DP  WHITE  COUNTY  327 

Besides  the  Thread  Works  and  the  L.oughr>  Mills,  the  other  indus- 
tries of  most  importance  at  Mohtieello  are,  perhaps,  the  Cement  Tile 
Works,  the  ice  cream  manufactory,  and  the  Farmers'  Elevator,  the  lat- 
ter being  operated  by  a  co-operative  company.  The  largest  and  oldest 
lumber  and  coal  yard  is  owned  and  operated  by  George  Biederwolf. 

Four  Banks 

The-  finances  of  the  business  and  industrial  establishments  of  the  city 
are  maintained  through  four  strong  institutions,  given  in  the  order  of 
their  establishment,  viz.:  The  State  Bank  of  Monticello,  the  Monticello 
National  Rank,  the  White  County  Loan,  Trust  and  Savings  Company, 
and  the  Farmers'  State'  Bank. 

■     State  Bank  or  Monticeu.0 

In  1890  the  Bank  of  Monticello  was  organized  as  a  private  institu- 
tion, with  a  capital  of  $5,000  paid  in.  Robert  Parker  was  first  presi- 
dent, Henry  Van  Voorst,  vice  president,  and  Bert  Van  Voorst,  cashier. 
On  October  30,  1895,  was  organized  the  Slate  Bank  of  Monticello,  which 
took  over  the  business  of  the  Bank  of  Monticello.  Tin1  capital  was 
increased  to  $25,000,  and  first  officers  were:  Gustavus  Lowe,  president; 
John  F.  Johnson,  vice  president;  Henry  Van  Voorst,  cashier,  and  Bert 
Van  Voorst,  assistant  cashier,  lu  November,  1896,  Mr.  Lowe  disposed 
of  his  interest  in  the  bank  and  was  succeeded  as  president  by  John  P. 
Johnson,  and  W.  M.  Elliott,  vice  president.  In  1897  the  State  Bank 
purchased  the  Citizens'  Bank,  a  private  hanking  concern  of  Monticello, 
and  at  that  time  moved  to  their  present  quarters,  which  was  the  old  Citi- 
zens' Bank  home,  and  they  have  ever  sine.'  continued  there.  In  1897 
John  F.  Johnson,  the  president,  who  was  also  at  the  head  of  a  hank 
in  Logansport,  disposed  of  his  holdings  in  the  local  hank  to  a  number 
of  citizens  and  he  was  succeeded  as  president  by  II.  A.  B.  Moorhous. 
hi  1H04  .Mr.  Moorhous  was  .succeeded  by  J.  I>.  Timmous.  In  October, 
1905,  the  capital  was  increased  to  $50,000,  the  officers  remaining  the 
same  until  January,  1910,  when  Samuel  A.  Carson  succeeded  Mr. 
Timraons  as  president  and  has  continued  as  such  ever  since.  In  May, 
1910,  Bert  Van  Voorst  became  cashier,  succeeding  his  lather.  Henry 
Van  Voorst,  who  had  died  in  the  previous  month.  In  January,  1911, 
the  hoard  of  directors  was  increased  t<>  sewn,  and  with  one  exception 
(in  1012,  when  Mr.  Timmons  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Joms  Brearh-j 
the  directorate  has  remained  unchanged.  The  financial  statement  of 
the  bank  on  March  4.  1915,  shows  resources  of  $:199,9(>5.2:1.  Bs  liabili 
ties  include:  Capital  stock,  $50,000  surplus,  $25,000;  discount  and 
exchange,  $11,993.52;  deposits,  $:il2,971.71. 

M<>NTiri:u.'i   N  ITION  u.   B  INK 

The  Monticello  National  Bank  (the  only  institution  of  the  kind  in 
White  County)   was  organized   April  2.   1902,  with  Thomas  W.  O'Connor 


328  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

(afterward  the  city's  first  mayor)  as  president  and  William  K.  0 'Cou- 
ncil as  vice  president  and  cashier.  With  the  exception  that  II.  D. 
Shenk  lias  been  succeeded  by  I).  D.  McCuaig  as  assistant  cashier,  there 
lias  been  no  change  in  management  or  executive  offices.  The  capital  is 
still  $50,000,  and  tlie  surplus  and  profits  have  increased  from  $20,000 
•to  $30,000;  the  deposits  haw  reached  $200,000. 

White  County  Loan,  Trust  and  Savings  Company 

The  White  County  Loan,  Trust  and  Savings  Company  was  organized 
August.  26,  1905.  It  lost  its  first  home  by  fire  in  February,  1908,  and 
in  the  following  year  completed  the  stone  building  now  occupied  opposite 
the  Courthouse  Square  on  Main  Street.  The  company  has  increased 
its  capital  from  $25,000  to  $50,000,  and  its  deposits  now  average  $200,- 
000;  surplus,  $15,000.  Present  officers:  President,  George  W.  Van 
Alstiue;  vice  president,  George  M.  Biederwolf;  secretary-treasurer,  John 
M.  Turner.  The  original  officers  were  as  follows:  Capt.  B.  F.  Price, 
president;  John  M.  Turner,  secretary-treasurer;  A.  K.  Sills,  first  vice 
president,  and  J.  L.  Aekerman,  second  vice  president. 

Farmers  State  Bank 

Farmers  Stale  Bank,  No.  360,  of  Monticello,  was  organized  February 
2,  1911,  and  began  business  April  1,  1911,  with  $25,000  capital,  on  West 
Broadway.  The  management  bought  the  present  location  of  Senator 
Turpie's  heir,  built  thereon  a  two-story  stone  building  which  has  been 
occupied  since  September  1,  1914.  The  first  and  present  officers  are: 
President,  Jacob  1).  Timmons;  vice  president,  F.  J.  White;  cashier,  B.  B. 
Baker,  and  assistant  cashier,  J.  A.  Anheier. 


3Q 


A  Gkotii'  im   W'iiii'i.  Count*  Churchks 


CHAPTER  XXV 

RKL1GI0US,  SOCIAL  AND  LITERARY 

John  Rothrock,  Pioneer  Dunkard — The  Presbyterian  Church — The 
Old  and  the  New  Schools — Second,  or  New  School  Church — 
Pubijc  IIm.i,  as  Well  as  Church — Union  of  Churches — Building 
of  the  Present  Church — The  Methodist  Church  Pounded — 
Houses  of  Worship— Methodist  Pastors — The  Dunkards — How 
They  Supported  the  Union — The  New  Dunkards — The  Christian 
Church— Founded  i\  Monticello — Church  Reorganized — Pastors 

OF     THE     CliKlKTLlN      CHURCH  —  DESTRUCTIVE      PlRE     AND     THE      NEW 

Church — Tin-:  Orphans'  Home — Societies — The  Odd  Fellows — 
Tin.  Masons  Knights  of  Pythias — Grand  Army  Post — Other 
Societies — Women  's  (  Ilubs. 

II'  In  lias  Followed  the  course  of  this  history,  the  reader  lias  noted  that 
the  pioneer  settlers  on  the  site  of  the  present  City  of  Monticello  com- 
menced to  arrange  For  their  religious  needs  before  all  their  physical 
necessities  had  been  met.  II  spealcs  well  for  the  human  nature  of  those 
times,  also.  lh,.  such  longings  were  relieved  by  unselfish  souls  as  soon  as 
manifested;  two  or  three  had  only  to  gather  in  His  name  and  some  faith- 
ful eireuil  rider,  or  local  elder,  would  be  promptly  on  hand  to  expound 
the  gospel  to  the  hesi  of  his  ability.  The  field  was  small,  it  is  true,  but 
the  workers  wen:  Full  of  zeal,  and  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Baptists, 
Dunkards,  Christians,  Ww  Lights  and  other  denominations  soughl 
earnestly  and  patiently  for  their  little  hands  of  worshipers.  First  they 
met  iii  private  houses,  then  in  schoolhonses — often  occupying  the  same 
building  at  different  Sundays,  or  week  days,  or  different  hours  of  the 
same  day  and,  us  their  enterprises  prospered  or  dragged,  they  would 
erect  separate  church  buildings,  or  withdraw  from  the  Held  awaiting 
more  propitious  seasons  of  harvest. 

John   Rothrock,  Pioneer  Dunkard 

Jtihn  Hot  Finn  !  .  mi.  of  the  donors  of  the  land  on  which  the  city  stands, 
was  a  leader  and  a  minister  in  l h<-  Dutch  Reform,  or  Dunkard  Church, 
and  was  \ei\  active  in  its  affairs  until  his  death  in  1860.  Although  his 
Followers  made  m.  special  effort  to  increase  the  formal  membership  of 
the  society,  its  annual  meetings,  or  out-of-door  revivals,  were  largely 
attended,  even  l>\  many  Dunkards  from  a  distance.  As  Mr.  Rothrock 
was  com paru lively   Wealth}    and  the  local  members  of  the  church   were 

330 


HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY  331 

industrious  and  fore-handed,  the  society  maintained  for  some  years  a 
strong  and  good  influence  on  the  community. 

The  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  organized  classes  not  long  after  the 
Dunkards-took  the  field  under  Rider  Rothrock,  and  in  1836,  as  has  already 
been  noted,  the  Methodists  founded  a  society.  The  Presbyterians  and 
the  Methodists  have  maintained  their  organizations  to  the  present  time. 

t  The  Presbyterian  Church 

The  Presbyterian  Church  was  the  first  of  the  religious  bodies  to 
obtain  such  a  firm  standing  as  warranted  the  calling  of  a  resident  pastor, 
Rev.  Alexander  Williamson,  but  an  even  more  important  event  in  the 
history  of  local  Presbyterianism  was  the  coming  to  town  of  the  eloquent 
evangelist,  Rev.  Samuel  N.  Steele.  As  an  advocate  of  Mew  School  Pres- 
byterianism he  inaugurated  a  series  of  revivals  in  January,  1843,  and 
within  two  months  had  gathered  a  society  of  nearlj  a  hundred  members 
from  all  the  other  societies  which  had  formed  classes— Baptists,  Old 
School   Presbyterians   and  Dunkards. 

Tite  Old  and  the  New  Schools 

The  Old  and  the  New  School  Presbyterians  commenced  building 
churches  about  the  same  time  in  1843;  but  the  history  of  the  periods  of 
disunion  and  subsequent  union  lias  been  so  well  written  by  A.  R.  Orton 
that  the  writer  is  pleased  to  condense  from  one  of  his  ail  ides. 

In  the  spring  of  1836  the  Presbytery  of  Logansport  was  petitioned  by 
a  number  of  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  residing  in  White 
County  that  a  church  be  organized  in  Monticello.  The  names  of  the 
petitioners  were  Zebulon  Sheetz,  Margaret  Shed/.  Ann  B.  Shed/.  Austin 
('.  Sheetz,  Margaret  Rees,  Elizabeth  Rees,  Beershcba  Cowan,  Rhoda 
Cowan,  Beersheba  E.  Cowan,  Okey  S.  Johnson,  Rebecca  Johnson,  llarrid 
Cowan,  John  Rees,  Maria  Wilson.  Catherine  Johnson,  Martha  Rees,  Mary 
Ann  Parker,  Mary  Ann  Allen,  Asa  Allen  and  Lewis  Dawson. 

On  May  7,  1836,  at  the  house  of  John  Wilson,  who  lived  ah. mi 
a  mile  west  of  Monticello  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  farm  now  known  as  llio 
Moore  Farm,  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Monticello  was  organized  by 
the  Rev.  John  Stoeker,  then  of  Delphi,  Indiana,  assisted  by  Ri  v.  Michael 
Hummer,  of  Lafayette;  Zebulon  Sheetz,  a  ruling  elder  in  Bloomcrv 
Church,  Winchester  Presbytery,  Virginia,  was  chosen  elder.  On  Ha  da.\ 
of  the  organization,  John  Wilson  ami  Jonathan  Ilarboll  were  received 
as  members  upon  profession  of  faith,  and  were  elected  and  ordain,  d  ruling 
elders,  and  on  the  same  day  Isaac  Reynolds  ami  Joseph  Scott,  who  had 
been  dders  in  their  cast. an  churches,  were  chosen  to  serve  in  lie  nine, 
capacity  in  the  Monticello  organization. 

Si,co\n,  oi;  \'i  w  Sc  imoi.  Church 

On  January  21,  1843,  thirteen  members  from  the  Pirsl,  or  Old  S.-I ] 

Presbyterian  Church,  organized  the  S. id.  or  Vw  School  i  linreli  <'■<•■<•  < 


332  HISTORY  .OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Rev.  Samuel  N.  Steele,  as  noted.  These  original  members  were  Thomas 
Downey,  Catherine  Downey,  John  Wilson,  Maria  Wilson,  Okey  S.  John- 
son, Rebecca  Johnson,  Ellis  II.  Johnson,  Catherine  Rotlirock,  Mrs.  Mary 
Reynolds,  Mary  Jane  Reynolds,  .Miss  Catherine  Johnson,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Burns  ami  Sarah  Kepperling.  Froin  January  until  October  Mr.  Steele 
so  added  to  the  membership  of  the  church  that  he  had  about  a  hundred, 
and  although  the  old  School  Church  started  a  house  of  worship  about  the 
same  time  that  the  Second  Church  got  one  underway,  the  latter  was 
the  first  to  be  completed — the  pioneer  structure  of  the  kind  in  White 
County. 

Public  Hall  as  Well  as  Church 

The  old  house  of  worship  stood  on  the  site  of  the  church  now  occupied, 
and  served  its  special,  as  well  as  not  a  few  general  purposes,  until  January 
,18,  1874.  At  the  time  it  was  built,  and  for  some  time  after,  it  was  con- 
sidered not  only  a  great  convenience  for  worshipers,  but  for  public 
meetings  of  many  kinds;  it  was  sometimes  used  as  a  court  room,  and 
in  that  day  was  considered  a  valuable  public  improvement. 

The  First  Church  did  not  complete  its  building  until  18-10.  It  stood 
upon  the  site  of  what  was  afterward  occupied  by  McCuiag's  livery 
stable.  Alter  the  union  of  the  First  and  Second  churches  in  18(37,  it  was 
sold  to  the  Baptists,  who  moved  the  building  to  the  east  side  of  Bluff 
streel  south  ol'  Jell'crson  Street,  but  some  years  ago  it  was  torn  down. 

Following  Rev.  John  Stocker,  who  organized  the  original  church, 
came  Rev.  A.  T.  Rankin  and  Rev.  Alexander  Williamson — the  latter,  in 
1839,  as  the  firsl  resident  pastor.  Mr.  Williamson  occupied  the  pulpit 
when  the  division  occurred,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  Old  School  Church 
by  such  pastors  as  Rev.  Jesse  Edwards,  son-in-law  of  Zebulon  Sheetz, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Wampler.  Rev.  Robert  Irwin,  Rev.  W.  P.  Kouts  and  Rev. 
S.  R.  Seawrighl. 

Rev.   William    AT.  CI ver  came  to  the  Second   Church  as  its  first 

regular  |  istor  in  the  fall  of  1843,  following  the  Steele  revivals,  and  his 
successor,  Rev.  U.  IX  Miller,  held  the  pastorate  for  nine  years.  Rev. 
B.  F.  Neal  served  about  a  .war,  and  Rev.  IT.  C.  McBride  a  full  decade 
Rev.  Edwin  Black,  Rev.  William  Wjhner,  Rev.  Amos  Jones  were  in 
charge  before  the  union. 

Union  op  Churches 

Rev.  S.  R.  Seawrighl  look  charge  of  the  Old  School  Church  in  May, 
1SC7.  and  a  few  months  afterward  the  pulpit  of  the  New  School,  or 
Second  Church,  having  become  vacant,  il  was  proposed  that  the  two 
bodies  heroine  one  in  fail  as  they  had  in  spirit.  Although  they  began 
In  worship  together  in  tic  New  School  church  building,  no  organic  union 
was  effected  until  April,  1870;  at  that  time  [he  Second  Church  received 
permission  from  the  New  School  Presbyter}  to  he  transferred  I"  the 
(lid  School.  The  transfer  was  made  a  few  mouths  ill  advance  ol'  the 
HOmplolcd   union  of  the  two  General    Assemblies  at    Pittsburgh,  and    in 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  333 

May,  1870,  Mr.  Seawright  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  united  loeal 
church,  since  which  time  six  pastors  have  had  charge  of  the  work,  and 
in  the  following  order,  Revs.  John  I'..  Smith,  Sol  ('.  Dickey,  George  L. 
Knox,  II.  G.  Rice,  Charles  J.  Armentrout  and  Fred  W:  Backerneyer. 

Building  op  the  Present  Church 

In  the  meantime  another  church  building  had  been  commenced.  Its 
construction  was  begun  at  the  northwest  corner  of  West  Broadway  and 
Illinois,  in  the  spring  of  1873,  under  the  supervision  of  the  building 
committee,  Rev.  S.  R.  Seawright,  J.  ( '.  Reynolds  and  George  Uhl.  It 
t  was  occupied  for  regular  services  in  January,  1874,  but  the  tower  and 
entire  exterior  was  not  completed  until  1878,  and  the  auditorium  was  not 
considered  fully  prepared  for  dedication  until  December,  1886.  T!  ■• 
church,  a  large  and  handsome  bride  edifice  of  Gothic  design,  cost  about 
'$17,000,  and  its  dedication  also  marked  the  semi-centennial  of  the  found- 
ing of  the  original  society. 

Since  then,  or  for  nearly  thirty  years,  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Monticello  has  steadily  progressed.  It  has  a  membership  of  300  and  is 
now  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Fred  \V.  1'  ickemeyer,  who  succeeded 
Rev.  C.  J.  Armentrout  in  December,  1913. 

The  Methodist  Church  Founded 
j 

The  origin  of  Methodism  in  Monticello  dabs  back  to  the  year  1836, 
when  a  class  of  seven  was  formed  at  the  store  and  tavern  of  a  Mr.  Orwig, 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Thomas  W.  O'Connor's  residence,  opposite 
the  Public  Library  on  Bluff  Street.  The  members  of  this  first  Methodist 
society  were  Richard  Worthington  and  wife  Mary,  Silas  Cowger  and 
;,  _wife|Buth,  Rebecca  and  Sarah  A.  Cowger,  and  Rev.  [lae.haliah  Vreedcn- 
burg  held  services  for  them.  Mr.  Worthington  was  the  class  lender.  At 
that  time  Monticelh  was  a  Methodist  mission  and  was  thus  supplied 
until  1850;  then  as  a  circuit  appointment  until  about  I860,  when  it 
became  a  station  of  the  Northwest  Indiana  Conference.  As  a  mission 
it  was  in  the  Crawfordsville,  Logansport  and  Lafayette  districts;  as  a 
circuit  in  the  Lafayette  and  Delphi  districts,  ami  as  a  station  has  been 
at  different  times  in  the  Lafayette,  Battle  Ground,  Monticello,  Valparaiso 
and  South  Bend  districts.  It  is  at  present  in  the  Lafayette  District  of 
the  Northwest  Indiana  Conference. 

Houses  op  Wob  jihp 

Religious  services  were  at  firsl  held  n1  private  houses  in  Monticello. 
but  after  several  years  the  attendance  and  membership  becami  too  \wx\  v 
to  be  thus  accommodated,  and  the  school  house  was  then  made  the  |>l:n 

of  assembling,   in   common   with   other   reli|  ion     d<  i tinatious   of  the 

village.     In   1850  the  socieh   secured  a  church  I by  the  erection  of 

.,   iVa'ne  building  on  the  norlhwesl  corner  of  Main  and  Marion    tivels 


7 


334  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

just  north  of  the  Reynolds  Block.  It  was  sold  to  the  Christian  Church 
in  1887,  and  the  edifice  now  occupied  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Alain 
and  Harrison  streets  was  dedicated  on  August  iMith  of  that  year. 

'Methodist  Pastors 

Prom  183(3  until  1850,  inclusive,  or  while  the" Monticello  society  was 
a  mission,  it  was  seiwed  by  Ilachaliah  Vreedenburg,  John  II.  Bruce, 
Enoch  Wood,  J.  J.  Cooper,  Jacob  Colelazer,  Benjamin  T.  Griffith,  John 
Edwards,  Allen  I).  Beasley,  Nathan  S.  Worden,  J.  W.  Burns,  S.  N. 
Campbell,  .Matthew  Penniinore  and  John  Leach;  while  as  a  circuit,  1851- 
5!),  by  K.  II.  Calvert,  Lucas  Nebeker,  Jacob  Cozad,  N.  L.  Green,  Harvey 
S.  Shaw,, Thomas  K.  Webb  and  Andrew  J.  Sheridan;  and  since  it  became 
a  station,  in  I860,  by  IS.  Wilson  Smith,  Charles  B.  Mock,  Ferris  Pierce, 
Samuel  M.  Hayes,  John  IT.  Cissel,  John  L.  Boyd,  Enoch  Holdstock,  John 
1?.  DoMotte,  John  K.  Wwhouse,  David  Holmes  (D.  D.),  J.  A.  Clearwaters, 
Henry  C.  Ncal,  Oliver  C.  Haskell,  W.  G.  Vessels.  Conrad  S.  Burgner, 
Thomas  Mason,  James  Johnson,  W.  P.  McKinsey,  W.  B.  Slutz,  Charles 
A.  Brooke  (D.  D.),  Isaac  Dale,  A.  T.  Briggs,  A.  If.  DeLong,  S.  P.  Colvin 
(I).  1).),  J.  M.  Brown,  J.  1'..  Butter  and  II.  L.  Kindig  (I).  D.).  Doctor 
Kindig  has  been  pastor  of  the  church  since  11)11.  It  has  a  membership 
of  about    Hit)  and  is  a  strong  and  broad  influence  for  good. 

The  Dunkakds 

The  Dvmkards  have  now  no  regular  church  organization  in  A  Tout  ice  Ho. 
At  the  dentil  of  Rider  Rothrock,  in  1860,  Rev.  David  Fisher  and  Rev. 
John  Snow  liergcr  assumed  charge  of  the  congregation.  .Mr.  Fisher  pur- 
chased a  farm  'in  I'ike  ('reek,  erected  a  large  building  near  his  residence 
as  a  meeting  place  for  members  of  the  church  and  founded  quite  a  strong 
society. 

I  low  They  Supported  the  Union 

The  Civil  war  had  an  especially  retarding  influence  on  the  progress 
of  the  Dunkards  as  religionists,  for,  although  they  were  very  patriotic 
ami  abhorred  slavery,  like  the  Quakers,  the  tenets  of  their  religion  for- 
bade them  to  resort  to  force  of  arms.  "The  only  way  they  could  help 
the  Union  cause,"  says  a  local  historian,  "was  by  the  contribution  of 

mi y,  of  which  nearly  all  of  them  were  well  supplied,  and  thus  it  came 

about  that  an  assessment  was  made  upon  them  and  the  amount  fixed  at 
three  hundred  dollars  per  man  for  each  and  every  man  selected  from  the 
congregation,  liable  for  military  duty,  to  he  determined  by  hit.  A  great 
many  persons  now  living  will  remember  the  Dunkard  draft  which 
occurred  in  18(12.  The  mode  of  procedure  may  not  he  remembered  so 
well  except  by  those  immediately  interested,  if  any  of  them  are  yet 
living,  and  is  worthy  of  reeonl  here. 

"The  enrolling  officer  of  each  count\  in  the  State  was  directed  to 
enroll  all  the  men  in  his  eounl\  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  years  of 
age,  and  note  opposite  the  name  of  all  those  who  were  oppi    C(\  to  niilitill'; 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  335 

service,  on  account  of  religious  belief,  thai  fact.  After  completing  the 
enrollment  a  list  of  those  who  were  conscientiously  opposed  to  military 

service  was  made  out  and  apportionment  made  of  the  enrollment  of  aide- 
bodied  militia  enrolled,  and  it  was  found  that  nine  men  would  be  required 
to  pay  commutation  money,  three  hundred  dollars  each,  to  exempt  them 
from  .service  iu  the  army.  These  were  selected  by  lot  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  commissioner  appointed  by  the  Governor.  On  a  day  appointed 
by  the  Commissioner  the  names  of  all  those  of  proper  age  and  not  exempt 
by  reason  of  bodily  disabilities,  were  written  on  slips  of  paper  and  placed 
in  a  box  and  the  first  nine  names  drawn  therefrom  by  the  Commissioner 
were  to  be  subjected  to  the  payment  of  three  hundred  dollars  each  in  lieu 
of  military  service.  The  draft  took  place  in  public  at  the  Court  House 
in  Monticello,  and  the  men  drafted  were  all  members  of  Elder  Fisher's 
congregation.  Mr.  Fisher  attended  the  drafl  meeting  in  person  and  paid 
the  whole  amount,  twenty-seven  hundred  dollars,  to  the  party  authorized 
to  receive  it,  and  thus  relieved  his  congregation  from  military  service." 

The  New  Dunkards 

In  1S57  George  Patton  organized  a  elass  of  what  have  been  popularly 
called  New  Dunkards;  the  original  body  iu  White  County  was  placed  iu 
charge  of  Rev.  Uriah  Patton.  Elder  Patton,  its  founder,  built  a  meeting- 
house for  the  fast-increasing  congregation  near  Ids  residence  in  Jackson 
Township,  and  another  was  erected  at  Sitka,  Liberty  Township.  These 
two  societies  were  the  predecessors  of  the  flourishing  Church  of  Cod  at 
Idaville,  which  was  founded  in  the  early  70s. 

The  Christian  Church 

Unlike  the  Dunkards,  the  members  of  the  Christian  Church  first 
obtained  a  foothold  outside  of  the  county  scat  before  founding  an  organi- 
zation at  Monticello.  In  1849-50  Rev.  R.  C.  Johnson  organized  a  Chris- 
tian  Church  at  the  Palestine  Settlement.  Princeton  Township,  which  SVas 

the  first  religious  body  in  that  pari  of  Hi unty,  nnd  Rev.  .lames  Thomas 

founded  a  society  in  West  Point  Township,  to  the  south.  The  ministers 
named  were  the  owners  of  large  farms,  were  not  dependent  upon  their 
parishioners  for  their  livelihood,  and  spent  all  their  spare  lime,  uighl  and 

day,  in  the  work  of  mustering  converts  to  their  faith.     The  Hvs dings 

of  the  new  societies  were  well  attended  and  several  Christian  ministers 
were  present  from  abroad,  a  united  and  enthusiastic  revival  continuing 
for  a  month  or  more;  and  Reverends  Johnson  and  Thomas  did  not  confine 
their  efforts  to  their  boom  congregations,  hut  traveled  into  adjoining 
counties  and  preached  to  the  end  of  their  lives.  I.Yv.  i.  Goodaere  is  the 
present  minister  of  the  Palesliuc  Christian  Church. 

[<\>i  Ma  n  in  MoN'i  M  i  i  i  ii 

In  the  spring  ^u\  summer  of  LH5-1  Rev.  Dr.  Roberts,  one  of  these 
Christian  missionaries,  who  bad  become  so  well  known  in  the  outlying 


;m  history  op  white  county 

districts,  held  a  series  of  ctings  at  Monticello,  and,  although  a  large 

number  joined  the  church,  a  house  of  worship  was  not  then  provided. 
A -Christian  Church' had  been  organized  near  what  afterward  became 
Sitka  ami  a  building  erected  aboul  a  mile  northwest  of  that  locality,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  old  Cullen  and  Conwell  Settlement.  Nut  a  few 
faithful  members  from  Monticello  and  vicinity  attended  the  services  in 
i  h;it  ^locality  for  years. 

CnUttCIi    REORGANIZED 

In  March,  1887,  the  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Monticello 
i  ffcred  for  sale  their  property  mi  the  corner  of  North  Main  and  Marion 
stir. 'is;  this  consisted  of  a  lot,  a  frame  church  building  and  a  parsonage, 
and  the  few  members  of  the  faith  who  were  then  living  at  and  near  the 
county  scat  gladly  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  providing  a 
hqmc  for  the  revived  organization  at  a  reasonable  cost.  Dr.  M.  T.  Didlake 
thereupon  wen  I  to  Indianapolis  and  presented  the  facts  to  the  state  hoard 
of  the  ImliniKi  Christian  .Missionary  Association,  at  its  meeting  April  f), 
1887.  The  hoard  promised  him  that  if  the  property  were  secured  the 
slide  Christian  missionary  evangelist,  J.  II.  0.  Smith,  should  come  to 
Monticello  hold  a  meeting  and  organize  a  Christian  church.  A.  M. 
Atkinson,  of  Wabash,  Indiana,  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Association,  afterward  examined  the  property  and  agreed  to 
advance  one  thin!  of  the  purchase  money  for  one  year  without  interest. 
At  the  expiration  of  thai  time,  if  a  Christian  Church  should  be  estab- 
lished and  tr  tecs  elected,  he  should  he  reimbursed  and  the  property 
transferred  to  I  he  trustees.  On  April  19th  the  property  was  purchased 
and  deeded  to  A.  M.  Atkinson,  M.  T.  Didlake  and  W.  B.  Keefer.  All 
the  terms  of  payment  having  been  complied  with,  formal  possession  was 
given  to  Doctor  Didlake,  in  behalf  of  the  church,  October  1,  1887. 

Rev.  -I.  II.  0.  Smith  then  began  a  series  of  meetings  which  resulted 
on  November  -_'d,  in  n  partial  organization  of  twenty-six  members,  or 
disciples  of  Christ.  These  original  members  of  the  church  were  Dr. 
M.  T.  Didlake  and  wife,  R.  Land,  Sarah  A.  Mowrer,  S.  K.  MeClintic  and 
wife,  I'.  M.  Benjamin  and  wife,  Cordelia  A.  Chandler,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
A.  Rothroek,  Mrs.  Kate  V.  Cowger,  Mrs.  Ella  Armstrong.  .Mrs.  Mary 
C.  Gow,  W.  lb  Keefer  and  wife,  W.  1".  Van  Winkle,  G.  G.  Wood  and 
wife,  .),  V.  Stephenson,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Casad,  Lula  Wood,  May  Benjamin, 
Joseph  Mowrer  and  wife,  Rachacl  Mowrer,  Mrs.  S.  R.  Temple  and  Miss 
Anna  Johnston, 

The  initial  meetings  continued  until  December  18,  1887,  and  resulted 
in  a  total  members!  p  of  134.  The  day  before  they  closed  the  membership 
assembled  In  the  church  and  effected  a  permanent  organization  by  eleel 
ing  M.  T.  Didlake,  If.  Land,  l\  M.  Benjamin  and  S.  K.  MeClintic.  elders; 
J.  Y.  Stcpenson,  John  Cowger,  I!.  P.  Rothroek  and  C.  E.  Bailey,  deacons ; 
Mrs.  M.  T.  Didlake,  clerk;  Mrs.  S.  R.  Temple; organist,  and  J.  Y.  Stephen- 
son, treasurer.     In  the  following  mouth  If.  band,  W.  lb  Kocfer,  II.  !'. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  337 

Rothrock,  John  R.  Cowger  and  M.  T.  Didlake  wore  elected  trustees,  and 
the  organization  was  thus  completed. 

Pastors  op  the  Christian  Church 

Rev.  E.  B.  Cross,  of  Valparaiso,  preached  during  January  and  Feb- 
ruary, but  as  hetco'uld  not  secure  release  from  previous  engagements 
Rev.  A.  F.  Armstrong  succeeded  him,  still  temporarily.  Rev.  E.  A. 
Pardee  was  chosen  at  the  conclusion  of  a  series  of  meetings  which 
materially  added  to  the  membership  of  the  church,  and  continued  as 
pastor  until  January,  1890.  In  the  meantime  a  Ladies'  Aid  Society 
and  other  church  auxiliaries  were  organized,  an  organ  purchased  and 
other  improvements  made. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Bristol-  succeeded  Mr.  Pardee,  resigning  on  account  of 
ill  health,  in  April,  1892.  The  succeeding  pastors  of  the  church  have 
been  Revs.  P.  M.  Fishburn,  William  Kenney,  J.  ( '.  Anderson,  M.  V. 
Grisso,  J.  H.  Dodd,  A.  W.  Jackman,  J.  A.  Parker,  A.  L.  Martin  and 
T.  R.  Spray. 

Destructive  Fire  and  New  Chi  [ten 

On  May  5,  1901,  during  Mr.  Dodd's  pastorate,  the  note  and  mortgage 
held  against  the  church  property  were  publicly  burned  at  the  close  of 
the  morning  services,  indicating  the  release  of  the  debt ;  but  the  rejoicing 
of  the  church  members  was  of  short  duration,  for  on  the  27th  of  the 
following  August  the  house  of  worship  and  the  parsonage  were  burned 
to  the  ground. 

While  a  new  church  was  rebuilding  on  the  river  hank  at  northeast 
eomer  of  Bluff  and  Broadway,  services  were  held  in  the  Opera  House 
and  the  Circuit  Court  room.  The  beautiful  brick  structure  which  has 
since  been  the  home  of  the  Christian  Church  was  completed  and  dedicated 
March  17,  1903,  and,  together  with  its  site,  cost  about  $1f>,000.  In 
February,  1904,  occurred  the  death  of  R.  Land,  si  nior  elder  of  the  church, 
and  one  of  its  most  active  workers.  Rev.  T.  R.  Spray,  the  present  pastor, 
has  been  in  charge  since  September,  1013.  The  church  has  reached  a 
membership  of  about  250. 

The  Orph  ins'  1  Iome 

By  Mary  Ucnh 

There  are  probably  a  great  many  people  in  the  city  who  do  not  know 

that  at  one  time  an  orphans'  home  was  instituted  here  by  a  number  of 

women   interested   in   charitable   work   and    was  conducted    under   their 

direction  for  about  thirty  years. 

Mrs.  Tirza  Scott,  of  Royal  Center,  who  lias  been  visiting  friends  here 
for  several  weeks,  was  the  firs)  matron  of  the  home.     Al   thai  time  .Mrs. 

B.  <).  Spencer,  who  came  here  from  I ;am  port,  where  she  was  interested 

in  the  eaiv  of  children  of  tin1  poor,  found  an  cagi  r  audience  in  Ihe  women 

*     of  tins  city,  and  it  was  not  Ion-  hi  Con    a  homo  was  established  here  for 

the  rare  of  children  who  were  berefl  of  their  parents  or  were  in  need  of 


338  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

help.  The  firsl  children  to  be  entered  were  the  four  children  of  Andrew 
Arrick,  whose  mother,  when  dying,  had  asked  Mrs.  Scott  to  care  for  them. 
Consequently,  when  the  home  was  founded,  they  were  placed  under  the 
motherly  care  of  the  matron.  At  that  time  it  was  not  necessary  for  the 
parents  to  surrender  complete  possession  of  their  children  when  they  were 
placed  in  the  home.  Often  little  ones  whose  mothers  died  were  placed 
there  that  they  might  be  cared  for  properly,  and  whenever  it  was  desired 
to  remove  them  there  was  no  restraint  to  such  action;  Poor  or  orphaned 
children  were  also  given  homes  there.  The  home  was  established  in  the 
property  belonj  ing  to  Mrs.  Cornelia  Logan  on  the  corner  of  South  Bluff 
and  Market  streets,  which  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mack  Spoon 
and  by  .Miss  Lora  Allen.  After  Mrs.  Scott  had  successfully  Idled  her 
dutiefPas  matron  for  several  years  she  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  S.  K.  Temple 
of  Monticello,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  society  that  established  the 
home. 

Among  the  women  who  have  been  interested  in  the  home  at  various 
times  and  who  are  members  of  the  Orphans'  Home  Association,  are 
Mrs.  Frank  Britton,  who  is  now  president,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  Mrs.  Elmira 
Richey,  Mrs.  Ellen  Van  Voorst,  Mrs.  S.  R.  Temple,  Mrs.  Engle,  Mrs. 
Charles  Gardner,  Mrs.  Isaac  Davis,  Mrs.  Sarah  Thompson,  Mrs.  Mary 
Davis'son,  Mrs.  15.  P.  Ross,  Mrs.  Martha  Rothrock,  Mrs.  Will  Sargent 
and  Mrs.  McCollum.  Only  a  few  of  these  women  were  members  of  the 
association  when  the  home  was  established,  but  they  have  all  shown  an 
intense  interest  in  the  work  and  have  given  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
money  towards  the  aid  of  needy  children. 

For  a  number  of  years  after  the  institution  was  established,  there  wne 
no  funds  in  the  county  treasury  and  the  women  of  the  organization  them- 
selves paid  for  the  tuition  and  yearly  support  of  the  children,  who  some 
times  readied  as  high  as  fifteen  in  number.  They  were  entitled  to  the 
building  but  il  was  a  number  of  years  before  outside  help  was  received. 

The  death  blow  was  given  the  institution  about  ten  or  fifteen  years 
ago  when  a  law  was  passed  governing  the  care  for  charity  children.  By 
this  act  parents  were  required  to  relinquish  all  claim  to  the  children 
placed  in  a  charitable  institution  of  this  kind.  As  few  of  the  parents 
would  consent  to  such  a  sacrifice,  the  home  here  did  not  have  enough 
occupants  to  warrant  its  continuance  and  from  that  time  children  needine 
homes  were  sent,  to  Indianapolis  or  some  other  city.  Tin'  women  regard 
the  law  gOVl  rniiig  children  in  ch  I'ity  homes  as  cruel  to  both  parents  ami 
children  and  consider  the  manner  in  which  the  home  was  conducted  here 
as  much  more  humane  and  .just. 

While  the  society  now  is  not  an  active  organization,  it  still  continues 
ils  interest  in  poor  and  needy  children  and  does  a  great  many  acts  of 
charity.  A  fund  whirl]  is  in  Ihe  hands  of  the  treasurer,  Mrs.  Van  Voorst. 
is  used  for  that  purpo    . 

Societies 

Monticello  is  well  provided  with  societies — benevolent,  social  ami 
literary-  and    limy    largely    aecounl    for    ils    reputation    as   a    desirable 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  339 

residence  for  all  classes  of  intelligent  people  who  realize  the  necessity  of 
mingling  with  their  fellows— all  combining  in  a  proper  spirit  of  recreation 
and  Uplift. 

The  Odd  FelIjOWS 

The  oldest  secret,  and  benevolent  society  was  organized  by  Hie  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  on  the  30th  of  January,  L852.  A  dispen- 
sation for  their  lodge  was  granted  on  the  23d  of  the  month  upon  the 
petition  of  M.  R.  Sheetz,  J.  T.  Richer,  \V.  R.  Davis,  J.  R.  have  joy,  Samuel 
Barnes,  R.  C.  Kirk  and  D.  T.  Spears.  At  the  organization,  a  week  later, 
the  following  officers  were  elected  :  William  Davis,  N.  (J.;  D.  T.  Spears, 
V.  G. ;  J.  R.  Lovejoy,  Secretary,  and  J.  T.  Richey,  Treasurer.  Among 
^lie  prominent  men  who  early  became  members  of  the  order  were  Jonathan 
Harbolt,  Isaac  Reynolds,  Calvin  Reynolds,  the  late  Dr.  William  Spencer, 
David  and  Daniel  McCuaig,  Rnfus  L.  Harvey,  \)r.  Samuel  B.  Bushnell, 
_■  Judge  Alfred  Reed,  Capt,  John  0.  Brown,  Judge  A.  W.  Reynolds,  Robert 
C.  Kendall,  Thomas  Bushnell,  Joseph  I).  Cowden,  John  Wilson  and 
James  Burns.  The  last  survivor  of  the  charter  members  was  Daniel  P. 
Spears,  a  resident  of  Morrison,  Illinois.  At  the  time  of  his  death  Capt. 
John  C.  Brown  was  the  oldest  Odd  Fellow  in  the  county,  having  united 
with  the  order  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  many  years  before  the  lodge 
at  Monticello  was  institutued. 

The  order  has  prospered  both  in  the  increase  of  membership  and 
financially  in  Monticello,  and  in  1902  erected  a  building  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets,  setting  aside  convenient  quarters 
for  the  different  bodies.  The  lodge  itself  (Monticello  No.  107)  has  a 
present  membership  of  250,  with  the  following  officers:  Thomas  Spoon, 
N.  6..;  Richard  Hinshaw,  V.  6.;  John  \V.  Nelson,  Secretary,  and  J.  M. 
Turner,  Treasurer. 

The  Rebekah  degree  (Eudora  No.  201)  was  organized  in  December, 
1879,  and  Stewart  Encampment,  No.  159,  in  December,  1882.  The 
present  encampment  has  a  membership  of  nearly  120,  with  officers  as 
follows:  William  Lowe,  C.  P.;  F.  C.  Gardner,  II.  P.;  Ivan  Shell,  J.  W. ; 
John  Bretzinger,  S.  W.;  John  W.  Nelson,  Secretary,  and  S.  T.  Whitman, 
Treasurer. 

The  Masons 

The  first  Masonic  body  to  organize  in  .Monticello  was  Libanus  Lodge 
No.  154,  which  was  granted  a  dispensation  by  the  Stair  Grand  Lodge  on 
petition  of  Francis  G.  Kendall,  James  W.  Ihilger,  William  Russell,  Wil- 
liam B.  Gray,  Alexander  Vomit,  Robert  W.  sill,  Charles  W.  K.  ndall  and 
"William  ('.  .May.  The  (fraud  Master  appointed  Francis  (J.  Kendall, 
Worshipful  Master;  James  W.  Uulgi  i",  Senior  Warden,  ami  William  K'u  ; 
sell,  Junior  Warden.  Upon  receipt  of  the  dispensation,  w  hie}]  was  granted 
April  1,  1853,  a  meeting  of  I  lie  lodge  was  called  by  the  Worshipful  Master 
and  the  following  minor  officials  elected:  C.  W.  Kendall,  Scerctarj  ; 
Alexander  Youut,  Treasurer;  William  l:  Gray.  Senior  Deacon;  Robert 
W.  Sill,  Junior  Deacon,  and  Willi. .m  <  '.  Mil\  ,  T;.  Ice.     (  Uher  early  mi 


340  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

to  join  the  lodge  were  John  Ream,  David  K.  Ream,  Rowland  Hughes, 
David  Turpie,  John  II.  Liar,  John  B.  Bunnell,  Thomas  Bunnell,  Joseph 
Shafer,  Samuel  ShalVr,  Adin  Nordyke,  Cornelius  Stryker,  Thomas  Beard, 
Thomas  Wickeisham,  Job  Wickersham,  R.  B.  Wiekersham,  Israel  Nor- 
dyke,  John  Large,  James  Itiehey,  Orlando  McConahay,  Marshal  Murray, 
Harrison  W.  Anderson,  Peter  R.  Failing,  William  S.  Davis,  John  Keever, 
Isaac  M.  Davis.  James  Parcels,  William  A.  Parry,  John  Leach,  William 
P.  Kdiitz,  Ansel  M.  Dickinson,  Thomas  Bushnell  and  Alfred  Reed.  At 
the  present  the  lodge  has  a  membership  of  105.  George  P.  Marvin  is 
Worthy  Master';  George  W.  Gilbert,  Senior  Warden,  and  Prank  L.  Hod- 
shire,  Junior  Wai'den. 

Monticcllo  Chapter  No.  103,  R.  A.  M.,  was  organized  under  dispensa- 
OTm  granted  October  28,  1887,  and  by  appointment  of  Madison  T.  Did- 
lake,  High  Priest;  .Marion  Parrish,  King,  and  Cloyd  Loughry,  Scribe. 
The  ehapter  worked  under  dispensation  until  November  22,  18S8,  when 
it  was  constituted  a  regular  body,  with  Madison  T.  Didlake  as  first  High 
Priest;  Cyrus  A.  G.  Rayhouser,  first  King,  and  Reuben  M.  Wright,  first 
Scribe.  The  ehapter  has  now  a  membership  of  100,  with  the  following 
officers:  William  X.  Loughry,  H.  P.;  Prank  R.  Phillips,  E.  K.,  and 
.Joseph  D.  Mc(  'aim,  E.  S. 

Monticcllo  Council  No.  70,  R.  and  S.  M.,  was  organized  under  dis- 
pensation on  April  2ti,  1898,  on  petition  of  Madison  T.  Didlake,  Joseph 
D.  McCaun,  George  II.  Cullen,  Julius  W.  Paul,  William  S.  Bushnell, 
James  1'.  Simons,  James  P.  Brown,  Hiram  A.  B.  Moorhous  and  William 
II.  Hamelle.  It  worked  under  dispensation  until  October  18th  of  that 
year,  when  it  was  organized  under  charter  and  present  name,  with  Madi- 
son T.  Didlake  as  Ulustrious  .Master;  James  P.  Simons,  Deputy;  Joseph 
D.  Ml 'aim,  I'.  ('.  W.;  Lewis  B.  Wheeler,  C.  G. ;  Hiram  A.  B.  Moorhous, 
Treasurer;  Samuel  A.  Carson,  Recorder,  and  William  S.  Bushnell,  Senti- 
nel. At  present  there  are  100  members  identified  with  the  council,  with 
the  following  officers:  William  II.  Hamelle,  T.  I.  M. ;  Samuel  A.  Carson, 
I.  D.  M.,  ami  Joseph  D.  McCann,  P.  C.  W. 

There  is  also  a  chapter  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star-,  which  was 
organized  under  dispensation  on  January  15,  1895,  and  under  charter,  as 
Crystal  Chapter  No.  IC5  on  May  22d  of  that  year. 

Knights  of  Pythias 

Both  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Pythian  Sisters  have  organiza- 
lions.  The  former,  known  as  Monticello  Lodge  No.  73,  was  organized 
October  •„'!),  lsTV,  iis  charter  members  being  John  II.  Wallace,  Emory 
B.  Sellers,  Henry  I".  <  >wcns,  James  V.  Vinson,  Irvin  Greer,  Henry  Se  dcr, 
John  ('.  Hughes,  I  uiali  Bishcr,  Taylot  Bennett,  John  T.  Loach,  Wash- 
ington Kmvtz,  George  Baxter,  Crank  Roberts,  Thomas  J.  Woltz,  William 
K.  Harvey,  William  Kpcneer,  James  E.  Howard,  Josiah  Purcell,  John 
T.  Cord,  John  II.  I'eei.  Albcrl  W.  Loughry,  John  H.  Burns,  T.  Payette 
Palmer  and  Samuel  I'Ynlcrs.  The  liisl  officers  were  as  follows:  T.  V. 
Palmer,  I'.  C.  (still  adive)  ;  J.  II.  Wallace,  C,  ('.;  J.  T.   Pord,  V.  CI.; 


<?> 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  341 

John  II.  Burns,  M.  A. ;  Prelate,  Josiah  Purcell ;  M.  of  E.,  William  Spencer, 
and  M.  of  P.,  James  V.  Vinson  (active).  The  membership  of  the  lodge 
is  over  150,  and  its  present  officers  arc  as  follows:  Arthur  Ilalstead, 
C.  C.;  L.  A.  Young,  V.  C.j  R.  A.  Layton,  Prelate;  Jacob  II.  Ilibner, 
M.  of  W.;  II.  J.  Reed,  K.  of  R.  and  S. ;  Claude  trelan,  M.  of  P  •  W  P 
Bunnell,  M.  of  E. 

»  (jbanmi  Army  Post 

Tippecanoe  Post  No.  51,  G.  A.  P.,  was  organized  March  31,  1882,  by 
Judge  John  II.  Gould,  of  Delphi,  and  John  C.  Brown  was  its  first  com- 
mander. As  the  old  Civil  war  soldiers  drop  away,  from  year  to  year 
the  organization  becomes  more  and  more  reduced,  bul  the  few  remaining 
veterans  still  cling  to  their  post  with  old  lime  affection. 

Other  Societies 

The  foregoing  by  no  means  complete  the  list  of  the  fraternal  societies 
which  have  their  headquarters  in  Monticello.  The  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  the  Maccabees  (both  Knights  and  I   idies),  the  Loyal  Order  of 

Moose,  the  Red  .Men  and  other  orders  have  all  their  local  representatives, 
some  of  them  growing  organizations. 

Women's  <  Ilubs 

There  are  also  a  number  of  women's  clubs  in  Monticello  worthy  of 
note.  Among  the  oldest  of  these  are  the  Nickel  Plate  Club,  organized 
for  both  social  and  charitable  purposes,  which  has  done  much  goi  d  work 
toward  civic  betterment;  the  Coterie  Club,  social,  organized  in  1  Sf):j ;  the 
Wednesday  Reading  Club,  organized  in  1892  Cor  the  purpose  of  ''study- 
ing standard  English  literature  and  general  history  in  a  social  club;" 
the  University  Extension  Club,  founded  in  1895  in  connection  with  the 

Chicago  University;  the  Chautauqua   ll<> Study  Club,  a   member  of 

the  great  chautauqua  system,  and  established  in  1898,  and  th  Kqual 
Franchise  League,  organized  in  1913  for  the  purpose  of  edticatin  women 
on  the  suffrage  question. 

The  first  President  of  the  University  Extension  Club  was  Prof.  I..  S. 
Isham,  with  Miss  Pearl  Jones,  Secretary.  Miss  Eva  Cosad  has  1"  n 
President  for  about  ten  years;  .Miss  Norn  Gardner  is  now  secretary. 

Mrs.  Byram  was  the  original  pn    i  !  nl  ol   the  Ooterii    f'l  ib,    md 
Ida  Jost,  Secretary.     Present  officers:     Mrs.  V.   I ».    '!,  dent, 

and  Mrs.  Myram  Spei r,  Secretary. 

Mrs.  Meeker  is  also  President   ol   the   Wednesday    i'    ■  ::.  its 

first  president  having  been  Mrs.  Jai :  II.  MeCullum. 


«* 


,-*:.  f.~"-"- 


|ry 


STIC!  I.I    VlBWS  AT  MONON 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

'„      5'  TOWN  OF  MONON 

Incorporation  of  the  Town — Additions  to  Original  Site— IIenry  M. 
Baughman — Industrial  and  Commercial  Advantages — Clay  and 
Stone  Industries — Tite  Monon  Bank — State  Bank  op  Monon — 

'I' i   r   'i'.iw  N    I'OMMIS  HONED    HlGB    SCHOOL      MONON'      PUBLIC    LlBRARI 

— Presbyterian  Church — First  Methodist    Episcopal  Church — 
The  Baptist  Church — Societies. 

Situated  at  the  juncture  of  the  two  Monon  lines,  in  tin-  northwestern 
part  of  White  County,  Monon  is  a  clean  and  substantially  built  town 
of  1,200  people.  As  the  center  of  a  large  area  of  productive  country, 
in  grain,  stone  and  clay,  its  natural  advantages  drew  the  attention  of 
business  men  to  the  locality  at  an  early  day,  and  finally  the  precise 
location  of  the  permanent  town  was  determined  by  the  construction  of 
the  Louisville,  New  Albany  and  Chicago  Railroad  and  the  platting  of 
New  Bradford,  which  displaced  the  old  town  of  West  Bedford. 

Incorporation  of  the  Town 

The  history  of  Monon  as  a  town  commences  with  Hie  year  1ST!),  when 
an  incorporation  was  effected  under  Hie  name  of  I  he  old  postoffice  estab 
lished  in  1WS;  both  the  postoffice  and  the  Town  of  Monon  were  thou 
made  uniform,  and  from  that  time  dates  a  marled  and  substantial  growth. 

Additions  to  Original  Site 

(July  one  addition  was  made  to  the  Town  of  Monon  previous  to  its 
incorporation,  and  that  was  platted  only  about  a  year  ..Her  Iho  laying 
out  of  the  original  town.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1854,  -lames  K.  Wilson 
made  an  addition  of  sixty-tliree  lots,  lying  north  of  the  original  plat, 
and  on  the  29th  of  September  of  the  same  year  Benjamin  Ball  made  a 
second  addition  of  ninety-four  lots  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  south 
east  quarter  of  section  21.  These  sufficed  to  inee!  the  expansion  of  the 
place  for  thirty  years. 

Benjamin  F.  Linville  platted  twenty  two  lol  an      '  lit  ion  lo  lb. 

town  site,  on  April  15,  1884,  and  in  January,  1885,  Horace  f.  Lyman 
increased  it  by  fifty-six  lots.  On  August  I.  1889,  William  II.  [filicide 
made  his  addition  of  fifty-five  lots,  and  he  was  followed,  in   Decombor, 

1S05,  bv  Rm .1.  Turpic,  who  plaited  her  addition  of  I  15  lots. 

*  343 


344 


HISTORY  OP   WHITE  COUNTY 
IIenky  Rf.  Baugiiman 


Emma  -I.  Tufpie,  who  made  the  addition  heretofore  noted,  was  the 
daughter  of  Henry  M.  Haughman,  a  pioneer  of  Noble  County,  Indiana, 
who  "Settled  near  Reynolds  in  18G7  and  was  afterward  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  the  Town  of  Monon.  lie  also  owned  and  operated  a  large  farm 
in  Monpn  Township  nol  far  from  the  town. 

INDUSTRIAL,  AND   COMMERCIAL    ADVANTAGES 

In  the  winter  of  1870  and  the  spring  of  1880,  soon  after  the  town 
incorporation,  William  Seotl  and  Company  built  an  elevator  in  the  cast 
parfSM'  town  with  facilities  for  shelling  corn  and  storing  and  cleaning 


ll 

rif 

'  '    "'  *  '  J 

Monon  Town  Commissioned  High  School 

grain.  There  had  been  several  small  elevators  before,  but  the  Scott  plant 
had  a  storage  capacity  of  10,000  bushels  and  a  cleaning  rapacity  of  2,000 
bushels  daily,  and  was  a  manifest  evidence  of  the  growing  importance 
of  .Munon  as  a  grain   center. 

Both  with  the  growth  of  its  railroad  facilities  and  the  improvement 
of  the  surrounding  eountrj ,  Monon  has  continuously  added  to  its  standing 
in  that  regard  and  also  became  an  advantageous  point  for  the  buying 
and  shipping  of  live  sloe!  There  are  two  elevators  and  a  mill  in  opera- 
tion, and   the  railroad   provides  i venient  yards  for  handling  cattle 

and  ol  her  live     tuck. 


Cl    \V     \M>    ST( 


Industries 


In   the  early    '80s   K    (I.    Egbert    and    (' pan;.,   proprietors  of  a   local 

hardware  store,  commenced  to  develop  the  day  deposits  at  Monon,  in  the 
lifx  of  brick  and  tile  in  iiiufactures,  and  the  industry  has  b<  i   i  continued, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  345 

intermittently,  for  thirty  years  or  more.  .  Plants  arc  now  in  operation 
for  the  manufacture  both  of  tiles  and  building  blocks,  and  a  mile  south 
of  town  B.  II.  Dickson  lias  a  large  stone  crushing  establishment  which 
supplies  the  bulk  of  the  materia]  used  in  the  building  of  the  gravel 
roads  of  the  county.  Many  of  the  fanners  of  the  region  also  used  the 
pulverized  products  of  the  mills  as  fertilizers. 

'm      ''  The  Monon  Hank 

The  substantial  business  and  industrial  life  of  Monon  is  also  illus- 
trated by  the  fact  that  it  sustains  two  good  banks.  The  oldest  of  these 
establishments  is  the  Monon  Bank,  established  in  June,  1892,  by  0.  M 

Corner,  who  has  continued  as  its  president.  He  commenced  business 
as  a  general' merchant  in  18G5,  has  continued  as  an  active  factor  in  the 
progress  of  the  town  and  has  a  wide  scope  of  interests.     He   is  owner 

■of  the  oldest  elevator,  proprietor  of  a  large  garage  and  largely  interested 
in  real  estate.  lie  has  increased  the  capital  of  the  Monon  Bank  from 
$10,000  to  .$25,000,  and  its  deposits  have  reached  $200,000.  lis  first 
cashier,  George  Baxter,  was  succeeded  by  \V.  C.  Horner,  son  of  the 
president. 

State  Bank  op  Monon 

This  institution  was  organized  July  2,  1906,  with  a  capitalization  of 
$25,000.     There  were  about  sixty-two  stockholders  in  ami  around  Monon 
and  because  of  this  the   bank   had  an  auspicious  beginning.     The    lirst 
officers  were:     W.  S.  Baugh,  president;  Fred  Thomas,  vice  president,  and 
F.  C.  Cassell,  cashier.     The  capital  of  the  bank  has  remained  the 
as  in  the  beginning.     In  1009  T.  A.  Ilollingsworth  succeeded  .Mr.  I    i    ell 
as  cashier,  and  in  1910  Dr.  John  Stuart  succeeded  Mr.  Thomas  as  vice 
president.     In  1911    Carl  Middlestadt  succeeded   Mr.    Ilollingsworth   a 
cashier,  and  with  the  exceptions  named  the  bank's  official  foster  has  re 
mained  unchanged.     It  owns  its  own  modern  bank  building,  whicl 
erected  in  1913. 

The  Town  Commissioned  High  School 

The  first  schools  of  the  township  originated  in  the  vicinity  and  on 
the  site  of  old  West  Bedford  and  they  flourished,  in  their  nay.  during 
the  '40s  and  '50s.  Then  New  Bradford  displaced  West  Bedford,  and 
school  accommodations  were  transferred  accordingly.  Fur  schools  were 
followed  by  better  and  better,  by  almost  best,  the  i  ulminalinn  boin 
present  Town  Commissioned  High  School,  undi  r  the  superintendence  of 

George  P.  Lewis.     The  principal  of  the  high  v  I I  d<  partnn  nt  is  M    It. 

Iloltzman.     Besides  the  superintendent    and    principal    there   in 
teachers.     The  building,  which  is  in  the  north  end  of  town,  was  dedicated 
in  1902.     It  is  a  handsome  two-ston   and   l  Irueturc  of 

with  slone  trimmings,  and  contaii     lifb  '  Its  din  n  lh« 

ground  arc  L03  by  1"!  I'eet.     The  lieatin      lightin  nitni      irrangi 


346  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

incuts,  as  well  as  working  conveniences  and  appliances,  are  modern.  The 
curriculum  embraces  the  usual  courses,  including  manual  training  ind 
sewing— the  latter  branches  being  confined  to  the  high  school  and- the 
three  upper  grades  of  the  grammar  department.  The  average  attendance 
is  as  follows-:  Firs!  grade,  46;  second,  42;  third,  32;  fourth,  35;  fifl  , 
32;  sixth,  36;  seventh,  33;  eighth,  24;  high  school,  85.     Total,  365. 

•        :■  Monon's  Public  Library 

The  Public  Library  at  Monon  is  also  an  educator  of  broad  usefulness. 
It  lias  a  tasteful  building  of  recent  construction  and  houses  2,500  volumes 
for  reference  and  circulation,  and  its  patrons  are  drawn  from  all  parts 


RIokon  Public  Library 

of  the  township.  The  library  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Current  Literature  Club,  the  members  of  which  collected  its  first  51  >0 
volumes.  Mrs.  Laura  li,  Winkley,  wife  of  an  old  and  respected  citi  en 
and  who  had  taken  much  interest  in  the  first  steps  taken  toward  the 
establishment  of  the  library,  was  elected  first  librarian,  and  was  followed 
in  January,  19.15,  by  .Miss  Bmma  A.  Pogue,  the  presenl  incumbent.  The 
management  of  the  Public  Library  comprises  the  following  officers:  A. 
1).  Ilornback,  president  ;  -J.  II.  Cuiuiiilgham,  vice  president;  Maude  L>ur- 
lis,  secretary,  and  Margaret   Hay,  treasurer. 

Phi  sin  i  i:m  \\  <  'in  tan 

The  churches  of   Motion  m-e  represented   by  the  Methodist,  Baptist 

and  Presbyterian  denominations     the  last  named  being  the  oldest.     The 

Presbyterian   Church  was  oi  est    Prdford   about    l£3!»,  and 

torwaslJev.  Ali  vauder  William: ,  who  had  alreiuh  preaclieil 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  347 

at  Monticello  as  the  pioneer  settled  minister  of  that  place.  Among  the 
early  members  of  the  church  were  Thomas  Downey  and  wife,  William 
Wilson  and  wife  and  Mrs.  Kepperling.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  M.  L. 
Rice,  a  man  of  seemingly  boundless  energy,  wlio  has  interested  himself 
in  various  industrial  and  business  enterprises  as  well  as  in  church- 
welfare. 

»  First  Metuodist  Ei'lscopal  Church 

•        j  * 

Monon  Methodism  in  organized  form  is  more  than  half  century  old, 
but  there  were  individual  Methodists  here  at  even  an  earlier  period.  The 
first  society  in  Monon  had  its  beginning  in  1861,  with  Rev.  J.  L.  Boyd 
as  pastor  in  charge,  and  William  II.  Gibson  and  wife,  John  D.  Moore 
ail&wife,  Mrs.  Theresa  Duvall,  Mrs.  Susan  Hebner,  and  William  Shackel- 
ford and  wife  and  others,  whose  names  are  unknown  as  members.  William 
Shackleford  was  class  leader  and  the  class  numbered  fifteen.  The  place 
of  worship  was  on  South  Arch  Street,  where  M  O'Mara  resides.  This 
was  also  the  place  of  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  meetings  and  it  is  said 
the  services  were  attended  by  all  regardless  of  denomination. 

The  same  building  represented  Monon 's  first  sehoolhouse,  where  the 
faculty  embraced  two  teachers  and  two  rooms  were  occupied  by  the 
pupils. 

In  the  spring  of  1870,  the  first  Baptist  Church  was  built,  and  this 
was  used  by  the  Methodists  until  1882,  when  their  first  church  home  whs 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,500  on  its  present  site.  The  parsonage,  which 
had  been  purchased  in  1868,  was  a  one-story  building  adjacent  to  the 
church.  The  building  was  afterward  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  two 
wings  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  congregation,  Hut  as  the  years  went  on. 
these  additions  were  insufficient,  and  in  the  spring  of  1908  ground  for  a 
new  church  was  purchased  at  the  northwest  cornel'  of  Market  and  Fifth 
streets.  One  of  the  two  dwelling  houses  on  the  site  was  remodeled  for  a 
parsonage  in  1909,  and  in  the  spring  of  1912  work  was  begun  on  tin 
church  ■  ;<  rstructure  of  the  elegant  church  now  occupied.  The  site 
and  Ming  cost  over  $1(3,000  and  on  May  1,  1913,  when  the  property 
had  been  cleared  of  all  indebtedness,  the  church  was  dedicated  with 
appropriate  and  impressive  services.  The  dedicatory  sermon  was 
preached  by  Dr.  PI.  A.  Gobin,  vice  president  of  Del'auw  University, 
and  other  notables  of  the  church  were  on  tie'  rostrum. 

Rev.  W.  B.  Morgan, .the  present  pastor,  assumed  his  duties  in  the 
fall  of  1911,  and  ministers  to  the  needs  of  about  :S2(>  members  or  what 
is  officially  known  as  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  .Monon. 
Preceding  Mr.  Morgan  were  . Toll n  D.  Boyd,  the  first  pastor;  Joseph  Bndd, 
Cole  Brown.  George  Guild,  Henry  Fraley,  George  Mellender,  William 
F.  Joues,  II.  II.  Middleton,  J.  B.  Smith.  II.  B.  Ball,  W.  Campbell,  John 
E.  Newhouse.  R.  II.  Calvert,  Whitfield  Hall,  Jasper  I.  McCoy,  W.  \". 
Dunham,  G.  A.  Bond,  Whitfield  Hall  (second  incumbency),  J.  X.  liar 
mon,  J.  T.  Stafford,  C.  II.  Jesse,  J.  T.  Reeder,  A.  M  Virden,  A.  L 
Clark,  W.  II.  Broomfield,  D.  A.  Rodgcrs,  A.  C.  Northrop  and  A.  A. 
Dunla  vv. 


348  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  Baptist  Church 

As  early  as  1859  Rev.  Lewis  McCreary  commenced  holding  occasional 
Baptist' service's  in  the  schoolhouse  at  New  Bradford.  The  interest  thus 
aroused  led,- in  January,  1865,  to  the  regular  organization  of  a  church. 
The  charter  members  of  this  pioneer  Baptist  society,  who  organized 
on  the  llth^of  that  mouth,  were  John  W.  Miller,  Sarah  Gazeway,  John 
W.  Cox,  Theodore  Hildebrand,  Jerusha  Hildebrand,  Elizabeth  Ann  Ililde- 
brand,  Esther  .May  King,  .Margaret  Dunlap,  Anna  E.  Cox,  Elder  J.  H. 
Dunlap,  Julia  Miller,  Josephine  Amanda  Miller,  Mary  E.  Sparrow  and 
Margaret  A.  Chamberlain. 

The  little  band  of  workers  had  a  steady  growth.  In  1S69  they  began 
to  J^jild  a  house  of  worship,  which  they  completed  in  October  of  that 
year.  Us  dedication — at  which  Rev.  Mr.  Stone  officiated — marked  the 
occupancy  of  the  first  church  structure  in  Monon  Township,  and  for 
several  years  it  was  shared  by  the  Baptists  with  other  denominations. 
The  Sunday  school  was  also  a  union  establishment.  In  1908  the  church 
building  was  reconstructed,  and  at  the  rededicatiou  Dr.  E.  W.  Louns- 
bury,  then  of  Chicago,  preached  from  the  appropriate  text:  "The  latter 
glory  of  this  house  shall  be  greater  than  the  former."  The  church  has  a 
membership  of  about  200. 

As  to  tin-  pastors,  Lewis  McCreary  occupied  the  pulpit  at  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church  and 'again  in  1880.     J.  II.  Dunlap,  D.  S.  French, 

B.  B.  Craig  and  I).  J.  Huston  followed,  the  last  two  serving  two  pastor- 
ates each.  P..  A.  Nelson  succeeded  Mr.  Huston,  whose  second  pastorate 
was  from  1878  to  1884;  C.  A.  Rice  assumed  the  charge  in  18S5;  J.  M. 
Kendall,  1886;  J.  T.  Green,  188S;  W.  II.  Van  Cleave,  1890;  L.  P.  Galey, 
1S92;  L.  O.  Stiening,   1894;  I.  B.  Morgan,  1896;  J.  A.  Haynes,  1899; 

C.  J.  Bunnell,  1903;  G.  IT.  O'Donnell,  1905;  A.  J.  Unthank,  1906;  E.  B. 
DeVault,  1908;  It.  B.  Wright,  1912,  and  C.  F.  Dame,  1914. 

Societies 

Monon,  as  an  intelligent  and  progressive  town,  has  a  number  of 
well-patronized  societies,  both  benevolent  and  industrial.  Being  quite  a 
railroad  center,  the  trainmen  and  other  employees  have  several  strong 
organizations,  while  the  standard  benevolent  and  secret  orders,  such  as 
the  Odd  Fellows,  Masons,  the  Pythian  order,  Maccabees  and  Independent 
Order  of  Red  Men  have  lodges,  some  of  which  are  supported  by  members 
of  both  sexes.  Perhaps  the  strongest  and  the  oldest  is  Monon  Lodge  No. 
524,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  which  was  instituted  in  February,  1876. 


CHAPTER  XXVI [ 

TOWN  OF  WOLCOTT 

Municipal  Waterworks — Founding  op  the  Town — Coming  op  Anson 
Wolcott — Town  Platted — Competitors — The  Wolcott  Interests 
— First  Addition — Death  op  the  Founder — Eben  II.  Wolcott — 
The  xJibell  Family — Various  Additions — The  Town  Commissioned 
Hion  School — State  Bank  op  Wolcott — Citizens  State  Bank — 
Churches  -and  Societies — The  Methodist  CnuRcn— Christian 
Church— Baptist  Church — The  Masons — I.  0.  0.  F.  Bodies — 
Other  Lodges. 

The  Town  of  Wolcott  is  the  only  place  of  any  considerable  size  and 
commercial  importance  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  It  is  nine 
miles  west  of  Reynolds,  and  there  is  nothing  worthy  to  be  called  a  settle- 
ment, either  north  or  south  of  it  within  the  limits  of  White  County.  As 
the  surrounding  districts  arc  also  productive  and  settled  by  a  substantial 
class  of  farmers,  while  the  townsmen  themselves  are  energetic  and  enter- 
prising, Wolcott  has  naturally  grown  and  is  growing.  It  has  three 
elevators,  operated  by  the  Rich  Brothers,  the  Wolcott  Grain  Company 
and  the  Farmers  Co-operative  Company;  two  good  banks,  several  large 
and  well-stocked  stores,  and  quite  an  extensive  plant,  embracing  metal 
works,  sales  depot  for  agricultural  implements,  barbed  wire  and  other 
farmers'  accessories  and  hardware  supplies. 

Municipal  Waterworks 

Further;  Wolcott  has  three  church  organizations,  several  flourishing 
societies,  a  town  commissioned  high  school  of  substantial  standing,  and 
a  pneumatic  water  system,  owned  by  the  municipality.  The  power  house 
is  about  half  a  mile  west  of  town,  the  supply  of  water  being  first  filtered 
through  a  gravel  pit  and  then  through  an  artificial  filter  attached  to  the 
pressure  tank.  WTater  was  turned  into  the  mains  in  April,  l!)lf>,  and 
the  people  feel  justly  proud  of  their  new  waterworks,  which  furnishes 
them  good  water  and  provides  them  with  adequate  fire  protection.  The 
latter  has  seemed  the  most  pressing  need  of  the  community  since  the 
recent  destructive  fire. 

Founding  of  the  Town 

*  Princeton  Township  never  increased  so  rapidly  in  population  as  from 
ls.">ii  to  1Si;0,  it  having  become  virtually  an  assured  fact  that  the  Logans- 


350  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

port,  Peoria  and  Burlington  Railroad  would  pass  through  its  territory 

from  oast  to  west.     As  the  farmers  and  settlers  had  long  rebelled  at  the 

hardship  and  inconvenience  of  hauling  their  products  to  Reynolds  and 

buying  their  provisions  there,  it  was  also  a  foregone  conclusion  that  some 

station  would  be  established  on  the  line  easier  of  access  than  that  place, 

which,  over  the  abominable  and  winding  roads  of  those  days,  often  meant 

tiresome  journeys  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles. 
«» 

A 

Coming  of  Anson  Wolcott 

In  1858  the  savior  of  the  situation  appeared  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  township  in  the  person  of  Anson  "Wolcott.  He  was  then  in  his  fortieth 
year.  A  native  of  Oneida  County,  New  York,  he  was  educated  and  taught 
if^Phe  Empire  State,  and  when  twenty-one  years  of  age  went  to  Louisiana 
and  -studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Petts,  in  Claiborne  Parish.  He 
remained  in  the  South  about  a  year  and  a  half,  when  he  returned  to  New 
York,  continued  his  law  studies  and  in  1847  was  admitted  to  the  State 
Supreme  Court  at  Buffalo,  and  in  1852  to  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court. 

Town  Platted 

After  practicing  his  profession  for  six  years,  Mr.  Wolcott  started 
forthe  Wabash  country  of  Indiana,  as  he  had  purchased  a  large  body  of 
land  on  the  line  of  the  Pan  Handle  Road  which  had  been  surveyed  through 
Princeton  Township.  Some  place  his  purchases  as  high  as  2,000  acres.  He 
commenced  at  once  to  improve  his  land  and  also  to  buy  grain  of  neighbor- 
ing farmers  for  shipment  to  eastern  markets.  When  the  railroad  was 
completed  in  the  fall  of  1SG0  he  prepared  to  plat  a  town  and  arrange  for  a 
station  under  his  own  name.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1861,  Mr.  Wolcott 
platted  his  town  on  land  described  as  follows:  The  commencing  point 
of  the  survey  is  at  the  southeast  corner  of  lot  8,  block  F,  and  is  180  feet 
distant  at  right  angles  from  the  center  line  of  the  Pittsburgh,  Chicago 
and  St.  Louis  Railway,  and  thirty  feet  west  of  the  range  line  which  runs 
north  and  south  in  the  center  of  Range  Street  north,  eighty  degrees  west, 
and  the  town  is  laid  out  parallel  and  at  right  angles  to  the  railroad.  An- 
other description  of  the  original  town  site  is  the  eastern  part  of  section  25 
and  the  western  part  of  section  30.  The  plat  consisted  of  ninety-six  lots, 
and  the  streets  were  laid  out  sixty  feet  wide.  The  east  and  west  streets 
were  named  North,  Jackson,  Market,  Scott,  Anderson  and  South;  those 
running  north  and  south,  Range,  Second,  Third  and  Fourth. 

Competitors 

About  the  time  that  Wolcott  was  platted,  two  towns  were  laid  out 
on  the  line  of  the  railroad  to  the  east — Clermont,  a  mile  and  a  half  away, 
and  Seafiold,  double  that  distance.  At  one  time  Clermont  was  the  leader 
of  the  trio,  but  subsided  quite;  while  Seafiold,  at  least,  retired  from 
active  rivalry. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  351 

The  Wolcott  Interests 

From  first  to  last,  for  nearly  forty-six  years,  Mr.  Wolcott  was  the 
inspiration  of  the  place.  Soon  after  the  town  was  platted  he  built  sheds 
along  the*  railroad  track  and  commenced  to  buy  and  ship  corn  in  large 
quantities.  Later  he  erected  a  large  grain  elevator  and  promoted  other 
enterprises,  directly  by  investment  and  indirectly  by  encouragement. 
The  urn  crib  which  he  erected  was  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world, 
having  a  capacity  of  45,000  bushels  of  ear-corn.  Eben  II.  Wolcott,  his 
son,  had  also-  come  to  the  front  in  business,  and  his  hay  warehouse  was 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  state.  He  operated  two  presses,  each  of  which 
had  a  capacity  of  36,000  bales  for  the  season. 

First  Addition 

In  1865  Anson  Wolcott  made  the  first  addition  to  the  original  town, 
consisting  of  forty-seven  lots.  Although  he  was  highly  and  broadly 
educated,  the  founder  of  Wolcott  confined  his  activities  largely  to  busi- 
ness, but  his  few  deviations  from  that  path  indicated  mental  resources 
of  a  high  order.  In  1868  he  was  elected  on  the  republican  ticket  to  the 
State  Senate,  where  he  did  valuable  service  as  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee  during  the  sessions  of  1869  and  1871.  He  was  afterward 
prominently  mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  Congress.  Later,  questions 
arose  upon  which  he  could  not  agree  with  his  party  and  for  years  he  was 
a  leader  in  the  national  or  greenback  party,  at  one  time  being  their 
candidate  for  governor. 

Death  of  the  Founder 

Mr.  Wolcott  died  at  his  home  in  the  town  he  had  founded  on  January 
10, 1907,  and  his  deep  conscientiousness  and  broad  ability,  his  public  spirit 
and  courtesy,  his  friendship  and  abiding  affection,  will  ever  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  were  influenced  for  so  many  years  by  those  traits  of 
his  sterling  manhood. 

Eben  II.  Wolcott 

During  the  later  portion  of, his  life,  which  stretched  into  his  eighty- 
eighth  year,  the  deceased  had  transferred  many  of  his  business  cans  to 
the  strong  shoulders  of  his  son,  Eben  II.  Wolcott.  The  latter  has  suc- 
ceeded to  the  good  graces  so  long  entertained  toward  his  father,  bul  has 
attained  much  prominence  in   public  affairs.     He  is  a  member  of  the 

state  board  of  tax  commissioners,  has  been  a  state  senator  and  has  I u 

mentioned  for  secretary  of  state  and  Eor  governor. 

Tin:  Diuhm,  Family 

After  the  Wolcott  Addition  of  1865,  the  area  of  the  town  site  was  not 
increased   until  January  2,    1893,  when    Messrs.   Pox  and    Dihell   added 


J 


352  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

fifty-five  lots.  The  Dibell  family  has  been  identified  with  the  agricul- 
tural, business  and  public  affairs  of  the  township  and  the  town  since  1875, 
when  E.  L.  Dibell,  a  prosperous  Ohio  farmer,  came  from  Kendall  County, 
Illinois,  and  bought  'a  quarter  section  in  Princeton  Township.  He 
developed  a  magnificent  farm  and  one  of  his  sons,  Edwin  J.,  has  become 
one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Wolcott,  a  township  trustee  and 
otherwise  prominent  in  local  affairs.  Elihu  B.,  the  eldest  son,  was  largely 
identified^with  banking  matters  until  his  death  about  1912. 

-  Various  Additions 

Less  than  two  weeks  after  the  Fox  and  Dibell  Addition  was  made, 
Eben  II.  Woleott  platted  an  addition  of  twenty-seven  lots;  in  November, 
also^  189:5,  Fox  and  Dibbell  added  twenty-two  lots;  on  April  6,  1895/ 
Anson  Wolcott,  twelve  lots,  and  on  the  28th  of  October,  of  that  year, 
J.  B.  Pierce  made  an  addition  to  the  town  of  twenty-seven  lots.  Other 
small  tracts  have  since  been  added,  so  that  Woleott  is  not  cramped  in  its 
growth.  Its  expansion  has  taken  place  mainly  within  the  past  twenty- 
five  years— since  1890,  when  its  population  was  only  256.  For  two  years, 
from  May,  1873,  Wolcott  was  an  incorporated  village  but  was  not  then 
in  a  position  to  sustain  such  a  form  of  government. 

The  Town  Commissioned  High  School 

Woleott  has  a  thoroughly  organized  union  school,  classified  as  a  town 
commissioned  high  school,  of  which  Lewis  E.  Wheeler  is  superintendent 
and  Earl  Burget,  principal.  The  force  under  the  superintendent  con- 
sists of  ten  teachers.  The  high  school  proper  comprises  more  than  eighty 
pupils  and  the  attendance  in  the  grammar  and  primary  grades  averages 
220.  The  building  is  comparatively  new,  having  been  completed  in  1901, 
and  is  equipped  with  the  modern  conveniences  and  educational  appliances 
to  carry  out  its  curriculum  and  the  requirements  of  a  progressive 
community. 

State  Bank  of  Wolcott 

The  business  and  industries  of  the  town  is  financed  through  two 
substantial  banks.  The  State  Bank  of  Wolcott  was  established  as  a 
private  institution  in  1886,  witli  Robert  Parker  as  president  and  Elihu 
B.  Dibell  as  cashier.  It  continued  as  such  until  1904,  when  it  was 
incorporated  as  a  state  bank  with  Mr.  Dibell  as  president,  W.  F.  Brueker 
as  vice  president  and  Louis  flinchman  as  cashier.  In  1912  E.  B.  Dibell 
was  succeeded  by  W.  R.  Fox  as  president,  Frank  G.  Garvin  became  vi*- 
president  and  Mr.  [linehman  remained  as  cashier.  The  present  capital 
of  the  bank  is  $25,000;  surplus.  $12,500;  average  deposits,  $1(>0.000. 

Citizens  State  Bank 

The  Citizens  Stat.'  Rank  of  Wolcott  was  established  in  1911.  its 
officers,   then   elected,   James   Blake,   president,    who   was   succeeded    by 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


353 


James  C.  Jones,  who  is  still  serving;  David  J.  Pettit,  vice  president,  who 
was  succeeded  hy  James  Blake,  still  serving,  and  Charles  II.  Kleist, 
cashier.     Its  capital  stock  is  $25,000 ;  surplus,  $2,000 ;  deposits,  $85,000. 

Churches  and  Societies 

.Both  churches  and  societies  are  in  an  active  state  at  Wolcott,  and 
inc&cate  that  its  people  fully  realize  the  necessity  of  promoting  the  social, 
intellectual  and  moral  interests  of  the  place,  as  well  as  its  material  life. 

The  Methodist  CnuRCH 
i 

The 'Methodist  Church,  the  oldest  religious  body,  was  organized  at 
S?afield  soon  after  that  town  was  platted,  in  1861,  but  the  class  soon 


Wolcott  Town  Commissioned  High  School 


commenced  to  meet  at  Wolcott,  as  Mrs.  Anson  Wolcott  donated  ground 
for  a  building  and  it  became  evident  that  the  latter  town  was  destined 
to  have  a  substantial  growth.  The  Methodists  completed  their  house  of 
worship  at  Wolcott  in  1873,  and  it  was  the  second  church  built  in  the 
township— a  neat  frame,  36  by  40  feet.  Rev.  T.  J.  Beder  is  the  prese-  t 
pastor  of  the  growing  society. 

Christian  Church 

The  Christian  Church  of  Wolcott  completed  its  building  in  1873, 
soon  after  the  Methodists  had  occupied  their  meeting-house.  It  was  also 
a  frame  structure,  somewhat  larger  ami  more  costly  than  that  erected  by 
their  fellow-religionists.  The  first  trustees  of  the  Christian  society  were 
J.  B.  Bunnell,  Noble  Nordyke,  A.  W.  Dyke,  Dr.  M.  T.  Uidlake  (afterward 
of  Monticello)  and  J.  M.  Brown.     Rev,  William  Irelan,  the  widely  known 


354 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


educator,  was  pastor  of  the  church  for  some  time  in  the  '80s.  '  A  new  and 
modern  church  was  huilt  in  1896,  and  the  present  society  is  in  charge 
of  Rev.  Harry  Huber. 

Baptist.-  Church 

.  '  Tije  Captist  Church  of  Wolcott,  of  which  Rev.  G.  W.  Livingstone  is 
paston,  was  organized  in  July,  1889,  by  about  twenty  members  who  met 
at  tlie  Methodist  meeting-house.  In  the  following  year  Mrs.  Solomon 
Rader  gave  the  society  two  building  lots  and  a  substantial  house  of 
worship  was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1891.  A  parsonage  was  built  in 
1894.  Rev.  W.  II.  VanCleve  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  and 
the  following  were  its  first  officers:  Richard  Pugh,  Sr.,  and  Solomon 
Rader,  deacons ;  J.  W.  McDuffie,  clerk,  and  J.  L.  Pitts,  treasurer. 


o 


State  Bank  op  Wolcott,  1886 

Following  Mr.  Van  Cleve  as  pastor  were  I.  W.  Bailey,  W.  R.  Puckett, 
J.  A.  Haynes,  C.  S.  Davisson,  C.  L.  Merriam,  J.  M.  Cauldwell,  R.  W. 
Thorne,  J.  I.  Slater,  C.  M.  Pattee,  L.  0  Egnew ;  R  W.-  Thome  and  C.  L. 
Merriam  (second  pastorates)  and  G.  W.  Livingstone.  < 

The  Masons 


Of  the  secret  and  benevolent  societies,  the  Masonic  fraternity  has  the 
longest  record  in  Wolrott.  The  local  body,  which  is  known  as  Wolcott 
Lodge,  No.  ISO,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  chartered  May  30,  1866.  Among  the 
original  memlx'rs  were  John  B.  Bunnell,  John  B.  Hemphill,  William 
II.  II.  Rader  and  James  O.,  Johnson.  Mr.  Johnson  is  the  only  living 
charter  member.  The  first  officers  were  J.  B.  Bunnell,  W.  W.  M. ;  J.  B. 
Hemphill,  J.  W. ;  William  H.  II.  Rader,  S.  W.  The  present  officers  of 
£he  lodge,  which  numbers  about  seventy  members,  are:    Frank  G.  Garvin, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  355 

.  W.M. ;  A.  J.  Reames,  S.  W. ;  R.  T.  Holley,  J.  W. ;  George  D.  Dye,  Treas- 
urer; William  II.  Gerberich,  Secretary.  Mr.  Gerberich  has  held  the  secre- 
taryship since  1895,#and  so  far  as  his  fellow  Masons  are  concerned  it  is  a 
life  office  for  him.  The  order  owns  the  temple  in  which  its  members 
meet,  the  building  having  been  erected  in  1894. 

Wolcott  Chapter,  No.  171,  0.  E.  S.,  which  also  meets  in  the  Temple, 
was  organized  April  25,  1895,  with  Maude  Dye  as  Worthy  Matron,  and 
Elihu  B.  Dibell  as  Worthy  Patron.  Its  present  Matron  is  Maude  IIol- 
dridge,  and  its  Patron,  E.  W.  Irwin. 

I.  0.  0.  P.   Bodies 

^The  Odd  Fellows  have  a  strong  lodge  (Orion,  No.  598),  its  member-- 
ship  being  about  130.  Its  officers  are  as  follows:  Julius  Evans,  N.  G. ; 
Stanley  Cramer,  V.  G. ;  Charles  Gilbert,  R.  S. ;  A.  J.  Reams,  F.  S. ;  Eldon 
Ford,  Treasurer.  Orion  Lodge,  No.  598,  was  organized  January  24, 
1883,  and,  after  the  Masons,  is  the  oldest  fraternal  body  in  Wolcott. 
The  Daughters  of  Rebekah  are  also  well  organized  and  meet  regularly 
in  Odd  Fellows  Hall. 

Other  Lodges 

The  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  organized  Wolcott  Camp,  No. 
4675,  in  April,  1897,  with  R.  C.  Thompson  as  Venerable  Consul;  Guy 
.Clary  holds  that  office  at  the  present  time. 

Besides  these  bodies  are  the  Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge,  No.  409,  and 
Tribe  No.  463,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  each  with  about  ninety 
members.  The  foregoing  list  fully  bears  out  the  statement  that  Wolcott 
is  an  active  lodge  town.  I 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

TOWN   OP  BROOKSTON 

i 

The  Town  Platted — Extension  op  the  Site — First  Stores  and  In- 
dustries— Momentous  Years,  1866-67 — Incorporation  of  Town — 
Marked  Steps  in  Progress — Industries  op  the  Present — Bank  op 
Brookston — Town  Commissioned  High  School — Prairie  Tele- 
phone Company — The  Methodist  Church — The  Baptist  Church. 

t? — The  Presbyterian  Church — Secret  and  Benevolent  Societies 
-^-Probably  the  Oldest  Mason  in  the  United  States. 

Brookston,  which  is  among  the  largest  of  the  incorporated  towns  of 
.the  county,  is  on  the  Chicago,  Indianapolis  &  Louisville  (Monon)  main 
line,  and  is  the  commercial  aiid  banking  center  of  a  large  and  productive 
area  which  extends  into  adjacent  counties  to  the  east  and  south.  It  is 
beautifully  located  near  the  center  of  Prairie  Township,  in  the  edge  of 
the  timber  bordering  on  Grand  Prairie,  and  Moots  Creek,  a  pretty 
tributary  of  the  Tippecanoe,  flows  along  its  southern  and  western  bor- 
ders, adding  to  the  natural  attractiveness  of  its  position  and  affording 
ample  facilities  for  drainage  and  sewerage.  With  a  fine  grain,  fruit 
and  stock-raising  country  all  around  it,  the  town  has  provided  elevators, 
canning  factories  and  other  industries,  as  well  as  good  shipping  facili- 
ties, for  the  benefit  of  the  agriculturists  and  citizens  who  co-operate  in 
the  progress  of  their  section  of  the  county. 

The  Town  Platted 

Brookston  was  named  in  honor  of  James  Brooks,  who  was  president 
of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railroad  at  the  time  it  was 
constructed  through  the  county  and  the  place  laid  out.  It  was  platted 
by  Benjamin  Gonzales,  Isaac  Reynolds  and  Dr.  Joel  B.  McFarland,  on 
the  26th  of  April,  1853.  Mr.  Gonzales  was  the  chief  engineer  of  the 
railroad  company,  Mr.  Reynolds  the  honored  citizen  of  Monticello,  and 
Doctor  McFarland  a  leading  physician  of  Lafayette;  so,  in  a  way,  the 
projectors  of  Brookston  were  "foreigners,"  but  very  honorable  and 
euterprising  ones. 

Extension  of  the  Site 

Origiually  all  of  Brookston  was  included  in  section  22,  and  the  bulk 
of  its  site  is  still  thus  confined.  Subsequent  additions  have  so  extended 
its  area  that  the  site  now  not  only  covers  about  a  half  of  the  western 

.*    ■         •  356 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 


357 


and  northern  portion  of  that  section,  but  smaller  tracts  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  15  to  the  north,  and  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
ion  21  to  the  west.' 

As  laid  out  in  the  original  plat,  the  north  and  south  streets  were 
Prairie  (bounding  the  town  on  the  west)  ;  Railroad,  South  and  Wood 
(eastern  boundary).  Railroad  Street  was  130  feet  wide,  and  other  thor- 
oughfares 70  feet  each.  The  east  and  west  streets  were  numbered  from 
First  to  Seventh;  inclusive,  fixing  the  northern  and  southern  limits  of 
the  plat. 

The  main  additions  made,  by  which  the  town  has  spread  over  so 
large  a  portion  of  section  22  and  into  sections  15  and  21,  have  been  as 
follows-:  By  Solomon  Hayes,  December  29,  1853;  James  C.  Moore, 
January  28,  1857 ;  J.  W.  Robinson,  August  26,  1868 ;  Obed  Barnard  and 
Edward  H.  Brown,  August  10,  1868 ;  William  T.  Alkire,  December  25, 
1897 ;  Mrs.  Emeline  M.  Russell,  April  10,  1899. 

First  Stores  and  Industries 


Eli  Meyers  built  the  first  house  erected  within  the  town  plat,  and 
a  man  named  Kane  opened  the  pioneer  store,  before  Brookston  was  laid 
.  out ;  but  they  .both  knew  the  town  was  on  the  way,  hence  their  fore- 
handedness.  But  Kane  was  too  sanguine,  and  suspended  about  the  time 
the  town  went  on  paper.  Soon  after  John  Bross  opened  another  store, 
and  John  Best  built  a  blacksmith  shop.  Other  merchants  and  mechanics 
followed,  and  in  1860-61  the  Farmers'  Warehouse  was  built  by  a  joint 
stock  company.  The  latter  was  a  building  40  by  80  feet  and  was  in 
use  for  many  years.  It  was  used  for  the  storage  of  grain  and  other 
agricultural  products  and  was  a  great  convenience  to  the  farmers  and 
merchants  of  the  town  and  neighborhood.  In  1864  another  enterprise 
was  established  which  added  to  the  good  standing  of  Brookston;  that  is, 
a  grist  mill  with  three  runs  of  burrs;  John  Allen  operated  the  mill  for 
five  years  and  it  was  subsequently  run  by  Parish  &  God  man.  The  old 
Farmers'  Warehouse  was  bought  hy  T.  G.  Chilton  and  Adam  Vinccll 
in  1868,  who  had  purchased  the  interests  of  the  late  Edward  Mendenhall 
and  Alexander  Patterson.  The  later  proprietors  were  John  Allen,  John 
Parrish  and  Richard  Godman. 

The  years  1866-67  were  really  momentous  to  not  a  few  important 
interests  of  the  town.  Both  religious  and  educational  matters  took  an 
upward  turn.  The  Methodists  erected  a  church  building,  and  the  new 
Baptist  organization  arranged  to  meet  therein  in  the  advancement  of 
its  own  cause.  That  was  also  the  period  when  the  Brookston  Academy 
was  built  and  the  labors  of  that  able  and  good  citizen,  Dr.  John  Medarifl, 
commenced  to  bear  fruit.  Such  various  establishments  as  have  been 
mentioned  made  Brookston  quite  a  marked  center  of  commerce,  trade 
and  learning,  and  its  increase  in  population  and  general  standing  in- 
duced its  citizens  to  adopt  a  village  fonn  of  government. 


358 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


Incorporation  op  Town 

The  first  election 'for  corporation  officers  in  the  Town  of  Brookston 
was  held  at  the  schoolhouse  March  23,  1867,  and  resulted  in  the  choice 
of  the  following:  Trustees,  A.  L.  Patterson,  first  district  (president  of 
the  board) ;  S.  H.  Powell,  second  district ;  C.  D.  Staton,  third  district ; 
Moses  L.  French,  fourth  district,  and  D.  U.  Rice,  fifth  district.  Mr. 
French  was  chosen  clerk  and  treasurer,  and  Mr.  Staton  marshal  and 
assessor. 

Marked  Steps  in  Progress 

.  Since  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  especially,  Brookston  has  made 
substantial  advances.  Within  six  years  the  local  newspaper  field  was 
invaded,  and  by  the  early  '80s  a  tile  factory  and  two  elevators  were  in 


Brookston  in  1880 

operation.  The  latter  were  owned  and  operated  by  T.  S.  Hayes  and 
Parish  &  Godman,  proprietors  of  the  mill.  The  Christian  Church  was 
also  added  to  the  other  good  influences.  To  a  somewhat  later  period 
belongs  the  founding  of  the  canning  industry  and  the  establishment  of 
the  local  banks;  and,  in  line  with  the  railroad,  the  construction  of  sub- 
stantial roads  and  the  extension  of  mail  facilities,  was  the  organization 
of  a  telephone  company,  with  Brookston  as  its  headquarters,  which  has 
brought  the  town  into  advantageous  connections  with  every  section  of 
the  country. 

Industries  op  the  Present 


At  the  present  time  the  two  elevators  which  demonstrate  Brookston 's 
claim  as  a  growing  grain  center  are  operated  by  Halsted  Brothers  and 
Bell  &  House;  also  in  the  line  of  industries  are  the  novelty  works  of 
Thomas  Bostiek  and  the  canning  factories,  owned  by  E.  P.  Mason  and 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  359 

Dr.  D.  M.  Kelley  and  by  James  F.  French  and  the  widow  of  the  late 
William  French.  The  former  plant  is  known  as  the  Brookston  Canning 
Factory,  and  the  latter  as  the  Eagle  Canning  Works. 

The  Eagle  Canning  Company  was  organized  in  1889  to  place  toma- 
toes and  corn  upon  the  market.  The  business  went  into  the  hands  of 
a  receiver  in  1904,  and  was  bought  by  James  F.  and  William  French, 
brothers,  who  devoted  their  plant  to  the  canning  of  corn.  William 
French  was  accidentally  killed  in  1911,  and  the  ownership  has  since 
been  divided  between  the  surviving  brother  and  the  widow.  The  busi- 
ness is  conducted  in  connection  with  the  fanning  interests  owned  by  the 
firm,  which  cover  1,400  acres  of  land.  All  the  corn  which  is  canned  at 
the  factory"  is  raised  on  the  company  farms,  the  combined  enterprise 
4*lso  embracing  a  silo  industry. 

*  •  ■ 

Bank  of  Brookston 

The  Bank  of  Brookston  was  organized  as  a  private  institution  April 
14,  1894,  by  John  C.  Vanatta.  In  January,  189G,  it  became  a  state 
bank  under  the  foregoing  name,  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  and  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  William  E.  Morris,  president ;  William  T.  Wagner,  vice 
president,  and  John  C.  Vanatta,  cashier.  In  July,  1904,  the  capital  of 
the  bank  was  increased  to  $35,000,  with  the  same  officers  and  the  addi-. 
tion  of  John  J.  Nagle  as  a  second  vice  president.  Mr.  Norris  resigned 
as  president  January  1,  1910,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Nagle.  There 
has.  been  no  change  in  the  officers  since.  The  statement  of  the  bank, 
issued  March  4,  1915,  showed  the  following  financial  condition:  De- 
posits, $206,666.98;  loans,  $187,688.46;  cash  on  hand,  $60,823.90;  assets 
above  liabilities,  $45,300. .  ' 

The  Farmers  Bank 

Brookston  has  another  financial  institution— the  Farmers  Bank, 
whose  president,  Joseph  H.  Kious,  is  of  an  old  family.  His  grandfather, 
Adam  Kious,  was  of  Pennsylvania  nativity  and  came  West  to  Dayton, 
in  1843.  In  the  following  year  he  settled  in  White  County  and  held 
several  public  offices. 

Town  Commissioned  IIioh  School 

The  old  Brookston  Academy,  built  in  1866,  in  a  remodeled  and 
modern  form,  and  the  property  of  the  township  since  1873,  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Town  Commissioned  High  School,  of  which  W.  F.  Neel  is 
superintendent,  and  Lida  Moody,  principal.  Ten  teachers  altogether 
comprise  the  force.  Manual  training  for  the  boys  and  sewing  for  the 
girls  are  included  in  the  curriculum,  which  embraces  all  the  branches 
usually  taught  as  related  parts  of  the  public  school  system.  The  high 
school  has  an  average  attendance  of  seventy-seven  and  the  other  depart- 
ments of  180.     Outside  of  the  Town  Commissioned  High  School,  there 

„,,'• •    '- ■■"•■•         ...I..-    ..i.-  ■-,...  *.„-.*.,  .-*  .... ,- 


360  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

are  nine  schools  in  the  township,  all  of  which  send  their  representatives 
to  the  central  institution  at  Brookston. 

■..  ,.  Prairie  Telephone  Company 

The  Prairie  Telephone  Company  was  organized  as  a  corporation  in 
August^  1898,  hy  D.  E.  Ross,  as  president,  Ira  Bordner,  as  secretary, 
and  John  H.  Kneale,  treasurer  and  superintendent.  There  has  been 
no  change  of  management  or  ownership,  although  there  has  been- a  great 
expansion  of  the  system.  The  exchange  was  opened  for  business,  with 
the  initial  line  from  Brookston  to  Round  Grove  Township,  in  January, 
1899,  thirty-five  subscribers  patronizing  the  line.  "At  first  the  people 
were  skeptical  as  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  but  their  confidence 
gradually  was  secured  and  now  nothing  could  shake  it.  The  operations 
of  the  Prairie  Telephone  Company  cover  425  subscribers,  with  toll  lines 
not  only  into  the  western  sections  but  to  Lafayette,  Monticello,  Delphi 
and  Chalmers.  In  other  words,  Brookston  is  in  close  telephonic  con- 
nection with  all  out-of-doors. 

The  METnoDisT  Church 

Methodists,  Baptists,  Christians,  Universalists  and  Presbyterians 
have  churches.  The  honor  of  being  the  religious  pioneers  of  the 
place  is  accorded  to  the  Methodists,  who  held  their  first  services  at  the 
house  of  J.  C.  Moore,  the  farmer  and  inventor,  probably  about  1840. 
The  meeting  house  was  near  the  residence  which  he  built  later,  after 
^Brookston  was  platted.  Near  his  cabin,  in  a  hewn-log  schoolhouse, 
which  he  also  built,  was  organized  the  first  class  in  the  township.  In 
1844  the  Methodists  erected  their  first  church  building.  It  was  a  little 
frame  building,  36  by  42  feet,  and  was  located  about  two  miles  south- 
west of  Brookston,  near  the  Tippecanoe  county  line.  The  Reverend  Mr. 
Stallard  was  the  first  minister  to  hold  services  in  it.  With  the  founding 
and  growth  of  the  Town  of  Brookston  it  became  evident  that  the  center 
of  the  Methodist  activities  should  be  there,  and  the  church  of  1866  was 
therefore  erected  at  that  place.  The  organization'  has  been  maintained 
since,  Rev.  E.  0.  Chivington  being  the  pastor  both  of  the  Methodist 
Church  at  Brookston  and  that  at  Chalmers. 

The  Baptist  Church 

/'  '■ 
The  Baptists  organized  a  church  in  1866,  and  for  nearly  a  year  there- 
after held  services  in  the  new  Methodist  building.  In  the  following 
year  they  leased  the  old  schoolhouse  at  Brookston,  and  in  1870  bought 
the  property  for  $600,  the  town  school  having  been  moved  to  the 
Brookston  Academy.  The  building  was  remodeled  to  meet  its  new 
requirements,  and  the  house  of  worship,  which  replaced  the  old  one, 
was  erected  on  the  original  site  of  the  schoolhouse.  Among  the  original 
members,  of  the  Brookston  Baptist  Church  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 

_U-Llllll»»  "         '  ' 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  361 

Ripley,  Mr.  and  -Mrs.  S.  H.  Powell,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Stewart, 
David  French,  Joseph  French,  and  William  Lawrence,  and  the  following 
may  be  mentioned  as  pastors  of  an  ea/ly  day :  B.  C.  Craig  and  David 
S.  French,  its  first  and  second;  Joseph  Porter,  J.  G.  Tedford,  J.  M. 
Kendall,  1/  W.  Bailey,  T.  J.  Morgan  and  C.  J.  Bunnell.  S.  H.  Powell 
was  the  first  deacon,  and  both  he  and  C.  C.  French,  the  editor  of  the 
Brookston  Reporter,  were  connected  with  church  and  Sunday  school 
work  for  many  years.  The  present  organization  is  in  charge  of  Rev. 
C.  C.  Curtis,  who  is  also  pastor  of  the  Badger  Grove  Church; 

Brookston  Presbyterian  Church  . 

4p  There  being  a  number  of  Presbyterians  living  in  Brookston  and  vicin- 
ity, it  had  long  been  their  desire  to  have  a  church  of  their  own  faith  and 
order.  Occasional  sermons  had  been  preached  in  the  town  by  Presbyte- 
rian ministers  during  previous  years,  but  it  was  not  until  in  the  summer 
of  1888  that  steps  were  taken  looking  toward  an  organization. 

During  that  summer  and  fall  Rev.  S.  C.  Dickey  of  Monticello,  Indi- 

■  ana,  now  of  Winona  Lake,  visited  the  field  several  times,  and  it  was 
largely  through  his  influence  that  the  little  band  was  encouraged  to  go 
forward.  Sermons  were  also  preached  by  his  father  Rev.  N.  S.  Dickey, 
and  Rev.  E.  S.  Scott,  then  of  Logansport,  and  these  combined  efforts 
^  resulted  in  definite  action  in  the  direction  of  an  organization,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  by  the  friends  of  the  movement,  and  early  in 
December  sufficient  money  was  raised  to  purchase  the  building  formerly 
used  as  a  church  by  the  Baptist  denomination.  It  was  moved  to  a  lot 
donated  by  Dr.  John  Medaris,  and  remodeled. 

The  Home  Mission  Committee  of  Logansport  Presbytery  was  asked 
to  organize  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Brookston.  They  sent  Rev.  H.  II. 
Wells,  D.  D.,  a  Presbyterian  evangelist,  to  conduct  a  series  of  meetings  to 
prepare  the  way  more  fully  for  the  proposed  organization.  Doctor  Wells 
began  his  work  December  30,  1888,  preaching  morning  and  evening  on 
that  day  and  continuing  each  night  excepting  Saturday  for  two  weeks. 
On  Wednesday  evening,  January  2,  1889,  a  commission  of  Logans- 
port Presbytery  was  present,  consisting  of  Rev.  E.  S.  Scott,  chair- 
man, and  Rev.  S.  C.  Dickey.  The  way  appearing  to  be  clear,  after  a 
sermon  by  Doctor  Wells,  they  proceeded  to  the  organization  of  a  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  Upon  the  call  of  the  chairman  the  following  persons  pre- 
sented themselves  as  candidates  for  charter  membership,  coming  by  let- 
ter from  other  ihurches:  Prof.  J.  H.  Gildersleeve,  Mrs.  Flora  N.  Oilder- 
sleeve,  Mr.  Henry  F.  Hagerty,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Ilagerty,  Mr.  James  Wal- 
lace, Miss  Elizabeth  Hay,  Miss  E.  Anna  Hay,  Miss  Margaret  I  lay,  and 
Mrs.  Jennie  Kent.  The  following  persons  presented  themselves  for  ad- 
mission on  confession  of  faith:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Medaris,  Miss  Alta  M. 
Medaris,  Mr.  Kilburn  J.  Mills,  Mrs.  Susanna  Ross,  and  Clara  E.  Hag- 
erty. After  prayer  by  Rev.  W.  S.  Peter  of  Remington,  these  fourteen, 
persons  entered  into  a  covenant  and,  with  their  baptized  children,  were 
constituted  the  Brookston  Presbyterian  Church. 


362  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

The  following  persons  were  elected  ruling  elders : 'Prof essor  Gilder- 
sleeve  and  Henry  F.  Hagerty.  They  were  immediately  ordained  and 
installed.  J.  H.  Gildersleeve  was.the  first  clerk  of  the  Session,  and  its 
first  meeting  was  held  in  the  church  at  the  close  of  the  service  January 
3,  1889. 

The  following  ministers  have  served  the  church:  Rev.  N.  S.  Dickey 
from  January  3,  1889,  to  January,  1892;  Rev.  C.  L.  Bevington,  April, 
1892,  to  October,  1892 ;  Rev.  W.  S.  Peter,  November,  1892,  to  October, 
1896;  student  supply  from  McCormick  Seminary  to  September,  1897; 
Rev.  A.  G.  Work,  September,  1897,  to  April,  1901 ;  Rev.  J.  W.  Findley, 
April,  1901,  to  July,  1903 ;  Rev.  James  Omelvena,  September,  1903,  to 
July,  1906 ;  Rev.  D.  C.  Truesdale,  May,  1907,  to  September,  1910 ;  Rev. 
^)hn  E.  Wolever,  September,  1910,  to  April,  1911 ;  Rev.  A.  J.  Marbet, 
April,  19^1,  to  March,  1912,  and  Rev.  J.  T.  Mordy,  April,  1913,  to 
November,  1914.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  J.  D.  Murphy,  began  his 
work  in  June,  1915.  ; 

In  1901  the  congregation  bought  the  lots  on  the  corner  of  Second 
and  Wood  streets  and  built  the  present  handsome  brick,  stone-trimmed 
structure,  which  they  dedicated,  free  of  debt,  in  May,  1902. 

The  Universalist  Church 

™  This  body  was  organized  April  10,  1881,  and  among  its  ministers 
have  been  Ira  B.  Q randy,  J.  B.  Fosher,  James  Houghton,  W.  W. 
Slaughter  and  Maurice  Linton.  The  Universalist  Church  has  a  present 
membership  of  about  100.  •  .    •      ■  . 

/  Secret  and  Benevolent  Societies 

Brookston  has  several  firmly  organized  lodges,  representing  the 
secret  and  benevolent  work  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Odd  Fellows, 
Masons  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  The  oldest  body  is  Brooks- 
ton  Lodge,  No.  66,  F.  &  A.  M.,  which  was  first  organized  at  Pittsburg, 
Carroll  County,  in  1848,  and  was  moved  to  Brookston  in  1857. 

Among  the  leading  members  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  was  Spencer 
Hart,  who  came  from  Ohio  in  1863  and  settled  on  a  farm  of  250  acres 
near  Brookston,  where  he  lived  for  nearly  half  a  century,  engaged  dur- 
ing his  active  life  in  agricultural  and  livestock  pursuits.  At  attaining 
his  majority  in  Ohio,  he  had  joined  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  con- 
tinued to  be  identified  with  it  until  his  death  at  Monticello,  April  23, 
1915.  About  four  years  previous  to  his  decease,  he  had  moved  from  the 
old  homestead  to  the  county  seat,  where  one  of  his  married  daughters 
resided.  At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Hart  was  in  his  ninety-sixth  year 
and  was  said  to  have  been  the  oldest  Mason  in  the  United' States,  having 
been  carried  on  its  rolls  as  a  member  in  good  standing  for  sixty-five  years. 
His  remains  were  taken  to  the  Battleground  cemetery,  where  the  burial 
was  conducted  under  Masonic  rites. 


mum^mmmmmm 


■«■  I     ' 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

...  CHALMERS   AND    IDAVILLE 

Chalmers,  '  Originally  Mudge's  Station — Jacob  Raub,  Founder  of 
Chalmers — J.  &  W.  W.  Raub — Additions  to  the  Town — Growth 
Since  Incorporation — The  Bank  of  Chalmers — The  Churches 
and    Societies — Educational    Facilities — Idaville — First    Mer- 

%    CHANT    AND    POSTMASTER ANDREW    HaNNA — JOHN    B.    ToWNSLEY— 

Capt.  Joseph  Henderson — Capt.  Patrick  Hays — Progress  Despite 
Fire — Bank  of  Idaville — Township  Commissioned  High  School. — 
The  Church  of  God  (New  Dunkards) — George  Patton — Uriah 
Patton — Robert  F.  Million — The  Church  of  God  (Incorporated) 
— United  Presbyterian  Church — The  M.  E.  Church — Societies. 

Chalmers,  a  town  of  about  600  people,  is  the  grain,  banking  and 
trading  center  for  Big  Creek  Township  and  for  a  considerable  surround- 
ing district,  especially  toward  the  west.  Situated  on  the  Monon  line 
(Chicago,  Indianapolis  &  Louisville)  about  three  and  a  half  miles  north 
of  Brookston  and  five  miles  south  of  Reynolds,  it  is  far  enough  from 
any  village  to  have  a  distinct  territory  for  support,  and  is  the  natural 
market  town  for  West  Point  Township  and  country  nearer  in  that 
direction. 

Originally  Mudge's  Station 

The  town  is  located  on  a  beautiful  slope  of  ground  on  the  east  side 
of  the  railroad.  Its  site  was  originally  owned  by  Gardner  Mudge,  who 
donated  a  piece  of  land  to  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Com- 
pany when  its  line  was  being  built  through  the  township  and  county  in 
1854.  Upon  that  tract  the  railroad  company  erected  a  little  depot 
which  stood  for  Mudge's  Station. 

Mr.  Mudge  and  his  brother-in-law,  William  S.  Shaw,  also  put  up  a 
building  and  stocked  it  with  the  general  merchandise  required  by  the 
neighboring  farmers.  Shaw  &  Mudge,  as  the  firm  was  called,  are  said 
to  havfc  lived  in  their  store,  which  was  therefore  dwelling  and  business 
house  combined. 

Clark  Johnston  also  opened  a  store — some  say  before  Shaw  &  Mudge 
— while  thV  railroad  was  yet  building.  R.  P.  Blizzard  followed  closely 
as  the  first  blacksmith  of  the  place ;  and  then  there  was  a  cessation  of 
the  incoming  tide  for  some  time.  In  fact,  a  carpenter  shop  and  a  few 
dwellings  were  about  all  the  structural  additions  to  Mudge's  Station  for 
nearly  twenty  years. 

363 
"'***■■■  ■■      '     ■-  -  ■  .■■-■.  .*.- 


J 


364  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Jacob  Raub,  Founder  of  Chalmers 

The  hamlet  did.not  seem  to  have  the  promise  of  a  village  until  July 
24,  1878,  when  Jacob  Raub,  who  for  over  twenty  years  had  been  largely 
engaged  in  the*  grain  business  and  farming,  both  in  Tippecanoe  County 
and  at  Mudge's  Station,  platted  the  Town  of  Chalmers  on  a  part  of  the 
old  Ross  farm,  which  he  had  purchased  in  1872. 

The  original  town  was  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  34,  town  26  north,  range  4  west.  It  consisted  of  103 
lots  and  the  following  streets :  Main,  70  feet  wide ;  Earl,  66  feet ;  First, 
Second  and  Third,  each  66  feet  j  Chestnut,  56,  and  Walnut,  50  feet  wide. 

Mr.  Raub 's  father  had  been  a  wealthy  farmer  of  Tippecanoe  County, 
4flps  a  public-spirited  man  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  and 
final  construction  of  the  Crawfordsville  &  Lafayette  Railroad,  which 
afterward  became  a  section  of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago. 
Two  years  after  his  father's  death,  Jacob  Raub  began  the  grain  busi- 
ness at  South  Raub,  Tippecanoe  County,  in  partnership  with  his 
brothers,  the  firm  shipping  the  first  carload  of  grain  over  the  New 
Albany  line  between  Crawfordsville  and  Lafayette.  In  connection  with 
their  business  the  brothers  also  extensively  engaged  in  farming,  but  in 
1864  the  firm  was  dissolved  and  its  lands  divided.  It  happened  that 
the  tract  which  fell  to  Jacob  Raub  was  in  Big  Creek  Township  near 
^^Mudge's  Station,  and,  after  improving  it  for  farming  and  livestock 
purposes,  he  turned  his  attention  to  his  former  business  in  grain.  After 
being  thus  engaged  for  about  five  years,  during  which  he  had  been 
elected  president  of  the  White  County  Agricultural  Society,  he  bought 
the  Ross  farm  and,  as  noted,  laid  out  the  Town  of  Chalmers.  Jacob 
Raub's  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1871,  was  a  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Reynolds,  founder  of  the  town  by  that  name. 

J.  &  W.  W.  Raub 

During  the  year  1872  Mr.  Raub  commenced  business  with  his  young- ' 
est  brother,  William  W.,  and  the  firm  of  J.  &  W.  W.  Raub  for  years 
conducted  an  extensive  business  in  the  handling  of  grain,  livestock  and 
coal.  At  one  time  their  annual  shipments  of  grain  reached  a  total  of 
more  than  150,000  bushels  annually,  and  their  dealings  in  livestock  were 
in  proportion.  In  the  conduct  of  these  interests  they  built  large  cribs 
and  warehouses,  equipped  with  a  big  corn  sheller  and  steam  engine.  In 
1879  they  erected  a  steam  elevator  and  were  the  mainstays  of  the  town 
during  a  long  after-period. 

Among  the  works  which  they  accomplished  and  which  had  a  strong 
influence  on  the  founding  and  stability  of  Chalmers  was  the  creation  of 
a  practical  public  sentiment  which  resulted  in  building  one  of  the  first 
gravel  roads  ever  constructed  in  White  County.  It  passed  through  the 
town  and  enabled  the  farmers  for  miles  around  to  get  their  produce  to 
Chalmers  easily  and  safely. 

•- 

■'- 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  .  B    365 

Additions  to  tub  Town 

In  January,  1887,  the  founder  of  the  town  platted  its  first  addition, 
as  Jacob  and  Sarah  C.  Raub  's  addition  to  the  Town  of  Chalmers,  and 
in  1891  William  W.  Raub  laid  out  his  first  addition ;  his  third  in  Sep- 
tember, 1895,  and  his  fourth  in  December  of  that  year.  In  February, 
'  1896,  Jacob  Raub  and  wife  made  their  second  addition  to  the  townsite, 
and  in  March,  1897,  Levi  Reynolds,  his  brother-in-law,  platted  another 
addition,  and  several  small  tracts  have  been  added  since.    . 

Growth  Since  Incorporation 

*♦ "  In  1900  Chalmers  contained  a  population  of  462,  which  represents 
its*  first  separate  enumeration  from  the  townslup  by  reason  of  its  incor- 
poration as  a  town.  Since  then  its  improvements  have  been  more  sub- 
stantial than  formerly  and  its  population  has  increased  about  100.  Its 
streets  are  broad  and  well  kept,  its  business  houses  creditable  and  its 
i  *    residences  neat  and  homelike.    Its  streets  and  buildings  are  lighted  by 

'    •  electricity  supplied  from  Monticello. 

•.  As  to  the  institutions  which  give  Chalmers  a  good  standing  among 

."  the  town  incorporations  of  White  County  a  few  are  mentioned  hereafter. 

^r  «  '     The  Bank  op  Chalmers 

In  1891  Jacob  Raub  established  a  private  bank,  of  which  he  was 
president,  and  Albert  Goslee  (now  of  Lafayette)  cashier.  The  present 
officers  are  the  founder,  Jacob  Raub,  president,  and  Charles  J.  Raub, 
his  son,  cashier.  The  institution  became  a  state  bank  under  the  name 
The  Bank  of  Chalmers  (Incorporated)  in  1904.  It  has  a  capital  stock 
of  $25,000 ;  deposits,  $120,000 ;  surplus,  $6,250. 

Industries 

There  are  two  substantial  elevators  at  Chalmers,  owned  and  con- 
ducted, respectively,  by  Ross  &  Barr  and  the  Chalmers  Grain  Company 
(co-operative;  C.  O.  Hawkins,  manager).  The  Chalmers  Lumber  Com- 
pany also  has  a  large  yard  for  dealings  in  lumber,  lime,  brick  and  sewer 
tile,  and  tile  works  are  in  operation. 

The  Churches  and  Societies 

The  town  maintains  three  religious  organizations.  Soon  after  the 
town  was  platted  the  Methodists  commenced  to  hold  services  in  various 
houses,  *nd  in  1881  erected  a  small  frame  church!  They  have  since 
maintained  an  organization,  and  in  1900  built  a  modern  house  of  worship. 
Rev.  E.  O.  Chivington,  the  pastor,  has  also  the  charge  at  Brookston. 

niAiiirirhr  ■■  -   ■■—-——-' ■^■^^L.^L-ii^,..,  -..  ...     ...  .  _ -^ 


366  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

In"  October,  1897,  the  Baptist  Church  of  Chalmers  was  organized, 
with  Rev.  I.  W.  Bailey  as  pastor.  Following  him,  in  succession,  were 
Revs.  Charles  Bunnell,  A.  H.  Kay,  W.  A.  Kleckner,  A.  J.  Unthank, 
R.  W.  Thorhe,  C*  L.  Merriman  and  C.  B.  Stephens.  Mr.  Stephens 
assumed  the  -pastorate  in  October,  1913,  and  the  present  membership  of. 
his  church  is  about  130. 

.The  Presbyterians  .also  have  an  organization  about  eighty  strong, 
but  have  no  settled  pastor. 

The  secret  and  benevolent  orders  are  represented  by  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

'j-  .  Educational  Facilities 

The  Commissioned  High  School  for  Big  Creek  Township  is  at  Chal- 
mers. There  are  also  three  district  schools  outside  of  town,  all  under 
the  superintendency  of  .John  C.  Downey.  Daisy  M.  Downey  is  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school,  the  pupils  of  which  come  from  every  part  of 
the  township.  Including  the  district  schools,  there  is  an  enrollment  of 
270  in  the  township,  of  which  the  greater  number  are  residents  of 
Chalmers.    The  total  value  of  school  property  is  in  excess  of  $1,280,000. 

Idavillb 

Six  years  after  the  Town  of  Burnettsville  was  platted,  on  July  27, 
1860,  Andrew  Hanna,  John  B.  Townsley  and  John  McCully  laid  out 
the  Town  of  Hanna,  now  called  Idaville,  three  miles  west  of  the  former 
village.  It  was  platted  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southeast  quar- 
ter and  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  28, 
township  27  north,  range  2  west. 

First  Merchant  and  Postmaster 

The  first  building  on  the  site  of  the  town  was  erected  in  the  summer 
of  1859,  before  it  was  platted,  and  Alexander  Rodgers,  the  builder, 
opened  a  store  therein  in  November  of  that  year.  When  Idaville  was 
laid  out,  however,  it  was  found  that  the  store  stood  on  portions  of  two 
lots,  and  it  was  subsequently  moved  to  another  site  and  used  as  a  dwell- 
ing. Mr.  Rodgers  sold  goods  in  this  first  building  from  November,  1859, 
to  November,  1860;  when  he  erected  another  and  larger  store  and  con- 
tinued in  business  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  As  Idaville 's  first  post- 
master he  served  from  I860  to  1865. 

The  third  building  erected  in  Idaville  was  a  dwelling  put  up  by 
S.  D.  McCully  on  lot  1  of  the  original  plat.  Andrew  Hanna  then  built 
a  warehouse  and  in  it  John  T.  Barnes  and  John  McCully  opened  a 
second  store  in  town.    It  is  needless  to  say  that  both  the  stores  carried 


- 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  367 

a  miscellaneous  stock  of  goods — were  what  were  known  as  general  stores, 
tiny  types  of  the  modern  department  stores. 

;>./-*'  .    Andrew  Hanna 

Mr.  Hanna  had  come  to  what  is  now  Jackson  Township  with  his 
parents  in  1833,  the  year  hefore  the  county  and  the  township  were  organ- 
ized. He  was  present  at  the  first  town  meeting,  where  he  cast  the  first 
whig  vote.  In  1841  he  settled  in  the  locality  of  the  town,  of  which  he 
was  the  chief  proprietor  and  husiness  man,  and  eventually  became  the 
owner  of  some  900  acres  of  valuable  farming  lands  in  the  township.  He 
served  as  county  commissioner,  but  was  too  independent  in  his  expressed 
^ews  and  his  actions  to  be  a  successful  politician.  He  was  also  deeply 
religious,  and  in  1875  founded  a  society  of  Reformed  Presbyterians, 
erecting  a  church  edifice  for  them  out  of  his  own  funds  and  contributing 
chiefly  to  its  support  for  many  years. 

• ,  John  B.  Townsley 

John  B.  Townsley,  another  proprietor  of  the  town,  was  a  carpenter,  • 
builder  and  sawmill  proprietor  in  Carroll  County,  before  coming  to 
the  township  in  1855  and  investing  in  land  adjoining  Idaville  and  cover- 
ing a  portion  of  its  site.  In  1865  he  laid  out  two  additions  to  the  orig- 
inal town,  known  as  Townsley 's  west  and  south  additions,  the  two  com- 
prising twenty  lots.  In  the  same  year  Robert  Criswell  platted  an  addi- 
tion of  six  lots. 

Capt.  Joseph  Henderson 

Among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Idaville  were  George  H.  Mitchell, 
who  at  his  death  in  November,  1914,  was  the  oldest  resident  in  the 
county,  and  Capt.  Joseph  Henderson,  the  latter  dying  about  eight  years 
ago.  Captain  Henderson  lived  with  Andrew  Hanna  when  the  Civil 
war  broke  out,  enlisted  in  the  Forty-sixth  Indiana,  and  was  promoted 
through  the  successive  grades  to  a  captaincy.  He  afterward  served  one 
term  as  sheriff  of  White  County,  and  later  engaged  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness in  Idaville. 

Capt.  Patrick  Hays 

Capt.  Patrick  Hays,  another  Civil  war  veteran,  is  living  at  Idaville. 
He  enlisted  as  a  resident  of  Medarysvillo,  in  the  Twenty-ninth  Indiana, 
.  but  had  been  advanced  to  a  captaincy  when  in  December,  1865,  he  was 
honorably  discharged  from  the  Union  service  and  settled  at  Idaville, 
then  an  infant  of  five  years.  As  shoemaker,  merchant  and  public  official, 
farmer  and  good  citizen,  Captain  Hays  has  earned  the  enduring  respect 
of  the  community. 


... *...  ^_. .  .  ■         . .      — 


'I  .     ' 


368 


Hi" STORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 
Progress  Despite  Fire 


Idaville  became  quite  a  shipping  point  for  lumber  and  wood,  espe- 
cially of  fence  posts.  W.  E.  Myers  set  up  a  portable  steam  sawmill  in. 
Idaville  in  1882,  and  there  was  a  permanent  plant  three  miles  south. 

Idaville  is  not  incorporated,  but  it  has  an  elevator,  a  creamery,  some 
good  stores  and  a  bank,  a  substantial  new  school,  several  churches,  and 
presents  other  evidences  of  a  growing  little  town.  This  is  surely  credit- 
able, in  view  .of  the  fire  of  April,  1902,  which  wiped  out  the  business 
portion  of- the  place.  Among  the  additions  to  the  original  site,  besides 
those  mentioned  as  having  been  made  by  John  B.  Townsley  and  Robert 
Criswell,  are  the  following:  By  Perry.  Gates,  in  December,  1872; 
William  Corder  and  Irvin  Greer,  June,  1873;  Samuel  A.  McCully  and 


'•■ 


Idaville  High  School 

others,  September,  1875 ;  James  M.  Townsley,  August,  1896",  and  Perry 
Patton,  March,  1897. 

Bank  op  Idaville 

The  Bank  of  Idaville  was  organized  in  1898,  with  Robert  Parker  as 
president,  and  J.  M.  Townsley,  cashier.  The  present  management — John 
B.  Wright,  president,  and  Milton  Timmons,  cashier— has  been  in  charge 
of  its  transactions  since  the  fall  of  1909.  Its  financial  status  is  indicated 
by  the  following  items:  Capital,  $10,000;  surplus  and  undivided  profits, 
$6,000 ;  deposits,  $100,000.        >%  ,  . 

/  Township  Commissioned  High  School 

The  first  schools  in  the  township  were  established  nearer  Burnetts- 
ville  than  Idaville,  but  a  few  years  after  the  former  was  platted  Andrew 
Hanna  and  others  started  a  subscription  school  within  the  town  limits. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  369 

The  Township  Commissioned  High  School  is  at  Idaville,  and  a  fine  build- 
ing costing  $25,000  was  erected  in  1914,  its  dedication  occurring  in 
November  of  that  year.  It  replaced  a  handsome  building  destroyed  by 
fire  in  November,  1912.  About  235  pupils  are  enrolled,  of  which  num- 
ber thirty-five  are  in  the  high  school  department,  under  the  instruction 
of  Fred  Francis,  superintendent,  and  six  teachers.  The  curriculum 
includes  manual  training,  domestic  science  and  an  agricultural  course. 

The  First  Church  of  God  (New  Dunkards) 

The  Dunkards  are  very  strong  at  Idaville,  both  as  religious  denomi- 
nations and  industrious,  progressive,  upright  citizens.     Without  going 
%nto  the  differences  of  their  belief,  they  have  divided  into  the  Church  of 
God^  (New  Dunkards)  and  the  Church  of  God  (Incorporated). 

George  Patton 

George  Patton,  the  founder  of  the  Church  of  God,  commonly  called 
New  Dunkards,  was  born  in  Fredrick  County,  Maryland,  in  1812;  in 
early  childhood  moved  with  his  parents  to  Ohio,  and  later  to  Henry 
County,  Indiana.  After  his  marriage  in  1836  he  settled  in  Carroll 
^County  and  became  identified  with  the  German  Baptist  Church.  In 
1848,  with  Peter  Iman  and  others,  he  withdrew  from  that  denomination, 
in  which  he  had  been  advanced  to  the  ministry,  and  formed  the  Church 
of  God.  Mr.  Patton  was  the  leading  elder  of  the  new  brotherhood.  He 
died  in  Marshalltown,  Iowa,  in  1892. 

Uriah  Patton 

Rev.  Uriah  Patton,  brother  of  the  founder,  settled  in  Carroll  County, 
from  which  the  organization  spread  northward  into  White  County  in 
1835,  and  in  1847  moved  to  a  farm  five  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of 
Idaville.  He  moved  to  the  village  in  1898  and  died  there  in  1903,  having 
preached  the  gospel  in  the  Church  of  God  for  forty-three  years. 

Robert  F.  Million 

Another  elder  of  the  church,  Rev.  Robert  F.  Million,  was  a  native 
of  White  County.  He  died  at  Burnettsville  in  1912,  at  an  advanced 
age,  having  preached  for  many  years. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  Marion  A.  Hughes,  is  a  native  of  Liberty 
Township,  and  united  with  the  church  at  Sitka  in  1886. 

The  New  Dunkards  became  so  strong  in  1872  that  they  built  a  large 
house  of  worship  at  Idaville  on  land  donated  by  William  F.  and  Rebecca 
}.  Timmons.  George  Patton  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon.  The  trus- 
tees were  Hezekiah  Patton,  Perry  Gates  and  Aaron  Price.  The  present 
officers  of  the  church  are:    John  W.  ShuU,  elder;  Jonathan  Irelan  and 


_____ 


______ 


Vol 

.  -        .     ...  ..  -  ■  -  ■  ■   -  ' 


370  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

John  W.  Davis,  deacons;  A.  L.  Read,  Albert  Godlove'  and  William  H. 
Bryan,  trustees;  Edna  Bunger,  secretary;  Mrs.  Kate  Stober,  treasurer. 

The  CnuRcii  of  God  (Incorporated) 

The  Chur.ch  of  God  (Incorporated)  has  a  flourishing  society  at  Ida- 
ville.     On  December  27,  1907,  its  attractive  house  of  worship  was  dedi- 

;  cated,  the  chief  address  being  delivered  by  Dr.  C.  I.  Brown,'  president 

of  Findlay  (Ohio)  College.  The  building,  which  cost  over  $9,000,  is  of- 
white  brick.  The  members  of  the  construction  board  were  Elder  Love, 
D.  W.  Heiney,  J.  H.  Hanna,  N.  C.  Gibson,  J.  W.  Shafer  and  Emery 
Godlove,   and   their  adviser  was  Perry  Godlove.     Rev.   Matthew   W. 

^       Johnson  is  the  present  pastor.  . 

*  United  Presbyterian  Church     . 

'  ••  The  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Idaville  dates  from  1858,  when 

|  •,  .     the  union  of  the  Associate  and  Associate  Reform  churches  took  place 

throughout  the  country.  The  original  society  was  formed  at  Burnett's 
Creek  in  1843,  at  the  house  of  Andrew  Hanna.  Soon  after  the  union, 
the  Burnett 's  Creek  Church  was  reorganized  as  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Idaville,  its  elders  being  Thomas  Barnes,  Andrew  Hanna, 
^T  Stephen  Nutt  and  Thomas  Ginn.  In  the  fall  of  1858  Rev.  Thomas  Calla- 
han became  the  settled  pastor.  He  has  been  followed  by  Revs.  J.  B. 
Reasoner,  Gilbert  Small,  Milford  Tidball,  A.  K.  Strane,A.  S.  Baily, 
George  A.  Rosenburg,  A.  G.  Hastings  and  J.  A.  Harper.  The  first 
church  building  was  erected  about  1849,  while  the  organization  was  a 
Burnett's  Creek  institution,  and  an  addition  was  built  ten  years  later. 
In  1871  a  new  and  larger  structure  was  completed,  west  and  beyond  the 
road  leading  south  from  Idaville,  and  in  1905  the  brick  structure  now 
occupied  was  dedicated. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

The  Methodist  Church  was  organized  in  1875,  with  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
McKee  as  minister  and  James  Armstrong  as  class  leader.  In  1876  a 
building  was  purchased  in  Pike  Creek  neighborhood  and  moved  to  Ida- 
ville, to  be  used  for  religious  services.  It  was  afterward  remodeled  and 
entirely  rebuilt  in  1910.  Until  1900  Idaville  was  in  the  Burnettsville 
charge,  but  withdrew  that  year.  The  pastor  now  in  charge  of  the  Ida- 
ville church  is  Rev.  J.  S.  Godwin. 

The  Seventh-Day  Adventists  have  also  a  small  society,  organized 
in  1882. 

Societies 

The  leading  lodge  at  Idaville  is  that  of  the  Odd  Fellows  (No.  556), 
which  has  about  100  members.  Their  hall  was  erected  in  1882.  The 
Modern  Woodineu  of  America  are  represented  by  Lodge  No.  7274. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
BURNETTSVILLE  AND  REYNOLDS 

BURNETTSVILLE   PLATTED — BEFORE   THE   TOWN   WAS   LAID   OUT — FraNK- 

ein.  J.  Herman —  Sharon  Absorbed  —  Elevator  and  Poultry 
Packing  House  —  Town  Commissioned  High  School  —  Tub 
Christian  Church — The  Methodists — The  Baptist  Church— 
The  'Old  Dunkards — Town  of  Reynolds  Platted — Pioneer 
Hotel  and  Sawmill — The  Sill  Enterprises — Early  Progress — 
First  '  Religious  Organizations — Michael  Vogel — Adopts  Town 
Government — The  Town  of  Today — Bank  of  Reynolds — The 
Township  Schooli — St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church — The  Meth- 
odist Church — Lutherans  and  Christians.- 

Burnettsville,  the  town,  and  Burnett's  Creek,  the  postoffice,  in  Jack- 
son Township,  represent  the  oldest  centers  of  population  in  the  eastern 
part  of  "White  County.  The  postoffice  was  originally  located  at  the 
pioneer  settlement  of  Farmington.  In  1854  the  old  Town  of  Burnetts- 
ville was  platted,  and  in  1860  Sharon,  about  half  a  mile  north,  was  laid 
out.  Then  in  1864  the  postoffice  of  Burnett's  Creek  was  moved  to 
Sharon,  and  when  the  latter  was  absorbed  by  Burnettsville  the  postoffice 
went  with  it. 

Burnettsville  Platted 

Franklin  J.  Herman  platted  Burnettsville  on  the  23rd  of  March, 
1854,  the.  townsite  comprising  100  lots  in  the  west  half  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  25.  Mrs.  Prudence  Dale,  widow  of  William  Dale,  one 
of  the  first  settlers  in  the  township,  made  an  addition  of  sixteen  lots  in 
September,  1855. 

Before  the  Town  Was  Laid  Out 

Before  Burnettsville  was  platted  quite  a  settlement  had  gathered  on 
its  site.  About  1846  Thomas  Riley  built  a  log  cabin  within  its  limits, 
and  about  three  years  afterward  David  Stephens  opened  a  saddler's 
shop,  also  on  the  future  townsite.  Later  in  that  year  William  S.  Davis 
put  up  the  first  frame  structure,  which  he  occupied  both  as  a  dwelling 
and  a  store.  Thomas  Wiley  had  a  blacksmithy,  and  John  W.  Bolingcr 
bought  William  Dobbins'  wagon  shop,  built  an  addition  to  it  and  trans- 
formed all  into  a  tavern,  with  cabinet  shop  attached. 

371 


Scenes  at  Reynolds 


-     ■  ■        -        ■■■         *— 


■-  •■• j-— 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  373 

•  •  Franklin  J.  Herman 

Franklin  J.  Herman  opened  the  second  store  on  the  site  of  Sharon 
in  1852,  and,  as  stated,  platted  the  Town  of  Burnettsville  just  south 
of  it  in  1854.  He  continued  in  business,  with  different  partners,  for 
many  years  thereafter,  and  was  evidently  prepared  to  take  advantage  of 
the  growth  of  either  place.  In  1864,  when  the  postoffice  was  transferred 
from  Burnettsville  to  Sharon,  he  succeeded  William  S.  Davis  as  post- 
master. 

Sharon  Absorbed    • 

©n  the  7th  of  December,  1880,  William  Irelan  made  an  addition  of 
sixteen  lots  to  the  Town  of  Sharon,  and  in  October,  1897,  James  D. 
Brown  added  twenty  lots  to  the  site.    Afterward  Sharon  was  absorbed 

•  by  Burnettsville,  townsite,  postoffice  and  all,  and  a  regular  incorpora- 
tion was  effected. 

-x     .  Present  Village 

$  The  present  village  is  supported  by  a  prosperous  agricultural  coun- 

try, the  residents  of  which,  as  well  as  the  townsmen,   have  banking 
accommodations  through  the  State  Bank  of  Burnettsville.  • 

State  Bank  of  Burnettsville 

In  August,  1902,  that  institution  was  started  as  a  private  bank  by 
W.  C.  Thomas  and  J.  C.  Duffy,  with  a  capital  of  $10,000.  Mr.  Duffy 
was  the  cashier.  In  July,  1907,  the  private  organization  was  succeeded 
-by  the  State  Bank  of  Burnettsville,  with  a  paid-up  capital  of  $25,000, 
which  was  increased  to  $30,000  in  1912. 

The  first  set  of  officers  were:  W.  C.  Thomas,  president,  E.  B. 
Thomas,  vice  president,  J.  C.  Duffy,  cashier,  and  F.  A.  Duffy,  assistant 
cashier.  In  July,  1913,  J.  C.  Duffy  was  made  president,  F.  A.  Duffy 
became  cashier,  and  W.  C.  Thomas  vice  president,  while  E.  B.  Thomas 
retired  from  the  latter  office,  although  still  remaining  a  stockholder. 
At  the  present  time  the  State  Bank  of  Burnettsville  has  a  surplus  of 
$8,500,  and  its  deposits  average  $150,000. 

Elevator  and  Poultry  Packing  House 

Much  of  the  grain  of  the  surrounding  country  is  handled  by  the 
Burnettsville  Elevator  Company,  which  was  incorporated  in  June,  1911, 
with  a  capital  of  $14,000.  Milt  K.  Reiff  is  president,  Cloyd  Loughry 
of  Monticello,  vice  president,  and  James  D.  Brown,  secretary  and 
treasurer. 

Another  institution  of  Burnettsville  worthy  of  mention  among  its 

♦  business  houses  is  the  poultry  packing  plant  of  II.  Beshoar,  father  of 
the  editor  of  tha  News.    .   ...    ^  ,., ,,    


374  .  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Town  Commissioned  High  School 

Being  incorporated,  Burnettsville  has  a  Town  Commissioned  High 
School,  with  eight  teachers.  Fred  It.  Gorman  is  the  superintendent. 
The  handsome  building  now  occupied  was  completed  in  1903  at  a  cost 
of  $10,000.  About  250  pupils  are  enrolled,  of  whom  seventy-five  attend 
the  high  school  department. 

The  Christian  Church 

.  The  first  church  organized  at  Burnettsville  was  the  Christian,  thir- 
teen members  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  meeting  for  that  purpose  in 
the  fall  of  1834,  at  the  house  of  Alexander  Scott,  about  a  mile  east  of 
the  present  village.  Mr.  Scott  and  Reuben  Wilson  were  chosen  elders, 
the  latter  being  in  charge;  William  Hicks,  deacon.  The  first  church 
building  was  erected  in  1853,  and  the  one  uow  occupied  by  the  society 
in  1909.    Rev.  C.  E.  Wells  is  the  pastor  in  charge. 

The  Methodists 

The  Methodists  effected  a  regular  organization  at  Farmington,  or 
the  old  Town  of  Burnettsville,  about  1843,  under  Rev.  G.  W.  Stafford, 
with  the  following  twenty-five  members:  John  Herman  and  wife, 
Stephen  McPherson  and  wife,  Caleb  Mahuren  and  wife,  Larkin  Herman 
and  wife,  John  Shaw  and  wife,  William  Shaw,  Eli  Shaw,  Catherine 
Davis,  Isaac  Mahuren,  John  E.  Dale,  Joshua  Tarn,  Mitchell  Tarn, 
Catherine  Dodge,  Prudence  Dale,  Maria  Davis,  Mary  Shaw,  Martha 
Million,  Margaret  Dale,  William  Stewart  and  Sarah  Stewart.  The  suc- 
cessive pastors  have  been,  after  Mr.  Stafford :  '  B.  Webster,  G.  W. 
Warner,  J.  Hatfield,  B.  Williams,  J.  M.  Rodgers,  J.  B.  Ball,  W.  J. 
Coptner,  D.  Dunham,  William  Reeder,  P.  J.  Beswick,  W.  Hancock,  F. 
Cox,  J.  B.  Mershan,  W.  Beckner,  J.  B.  Adell,  J.  S.  Budd,  J.  L.  Boyd, 
C.  W.  Farr,  H.  C.  Fraley,  G.  W.  Warner,  J.  S.  Budd,  C.  L.  Smith, 
J.  W.  Pierce,  L.  T.  Armstrong,  W.  H.  Wood,  S.  Barcus,  B.  F.  Nadell, 
F.  Mason,  J.  E.  Steel,  J.  W.  Jackson,  Jephtha  Boicourt,  R.  H.  Calvert, 
•C.  R.  Ball,  W.  Hall,  Z.  Lambert,  Jephtha  Boicourt  (second  pastorate), 
William  Davis,  A.  L.  Miller,  Jacob  Rohm,  R.  W.  Burton,  J.  N.  Thomp- 
son, A.  M.  Bowen,  C.  C.  Harold,  J.  H.  Kenrich,  C.  H.  Hickman,  W.  I. 
Boyd  and  C.  O.  Smock.  Mr.  Smock  has  also  charge  of  the  Lake  Sicott 
(Cass  County)  Church.  The  two  have  a  membership  of  over  220.  In 
1901,  while  Rev.  J.  N.  Thompson  was  pastor,  the  church  erected  a  new 
house  of  worship,  which  was  remodeled  in  1906. 

The  Baptist  Church 

The  Burnettsville  Baptist  Church  was  organized  April  4,  1843,  and 
Rev.  Elijah  Barnes,  who  was  also  pastor  of  the  Logansport  and  Crooked 
Creek  organizations,  assumed  charge  of  the  new  society.     Revs.  J.  B. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY-  375 

Thomas  and  Waters  assumed  the  pastorates  previous  to  1849,  when 
Rev.  M.  A.  Kerf,  the  first  settled  minister,  came  to  the  charge.  Since 
then  the  pulpit  has  been  served  by  I.  N.  Clark,  William  Hanawalt, 
George  K.  Busing,  John  Dunham,  M.  A.  Kerr  (second  pastorate) ;  J.  G. 
Kerr  (brother  of  the  foregoing),  who  died  in  service;  A..  H.  Dooley 
(whose  pastorate  extended  from  1872  to  1880),  P.  Odell.'A.  H.  Dooley 
(second  pastorate),  Ira  Tedford,  I.  W.  Bailey,  C.  J.  Bunnell,  T.  P. 
Pierce,  J.  H.  Pierce,  I.  C.  Oberman,  J.  G.  Brengle  and  Ohlie  E.  Miller. 
The  edifice  now  occupied  was  dedicated  in  May,  1904.  Mr.  Miller  has 
also  in  his  charge  what  is  known  as  Great  Eastern  Chapel,  Carroll 
County,  altogether  240  members. 

The  Old  Dunkabds 

The  Old  Dunkards  have  a  church  at  Burnettsville,  under  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  G.  B.  Heeter.  Reverend  Mr.  Heeter  has  been  engaged  in  this 
charge  for  several  years  and  has  built  up  a  society  whose  influence  for 
good  has  been  felt  throughout  the  entire  community. 

Town  op  Reynolds  Platted 

Perhaps  more  than  any  other  town  in  White  County,  Reynolds  is 
the  creation  of  the  railroads  which  meet  there,  almost  in  the  geographical 
center  of  the  county — the  old  Louisville,  Albany  &  Chicago,'  the  north 
and  south  line,  completed  in  1854,  and  the  Pittsburgh,  Chicago  &  St. 
Louis,  the  east  and  west  route,  finished  in  1859.  The  original  plat  was 
dated  January  10,  1854,  and  was  named  in  honor  of  Benjamin  Reynolds, 
its  acknowledged  founder.  The  other  proprietors  were  George  S.  Rose, 
Christian  Cassell  and  William  M.  Kenton.  The  town  was  laid  out  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  34,  township  27 
north,  range  4  west.  Main,  Sill,  Kenton  and  Boone,  north  and  south 
thoroughfares,  are  66  feet  wide,  and  First,  Second,  Third  and  Fourth, 
crossing  them  at  right  angles,  are  60  feet  in  width. 

Pioneer  Hotel  and  Sawmill 

At  the  time  Reynolds  was  laid  out,  two  buildings  had  been  erected 
on  its  site,  both  in  1852— a  hotel  by  Benjamin  Reynolds,  and  a  dwell- 
ing by  Abraham  Timmons.  In  the  year  of  its  platting  Messrs.  Johnson 
and  Cole  built  a  steam  sawmill,  the  first  in  the  township,  which  was  con- 
tinued for  a  time,  but  it  was  before  its  time  and  reverses  and  the  sheriff 
overtook  the  enterprise.  The  Reynolds  Hotel,  however,  in  extended  form, 
endured  for  many  years  before  it  was  revamped  into  a  clubhouse. 

The  Sill  Enterprises 

M.  M.  Sill  completed  a  store  in  the  spring  of  1855  and  stocked  it 
with  $4,000  worth  of  groceries,  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes,  etc.    His  was 


376  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  most  pretentious  business  enterprise  yet  launched,  and  it  was  turned 
over  to  David  K.  Ream  in  1857.  M.  M.  and  R.  W.  Sill  afterward  built 
a  warehouse,  which  became  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  township,  the  ma: 
chinery  being  run  by  steam.    This  also  was  a  permanent  industry. 

Early  Progress 

In  1855,  the  year  after  Reynolds  was  created,  Honey  Creek  Town- 
ship was  formed.  The  first  election  for  township  officers  was  held  in 
the  new  town  on  the  7th  of  April,  1856.  About  this  time  a  subscription 
sehoolhouse  was  built,  Benjamin  Reynolds  donating  the  ground  and 
Nathaniel  Bunnell  giving  $25  in  cash  toward  its  construction. 

Altogether  the  prospects  looked  so  bright  that  in  January,  1855, 
Thomas  Bunnell  and  William  M.  Kenton  laid  out  the  North  addition  to, 
the  original  plat.    It  consisted  of  141  lots,  nearly  as  large  as  the  first  plat. 

Soon  after  the  railroad  made  Reynolds  a  station  it  built  a  large  yard 
for  the  accommodation  of  shippers  of  stock,  and  for  several  years 
Reynolds  was  the  principal  point  in  the  county  for  the  shipment  of 
horses,  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep.  Attention  of  outsiders  was  drawn  to  the 
business  and  commercial  activity  of  the  town,  a  fair-sized  grain  ware- 
house was  erected,  and  although  the  hard  times  of  1857  gave  the  place 
a  temporary  setback,  it  revived,  especially  when  a  second  railroad  fur- 
nished additional  transportation  in  1859.  It  is  little  wonder  that  it 
aspired  to  win  the  county  seat  from  Monticello. 

First  Religious  Organization 

In  response  to  the  wishes  of  the  citizens,  the  Masons  formed  a  lodge 
at  Reynolds  in  1859,  but  about  fifteen  years  later  its  charter  was  arrested. 
Although  circuit  preachers  of  Methodism  had  held  occasional  services  at 
the  home  of  Nathaniel  Bunnell  and  at  the  Spencer  house,  and  little 
churches  were  built  near  what  is  now  known  as  Smithson,  two  miles 
south  of  Reynolds,  it  was  not  until  1868  that  a  substantial  society  was 
formed  at  the  latter  place. 

Michael  Vogel 

As  early  as  1856  the  Catholics  had  commenced  to  celebrate  mass  at 
the  house  of  Michael  Vogel,  a  German  shoemaker  who  had  settled  at 
Reynolds  the  year  before.  Mr.  Vogel  passed  the  remainder  of  his  nearly 
four-score  years  in  the  town  of  his  adoption,  where  he  died  in  1913.  He 
was  a  kind,  substantial  citizen,  and  left  a  widow  to  continue  the  good 
influences  of  the  family  in  his  home  town,  as  well  as  a  son,  Bernard  A. 
Vogel,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Monticello.  The  latter  has  served  four 
years  as  county  recorder,  eight  years  as  deputy  clerk,  six  years  as  deputy 
auditor,  and  is  now  deputy  state  treasurer. 

The  second  addition  to  the  original  town  was  made  on  the  4th  of 
May,  1866,  by  Mrs.  S.  A.  Vail,  the  so-called  Vail's  addition  consisting 
of  eighteen  lots  west  of  the  North  addition. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 
Adopts  Town  Government 


377 


At  the  September  term  of  the  Commissioners'  Court  in  1875,  Robert 
M.  Delzell  presented  a  petition  signed  by  himself  and  fifty-three  other 
residents  of  Reynolds,  praying  that  body  to  issue  an  order  authorizing 
its  incorporation  as  a  town.  The  board  ordered  an  election  to  determine 
the  question,  on  the  2nd  of  October,  1875,  and  a  majority  of  the  voters 
decided  in  favor  of  incorporation.  At  the  first  election  the  following 
officers  were  chosen:  Trustees,  Jacob  Pfister,  William  Scl'uveiule  and 
Abram  Van  Voorst;  marshal,  Joshua  Bunnell;  assessor,  Frederick 
Witenburg.  . 

The  incorporation  was  the  signal  for  activity  on  the  part  of  the  real 
estate  men,  and  three  additions  were  laid  out  in  1876,  by  Abraham  and 
Benjamin  Reynolds,  Abel  J.  Holtam  and  Joseph  Holtam,  respectively, 
and  in  1877  Amanda  and  Abraham  Van  Voorst  laid  out  Van  Voorst's 
west  addition. 


After  the  Reynolds  Fire,  August  21, 1907 

The  Town  op  Today 

Although  Reynolds  has  not  realized  its  largest  ambitions,  it  is  a 
thriving  little  place,  backed  by  a  productive  country  and  good  people. 
It  is  a  banking  center,  has  a  substantial  elevator;  a  well-stocked  lumber 
yard,  which  also  carries  tile  and  coal ;  a  cement  block  plant,  and  a  num- 
ber of  solid  business  houses.  As  to  meeting  the  higher  wants  of  the 
community,  it  may  be  added  that  its  school,  churches  and  societies  are 
firmly  established  for  that  purpose. 

Bank  op  Reynolds 

The  Bank  of  Reynolds  was  organized  April  27,  1897,  as  a  private 
institution  by  John  C.  Vanatta,  William  D.  Wagner  and  Fred  Dahling. 
That  management  continued  until  its  reorganization  as  a  state  bank  in 
June,  1914.  At  that  time  John  C.  Vanatta  became  president,  William 
D.  Wagner,  vice  president,  and  Fred  Dahling,  cashier.  Its  capital  was 
then  increased  to  $25,000,  and  since  it  became  a  state  bank  its  deposits 
have  increased  from  $115,000  to  $125,000. 

•  ■■■     ■'       -         ■  '    '  —  ■         '  **" 


378  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY- 

The  Township  School    . 

The  Honey  Creek  Township  School  at  Reynolds  is  one  of  the  finest 
buildings  outside  of  Monticello.  It  was  completed  in  October,  1914,  at 
an  approximate  cost  of  $24,000,  by  the  combined  support  of  town  and 
township.  C.  F.  Heimlich  and  Levi  Reynolds  were  the  trustees  during 
the  period  of  its  construction.  The  superintendent  is  F.  E.  Young,  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school,  J.  J.  Lavin,  and  the  course  of  instruction  em- 
braces manual  training,  domestic  science  and  agriculture,  A  good 
gymnasium  is  a  strong  feature  of  the  school's  appliances.  Besides  the 
superintendent  and  the  principal  there  are  five  teachers  to  look  after  the 
mental  and  physical  welfare  of  the  195  pupils  who  are  enrolled.  ,Of 
that  number,  forty-five  are  high  school  scholars. 

St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church 

The  commencement  of  the  religious  history  of  Reynolds  dates  from 
the  celebration  of  mass  by  the  Catholics  of  the  town  and  the  neighbor- 
hood at  the  house  of  Michael  Vogel,  as  noted.  Rev.  Joseph  Stephau 
had  charge  of  the  little  flock,  from  which  has  grown  St.  Joseph 's  Church, 
the  only  Catholic  organization  in  White  County.  In  1866  a  frame  house 
of  worship  was  erected  with  a  seating  capacity  of  150,  under  the  pas- 
torate of  Rev.  J.  A.  Winter.  In  1876  the  growth  of  the  charge  made  it 
necessary  to  erect  a  large  brick  structure  with  a  seating  capacity  of  475, 
at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  The  brick  parsonage  was  built  in  1899,  while  Rev. 
John  Kubaeki  was  in  charge,  and  in  1909  the  school  addition  was  made 
to  the  church.  In  1912  St.  Joseph's  Church  opened  a  new  cemetery 
about  two  miles  from  town.  The  present  membership  of  the  parish 
under  Rev.  F.  J.  Koch  numbers  370  souls.  Following  Rev.  J.  A.  Winter, 
until  June,  1908,  when  Father  Koch  was  sent  to  the  charge,  Revs.  John 
McMahon  (first  resident  priest),  Burns,  A.  King,  A.  Messmann,  D. 
Meier,  I.  M.  Wilkens,  J.  B.  Schroeder,  A.  Beyer,  P.  Welling,  F.  Sehaefer, 
M.  Zumbuelte,  J.  Berg,  George  Schramm,  J.  Blum,  J.  Kubaeki,  George 
Horstmann  and  J.  A.  Seimetz  were  in  charge  of  St.  Joseph 's  Church. 

The  Methodist  Church 

In  May,  1868,  the  Methodists  purchased  a  lot  from  Joseph  and 
Sarah  Holtam,  and  the  building  which  they  still  occupy  was  erected  the 
same  year,  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Henry  C.  Fraley.  Previous  to 
1893  and  during  the  pastorate  of  Reverend  Mr.  Greenway,  Reynolds  was 
attached  to  the  Wolcott  circuit.  Shortly  after  this,  Reverend  Mr.  Ware- 
ing  took  charge  of  both  Seafield  and  Reynolds  for  a  short  time.  In  1896 
the  Reynolds  circuit  was  organized  and  churches  were  built  at  Seafield 
and  Honey  Creek,  the  Reynolds  church  repaired,  and  a  library  purchased. 
In  1897  the  (Union)  church  at  West  Point  was  repaired,  but  has  since 
been  destroyed  by  fire.  About  six  years  ago  it  was  rebuilt  and  is  now 
served  by  Rev.  T.  J.  Reder,  the  Wolcott  pastor.     Services  at  Honey 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  379 

Creek  were  soon  abandoned,  and  in  1912  the  building  was  wrecked  and 
the  lumber  used  in  the  new  parsonage  at  Reynolds,  which  was  erected 
under  Rev.  J.  S.  Godwin.  The  church  trustees  constituted  a  building 
committee,  as  follows:  A.  E.  Josserand,  E.  A.  Bush,  J.  W.  Gardner, 
J.  E.  Jameson,  William  P.  Snyder  and  J.  N.  Bunnell. 

The  following  pastors  have  served  the  charge  since  1900 :  James  T. 
Stafford  was  appointed  in  1901,  Israel  Hatton  in  1903,  Etienne  Kuonen 
in  1905,  W.  Scott  Simonson  in  1906,  James  A.  Koontz  in  1907,  William 
George.  Pulliam  in  1910,  J.  S.  Godwin  in  1911,  and  A.  T.  Hosier  assumed 
charge  in  the  autumn  of  1913,  with  preaching  places  at  Shafer,  Reynolds 
and  Seafield.     The  present  membership  of  his  charge  is  140. 

The  Lutherans  and  Christians 

The  Lutherans  and  Christians  (Disciples  of  Christ)  have  also 
churches  at  Reynolds.  The  Christian  meeting  house  was  erected  in 
1897,  and,  besides  a  church,  the  Lutherans  have  a  neat  parochial  school- 
house,  completed  in  1910. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  James  Church  was  organized  on  the 
third  day  of  June,  1861.  For  a  number  of  years  the  services  were  held  in 
the  homes  of  different  members  and  later  in  the  public  schoolhouse.  In 
the  year  1866  the  congregation  erected  its  first  house  of  worship.  In  1879 
the  present  church  was  built.  In  1895  the  building  was  thoroughly 
renovated.  Two  years  later  (1897),  a  pipe  organ  was  installed.  The 
congregation  also  maintains  a  parochial  school.  Professor  Munzel  has 
been  the  teacher  since  1906.  In  the  fall  of  1910  the  present  modern 
school  building  was  dedicated.  Seventy  pupils  are  enrolled  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

The  following  pastors  have  served  the  congregation:  Reverends 
Koenig  and  Schoeneberg  from  Lafayette  and  Reverend  Jox  from  Logans- 
port  until  1866;  Reverend  Meissner,  1866-1874;  Rev.  II.  Schlesselmann, 
1875-1880;  Rev.  J.  II.  Bethke,  1880-1896;  and  Rev.  J..  II.  Lindhorst, 
since  1896.  The  congregation  at  the  present  time  numbers  ninety-five 
voting  members,  that  is  male  members  of  twenty-one  years  and  mostly 
heads  of  families;  communicant  members  over  fourteen  years  num- 
ber 275. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

TEMPERANCE  STRUGGLE  IN  WHITE  COUNTY 

Fight  Covered  Period  op  Seventy  Years — Saloons  Finally  Banished 

Those  who  have  read  that  rare  little  classic,  "Queen  of  the  Woods," 
written  by  Simon  Pokagon,  last  chief  of  the  Pottawattomies,  will  recall 
the  pathetic  story  of  the  destruction  of  his  family  by  "ish-kot-e-wa-be" 
(fire  water)  supplied  the  Indians  by  the  more  advanced  (?)  civilization 
which  drove  his  people  from  their  forest  homes.  Chief  Pokagon,  then 
in  the  vigor  of  his  young  manhood,  had  received  a  classical  education, 
and,  strange  to  say,  had  escaped  the  clutches  of  this  curse  of  his  race. 
His  family  consisted  of  his  wife,  Lonidaw,  and  two  children,  Olondaw 
and  Hazeleye. 

When  the  boy,  Olondaw,  was  twelve  years  old  the  parents  consented 
to  send  him  away  to  the  white  man's  school  at  the  expense  of  a  priest, 
to  be  educated.  The  mother  gave  her  consent  with  great  reluctance, 
after  she  had  exacted  a  solemn  promise  from  the  priest  that  the  boy 
should  be  carefully  guarded  against  the  Indian's  deadly  enemy.  Pokagon 
then  relates  the  following: 

"The  night  before  Olondaw  left  Lonidaw  dreamed  she  was  near  the 
wigwam  of  her  childhood  days,  and  that  in  a  familiar  bush  by  the  trail- 
side  she  found  two  young  robins  in  their  nest.  She  touched  one  gently 
with  her  hand.  It  leaped  from  out  the  nest  chirping  a  wild  alarm,  and 
fell  fluttering  to  the  ground.  The  parent  birds,  distracted,  came  flying 
all  about  uttering  mourning  notes  of  deepest  sorrow.  She  sought  the 
young  bird  to  place  it  back  into  its  nest  again ;  but  to  her  astonishment 
she  saw  it  moving  as  by  measured  tread  on  tiptoe  hop;  with  drooping 
wings,  toward  a  monstrous  'gin-e-big'  (snake)  with  open  mouth,  that 
was  drawing  the  young  bird  by  some  unseen  charm  into  the  jaws  of 
death.  In  haste  she  grasped  a  club  to  beat  the  reptile  off,  but  as  she 
struck  with  all  her  might  it  seized  the  bird;  when,  lo!  to  her  surprise  the 
snake  within  its  jaws  held  fast,  not  the  bird,  but  the  living  skeleton  of 
her  son,  struggling  to  escape.  The  boy  in  terror  cried:  'My  mother! 
Oh,  my  mother.  Save  your  boy!'  Screaming,  she  awoke  and  told  her 
dream  and  said:  'I  never  have  believed  in  dreams,  but  this  one  seems 
so  real  I  do  believe  witli  all  my  heart  it  has  been  sent  of  heaven  as  a 
warning  not  to  send  our  hoy  to  the  school  of  the  white  man.'  " 

After  a  few  years  the  boy  returned  to  his  home,  and  with  his  first 
kiss  on  his  mother's  lips  disclosed  to  her  that  her  horrid  dream  was 
being  fulfilled.  Smelling  the  white  man's  liquor  on  his  breath  she  fell 
writhing  at  his  feet;  but  despite  the  most  solemn  promises  that  he  would 

380 

■  — 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  381 

never  touch  it  again,  he  soon  became  a  drunken  wreck  and  passed  into 
an  early  grave.  A  short  time  later,  while  their  daughter,  Hazeleye,  was 
out  on  the  small  lake  near  their  home,  two  drunken  fishermen,  white 
men,  ran  into  her  bark  canoe,  broke  it  in  two  and  the  girl  was  drowned. 
Rendered  unconscious  by  her  desperate  efforts  to  save  the  child  the  young 
mother  was  resuscitated  with  difficulty,  only  to  die  a  few  weeks  later 
from  a  broken  heart.  After  giving  an  account  of  her  burial  the  broken- 
hearted chief  continues: 

"I  reached  my  lonely  home.  No  crape  was  hung  upon  the  latch-string 
of  the  door.  No  friends  had  gathered  there  to  cheer  the  mourning  heart 
on  its  return.  *  *  *  Alone  in  my  wigwam  with  the  old,  faithful  dog 
at  my  side,  I  knelt  and  poured  out  my  soul  in  prayer  and  tears  to  the 
Great  Spirit.  I  told  Ilim  how  my  dear  Lonidaw,  whom  He  gave  me, 
became  broken-hearted  over  the  downfall  and  loss  of  our  dear  boy,  and 
how  she  fell  a  victim  to  despair  and  died  because  of  the  sudden  death 
.of  our  dear  Hazeleye,  leaving  me  wretched  and  alone.  I  told  Him  not 
only  of  my  own  family  and  kin,  but  how  my  band  and  tribe  were  falling 
before  the  intoxicating  cup  like  leaves  before  the  autumn  blast ;  and  that 
bad  white  men,  who  appeared  to  love  money  more  than  their  own  souls, 
had  pressed  to  our  lips  the  alluring  beverage  of  hell,  and  after  having 
ruined  many  of  our  young  men  and  our  old  men,  had  most  wickedly 
published  to  the  world  that  the  red  man  would  barter  all  he  possessed 
for  '  ish-kot-e-wa-be. '  " 

Then  followed  one  of  the  most  scathing  arraignments  of  the  drink 
evil ;  and  as  Pokagon  was  born  in  1825,  and  as  a  portion  of  his  tribe  about 
this  time  and  for  several  years  later  had  a  populous  village  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Tippecanoe  River,  just  north  of  the  dam  at  Monticcllo,  it 
brings  his  sad  story  very  close  home  to  us.  He  died  at  his  home  near 
St.  Joseph,  Michigan,  in  1899,  while  the  manuscript  for  his  book  was  yet 
in  the  hands  of  the  printers.  Throughout  his  long  life  the  old  chief  never 
faltered  in  his  relentless  fight  against  "the  white  man's  burden,"  and 
the  curse  of  his  race ;  but  with  an  eloquence  and  pathos  born  of  personal 
wrongs  and  suffering  he  continued  to  warn  his  people  to  shun  the  accursed 
habit  if  they  would  escape  the  wrath  of  the  Great  Spirit  and  reach  the 
happy  hunting  grounds  of  their  fathers. 

Thus  it  seems  that  Indians  and  rattlesnakes,  gophers  and  green  head 
flies,  mosquitoes  and  malaria  were  not  the  only  evils  the  early  settler  had 
to  combat.  With  the  advent  of  the  white  man  came  the  white  man's  "fire 
water,"  with  all  its  attendant  evils  and  misery,  and  the  seemingly  never- 
ending  conflict  between  drunkenness  and  sobriety,  law  and  lawlessness, 
unscrupulous  greed  and  the  golden  rule;  and  in  this  conllict  neighbor  has 
been  pitted  against  neighbor,  husband  against  wife,  brother  against 
brother  and  son  against  father;  and  this  warfare  against  saloons  and  the 
liquor  evil  in  White  County  began  very  early  in  the  county's  history — 
at  least  as  early  as  1837.    The  Monticcllo  Herald  of  June  28,  1883,  says: 

"An  old  book  was  found  in  the  vault  of  the  county  recorder's  offlco 
last  week  which  contains  the  record  of  the  first  temperance  society  in 
White  County. 


J 


382  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

"The  minutes  of  the  first  meeting  are  dated  May  21,  1837,  and  are 
signed  by  Joshua  Lindsey,  president,  and  Levi  S.  Dale,  secretary.  The 
meeting  was  held  at  the  courthouse  pursuant  to  previous  notice,  and  was 
addressed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Holladay  and  Rev.  Mr.  Hummer,  after  which  a 
committee  consisting  of  Geo.  A.  Spencer,  Zebulon  Sheetz,  the  Rev.  Hum- 
mer, I.  Reynolds,  John  Wilson,  J.  Harbolt/  James  Spencer,  George  R. 
Bartley,  Dr.  R.  Brearley  and  Levi  S.  Dale  was  appointed  to  draft  a 
constitution  for  the  society. 

"After  a  few  minutes  retirement  this  voluminous  committee  reported 
a  no  less  voluminous  constitution,  which  had  evidently  been  'cut  and 
dried'  beforehand,  and  it  was  adopted  and  signed  by  persons  present. 
The  full  number  enrolled,  as  shown  by  the  record,  was  135.  Of  these 
names  we  only  recognize  seven  who  are  still  living:  D.  M.  Tilton,  Isaac 
S.  Vinson,  Asenath  Price,  Ellis  H.  Johnson,  Van  McCulloch  and  Mary. 
Reynolds.    The  rest  are  all  numbered  with  'the  silent  majority.' 

"The  society  was  known  as  'The  White  County  Temperance  Society,' 
and  its  members  were  pledged  to  'abstain  from  the  use  of  and  traffic 
in  all  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  drink.'  The  constitution  provided  that 
au  executive  committee  should  be  elected  annually,  whose  duty  it  should 
be  'to  procure  the  delivery  of  suitable  addresses  at  the  regular  meetings 
of  the  society  when  practicable  and  to  procure  and  circulate  as  far  as 
possible  every  temperance  publication  which  they  might  deem  of  good 
tendency. ' 

"An  evidence  of  the  slow  moving  age  in  which  our  ancestors  lived 
is  the  fact  that  the  regular  meetings  of  this  primeval  organization  were 
held  only  once  in  three  months — in  the  words  of  the  constitution,  'on  the 
4th  of  July  and  every  quarter  thereafter' — a  striking  contrast  to  the 
weekly  and  nightly  meetings  of  the  blue  ribbon  period. 

"On  the  4th  of  July,  1837,  at  12  o'clock,  the  society  was  addressed 
by  Levi  S.  Dale,  and  so  favorably  was  the  address  received  that  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Joshua  Lindsey  and  Isaac  Parker  was  appointed  to 
secure  a  copy  of  it  for  publication.  The  result  recorded  in  the  minutes 
shows  that  Mr.  Dale  belonged  to  a  species  of  the  genus  homo  now  extinct. 
After  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  committee's  request,  he  said: 

"  'I  heartily  thank  the  Society  for  their  good  opinion  of  my  humble 
effort  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  but  however  flattering  it  would  be  to  my 
vanity  to  see  the  address  published,  for  the  reason  that  I  do  not  entertain 
so  exalted  an  opinion  of  it,  and  for  other  reasons,  I  respectfully  decline 
complying  with  your  request.  Your  obt.  serv't, 

'L.  S.  Dale.' 

'The  last  meeting  of  which  this  old  book  shows  any  record  was  held 
Janunry  1,  1830,  and  was  addressed  by  Rev.  McLeash.  The  minutes  are 
Mgnod  by  T.  M.  Thompson,  secretary.  Jonathan  Harbolt  was  president 
ut  this  time  but  neglected  to  sign  the  minutes. 

"This  old  record  is  au  interesting  relic  and  should  be  placed  in  the 
archives  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Association." 

It  is  probable  that  the  struggle  continued  with  varying  degrees  of  . 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  383 

success,  though  not  much  is  known  of  local  conditions  during  the  next 
twenty  years.  However,  the  temperance  question  cut  a  large  figure  in 
the  state  at  large,  as  well  as  in  several  other  states  of  the  Union.  In 
1853  the  Indiana  Legislature  enacted  a  local  option  law,  which  was 
repealed  by  the  law  of  1855,  which  was  known  as  the  Maine  prohibitory 
law,  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage.  However, 
liquor  was  permitted  to  be  sold  for  medicinal  purposes,  and  as  it  was 
considered  a  sovereign  reme'dy  for  malaria  and  a  specific  for  snake  bite, 
it  was  said  that  those  who  were  not  shaking  with  the  "ager,"  the  common 
designation  for  malarial  chills,  spent  much  of  their  time  in  looking  for 
snakes — or  at  least  in  reporting  snake  bites  to  their  family  physician. 
This  was  especially  true  of  those  who  had  heretofore  been  addicted  to 
the  use  of  whisky ;  and  it  was  indeed  surprising  how  easily  a  prairie  rat- 
tler could  find  one  of  these  old  topers. 

About  this  time  the  temperance  tide  was  again  rising  high  in  White 
County.  Lodges  of  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Temperance,  Good 
Templars  and  the  Temple  of  Honor  were  organized,  not  only  in- Monti- 
cello  but  also  in  several  of  the  smaller  towns,  and  meetings  of  one  or 
the  other  were  held  almost  nightly.  The  law  of  1853  having  been  re- 
pealed by  the  law  of  1855,  and  the  latter  having  been  declared  uncon- 
stitutional by  the  Supreme  Court  in  1858,  this  left  the  liquor  business 
in  a  very  chaotic  state,  the  conditions  in  different  localities  depending 
altogether  on  public  sentiment.  The  agitation  in  Monticello  had  been 
so  strong  and  the  sentiment  against  the  liquor  business  so  pronounced 
that  at  the  beginning  of  1859  there  remained  only  one  place,  that  of 
Parry  &  Dale,  where  liquor  could  be  procured  without  a  physician's 
certificate.  There  are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  White  County  Historical 
Society  some  old  papers  which  throw  further  light  on  conditions  at  this 
interesting  period.  One  dated  February  15,  1859,  says:  "At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  citizens  of  Monticello  and  neighborhood,  held  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the 
state  of  intemperance  in  the  community,  on  motion  of  Rev.  II.  S.  Shaw 
a  committee  consisting  of  Shaw,  Scott  and  Hanawalt  was  appointed  to 
draft  and  report  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting. 
This  committee  reported  the  following: 

"  'Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  persons  be  appointed  by  the 
meeting  to  expostulate  with  the  sellers  of  liquors  in  Monticello,  and 
the  said  committee  affectionately  request  them  to  cease  selling  until 
Legislature  now  in  session  throws  some  guards  around  the  traffic.  And 
that  the  committee  receive,  some  satisfactory  assurance  that  they  stop 
now;  which  shall  assure  the  ladies  that  they  will  fulfill  their  promise.'  " 

The  minutes  do  not  state  who  was  appointed  the  "committee  of  three 
persons,"  but  the  committee  evidently  went  at  their  duties  vigorously; 
for  at  an  adjourned  meeting  held  on  the  afternoon  of  February  19th 
they  reported  the  following: 

"A  bill  of  liquors  belonging  to  Parry  &  Dale,  to  be  delivered   to 
Joseph  Rothrock,  Agent: 
One  keg  containing  4y2  gal.  common  brandy,  1.25  per  gal. 

-     -     ---  —      ■  ■  ■ 


384  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

One  keg  containing  314  gal.  good  brandy,  4.00  per.  gal. 

One  keg  containing  2  gal.  Holland  Gin,  2.00  per  gal. 

One  keg  containing  7  gal.  more  or  less,  cherry  bounce,  1.50  per  gal. 

One  half  bbl.  containing  13  gal.  Rye  whisky,  .75  per  gal. 

"Measured  by  Parry,  Van  Buskirk  and  Bushnell  this  18th  day  of 
February,  1859.  The  kegs  containing  the  liquors  estimated  to  be  worth 
5  dollars,  $48.87. 

"Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  we,  J.  Rothrock,  M.  A.  Berkey, 
A.  Hanawalt,  F.  II.  Kiefhaber,  II.  B.  Logan  and  T.  M.  Thompson,  Jbf 
the  County  of  White,  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  are  held  and  firmly  bound 
unto  Messrs.  Dale  and  Parry  of  Monticello  in  the  sum  of  forty-eight 
87/100  dollars,  to  the  payment  whereof  we  bind  ourselves,  our  heirs, 
executors  and  administrators  firmly  by  these  presents.  Signed  and  dated 
this  18th  day  of  Feb.,  1859. 

"The  consideration  of  the  above  obligation  is  such  that  if  Joseph 
Rothrock  shall  take  the  liquors  of  which  the  above  is  a  bill,  and  sell 
them,  or  return  them  to  the  said  Parry  and  Dale;  and  if  sold  that  he 
will  pay  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  said  sale  to  the  said  Parry  and 
Dale,  then  this  obligation  is  to  be  void;  else  to  remain  in  full  force." 

The  action  of  the  committee  was  received  as  a  happy  solution  of 
the  liquor  evil  in  Monticello  and  the  committee  was  given  a  vote  of 
thanks.  On  motion  a  vote  of  thanks  was  also  extended  to  the  liquor 
dealers  "for  the  gentlemanly  manner  in  which  they  complied  with  the 
requisitions  of  the  committee,  and  that  they  be  entitled  to  fair  patron- 
age in  their  legitimate  business." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  those  days  liquors  were  usually  sold 
in  connection  with  other  lines  of  merchandise,  and  this  resolution  was 
to  prevent  what  in  later  years  has  become  known  as  the  boycott.  A 
vote  of  thanks  was  also  extended  to  the  ladies  "for  their  energy  and 
fidelity."  Mr.  Rothrock  accepted  the  trust;  the  liquors  were  turned 
over  to  him  and  the  committee  discharged.  No  further  record  has  been 
discovered  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  liquors,  but  tradition  states  that 
the  amount  necessary  to  pay  for  them  was  subscribed  by  the  temper- 
ance people  and  the  liquors  were  emptied  into  the  gutter. 

Of  course  the  temperance  people  and  those  favoring  law  and  order 
were  much  elated  over  finally  ridding  the  town  of  the  last  and  only 
place  where  liquor  was  sold  as  a  beverage;  but  their  joy  was  of  short 
duration.  Subsequent  events  are  graphically  told  by  Mr.  M.  M.  Sill, 
one  of  the  participants,  in  his  uncompleted  history  of  White  County. 
Mr.  Sill  says: 

"In  about  one  month  a  stranger,  hailing  from  Logansport,  made 
his  appearance  and  announced  his  intention  of  starting  a  cigar  and 
tobacco  store,  provided  he  could  find  a  suitable  room  in  the  town.  Of 
course  he  could  be  accommodated.  There  was  not  a  place  in  the  town 
at  that  time  devoted  exclusively  to  the  sale  of  tobacco  and  cigars. 
.  "The  man  finally  made  a  selection  of  a  building  on  the  east  side  of 
Main  Street  between  Washington  and  Marion,  and  disappeared,  saying 
his  goods  would  be  along  in  a  few  clays.    The  stock  came.    It  consisted 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  385 

of  two  small  caddies  of  plug  tobacco,  a  barrel  of  smoking  tobacco,  a  box 
of  clay  pipes,  a  half  dozen  boxes  of  cigars,  five  barrels  of  whisky  and 
ten  kegs  of  variously  branded  gin,  rum,  wine  and  brandy.  To  say  that 
the  people  of  Monticello  were  shocked  is  putting  it  mildly.  They  were 
taken  off  their  feet.  The  temperance  people  were  justly  indignant. 
They  had  worked  for  a  year  or  more  to  rid  the  town  of  the  traffic,  and 
all  for  naught."  A  committee  was  again  appointed  to  negotiate  with 
the  liquor  dealer  with  a  view  to  the  purchase  of  his  stock  on  condition 
that  he  leave  the  town.  The  stock  was  not  for  sale.  The  committee 
were  ordered  from  the  place,  with  threats  of  personal  violence  should 
they  return — a  loaded  revolver  and  other  weapons  being  pointed  out, 
kept' in  a  convenient  place  for  any  one  who  should  have  the  temerity 
to  "interfere  with  his  business."  All  this  the  committee  duly  reported, 
and  further  operations  were  for  a  time  suspended.  Mr.  Sill  continues 
his  account  as  follows: 

''The  cigar  and  tobacco  store  opened  and  did  a  rushing  business, 
but  its  patrons  all  provided  themselves  with  a  jug  before  entering  the 
store  to  make  their  purchases.  *  *  *  There  were  about  one  hun- 
dred men  at  work  leveling  the  grade  and  placing  the  ties  preparatory 
to  laying  the  rails  on  the  track  of  the  State  Line  and  Logansport  divi- 
sion of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  through  the  town,  and  these  men 
were  the  chief  customers  of  the  cigar  store.  Every  night  two  or  three 
score  of  them  would  visit  the  store,  and  the  proprietor,  after  locking 
the  door,  would  attend  to  their  wants  as  long  as  they  had  a  clime  to 
spend,  and  then  pass  them  out  at  the  back  door  in  a  condition  ill  calcu- 
lated to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  town  for  the  remainder  of  the  night. 
Fifty  or  sixty  drunken  men  nightly  parading  the  streets  of  our  before 
quiet  and  orderly  village,  whooping  and  yelling  like  madmen  and  using 
vile  and  insulting  language  toward  every  one  they  met,  was  a  condition 
not  to  be  borne  with  equanimity  by  those  of  our  citizens  who  favored 
the  temperance  movement  and  another  effort  was  made  to  purchase  the 
stock.  The  committee  found  the  proprietor  more  insolent  and  insulting 
in  his  refusal  to  sell  than  he  had  been  at  the  first  interview.  Remon- 
strance, persuasion  and  argument  were  all  tried  in  vain,  and  as  a  last 
resort  some  of  the  citizens  concluded  to  use  forcible  measures  to  rid  the 
town  of  the  nuisance." 

"They  were  not  all  temperance  workers  who  joined  in  this  move 
ment,"  says  Mr.  Sill,  and  as  it  was  later  disclosed  that  he  was  among 
the  number,  the  following  account  of  the  proceedings  is  probably  pretty 
accurate.     He  continues: 

"They  were  terribly  in  earnest  in  their  effort  to  stop  this  reign  of 
disorder,  and  they  acted  promptly.  The  greatest  difficulty  was  to  gain 
entrance  to  the  place  at  night  with  breaking  the  door,  which  was  always 
locked  at  night  and  none  but  those  who  had  the  mystic  password  could 
gain  admittance.  It  so  happened  that  the  late  Samuel  Cooper  (a 
mulatto  barber  well  known  in  Monticello  for  many  years)  the  only  col- 
ored gentleman  then  living  in  the  county,  had  been  in  the  employ  of 
the  cigar  man  and  had  learned  the  word  but  refused  to  divulge  it  to 

Vol.      I-li 

-        -  ,    „,  ■!■■  I  "  ■■■        'I* 


386  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

any  one.  He  was  finally  persuaded  by  the  gift  of  a  dollar  and  a  gallon 
jug  to  get  the  door  opened  on  a  certain  night;  and  armed  with  these 
requisites  he  went  to  the  .place  closely  followed  by  seven  men,  much 
blacker  than  himself,  each  armed  with  a  bright  new  hatchet;  and  when 
the  proprietor  opened  the  door  a  rush  was  made  by  the  seven  and 
entrance  gained  despite  the  stout  resistance  of  the  proprietor,  who,  in 
the  melee  received  a  blow  on  the  head  from  one  of  the  hatchets  which 
rendered  him  'hors  de  combat,'  and  with  a  cry  of  murder,  he  broko 
open  the  door  of  a  dwelling  house  adjoining  his  place  of  business  and 
crept  under  the  bed. 

"With  an  artificial  negro  at  each  door  to  guard  against  intrusion 
the  five  remaining  proceeded  to  the  work  of  destruction,  which  wan 
completed  before  any  one  arrived  to  molesf  them.  Five  Jiarrels  of 
whisky,  with  all  the  kegs  containing  any  liquid,  were  opened  and  the 
contents  emptied  on  the  floor,  after  which  the  mob  passed  out  at  the 
back  door  and  quietly  disappeared."  The  next  day  the -outraged  pro- 
prietor appeared  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  procured  a  warrant 
for  the  arrest  of  F.  H.  Keifhaber,  known  to  him  as  "the  big  black- 
smith." Mr.  Keifhaber  was  always  a  prominent  and  aggressive  tem- 
perance worker,  but  he  easily  established  an  alibi  and  satisfied  the  court 
that  he  was  not  among  the  raiders.  James  Lynch,  one  of  the  real  cul- 
prits, was  also  arrested,  but  the  evidence  against  him  was  deemed  insuffi- 
cient and  he  was  freed. 

The  proprietor  of  the  joint  gathered  up  his  small  stock  of  tobacco 
and  cigars,  pocketed  the  revolver  with  which  he  had  threatened  such 
dire  calamity  to  all  who  should  dare  interfere  with  his  business,  and 
departed  without  more  ado ;  and  peace  and  quiet  once  more  reigned  in 
this  little  village  on  the  banks  of  the  Tippecanoe. 

The  proprietor  of  the  cigar  store  threatened  to  return  with  a  new 
stock,  and  for  several  days  and  nights  the  river  crossings  were  closely 
guarded  by  vigilantes ;  but  so  far  as  known  he  was  never  afterward  seen 
in  Monticello.  Even  his  name  is  forgotten.  The  seven  participants  in 
the  raid  on  his  joint  were  Milton  M.  Sill,  John  Price,  James  Lynch, 
Watt  Brown,  Samuel  Ayers,  James  Staley  and  another  whose  name  in 
not  remembered.  Of  these,  James  Staley,  Watt  Brown  and  John  Price 
soon  after  enlisted  in  the  army  and  Staley  and  Brown  were  killed  in 
battle.  All  are  now  dead,  and  of  the  spectators  who  witnessed  the  raid 
Capt.  Benjamin  F.  Price  is  the  only  known  survivor. 

The  war  coming  on  soon  after  the  above  events,  the  temperance 
question  was  for  a  time  overshadowed  by  larger  things;  and  when  next 
we  hear  of  it  saloons  were  again  established  in  Monticello. 

In  the  early  part  of  1877  there  spread  over  Northern  Indiana  a  tem- 
perance movement  known  as  the  "Red  Ribbon"  movement,  which  had 
quite  a  vogue  for  a  while,  but  White  County  seemed  a  little  out  of  it* 
line  of  march.  However,  in  July  of  that  year  there  arrived  in  Monti- 
cello a  man  named  F.  0.  Smith,  a  nephew  and  an  earnest  disciple  of 
Francis  Murphy,  the  noted  temperance  evangelist,  who  started  a  tem- 
perance crusade  known  as  the  "Blue  Ribbon"  movement.     His  ani 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  387 

meeting,  held  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  resulted  in  seventy  signers 
to  the  pledge.    The  newspaper  account  thus  continues: 

' '  On  Saturday  evening  he  addressed  a  similar  meeting  at  the  Metho- 
dist Church  and  obtained  some  seventy  signers.  On  Sunday  night  a 
thoroughly  interested  audience  greeted  the  lecturer,  when  he  at  last 
arrived  post  haste  from  a  very  encouraging  meeting  at  Idaville,  and 
one  hundred  signers  rewarded  his  efforts.  On  Monday  evening  there 
were  speeches  by  Mr.  Smith,  Dr.  Bushnell,  Captain  Brown  and  others 
and  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  nominate  officers  for  the'Tem-- 
perance  Union  to  be  organized  in  this  place.  Then  fifty  signers  were 
easily  obtained  and  the  meeting  adjourned  until  Tuesday  night  when 
the  committee  on  nomination  will  report.  This  is  what  is  known  as 
the  'Murphy  Movement,'  the  tidal  wave  has  struck  us  and  the  spirit 
of  reform  is  pouring  down  upon  us  like  a  flood." 

In  Logansport  the  same  movement  gathered  in  over  5,000,  among 
them  being  many  who  had  been  strong  drinkers.  However,,  the  Idaville 
correspondent  to  the  Monticello  Herald  in  its  issue  of  August  2d,  says: 
"The  temperance  excitement  did  not  rise  very  high  here — perhaps  for 
the  reason  that  we  have  very  little  material  that  the  Murphy  movement 
can  affect.  We  are  fortunate  in  not  being  able  to  sustain  a  saloon  in 
Idaville,  and  in  consequence  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  a  man  under  the 
influence  of  liquor." 

The  meetings  in  Monticello  continued  nightly  for  several  weeks,  and 
not  only  in  Monticello, but  also  in  all  the  smaller  towns  of  the  county 
and  in  many  school  districts.  The  noted  temperance  orator,  Luthur 
Benson,  was  secured  for  two  or  three  lectures  and  his  fervid  oratory, 
based  on  his  personal  experiences  as  almost  a  lifelong  slave  to  the  drink 
habit,  made  a  deep  impression.  The  interest  was  such  as  had  never 
before  been  seen  in  Monticello.  Nearly  everybody  signed  the  pledge, 
among  them  many  who  had  been  notorious  drinkers  for  many  years. 
To  aid  these  latter  there  was  organized  in  Monticello  a  secret  order 
calling  themselves  "The  Sovereigns  of  the  Red  Star,"  which  was 
"joined"  by  a  number  of  both  former  drinkers  and  non-drinkers.  A 
constitution  and  corporate  seal  were  adopted,  a  lodge  room  rented  and 
furnished  and  for  some  three  or  four  years  regular  meetings  were  held. 
The  prime  mover  in  the  "Red  Star"  movement  was  County  Recorder 
R.  L.  Harvey,  who,  though  not  himself  addicted  to  the  use  of  liquor, 
had  much  influence  with  those  who  were. 

In  the  course  of  years,  however,  the  temperance  wave  receded  and 
the  saloons  came  into  their  own  again.  This  meant  that  they  soon  con- 
trolled local  politics  in  a  large  measure,  dictated  nominations  in  both 
parties  so  far  as  they  cared  to  do  so,  and  helped  elect  to.  office  those 
that  were  the  least  objectionable  to  their  business ;  and  these  conditions 
continued  with  scarcely  a  check  for  more  than  twenty  years.  Some  of 
those  engaged  in  running  saloons  conducted  the  business  on  a  little 
higher  plane  than  others,  but  very  few  of  them  made  any  pretense  of 
living  up  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  law,  the  excuse  being  "the  others 
do  it,  so  I  am  compelled  to."     The  consequence  was  that  by  1905  or 


— ■  ■■  '  '— ■■      ■  ■  I         ■■  ■  ■■  I ■       ■       .  ■-  ,,— 

n 

•  •  .  - 

388  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

1906  Monticello  saloons  had  become  numerous  and  notorious-  and  not  j 
only  in  Monticello,  where  there  were  nine,  but  every  other  town  in  the 
pQimty  numbered  these  schools-  for  lawbreakers  'in  like  proportion    ex"" 
cept  Idaville,  and  even  there  an  occasional  quart  shop  would  break  out 
and  ran  a  brief  career.  * 

These  were  the  conditions  prevailing  early  in  1906,  when  talk  of  j 
again  putting  on  the  lid  began  to  attract  general  notice.    Miss  Shontz 
of  Chicago,  came  to  Monticello  on  February  22,  1906,  and  gave  a  fore" 
lble  temperance  talk;  soon  followed  by  other  meetings'. by  men  sent  out  1 
by  the  Anti-Saloon  League.    An  effort  was  made  to  file  a  remonstrance  ! 
under  the  Nicholson  law  in  time  to  prevent  the  granting  of  four  saloon 
licenses  in  Monticello  at  the  March  term  1906  of  Commissioners'  Court, 
btit  it  was  found  impossible  to  secure  the  signatures  of  a  majority  of  ] 
the  voters  in  the  township.    People  in  the  country  signed  it  quite  read-  ] 
ily,"but  in  town  many  of  the  business  men  refused  to  sign,  fearing  that 
it  would  injure  their  business.     Commenting  on  this  the  Democrat  of 
'March  9,  1906,  said:  ' 

''The  Democrat  has  but  little  patience  with  people  of  this  kind,  j 
The  man  who  makes  loud  professions  of  morality  and,  on  the  final  test! 
refuses  to  do  what  he  believes  to  be  right,  not  only  proclaims  himself 
a  hypocrite  but  advertises  the  fact  that  he  can  be' bribed  to  do  that 
which  he  believes  to  be  wrong.  The  fight,  however,  is  not  yet  over.  The 
time  for  open  and  flagrant  violations  of  law  in  Monticello  is  past.  The 
saloons  have  gained  an  extension  of  their  life  tenure,  but  its  length 
probably  depends  upon  an  absolutely  strict  and  honest  observance"^!' 
the  laws  governing  their  business." 

Instead  of  profiting  from  this  tip  and  reefing  sail  in  preparation 
for  the  impending  storm  the  saloon  element  apparently  grew  more  arro- 
gant, and  drove  many  to  line  up  against  them  by  their  vicious  and 
sweeping  abuse  of  the  temperance  forces.  Anti-saloon  meetings  con- 
tinued and  more  remonstrance  cards  were  signed  until  at  the  May,  1906, 
meeting  of  the  board  of  commissioners  a  "blanket"  remonstrance  against 
all  saloons  in  Union  Township  was  filed,  containing  536  names,  being 
44  more  than  a  majority  of  the  voters. 

The  anti-saloon  people  were,  of  course,  much  elated.  They  had  a 
clear  majority  and  had  no  fear  of  the  outcome.  However,  they  were 
yet  to  learn  a  thing  or  two.  The  saloon  element  were  engaged  in  a  life 
or  death  struggle  and  they  all  stood  together,  prepared  to  go  the  length 
and  "show  these  temperance  cranks  where  to  head  in."  And  they 
made  their  boast  good.  The -hearing  was  held  before  the  board  at  an 
adjourned  session  at  which  all  signers  of  the  remonstrance  cards  were 
summoned  to  attend  and  verify  their  signatures.  Many  were  objected 
to  because  they  were  not  legal  voters,  others  because  it  was  alleged  that 
their  signatures  had  been  bought,  and  others — with  foreign  sounding 
names — because  it  could  not  be  proven  that  they  had  ever  been  "nat- 
uralized." Among  the  latter  was  Barney  Pretz,  whose  name  sounded 
so  "Dutchy"  that  he  was  cast  into  the  discard  despite  the  fact  that  he 
was  born  in  Indiana,  had  been  in  Monticello  two  years  and  had  voted 


-  -■  - 


■  IliHir    .i  ..   — 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  389 

there  at  two  elections.  Barney  was  a  printer  employed  in  the  Evening 
Journal  office,  and  what  that  paper  said  in  way  of  criticism  of  the 
board  was  a  plenty.  However,  when  the  board, and  the  saloonkeepers ' 
attorneys  got  through  with  the  remonstrance  it  was  a  "tie"  and  the 
remonstrators  had  lost.  •  -        .         . 

The  manifest  unfairness  of  this  outcome  and  the  intemperate  abuse 
heaped  upon  the  anti-saloon  workers  by  the  saloonkeepers  and  their 
sympathizers  soon  began  to  react,  and  many  who  had  hitherto  stood 
aloof  now  became  active  workers  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  were  striv- 
ing to  oust  the  saloons — many  of  them  not  because  they  were  opposed 
to  drinking  per  se,  or  even  opposed  to  saloons  if  properly  conducted, 
but  because  they  were  tired  of  arrogant  saloon  domination,  with  all  its 
attendant,  law-defying  evils.  Their  efforts  culminated  in  the  filing  of 
a  new  remonstrance  which  came  before  the  commissioners  at  their  Sep^ 
tember  term,  1906.  This  remonstrance  contained  523  names.  As  half 
the  legal  voters  at  the  last  election  was  492,  this  gave  them  thirty-one 
names  to  the  good  on  the  face  of  their  paper ;  and  so  carefully  had  they 
culled  out  the  doubtfuls  that  they  again,  felt  confident  of  success.    ■ 

The  saloonkeepers  again  marshaled  a  formidable  array  of  legal  tal- 
ent, including  the  attorney  for  the  State  Brewers'  Association  at  In- 
dianapolis ;  but  this  was  met  by  an  equally  strong  showing  on  the'other- 
side,  including  Judge  R.  P.  Davidson  of  Lafayette,  Attorney  Me'nton 
of  Martinsville,  and  Attorneys  George  E.  Marvin,  R.  J.  Million,  W.  S. 
Bushnell,  L.  D.  Carey,  J.  T.  Graves  and  George  W.  Kassabaum,  of  the 
local  bar.  The  remonstrance  was  held  good,  but  the  saloon  interests 
took,  an  appeal  to  the  White  Circuit  Court,  where  the  case  was  dis- 
missed at  the  March  term,  1907.  In  the  meantime,  before  the  dismissal 
of  the  appeal  and  to  guard  against  a  possible  defeat  in  the  case  above 
mentioned,  the  jempnstrators  filed  another  remonstrance  containing  a 
majority  of  six^nine  names.  This  was  filed  on  March  1,  1907,  and 
thereafter  Union  Township  and  Monticello  were  guarded  against  saloons 
by  two  legal  remonstrances,  which  would  effectually  bar  saloons  for  a 
period  of  two  years.  .   .      .;  .  .  • 

j.  However,  three  of  the  saloonkeepers  who  had  been  put  out  of  busi- 
ness conceived  the  idea  of  a  social  club,  which  they  proceeded  to  organ- 
ize and  incorporate  under  the  name  of  "The  Monticello  Club."  Their 
articles  of  incorporation  stated  that  "The  objects  of  the  corporation 
shall  be  for  the  social  enjoyment  and  pleasure  of  its  members  in  social 
games,  tests  of  skill,  music,  reading,  refreshments  and  harmless  amuse- 
ments." These  articles  were  drawn  up  September  28,  1906,  but  in  spite 
of  the  suggestiveness  of  this  declaration  of  principles— or  possibly  be- 
cause of  it— the  membership  failed  to  assume  alarming  proportions,  and 
after  a  brief  career  the  "club  rooms"  were  vacated  and  the  incorpora- 
tors removed  to  greener  pastures. 

On  March  4,  1907,  two  saloons  run  by  John  II.  Randall  and  John 
Vaughn  closed  their  doors;  on  March  5th  the  Forbis  Hotel  bar,  con- 
ducted by  Elmer  E.  Malone,  closed  down;  and  eleven  days  later, 
March  16,  1907,  the  saloon  conducted  by  Stuart  Fox  in  the  old  Fox  & 


390  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Karp  building  east  of  the  courthouse,  closed  its  doors  after  being  used 
for  saloon  purposes  continuously  for  a  little  more  than  thirty  years, 
and  for  practically  the  first  time  in  the  town's  history  Monticello  was 
without  a  saloon. 

While  Monticello  had  been  thus  struggling  with  the  saloon  question 
other  towns  in  the  county  bad  not  been  idle,  and  in  a  short  time  saloons 
had  been  remonstrated  out  of  every  town  in  the  county.  Blanket  re- 
monstrances against  saloons  held  good  for  only  two  years,  however,  and 
at  the  end  of  that  time,  if  no  new  remonstrance  had  been  filed  in  the 
county  auditor's  office  ah  applicant  could  again  be  granted  liquor  license. 
This  kept  both  elements  constantly  on  the  watch  seeking  advantage, 
necessitated  canvassing  for  new  remonstrances  every  two  years,  and 
thus  kept  up  the  bitter  feeling  between  the  supporters  and  the  oppo- 
nents of  saloons  in  every  community.  Because  of  these  unpleasant 
features,  in  a  measure,  Mr.  J.  P.  Simons,  then  editor  of  the  White  County 
Democrat,  wrote  a  resolution  which  he  presented  to  the  Indiana  Demo- 
cratic Editorial  Association  at  its  midwinter  meeting  in  Indianapolis, 
February  7,  1908,  which  read  as  follows: 

"With  a  firm  belief  in  the  righteousness  of  the  democratic  principle 
of  the  rule  of  the  majority  as  expressed  in  a  free  and  un trammeled 
ballot,  we  would  add  to  the  present  laws  regulating  the  liquor  traffic  a 
local  option  law  giving  to  the  people  of  each  community  an  opportunity 
to  express  their  sentiments  regarding  the  sale  of  liquor  in  their  midst, 
freed  from  the  turmoil,  annoyances  and  business  disturbances  in  many 
instances  attending  the  operations  of  the  present  remonstrance  law." 

This  was  probably  the  first  resolution  favoring  a  local  option  law  on 
the  liquor  question  ever  presented  in  Indiana.  It  was  adopted  by  the 
Democratic  Editorial  Association  just  as  written  by  the  Monticello  edi- 
tor, and  the  substance  of  it  was  incorporated  in  the  democratic  state 
platf«Rn  a  few  weeks  later  in  a  declaration  for  local  option  with  the 
township  as  the  voting  unit ;  and  later  it  was  incorporated  in  the  repub 
lican  state  platform,  with  the  county  as  the  voting  unit.  This  led  to  the 
calling  of  a  special  session  of  the  Indiana  Legislature  in  September  and 
the  passage  of  a  county  option  law,  whereby  a  majority  of  the  legal 
voters  of  a  county  could  exclude  saloons  from  all  the  towns  and  town- 
ships of  the  county. 

Under  this  law  there  was  filed  with  the  commissioners  in  April, 
1909,  a  petition  signed  by  2,006  names,  a  little  over  40  per  cent  of  the 
total  voting  population  of  the  county,  asking  for  a  county  election  on 
the  question  of  saloons  or  no  saloons  in  White  County.  The  election 
was  ordered  to  be  held  April  26.  The  saloon  forces  instituted  proceed- 
ings to  enjoin  the  holding  of  the  election  and  secured  a  temporary  re- 
straining order,  but  on  a  hearing  before  Circuit  Judge  James  P.  Wason, 
three  days  before  the  day  set  for  the  election,  the  injunction  was  re- 
fused and  the  restraining  order  dissolved.  , 

At  this  time  there  were  but  two  saloons  in  the  county.  These  had 
but  recently  opened  up  at  Wolcott,  not  because  the  people  wanted  them 
but  because  of  a  defect  discovered  in  the  remonstrance  on  file  from 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  391 

that  place.  At  the  election,  held  on  Monday,  April  26,  1909,  the  "drys" 
won  by  a  majority  of  1,435,  the  vote  being  1,137  "wet"  and  2,572 
"dry."  Every  precinct  in  the  county  gave  a  dry  majority  except  pre- 
cinct No.  1  in  Honey  Creek,  which  gave  a  "wet"  majority  of  nine.  The 
result  was  an  emphatic  expression  of  the  people  on  the  saloon  question 
and, was  a  great  surprise  to  the  saloon  forces.  This  was  especially  true 
in  Union  Township,  where,  in  the  face  of  the  report  that  the  people 
of  'Monticello  were  dissatisfied  with  conditions  and  were  anxious  for 
the  return  of  the  "business  bringers,"  the  dry  majority  was  244.  Com- 
menting on  this  the  Democrat  said : 

"That  Monticello 's  prosperity  does  not  depend  upon  the  saloon  is 
now  patent  to  all.  There  are  no  vacant  business  rooms  in  the  town,  no 
residences  to  be  had  for  love  or  money  and  there  is  an  urgent  call  for 
the  Construction  of  a  number  of  new  houses  for  rent  within  the  next 
year.  The  notion  that  saloons  and  booze  are  necessary  adjuncts  to  a 
live,  prosperous  town  or  city  is  utterly  fallacious.'  Let's  talk  of  some- 
thing else."       •       .  J 

The  Herald  said:  ".White  County  proved  true  to  her  name,  and 
every  precinct  in  the  county  but  one  recorded  a  verdict  against  the 
licensed  saloon.  In  one  respect  White  County  differs  from  all  others 
where  elections  have  been  held.  Instead  of  the  county  seat  township 
being  the  citadel  of  the  'wets'  it  gave  the  banner  'dry'  majority  of  all 
the  townships  in  the  county." 

The  Legislature  of  1911  repealed  the  county  unit  option  law  and 
enacted  in  its  stead  a  law  called  the  Proctor  Law,  making  the  city  and 
the  township  the  option  unit.  It  also  provided  tha^  all  places  voted 
"dry"  under  the  county  option  law  should  become  open  to  the  return 
of  saloons  at  the  end  of  two  years  from  the  time  the  county  option  elec- 
tion was  held.  Thus,  in  order  to  prevent  the  return  of  saloons,  it  be- 
came, necessary  to  hold  elections  under  the  Proctor  law  in  the  several 
units  in  White  County  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  commissioners  in 
May,  1911,  • 

A  conference  was  held  at  Reynolds  on  March  17,  1911,  attended  by 
representatives  from  all  the  townships  where  it  was  feaied  the  saloons 
might  undertake  to  again  open  up.  At  this  conference  it  was  decided 
to  hold  option  elections  in  the  townships  of  Princeton,  Monon,  Honey 
Creek,  Big  Creek  and  Prairie,  and  in  the  City  of  Monticello.  Petitions 
were  accordingly  prepared  and  presented  to  the  commissioners  on  April 
3rd,  and  the  elections  all  fixed  for  the  same  day — April  27th. 

Again  the  battle  was  on,  and  the  saloon  and  anti-saloon  forces  lined 
up  for  what  they  hoped  would  be  the  final  struggle.  All  the  papers  of 
the  county  were  again  arrayed  on  the  "dry"  side;  the  two  party  papers 
in  Monticello  being  especially  aggressive.  As  in  the  previous  fights, 
party  lines  were  disregarded  entirely,  leading  members  of  all  parties 
being  found  on  both  sides.  It  was  noticeable,  however,  that  the  repub- 
licans, who  were  opposed  to  saloons,  while  in  nowise  compromising  with 
the  saloon  element,  were  somewhat  inclined  to  the  let  the  "dry"  demo- 
crats assume  the  burden  of  the  campaign  work.    This  was  perhaps  but 


-"■' — t ■  -      •■■  -- 


392  •     HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

natural,  as  these  new  option  elections  were  made  necessary  because  the 
democratic  Legislature  of  1911  had  substituted  the  Proctor  law  for 
the  county  option  law  passed  by  a  republican  Legislature  in  1908,  and 
in  doing  so  had  und/me  all  that  had  been  accomplished  under  the  county 
option  law.    .  • 

This  attitude  of  the  republicans  was  rather  forcibly  indicated  in  a 
mass  meeting  held  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  Sunday  evening  be- 
fore the  election.  Of  this  meeting  the  Herald  gave  the  following  re 
port: 

"The  Presbyterian  church  was  packed  to  the  doors  Sunday  night  at 
a  Union  meeting  of  all  the  churches  held  for  the  purpose  of  quickening 
the  anti-saloon  sentiment  preparatory  to  Thursday's  option  election. 
It  was  not  a  ministerial  meeting,  for  all  the  speakers  were  laymen;  it 
was  not  a1  church  meeting,  for  some  of  the  speakers  were  not  members 
of  any  church;  it  was  not  a  republican  meeting,  for  all  the  speakers 
were  democrats,  the  republicans  being  content  to  listen  and  join  in  the 
applause.  It  was  a  citizens  meeting  composed  of  members  of  all  churches 
and  no  church',  both  sexes  and  all  parties.  The  speakers  were  George 
Marvin,  Wesley  Taylor,  Dr.  McCann,  Chas.  C.  Spencer  and  E.  B. 
Sellers.  All  the  speakers  expressed  their  preference  for  a  'dry'  Monti- 
cello  and  declared  their  purpose  to  help  keep  it  so.  Each  presented 
the  subject  from  his  own  viewpoint  and  in  a  manner  that  called  forth 
generous  applause."  .      .  • 

All  eyes  were  focused  on  Monticello,  which  had  assumed  a  city  gov 
ernment  since  the  election  of  two  years  before  and  was  now  an  option 
Unit  within  itself.  Mr.  J.  P.  Simons,  editor  of  the  Democrat,  was  selected 
as  chairman  of  the  "dry"  forces  and  an  active  organization  was  soon 
effected.     In  his  issue  of  April  14  Editor  Simons  said : 

"It  is  pretty  generally  known  that  the  Democrat  is  opposed  to 
saloons  and  to  saloon  influence,  and  this  paper  will  hardly  be  accused 
of  being  afraid  to  express  itself  clearly  and  positively  on  this  point; 
yet  notwithstanding  these  positive  views  as  to  the  evil  influence  of 
saloons  and  saloon  surroundings  in  a  community,  the  editor  of  this 
paper  is  not  a  'temperance  crank,'  is  not  a  prohibitionist  and  does  not 
even  belong  to  the  Anti-saloon  League. 

"We  have  no  desire  to  interfere  with  any  man's  personal  privilege 
to  eat  what  he  pleases  or  to  drink  what  he  pleases  so  long  as  he  doesn  't 
injure  or  annoy  anyone  else.  Our  own  notion  about  drinking,  based 
upon  some  years  of  personal  experience,  is  that  every  man  is  better  off 
not  to  use  liquors  as  a  beverage ;  and  that  any  man  can  do  his  best  work 
and  attend  to  his  business  best  when  he  hasn't  a  drop  in  him — when 
his  head  is  perfectly  clear.  Every  man  who  has  ever  drank  knows  this 
to  be  true.  Therefore  our  advice  to  everyone  would  be  don't  drink. 
Yon  feel  better  and  are  better  off  without  it.  Especially  don't  acquire 
the  habit  so  that  it  requires  a  constant  struggle  to  keep  from  drinking 
too  much.  The  man  who  keeps  his  thinking  apparatus  free  from  the 
effects  of  booze  has  the  battle  of  life  half  won. 

"Then  why  should  any  man  vote  to  return  the  saloon  to  Monticello, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  '   393 

and  make  it  easy  for  young  men  to  acquire  the  habit  or  for  older  men 
to  cultivate  the  habit  already  acquired?  Based  upon  some  thirty  years' 
more  or  less  intimate  acquaintance  with  saloons  and  their  fruits,  both 
inside  and  out,  the  Democrat  asserts,  what  every  man  and  every  woman 
who  knows  anything  about  them  knows  to  be  true — that  the  great  ma- 
jority of  saloons  are  schools  for  vice  and  crime;  and  that  from  cellar 
to  garret,  inside  and  outside,  they  are  law  defiers  and  lawbreakers  twen- 
ty-four hours  out  of  the  day,  seven  days  in  the  week;  and  their  influ- 
ence on  those  who  frequent  them  and  on  the  community  in  which  they 
are  locate'd  is  wholly  bad." 

That  the  farmers  of  the  surrounding  country  were  deeply  interested 
in  the  outcome  was  shown  by  the  following  petition: 

"To  the  Voters  of  the  City  of  Monticello  generally,  and  to  the 
Trades  people  especially: — 

"We,  the  undersigned  citizens  of  Union  township  outside  the  city 
limits  of  Monticello,  and  in  the  country  tributary  thereto,  not  being  per- 
mitted "by  law  to  vote  in  the  coming  local  option  election,  but  being 
deeply  interested  in  the  outcome  thereof,  having  in  mind  and  earnestly 
wishing  for  the  best  interests  of  our  home  city,  the  place  where  we  do 
our  trading,  do  most  respectfully  and  earnestly  petition  you  to  continue 
the  present  policy  of  prohibiting  the  licensed  saloon  with  all  its  attend- 
ant evils."  -\  •''       ":'-; 

This  was  signed  by  eighty-eight  of  the  prominent  farmers  around 
Monticello  and  was  published  with  all  the  names  attached  in  the  Herald 
of  April  20th,  and  in  the  Democrat  of  April  21st. 

The  election  on  April  27th  in* the  units  voting  resulted  as  follows: 
i      Monticello,  dry,' 336;.  wet,  238.    -         .••,;;   vV;   i.isvy 

Big  Creek  Township,  dry,  160;  wet,  55..    • ,-':  :•;:  .. 

Cass  Township,  dry,  98;  wet,  31. 

Honey  Creek  Township,  dry,  133;  wet,  153. 

Monon  Township,  dry,  299;  wet,  130.    •     ■       :■'■-<'■'      '• 

Prairie  Township,  dry;  336;  wet, -238.  .'.'•  .     ' 

Princeton  Township,  dry,  245;  wet,  180.  *   '  '!'•!•-' 

As  Honey  Creek  Township  was  the  only  unit  16  vote  "wet,"  the 
people  of  Reynolds  and  vicinity  concluded  that  they  did  not  care  to  be 
the  source  of  irrigation  for  such  a  wide  stretch  of  dry  territory,  and  met 
the  emergency  by  a  remonstrance,  signed  by  a  majority  of  the  voters. 
This  settled  the  saloon  question  in  White  County  until  October,  1915, 
when,  on  petition  of  150  residents  of  Moiion  representing  the  "wet" 
element,  another  election  was  ordered  in  that  township.  The  election 
was  held  October  29,  1915,  and  resulted  in  an  overwhelming  defeat  of 
the  saloon  side,  the  vote  being  151  "wet"  and  435  "dry;"  the  votes  of 
the  saloon  side  being  seven  less  than  the  number  signing  the  petition 
for  the  election.  In  precinct  No.  4  only  three  "wet"  votes  were  cast. 
It  does  not  now  seem  probable  that  saloons  will  ever  again  be  permitted 
in  White  County. 

The  last  public  destruction  of  liquor  in  Monticello  took  place  in  the 
spring  of  1909,  when  Sheriff  Ben  Price,  Jr.,  carried  out  into  the  street 


394  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

and  destroyed  a  large  stock  of  liquors  which  had  been  captured  by 
Sheriff  H.  E.  McCully.in  a  raid  on  an  alleged  illegal  establishment  in 
Monon,  conducted  by  Sam  A.  Rose,  one  of  Monticello's  former  saloon- 
keepers. The  sheriff  was  assisted  in  the  destruction  by  several  persons, 
among  them  being  Postmaster  William  P.  Bunnell,  Rev.  C.  J.'  Armen-- 
trout,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  oth'ers.  The  occasion 
caused  various  facetious  comments  from  the  crowd  assembled,  and  Mon- 
ticello's local  bard,  Attorney  Will  S.  Bushnell,  immortalized  the  event, 
in  his  inimitable  manner,  as  follows: 

*  < 

'  Lo,  in  the  crowd  on  yonder  corner 

There  is  a  smiling,  prohi  scorner, 

For  every  Bacchanalian  mourner 

To  witness  the  last  obsequies. 

For  Sheriff  Price  at  last  will  fully 
Pour  out  and  drain  into  the  gully 
The  liquors  seized  by  Ham  McCully 
At  Monon  once  upon  a  time. 

That  is  to  say;Mie  will  preside 
With  easy  grace  and  modest  pride, 
And  keenly  watch  lest  someone  hide 
A  flask  or  two  unlawfully. 

The  while  our  jolly  P.  M.  Bunnell 
Will  ply  the  hammer,  corkscrew,  funnel, 
And  send  the  stuff  off  down  the  runnell 
To  mingle  with  the  sewerage. 

See  Trig  and  Goodwin,  Armentrout, 
Babb,  Bushnell,  Lear,  all  crowd  about, 
With  lots  of  others;  hear  them  shout, 
"Oh,  what  a  shame!"  in  harmony. 

And  what  a  fragrance  fills  our  noses; 
Oh,  how  estatic!  Holy  Moses! 
Small  wonder!  for  the  stuff  is  Rose's, 
The  gay  and  festive  Samuel's. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

-      ■    .  •      "MOVING  PICTURES" 

This  chapter  is  composed  of  a  series  of  miscellaneous  articles,  includ- 
ing reminiscences,  incidents  and  a  variety  of  subjects  difficult  to  class- 
ify. But  it  often  happens,  as  in  this  instance,  that  matters  which  do 
not  materially  fall  under  any  distinct  class  are  therefore  the  more 
unique  and  readable.  The  editor  submits  this  chapter  with  pleasure, 
because  he  believes  it  will  be  much  enjoyed  by  both  old,  young  and  the 
middle-aged,  as  there  is  something  in  it  to  suit  all  palates. 

/  -  ' 

The  Monticello  Public  Library 

The  following  verses  by  Miss  Nora  G.  Gardner  are  self-explanatory : 

Where  the  early  settler  lingered, 

Sometimes  pitched  his  tent  and  stayed,.     -» 

Now  the  bluff  is  domed  and  steepled 
With  the  city  he  has  made. 


\ 


But  the  white  man,  in  his  wisdom, 

Has  left  much  to  nature  *s  care ; 
Fair  has  Mother  Nature  made  it, 

So  we  built  our  temple  there. 

From  the  tiny  porch,  high  swinging,     .. 

View  the  temple 's  hall  of  art, 
Whose  wild  beauty  and  whose  grandeur 

Fill  with  rapture  every  heart. 

And  the  work  within  the  temple, 

It  is  simple,  it  is  clear; 
All  have  caught  the  donor's  meaning, 

How  it  should  his  name  endear. 

Great  Railroad  Disaster,  July  17,  1878 

At  the  noon  hour  of  the  above  date  the  west  span  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  bridge  at  Monticello  fell  with  a  crash  that  could  be  heard  for 
miles,  carrying  with  the  wreck"  twenty-five  cars.  All  of  the  cars  were 
wrecked  except  the  caboose,  and  the  engine  and  tender  were  included  in 
the  debris.  It  took  100  men  nearly  a  week  to  clear  away  the  wreckage. 
The  engineer  was  killed  and  the  fireman  had  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
escapes  recorded  in  railroad  history; 
■    The  story  of  the  casualty  is  told  by  the  Monticello  Herald  in  its  issue 

395 

"  '     '  •""• ' -  i -■■        ■    ■  i 


■■•■-- 


396 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


of  Thursday,  July  25,  1878,  the  following  items,  taken  from  its  lileN 
covering  the  substantial  points:  "The  number  of  cars  that  went  down 
was  25,  18  of  which  were  loaded  with  grain,  one  with  furniture  and  the 
remainder  with  empty  flats. 

"The  engineer's  body  was  recovered  only  Thursday  morning,  nfter  an 
all  night's  search.-  The  marks  on  it  indicated  that  the  unfortunate  mini 
must  have  been  killed  in  the  fall,  though  the  disfiguration  was  not  near 
as  great  as  in  the  case  of  the  watchman.  After  the  coroner's  inquest  the 
corpse  was  taken  to  Logansport,  where  deceased  resided,  and  thence  to 
Chicago,  where  it  was  interred.  It  was  Beam's  intention  to  quit  the  road 
and  go  onto  a  farm  and  he  was  making  his  last  trip  for  that  purpo.se. 
He  left  a  wife  and  two  children. 

"It  required  the  force  of  100  men  and  two  engines  to  remove  the 
debris  so  that  the  bridge  builders  could  commence  operations,  and  it 
took  them  three  days  to  do  it. 

"The  watch  of  Louis  Beam,,  the  engineer  killed  in  the  accident,  was 
found  in  the  wreck  hanging  on  its  accustomed  nail  in  the  cab.  The  watch 
was  not  only  ticking,  but  indicated  the  correct  time  of  day  and  was 
entirely  uninjured. 

"The  little  daughter  of  conductor  Ricjdell  had  been  promised  a  ride 
on  the  engine  after  the  train  reached  Monticello,  but  fortunately  she 
forgot  all  about  it  and  remained  in  the  caboose. 

"The  escape  of  Ed  Laing  of  this  place,  the  fireman  on  the  ill-fated 
engine,  is  almost  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  railroad  accidents.  Stand- 
ing on  the  same  engine  with  Beam  and  Durfee,  who  were  both  killed, 
he  went  down  in  the  crash  a  distance  of  75  feet,  with  no  opportunity  to 
jump,  and  was  found  alive  and  but  slightly  injured  beneath  the  wreck. 
He  frankly  says  he  doesn't  know  how  he  was  saved.  ; 

"At  the  coroner's  inquest  Thursday  several  railroad  experts  were 
examined  as  to  the  cause  of,  its  giving  way. 

"The  first,  witness  called  was  J.  Zecker,  road  master  and  superin- 
tendent of  bridges  on  west  half  of  third  division,  who  testified  as  fol- 
lows: 'Have  been  superintendent  for  ten  months,  west  span  has  been 
built  six  years.  The  bridge  is  the  Howe  truss,  built  of  pine,  three  breat 
rods,  and  considered  the  safest  and  best  length  from  65  to  68  feet 
high.  *  *  *  My  opinion  is  that  the  car  went  off  the  track  by  some 
cause,  either  by  rail  spreading  or  brake  beam  coming  down.  If  a  car 
is  loaded  it  is  liable  to  brake  at  any  span.  There  are  marks  on  the  ties 
to  show  that  a  car  or  cars  were  off  the  track.  There  was  no  safety  track 
on  the 'inside,  but  a  guard  rail  on  the  outside.  Safety  tracks  on  inside 
are  not  considered  any  better.  Last  examined  the  bridge  on  the  8th 
or  9th  of  July,  1878.  Local  going  west  pn  17th  inst.  stopped  on  west 
end  of  span  that  went  down.  Gave  orders  for  trains  to  go  slowly  over 
the  bridge  on  the  17th  and  prior  to  that  date.' 

"C.  Riddell,  conductor  train  No.  13,  received  orders  from  J.  V. 
Vinson,  agent,  oh  17th  to  run  all  trains  slow. 

"J,  Becker* of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  civil  and  chief  engineer  of  the  P.  C. 
&  St.  L.  Bg.  Co.,  said :    '  I  wrote  the  specifications  and  made  the  contract 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  397 

for  the  building  of  the  three  western  spans  of  the  bridge  over  the  Tip- 
pecanoe river  and  superintended  its  construction  and  its  erection.  The 
contract  was  made  July,  1871,  and  the  bridge  was  constructed  imme- 
diately afterwards,  the  western  span  being  the  last  one  erected.  The 
bridge  was  built  by  J.  K.  Miller  &  Co.  of  Steubenville,  Ohio,  of  Allegheny 
white  pine,  with  oaken  keys  and  clamps,  and  of  a  superior  quality  of 
iron,  furnished  by  a  Pittsburg  firm  whose  material  we  have  frequently 
tested  and  always  found  of  a  very  superior  character.  The  timber  for 
the  bridge,  like  the  timber  of  every  other  bridge  that  I  ever  built,  and 
I  have  built  several  hundreds  of  them,  was  rather  green,  at  least  it  was 
what  might  be  called  not  seasoned. 

"  'It  was  framed  at  Steubenville,  0.,  and  shipped  from  that  place  to 
this  for  erection.  The  railroad  is  to  use  green  timber  in  their  bridges. 
No  doubt  perfectly  seasoned  timber  would  be  preferable  and  if  properly 
protected  is  undoubtedly  more  durable,  but  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  procure  seasoned  timber  for  bridges.  The  bridge  was  painted  shortly 
after  its  erection,  which  was  probably  from  four  to  five  months  after  the 
timber  was  sawed  and  planed.  I  think  that  the  complete  painting  of 
green  timber  without  permitting  it  to  dry  out,  would  hasten  the  decay, 
leaving  the  spaces  between  the  different  chord  pieces  and  the.  entire 
lower  surface  of  both  chords  unpainted  for  the  'purpose  of  drying  out 
the  entire  moisture. 

"  'I  never  made  a  report  to  the  P.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  Co.  relative 
to  the  condition  of  the  bridge  since  its  erection  in  1871,  my  duties  being 
simply  that  of  engineer  of  new  construction  work,  the  mending  and 
repairs  of  all  structures  after  their  completion  being  placed  in  charge 
of  the  division  superintendent.  I  have  looked  at  the  bridge  and  can  not 
conceive  any  cause  for  its  destruction  unless  it  was  done  by  the  sudden 
concussion  of  some  vital  parts  or  by  a  derailed  car  or  misplaced  rails. 

"  'The  dimensions  of  the  structure,  I  consider  ample  for  all  require- 
ments and  the  age  of  the  bridge  could  not  yet  have  impaired  its  efficiency. 
Heat  may  have  caused  it.' 

"We,  the  coroner's  jury,  sworn  to  enquire  into  and  ascertain  the 
cause- of  the  death  of  Louis  Beam  and'  Jerome  Durfee,  after  viewing  the 
bodies  and  having  heard  evidence  and  made  inquiry  do  find  that  on  the 
17th  of  July,  1878,  while  local  freight  train  No.  13  going  east  with 
engine,  tender  and  twenty  loaded  cars  were  passing  over  the  Pittsburgh, 
Cincinnati  and  Saint  Louis  Railroad  bridge  across  the  Tippecanoe  river 
at  Monticello,  White.  County,  Indiana,  said  engine,  tender  and  cars  by 
reason  of  west  span  of  said  bridge  breaking  were  precipitated  into  the 
Tippecanoe  river  causing. death  of.  said  Louis  Beam  and  Jerome  Durfee. 

"Wm.  Spencer,  Foreman;  Robert  Clark,  Henry  Snyder,  James  H. 
McCollum,  James  A.  McConahay  and  F.  M.  Mullendore." 

The  Great  Murder  Trial 

The  Cantwell-Dayton  murder  trial  is  and  always  will  be  an  interest- 
ing incident  in  White  County  history.  Alfred  L.  Cantwell  and  Spencer 
J.  Dayton,  two  laborers,  and  brothers-in-law,  were  given  a  life  sentence 


398 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


for  the  murder  of  David  Jones,  who  was  shot  in  the  breast  and  instantly 
killed.  The  shooting  took  place  in  Tippecanoe  County,  November  11, 
1849,  but  the  body  was  found  in  a  pond  within  the  border  of  Whito 
County.  The  defendants  were  indicted  April  24,  1850,  Joseph  Phillips 
being  foreman  of  the  grand  jury.  The  trial  took  place  in  the  fall  and 
on  October  28,  1850,  the.  following  verdict  was  returned: 

"We,  the  jury,  find  the  defendants  Alfred  L.  Cantwell  and  Spencer 
J.  Dayton,  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  degree  as  charged  in  the  indict- 
ment and  affix  their  punishment  in  the  State's  prison  at  hard  labor, 
during  their  natural  lives.  Joshua  Lindsay,  Foreman. 


< 


Old  George  A.  Spencer  Home 

The  oldest  and  most  historic  building  in  White  County,  five  miles  southwest  of 
Monticello.  Built  of  hewil  logs  about  1830,  now  boarded  up.  The  large  opening 
shown  is  where  the  fireplace  and  chimney  stood,  remains  of  fireplace  shown  in 
front  of  opening.  Building  16  by  20  feet.  In  this  building  White  County  was 
organized  September  5,'  1834,  and  courts  were  held  here  for  almost  two  years. 
Now  owned  by  Elwood  G.  Wilson,  Esq.,  of  Logansport,  Indiana,  and  used  as  a 
storage  room. 


"The  jury  in  submitting  the  above  verdict  deem  it  fit  to  say  that  they 
are  not  opposed  to  the  infliction  of  capital  punishment  on  principle  but 
believe  the  ends  of  government  generally  demand  it  for  murder  in  the 
first  degree.  In  this  opinion  all  the  members  of  the  jury  except  two  con- 
cur, but  in  consideration  of  the  wrongs  done  Cantwell,  and  the  youth 
of  Dayton,  they  have  preferred  the  mode  of  punishment  put  down  in 
the  above  verdict." 

The  wrong  done  Cantwell  to  which  the  jury  referred  was  this:    The 
evidence  showed  that  Jones,  who  was  killed,  had  arranged  to  elope  with 
Cantwell 's  wife, .and  the  latter,  learning  of  this,  had  met  Jones  while 
he  was  waiting  for  Mrs.  Cantwell,  and  at  this  meeting  the  shooting  took  , 
place.    Prior  to  the  trial  the  prisoners,  with  Mrs.  Cantwell,  were  for  a 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  399 

short  time  confined  in  the  jail  at  Delphi,  hut  when  the  trial  hegan  all 
were  brought  to  Monticello  and  placed  in  the  old  log  jail  which  stood 
on  the  east  side  of  Illinois  Street  just  north  of  Marion  Street.  One 
morning  during  the  progress  of  the  trial,  and  after  the  prisoners  had 
been  taken  to  the  courtroom,  this  old  jail  was  found  to  be  in  flames, 
having  doubtless  been  set  on  fire  by  the  prisoners.  It  was  but  a  small 
loss  to  the  county. 

Of  the  twenty-seven  witnesses  subpoenaed  by  the  state  in  this  case 
not  one  survives.  So  much  from  the  record.  Many  traditions  are  nar- 
rated as  to  Dayton,  but  it  is  likely  he  died  in  prison  of  tuberculosis.  As 
to  Alfred  L.  Cantwell,  he  was  pardoned  by  the  governor  about  1861, 
enlisted  in  Company  F,  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  in  the 
battle  of  Antietam,  September  17,  1862,  was  mortally  wounded,  but  the 
date  of  his  death  is  not  known.  In  this  company  were  Enoch  G. 
Boicourt,  Joshua  Bunnell,  Robert  Gregory,  John  Ream,  Samuel  Reed 
Vinson,  Henry  Van  Voorst  and  other  formerly  well-known  White  County 
soldiers.  It  was  the  first  noted  trial  of  such  a  character  in  White 
County.  Isaac  Naylor  was  the  presiding  judge;  William  Potter,  prose- 
cuting attorney;  Ranson  McConahay,  clerk;  and  Pratt  &  Reyburn,  attor- 
neys for  the  defendants.  The  members  of  the  grand  jury  that  returned 
the  indictment  were  William  Turner,  Newton  Tedford,  Joseph  Bostiek, 
Walker  Graham,  Alexander  Briggs,  Charles  W.  Kendall,  Joseph  Phil- 
lips, Thomas  Sleeth,  Jacob  Graves,  James  K.  Woods,  Jonathan  Oats,  John 
C.  Hughes,  Thomas  Wickham,  William  W.  Mitchell  and  Jasel  Fisher. 
They  were  under  the  charge  of  Loren  Cutler,  a  sworn  bailiff. 

The  jury  that  heard  the  case  and  returned  the  verdict  was  composed 
of  the  following  members:  Okey  S.  Johnson,  Joshua  Lindsay,  Amos 
Cooper,  Alexander  Miller,  Isaac  Davis,  Peter  Bishop,  Christopher  Itskin, 
Thomas  W.  Redding,  Moses  S.  Barr,  Asa  Huff,  Adam  Hornback  and 
Zebulon  Sheetz. 

.     These  names  call  to  mind  many  of  our  oldest  and  most  respected 
families.    All  have  passed  away,  Mr.  Turner,  father  of  John  M.  Turner, 


Mrs.  Miranda  J.  Reynolds'  Reminiscences 


From  a  paper  read  by  Mrs.  Miranda  J.  Reynolds,  at  the  old  settlers' 
meeting  at  Monticello,  August  26,  1893,  as  published  in  the  Herald  of 
August  31,  1893,  we  extract  the  following: 

"Wm.  Sill  located  in  what  is  now  Monticello,  erecting  the  first  house 
in  the  town  on  lot  No.  1  (s.  w.  cor.  Marion  and  Bluff  streets),  which  is 
near  Martin  Witz's  present  house.  It  was  a  cabin  which  we  moved  into, 
without  doors  or  windows  and  a  puncheon  floor.  In  those  days  the 
latch-string  was  always  out.  Our  house  was  the  stopping  place  for  all 
the.  settlers  in  the  county.  The  Indians  were  all  around  us  and  often 
slept  on  the  floor  before  the  fire.  Peter  Price  was  our  nearest  neighbor. 
In  1834  or  1835  there  were  several  families  moved  here.  One  was  Mrs. 
Reese,  a  widow  lady  with  several  daughters  and  sons. 

•  "We  were  without  religious  organizations  of  any  kind,  but  Mrs.  Reese 


400  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

said  we  must  have  a  Sunday  school.  She  and  Mr.  Sherwood  invited  all 
the  children  to  meet  them  on  Sunday  in  a  new  house  that  was  being 
built  and  bring  their  books.  We  all  weut  and  took  our  Webster  spelling 
book.  Of  course  we,  had  a  Bible  and  "Watt's  hymns,  but  no  books  for 
children.  About  this  time  there  were  several  families  moved  here  from 
Virginia — Father  Sheetz  and  family,  the  Johnsons  and  a  large  family  of 
Reeses.  They  were  all  Presbyterians.  In  1836  a  church  was  organized 
consisting  of  Zebulon  Sheetz  and  wife,  mother  and  son,  John  Reese  and 
wife,  mother  and  sister,  and  Jonathan  Harbolt.  Mr.  Sheetz  and  John 
Wilson  was  the  first  elders.  Father  Williamson  was  the  first  minister. 
We  had  Baptist  and  Methodist  preaching  also.  The  services  were  all 
held  in  the  school  house  and  we  frequently  had  a  sermon  from  local 
preachers  who  were  'homemade'  men.  On  one  occasion  one  of  these  was 
preaching  for  us  and  after  he  had  preached  two  hours  a  crusty  old 
bachelor  thought  he  would  roast  him  out,  but  he  took  off  his  coat  and 
preached  two  hours  longer. 

"Abraham  Sneathen,  another  preacher,  deserves  more  than  a  passing - 
notice.  He  lived  in  Liberty  Township,  but  we  often  went  to  hear  him  a 
preach.  I  attended  a  revival  service  conducted  by  him.  He  wore  a  blue 
calico  shirt  and  was  barefooted.  After  talking  awhile  he  rolled  up.  his 
pants  and  started  for  the  river  singing,  'Am  I  a  Soldier  of  the  Cross?' 
the  congregation  following,  where  he  baptized  several  converts  by  immer- 
sion. Grandfather  Tilton  used  to  amuse  us  young  folks  very  much  by 
asking  the  Lord  to  'rim-rack  and  center  shake'  the  sinners  when  he 
prayed  at  camp-meetings.     *     *     * 

"I  must  say  a  word  for  the  dear  mothers  of  our  town,  Mothers 
Sheetz,  Price,  Barkley,  Tilton,  Hull,  Sdl  and  a  host  of  others  ever  ready 
in  sickness  with  their  healing  salves  and  sweating  herbs,  spending  whole 
nights  caring  for  their  neighbors.  Often  have  Mothers  Sheetz  and  Sill 
ridden  miles  on  horseback  to  carry  some  tried  remedies  to  suffering  oneSj 
called  by  physicians  of  our  day  'old  women's  remedies,'  but  how  wel- 
come to  the  suffering  homesick  frontier  women.  These  have  all  passed 
away,  but  their  work  so  nobly  commenced  is  being  carried  on  oy  the 
sons  and  daughters,  which  is  proven  by  the  fine  farms,  splendid  church 
buildings,  the  schoolhouses  in  every  township,  the  manufactures  of  all 
kinds,  the  gravel  roads,  ditches  and  all  the  improvements.  This  is  mar- 
velous to  one  who  has  lived  here  sixty  years  and  seen  the  progress. 

"Our  first  physician  was  Doctor  Rifenbarrick.  He  was  a  rough 
specimen  as  he  traveled  miles  and  miles  on  horseback.  His  medicine 
case  was  a  pair  of  old  fashioned  saddlebags.  He  would  walk  up  to  the 
bed  and  look  at  his  patient,  then  go  over  to  the  table,  put  out  a  spoon- 
ful of  calomel  and  jalap  and  apply  a  fly  blister.  This  was  his  prescrip- 
tion for  all  diseases.  Such  heroic  treatment  would  not  be  appreciated 
in  these  days. 

"The  three  first  general  stores  were  situated  as  follows:  Mr.  Orwig 
of  Delphi  had  a  store  where  A.  R.  Bennett  now  lives  (southwest  corner 
Bluff  and  East  Broadway).  Wm.  Sill  had  one  where  the  Lear  Hotel  is 
(east  side  Main  Street,  opposite  courthouse),  and  Isaac  Reynolds  one, 
near  where  S.  A.  Carson  now  lives  (east  side  of  Main  Street  south  of 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  401 

Harrison).  These  stores  contained  all  the  general  supplies  for  which 
the  Indians  used  to  exchange  venison  and  game  of  all  kinds,  cranberries, 
maple  sugar,  etc. 

' '  Our  first  school  was  taught  in  a  small  frame  house  on  the  lot  where 
A.  R.  Bennett  now  lives,  the  house  that  was  built  by  Mr.  Orwig  for  his 
store.  It  was  taught  by  Mr.  Gillam  of  Carroll  County.  Our  books  were 
Webster's  Speller  and  the  old  English  reader.  The  furnishing  of  the 
schoolroom  is  beyond  description. 

"Our  amusements  consisted  of  sleighriding  in  bobsleds,  horseback 
riding,  picnics,  etc.  One  merry  huckleberry  picnic  I  remember  dis- 
tinctly.   Our  conveyance  was  a  log  sled  drawn  by  oxen. ' ' 

Mrs.  Reynolds  was  a  daughter  of  William  Sill  and  has  since  gone 
to  her  reward,  but  the  above  graphic  picture  of  early  days  in  Monticello, 
is  well  drawn  and  deserves  to  be  remembered.  It  is  an  authentic  account 
of  her  early  girlhood  and  no  one  is  now  living  who  can  recall  those  scenes. 


Interview  With  Mrs.  Harriet  Baum 


?cene 

/ 


Prom  an  interview  with  Mrs.  Harriet  Baum,  published  in  the  Monti- 
cello  Herald  of  November  28,  1895,  she  gives  a  brief  statement  of  her 
experiences  in  Monticello  in  1832,  and  subsequent  years.  She  recalls 
the  time  when  the  land  now  occupied  by  Monticello  did  not  contain  a 
single  house.  Mrs.  Baum  and  her  husband  came  here  directly  after  their 
marriage  and  located  in  what  was  then  known  as  Walnut  Grove,  a  few 
miles  southwest  of  town.  Uncle  John  Roberts  was  the  nearest  neighbor 
and  the  other  settlers  in  the  country  were  Peter  Price,  Benjamin 
Spencer,  John  Rothrock,  Mahlon  Fraser,  Sr.,  Benjamin  Reynolds,  Judge 
Barnes  and  Jerry  Bisher.  Wm.  Miller  Kenton,  son  of  Simon  Kenton, 
of  Indian  fighting  fame,  came  soon  afterward,  and  located  on  a  farm 
adjoining  the  Roberts  farm.  Mr.  Baum  had  worked  for  Mr.  Roberts 
before  he  married  and  the  year  before  his  marriage  occurred  the  ' '  Black 
Hawk  Indian  scare,"  which  is  one  of  the  earliest  traditions  of  White 
County.  The  Indians  were  reported  to  be  on  the  warpath  headed  for 
the  new  settlement,  and  several  families  made  tracks  for  civilization, 
some  to  the  Barr  Settlement  near  Battle  Ground  and  others  to  Delphi. 
Mr.  Baum  then  being  a  single  man,  "would  not  run  but  stood  his  ground 
and  cocked  his  gun."  But  the  Indian  raid  proved  to  be  a  false  alarm 
and  the  settlers  soon  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  first  thing  the  Baums  did  after  their  marriage  was  to  build  a 
home.  It  was  a  cabin  of  round  logs  16  by  18  feet,  with  one  room  and  a- 
chimney  of  sticks  and  clay.  The  aristocratic  settler  like  Mr.  Roberts 
was  able  to  build  a  home  of  hewed  logs  and  it  was  not  many  years  until 
the  Baums  were  able  to  revel  in  the  same  luxury  and  they  moved  into 
their  new  home  of  a  hewed  log  house  of  two  rooms. 

John  Roberts  about  1842  built  the  brick  house  now  occupied  by  his 
grandson,  Robert  E.  Roberts,  on  the  new  stone  road.  It  was  one  of  the 
first,  if  not  the  very  first,  brick  houses  built  in  the  county.  Mrs.  Baum 
well  remembered  the  first  house  built  in  Monticello.    It  was  built  by  Wil- 

Vol.T    -26  ...    f'^iJiMi 


! 


402  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

liain  Sill  on  lot  1  (the  southwest  corner  of  Bluff  and  Marion  streets). 
Other  houses  soon  appeared,  among  the  first  being  a  log  tavern  of  two 
rooms  built  by  Rowland  Hughes.  One  of  Mrs.  Baum's  earliest  recollec- 
tions is  seeing  the  Indians  pass  by  her  house  on  their  way  to  Winamao 
to  get  the  money  for  their  lands.  They  traveled  in  single  file  with 
ponies,  squaws  and  papooses,  but  on  their  return  they  scattered  in 
squads.  They  had  stopped  in  Monticello  to  imbibe  firewater  and  had 
forgotten  their  habits. 

Mrs.  Baum's  husband  died  and  she  later  became  the  wife  of  Abram 
Hanawalt;  both  are  now  dead  and  the  twenty  years  since  this  interview 
was  held  have  sufficed  to  remove  from  our  midst  the  last  of  the  first 
settlers. 

Seventeen-Year  Locusts 

Probably  the  most  peculiar  and  interesting  insect  of  the  cicada  fam- 
ily is  the  seventeen-year  locust,  so-called  because  of  its  periodic  visits 
every  seventeen  years.  Individually  it  gives  out  a  peculiar  rasping 
sound  which  the  vivid  imagination  of  the  hearer  easily  converts  into  a 
long-drawn-out  Pha-ra-oh,  which  when  once  heard  is  never  forgotten. 
Millions  of  fcfcj&m  united  produce  a  continuous  droning  easily  heard  for  a 
distance  of  a  half  mile. 

The  writer's  first  recollection  of  the  brood  which  infests  White  and 
Carroll  counties,  and  a  portion  of  Cass  and  Clinton,  was  in  1868,  when 
they  came  up  from  the  ground  by  the  millions,  covering  the  shrubbery 
and  small  twigs  of  the  lower  branches  of  trees  almost  as  closely  as  a 
swarm  of  bees.  They  appeared  again  in  diminished  numbers  in  1885 ; 
and  again  in  1902,  still  fewer  in  number.  This  brood  is  due  again  in 
1919;  and  again,  if  not  extinct,  in  1936.  Watch  for  them  in  the  timber 
along  the  Tippecanoe. 

Monticello 's  Early  Bands 

An  old  subscription  paper  on  which  was  subscribed  the  money  to 
buy  the  instruments  for  the  first  brass  band  organized  in  Monticello, 
was  placed  in  the  archives  of  the  Old  Settlers  Association  in  December, 
1879.  .  It  bears  no  date  but  it  was  doubtless  about  the  year  1848.  The 
amounts  subscribed  total  $48.50,  most  of  which  is  marked  "paid,"  and 
opposite  the  amounts  paid  is  shown  the  kind  of  currency  in  which  it 
was  paid,  for  instance,  "Chas.  Dodge,  $2.00,  Paid,  State  Bank  of  Ohio." 
On  the  back  of  this  paper  appears  the  names  of  the  members  of 
this  band,  as  follows :  R.  A.  Spencer,.  R.  W.  Sill,  Chas.  Dodge,  John  R. 
Willey,  Wm.  Braught,  M.  A.  Berkey,  W.  Rifenberrick,  Zachariah  Van 
Buskirk  and  Orlando  McConahay.  All  these  are  now  dead  and  our 
first  band  is  forgotten. 

Another  band  was  organized  in  Monticello  in  1852,  the  horns  being 
the  old-fashioned  brass  instruments.  Dr.  Robert  Spencer  was  the  leader, 
his  instrument  being  a  clarionet.    Other  members  were  the  Doctor's  two 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  403 

sons,  William  and  James,  the  former  playing  a  cornet  and  James  an 
alto.  Alfred  Reed,  afterward  a  colonel  in  the  Civil  war  and  judge  of 
the  county  court,  also  played  a  cornet ;  Zachariah  Van  Buskirk,  second 
clarionet;  John  R.  Willy,  James  K.  Lynch  and  Thompson  Crose,  alto 
horns;  David  K.  Ream,  bas<  drum,  and  William  II.  Parcells,  tenor  drum. 
The  leader  of  the  band  copied  all  the  different  parts  of  the  music  with 
a  quill  pen.  This  primitive  band  was  succeeded  later  by  the  Monticello 
Silver  Cornet  Band,  composed  of  Drs.  Robert  and  William  Spencer, 
Daniel  D.  and  Oliver  Dale,  James  G.  Staley,  Watson  Brown,  and  others, 
many  of  whom  enlisted  as  a  regimental  band  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war. 

Big  Ice  Gorge 

The  highest  flood  and  heaviest  ice  gorge  ever  seen  in  the  Tippecanoe 
at  Monticello  occurred  February  29,  1904.  The  long,  cold  winter  had 
frozen  the  ice  to  an  unusual  thickness.  This  heavy  ice  was  broken  up 
by  a  flood  in  January,  but  most  of  it  lodged  on  the  river  bed  and  on 
the  banks  between  Monticello  and  the  river's  mouth.  The  weather  again 
turned  cold  and  the  slush  ice  ran  thickly  ,and  was  wedged  and  packed 
in  the  river  for  several  miles  above,  to  be  frozen  solid  by  a  low  tempera- 
ture lasting  well  into  February.  Heavy  rain  began  falling  Sunday 
night,  February  28th,  and  by  Monday  evening  the  ice  formed  a  gorge 
near  Norway,  destroying  the  Norway  bridge  and  carrying  the  west 
span  away  bodily.  About  eight  o'clock  this  portion  of  the  ice  mass 
reached  Monticello,  threatening  the  destruction  of  the  large  iron  bridge 
spanning  the  river  at  this  point.  The  formation  of  a  second  gorge  at 
the  islands  below  the  city  checked  the  onflow,  the  ice  rose  to  within 
three  feet  of  the  bridge  floor  and  the  threatening  bridge  span  from  Nor- 
way came  to  a  halt  some  two  hundred  feet  above  the  Monticello  bridge, 
where  it  remained  until  the  subsidence  of  the  waters  dropped  it  to 
the  river 'bed,  where  most  of  it  still  remains.  The  scene  next  morn- 
ing was  one  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  waterworks  plant  and  the 
Barnes  electric  light  plant  north  of  it  were  flooded  as  high  as  the  win- 
dows, while  from  bluff  to  bluff  the  entire  bottom  lands  were  covered. 
Only  the  tops  of  two  houses  on  the  flat  under  the  railroad  bridge  showed 
above  the  surrounding  ice. 


Mitchell  Powder  Explosion 

In  1904  a  man  named  James  C.  Mitchell  obtained  a  patent  on  a 
smokeless  powder,  and  a  local  company  was  formed  for  its  manufac- 
ture. Nothing,  however,  ever  came  of  it  except  the  serious  maiming  of 
the  inventor.  December  14,  1904,  while  grinding  some  of  the  powder  in 
his  laboratory  in  Reynolds  an  explosion  occurred.  Mitchell's  left  hand 
and  arm  were  blown  off,  his  right  mangled  so  that  only  two  fingers  were 
saved;  the  great  toe  on  one  foot  blown  off,  the  flesh  on  his  ley  badly  torn, 
one  bone  in  his  right  arm  broken  and  both  eyes  destroyed.    Altogether 


404  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

be  was  about  tbe  most  complete  wreck  of  a  man  tbat  ever  lived  through 
an  accident.  He  got  well  and,  though  totally  blind,  afterward  made 
two  trips  to  Scotland  in  the  interest  of  his  invention. 

Jump  From  Courthouse  Tower 

The  star  attraction  at  a  "  corn  festival, ' '  or  street  fair,  held  in  Mon- 
ticello  the  week  of  October  3  to  8,  1904,  was  a  high  dive  from  the  court- 
house tower  into  a  net,  by  a  young  man  named  Archie  Robbins.  The 
"dive"  was  made  from  one  of  the  upper  windows  on  the  east  side  of 
the  tower  into  a  net  stretched  over  the  cement  walk  nearly  one  hundred 
feet,  below.  He  shot  down  like  a  rocket,  struck  the  net  squarely  in  the 
center,  going  through  it  as  if  it  were  tissue  paper.  The  foolhardy  leap 
was  witnessed  by  a  large  crowd  of  people.  Instant  death  was  averted 
by  a  pile  of  loose  straw  which  the  management  had  placed  under  the 
net  as  a  precaution.  His  spine  was  fractured  and  his  lower  limbs  para- 
lyzed. He  was  removed  to  the  house  of  his  father  in  Hartford  City, 
Indiana,  where  he  died  some  weeks  later. 

A  Pioneer  Letter  ** 

In  the  White  County  Democrat  of  February  9,  1900,  was  published 
a  letter  written  by  Martha  Rees,  dated  "Monticello,  White  County, 
Indiana,  Dec.  20,  1835,"  addressed  to  her  aunt,  Susan'  Rees,  Sheets' 
Mill,  Virginia.  The  Reeses  had  arrived  in  White  County  on  November 
17,  1835,  and  Martha  was  writing  the  old  home  folks  her  first  impres- 
sions of  the  new  home.    She  says: 

"We  bought  a  lot  in  town  and  expect  to  get  a  house  built  against 
spring.  We  have  got  our  logs  hauled  for  the  house.  We  live  in  about 
•two  miles  of  town.  Our  town  improves  very  fast.  Last  spring  there 
was  only  one  house  in  the  place,  and  that  was  built  for  a  stable.  Now 
there  are  six  dwelling  houses,  and  against  this  time  next  year  it  is 
supposed  there  will  be  upwards  of  twelve  dwelling  houses.  I  heard  the 
first  sermon  preached  in  town  that  ever  was  preached  there  a  few  days 
ago.  There  will  be  regular  preaching  there  now.  We  heard  a  Methodist 
preach  about  a  week  ago. 

"Houses  are  generally  very  indifferent  here,  but  it  is  hoped  that 
the  inhabitants  of  this  country  will  take  more  pains  in  making  their 
houses  comfortable.  It  is  a  chance  house  that  is  large  enough  for  to  . 
have  preaching  in.  You  said  that  you  wanted  to  know  what  kind  of  a 
house  we  lived  in.  We  live  in  a  cabin.  We  have  not  as  much  elbow 
room  as  we  should  like  to  have,  but  we  have  to  put  up  with  it.  Our 
house  is  as  good  as  the  houses  are  in  general.  We  can  put  \\p  with  our 
houses  better  than  if  our  land  was  as  your  Virginia  lands  are.  It  is 
delightful  to  look  over  the  prairie.  We  can  sit  in  our  house  and  see  a  . 
hoiise  five  miles  off.  We  live  on  a  ridge  called  'Sandy  Ridge.'  Jonathan 
Johnson  lives  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off.     He  lives  with  Oky.     Uncle 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  405 

James  Parker  lives  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  us.     Uncle  Joshua 
Renker  lives  about  two  miles  from  us." 

The  lot  she  speaks  of  buying  and  having  the  logs  hauled  onto  for 
building  a  house  was  Lot  53  on  the  west  side  of  North  Main  Street, 
where  the  Kiefhaber  residence  and  blacksmith  shop  stood  for  many  years 
afterward,  and  now  occupied  by  the  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  business 
rooms  in  the  brick  block  north  of  Washington  Street.  The  one  lone  house 
mentioned  was  the  residence  of  William  Sill  on  Lot  No.  1,  southwest 
corner  of  Bluff  and  Marion  streets.  The  "Sandy  Ridge"  mentioned 
was  northwest  of  Monticello. 

.  "Spectator"  Items,  1859-61 

On  November  10,  1859,  it  was  announced  that  James  Spencer,  owner 
of  the  Monticello  Spectator,  by  invitation  of  M.  McKachin,  conductor, 
and  Mr.  John,  engineer,  rode  over  the  Pan  Handle  bridge  on  a  carload 
of  iron  and  pronounced  it  good  (the  bridge). 

The  first  train  over  the  T.  L.  and  B.  Railroad  from  Monticello  to 
Middleport  was  noted  on  December  26,  1859. 

Under  date  of  January  11,  -1860,  the  Spectator  announces  that 
"trains  are  now  running  regularly"  and  adds  the  astounding  fact  that 
"w^have  four  trains  passing  this  place  daily,  both  ivays." 

Trom  the  Spectator  of  March  15,  1861 :  "Merchant  Rowland  Hughes 
of  this  place  has  established  a  horse-power  corn  sheller  in  his  ware- 
house, which  shakes  the  cobs  out  of  two  hundred  bushels  of  corn  per 
day  in  a  manner  interesting  to  behold." 

The  First  Judgment  of  the  White  Circuit  Court 

The  first  term  of  the  White  Circuit  Court  was  held  at  the  home  of 
George  A.  Spencer,  in  Big  Creek  Township,  about  five  miles  southwest 
of  Monticello,  on  Friday,  October  17,  1834.  Present  James  Barnes  and 
Thomas  Wilson,  associate  judges.  Both  judges  presented  their  commis- 
sions signed  by  Noah  Noble,  governor,  dated  July  7,  1834,  and  William 
Sill  presented  his  commission  as  clerk,  which  was  also  signed  by  the 
governor  and  dated  July  7,  1834.  These  commissions  were  each  for  a 
term  of  seven  years.  Mr.  Sill  took  the  oath  of  office  before  Aaron  Hicks, 
sheriff,  and  thus  originated  the  White  Circuit  Court.  A  grand  jury 
was  convened  and,  having  heard  witnesses,  returned  one  indictment 
charging  Jeremiah  Bishir  with  malicious  mischief.  It  seems  that  his 
neighbor,  John  Roberts,  owned  a  certain  horse  which  had  broken  into 
the  Bishir  fields.  Mr.  Bishir  had  caught  the  horse  and  tied  to  its  tail  a 
full-sized  clapboard,  the  which  the  said  horse  had  kicked  until  both  tail 
and  clapboard  were  almost  worn  out.  At  the  April  term,  1835,  towit  on 
Friday,  April  17,  1835,  the  case  came  on  for  hearing  when  Mr.  Bishir 
entered  a  plea  of  guilty  and  the  court  fined  him  $5  with  the  costs 
and  ordered  "that  the  said  defendant  do  stand  committed  in  the  custody 
'  of  the  sheriff  of  said  county  for  the  space  of  one  minute."    This  first 


406  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

judgment  violates  the  laws  of  syntax  for  which  it  seems  there  was  no 
penalty,  but  tradition  informs  us  that  the  bystanders  gathered  in  a 
circle  around  the  prisoner  and  for  the  full  space  of  one  minute  he  was 
"it."  At  that  time  there  was  no  jail  in  the  county  or  Mr.  Bishir  would 
have  had  the  honor  of  being  our  lirst  jail  bird. 

Enlargement  of  Public  Square  in  Monticello 

Doubtless  few  people  are  now  living  who  can  recall  the  time  when 
the  public  square,  on  which  is  located  the  courthouse,  comprised  only 
the  east  half  of  what  is  now  occupied  for  that  purpose.  When  the  town 
was  platted  a  street  from  north  to  south  and  forty  feet  wide  extended 
from  Broadway  to  what  is  now  Court  Street,  passing  under  the  west 
end  of  the  present  courthouse.  This  left  the  Square  about  140  by  175 
feet,  but  Court  Street  did  not  extend  to  Illinois  Street.  The  county  com- 
missioners were  asked  to  buy  lots  82,  83  and  84,  lying  west  of  the  court- 
house, and  add  them  to  the  Square.  They  appropriated  $500  for  that 
purpose  and  the  Monticello  Herald  of  July  1,  1865,  printed  a  list  of 
subscribers  who  had  subscribed  and  paid  $1,027  towards  the  purchase 
of  these  lots  making  the  fund  $1,527.  Of  this  amount  the  owners  of 
these  lots  were  paid  as  follows : 

John  W.  Morgan !\  .$   600 

M.  Fraser 800 

Liberty  M.  Burns 125 

Total   $1,525 

Paid  for  deed  and  stamps 2 

Total $1,527 

The  subscription  paper  contains  the  names  of  thirty-nine  subscribers, 
only  four  of  whom  are  yet  living,  namely,  Jeptha  Crouch,  J.  H.  Mc- 
Collum,  Alfred  R,  Orton  and  Capt.  G.  B.  Ward.  Lot  84  was  opened  to 
make  the  west  end  of  Court  Street  and  lots  82  and  83  are  occupied  by 
the  sheriff's  residence  and  jail.  It  seems  strange  to  us  that,  when  this 
land  .cost  but  $1.25  per  acre,  no  larger  space  should  have  been  dedi- 
cated for  a  seat  of  justice,  but  at  the  time  it  was  doubtless  considered 
ample  for  all  time. 

Only  War  Mother  in  White  County 

A  woman  to  whom  all  old  soldiers  pay  especial  honor  is  Mrs.  Mary 
A.  Carr,  of  West  Point  Township,  the  only  living  mother  of  a  Union 
soldier  in  White  County,  who  on  August  7,  1915,  celebrated  her  ninety- 
first  birthday.  She  gave  two  sons  to  the  Union  army,  Walter  Carr,  of 
West  Point  Township,  with  whom  she  lives,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Forty-fourth  Ohio  Infantry  and  S.  B.  Carr,  of  Colburn,  Indiana,  a 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY      .  407 

member  of  the  Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry.  Both  served  for  four 
years  and  left  enviable  records  as  soldiers.  Mrs.  Carr  is  well  preserved, 
her  mind  is  active  and  she  is  greatly  interested  in  the  6.  A.  It.,  the 
members  of  which  are  indebted  to  her  for  many  acts  of  kindness. 

Spiritualism 

During  the  summer  of  1859  the  Democrat  and  Spectator  engaged 
in  a  heated  controversy  on  the  subject  of  "Spiritualism."  The  Spec- 
tator had  been  accused  by  a  republican,  in  a  letter  to  the  Democrat,  of 
advocating  that  cult  and  at  it  they  went.  From  the  files  of  both  these 
papers  we  learn  that  a  Miss  Whoolet  had  given  a  lecture  in  the  old 
court  room  on  "Revelations  and  Manifestations  of  the  Spirit  World," 
which  had  been  attended  by  some  female  from  Burnettsvillc,  who  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  Democrat,  July  10,  1859,  in  which  she  attacked  tbe  editor 
of  the  Spectator  for  his  part  in  the  programme.  This  called  for  a  reply 
by  the  Spectator,  seemingly  in  denial,  and  the  game  was  on  and  it  was 
a  great  game  in  which  argument  gave  way  to  abuse  and  all  had  a  good 
time. 

Were  You  There? 

On  Wednesday  evening,  August  3,  1859,  at  the  courthouse,  the  ladies 
p^jJSie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  Sewing  Society  gave  a  grand  festival. 
The  hand  bills  announcing  the  fact  were  from  the  Democrat  press,  the 
proceeds  were  to  be  used  in  improving  the  church,  arrangements  were 
to  be  made  to  please  the  most  fastidious  taste,  all  the  luxuries  of  the 
•season  were  to  be  served  and  the  admission  fee  was  10  cents.  The  bill 
reads  just  like  a  modern  one.  There  has  been  little  change  in  church 
festivals  in  the  last  half  century. 

Carrier's  Address 

In  the  early  days  of  Monticello  journalism  the  papers  were  delivered 
by  youthful  carriers,  such  as  Jay  B.  Van  Buskirk,  Bowman  and  Samuel 
A.  Rothrock  and  many  other  nice  little  boys.  Their  pay  was  not  very 
liberal  and  they  were  allowed,  at  New  Year  time,  to  distribute  to  their 
patrons  a  hand  bill  on  which  was  printed  a  calendar  for  the  coming 
year  and  with  it  an  alleged  poem  in  which  about  every  body  in  town 
was  given  a  puff  or  a  roast.  These  so  called  poems  make  almost  a  com- 
plete directory  of  the  business  men  of  the  town  and  were  often  amusing. 
The  oldest  one  in  the  archives  of  the  White  County  Historical  Society 
is  the  one  issued  for  1857,  by  the  Political  Frame,  in  which  everybody 
and  everything  is  given  a  genuine  hearty  fling.  It  closes  with  the  follow- 
ing beautiful  sentiment: 

"Thus  on  we  go — but  I  propose 
To  bring  this  message  to  a  close. 
A  happy  New  Year!    For  his  rhyme, 
Pray  give  the  Carrier  Boy  a  dime." 


408  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Removal  of  the  County  Seat 


Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  a  movement  was  launched. 
in  the  western  part  of  White  County,  to  remove  the  seat  of  justice  from 
Monticello  to  Reynolds.  The  idea  had  its  origin  prior  to  the  war  but 
•  during  that  struggle  the  subject  was  permitted  to  occupy  a  rear  seat. 
After  the  war  the  removal  was  freely  agitated,  its  sponsors  urging  the 
change  for  the  reason  that  Reynolds  was  situated  very  near  the  geographi- 
cal  center  of  the  county.  This  suggestion  was  met  with  the  statement 
that  if  the  change  was  made  the  people  of  the  county  would  be  taxed  to 
raise  at  least  $250,000  to  pay  the  lot  owners  of  Monticello  for  their  lots, 
the  title  to  which  would  fail  should  Monticello  cease  to  be  the  permanent 
seat  of  justice  of  the  county.  This  argument  was  based  upon  the  terms 
of  the  grant  by  which  the  county  acquired  title  to  the  lands  on  which 
Monticello  was  located.  As  stated,  at  the  close  -of  the  war  the  subject 
■was  again  agitated,  meetings  were  held  pro  and  con,  the  newspapers  dis- 
cussed the  proposed  change  and  handbills  were  printed  and  circulated 
all  over  the  county  and  for  a  dozen  years  the  question  was  acute.  On 
June  29,  18G7,  a  large  handbill  was  published  and  circulated,  showing 
why  the  removal  should  not  be  made,  and  carefully  stating  the  reasons 
against  such  removal.  This  was  signed  by  Isaac  Reynolds,  Randolph 
Brearley,  Jonathan  Harbolt,  Rowland  Hughes,  Charles  W.  Kendall  and 
John  Roberts.  This  was  not  the  end  of  the  controversy  but  at  last  the 
movement  died,  peace  was  declared  and  the  subject  forgotten. 

/  Old  Time  Journalism  in  White  County 

An  examinaion  of  the  files  of  the  White  County  newspapers  prior  to 
1885  discloses  some  strange  features  in  local  journalism.  In  the  olden 
time  if  two  or  more  individuals  became  involved  in  political,  or  other, 
controversies  they  would  rush  into  print  and  tell  the  truth  about  each 
other  in  a  most  shocking  manner.  After  the  first  article  no  argument 
•  was  ever  used,  the  question  at  issue  was  dropped,  the  words  ' '  thief, ' ' 
'■'liar"  and  many  even  worse  epithets  were  freely  printed  and  the  war 
went  merrily  on  until  both  sides  had  exhausted  their  vocabularies  and 
the  matter  was  dropped;  but  only  for  a  short  time.  In  a  few  months 
another  war  would  be  declared,  perhaps  with  a  different  alignment,  the 
vials  of  wrath  would  be  opened,  innocent  bystanders  would  be  involved, 
the  reputations  of  many  of  our  best  citizens  would  be  attacked  and  the 
casual  observer  would  naturally  expect  to  see  bloodshed  or  even  murder 
before  it  was  ended.  But  none  of  this.  When  they  grew  tired  they 
would  rest  for  a  time,  then  at  it  again.  These  wars  were  confined  to  no 
class  or  profession  but  most  of  them  were  waged  by  local  lawyers  or 
candidates  for  office.  To  read  them  now  is  to  be  amused,  but  perhaps  in 
fifty  years  the  reader  may  get  as  much  enjoyment  in  reading  of  our  way ' 
of  doing  things. 

Another  feature  of  these  old  papers  is  'worthy  of  note.  If  a  man 
died,  no  matter  how  prominent  he  was,  he  was  lucky  to  get  three  lines  in 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  409 

a  local  paper,  but  if  he  belonged  to  some  society,  he  was  good  for  a  half 
column  of  formal  resolutions  which  gave  no  account  of  his  life,  his  work 
or  his  family.  Does  the  reader  ask  what  these  papers  contained?  They 
would  be  given  over  to  news  from  Washington,  speeches  in  Congress  and 
even  whole  pages  from  the  Congressional  Record.  In  what  has  been 
written  no  reflections  are  intended  on  these  pioneer  newspapers.  They 
were  well  printed,  neat  in  appearance  and  published  what  the  people 
wanted  to  read,  but  since  about  1885,'  a  great  change  is  noted. 

The  last  thirty  years  has  been  remarkable  in  journalistic  development. 
It  would  really  repay  any  one  to  read  the  local  papers  published  during 
that  time  just  to  recall  the  wild  schemes  that  have  been  set  atloat. 
Traction  lines  from  no  place  to  no  where  have  been  located  by  wily 
promoters,  life,  accident,  and  fire  insurance  companies  launched  by 
irresponsible  solicitors  from  far  away  cities,  worthless  dining  stocks  have 
been  sold  by  the  wholesale  and  the  work  still  goes  on  its  way.  The  public 
enjoys  such  things  and  is  willing  to  pay  for  it. 

Another  change  is  apparent.  The  old  time  local  paper  had  no  army 
of  correspondents.  If  Betsey  Short  visited  Bud  Means  Sunday,  if  old 
Jack  Means  helped  Bull  catch  a  coon,  or  Squire  Hawkins  assisted  the  hero 
„  of  Lundy's  Lane  to  kill  a  hog,  the  public  remained  in  blissful  ignorance 
of  such  events.  Betsey's  courtship  was  ignored,  Bull  gained  no  publicity 
and  the  poor  hog  met  his  death,  "unwept,  unhonored  and  unsung."  But 
^time  has  changed  all  this.    What  will  the  next  generation  think  of  us  ? 

Mexican  War 

So  far  as  known  the  following  is  a  list  of  all  the  old  Mexican  soldiers 
who  ever  permanently  lived  in  White  County :  Roy  D.  Davidson,  Michael 
Austin,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Conkling  (a  cousin  of  Senator  Conkling's), 
Thomas  Cooper,  John  Wright,  a  Mr.  Penny,  Andrew  Robinson  and 
William  F.  Ford.  These  have  all  passed  away  but  the  descendants  of 
some  of  them  still  live  in  the  county.  Three  men  only  enlisted  from  the 
county,  .William  F.  Ford,  N.  H.  Steel  and  Beveridge  McCormick,  and  all 
went  from  Jackson  Township  and  these,  too,  have  since  died.  Mr.  Mc- 
Cormick died  in  the  service  from  the  loss  of  an  arm. 

.    "  Distillery  in  White  County 

.  Between  1840  and  1850,  an  individual  by  the  name  of  Smith,  living 
about  two  miles  southwest  of  the  present  town  of  Idaville,  procured  a 
"worm"  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  "Mountain  dew."  Shades 
of  the  past!  All  this  in  Jackson  Township.  All  of  its  patrons  have 
passed  beyond  and  Smith  has  gone  to  his  reward.  His  was  doubtless  the 
first  (but  not  the  last)  blind  tiger  in  White  County.  Peace  to  his 
memory. 

Burns  Murder 

In  the  early  spring  of  I860,  one  Burns,  who  came  from  Ohio,  and 
settled  about  two  miles  north  of  Burnettsville,  became  jealous  of  his 


410  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

spouse  and  after  killing  her  committed  suicide.  He  also  attempted  to 
kill  his  child  which  he  declared  to  be  illegitimate.  She  was  interred  in 
the  Winegarner  Cemetery  but  he  was  deuied  Christian  burial  and  his 
grave  is  still  preserved  on  the  old  farm  but  in  a  sadly  dilapidated 
condition. 

Suicide  op  William  Crose 

A  few  of  the  older  citizens  of  Jackson  Township  remember  the  suicide 
of  Mr.  Crose.  He  was  a  quiet,  reserved  man  whose  mind  became 
unsettled  on  the  subject  of  religion  and  about  1855  killed  himself  by 
shooting  about-  two  miles  southwest  of  the  present  town  of  Idaville. 
The  affair  was  a  sad  one  and  for  many  years  the  neighbors  with  bated 
breath  discussed  his  unnatural  act. 

Brummer  Murder  at  Reynolds 

On  July  2,  18G6,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Brummer  who  had  been 
married  about  a  year  and  whose  wife  had  left  him  about  a  month  prior 
to  the  above  date,  met  her  near  Reynolds,  fired  two  shots  at  her  and 
then  turned  the  revolver  on  himself.  This  was  Sunday  about  10  o'clock 
and  he  died  about  2  P.  M.,  while  she  passed  away  at  4.30  P.  M.  of  the 
same  day. 

Murder  of  Richard  M.  Herron  * 

On  Sunday  January  23,  1876,  the  body  of  Richard  M.  Herron,  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  was  found  frozen  in  the  woods  pasture  about 
two  miles  east  of  Monticello  on  the  south  of  the  railroad.  He  had  left 
Idaville  Friday  afternoon,  January  14th,  where  he  had  been  tending 
bar  for  John  (Jack)  Kelly  and  started,  as  was  supposed,  to  Brookston, 
where  his  father  lived.  Search  had  been  made  for  him  for  more  than  a 
week  but  without  success  until  after  he  had  been  dead  for  some  ten 
days.  His  body  was  brought  to  Monticello,  placed  in  the  courthouse 
and  an  inquest  held  by  the  coroner,  Doctor  Henry.  The  inquest  occu- 
pied a  portion  of  three  days,  the  jury  of  twelve  men  returned  a  verdict 
that  deceased  had  come  to  his  death  at  the  hands  of  John,  alias,  Jack 
Kelly.  A  warrant  was  issued  for  his  arrest  and  he  was  committed  to 
jail  Without  bond.  Subsequently  he  was  tried  in  the  White  Circuit 
Court  where  a  jury  found  him  guilty  and  fixed  his  punishment  at  six 
years  in  the  penitentiary;  being  dissatisfied  at  this  he  applied  for  and 
was  granted  a  new  trial,  but  in  this  trial  the  jury  found  him  guilty  and 
gave  him  eighteen  years  and  failing  to  get  another  trial,  he  was  taken  to 
prison.  Kelly  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  when  not  drinking  was 
an  industrious,  peaceable  man,  but  liquor  made  him  a  demon  and  when 
in  his  cups  was  a  terror  to  the  village.  He  had  quit  his  trade  and  was 
keeping  a  saloon  in  the  same  house  in  which  he  lived  with  his  two  little 
girls,  aged  ten  and  thirteen  years,  and  Herron  for  about  a  month  had 
been  a  member  of  the  family.    The  principal  witness  for  the  state  was 


HISTOKY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  411 

one,  John  Toothman,  who  had  succeeded  llcrron  as  bartender  for  Kelly 
and  it  was  largely  on  his  testimony  that  Kelly  was  convicted. 

Drowning  op  Mrs.  Lucinda  IIuguks 

On  May  31,  1863,  Mrs.  Lucinda  Hughes,  wife  of  John  C.  Hughes, 
who  lived  just  east  of  what  is  now  Sitka,  was  drowned  at  the  Hughes 
Ford,  on  the  Tippecanoe  River,  where  now  stands  the  Lowe  bridge. 
With  her  husband  and  two  grandchildren  they  had  been  visiting  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  and  were  returning  to  their  homes.  Mrs. 
Hughes  feared  to  cross  with  her  husband  in  his  buggy  and  was  with 
the  grandchildren  in  a  spring  wagon  when  it  struck  a  rock  and  was 
turned  over.  The  children,  by  holding  to  the  wagon,  were  carried  down 
stream  and  rescued.  Mr.  Hughes,  who  had  crossed  safely,  returned  at 
once  but  the  body  of  Mrs.  Hughes  was  carried  down  the  river  and  was 
found  the  following  day  two  miles  below  the  ford.  She  was  sixty  years 
old  at  her  death  and  held  in  great  esteem  by  all  who  knew  her.  Her 
husband,  John  C.  Hughes,  was  a  brother  of  Rowland  (Pap)  Hughes 
and  died  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  and  both  are  buried  in  the 
old  cemetery  at  Monticello.  Near  their  graves  are  buried  his  parents. 
Ellis  Hughes,  born  December  17,  1776,  died  January  6,  1850,  and  Sarah, 
his  wife,  born  January  25,  1777,  died  Marxh  18,  1857,  in  her  eighty-first 
Aear.  These  dates  carry  us  back  to  the  Revolution.  Near  these  graves 
lie  the  remains  of  Mary  Imes,  mother-in-law  of  "Pap"  Hughes  and  the 
late  Senator  Turpie.  She  died  February  15,  1868,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two. 

Crow  Bounty 

By  an  act  in  force  March  4,  1911,  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  author- 
ized counties  to  pay  a  bounty  of  10  cents  for  each  crow  and  5  cents 
for  each  crow's  egg  killed  or  found  in  the  county  and  the  party  filing 
his  claim  was  obliged  to  make  affidavit  to  the  facts  before  the  county 
auditor  and  produce  the  crow's  heads  and  eggs.  An  appropriation  was 
made  for  this  purpose  by  the  county  council  early  in  1911,  but  at  its 
meeting  on  April  6,  1912,  the  fund  had  been  overdrawn  $116.  At  this 
meeting  a  further  appropriation  of  $300  was  made  for  the  purpose  but 
the  council  suggested  that  the  commissioners  reduce  the  bounty  to  7 
cents  per  crow  and  3  cents  per  egg.  The  auditor  was  obliged  to  cremate 
the  birds  heads  and  eggs  and  one  enterprising  individual  brought  in 
at  one  time  167  crow  heads,  yet  the  erow  continues  to  flourish. 

"     ,      .  Livery  Stable  Burned 

i 
On  the  night  of  October  22, 1873,  a  large  livery  stable  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Washington  and  Illinois  streets,  in  Monticello,  owned  by  Beeson 
Brothers,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Everything  in  the  barn,  including 
nine  head  of  horses,  six  buggies,  grain  and  a  large  quantity  of  hay  was 
consumed.     But  one  horse  was  saved  and  it  was  in  a  bad  condition, 


412  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

having  been  almost  burned  to  death.  The  fire  originated  in  a  defective 
flue  and  the  loss  was  in  excess  of  $6,000,  with  insurance  for  half  that 
amount. 

Southwest  Corner  Main  and  Marion  Streets,  Monticello 

On  this  corner  stands  one  of  the  land  marks  of  Monticello,  the  three 
story  brick  building,  45  by  70  feet,  known  as  the  Reynolds  Block.  The 
White  County  Democrat  of  July  20,  1865,  notes  that  it  was  being  built 
by  the  Messrs.  Reynolds  and  that  the  cellar  is  excavated  and  the  walls 
begun.  It  also  adds,  "the  front  will  be  supported  by  iron  columns." 
This  building  is  yet  one  of  the  principal  business  blocks  of  Monticello 
and  bids  fair  to  stand  another  half  century. 

White  County  in  1847-48 

In  an  article  contributed  to  the  White  County  Democrat  of  Decem- 
ber 16,  1898,  James  Spencer,  who  now  lives  in  Liberty  Township  gives 
some  interesting  history  of  White  County  as  it  was  in  1847-48,  when 
Mr.  Spencer  came  to  this  locality  with  his  parents.  At  that  time  Monti- 
cello contained  less  than  three  dozen  houses,  both  public  and  private. 
He  remembers  the  old  two-story  frame  courthouse,  said  to  have  been 
built  by  his  father  some  years  earlier ;  without  a  yard  of  plaster,  it  had 
been  .ceiled  with  wide  poplar  boards.  This  seat  of  justice  stood  on  the 
east  side  of  Main  Street,  not  far  from  the  present  M.  E.  Church.  (This 
building  was  later  removed  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Har- 
rison streets  and  used  for  a  wagon  shop.  It  is  now  the  office  and  grain 
room  of  the  Southside  feed  barn.)  On  the  present  site  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  stood  tfrw  leading  hotel  of  the  town,  run  by  Jacob  Beck  and 
shortly  afterwards  by  Joseph  Rothrock.  (This  building  was  later  the 
home  of  the  late  Squire  Henry  P.  Bennett,  but  when  the  church  was 
built  it  was  moved  to  the  east  side  of  Main  Street  half  a  block  south 
of  the  South  Side  School  building,  where  it  now  stands.)  The  only 
other  hotel  in  the  town  was  operated  by  Rowland  Hughes  on  the  east 
side  of  Main  Street  in  a  one  and  a  half  story  log  house.  The  only  dry 
goods  store  in  the  town  had  just  been  started  by  Rowland  Hughes,  who 
converted  his  10  by  12  barroom  into  the  limited,  yet  ample,  quarters 
for  the  mercantile  traffic  of  that  day.  Isaac  Reynolds  and  J.  C.  Merriam, 
of  Logansport,  soon  afterward  opened  a  competing  store  in  the  same 
locality.  Daniel  M.  Tilton  had  a  meager  stock  of  groceries  in  the  one 
story  frame  building  which  stood  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and 
Washington  streets  and  James  C.  Reynolds  kept  the  postoffice  in  the 
front  room  of  his  little  harness  shop  which  stood  where  the  State  Bank 
is  now  located. 

There  was  but  one  church  in  the  town,  the  New  School  Presbyterian, 
which  stood  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Presbyterian  Church.' 
This  old  church  was  later  moved  to  the  north  side  of  Court  Street  and 
was  used  as  a  barn  until  the  fall  of  1914,  when  it  was  torn  down  and  a 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  413 

garage  erected  on  its  site.  Rev.  G.  D.  Miller  was  the  only  resident 
pastor,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  people  having  only  a  small  class  with 
occasional  preaching  appointments.  The  writer  of  that  article  calls  to 
mind  William  M. -Bott,  Joseph  and  Mahlon  Fraser,  as  (he  first  earnest 
advocates  of  Bible  Wesleyanism  and  their  earnest  zeal  and  consistent 
daily  walk  and  conversation,  which  had  a  great  influence  in  placing  that 
church  squarely  on  its  feet  in  the  community. 

This-  writer's  father,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Rifenberrick,  were  the  only 
practicing  physicians  in  the  town  as  Dr.  Randolph  Brearley  had  just 
withdrawn  from  the  practice.  Thompson  Crose  and  Amer  S.  McElhoes 
were  the  only  blacksmiths,  but  Jesse  Grim  soon  made  the  sparks  fly  on 
his  own  forge.  Johnson  Rifenberrick  was  the  merchant  tailor,  John 
Maguire  the  dandy  shoemaker  with  old  man  Day  &  Sons  as  super- 
cobblers.  There  were  no  drug  stores  in  the  whole  county,  no  newspapers, 
no  railroad  dreamed  of,  but  one  weekly  mail  via  LaFayette,  and  in  fact 
no  towns  in  the  county  except  Monticello  and  Norway.  At  that  time 
there  were  no  mills  of  any  kind  except  Hillman's  sawmill.  Just  above 
what  is  now  Tioga,  Sheetz'  gristmill,  now  Oakdale,  and  the  Norway  mills. 
Norway  was  the  best  trading  point,  the  Kendall  brothers  at  that  place 
had  a  fine  trade  both  in  their  store  and  mill.  Jonathan  Harbolt  was 
the  only  undertaker  in  Monticello  and  his  six  and  eight  dollar  stained 
poplar  coffins  were  good  enough  for  our  old  pioneers.  Charles  Dodge 
conducted  the  only  wagon  shop  in  the  rear  end  of  lot  1,  on  Marion 
Street  between  Main  and  Bluff  streets,  and  across  the  street  to  the  east 
J.'R.  Willey,  did  some  work  of  the  same  character.  Joseph  and  Abram 
Hanawalt  were  the  plasterers  and  Uncle  Samuel  Heckendorn  had  the 
only  furniture  shop  in  the  village.  Benjamin  Linville,  Samuel  Logan 
and  Sampson  Hartman  were  the  active  carpenters  of  the  time  and  the 
olcRog  jail  stood  near  what  is  now  the  Pennsylvania  depot. 

The  first  school  attended  by  Mr.  Spencer  was  on  the  east  side  of 
Bluff  Street,  just  north  of  Washington.  It  was  taught  by  Prof.  George 
Bowman,  in  an  old  one  story  frame  building  that  long  since  has  been 
torn  down. 

David  Turpie  was  the  only  resident  attorney  and  Horace  P.  Biddle, 
of  Logansport,  was  judge  of  the  court  whose  sessions  were  brief  and 
far  between. 

In  1847,  there  were  no  bridges  across  the  Tippecanoe  River  and  not 
even  a  ferry  boat,  until  1850,  when  one  was  started  at  the  foot  of  Marion 
Street.  The  part  of  the  town  east  of  Main  Street  and  north  of  the 
present  railroad  was  called,  "Ponetown,"  and  was  devoid  of  human 
habitations.  Such  in  brief  is  a  showing  of  Monticello  prior  to  1850. 
Pew  can  recall  these  scenes  and  these  few  will  soon  have  passed  away. 

Soldiers  Monument 

It  may  seem  strange  that  White  County  has  erected  no  memorial 
to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  she  has  furnished  in  our  three  wars  since  the 
organization  of  the  county,  but  our  people  have  been  taxed  so  heavily 


# 


% 


414  HISTORY  OF  AVII1TE  COUNTY 

for  drainage  and  roads  that  it  has  not  as  yet  been  thought  expedient 
to  levy  a  tax  for  this  purpose.  That  a  fine  one  will  some  day  be  erected 
no  one  doubts.  The  subject  has  not  been  frequently  agitated  of  late 
years,  but  so  long  ago  as  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  meetings  were  held  for 
the  purpose  of  interesting  the  public  in  such  a  project.  The  first  meet- 
•  ing  of  which  we  can  find  an  account  was  held  at  the  courthouse  in  Mon- 
ticello  on  Saturday,  2  P.  M.,  May  21,  1864.  At  this  meeting,  on  motion 
of  Thomas  Bushnell,  David  Turpie  was  chosen  president,  and  James  W. 
McEwen  and  Richard  Brown,  secretaries. 

Thomas  Bushnell,  Orlando  McConahay  and  Dr.  J.  A.  Blackwell, 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  subscription  paper  for  circula- 
tion and  agents  to  circulate  this  paper  were  appointed  for  each  township. 
Of  all  the  people  named  in  connection  with  this  work  James  W.  Mc- 
Ewen is  the  only  one  now  living.  This  monument  was  to  be  erected 
in  the  public  square  at  Monticello;  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  nearly 
$150  was  subscribed.  Some  years  later  Congress  provided  for  the 
erection,  over  all  graves  of  deceased  soldiers,  of  the  little'  plain  head- 
stone so  familiar  to  us  all  and,  like  the  little  bronze  button,  this  soon 
became  popular  with  the  old  veterans.  Many  counties  of  the  state  have 
erected  memorials  to  their  soldier  dead  and  it  is  not  likely  White  County 
will  much  longer  delay  some  action  in  this  matter. 


Old  Tannery  at  Norway 

About  1855,  Rev.  Abraham  Snyder,  father  of  Captain  Snyder,  now 
living  in  Monticello,  built  a  tannery  at  Norway  and  for  some  fifteen 
years  he  did  a  thriving  business.  He  purchased  the  hides  from  the 
farmers  and  butchers  and  tanned  them  with  tanbark,  taken  from  the 
surrounding  forests  which  method  produced  a  splendid  quality  of  leather 
known  as,  "Snyder's  Jerk."  It  was  used  largely  by  local  shoe  and 
harness  makers  and  gave  the  best  of  satisfaction.  John  C.  Bartholomew, 
who  married  Mr.  Snyder's  daughter,  was  a  saddler  and  harness  maker 
and  had  his  factory  in  the  tannery  which  was  located  just  south  of 
Norway  across  the  road  from  the  fine  spring,  which  is  passed  on  the 
highway.  The  water  from  this  spring  which  is,  "sweet  unto  this  day," 
was  used  in  tanning  the  hides  and  the  Snyder  family  lived  above  the 
factory. 

First  Marriage  in  "White  County 

The  first  marriage  in  White  County,  as  shown  by  the  records  in  the 
clerk's  office  was  that  of  John  Luce  to  Sally  Hazelton,  solemnized 
October  26,  1834.  The  second  was  the  marriage  of  George  R.  Bartley 
to  Katharine  McColloch,  on  November  24,  1834,  and  the  third  Nathaniel 
Bunnell  to  Nancy  Bunnell,  on  March  10,  1835.  These  licenses  were  all 
issued  by  William  Sill,  who  was  the  first  clerk  of  White  County  and  in 
eacl^case  the  knot  was  tied  by  Ceorge  A.  Spencer,  justice  of  the  peace. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  415 

Death  of  Gypsy  King  at  Norway 

During  the  month  of  July,  1913,  a  large  band  of  Gypsies  were 
eneamped  for  several  days  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  opposite  Norway 
and  while  there  their  king,  Thomas  Nicholas,  seventy-seven  years  old, 
died  of  dropsy.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  the  entire  tribe  was  well 
supplied  with  money  which  was  freely  spent  on  the  old  king's  funeral. 
His  remains  were  taken  by  auto  to  Danville,  Illinois,  and  there  buried 
in  regal  style.  His  people  would  not  allow  the  old  king  to  be  embalmed, 
the  weather  was  quite  warm  and  the  trip  was  a  memorable  one  for  Uioso 
unaccustomed  to  such  funerals. 

Narrow  Gauge  Railroad  Celebration 

On  August  14,  1878,  was  celebrated  at  Monticello  the  opening  of  the 
second  division  of  the  I.  D.  &  C.  R.  R.  (now  Monon  and  Standard 
Gauge).  The  Delphi  and  Monticello  brass  bands  furnished  the  music. 
Rowland  Hughes  presided,  speeches  were  made  and  all  were  hopeful 
that  the  road  would  soon  be  extended  to  Indianapolis  and  Chicago.  Tbis 
seems  t<^have  marked  the  completion  of  the  road  between  Rensselaer 
and  Monticello,  for  at  the  close  of  this  meeting  the  watchword  was,  "On 
to  Delphi."  All  were  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  narrow  gauge  systems 
and  it  was  openly  expressed  that  the  old  standard  gauge  roads  would 
soon  be  abandoned. 

The  Callahan  Family — Name  op  Idaville 

wDuring  the  Civil  war  the  Rev.  Thomas  Callahan,  at  that  time  pastor 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Idaville  was  a  well  known  charac- 
ter. In  politics  he  was  a  democrat  of  the  old  school  but  an  intense 
union  man.  He  has  long  since  gone  to  his  reward  and  in  the  spring  of 
1912  his  widow  died,  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Ida  M.  Baxter, 
in  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  being  eighty-nine  years  old.  The  town  of  Ida- 
ville was  named  after  this  daughter,  who  was  handsome  and  a  general 
favorite' with  the  early  settlers.  After  being  given  the  name  of  Raima 
it  was  discovered  that  there  already  was  a  Hanna  in  Indiana,  hence 
the  change.' 

Drowning  op  J.  G.  McCully 

From  the  Register  of  July  5,  1854,  we  glean  an  account  of  the  death 
by  drowning  in  the  Tippecanoe  River  of  J.  G.  McCully,  son  of  Solomon 
McCully,  of  Jackson  Township,  which  occurred  at  the  celebration  on 
July  4,  at  Monticello.  He,  with  several  others,  was  bathing  near  the 
foot  of  Broadway  and  getting  into  deep  water  became  frightened  and 
sunk.  His  body,  after  about  an  hour,  was  recovered  by  Dr.  Win.  Spencer 
and  Benjamin  Brusie. 


416  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Grave  op  the  Oldest  Early  Settler 

On  the  east  bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  River,  on  a  high  bluff  north  of 
the  dam,  and  just  outside  the  city  limits,  is  a  little  graveyard  of  much  ■ 
local  interest,  but  very  seldom  seen  by  anyone  save  by  the  honest  farmer 
who  tends  his  crops  in  the  adjacent  field.  Many  of  the  graves  are 
unmarked,  but  among  the  marble  stones  are  those  erected  to  the  memory 
of  Sarah  S.,  wife  of  Moses  S.  Sheetz,  who  died  January  14,  1853,  in 
her  thirty-second  year;  Margaret,  wife  of  Zebulon  Sheetz,  who  died 
December  2,  1861,  in  her  sixty-ninth  year;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  T.  M. 
Thompson,  who  died  October  24,  1867,  in  her  forty-second  year;  Zebulon 
Sheetz,  who  died  November  9,  1868,  in  his  seventy-first  year;  Thomas 
M.  Thompson,  who  died  August  24,  1881,  in  his  seventy-second  year, 
and  Eva,  wife  of  Jonathan  Oates,  who  died  January  1,  1845,  in  her 
thirty-fourth  year.  But  at  the  southwest  corner  stands  an  old  fash- 
ioned marble  tombstone  upon  which  is  engraved  this  remarkable  epitaph : 

"To  the  Memory  of 

Ann  Barbara  Sheetz 

Who  was  born  in  York 

Co.  Pa.  July  1750. 

Died  in  White  Co.  Ind, 

July  25,  1839." 

No  white  person  is  buried  in  WTiite  County  who  was  born  prior  to 
her  birth.  It  is  not  known  to  whom  she  was  related.  The  Sheetz,  Oates 
and  Thompson  families  were  very  early  settlers,  but  neither  record  nor 
tradition  gives  any  account  of.  this  woman  who  had  lived  a  quarter  of  a 
century  when  the  Revolutionary  war  was  begun.  She  certainly  came  to 
White  County  after  she  had  passed  her  fourscore  years  and  we  can  only  g$ 
conjecture  her  reasons  for  coming,  at  that  age,  to  a  country  occupied  by 
the  Indians.  Her  grave  certainly  contains  the  remains  of  our  most  aged 
early  settler. 

First  Ditch  Case  Tried  in  White  County  as  Recalled  by  Jack 
Gridley 

In  1863  and  prior  thereto  the  greater  portion  of  Liberty  and  Cass 
townships  consisted  of  ponds,  sloughs  and  wet  lands.  Some  time  in  1862 
or  1863  a  meeting  of  farmers  was  held  to  consider  the  proposition  of 
draining 'the  wet  land,  and  under  the  statute  a  company  was  organized 
known  as  the  Keen's  Creek  Draining  Company.  The  route  of  the  pro- 
posed drain  commenced  near  the  head  of  Keen 's  Creek  in  Cass  Township 
and  followed  practically  the  meanderings  of  the  creek  until  it  reached  the 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  417 

Tippecanoe  River.  The  company  elected  as  directors  Benjamin  Watkins, 
Fred  Burgett,  Uriah  Patton,  Richard  Cornell  and  others  whose  names  I 
have  forgotten.  They  proceeded  to  let  a  contract  for  the  construction 
of  tile  drain,  having  completed  the  preliminary  survey  and  estimate  of 
eost.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  drain  they  assessed  the  benefits  against 
each  tract  of  land  benefited.  Among  the  lands  assessed  were  the  lands 
of  John  C.  Hughes  and  John  Large,  each  of  whom  refused  to  pay  his 
assessment.  The  company  in  1865  employed  non.  David  Turpie  to  bring 
suit  against  Hughes  and  Large  for  the  collection  of  their  respective 
assessments.  He  brought  suit  in  the  Common  Pleas  Court  before  Hon. 
David  P.  Vinton,  judge. 

At  the  September  term  the  case  of  John  C.  Hughes  was  put  at  issue 
and  set  for  trial  on  the  16th  day  of  May,  1866.  Turpie  being  confined  to 
his  bed  by  sickness  and  unable  to  try  the  case,  he  sent  for  me  and 
employed  me  to  represent  him  in  the  trial.  I  was  at  that  time  young 
and  had  not  as  yet  established  a  reputation  as  a  lawyer,  and  of  course, 
with  the  formidable  array  of  counsel  employed  by  the  defense,  the 
members  of  the  drainage  company  were  frightened,  as  they  had  depended 
upon  Turpie 's  experience  and  ability  to  win  the  case  for  them.  How- 
ever, Turpie  told  them  that  I  was  competent  and  had  the  essential  brass 
tofmanage  the  case  properly,  and  on  his  assurance  that  he  would  be 
responsible  for  any  mistakes  in  the  trial,  the  company  reluctantly 
accepted  my  services.  The  defense  was  represented  by  Ellis  Hughes  as 
local  counsel  and  Judge  Samuel  A.  Huff  and  Hon.  John  Pettit  of  the 
LaFayette  bar. 

At  the  outset  the  Court  sustained  a  demurrer  to  the  complaint,  filed 
by  Judge  Turpie.  I  took  leave  to  amend  and  spent  the  entire  night  in 
my  office  preparing  an  amended  complaint.  I  set  out  the  entire  drain* 
ageffct,  and  the  amended  complaint  was  held  good  by  the  court. 

The  case  was  at  issue,  and  on  the  16th  of  May,  1866,  a  jury  was 
empaneled  composed  of  John  Dunlop,  Abram  Snyder,  Wm.  P.  Mont- 
gomery, Ira  Chenoweth,  Valentine  Bates,  James  E.  Montgomery,  John 
H.  Carr,  James  Barnes,  John  Matthews,  Wm.  J.  Bishop  and  Daniel  Dale. 
Sr.  After  hearing  the  testimony  of  a  great  number  of  witnesses  and  a 
lengthy  argument  of  counsel  the  jury  retired  to  arrive  at  a  verdict.  As 
this  was  the  first  suit  brought  in  White  County  to  collect  a  drainage 
assessment,  the  people  were  excited  and  interested.  It  was  considered  a 
test  of  the  drainage  laws,  and  the  courtroom  was  filled  with  spectators 
during  "the  entire  trial.  Uncle  Peter  Price,  who  was  scarcely  ever  seen 
in  the  courtroom,  was  present  throughout.  He  was  greatly  interested, 
being  an  enthusiastic  ditch  man,  and  exhibited  as  much  joy  over  the 
verdict  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  the  plaintiffs,  when  on  the  19th  of  May, 
1866,  the  jury  returned  a  verdict  in  favor  of  the  drainage  company  for 
the  amount  of  the  assessment. 

The  case  against  Large  was  tried  with  the  same  result.  It  was 
appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  reversed  upon  a  technical  error, 
when  Large  compromised  with  the  company  and  paid  his  assessment 
and  part  of  the  costs. 

Vol.  I    —  27 


418  _      HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

It  is  a  surprising  fact  that  the  judge,  I).  P.  Viuton,  the  attorneys, 
Samuel  A.  Huff,  John  Pettit,  Ellis  Hughes  and  David  Turpie,  every 
memher  of  the  jury,  the  defendants,  and  all  the  plantiffs  that  1  remem- 
ber, arc  all  dead,  and  that  I  aia  the  only  surviving  participant  in  thai 

somewhat  memorahle  trial. 

Forgotten  Towns  Wiiicii  Once  Dotted  the  "White  County  Map 

Were  any  adult  citizen  of  White  County  asked  to  give  the  names 
of  the  towns  platted  and  located  within  the  boundaries  of  the  county  he 
would  name  over  the  towns  with  which  he  is  familiar  and  say  "that  is 
all."  His  credulity  would  be  overtaxed  if  told  there  was  not  a  person 
living  who  could  from  memory  give  the  names  or  location  of  all  the 
towns  that  exist  or  have  existed  in  this  county.  The  modern  "boomer" 
has  his  prototype  in  our  first  settler  who  laid  out  towns  which  he  con- 
fidently expected  to  immortalize  his  name  and  enrich  his  purse. 

As  appropriate  to  this  history  we  subjoin  a  list  of  a  few  of  these 
town  plats  with  a  brief  account  of  their  histories. 

New  Hartford — The  oldest  of  these  towns  is  New  Hartford,  which 
was  laid  out  in  due  form  by  Abel  Line  on  January  20,  1837,  about  two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  Mouon.  This  was  quite  a  pretentious  village, 
for  in  addition  to  its  seventy  lots  it  had  a  public  square,  which  was 
forever  dedicated  to  the  public.  This  was  doubtless  intended  to  answer 
the  purpose  of  the  Roman  Forum,  but  of  this  we  have  not  so  much  as  a 
tradition^ 

Wyoming  is  next  in  chronological  order  and  was  laid  out  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  one-half  mile  south  of  the  Pulaski  County 
line,  on  February  24,  1837,  by  Crystal  D.  W.  Scott,  a  New  Light 
minister,  many  of  whose  descendants  still  reside  in  White  County.  It 
contained  sixty-four  lots  and  was  described  as  "handsomely  situated  ou 
the  bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  river,  where  the  Rochester'and  Monticello 
road  crosses  said  river."  It  was  further  said  to  be  surrounded  by  a 
rich  agricultural  country  and  was  no  doubt  a  good  place  in  which  to 
live.    But  one  lot  in  this  town  was  ever  sold  by  Mr.  Scott. 

New  Lancaster— On  October  13,  1837,  David  Lambert  laid  out  a 
town  called  New  Lancaster,  about  a  half  mile  south  of  Lowe's  bridge, 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  River.  It  is  now  and  doubtless  was 
at  that  time  a  beautiful  location.  The  town  consisted  of  eight  blocks 
.  divided  into  sixty-two  lots,  but  it  was  stillborn.  Mr.  Lambert's  location 
availed  him  nothing,  for  not  a  single  lot  in  New  Lancaster  was  ever 
transferred  by  its  founder.       * 

Montgomery — Three  days  later,  on  October  16,  1837,  the  Town  of 
Montgomery  was  laid  out  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  (no 
more  definite  description  is  given)  by  Joseph  Smith,  Benjamin  Grant 
and  William  G.  Sheley.  This  was  doubtless  a  rival  of  New  Lancaster, 
which  was  born  and  died  three  days  prior,  but  its  sixty-four  lots  and 
a  public  square  276  feet  on  each  side  shared  the  fate  of  its  older  rival, 
and  Montgomery  does  not  live  even  in  memory. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  41!) 

Castleton — On  February  28,  1838,  one  Cyrus  B,  Uarlinghouse  became 
firmly  convinced  that  a  sand  dune  about  a  mile  east  of  the  present  Town 
of  Idaville  would  some  day  become  a  great  city.  Possessed  with  this 
idea  he  laid  out  a  town  of  forty-eight  lots  and  called  it  Castleton.  This 
was  twenty-two  years  before  the  railroad  was  built,  and  all  of  the  above 
named  towns  were  laid  out  before  the  Indians  were  taken  to  the  far 
west. 

Fayette — On  March  18,  1856,  Harris  Shaw  laid  out  a  town  about 
midway  between  Wolcott  and  Seafield  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Fayette. 
Four  years  later  the  railroad  passed  through  this  embryo  metropolis,  and 
tradition  has  it  that  one  day  a  flat  car  stopped,  loaded  the  town  and 
removed  it  to  Wolcott,  leaving  its  sixty- four  lots  without  an  inhabitant. 

Clermont — Princeton  Township  was  well  represented  in  the  "town 
boom"  business,  and  on  April  2,  1860,  about  four  months  after  the 
opening  of  the  railroad,  Clermont  was  laid  out  by  Christopher  Hardy 
about  one-half  mile  east  of  Wolcott  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  railroad. 
Mr.  Hardy  was  quite  modest  and  platted  but  twenty-four  lots,  but  his 
little  town  of  Clermont  was  swallowed  up  by  the  Town  of  Wolcott. 

Kiousville — On  the  25th  day  of  November,  1856,  John  Kious  platted 

the  town  of  Kiousville  located  about  one  mile  north  of  Brookston.     It 

included  a  part  of  four  sections  and  comprised  about  200  lots,  being 

«the  largest  number  of  lots  contained  in  any  town  at  its  birth.    But  its 

size  did  not  avail,  and  it  went  the  way  of  all  the  earth.    Hie  jacet. 

These  are  not  deserted  villages.  They  simply  failed  to  materialize, 
and  the  hopes'  of  their  founders  were  blasted  from  causes  over  which 
they  had  no  control.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  earliest  of  these 
totes  were  all  laid  out  on  a  natural  water  course,  for  at  that  time  it  was 
not  expected  the  railroads  would  so  soon  penetrate  so  far  to  the  west- 
ward. Of  the  expectations  of  their  founders  we  know  nothing  but  can 
readily  surmise  that  they  had  in  view  the  development  of  the  water 
power  on  the  advent  of  the  railroad  but  not  one  of  these  towns  was 
benefited  by  either. 

The  above  list  includes  only  towns  actually  platted  and  appearing  of 
record.-  Besides  these  were  a  number  of  postoffices,  some  of  which  were 
abandoned  far  hack  in  the  past  and  others  only  since  the  advent  of  free 
rural  delivery.  Among  them  were  Flowerville,  Badger,  Dern,  Forney, 
Rankin  and  others. 

Log  Cabins 

The  following  article  from  the  Idaville  Observer  of  December  5, 
1913,  is  a  reminder  of  life  fifty  years  ago: 

In  the  country  north  of  Idaville  you  will  still  find  a  few  reminders 
of  the  pioneer  life  of  a  three-quarter  of  a  century  ago  scattered  among 
the  comfortable  homes  with  which  the  country  is  being  fast  filled. 

Just  a  few  miles  north  of  town  stands  an  old  log  house  with  a  huge 
brick  fire  place  and  chimney  arising  at  the  end  of  the  building.  The 
house  is  built  of  hewn  logs,  laid  up  cob  house  style  and  is  in  a  good  state 


420  _     HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

oi'  preservation.  It  is  a  mule  reminder  oi'  the  days  when  building 
material,  other  than  logs,  was  well  nigh  impossible  to  get.  The  building 
oi'  a  home  in  those  days  was  a  simple  affair  compared  with  the  erection 
of  even  the  most  common  of  the  houses  of  today.  The  man  with  an  ax 
and  a  grove  of  timber  could  soon  put  up  a  shelter  to  protect  himself 
from  the  cold  and  storm  and  wild  animals.  The  trees  were  cut  down 
with  the  ax,  cut  the  proper  length,  the  sides  slabbed  and  notched  at  the 
ends,  all  ready  for  the  walls.  When  the  walls  were  up  the  same  ax  was 
used  to  split  puncheons  for  the  floors  and  doors,  and  shakes  for  the  roof. 
With  a  mud  fire  place  and  a  stick  chimney  the  settler  was  ready  to  face 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  seasons. 

Just  a  short  distance  further  on  stands  another  log  cabin  that  lias 
passed  its  days  of  usefulness  as  a  shelter  for  man  and  is  now  used  to 
house  stock.  There  is  yet  a  third  cabin  in  this  neighborhood  whose  roof 
has  decayed  and  fallen  in,  leaving  only  the  walls,  built  of  sturdy  logs, 
standing.  In  its  day  this. last  cabin  was  the  center  of  the  life  of  the" 
community. 

When  these  cabins  were  built  the  surrounding  country  was  practically 
a  vast  wilderness  ta*ming  with  the  wild  life  of  that  day,  for  the  settlers 
were  few  and  far  between.  The  lands  that  are  now  yielding  so  richly  of 
grain  were  swampy  sloughs  with  no  outlet.  In  winter  and  spring  they 
were  veritable  lakes  which  dried  up  under  the  summer  sun.  The  groves 
of  today  were  but  scrubby  bushes,  which  with  thfi  rank  wild  grasses 
made  admirable  hiding  places  for  the  deer,  prairie  wolves,  foxes  and 
timid  wild  fowl.  Night  after  night  the  wolves  would  gather  around  the 
scattered  homes  and  make  the  darkness  hideous  with  their  howling. 
Roads  were  few  and  far  between.  What  few  there  were  wound  their 
way  around  on  the  high  places  to  avoid  the  sloughs.  Fences  there  were 
none,  save  around  the  fields  of  grain. 

Fifty  years  of  toil  and  work  have  changed  all  of  that.  Great  open 
ditches  with  mile  after  mile  of  tile  have  drained  the  swamps  and  where 
the  water-fowl  once  nested  and  reared  their  young  there  are  great  fields 
'  of  corn.  Droves  of  cattle  graze  where  the  wild  deer  fed  and  hogs  are 
fattened  where  the  prairie  wolves  howled  their  requiem  over  the  passing 
of  the  wild. 

Gone  are  the  sturdy  men  and  women  of  those  pioneer  days.  Stout 
hearted,  strong  willed,  they  faced  the  rough  life  of  those  days,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  better  life  of  today.  Forgotten  by  nearly  all  they 
builded  better  than  they  knew.  The  seeds  of  civilization  they  planted 
have  multiplied  more  than  a  hundred  fold. 

But  not  all  the  hard  work  is  done  as  yet,— for  there  is  room  for  as 
great  a  development  in  the  future  as  in  the  past. 

A  Lady's  Recollections  of  White  County's  Eakly  Officiary 

Mrs.  Georgiana  Reynolds,  who  with  her  son  William  M.  Reynolds, 
lives. on  a  farm  east  of  Monticello,  is  the  oldest  native  resident  of  Union 
Township  now  living  (August,  1915).    She  first  saw  the  light  January 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


421 


1,  1837,  in  a  little  temporary  abode  on  lot  10  in  the  original  plat  of  the 
Town  of  Monticello,  where  five  years  later  her  father,  William  Sill,  built 
the  two-story  residence  which. still  stands  on  that  site.  It  is  on  the  west 
side  of  Bluff  Street  three  doors  north  of  Broadway  and  is  one  of  the 
oldest  landmarks  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Sill  was  "White  County's  first  clerk,  first  auditor  and  first 
recorder,  all  of  which  offices  he  held  at  the  same  time.  His  son,  Robert 
W.  Sill,  was  sheriff  at  the  time  of  the  Dayton-Cantwell  murder  trial  in 
1850  and  made  the  arrest  of  the  indicted  men.  The  old  jail  having  been 
burned,  they  were  kept  in  shackles  for  a  time  in  one  of  the  upper  rooms 
of  the  house  here  mentioned.  This  old  house  at  110  North  Bluff  Street, 
besides  being  the  domicile  of  "White  County's  officiary,  often  sheltered 
.temporarily  the  judges  of  the  court,  non-resident  members  of  the  bar, 
and  even  more  distinguished  guests  from  the  state  capital  and  elsewhere. 


The  Old  Sill  Homestead,  110  North  Bluff  Street 
(The  porch  is  a  recent  addition) 

Among  them  Mrs.  Reynolds  especially  remembers  lions.  Henry  S.  Lane 
and  Schuyler  Colfax,  who  found  shelter  under  that  hospitable  roof  dur- 
ing some  of  their  political  campaigns.  Her  mother,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Sill, 
thus  acquired  a  wide  celebrity  as  hostess  of  White  County's  quasi-execu- 
tive mansion. 

Mrs.  Reynolds  is  the  last  survivor  of  William  Sill's  family  of  two 
sons  and  three  daughters.  Her  sisters  were  Mrs.  Miranda  J.  Reynolds, 
wife  of  James  C.  Reynolds;  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Van  Voorst,  wife  of  Sylvanus 
Van  Voorst.     Her  brothers  were  Robert  W.  Sill  and  Milton  M.  Sill. 

Being  a  daughter  of  the  first  clerk,  auditor  and  recorder,  and  a 
sister  of  one  of  the  early  sheriffs,  she  has  some  vivid  recollections  of 
White  County's  early  officialdom.  Among  them  is  an  incident  that 
happened  at  the  old  jail  on  Illinois  Street  near  Marion  Street,  then  "out 
on  the  commons."  She  was  commissioned  by  her  brother,  the  sheriff,  as 
cup  bearer  to  the  prisoners  in  the  jail",  and  when  he  carried  their  meals 


422  t         HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

to  then)  she  went  along  to  carry  the  coffee.  One  morning  when  Sheriff 
Bob  opened  the  jail  to  give  two  prisoners  their  breakfast  they  knocked 
him  down,  and  rushing  out  past  the  little  coffee  carrier,  escaped  across 
the  meadows.  Her  brother,  who  had  only  been  temporarily  stunned, 
rose  up  and  gave  chase,  and  being  very  lithe  of  limb  and  fleet  of  foot, 

"he  overtook  the  fugitives  and  lone-handed  led  them  back  to  jail. 

Another  exploit  which  gave  this  young  sheriff  considerable  renown 
in  his  day  was  the  capture  of  a  notorious  horsethief  known  as  "Biz" 
Beauehainp.  He  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous  man  and  had  sent  word 
to  Sheriff  Sill  that  he  would  kill  him  if  he  ever  attempted  to  arrest  him. 
Bob  learned  that  Beauchamp  was  up  in  Jasper  County  prowling  around 
in  the  vicinity  of  a  camp-meeting  then  in  progress  near  Rensselaer.  He 
provided  himself  with  a  lasso  and. went  on  his  trail.  He  found  him  in 
a  group  of  men  on  the  outskirts  of  the  camp  ground,  and  taking  some 
local  officers  with  him,  he  slipped  up  behind  him,  threw  the  noose  over 
him  and  jerked  him  down  on  his  back.  Giving  the  rope  to  one  of  his 
helpers,  he  completed  his  conquest  by  closing  in  on  his  man  and  putting 
him  in  handcuffs.  During  this  process,  however,  "Riz"  fired  a  bullet 
at  him  which  barely  missed  his  knee  and  gave  Bob  a  trophy  of  the 
encounter  in  the  shape  of  a  bullet-riddled  trousers  leg. 

Indians  were  still  numerous  here  in  Mrs.  Reynolds'  childhood. 
Though  they  were  not  much  feared  by  the  settlers  of  that  day,  she  was 
always  panic-stricken  at  the  sight  of  their  dogs,  which  she  says  were 
"the  ugliest  beasts  that  ever  walked."  Mr.  Sill  was  a  merchant  as  well 
as  a  county  official,  and  his  store  was  located  a  few  doors  south  of  the 
present  State  Bank  of  Monticello.  He  had  a  brisk  trade  with  the 
Indians,  accepting  their  coonskins  and  other  furry  pelts  in  exchange  for 
goods  and  shipping  them  to  Philadelphia.  The  Indians  were  very 
friendly  and  often  invited  him  to  visit  their  wigwams,  which  dotted  the 
river  banks  between  here  and  Norway.  Their  hospitality  could  not  be 
refused,  but  their  cuisine  was  not  exactly  the  kind  that  prevailed  at 
the  Sill  mansion  on  Bluff  Street,  and  his  visits  were  therefore  confined 

'  mostly  to  the  hours  between  meals.  His  wariness  was  born  of  the  follow- 
ing experience :  One  day,  with  his  son  Milton,  he  accepted  an  invitation 
to  dinner  at  an  Indian  camp  near  town,  beguiled  by  the  appetizing 
stories  he  had  heard  of  corn  pone.  With  an  expectant  appetite  he 
watched  the  preparations  for  dinner,  and  when  he  saw  the  squaw  chef 
wash  her  hands  carefully  before  proceeding  to  prepare  the  pone  he  in- 
wardly remarked  upon  the  cleanliness  of  these  aboriginal  daughters  of  the 
forest.  But  when  he  saw  her  mix  the  dough  in  the  same  water  in  which 
she  had  washed  her  hands  his  romantic  thoughts  came  down  to  earth  - 
again  and  he  lost  his  appetite  for  corn  pone. 

The  husband  of  Mrs.  Reynolds,  to  whom  she  was  married  October 
29,  1854,  was  Mr.  Calvin  Reynolds,  and  he  came  from  Somerset,  Ohio. 
He  died  in  the  year  1872  during  an  epidemic  of  cerebro-spinal  meningitis 
which  ravaged  this  locality  during  that  year.  He  was  taken  sick  while 
watching  at  the  bedside  of  a  neighbor  and  died  the  next  day,  so  rapid 
was  the  work  of  that  memorable  scourge.     All  the  children  of  this  union, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  423 

six  in  number,  are  still  living:    Ebenezer,  William  M.,  Levi  and  Embree 
Reynolds,  Mrs.  Minnie  Detwiler  and  Mrs.  Mary  Gladden. 

The  only  bearer  of  the  family  name  of  William  Sill  now  living  in 
this  county  is  Mr.  Charles  Sill,  mail  carrier  on  Rural  Route  5,  Monti- 
cello,  Indiana.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Jessie  Mullendore-Sill,  is  also  a  descend- 
ant from  sterling  old  settler  stock,  being  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Francis  M. 
Mullendore,  who  was  at  one  time  deputy  sheriff  of  White  County  and 
who  enjoyed  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  generation. 
f 

Joshua  G-eim  's  Joke 

Joshua  Grim,  notwithstanding  bis  name,  was  a  man  who  loved  a 
joke.  He  was  a  butcher  by  trade  and  lived  here  when  Montieello  was 
young.  He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Rowland  Hughes,  Montieello 's 
^pioneer  merchant  prince  (commonly  known  as  "Pap"  Hughes),  but 
for  some  reason  he  imagined  that  "Pap"  did  not  consider  him  a  very 
valuable  addition  to  the  family  and  that  he  was  a  little  "uppish"  in 
his  bearing  toward  him.  For  this  reason  Grim  was  always  pleased  when 
anything  occurred  to  ruffle  his  brother-in-law's  dignity  and  was  ready 
at  all  times  to  contribute  his  mite  to  the  ruffling  process.  He  was 
inwardly  tickled  when  he  heard  that  "Pap"  had  been  swiped  of  $100  by 
investing  in  a  worthless  patent  right,  and  it  was  music  to  his  ear  to 
hear  him  "cuss"  traveling  patent  right  vendors  and  tell  what  he  would 
do  to  the  next  one  that  darkened  his  door.  "Pap"  had  a  great  com- 
mand of  expletives,  and  when  in  fidl  eruption  it  was  an  education  to 
stand  around  £nd  listen  to  him. 

One  day  Grim  had  a  visit  from  a  stranger  who  wanted  to  sell  him 
the  county  right  for  a  patent  farm  gate.  Grim  declined  to  invest 
and  was  about  to  allow  the  fellow  to  depart,  when  a  diabolical  thought 
struck  him. 

"There's  a  man  named  Hughes  over  there,"  said  he,  "who  might 
want  it.  He  buys  about  everything  that  comes  around."  The  stranger 
thanked  him  and  started  for  the  Hughes  store. 

"Hold  on  a  bit,"  called  Grim.  "Now  Mr.  Hughes  is  very  peculiar. 
He'll  refuse  you  at  first  and  may  pretend  to  get  mad  and  even  order 
you  out  of  his  store,  but  that's  all  bluff.  If  you  stand  your  ground  and 
spunk  up  to  him  he'll  take  a  fancy  to  you  and  maybe  buy  two  or  three 
counties  before  you  get  through  with  him." 

The  stranger  accepted  the  pointer  thankfully  and  started  off  again. 
Grim  watched  him' till  he  entered  the  store  and  then  made  a  bee  line 
for  the  scene  himself,  taking  up  a  position  on  the  sidewalk  just  outside 
the  door,  where  he  could  enjoy  the  entertainment.  He  heard  the  stranger 
following  his  directions  to  the  letter,  and  he  heard  his  predictions  ful- 
filled on  "Pap's"  part  also,  except  that  he  failed  to  mellow  down.  The 
sound  of  voices  inside  grew  from  a  murmur  to  a  roar,  and  finally  the 
stranger  emerged  unceremoniously  from  the  door,  pursued  by  "Pap" 
with  flashing  eyes  and  an  uplifted  chair.     As  the  patent  right  man 


421  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

passed  Grim  lie  cast  a  reproachful  glance  at  him  but  did  not  take  time 
to  stop. 

A  Jail  Bue.vker  with  Ciiurcii-going  Tendencies 

•  Capt.  13.  F.  Price,  whose  father  was  the  first  actual  settler  in  Union 
Township,  recalls  an  incident  connected  with  White  County's  first  jail, 
the  huino*  of  which  "touched  the  funny  bone"  of  his  boyhood  nature  and 
has  stuck  in  his  memory  ever  since. 

The  jail  was  located  on  North  Illinois  Street  near  Marion  Street, 
and  as  there  were  no  houses  around  it  nearer  than  the  New  School  Pres- 
byterian Church  the  view  from  behind  the  bars  commanded  quite  a  large 
scope  of  commons.  A  man  named  Smallwood  Thompson  was  incarcer- 
ated in  the  jail  for  stealing  five  coonskins  from  Rowland  Hughes.  One 
Sunday  morning  just  as  the  church  bell  was  ringing  Thompson  was 
caught  in  the  act  of  breaking  jail.  When  his'  plans  ■we're  foiled  he 
seemed  easily  reconciled  to  his  fate  and  was  disposed  to  think  it  a  good 
joke  that  lie  had  come  so  near  regaining  his  liberty  in  broad  daylight. 

"Why  Smallwood,"  somebody  remarked,  "if  you'd  only  waited  till 
night  you  'd  have  got  out. ' ' 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "but  I  saw  the  people  going  to  church  and 
thought  I'd  get  out  in  time  to  go  too." 

MONTICELLO'S   FlRST   MEAT    MARKET 

There  are  few  of  Monticello's  pioneer  buildings  still  standing,  but 
some  of  he»  oldest  buildings  have  incidents  connected  with  their  history 
which  make  them  interesting. 

One  structure  which  is  much  older  than  it  looks  is  the  little  shoe 
shop  which  stands  on  Broadway  between  the  O'Connor  Block  and  the 
Law  Building.  It  has  occupied  many  sites.  It  was  built  in  1851  by 
Liberty  M.  Burns  and  Amer  S.  McElhoes  and  was  the  home  of  Monti- 
cello  \s  first  meat  market.  The  members  of  the  firm  of  Burns  &  McElhoes 
were  fresh  from  Pennsylvania  and  full  of  thrift,  though  limited  in 
means.  They  recognized  the  value  of  a  central  location  for  the  meat 
business,  but  having  no  ground  of  their  own  on  the  public  square  they 
adopted  the  bold  expedient  of  building  their  meat  shop  in  the  courthouse 
yard.  A  new  brick  courthouse  had  just  been  erected,  and  in  the  minds 
of  these  enterprising  meat  vendors  the'  smell  of  blood  and  beefsteaks 
was  all  that  was  needed  to  complete  the  sanctity  of  the  judicial  plaza. 
At  that  time  the  sessions  of  the  Commissioners'  Court  were  few  and  far 
between,  and  the  young  squatters,  selecting  a  time  when  the  board  had 
just  adjourned,  planted  their  meat  shop  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
courthouse  grounds  and  were  selling  steaks  there  before  the  county 
fathers  were  aware  of  their  bold  pre-emplion  of  the  public  domain.  The 
house  was  small  and  easily  moved,  but  it  remained  there  long  enough  to 
build  up  a  trade  which  followed  the  firm  when  th,ey  finally  had  to  seek 
another  site. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  425 

Appraisement  of  "White  County  for  1!)15 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  assessment  of  the  property  in 
White  County  for  the  year  1915 : 

Prairie  Township $  ]  ^7^  7<j(j 

Big  Creek  Township  9(14,020 

Union  Township ]  14:2,]  40 

Monon  Township  1,215,210 

Liberty  Township 759,490 

Jackson  Township  9] 4  (JGO 

Princeton  Township 1,340,000 

West  Point  Township 1 ,353,770 

Cass  Township 576,060 

Honey  Creek  Township 728,G1 0 

Round  Grove  Township 946,780 

Mon*icello  Corporation 1,382,430 

Brookston  Corporation 303,870 

Reynolds  Corporation ... 163,460 

Burnettsville  Corporation 186,420 

Monon  Corporation 425,330 

Wolcott  Corporation 357,910 

Chalmers  Corporation 264,670 

Total .$14,963,620 

To  which  add  for  corporations  about. 1,600,000 

» ■  ^—^—— — — 

Making  a  grand  total  of $16,563,620 

This  is  for  purposes  of  taxation.  The  true  value  of  taxables  in  the 
county  will  approximate  $40,000,000,  less  the  amount  claimed  by  mort- 
gage exemptions. 

The  Hardships  of  a  Sheriff's  Life  in  the  Muskrat  Days 

Elisha  Warden,  the  veteran  house  mover,  was  one  of  the  early  resi- 
dents of  Norway,  having  come  there  with  his  parents  in  1836,  when  less 
than  a  year  old.  In  his  boyhood  days  Norway  gave  promise  of  great  com- 
mercial importance,  being  for  years  the  center  of  industrial  activity  for  a 
large  scope  of  territory  on  account  of  its  water  power.  It  was  here  that 
the  Tippecanoe  was  first  harnessed,  and  though  its  dam  Iras  been  swept 
away  its  site  for  power  purposes  is  still  one  of  the  finest  on  the  river. 

One  of  the  earliest  industries  of  Norway  was  conducted  by  Mr. 
Warden's  father,  Elisha  Warden,  Sr.  He  manufactured  peck  and  half- 
bushel  measures  made  of  bent  wood,  and  his  products  supplied  the  market 
almost  exclusively  in  White  and  adjoining  counties.  A  Norwegian  named 
Ilelver,  who  had  a  turning  lathe,  manufactured  wooden  bowls  and  other 
kitchen  utensils.     Mr.  Warden  ran  a  huckster  wagon,  which  was  the 


426  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

vehicle  of  distribution  both  for  his  own  products  and  Mr.  Helver's  wood- 
enware,  and  on  his  return  home  from  a  trip  his  wagon  was  usually 
loaded  with  farm  and  garden  truck  taken  in  exchange  for  their  handi- 
work. 

Elisha  Warden,  Sr.,  was  elected  sheriff  of  White  County,  in  the  early 
•  '40s,  and  his  son  relates  an  incident  of  his  official  career  which  illustrates 
the  stress  of  a  sheriff's  life  and  incidentally  recalls  the  early  topography 
of  our  now  beautiful  county. 

Sheriff  Warden  had  a  warrant  for  a  man  named  Dirth,  who  was 
wanted  for  some  misdemeanor  and  was  said  to  be  in  hiding  in  the  country 
not  far  from  Monticello.  He  mounted  his  horse  and  went  in  pursuit  of 
him.  The  soft  and  marshy  nature  of  this  region  in  those  days  made  it 
easy  to  trace  a  fugitive  by  his  footprints,  and  he  soon  struck  a  trail 
which  promised  to  lead  him  to  the  object  of  his  search.  Toward  evening 
he  discovered  his  man,  but  in  a  most  tantalizing  position.  He  was  perched 
on  a  muskrat  house  far  out  in  a  marsh.  How  he  got  there  was  a  puzzle 
then^and  ever  afterward  to  Sheriff  Warden,  but  he  reasoned  that  where 
one  man  could  go  another  could  follow,  and  he  plunged  his  horse  into 
the  marsh  in  a  bee  line  for  the  muskrat  house.  '  He  was  soon  hopelessly 
mired  and  stuck  fast  in  the  swamp.  The  man  on  the  muskrat  house 
apparently  was  not  armed.  Neither  did  he  seem  to  be  alarmed,  and  in 
fact  did  not  need  to  be.  He  was  evidently  in  no  danger  of  arrest,  and 
he  simply  sat  and  grinned  at  the  sheriff's  plight.  He  even  began  to  toss 
pleasantries  at  him  across  the  water  and  to  give  him  sarcastic  advice 
about  how  to  run  a  sheriff's  office.    At  last  he  called  out : 

' '  Say,  Sheriff,  I  '11  help  you  out  if  you  '11  give  me  my  ground ! ' '  mean- 
ing exemption  from  arrest  for  the  present. 

It  was  getting  dark,  and  the  sheriff's  condition  being  desperate,  he 
accepted  the  proposition.  Dirth  got  down  off  his  perch  and  by  skillful 
maneuvering  and  hard  work  pried  horse  and  rider  out  of  the  mire  and 
got  them  back  to  land. 

Sheriff  Warden  played  "honor  bright"  with  him  by  letting  him  go 
his  way  at  that  time  but  arrested  him  a  few  days  later,  after  their 
"gentlemen's  agreement"  had  expired. 

With  the  disappearance  of  the  marshes  the  muskrat  has  also  vanished 
from  White  County,  except  along  the  watercourses,  and  present-day 
fugitives  from  justice  would  have  to  travel  much  farther  than  Mr.  Dirth 
did  to  find  such  a  refuge  as  a  muskrat  house. 

George  A.  Spencer's  Docket  a^  J.  P. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  records  in  White  County  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  Miran  B.  Spencer,  Esq.,  of  Monticello.  It  is  the  old  .locket, 
bound  in  deer  skin,  which  his  grandfather,  George  A.  Spencer,  used  when 
he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Big  Creek  Township  from  September  16, 
1834,  to  June  23,  1836. 

The  record  of  many  suits  are  found  in  this  little  book,  the  first  case 
being  that  of  Merkle,  Or^ig  &  Co.  vs.  Milton  Doan,  in  which  judgment 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  41^7 

was  given  plaintiffs  on  September  16,  1834,  for  $32.65.  On  this  judg- 
ment the  constable  levied  on  about  twenty  acres  of  corn  valued  at  $184, 
one  horse  valued  at  $8  and  one  lot  of  hogs  valued  at  $8. 

The  second  case  was  that  of  Ashford  Parker  against  our  old  friend, 
Jeremiah  Bishir,  filed  the  same  day,  and  on  November  15,  1834,  judg- 
ment was  rendered  against  defendant  for  $10.90,  which  was  later  paid. 

One  of  the  most  amusing  cases  was  filed  January  15,  1835,  entitled, 
"Samuel*Shanahan  vs.  Robert  Newell,"  in  which  plaintiff  swears,  "that 
on  January  15,  1835,  in  the  county  aforesaid,  Robert  Newell,  of  sd. 
county,  a  certain  assault  and  battery,  was  perpetrated  by  sd.  Newell 
coming  to  my  house,  clinching  me  &  striking  me  two  or  three  times, 
twice  on  the  head  &  once  in  the  side.  This  was  on  the  body  of  Samuel 
Shanahan  &  that  he  verily  believes  that  Robert  Newell  of  said  county 
is  guilty  of  sd.  offense  &  further  saith  not."  A  warrant  issued,  Mr. 
Newell  was  arrested,  pleaded  guilty  and  was  fined  $3  and  costs.  Cor- 
nelius Clark  entered  replevin  bail  and  on  April  4,  1835,  the  judgment 
was  paid.  But  this  did  not  close  the  matter,  for  two  days  later,  on 
Jairhary  17,  1835,  Newell  sued  Shanahan  and  recovered  judgment  for 
$10,  on  which  Andrew  Ferguson  became  replevin  bail.  On  April  25  the 
costs  wefe  paid  and  $2.25  paid  on  the  judgment,  but  the  remaining  $7.75 
is  still  due. 

On  January  30,  1836,  one  Samuel  Beever  recovered  judgment  against 
Jeremiah  Bishir  for  $9.75  and  costs,  which  included  fees  for  several 
witnesses  who  had  been  subpoenaed  in  the  case.  The  Beever  family  name 
figures  prominently  in  this  record,  and  on  February  23,  1836,  one 
W.  M.  Beever  was  arrested  for  an  offense  which  is  not  stated.  He 
pleaded  not  guilty,  was  tried,  acquitted,  but  placed  under  bond  to  keep 
,the  peace,  and  the  record  concludes :  "Said  defendant  fined  for  swearing 
$1.00."  Mr.  Spencer  was  a  good  churchman  and  would  have  no  swearing 
in  his  court. 

One  of  the  most  important  cases  was  that  of  Joshua  R inker  vs. 
Jeremiah  Bishir,  in  which,  on  May  30,  1836,  judgment  was  awarded 
plaintiff  for  $75,  and  upon  which  Simon  Kenton  became  replevin  bail. 
The  record  shows  that  $10  is  yet  due  on  this  judgment. 

The  last  case  tried  was  on  June  23,  1836,  in  which  Jeremiah  Bishir 
recovered  judgment  against  W.  M.  Beever  for  $5.18%,  upon  which 
judgment  Philip  Davis  became  replevin  bail,  but  this  judgment  is  not 
yet  satisfied  of  record. 

On  August  9,  1837,  this  docket  was  turned  over  to  Joseph  Phillips, 
justice  of  the  peace,  who  states  that  it  was  one  year  after  the  commission 
of  George  A.  Spencer  had  expired. 

First  Telegraph  Link 

It  will  doubtless  surprise  many  of  the  younger  generation  to  learn 

'  that  an  attempt* was  made  to  construct  a  telegraph  line  through  White 

County  prior  to  the  advenl   of  our  first  railroad.     Some  time  prior  to 

.  1850  poles  were  set  through  the  entire  length  of  Main   Street,  as  far 


42S  .         HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

north  as  Norway  and  on  part  of  the  projected  line  to  LaFayette.  This 
line  was  intended  to  connect  the  latter  place  with  White  Post,  a  post- 
office  in  Pulaski  County,  but  no  wire  was  ever  strung,  the  poles  rotted 
in  the  ground  and  the  project  was  abandoned.  But  the  prospect  gave 
Monticello  one  of  its  periodic  "booms,"  town  lots  were  in  demand 
prices  soared  and  Monticello  was  expected  to  become  a  mighty  city  when 
the  wire  was  opened  for  business.  Peter  Price,  father  of  Capt.  15.  F. 
Price,  caught  the  fever  and  paid  $100  for  the  lot  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  West  Broadway  and  Railroad  streets.  After  holding  it  for  twenty- 
three  years  he  was  glad  to  accept  $50  for  it  and  this  is  but  a  single  illus- 
tration of  the  effects  of  one  of  our  first  booms.  The  electric  telegraph 
was  in  its  infancy  and  it  is  no  wonder  the  people  were  excited  over  the 
proposition  to  bring  it  to  their  doors. 

Courthouse  Bell 

For  two  generations  the  people  of  White  County  and  vicinity  have 
heard  and  admired  the  rich  musical  tones  of  our  grand  old  courthouse 
bell.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  bells  in  the  state  and  has  a  history  unknown 
to  most  of  our  people,  for  but  a  few  have  ever  seen  it. 

It  bears  the  following  inscription  cast  on  its  outer  side,  "From  Me- 
neely's  foundry,  West  Troy,  N.  Y.,  1852."  This  company  is  still  in 
business  and  is  the  oldest  bell  foundry  in  America,  having  been  estab- 
lished by  Andrew  Meneely  in  1S26.  West  Troy  is  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Hudson  River,  about  six  miles  north  of  Albany,  and  when  cast  this 
bell  was  consigned  to  Dr.  Samuel  Rifenberrich,  at  Lockport,  Indiana, 
coming  down  the  Hudson  to  Albany,  thence  by  Erie  Canal  to  Buffalo, 
thence  by  Lake  Erie  to  Toledo,  thence  by  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  to 
Lockport,  Indiana,  from  which  place  it  was  hauled  by  wagon  to  Monti- 
cello and  placed  in  the  tower  of  the  old  courthouse.  In  1894-95,  when 
the  present  courthouse  was  built,  it  was  placed  in  its  present  home. 
When  placed  in  this  new  home  the  hammer  of  the  courthouse  clock 
was  attached  and  during  the  last  twenty  years,  by  day  and  night,  it 
has  faithfully  proclaimed  the  hours  and  suffered  no  less  than  1,139,42_4 
strokes.  •  ; 

Roster  op  County  Officers 

.  The  following  is  a  list  of  officers  of  White  County  since  its  organiza- 
tion, with  the  dates  of  their  election  or  appointment. 

County  Commissioners. — Ira  Bacon,  Daniel  McComb  and  Robert 
Newell,  1834.  McComb  resigned  in  November,  1834,  and  Daniel  Dale 
was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  Ira  Bacon  resigned  and  in  May,  1836, 
James  Gay  was  appointed  his  successor.  James  K.  Wilson,  183G;  Wil- 
.  Ham  W.  Mitchell,  1S37;  William  Wood,  1S38;  John  Young,  1839;  James 
II.  Hiett,  1840;  Ranson  McConahay,  1841;  Hiett  resigned  and  in  No- 
vember, 1841,  Allen  Barnes  was  appointed  in  his  place ;  Chrystal  D.  W. 
Scott,  1842;  James  Kerr,  appointed   September,   1842;  Allen  Barnes, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  429 

1843;  James  Shafcr,  1844;  J.  H.  Wilson,  1845;  Solomon  MeCully,  1846; 

Samuel  Sineleer,  1847;  James  P.  Moore,  1848;  Jefferson  Courtney,  184:), 
lie  moved  out  of  his  district  and  in  1850  Solomon  MeCully  took  his 
place;  James  K.  Wilson,  1851;  Christopher  Vandeventcr,  1852;  Andrew 
Hanna,jl853;  J.  K.  Wilson,  1854;  Sothey  K.  Timmons,  1855;  Thomas 
Downey,  1856;  William  II.  King,  appointed  1857;  George  Cullen,  1858; 
Anderson  Irions,  1859;  Ansel  M.  Dickinson,  1SG0;  George  Cullen,  1861; 
James  Hays,  1862;  Ansel  M.  Dickinson,  1863;  James  Penwiek,  1864; 
Samuel-  Smelcer,  1865;  Christopher  Hardy,  1866;  John  G.  Timmons, 
1867;  Theodore  J.  Davis,  1868;  James  C.  Gress,  1869;  Thomas  Downey, 
1870;. John  Parrish,  1871;  Ansel  M.  Dickinson,  1872;  John  Parrish, 
1873;  Martin  R.  Cartmell,  1874;  David  L.  Fisher,  1875;  Jacob  Pfister, 
1876;  Nelson  Hornbeck,  1877;  Jacob  Pfister,  187S;  John  T.  Harm's, 
1S79;  John  A.  Beam,  1880;  John  T.  Barnes,  1881;  Eli  W.  Cowger, 
1882;  Alfred  C.  Tarn,  1882;  Joseph  Taylor,  1884;  Alfred  C.  Tarn,  1884; 
Eleazer  H.  Scott,  1886;  Judson  Paul.  1886;  James  Hewitt,  1888;  George 
Huffman,  1888;  James  W.  Dye,  1890;  Perry  Spencer,  1890;  John  M. 
Qussell,  1892;  James  W.  Dye,  1892;  John  M.  Russell,  1894;  Robert  D. 
Roberts,  1894;  Daniel  O.  Rader,  1896;  Perry  Spencer,  1896;  Oscar  K. 
Rainier,  1898;  Daniel  O-  Rader,  189S;  Joseph  Taylor,  1900;  George  T. 
Inskeep,  1900;  John  Ball,  1902;  Henry  Duncan,  1902;  Joseph  Taylor, 
1904;  George  L.  Schlademan,  1904;  Charles  A.  Gay,  1906;  Alfred  A. 
Renwick,  1906;  Jacob  D.  Moore,  1908;  Patrick  Hays,  190S;  Andrew  F. 
Nagel,  1910;  Charles  Hufty,  1910;  Andrew  F.  Nagel,  1912;  Marshall  S. 
Personett,  1912;  Martin  L.  Rinker,  1914;  Marshall  S.  Personett,  1914. 

Treasurers. — George  A.  Spencer,  1834;  Asa  Allen,  1838;  Peter 
Price,  1841;  Isaac  Reynolds,  1841;  Randolph  Brearley,  1844;  Jonathan 
Harbolt,  1845;  James  C:  Reynolds,  1848;  Robert  W.  Sill,  1850 ;  Jonathan 
P.  Ritehey,  1852;  William  Russell,  1854;  Michael  A.  Berkey,  1856; 
John  E.  Dale,  1858;  W.  E.  Samuelson,  appointed  July,  1861;  Albert 
Kingsbury,  1862;  Joseph  Rothrock,  1862;  Capt.  Granville  B.  Ward, 
1866;  Joseph  Rothrock,  1868;  Israel  Nordyke,  1872;  John  Paris,  1876;, 
Madison  T.  Didlake,  1880;  Robert  R.  Breckeuridge,  1884;  Hiram  A.  B. 
Moorhous,  1888;  Julius  W.  Paul,  1892;  James  C.  Jones,  1894;  James 
C.  Stockton,  1898;  WTilliam  F.  Brucker,  1902;  Miran  B.  Spencer,  1904; 
AVilliam  P.  Cooper,  1908;  Otto  C.  Middlestadt,  1912. 

Sheriffs. — Aaron  Hicks,  1834;  John  Wilson,  1834;  James  Parker, 
1836;  he  resigned  and  Daniel  M.  Tilton  was  appointed  to  succeed  him 
in  1839;  James  C.  Reynolds,  1842;  Elisha  Warden,  1844;  Robert  W. 
Sill,  1848;  Michael  A.  Berkey,  1852;  Henry  C.  Kirk,  )b'>i;  William 
Wright,  185S;  Matthew  Henderson,  I860;  Milton  M.  Sill.  1864;  Matthew 
Henderson,  1868;  William  E.  Saundcrson,  1870;  he  died  in  oflice  and  the 
coroner,  Enoch  J.  Dunham,  succeeded  him;  Ir.vin  Giver,  1874;  James 
nay,  1878;  Joseph  W.  Stewart,  1882;  Joseph  Henderson,  18S6;  James 
P.  Gwin,  1888;  Robert  F.  Dobbins,  1892;  Simon  N.  Dobbins,  1894;  John 
W.  Warner,  1S98;  George  Stevens,  1902;  Hamilton  E.  MeCully,  1906; 
Ben  Price,  Jr.,  1908;  Thomas  F.  Downey,  1912;  Joseph  C.  Williams, 
1914. 


•1.1(1  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Auditors. — William  Sill,  1834;  Thomas  M.  Thompson,  1846;  Joseph 
D.  Cowdin,  1s.r>:!;  William  Russell,  1855;  he  died  in  offiee  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Joseph  D.  Cowdin  in  1856;  Thomas  Bushnell,  18G1 ;  George 
Hill,  1869;  Henry  Van  Voorst,  1876;  David  M.  Carson,  1884;  Morris  J. 
llollyman,  1892;  Jasper  L.  Aekerman,  1900;  Albert  G.  Fisher,  1908. 

Clerics.— William  Sill,  1834;  Hanson  McConahay,  1848;  Orlando 
MeConabay,  1858;  Daniel  D.  Dale,  1866;  George  W.  Lawrence,  1874; 
Samuel  P.  Cowger,  1878;  Jones  Brearley,  1886;  Frank  B.  Humston, 
1894  ;  Addison  K.  Sills  (six  months  by  appointment)  ;  Samuel  L.  Calla- 
way. 1898;  Wallace  Atkins,  1906;  Charles  S.  Preston,  1910. 

RKCORDERS.  William  Sill,  1834;  Thomas  M.  Thompson,  1846;  Hugh 
B.  Logan,  1856;  John  S.  Hurtt,  1862;  William  W.  McColloch,  1866; 
Kul  us  L.  Harvey,  1874;  James  P.  Simons,  1882;  Bernard  A.  Vogel, 
1890;  Burdell  15.  Baker,  1894;  Fred.C.  Obenehain  (by  appointment  six 
months);  Charles  II.  Kleist,  1902;  Morton  Coonrod,  1910. 

The  judges  of  the  Probate  Court  in  White  County  were:  Robert 
Newell,  1834,  who  died  in  office,  and  Aaron  Hicks,  1846.  The  associate 
judges  were  James  Barnes  and  Thomas  Wilson,  1834;  Thomas  Mccor- 
mick, 1841,  and  James  Barnes,  1841.  This  court  was  abolished  in  1853 
and  its  business  transferred  to  the  Common  Pleas  Court,  which,  in  1873, 
was  merged  in  the  Circuit  Court.  A  brief  account  of  the  judges  of  the 
two  last  named  courts  will  be  found  in  another  part  of  the  work. 


430  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Auditors. — William  Sill,  1834;  Thomas  M.  Thompson,  181G;  Joseph 
1).  Cowdin,  1853;  William  Russell,  1855;  he  died  in  office  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  .Joseph  D.  Cowdin  in  1856;  Thomas  Bushnell,  1861;  George 
Uhl,  1869;  Henry  Van  Voorst,  187G;  David  M.  Carson,  188-1;  .Morris  J. 
Iloltyman,  1892;  Jasper  L.  Ackerraan,  1900;  Albert  G.  Fisher,  1908. 

Clerks.— William  Sill,  1834;  Ranson  McConahay,  1848;  Orlando 
McConahay,  1858;  Daniel  D.  Dale,  1S66;  George  W.  Laurence,  1874; 
Samuel  P.  Cowger,  1878;  Jones  Brearley,  1886;  Frank  B.  Humston, 
1894;  Addison  K.  Sills  (six  months  by  appointment)  ;  Samuel  L.  Calla- 
way, 1898;  Wallace  Atkins,  1906;  Charles  S.  Preston,  1910. 

Recorders.— William  Sill,  1834;  Thomas  M.  Thompson,  1846;  Hugh 
B.  Logan,  1S56;  John  S.  Hurtt,  1862;  William  W.  McColloeh,  1866; 
Rufus  L.  Harvey,  1874;  James  P.  Simons,  1882;  Bernard  A.  Vogel, 
1890;  Burdell  B.  Baker,  1894;  Fred  C.  Obenchain  (by  appointment  six 
months);  Charles  II.  Kleist,  1902;  Morton  Coonrod,  1910. 

The  judges  of  the  Probate  Court  in  White  County  were:  Robert 
Newell,  1834,  who  died  in  office,  and  Aaron  Hicks,  1846.  The  associate 
judges  were  James  Barnes  and  Thomas  Wilson,  1834;  Thomas  Mccor- 
mick, 1841,  and  James  Barnes,  1841.  This  court  was  abolished  in  1853 
and  its  business  transferred  to  the  Common  Pleas  Court,  which,  in  1873, 
was  merged  in  the  Circuit  Court.  A  brief  account  of  the  judges  of  the 
two  last  named  courts  will  be  found  in  another  part  of  the  work. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 11 

BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD 

There  are  not  a  few  interesting  personalities  identified  with  various 
phases  of  White  County  history,  some  of  whom  have  already  been  intro- 
duced in  the  course  of  this  narrative  and  others,  perhaps  of  more  mod- 
est activities,  whose  records  have  not  appeared.  To  supply  what  other- 
wise would  be  a  deficiency,  this  chapter  is  offered,  and  although  toward 
the  conclusion  of  the  history,  is,  in  many  ways,  as  valuable  to  the  home 
people  as  any  section  of  the  work. 

Harrison  P.  Anderson 

Harrison  P.  Anderson  was  born  in  Ohio,  May  20,  1824,  where  he  was 
married  August  23,  1849.  Soon  after  he  removed  to  Indiana  and  in  1851 
settled  in  Monticello  where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
which  he  acquired  a  high  rank.  He  was  a  public  spirited  man,  interested 
in  all  things  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  community  and  when  the 
new  brick  school  building,  which  is  still  standing,  was  erected  in  1869, 
he  was  a  faithful  member  of  the  school  board.  He  died  at  Monticello, 
May  21,  1877,  leaving  a  widow,  Mary  J.  Anderson,  who  died  April  3, 
1885,  and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Annie  Turner,  who  is  still  living  in  Monticello, 
the  wife  of  John  M.  Turner,  cashier  of  the  White  County  Loan,  Trust  & 
Savings  Company.  He  was  also  the  father  of  one  son,  Frank,  who  lost  his 
life  in  a  railroad  accident  west  of  Reynolds,  September  1,  1873,  in  his 
twenty-fourth  year. 

James  Armstrong 

James  Armstrong,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Ann  Armstrong,  was  born 
in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  January  23,  1832,  and  died  February  1G, 
1914.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  went  with  his  parents  to  Green  County, 
Ohio,  where  both  his  parents  died.  In  1860  he  married  Elizabeth  Lang- 
ley  and  when  the  war  came  on  served  his  country  for  three  years  and 
was  mustered  out  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  about  the  first  of  March,  18C4. 
In'  1869  he  came  to  Idaville,  where  lie  followed  his  trade  as  carpenter 
until  1897,  when,  having  lost  his  wife  by  death,  he  came  to  Monticello 
and  lived  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Samuel  L.  Callaway,  until  her  removal 
to  Indianapolis  in  March,  1911,  when  he  went  with  her  to  that  city, 
where  he  died.  He  was  a  lifelong  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  a  devoted  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows.  At  his  death  he  left 
two  sons,  Albert  0.,  of  Grcensburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  Robert  E.,  now  of 
Monticello,  and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Samuel  L.  Callaway,  now  living  in 
Indianapolis. 

431 


432  .      HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

John  Ariuck 

John  Arrick  was  born  in  Belmont  County,  Ohio,  June  17,  1812,  anil 
died  nrar  Monticello,  April  12,  1ST7.  In  1837  he  was  married  In  [sftbcllu 
McMurray,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children.  After  her  death  he  married 
Mrs.  Sarah  Henderson,  in  185-4,  who,  with  four  sons,  survived  him,  In 
1857  he  came  to  White  County,  where  he  soon  became  interested  in  church 

•  work  and  for  eighteen  years  was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  O.  S.  Presby. 

%  terian  Church.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  interested  in 
all  matters  tending  to  the  welfare  of  the  county. 

John  Arrick,   Sr. 

John  Arrick,  Sr.,  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son  in  Big  Creek  Town- 
ship in  October,  1865,  aged  ninety-six  years.  He  served  in  the  War  (if 
1812,  under  Harrison  against  Proctor.  He  was  a  patriot  of  sterling 
integrity  and  opposed  the  enemies  of  his  country  in  every  way  that  he 
was  able.  When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  he  urged  all  who  enlisted  to 
do  their  duty  and  faithfully  stand  by  the  old  flag.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Monticcllo.  Mauy  of  his 
descendants  still  live  in  the  vicinity  of  Monticello,  but  after  the  lapse  of 
fifty  years  the  old  pioneer  is  almost  forgotten. 

George  W.  Ashley 

George  W.  Ashley  was  born  in  Georgia,  March  4,  1845,  and  died  at 
his  home  in  Reynolds,  January  31,  1908.  He  was  a  member  of  Com- 
pany D,  Thirteenth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  and  after  the  war  located  in 
White  County.  November  30,  1870,  he  was  married  to  Margaret  L. 
Cowger..  For  a  number  of  years  he  resided  in  the  neighborhood  of* 
Guernsey  and  later  northeast  of  Monticello,  near  Pike  Creek.  His  wife 
died  June  7,  1887,  and  October  22,  1903,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Jennie 
Bulger,  formerly  Miss  Jennie  Casad,  of  Monticello,  and  who  is  still  liv- 
ing there.  Besides  his  widow  he  left  two  daughters  of  his  first  marriage, 
Mrs.  B.  C.  Jones,  of  Warren,  Indiana,  and  Mrs.  Charles  n.  Kleist,  wife 
'of  ex-Recorder  Kleist,  now  residing  in  Wolcott. 

Benjamin  F.  Baer 

Benjamin  F.  Baer,  who  passed  his  life  at  nnd  near  Monticello  from 
boyhood,  was  a  respected  and  popular  miller,  soldier  and  farmer,  his 
death  occurring  at  his  country  home  north  of  Monticello,  August  C, 
1913,  in  his  seventy-second  year.  He  was  born  near  Akron,  Ohio,  on 
the  6th  of  March,  1642,  and  was  taken  to  Erie  County,  New  York,  by  his 
.widowed  mother.  In  1855,  having  sold  her  home  there,  the  family  came 
to  White  County  and  located  on  what  is  known  as  the  Jacob  Fross 
place,  about  six  miles  north  of  Monticello.  Benjamin  F.  learned  the 
milling  trade  under  his  brotlrer  David  at  Lockport,  Indiana,  and  later 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  435 

worked  with  Henry  Shafer,  who  was  then  operating  the  grist  mill  at 

Norway  for  the  widows  of  Benjamin  and  Peter  Pishor,  Later  he  entered 
the  canal  boat  service  between  Toledo  and  Vincenncs  and  often,  in  after 
years,  seemed  to  enjoy  recounting  the  interesting  incidents  of  this  period 
in  his  life.  After  serving  six  months  in  the  Union  army  during  the  last 
year  of  the  war  he  returned  to  the  home  farm  and  later  engaged  in  mill- 
ing at  Reynolds  and  other  points  in  the  county. 

'In  187G  Mr.  -Baer  married  Phcehe  M.  Carney  and  three  sons  were 
hoi«i  to  their  union — Jasper  A.,  Prank  M.  and  Bernard  M.,  all  of  whom 
are  living.  After  his  marriage  he  settled  on  a  farm  north  of  Norway, 
which  he  improved  into  a  beautiful  homestead,  adding  to  his  landed  pos- 
sessions until  he  owned  200  acres.  About  a  year  before  his  death  he 
purchased  and  improved  the  Forbis  place,  where  he  passed  his  last  days. 
The  deceased  was  a  German  Lutheran  and  a  good,  genial,  industrious 
citizen. 

David  Baee 

David  Baer  was  born  December  6,  1827,  in  Erie  County,  New  York. 
For  many  years  he  served  as  a  sailor,  but  located  in  White  County  prior 
to  the  Civil  war.  He  died  at  his  home  northeast  of  Monticello,  February 
18,  1S98. 

Allen  Barnes 
» 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  White  County  few  have  been  more  promi- 
nent than  Allen  Barnes,  who  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  July  13,  1797, 
aud  died  near  Idaville  on  March  15,  1880,  in  his  eighty-third  yea)-.  In 
1834  he  moved  to  the  new  County  of  White,  where  he  resided  until  his 
death.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  married  Elizabeth  Mclntire  and 
soon  after  joined  the  Associate  Church  of  Clark's  Run,  then  in  charge 
of  Rev.  James  Adams.  In  1836  his  wife  died  and  the  following  year  he 
married  Mrs.  Jane  Dixon,  who  died  iu  1870.  He  had  four  children  by 
his  first  wife  and  five  by  the  latter.  In  1858  he  united  with  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  and  retained  his  membership  therein  until  his 
death. 

Judge  James  Barnes  v 

Judge  James  Barnes,  one  of  the  old  associate  judges  of  White  County, 
died  September  21,  1873,  aged  ninety-four  years.  He  was  born  in 
Virginia,  came  to  White  County  at  an  early  day  and  was  one  of  our 
-most  prominent  citizens  until,  by  extreme  age,  he  was  compelled  to  quit 
his  active* life.  He  had  been  married  four  times  and  was  the  stepfather 
of  Mrs.  Amanda  McCuaig,  now  living  in  Monticello.  In  his  death  the 
community  lost  a  valued  citizen  and  his  family  an  ever  kind  and  indul- 
gent husband  and  father. 

Thomas  M.  Barnes 

Thomas  M.  Barnes,  an  honored  citizen  of  Jackson  Township,  was 
born  June  27,  1814,  in  Xenia,  Ohio".    IltTwas  of  .Scotch-Irish  descent  and 


434  ,       HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY 

came  when  an  infant  with  his  parent  to  the  Territory  o£  Indiana  and  was 
a  participant  in  all  the  trials  incident  to  pioneer  life  and  lived  fur  forty- 
one  years  on  the  farm  near  Idavillc  on  which  he  died.  He  was  married 
February  19,  1840,  to  Miss  Cynthia  Ginn,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children. 
He  died  February  ■',  1SIJ0.  lie  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Idaville  and  enjoyed  the 
respect  of  all  who  knew  him. 

John  C.  Bartholomew 

John  C.  Bartholomew,  whose  remains  were  buried  in  the  old  cemetery 
of  Monticello,  was  wounded  in  the  leg  in  the  battle  before  Richmond, 
taken  to  the  Army  Square  Hospital  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  there 
died  from  loss  of  blood.  He  was  a  saddler  by  trade  and  followed  his 
vocation  in  Norway,  but  enlisted  in  the  Twentieth  Regiment,  Indiana 
Volunteers,  and  became  a  lieutenant.  He  was  married  July  16,  1860, 
to  Christ cnia  Snyder,  a  sister  to  Capt.  Henry  Snyder,  and  she  now  lives 
with  the  captain  in  Monticello. 

Catherine  Bartley 

Catherine  Bartley  was  born  in  Logan  County,  Ohio,  in  1810,  came 
to  White  County  prior  to  its  organization  and  located  on  the  Tippecanoe 
River  at  what  is  now  Springboro.  After  her  marriage  to  George  R. 
Bartley  she  made  her  home  in  Monticello,  where  she  died  January  8, 
1881.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  one. 
of  those  early  settlers  to  whom  we  owe  so  much  for  having  opened  a 
wilderness  and  caused  it  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  Her  funeral  was  held 
at  her  residence,  conducted  by  Rev.  John  B.  Smith,  of  the  Monticello 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  her  remains  were  interred  in  the  family 
cemetery  south  of  Monticello. 

Hon.  James  B.  Beleord 

About  1858  there  arrived  in  Monticello  a  young  man  seeking  his 
fortune  in  the  "West  and  one  of  his  first  acts  after  his  arrival  was  to 
hang  .out  his  "shingle"  at  the  northeast  room  upstairs  of  the  old  Com- 
mercial Block  bearing  the  legend,  "James  B.  Belford,  Attorney  at  Law.'" 
This  gentleman  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1837.  In  1864  he  was  a 
Lincoln  presidential  elector  and  in  1866-68  was  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Indiana.  Later  he  removed  to  Laporte,  Indiana,  and  resumed 
the  practice  of  the  law  and  also  served  as  school  examiner.  From 
Laporte  he  went  to  Colorado,  from  which  state  he  served  in  Congress 
from  1877  to.  1885.  After  his  retirement  from  Congress  he  served  as 
one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Colorado  and  died  in  Denver, 
January  7,  1010.  Mr.  Belford  was  a  brother-in-law  of  James  W. 
McEwen  of  Rensselaer  and  is  well  remembered  by  most  of  the  older 
citizens  of   White   County.     While  in   Congress  his  readiness  in   debate 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  435 

;ni(]  quickness  in  repartee  gained  for  him  the  cognomen  of  "the  red- 
headed rooster  of  the  Rockies."    Mr.  RlcEwen,  while  differing  from  him 

in  politics,  always  had  a  high  regard  for  him  personally  and  frequently 
narrated  a  circumstance  which  occurred  in  the  trial  of  the  famous  star 
Route  cases.  Mr.  Belford  was  a  witness  in  this  trial  and  in  an  alterca- 
tion with  the  attorney  for  the  Government  used  the  short  and  ugly  word, 
for  which  the  judge  at  once  assessed  a  fine  of  $100  and  stopped  the  trial 
until  this  fine  was  paid.  The  late  Col.  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  was  counsel 
for  the  defendant  and  was  so  well  pleased  that  he  at  once  produced  a 
hundred-dollar  bill,  paid  the  fine  himself,  and  the  trial  proceeded. 

Esau  Bennett 

■  Esau  Bennett,  an  old-time  grocer  of  Montieello,  was  born  in  Pendle- 
ton County,  West  Virginia,  November  6,  1822,  and  in  18G6  came  to  Mon 
ticello  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  which  he  was  quite  success- 
ful He  was  married  April  1,  1844,  to  Rachel  Hudkins,  and  to  this  union 
was  born  eight  sons  and  two  daughters.  His  wife  died  March  15.  1S72. 
and  on  April  3,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Eliza  E.  Long,  of  Jeffersonville, 
Indiana.    He  died  at  his  home  in  Montieello,  June  9,  1885. 

b 

Prank  P.  Berkey 

In  the  sudden  and  unexpected  death  of  Frank  P.  Berkey  in  the 
early  moruing  of  Tuesda}',  April  21,  1914,  Montieello  lost  one  of  its  lust' 
and  most  highly  esteemed  citizens.     He  was  the  son  of  Michael  and 

0  Margaret  Berkey,  and  was  horn  in  Montieello,  September  24,  1852. 
When  nineteen  years  old  he  entered  the  employ  of  Loughry  Brothers, 
pr  rather  of  their  father,  in  the  milling  business  and  continued  with 
them  almost  continuously  to  the  time  of  his  death.     So  close  were  his 

9  relations  that  he  was  regarded  more  as  a  member  of  the  firm  than  as  an 
employe.  For  many  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  general  superin- 
tendent of  their  large  milling  interests  at  Montieello.     dune  2(i,  1884, 

•    he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Plorine  (Failing)  Morony,  daughter  of  the  late 

'  Peter  R.  Failing,  who  survived  him.  He  also  left  one  brother,  Howard 
Berkey,  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  and  one  half  sister,  Mrs.  India  Fleming. 
Another  sister,  Mrs.  James  B.  Roach,  of  Montieello,  died  April  23,  1909. 
He  was  an  early  member  of  Montieello  Lodge  No.  73,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
.  and  about  fifteen  years  before  his  death  he  joined  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
becoming- an  active  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter  and  Council. 
He  served  five  successive  years  as  Master  of  his  lodge  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  serving  his  fifth  term  as  High  Priest  of  Montieello 
Chapter  No.  103,  Royal  Arch  Masous.  At  his  death  the  Chapter  adopted 
a  most  touching  memoriam,  reading  in  part  as  follows: 

■  .  "Since  our  last  convocation  this  Chapter  has  suffered  an  irreparable 
loss  in  the  death  of  our  Most  Excellent  High  Priest,  Prank  P.  Berkey. 

'     He  was  a  Companion  tried  and  true,  whose  advice  was  always  timely 
'   "and  whose  work  was  always  good;  and  when  on  April  Pith  he  conferred 


_J 


436  .        HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

the  Mosl  Excellent  Master's  degree  upon  these  Companions  who  have 
to-night  been  exalted — declared  the  Key  Stone  placed  and  the  Temple 
completed  -little  thought  we  thai,  these  words  proclaimed  the  end  of 
liis  own  labors  among  us,  and  that  never  again  would  we  see  his  fare 
amid  these  familiar  scenes,  or  hear  his  voice  giving  encouraging  admoni- 
tion to  the  workmen. 

"He  has  presented  his  work  to  the  Master  Overseer,  and  we  have 
every  confidence  that  it  has  been  accepted.  The  Key  Stone  lias  been 
placed;  the  Temple  finished;  and  we  trust  that,  armed  with  the  Signet 
of  Zerubbabel,  he  has  been  admitted  within  the  veil  and  is  now  pursuing 
his  labors  under  the  direction  of  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Universe — 
not  delving  in  the  ruins,  but  enjoying  the  ineffable  splendors  of  the 
Temple  completed." 

John  A.  Black-well,  M.  D. 

This  name  will  be  recognized  only  by  the  older  residents  of  Whi% 
County.  He  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Monticello 
when  the  Civil  war  broke  out,  and  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth  Indiana  Vol- 
unteers, where  he  became  first  lieutenant  of  Company  D.  Later  he  was 
surgeon  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  Indiana  Volunteers.  The 
tiles  of  the  papers  of  Monticello  show  that  he  was  among  the  first  of  our 
] people  to  urge  enlistments,  took  an  active  part  in  all  war  meetings  and 
freely  gave  his  services  to  his  country.  He  died  at  Wellsville,  .Missouri, 
January  28,  1914,  where  he  had  lived  since  1881.  His  wife  died  March 
7,  1909. 

James  Blake,  Sr. 

The  western  part  of  White  County  was  the  last  to  be  occupied  by  the 
white  man  and  its  early  pioneers  came  some  time  after  the  other  parts  of 
the  county  were  opened  for  the  new  homes.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
settled  near  Wolcott  in  1867,  having  removed  from  Kankakee  County, 
Illinois.  He  was  born  in  England  and  came  to  America  in  1850  and  died 
at  his  home  near  Wolcott  on  April  13,  1,883,  in  his  seventy-fifth  year. 
For  some  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Meadow  Lake  and  his  descendants  still  live  in  Wol- 
cott and  Princeton    townships. 

Absalom  Boicoukt 

Absalom  Boicourt  was  born  March  3,  1808,  near  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  1812  came  with  his  parents  to  Indiana  and  settled  in  Clark 
County,  later  he  removed  to  Decatur  County  and  here  on  February  11, 
1833,  In'  married  Miss  Rebecca  Holmes  by  whom  he  hail  seven  children. 
In  1857  he  came  to  Princeton  Township,  White  County,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death,  November  ti,  1889.  He  lived  in  Indiana  seventy-seven 
years,  could  call  to  mind  when  Indianapolis  was  a  wilderness  ami  was  an 
eye-witness  to  the  development  of  the  entire  state,     lie  was  a  member 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  137 

of  the  United  Brethren  Church  and  a  republican  in  polities  though  be 
never  held  any  office.    He  casl  his  firsl  voir  in  1832. 

Augustus  S.  Bobdklu 

Augustus  S.  Bordner,  out'  of  the  prominent  business  men  of  Brooks- 
ton,  has  been  a  resident  of  that  town  since  1868.  He  was  born  in  Berks 
County,  Pennsylvania,  the  son  of  Augustus  and  Harriet  Bordner.  In 
his  younger  years  Mr.  Bordner  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  and 
in  1870  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  Brookstou,  in  which  lie  1ms 
continued  for  more  than  forty  years.  Soon  after  locating  in  Brookston 
he  was  elected  trustee  of  Prairie  Township  and  was  twice  re-elected, 
serving  three  terms  in  that  office.  He  is  a  man  of  the  strictest  probity, 
is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who  know  him  and  lias  long  been  one  of 
the  substantial  men  of  his  town. 

"William  McCoy  Butt 

William  McCoy  Bott  was  born  in  Virginia  February  1(>.  1SU1,  and 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  came  to  White  County,  Indiana,  where  the  remain- 
ing forty  years  of  his  life  were  passed.  He  died  in  Monticello,  January 
28,  1877.  He  shared  in  all  the  hardships  incident  to  pioneer  life,  was  an 
active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  became 
a  member  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  at  his  death  it  was  said  of  him 
by  one  who  had  known  him  for  many  years,  "He  was  an  honest  and 
good  man;  he  always  did  the  best  he  could." 

Capt.  George  Bowman 

Capt.  George  Bowman,  a  veteran  soldier,  teacher  and  student,  has 
Jeft  an  impress  on  White  County  which  it  would*  be  difficult  to  measure. 
Many  of  our  oldest  citizens  were  his  pupils,  and  all  cherish  his  memory 
and  hold  it  in  highest  honor.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Martinsburg. 
Berkley  County,  Virginia,  on  February  28,  1818,  and  died  at  his  home 
in  Monticello,  November  29,  1894.  His  parents  also  were  of  Virginia, 
and  his  father  was  a  teacher  during  his  entire  life.  The  subject  of  this 
article  was  the  fourth  child  in  a  family  of  seven  children,  and  his  par- 
ents died  while  he  was  yet  a  child,  leaving  him  in  the  care  of  a  guardian, 
in  whose  store  he  worked  until  he  was  twenty' years  old,  and  at  the  same 
fime  fitted  himself  to  enter  college  by  private  study. 

He  then  came  to  Delphi,  Carroll  County,  Indiana,  to  join  his  brothers, 
who  had  located  there  some  years  previous.  Here  he  taught  school  for 
several  years  and  attended  Wabash  College,  intending  to  graduate  in 
1848,  but  was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  a  severe  illness  but  graduated 
five  years  later  in  1853.  In  September,  1848,  he  married  Ruth  Angel,  of 
.Delphi,  who  died  two  years  later,  and  by  this  marriage  was  born  one 
daughter,  Ruth  Angel  Bowman,  who  was  married  in  1873  to  Rev.  Edwin 
Black  and  who  died  in  the  spring  of  1915. 


i::,n 


HISTORY  OK  AVIIITi:  COUNTY 


On  April  15,  1858,  he  married  Mary  Dili   Piper,  of  Piper's  Run, 
Bedford  County,  Pennsylvania,  who  survives  him  and  now  lives  near 

Chippewa,  Ontario,  Canada.  By  this  union  they  were  given  seven  chil- 
dren :  Phebe,  Anna,  Rebecca,  Georgia,  Caleb  Mills,  Mary  M.  and  Carrie. 
At  the  close  of  Ins  school  in  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  and 
became  captain  of  Company  I),  Twelfth  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteers, 
lie  was  warmly  attached  to  his  company,  most  of  its  members  being  his 


Captain  George  Bowman,  Founder  op  Monticello's  First  High 
School 

"He  was  a  scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one; 
Exceeding  wise,  fair-spoken  and   persuading; 


And,  to  add  greater  honors  to  his  age 

Than  man  could  give  him,  he* died  fearing  God." 

—Shakespeare's  King  Henry  VIII. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  439 

former  pupils,  and  saw  active  service  L'or  more  than  a  year.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1863,  he  was  severely  wouuded  in  the  battle  c5f  Mission  Ridge  and 
was  carried  off  the  field  by  Dr.  John  Schultz,  David  Laing,  Clem  Kings- 
bury, Mr.  Sandifer  and  Mr.  McMannis,  who  supposed  him  to  be  dead. 
He  later  revived  and  on  Thanksgiving  day  was  brough.1  to  Ids  home  in 
Monticello,  where  lie  later  recovered  from  his  wound  bul  was  never  able 
to  rejoin  his  company. 

Almost  all  of  his  life  was  spent  in  school  work  in  White  and  Carroll 
counties.  He  was  at  different  limes  at  the  head  of  tile  Beliools  in  each 
of  these  counties,  as  well  as  the  schools  in  Monticello  and  Delphi,  lie 
often  said  he  hoped  to  die  in  school  work,  and  this  wish  was  gratified, 
for  he  taught  school  until  within  four  weeks  of  his  death.  He  often  told 
that  when  quite  young  he  had  taught  a  slave  to  read,  for  which  the  owner 
of  the  slave  had  given  him  a  dollar,  which  he  had  invested  in  an  algebra. 
His  love  for  learning  was  the  predominant  characteristic  of  his  lite. 

In  1847  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Chureh  at  Crawfordsvillc, 
Indiana,  while  making  his  home  with  Prof.  Caleb  Mills,  president  of 
Wabash  College,  after  whom  one  of  his  children  was  named,  and  who 

_  was  largely  responsible  for  the  founding  of  the  school  syste f  Indiana. 

In  1891  he  represented  his  church  in  the  general  assembly,  the  highest 
court  in  the  church.  For  many  years  his  was  a  familiar  form  in  the 
church.  At  his  funeral  was  no  brass  band  nor  parade  of  any  lodge!  in 
•  regalia,  but  seldom  has  there  been  a  larger  assemblage  here  on  any 
funeral  occasion.  It  showed  in  no  uncertain  way  the  heart  fell  and  uni- 
versal respect  in  which  the  good  man  was  held. 

Randolph  Breahley,  M.  D. 

In  the  autumn  of  1836,  there  came  to  Monticello  a  man  who  for  more 

than  forty-one  years  was  an  active  business  man  of  the  town  and  whose 

■  influence  for  good  was  always  felt.    Doctor  Brearley  was  horn  in  Law- 

'  ,  renceville,  New  Jersey,  August  15,  1807;  was  educated  at  Princeton 

College,  New  Jersey,  and  Rush  Medical  College,  Philadelphia.    On  June 

13,  1843,  he  married  Miss  Ophelia  Hughes,  of  Zanesville,  Ohio,  hut  after 

her  death  he  married  Mrs.  Martha  Dale.     He  engaged  in  the  practice  of 

.medicine  for  many  years,  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  connected  with 

many  other  business  interests.     He  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 

•    at  Monticello,  March  26,  1843,  and  remained  a  member  until  his  death, 

which  occurred  April  12,  1878.    Two  of  his  children,  Mrs.  Annie  Roach 

"and  Jones  Brearley,  are  yet  living  in  Monticello. 

Robert  R.  Beeckenbidqe 

Robert  R,  Breckenridge  was  known  by  almost  every  resident  of  White 

County  and  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  honor.     He  was  horn  in 

.   'Washington  County,  Ohio,  November  21,  1814.  being  one  of  a  family  of 

ten  children.    Only  two,  a  brother,  George,  of  'Montana,  ami  a  sister,  Mrs. 

Martha  Ayres,  of  Monticello,  survived  him.    When  an  infant  his  parents 


440  UISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

removed  to  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  and  about  18;")-!  the  family  camo 
to  White  County,  where  he  lived  until  his  death  on  June  1(1,  Hi  11.  Oil 
December  IS,  1.H73,  lie  married  Jane  Reynolds,  and  to  this  union  was 
born  five  children,  four  of  which  survived  him.  The  wife  ami  mother 
died  in  Oklahoma,  April  22,  1901.  lie  had  served  Jour  or  Jive  terms 
as  trustee  of  Union  Township  and  in  1884  was  elected  treasurer  of  White 
County,  and  was  re-elected  in  1886.  He  was  an  active  member  of  tin; 
Presbyterian  Church  and  for  many  years  was  a  leading  worker  in  the 
Sunday  schools  of  the  county. 

Leandeb  Bkingham 

Leander  Bringham  was  born  on  the  present  site  of  Purdue  Uni- 
versity, September  9,  1826,  and  died  February  20,  1899.  On  February 
27,  1851,  he  married  Louisa  Chamberlain  and  shortly  afterward  moved 
to  Jasper  County,  Indiana,  then  in  1854  moved  to  Monon,  where  he 
lived  until  April,  1867,  when  he  removed  to  Brookston,  which  was  his 
home  until  his  death.  He  had  born  to  him  seven  children,  five  of  whom 
survived  him  and  four  were  present  at  his  death.  Mr.  Bringham  was  a 
man  much  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 

John  C.  Brown 

John  C.  Brown  was  born  in  Logan  County,  Ohio,  November  22,  1818; 
died  at  Monticello,  Indiana,  on  his  eightieth  birthday,  November  22,  1898. 
He  was  married  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  on  July  9,  1840,  to  Miss  Ann 
M.  Schlcigh,  and  the  same  year  located  in  Monticello.  He  was  a 
prominent  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow,  and  in  July,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a 
member  of  Company  K,  Twentieth  Indiana.  He  was  then  past  forty- 
two  years  old  and  was  made  first  sergeant.  His  promotions  were  rapid 
and  he  became  captain  of  his  company  on  December  20,  1862,  serving 
in  that  position  until  seriously  wounded  at  North  Ann  River,  Virginia, 
late  in  1864,  when  he  received  a  musket  ball  through  the  head.  This 
wound  gave  him  much  trouble  throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life.  As 
a  soldier  Captain  Brown  was  among  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  and 
throughout  his  long  years  of  suffering  always  carried  himself  with  an 
erect  and  soldierly  bearing,  quick  spoken  and  incisive,  but  withal  cour- 
teous—a gentleman  of  the  old  school.  One  daughter,  Mrs.  Rose  Mar- 
shall, is  still  a  resident  of  Monticello. 

John  Brucker 

For  many  years  one  of  the  best  known  residents  of  Reynolds,  John 
Brucker  killed  himself  on  Sunday  morning,  July  13,  1902,  by  firing  a 
bullet  into  his  head.  The  rash  deed  was  committed  in  his  drug  store  and 
while  he  was  alone.  No  known  cause  was  disclosed.  He  was  a  son  of 
Jacob  F.  and  Caroline  Brucker  and  was  born  in  Wurtemburg,  Germany, 
November  23,  1850.    He  was  a  wagon  maker  and  blacksmith  by  (fade, 


_._J 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  441 

but  for  some  years  had  been  engaged  in  the  drug  business.  In  1873  he 
was  married  to  Rebecca  Ridgeway,  who  died  some  years  later,  leaving 
him  three  children:   Lula,  now  Mrs.  Clint  Casio;  Alta,  and  John. 

James  W.  Bulger 

James  W.  Bulger  was  born  September  22,  1814,  in  Frederick  County, 
Virginia.  On  May  10,  1835,  he  married  Miss  Minerva  James,  with  whom 
he  lived  until  his  death  on  March  8,  1879.  He  was  a  charter  member 
of  Libauus  Lodge  No.  154,  F.  &  A.  M.,  which  was  organized  in  1854, 
and  of  which  he  was  the  first  senior  warden,  lie  was  buried  by  the 
lodge  of  which  he  had  so  long  been  a  member. 

Barzilla  Bunnell 

Barzilla  Bunnell,  who  came  to  White  County  in  1834,  where  he  lived 
the  remainder  of  his  days,  was  born  in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  April  9,  1S07. 
He  was  one  of  the,  first  ten  members  who  organized  the  first  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  White  County,  and  his  great  life  work  was  in  behalf 
of  the  church  which  he  never  forsook  in  its  darkest  hours.  His  habits  of 
thrift  and  frugality  enabled  him  to  acquire  a  competence,  which  he  was 
free  to  share  in  the  assistance  of  all  who  stood  in  need.  While  sitting 
in  his  chair,  December  29,  1891,  he  closed  his  eyes  in  the  final  sleep. 

John  Barton  Bunnell 

John  Barton  Bunnell  was  born  in  White  County,  February  2,  1839. 
He  was  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Nancy  Bunnell,  who  settled  three  miles 
southwest  of  the  present  site  of  Monticello,  in  1832.  From  his  birth 
till  1890  he  lived  on  almost  the  identical  spot  where  he  was  born.  In 
the  latter  year  he  removed  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  where  he  died  June 
'24,  1896. 

Nathaniel  Bunnell 

Nathaniel  Bunnell  came  to  White  County  in  1833.  He  was  born  in 
Ross  County,  Ohio,  December  27,  1805,  and  on  December  29,  1831 ,  was 
'married  to  Susanna  Runyan,  of  Clark  County,  Ohio,  and  to  them  was 
born  ten  children.  His  wife  died  in  1873  and  on  August  25,  1875,  he  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Mary  A.  McNealey,  of  Kentucky.  His  life  was  spent  in 
-White  County  in  which  he  proved  himself  a  good  citizen.  He  accumu- 
lated quite  a  fortune,  was  an  ardent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  in  all  relations  of  life  proved  himself  a  man.  He  died  in 
Reynolds,  September  4,  1891. 

Stephen  Bunnell 

'      In  the  spring  of  1834,  prior  to  the  organization  of  White  County, 
Stephen  Bunnell  removed  to  what  is  now  Big  Creek  Township  and  set- 


442  HISTOJRY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

tied  on  a  farm  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death  on  April  25, 
1880.  He  was  bom  in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  March  9,  1803,  and  in  1826 
lie  married  Miss  Nancy  Roberts  by  whom  he  had  five  children,  In  181!) 
he  joined  the  Methodist  Episeopal  Chureh  and  remained  a  consistent 
member  of  that  church  until  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  most  respected 
of  our  early  settlers. 

Francis  Marion  Burns 

Francis  Marion  Burns,  only  son  of  Washington  Burns,  for  many 
years  one  of  the  best  known  residents,  died  at  his  home  in  Union  Town- 
ship, near  Guernsey,  March  14,  1902,  aged  a  little  more  than  forty-eight 
years,  having  been  born  there  October  18,  1853.  He  was  married  to 
Emma  L.  Moore,  October  29,  1879,  and  left  surviving  him  his  widow 
and  two  children,  Washington  A.  and  Margaret  0.,  and  an  only  sister, 
Mrs.  James  V.  Vinson. 

James  Burns 

James  Burns,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  White  County,  was  a  son 
of  Hugh  Burns  and  was  born  near  Lewistown,  Pennsylvania,  November 
10,  1825.  Died  at  his  home  south  of  Monficello,  September  1,  1905,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  nearly  eighty  years.  His  father  moved  to  Mont- 
gomery County,  Ohio,  in  1835,  and  some  three  years  later,  September, 
1838,  started  with  his  family  to  move  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  On  leav- 
ing Lafayette  they  missed  their  way  and  drove  northward  to  Monti- 
'  cello.  They  were  so  pleased  with  the  country  that  they  located  about 
two  inilesjjputh  0f  town  on  what  they  called  "Edge  Hill"  farm,  their 
log  house  standing  on  the  hill  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  a  short  dis- 
tance south  of  the  McKain  stone  barn.  Here  his  father  died  in  1842 
and  his  mother  in  1852.  In  1865  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Jane 
Burns,  daughter  of  John  Burns.  She  died  in  August,  1877,  leaving 
three  sons,  Samuel,  Edward  and  Bert.  In  1880  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Susan  Ferry,  who  with  four  children,  Mae,  Pearl,  Earl  and  Sadie, 
are  still  living.  , 

Liberty  M.  Burns 

Maj.  Liberty  M.  Burns  came  to  White  County  in  1839.  He  was 
born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  June  5,  1810,  and  died  in  Monti- 
cello,  March  27,  1879.  In  1849  he  crossed  the  plains  to  California  in 
the  search  for  gold.  In  1843  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Monticello  and  retained  his  membership  therein  until  his  death.  In 
November,  1837,  he  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Miss  Amanda  Griggs 
of  Preble  County,  Ohio,  and  to  this  union  was  born  two  children,  a  son  , 
and  a  'daughter. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  443 

Jane  Burns 

Jane  Burns  was  the  widow  of  John  Burns,  a  largo  land  owner  and 
well  known,  resident  of  Big  Creek  Township.  Her  maiden  name  was 
Jane  Virden,  she  being  a  sister  of  Silas,  Samuel  and  David  Virden,  all 
well  known  residents  and  all  of  whom  died  within  the  three  years  pre- 
ceding her  death.  She  also  had  two  brothers  who  died  in  California 
during  the  gold  craze  of  1849.  She  was  born  in  Pickaway  County,  Ohio, 
October  17,  1825.    Died  November  23,  1897. 

John  Burns       ' 

John  Burns,  one  of  the  most  successful  of  our  early  farmers,  was 
born  in  Pickaway  County,  Ohio,  January  4,  1809,  and  came  to  what  is 
now  White  County  in  1830  and  resided  on  his  farm  in  what  is  now- 
Big  Creek  Township  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  December  26, 
1884.  Beginning  life  in  a  log  cabin,  by  industry  and  frugality  he 
amassed  a  fortune  and  what  is  far  better  he  left  this  life  with  the  respect 
of  his  neighbors,  who  knew  him  as  one  of  our  best  and  most  honored 
citizens. 

Washington  Burns 

"  Washington  Burns  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  March 
25,  1820,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  came  with  his  parents  to  Mont- 
gomery County,  Ohio,  and  iu  1847  was  married  to  Martha  J.  DeLong. 
I         In  1848  he  came  to  White  County,  where  he  lived  until  his  deatli  on 
March  12, 1895.     He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  but  was  not  a  member 
A.     of  any  church,  though  in  1892  at  his  request  he  was  baptized  in  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church.     He  was  a  kind  and  indulgent  father  and 
t»     •  one  who'  never  complained  in  any  of  his  sufferings. 
•» 

William  Burns 

This  name  will  be  recognized  by  the  oldest  resident  of  Monticello.    It 

carries  us  back  to  about  1846.     He  was  born  in  Armstrong  County, 

Pennsylvania,  January  22,  1802,  but  became  a  resident  of  White  County 

about  sixty-five  years  ago.     He  will  be  remembered  as  the  keeper  of  the 

"old  toll  bridge  across  the  Tippecanoe  River  and  later  as  mail  carrier,  for 

several  years  serving  faithfully  in  both  capacities.     He  died  after  a 

'    brief  illness,  September  5,  1895.     He  came  to  White  County  in  1846, 

which  was  ever  after  his  home.     In  1858  he  became  a  member  of  the 

United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Idaville  and  remained  to  the  last  a  con- 

sistent  member.     In  1871  he  removed  to  Idaville  and  spent  much  of 

.     .    his  time  in  reading  the  Scriptures,  in  which  he  was  well  versed.     His 

'wife  died  about  1863,  but  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  Horine,  is  yet  living 

in  Idaville. 


444  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

John  P.  Carr 

Suddenly,  without  warning  and  without  a  struggle  and  with  no  word 
of  farewell  to  his  family  or  his  many  friends,  John  P.  Can-  died  on 
Sunday  evening,  January  12,  1896,  while  sitting  in  his  chair  at  liis 
splendid  farm  home  just  south  of  Chalmers,  at  the  age  of  nearly  seventy 
years.  Mr.  Carr  was  born  in  Ohio  in  June,  1826,  and  came  to  White 
County  in  1848,  locating  at  Chalmers.  He  first  herded  cattle  for  Ohio 
parties,  but  later  worked  for  John  Price,  whose  daughter  he  later  mar- 
ried. In  1876  he  was  elected  a  representative  in  the  Indiana  Legisla- 
ture, and  again  in  1880.  He  was  a  strong  man  physically  and  mentally, 
and  his  force  of  character  gave  him  a  leading  position  among  the  state's 
lawmakers.  He  left  to  his  heirs  one  of  the  largest  and  best  farms  in 
White  County. 

Lydia  A.  Carson 

Lydia  A.  Carson  was  born  in  Reading,  Ohio,  April  8,  1824,  and  was 
married  to  James  Carson,  December  14,  1840.  To  this  union  was  born 
nine  children,  seven  of  whom  survived  her.  She  was  the  mother  of 
Capt.  F.  D.  Carson,  of  Monon.  She  came  to  White  County  in  1839  and 
for  nearly  seventy  years  her  home  was  in  the  western  part  of  the  county. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Brecouut  and  her  husband  died  in  1875.  Her 
death  occurred  at  Monon,  Saturday,  December  30,  1911. 

George  W.  Chamberlatn 

George  W.  Chamberlain,  who  died  in  October,  1913,  at  his  home 
west  of  Chalmers,  had  long  been  one  of  the  largest  land  owners  and 
business  men  in  that  section  of  the  county.  He  was  born  in  Carroll 
County  in  1836  and  came  to  White  County  in  1845,  locating  in  West 
Point  Township.    He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Universalist  Church. 

James  Clary 

For  nearly  half  a  century  the  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  in  White 
County.  He  was  born  in  Greene  County,  Tennessee,  October  24,  1824, 
and  in  December,  1845,  came  to  Prairie  Township,  and  six  years  later 
removed  to  Princeton  Township,  where  he  resided  until  his  -death  on 
July  .23,  1895.  November  9,  1848,  he  married  Susannah  Smelcer  by 
whom  he  had  eight  children,  all  of  whom  died  before  his  death,  except 
one,  Joseph  H.,  who  is  still  a  resident  of  White  County.  His  wife  died 
October  25,  1871,  and  on  March  13,  1880,  he  married  Eunice  Wortman. 
About  twenty-eight  years  before  his  death  he  united  with  the  Christian 
Church  at  Palestine.  His  one  son,.  Joseph  II.  Clary,  is  a  respected  citi- 
zen of 'the  county. 

*  ,    .  George  V.  Coen 

George  V.  Coen,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  was  born  near  Findlay, 
Ohio,  January  12,  1836,  came  toMonticello  in  1873,  and  at  the  date  of 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  445 

his  death  at  his  son's  home  in  Bowling  Green,  Ohio,  had  heen  a  continuous 
resident  of  Monticello  for  over  forty  years.  He  enlisted  in  1862  in  the 
Eleventh  Kansas  Cavalry  and  in  1865  was  honorably  discharged  after  a 
service  of  more  than  three  years.  On  December  27,  1866,  he  married 
Miss  Jennie  McDonald.  He  left  four  sons,  all  of  whom  were  present  at 
his  burial  in  Monticello.  He  served  as  treasurer  of  Monticello  tbree 
terms  and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  beeu  a  ruling  elder 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Monticello.  He  was  a  true  soldier  both 
in  the  hour  of  his  country's  peril  and  in  the  more  constant  battle  of 
daily  life. 

James  W.  Cornell 


James  jY.  Cornell  died  at  his  home  in  Idaville  on  August  28,  1911, 
of  tubercul*  trouble.  He  was  born  June  29,  1849,  near  Elkhart,  Indi- 
ana, and  fiV^ears  later  came  with  his  parents  to  White  County,  where 
he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  On  November  30,  1871,  he  mar- 
ried Jerusha  Patton,  who,  with  a  son,  Orren,  survived  him.  He  also 
left  two  grandchildren,  Opal  and  Robert,  and  one  brother,  Richard 
Cornell,  now  living  in  Idaville.  Mr.  Cornell  in  1868  joined  the  Church 
of  God  and  retained  his  membership  therein  until  his  death. 

Jacob  Cowger 

Jacob  Cowger,  a  native  of  Pennelton  County,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  was  born  January  2,  1814,  died  at  his  home  in  Monticello,  May  18, 
1877.  He  was  married  August  21,  1834,  and  a  month  later  came  to 
White  County,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.    For  twenty  - 

*  six  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  died 
i    in  the  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality.    He  was  one  of  our  first,  as  well 

as  most  honored,  citizens. 

* 

William  H.  Cowger 

William  H.  Cowger,  son  of  Eli  and  Ann  Cowger,  was  born  January 

.  9,  1860,  in  the  house  on  Pike  Creek  in  which  he  was  living  at  the  time 

of  his  death,  October  11,  1906.     He  was  injured  from  a  cave-in  in  a 

gravel  pit  near  the  Pike  Creek  church,  dying  in  less  than  two  hours 

afterward.     He   was   married   to   Blanche   Mowrer,   March   26,    1890. 

*  Besides  his  widow,  he  left  five  children,  Forence,  Joseph,  Vera,  Frank 

*  and  Walter. 

Tacy  Jane  Crose 

.  Tacy  Jane  Crose,  whose  maiden  name  was  Smith,  was  born  in  Ohio 
in  1833,  and  when  but  three  weeks  old  her  parents  came  to  White  County 
and  located  on  a  farm  east  of  Brookston,  a  part  of  which  is  now  Spring 
Creek  Cemetery!  On  March  14,  1850,  she  was  married  to  Solomon 
Crose,  who  died  November  24,  1892.  •  To  this  marriage  was  born  nine 
children,  six  of  wliom  survived  her  and  were  present  at  her  funeral.    The 


446  .  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

other  three  died  in  infancy.  In  1869  she  united  with  the  Christian 
Church,  in  which  she  retained  her  membership  until  her  death,  which 
occurred  on  December  22,  1912,  which  was  the  birthday  of  her  oldest 
child. 

Mrs.  Cornelia  (Hughes)   Crouch 

Mrs.  Crouch  was  the  daughter  of  Rowland  Hughes  and  was  born    . 
in  MontieeUo,  April  25,  1856.     She  was  married  to  Henry  C.  Crouch  in 
■  1876.     In  connection  with  her  mother,  Mrs.  Nancy  Hughes,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Crouch  continued  their  residence  in  the  old  Hughes  homestead  and 
conducted  the  store  connected  therewith  until  the  failing  health  of  all 
compelled  them  to  give  it  up.     Her  husband  died  in  February,  1900,  at 
Phoenix,  Arizona,  where  he  was  temporarily  sojourning  for  the  benefit 
4i  his  health.     At  her  death  she  left  two  children,  Bernice  and  Henry, 
^he  former  afterward  married  Mark  Nicholson.    Both  have  since  died, 
"leaving  no  children.     All  are  buried  in  the  Hughes  plot  in  the  Monti- 
cello  cemetery. 

Henry  C.  Crouch 

Henry  C.  Crouch,  for  many  years  a  well-known  business  man  of 
MontieeUo,  died  at  Phoenix,  Arizona,  February  24,  1900,  where  he  had 
gone  to  recover  his  failing  health,  and  his  remains  were  brought  to 
MontieeUo  for  burial.  He  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Indiana,  August 
11,  1850,  came  to  MontieeUo  in  1872,  and  took  a  position  as  clerk,  in 
the  store  of  Rowdand  Hughes,  whose  daughter  Cornelia  he  married  in  . 
May,  1876.  To  them  were  born  three  children.  One  died  in  infancy  and 
two,  Henry  C,  Jr.,  and  Bernice,  with  the  mother,  survived  him,  but 
within  less  than  six  years  from  his  death  the  entire  family  were  taken." 
Bernice  married  Mark  G.  Nicholson,  of  Tipton,  Indiana,  and  died  in  a 
short  time  thereafter,  Henry  C,  Jr.,  died  six  weeks  prior  to  her  death, 
and  her  infant  child  died  at  its  birth.  The  mother  died  prior  to  this 
time,  and  the  visitor  to  the  old  cemetery  in  MontieeUo  will  be  shown  a 
row  of  five  graves  which  contain  the  entire  Crouch  family. 

Clara  (Simons)  Cullen  $  S 

For  many  years  Grandmother  Cullen  was  one  of  the  best  known 
women  of  Liberty  Township.  She  was  the  daughter  of  George  and  Bar- 
bara Simons,  and  was  born  in  Virginia,  March  3, 1809.  Died  at  her  home 
on  Cullen  Creek  May  24,  1899,  being  past  ninety  years  of  age.  January 
'  13,  1829,  she  married  Isaac  Dasher  in  Virginia.  He  died  in  June,  183S, 
and  November  1,  1842,  she  was  married  to  Leonard  D.  Bonnett.  Soon 
after  this  marriage  they  moved  to  White  County,  locating  about  six 
miles  south  of  MontieeUo.  Mr.  Bonnett  died  June  7,  1853,  and  October 
18,  1859,-  she  was  again  married  to  George  Cullen,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Liberty  Township,  who  died  September  7,  1886.  Her  daughter,  Ann 
Bonnett  married  George  Cullen,  Jr.,  son  of  her  last  husband.  Both  of 
these  died  some  years  ago,  leaving  three  children,  Joseph  D.  Cullen,  of 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  447 

Monticello,  and  James  P.  Cullen  and  Mrs.  Logan  Hughes,  of  Liberty 
Township. 

George  H.  Cullen 

George  H.  Cullen,  a  native  of  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  was  born  April  23,  1833,  died  at  his  home  in  Liberty  Township, 
January  22,  1913.  He  was  a  son  of  George  and  Susan  Allen  Cullen, 
one  of  a  family  of  nine  children,  and  was  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of 
the  township,  having  eome  there  with  his  parents  in  1852.  January  16, 
1862,  he  married  Anna  Bonnet,  who  died  December  30,  1870,  and  to 
them  were  born  three  children,  Joseph  D.,  James  P.  and  Jennie  E. 
Cullen  Hughes,  wife  of  Logan  Hughes,  all  of  whom  were  present  at  his 
funeral.     On  January  4,  1864,  Mr.  Cullen  enlisted  in  Company  F,  One 

/Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was 
discharged  April  10,  1866.  He  was  a  prominent  and  devoted  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  under  the  auspices  of  that  institution  he 
was  buried. 

George  Cullen,  Sr. 

George  Cullen,  Sr.,  a  native  of  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  where 
**      he  was  born  May  28,  1804,  died  at  his  home  in  Liberty  Township,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1886,  after  an  illness  of  only  two  days.    He  was  a  cooper  by 
trade,  but  in  1830  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  in  which  he  was 
quite  successful.     On  November  8,  1825,  he  married  Susan  Allen  and 
1     to  them  were  born  nine  children,  six  of  whom  survived  him.     His  wife 
died  in  1844  and  on  May  24,  1854,  he  married  Caroline  Kingsbury,  who 
gf      died  in  1859.     His  third  marriage  was  to  Clara  Bonnet,  October  18, 
1859,  who  survived  him.    In  1852  he  located  in  Liberty  Township,  where 
igp.  he  lived  and  prospered  until  his  death.    For  more  than  half  a  century 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  served  four  years  as 
P    township  trustee,  six  years  as  county  commissioner  and  was  generally 
^respected.    His  widow  died  May  26,  1899,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
one  years. 

Daniel  D.  Dale 

Daniel  D,  Dale  was  a  native  of  White  County,  having  been  born  near  ' 

.  Burnettsville-  on  May  13,  1836.     His  father,  Wm.  R.  Dale,  was  the 

rfirst  candidate  for  the  office  of  clerk  on  the  democratic  ticket,  but  was 

defeated  by  William  Sill,  a  whig.     To  this  same  office  Daniel  D.  Dale 

•    was  elected  in  1867,  having  defeated  Milton  M.  Sill,  son  of  the  father 

who  had  defeated  his  father  in  the  earlier  years.    July  22,  1861,  Mr. 

Dale  entered  the  army  as  a  private  in  Company  K,  Twentieth  Indiana 

Volunteers,  but  was  elected  second  lieutenant  when  the  company  was 

organized.     He  served  until  August,  1862,  when  he  resigned  on  account 

.      of  injuries  received  in  the  seven  days'  fight  before  Richmond.     He  was 

county  clerk  eight  years,  secretary  of  the  state  senate  in  1879,  and  was 

a  leading  member  of  the  democratic  party  in  White  County.     Mr.  Dale 

•  was  married  in  Junej  1864,  to  Miss  Ophelia,  daughter  of  Isaac  Reynolds, 


448  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

by  whom  he  had  four  children.  For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  death 
he  was  a  leading  member  of  the  White  County  bar  and  no  man  has 
occupied  a  more  prominent  part  in  the  local  history  of  the  county.  His 
death  occurred  at  Monticello  on  March  13,  1886. 

Oliver  S.  Dale 

Oliver  S.  Dale,  the  first  telegrapher  stationed  in  Monticello  and  later 
prominent  in  local  history,  was  born  in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  July  6, 
1833,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  White  County  about  1849.  He 
served  as  a  musician  in  the  Ninth  Indiana  Infantry  and  in  1867  and 
1868  was  marshal  and  treasurer  of  Monticello.  Later  he  was  a  guard 
in  the  northern  prison  at  Michigan  City  and  for  the  four  years  following 
1885  was  postmaster  at  Monticello  and  then  accepted  a  position  in  the 
Government  printing  office  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  which 
he  held  until  his  hearing  became  so  difficult  as  to  disqualify  him  for 
such  work,  when  he  retired  to  the  State  Soldiers'  Home  at  Lafayette, 
where  he  died  August  11, 1911.  His  first  wife  was  Kate  Brown,  daughter 
of  the  late  Capt.  John  C.  Brown,  and  at  her  death  he  married  her  sister 
Alice.  He  left  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Fannie  Trexler  of  Chicago  and  Mrs. 
Mae  Woods  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  a  son,  Glen,  of 
Bloomington,  Illinois.  In  July,  1909,  Mr.  Dale,  while  at  Monticello, 
related  the  story  of  the  first  telegram  received  at  Monticello.  It  was 
addressed  to  Mr.  James  H.  McCollum  and  read :  ' '  Forrest  opens  tomor- 
row night.  William  Turner. ' '  Mr.  Turner  was  the  owner  of  the  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  opera  house,  which  was  opened  by  the  great  tragedian.  Mr* 
Dale  also  received  the  telegram  announcing  the  death  of  President 
'  Lincoln  and  in  his  excitement  left  the  key  open,  for  which  he  was 
"called  on  the  carpet." 

Theodore  J.  Davis 

Theodore  J.  Davis,  a.  pioneer  of  Jackson  Township,  and  known  to 
everyone  in  that  locality,  died  March  19,  .1-912,  after  an  illness  of  sev- 
eral weeks.  Some  time  during  the  early  '50s  he  located  on  a  farm  six 
miles  north  of  Idaville  and  when  the  railroad  was  being  built  through 
the  town  he  walked  back  and  forth  each  day  and  put  in  a  full  day's 
work  on  the  road.  He  tvas  twice  elected  county  commissioner  on  the 
democratic  ticket  and  left  a  record  as  a  faithful,  honest  official.  He  was 
born  January  20,  1829,  in  Hamilton  County,  Ohio.  In  1848  he  was 
married  to  Patty  Jay,  who  lived  but  a  few  years,  and  after  her  death 
■  he  married  Sallie  Smith,  alid  to  them  were  born  eight  children.  He  was 
a  kindly,  genial  and -charitably  disposed  man,  who -filled,  his  station  in 
life  to  the  best  of  his  ability  and  left,  at  his  death,  an  honorable  name. 

Amasiah  Davisson 

For.  many  years  Amasiah  Davisson  was  a  farmer  and  extensive  land 
*  owner  in  Big  Creek  Township.     Later  he  moved   to  Monticello  and 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  449 

erected  a  commodious  residence  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and 
Ohio  streets.  He  was  born  in  Preble  County,  Ohio,  May  22,  1832.  In 
1852  he  was  married  to  Sarah  A.  House  and  located  in  "White  County  in 
1854.  He  died  suddenly  from  apoplexy,  May  22,  1901,  on  the  sixty- 
ninth  anniversary  of  his  birth,  leaving  a  widow  and  four  children: 
Anderson,  Simeon  and  Charles,  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Dellinger. 

Sarah  Debra 

Sarah  Debra  was  the  oldest  person  who  ever  lived  in  White  County. 
She  was  born  in  Newberry  County,  South  Carolina,  January  28,  1811, 
and  was  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children.  When  eight  years  old  she 
removed  with  her  parents  to  Columbus,  Tennessee,  and  in  1830  to  Miami 
County,  Ohio,  In  1832  she  married  Jacob  Debra  and  to  them  was  born 
one  daughter,  Elizabeth,  and  two  sons,  Samuel  and  David.  In  1840 
they  came  to  White  County  and  the  husband  entered  200  acres  of  land 
near  the  Lowe  Bridge,  and  here  they  lived  in  a  log  hut  while  building  a 
more  substantial  log  house.  This  was  her  home  until  the  death  of  her 
husband  in  1861.  Her  son  David  died  in  the  army  in  1861  and  the 
other  son  died  at  Oxford,  Indiana. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  in  1861,  Mrs.  Debra  bought  the  farm 
in  Liberty  Township  upon  which  her  grandson,  Ezra  Sluyter,  now 
resides.  She  made  her  home  with  Mrs.  Hiram  Sluyter,  her  daughter, 
until  the  latter 's  death  in  1902.  Subsequently,  until  her  death  at  the 
home  of  her  grandson,  Marion  Sluyter,  on  February  14,  1912,  she 
resided  with  her  various  grandchildren.  At  the  time  of  her  decease, 
Mrs.  Debra's  age  was  101  years  and  17  days.  Her  remains  were 
interred  in  what  is  known  as  the  Clark  Cemetery. 

David  Dellinger 

i  One  of  the  strong  characters  of  White  County  for  near  a  half  cen- 
tury was  David  Dellinger,  of  West  Point  Township,  where  he  located  in 
March,  1855.  He  was  a  successful  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  warm  and 
hearty  in  his  friendships  and  dispensed  the  proverbial  hospitality  of  the 

•  pioneer  to  rich  and  poor  alike.  He  was  born  in  Fairfield  County,  Ohio, 
October  1,  1814.    Married  January  1,  1840,  to  Barbara  A.  Warner,  who 

'died  in  June,  1872.  He  died  January  20,  1902,  at  the  home  of  his  son- 
in-laW,  John  Davisson,  in  Wolcott,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.  He  left 
survjving  five  children,  Mrs.  Daniel  Irons,  Mrs.  John  Davisson,  Lewis, 
Thomas  and  David  Dellinger. 

Dr.  Robert  M.  Delzell 

Few  persons  ever  attain  to  a  warmer  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  entire 

•  community^  than  was  attained  by  Doctor  Delzell  in  his  thirty-five  years' 
practice  of'his  profession  in  Reynolds.  He  was  accidentally  killed,  May 
28,  1905,  during  a  severe  wind  storm.    He  was  an  active  G,  A.  R. 

Vol.  J—  29   • 


450 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


man,  and  with  a  young  man  named  Clyde  Keller  he  had  gone  to  the 
Bunnell  Cemetery  to  place  markers  on  the  soldiers'  graves  preparatory 
to  the  observance  of  Decoration  day.  On  their  return,  about  5  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  they  were  caught  in  a  severe  storm,  a  limb  of  a  tree  was 
blown  down  on  their  buggy,  striking  the  physician  across  his  shoulders 
and  breaking  his  neck.  Death  was  instantaneous.  Robert  M.  Delzell  was 
born  in  Blount  County,  Tennessee,  November  8,  1843.  He  came  to  Indi- 
ana in  the  early  '60s,  and  in  1864  enlisted  in  Company  II,  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-second  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  was  mustered  out  at  India- 
napolis, July  14,  1865.  In  1866  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  William  S.  Haymond,  in  Monticello,  and  in  1869  began 
the  practice  in  Reynolds.  December  30,  1869,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
E.  Bristow,  and  to  them  were  born  two  daughters,  Anna  L.  Delzell,  who 
resides  in  California,  and  Mary  E.,  now  Mrs.  Robert  Smith,  residing  in 
Chicago.  Mrs.  Delzell  died  in  August,  1897,  and  on  May  11,  1899,  he 
was  again  married  to  Miss  Gertrude  B.  Ca^r,  who  survived  him. 

William  Delzell 

William  Delzell,  one  of  Idaville's  most  respected  residents,  was  born 
near  Greencastle,  Indiana,  January  29,  1832,  and  died  at  his  home  in 
Idaville,  Sunday  night,  August  8,  1915.  At  a  very  early  age  he  came 
with  his  parents,  James  and  Elizabeth  Delzell,  and  settled  on  Rattle- 
snake Creek  about  four  miles  southeast  of  Monticello,  in  Carroll  County. 
In  1854  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rosannah  Carson  and  to  them 
were  born  eight  children,  three  of  whom  with  the  mother  preceded  him 
in  death.  At  an  early  age  he  joined  the  Seceder  Church,  but  in  18G6 
he  united  with  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Idaville,  and  in  1873 
was  elected  elder.  He  served  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-second  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteers,  in  the  Civil  war  and 
was  a  man  of  high  ideals,  a  good  neighbor  and  a  true  Christian.  His 
wife  died  August  2,  1900..  Mr.  Delzell  was  survived  by  one  daughter, 
Mrs.  Melissa  Million,  of  Burnettsville,  and  four  sons,  Charles,  James 
Hamilton  and  Frank,  of  Idaville,  and  William,  of  Iowa,  also  four  grand- 
children and  three  great-grandchildren. 

Levi  C.  Develin 

Levi  C.  Develin,  born  in  Cambridge  City,  Indiana,  August  6,  1835, 
died  at  his  home  in  Burnettsville,  February  6,  1906.  He  early  engaged 
in  railroading,  and  on  May  8,  1864,  lost  both  feet  in  the  Panhandle 
yards  at  Logansport.  He  then  learned  telegraphy  and  in  1865  was 
appointed  agent  at  Burnettsville,  which  position  he  held  until  1905, 
forty  years,  when  he  was  placed  on  the  pension  retired  list. 


Elihu  B.  Dibell 

"Elihu  B.  Dibell,  who  died  at  his  home  in  Wolcott  in  March,  1912, 
was  at  the  time  of  his  decease  the  oldest  banker  in  point  of  continuous 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  451 

service  in  White  County.  He  had  been  prominent  in  the  business  affairs 
of  that  place  since  1885.  He  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  was  buried  in  Meadow  Lake  Cemetery. 

Thomas  E.  Donnelly 

Thomas  E.  Donnelly,  who  died  one  mile  east  of  Reynolds  on  Tues- 
day, April  14,  1914,  in  his  seventy-second  year,  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  war,  in  which  he  served  in  the  same  regiment  with  his  father.  On 
his  being  discharged  from  the  army  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Cham- 
pion Reaper  Company  as  traveling  agent  and  later  served  as  deputy  war- 
den of  the  Northern  Indiana  State  Prison,  at  Michigan  City,  under 
wardens  French  and  Murdock.  After  this  service  he  bought  a  large 
farm  east  of  Norway,  but  later  moved  to  Monticello,  then  to  Idaville, 
thence  to  his  home,  where  he  died.  He  was  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
and  under  the  auspices  of  that  organization  he  was  interred  in  the  old 
mmP  cemetery  in  Monticello. 

David  S.  Droke 

P*  David  S.  Droke,  who  for  more  than  sixty  years  had  resided  near 

Idaville,  died  September  26,  1912,  in  San  Jose,  California,  and  his 
remains  were  brought  to  Idaville  for  interment.  He  came  to  Jackson 
Township  in  1849  from  Tennessee  and  two  years  before  his  death  went 
"to  California  on  account  of  his  health.  He  had  passed  his  eighty-third 
Birthday  and  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 

r  -at  Idaville,  in  which  body  he  was  elected  an  elder  in  1892.  He  was  twice 
married,  but  left  no  surviving  children. 

&  i. ;  :■ 

Jeremiah  Dunham 

*       .  Jeremiah  Dunham,  born  in  Logansport,  January  16,  1840,  located 
.in  Reynolds  in  1865.    He  had  taught  school  a  few  years  prior  to  that 

'  tjme  and  then  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Robert  W.  Sill; 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1868 ;  taught  the  Reynolds  School  for  three 
years  succeeding  1869.  About  this  time  he  began  the  publication  of  a 
paper  in  Reynolds  called  the  Banner.  This  suspended  in  1872,  and  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  his  life  he  conducted  a  small  store,  repair  shop  and 
.  notary  office.  On  September  4,  1879,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  B. 
Arrick,rwho  with  three  daughters,  survived  him.  For  many  years  prior 
to  his  death  he  had  been  in  poor  health,  and  being  a  hopeless  cripple,  he 
finally  concluded  to  end  the  struggle,  which  he  did,  March  8,  1906,  by 
shoofing'himself  through  the  head  with  a  target  rifle,  dying  a  few  min- 
utes later.  . 

George  W.  Dyer 

George  W.  Dyer  was  born  in  Virginia,  July  14,  1831.    His  father, 
..     Zebulon  Dyer,  came  to  Indiana  in  an  early  day  and  located  on  the  hill 


452  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

overlooking  the  river  at  Sheetz's  Mill,  an  important  point  in  pioneer 
days.  This  neighborhood  is  now  more  popularly  known  as  "Oakdale," 
and  the  house  which  the  elder  Dyer  built  in  the  early  days  is  still  stand- 
ing. Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  until  he  bought  a  farm  about 
three  miles  east  of  Brookston,  where  he  died  August  15,  1906.  In  1866 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Elnora  VanScoy,  who,  with  five  children,  sur- 
vived him.  These  were  Grant  G.,  of  Tippecanoe  County;  Eliza,  now 
Mrs.  Edward  Conway ;  Robert,  of  Prairie  Township,  and  Grace. 

James  Evans 

At  one  time — during  and  in  the  years  succeeding  the  war — James 
Evans,  a  well  known  hotelkeeper  and  auctioneer,  resided  in  Reynolds  and 
afterward  in  Monticello.  Later,  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  made  his 
home  with  his  sister,  near  Bement,  Illinois.  Here  he  devoted  his  later 
years  to  a  close  study  of  the  Bible,  under  the  strain  of  which  his  mind 
gave  way,  and  he  died  in  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Kankakee, 
Illinois,  January  22,  1898,  age  seventy-three  years. 

Mrs.  Mary  Failing 

Mrs.  Mary  Failing,  daughter  of  Rowland  and  Nancy  Hughes,  was  at 
the  time  of  her  death  probably  the  oldest  continuous  resident  of  Mon- 
ticello. She  was  born  in  Green  County,  Pennsylvania,  February  5, 
1834,  and  came  with  her  parents  the  next  year.  February  22,  1854, 
she  was  married  to  Peter  R.  Failing.  To  them  were  born  "five  children,, 
three  of  whom,  Florine,  Jennie  and  Nellie,  are  still  living,  tfte  first 
being  Mrs.  Frank  P.  Berkey  of  Monticello.  Besides  these  she  left  sur-' 
viving  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Jeptha  Crouch  of  Lafayette  and  Mrs.  John  I. 
Purcupile.    She  died  December  29,  1907. 

Peter  R.  Failing 

For  many  years  Peter  R.  Failing  was  one  of  the  best  known  men  in 
Monticello.  Being  a  son-in-law  of  Rowland  Hughes,  some  years  of  his 
early  life  were  spent  in  the  latter 's  store.  Prior  to  that  time  he  had 
been  a  track  master  on  the  New  York  Central  Road  and  later  on  other 
roads.  He  came  to  "White  County  in  1853  and  superintended  the 
grading  of  the  railroad  between  Logansport  and  Reynolds.  On  Febru- 
ary 24,  1854,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Hughes.  To  them  were  born 
three  daughters,  Florine,  Jennie  and  Nellie,  all  of  whom  are  yet  living. 
He  was  born  November  19,  1820,  in  Wayne  County,.  New  York ;  died 
in- Monticello,  December  15,  1899,  from  paralysis. 

David  L,  Fisher 

David  L.  Fisher  was  born  in  Carroll  County,  Indiana,  on  the  14th 
day  of  October,  1839.    Both  his  parents  were  of  old  English  descent  and 


»     HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  453 

.  married'  in  Oliio  in  1824  and  soon  after  removed  to  Carroll  County, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  learned  the 
miller's  trade.  His  father  was  a  German  Baptist  preacher  and  died 
February  5,  1871,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven.  For  a  few  years  prior  to 
1861  he  conducted  an  old-fashioned  grist  mill  near  Camden  in  Carroll 
County.  From  there  he  moved  to  Cass  County  and  in  1862  came  to 
. '  •  •  White  County,  where  he  lived  for  two  years,  when  he  returned  to  Cass 
County,  but  not  being  satisfied  with  this  change,  in  1866  he  returned  to 
White  County  and  purchased  a  home  about  a  mile  west  of  Burnettsville. 
Later  he  engaged  in  the  farm  implement  business  with  the  late  James  M. 
Love,  He  was  married  June  12,  1859,  to  Miss  Nancy  Murray,  and  to 
this  union  was  born  five  children.  Mr.  Fisher  served  for  a  time  as 
county  commissioner,  in  which  office  he  left  an  enviable  record.  He 
was  a  republican  in  politics  and  an  active  member  of  the  German  Baptist 
Church.  He  died  at  his  home  about  two  miles  west  of  Burnettsville, 
July  11,  1902. 

Eobison  Fleeger 

An  old  and  well  known  resident  of  Princeton  Township,  White 
County,  Robison  Fleeger  was  born  in  Juniata  County,  Pennsylvania, 
■  December  7,  1829.  He  was  married  to  Isabella  Logue,  a  native  of 
Canada,  October  14,  1851.  They  located  in  Princeton  Township  in 
1854,  where  they  resided  until  1881,  when  they  removed  to  Reynolds, 
where  he  died  November  21,  1906.  He  left  a  widow  and  three  children 
«  —two  sons  and  one  daughter,  the  latter  being  now  Mrs.  John  S.  Griss- 
mer,  of  Honey  Creek  Township.  i 

f 

v  -  William  N.  Forbis 

?: 

'*'     Though  not  an  early  settler,  William  N.  Forbis  was  for  nearly  twenty 
^     years  closely  identified  with  Monticello  and  her  material  growth.    He 
*   was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  May  14,  1839,  and  came  to  Monticello 
j,   -March  1,  1889,  purchasing  the  farm  on  the  Norway  hill  north  of  Mon- 
ticello, where  he  made  his  home,  and  where  his  daughter  and  son-in-law, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  Rinker,  still  reside.    Some  years  later  he  built 
the  Forbis  Hotel  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Harrison  streets 
<      in  Monticello,  and  though  he  did  not  run  it  himself  he  took  much  interest 
in  its  success  under  other  management.     He  died  March  7,  1908,  leaving 
'  ',  a  widow,  two  sons  and  three  daughters. 

„•',    -'.  '  William  F.  Ford 

For  many  years  prior  to  his  death  in  Monon  on  March  5,  1893,  few 

1, .       men  in  White  County  were  better  known  than  "Uncle  Billy"  Ford.    He 

wa£  born  in  England,  but  the  date  of  his  birth  is  not  known.    On  June 

6,  1846,  he  enlisted  from  Jackson  Township  and  served  with  honor  in 

rar  with  Mexico.    He  was  a  natural-born  soldier  and  seems  to  have 

enjoyed  a  really  good  fight.    In  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo  he  received 


•  454  .  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

a  saber  cut  in  his  left  thigh,  a  lance  thrust  through  one  wrist,  a  pistol 
ball  through  the  other  wrist,  a  bayonet  wound  under  the  chin  and  his 
right  leg  was  cut  off  by  a  cannon  ball.  For  several  days  he  had  but  little 
care,  but  finally  pulled  through  and  lived  to  receive  a  veteran's  bronze 
medal/which  he  highly  prized.  By  trade  he  was  a  tailor,  but  for  many 
years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  bailiff  in  the  White  Circuit  Court,  where 
his  familiar  figure  was  well  known.  He  left  at  his  death  a  widow,  six 
sons  and  one  daughter.  ' 

Peter  Fox 

A  history  of  Mpnticello  for  the  thirty  years  succeeding  the  war  would 
not  be  complete  without  mention  of  Peter  Fox,  for  many  years  senior 
member  of  the  well  known  firm  of  Fox  &  Karp.  They  were  retail  liquor 
dealers  in  the  days  when  that  business  was  not  regarded  as  it  is  now  in 
Monticello,  and  their  contributions  to  the  material  growth  of  the  town 
testify  that  they  were  much  above  the  average  of  those  engaged  in  that 
line  of  business.  Mr.  Fox  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  August  10, 
1841,  and  came  to  America  when  a  boy,  locating  in  Pennsylvania.  Here 
he  joined  the  Second  Artillery,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  soon  after 
the  war  located  in  Monticello,  where  he  worked  .at  his  trade  of  carpenter 
and  contractor,  but  soon  after  engaged  in  the  saloon  business,  in  which 
he  continued  until  his  death,  January  4,  1898. 

Mahlon  Fraser 

Mahlon  Fraser  was  one  of  the  first  white  children  born  in  White 
County.  He  was  born  a  short  distance  below  the  present  site  of  Monti- 
cello, May  14,  1833.  With  the  exception  of  four  years,  spent  in  Kansas, 
he  was  a  resident  of  Monticello  and  vicinity  all  his  life.  Died  at  his 
home  on  West  Washington  Street,  September  2,  1899.  He  was  married 
to  Etta  G.  Davis  in  1858.  To  them  were  born  eight  children,  all  of 
whom  preceded  him  in  death,  except  one  son,  Morton-Fraser,  who  still 
lives  in  Monticello. 

.  Maximilla  Fraser 

Maximllla  Fraser  lived  in  Monticello  over  sixty  years.  She  was 
born  in  Champaign  County,  Ohio,  February  1,  1821,  and  when  she 
was  but  a  child  her  parents  brought  her  to  White  County,  making  the 
journey  with  an  ox  team.  She  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  about  1864,  in  which  communion  she  lived  until  her  death.  She 
spent  the  last  fifteen  years  of  her  life  a  cripple  and  died  at  the  home 
of  her  son,  Mahlon  Fraser,  in  Monticello,  on  February  11,  1894.  Many 
"  of  her  relatives  and  descendants  yet  live  in  White  County. 

♦ ;    •  '  .  "    George  W.  Friday 

George  W.  Friday,  a  former  well  known  business  man  of  Idaville, 
eSsborn  at  Canton,  Ohio,  February  22,  1841,  where  he.  acquired  a 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  455 

good  business  education.  For  many  years  he  was  the  principal  grain 
dealer  at  Idaville,  giving  this  business  over  to  his  son,  Fred,  in  1906. 
He  was  for  many  years  an  earnest  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  lived  a  devoted  Christian  life.  On  April  3,  1866,  he  was 
married  to  Margaret  Woods,  who,  with  four  children,  survived  him. 
His  death  occurred  at  Idaville,  May  25,  1909. 

George  M.  Gay 

George  M.  Gay  was  born  in  Miami  County,  Ohio,.  March  4,  1835, 
and  When  twelve  years  old  came  with  his  parents  to  Indiana  and  enlisted 
in  the  army  in  1861,  in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
died  at  his  home  east  of  Monon,  April  29,  1912,  leaving  surviving  a  sis- 
ter, a  nephew  and  a  large  circle  of  friends  to  mourn  his  departure.  He 
was  buried  in  the  Chapel  Cemetery. 


Robert  P.  Gibson 

One  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  White  County,  Robert  P.  Gibson,  died 
at  his  home  in  Burnettsville,  March  27,  1905,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three 
years.  He  located  in  Jackson  Township  while  yet  a  boy  and  was  prob- 
ably the  oldest  citizen  of  the.  county  at  the  time  of  his  death,  having 
*  seen  it  grow  from  a  wilderness  inhabited  by  Indians  to  its  present  ad- 
■  yanced  state.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  attainments,  was 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  and  retained  his  mental  vigor  to  the  last.  His 
life  having  been  so  closely  identified  with  the  county's  history  from  the 
beginning,  he  was  full  of  reminiscences  of  early  days,  and  an  hour  spent 
with  him  was  indeed  a  treat.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  more  complete 
account  of  his  life  can  not  be  given  here.  He  left  two  sons,  Nathan  C. 
and  William,  and  five  daughters,  Mrs.  Marian  Gates,  of  Zion  City,  Illi- 
nois, Mrs.  John  Gorman,  of  near  Burnettsville,  Mrs.  Maurice  Boehnie 
and  Mrs.  R.  Hill,  of  Lake  Cicott,  and  Mrs.  Belle  Jump,  of  Burnettsville. 

Robert  Ginn 

v    .     Robert  Ginn,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Jackson  Township,  was  born 

in  Kentucky  in  February,  1811,  and  when  three  years  old  his  parents 

-     removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Xenia,  Ohio.    Here  on  March  6,  1834,  he 

%     married  Elizabeth  R.  McClellan  to  whom  were  born  twelve  children. 

» 'In  1848  he  brought  his  family  to  White  County  and  settled  on  a  farm 

'  two  miles  northeast  of  Idaville,  where  he  lived  until  a  short  time  prior 

to  his  death,  when,  having  lost  his  wife,  he  went  to  Idaville,  where  he 

resided  with  his  son,  John,  until  his  death  on  September  12,  1894.    He 

wis  a  charter  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Idaville, 

in  which  church  he  held  the  office  of  elder  for  many  years.    His  name 

£tad  that  of  the  Ginn  family  is  one  of  the  most  honored  in  the  history 

Hiite  County. 


J 


456  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Robert  N.  Ginn 

Robert  N.  Ginn  was  born  in  Union  County,  Ohio,  December  19, 
1844,  and  died  at  his  home  near  Sitka,  on  his  birthday,  December 
19,  1893,  aged  forty-nine  years.  At  the  age  of  four  years  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  White  County  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Jackson  Township, 
two  miles  northeast  of  Idaville,  where  he  lived  the  greater  part  of  his 
life.  On  December  16,  1875,  he  married  Miss  Clara  V.  Warden.  In 
November,  1886,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Church  of  God  at  Sitka  in 
which  belief  he  died.    He  died  as  he  lived,  a  quiet,  honest,  Christian  man. 

Lewis  A.  Goodrich 

Lewis  A.  Goodrich  came  to  Wolcott  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil 
war,  having  served  therein  from  his  native  county  of  Montgomery,  New 
York.  In  partnership  with  his  brother  he  started  a  wagon  shop,  having 
learned  the  trade  of  wagon-making  in  boyhood.  His  death  occurred  at 
Wolcott  in  July,  1912,  in  his  seventieth  year.  He  married  Sarah  E. 
Johnson  in  January,  1868,  who  survived  him,  with  eight  children. 

The  Graves  Family 

Lewis  Graves,  born  in  Coshocton  County,  Ohio,  May  24,  1837,  son  of 
James  and  Christena  (Potter)  Graves,  came  to  Indiana  in  1838,  located 
in  Tippecanoe  County,  remained  one  year  and  then  removed  to  White 
County,  where  he  resided  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  grew  up  and  received 
his  schooling  in  Monon  Township,  was  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  a 
democrat  in  politics;  was  married  to  Martha  C.  Downey  on  October  23, 
1860,  moved  to  the  homestead  farm  just  north  of  Monon,  where  he 
resided  till  his  death  on  March  18,  1915,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven 
years,  nine  months  and  twenty-four  days.  He  was  strong,  athletic  and 
rugged,  weighing  about  225  pounds,  and  was  six  feet  one  inch  in  height. 
He  retained  the  best  of  health  till  the  close  of  life,  and  was  sick  but 
two  days  with  a  stroke  of  apoplexy. 

Martha  C.  Graves  was  also  born  in  Ohio,  Perry  County,  January  5, 
1835,  came  to  Indiana  with  her  parents  in  1836,  received  her  schooling  in 
Monon  Township,  was  a  Presbyterian,  a  member  of  the  Bedford  and 
Monon  churches,  till  her  death,  which  was  on  April  23,  1910,  aged 
seventy-five  years,  three  months  and  eighteen  days.  The  other  members 
of  the  family,  brothers  and  sister  of  Lewis  Graves,  are  John  Graves,  of 
Monon,  Indiana;  James  M.  Graves,  of  Nebraska;  Catharine  Culp,  the 
widow  of  George  Culp. 

There  was  born  to  Lewis  and  Martha  C.  Graves:  James  T.  Graves, 
an  attorney  of  Monticello,  Indiana;  Samuel  Graves,  a  contractor  of 
Alexandria,  Ohio ;  Catharine  M.  Graves,  a  dressmaker,  now  near  Monon, 
Indiana;  Effie  Grace  Leavell,  married  to  Edward  E.  Leavell,  of  Fulton, 
Indiana;  Fannie  Belle  Troxel,  wife  of  Daniel  J.  Troxel,  of  Mulberry, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  457 

i 

Indiana;  and  William  C.  Graves,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
leaving  no  descendants. 

This  family  has  had  its  part  in  the  making  of  White  County,  in  its 
development  from  a  wild  waste  of  swamp  and  brush,  inhabited  hy  deer, 
prairie  wolves  and  Indians,  to  the  splendid  improvements  now  to  be 
seen,  fine  schools,  churches,  a  highly  civilized  and  Christian  people,  fit 
citizens  for  any  government. 

Benjamin  Greenfield 

Benjamin  Greenfield,  born  in  Hawkin  County,  Ohio,  May  2,  1834, 
died  at  his  home  in  Montieello,  April  29,  1903,  from  pneumonia.  Mr. 
Greenfield  was  brought  by  his  mother  to  Indiana  in  1835  and  was 
reared  as  a  member  of  the  family  of  John  Burns,  in  Big  Creek  Town- 
ship. He  was  married  February  2,  1859,  to  Martha  Hornbeck  and 
located  on  a  farm  near  the  mouth  of  Big  Creek,  where  they  resided 
until  they  moved  to  Montieello,  a  short  time  before  his  death.  The 
widow  has  since  died,  but  they  are  survived  by  two  children,  Dr.  Charles 
Greenfield,  of  Chicago,  and  Mrs.  Allie  Ward. 

Robert  A.  Hamelle 

Robert  A.  Hamelle  was  born  in  Blount  County,  Tennessee,  May  5, 
1812,  and  in  the  spring  of  1833  came  on  horseback  to  Indiana,  where, 
two  years  later,  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  Carroll  County,  about  four  miles 
southeast  of  Montieello,  where  he  lived  until  1872,  when  he  removed  to 
Montieello,  from  which  place,  in  1874,  he  moved  to  Idaville,  at  which 
place  he  died  January  2,  1885.  On  November  11,  1840,  he  married, 
Margaret  G.  Montgomery,  who  died  at  Idaville,  January  25,  1888.  To 
this  union  was  born  eight  children,  four  of  whom  survive  and  are  living 
in  White  County.  He  was  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church, 
a  man  of  strong  religious  convictions  and  a  good  citizen. 

Abram  Hanawalt 

Abram  Hanawalt,  a  pioneer  and  one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of 
.White  County,  was  born  in  Lewistown,  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania, 
February  21,  1829,  and  died  December  9,  1909,  at  the  home  of  his  son, 
•  Prof.  Frank  W.  Hanawalt,  Taeoma,  Washington.  He  was  one  of  twelve 
children  born  to  his  parents  and  in  1846  came  to  White  County,  locating 
near  Burnettsville,  but  in  1851  he  came  to  Montieello  and  engaged  with 
His  brother,  Joseph,  in  the  plastering  business,  one  of  their  first  contracts 
being  the  old  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  stood  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Main  and  Marion  streets.  On  Christmas  eve,  1854,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Barbara  Hartman,  who  died  and  exactly  forty  years  from  his  first 
marriage,  on  Christmas  eve,  1894,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  Baum,  who 
died  on  Christmas  eve,  1908,  on  the  eve  of  their  wedding  anniversary. 
To  the  first  marriage  eight  children  were  born,  one  of  whom,  Alva,  now 
lives  in  Montieello,  and  Frank  W.,  another  son,  is  professor  of  mathe- 


458  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

i    - 
matics  in  the  University  of  Puget  Sound,  Tacoina,  Washington.    Mr. 
Hanawalt  was  a  model  of  industry  and  integrity  and  by  a  close  applica- 
tion to  his  business  had  amassed  considerable  of  this  world's  goods.    Ho 
died  universally  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Joseph  Hanawalt 

Joseph  Hanawalt,  a  member  of  an  old  and  honored  family,  will  long 
be  remembered  by  the  early  citizens  of  White  County.  He  was  born 
October  10,  1823,  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  Burnetts- 
ville,  February  8,  1909.  He  came  to  Indiana  in  1846  and  on  August 
18th  of  that  year  was  married  to  Catharine  M.  Grassmyer.  To  this  union 
were  born  three  children,  William,  Mary,  and  a  son  who  died  in  early 
infancy.  The  daughter  Mary  died  in  1872  and  the  mother  followed  in 
1893.  Two  years  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  married  Nancy 
Bennett,  who  died  October  19,  1910.  Mr.  Hanawalt  was  a  brother  of 
Abram  Hanawalt,  deceased.  In  1849,  with  his  wife,  he  joined  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  to  which  he  ever  afterward  gave  his  earnest  sup- 
port and  was  one  of  the  active  members  who  assisted  in  the  erection  of 
the  first  Methodist  Church  built  in  Monticello,  about  1850.  Twenty-eight 
years  prior  to  his  death  he  organized  a  Sunday  school  at  the  White  Oak 
church  in  Cass  Township  and  for  many  years  was  its  superintendent. 
Father  Hanawalt  left  his  influence  for  good  in  every  locality  where  he 
was  known  and  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  in  the  circle  in  which  he  moved. 

Mary  Hanawalt  '. 

All  the  trials  incident  to  pioneer  life  were  not  undergone  by  the 
stronger  sex— woman  has  often  proYen  herself  to  be  as  true  a  soldier 
as  man.  Mrs.  Mary  Hanawalt  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  January  1,  1801.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Joseph  Roth- 
rock  and  about  1820  joined  the  German  Baptist  Church  and  in  1846 
came,  to  White  County  and  settled  near  Burnettsville.  "Aunt  Mary," 
as  she  was  generally  known,  died  May  23,  1885,  at  the  residence  of  her 
son,  Isaac  Hanawalt,  about  five  miles  northeast  of  Monticello,  universally 
respected. 

Jerky  Hancock 

Jerry  Hancock,  who  has  lived  the  quiet  life  in  Norway  for  over  half 
a  century  is  well  known  to  most  of  the  people  in  Monticello  and  vicinity. 
He  is  an  old  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  is  entitled  to  a  pension  of  $30 
per  month,  having  served  in  the  army  for  more  than  three  years  and 
being  almost  eighty  years  old.  He  came  to  Norway  in  1860,  from 
Southern  Indiana,  when  that  village  had  a  flour  mill,  a  woolen  mill, 
three  sawmills,  a  tan  yard,  three  blacksmith  shops  and  several  stores,  all 
doing  good  business.  Uncle  Jerry  has  outlived  them  all  and  bids  fair 
to  be  with  us  for  many  years. 


: 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  459 

Mbs.  Belle  H annum 

Mrs.  Belle  Hannum,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Eliza  Rothrock  and  sister 
of  Bowman  and  Samuel  Rothrock  and  Mrs.  James  S.  Wigmore.  She  was 
born  in  Monticello,  where  she  spent  her  girlhood.  She  was  married  to 
George  E.  Hannum,  December  31,  1868.  In  those  early  years  there  lived 
with  them  a  younger  sister  of  Mr.  Hannum 's,  Miss  Melissa  Hannum, 
who,  in  her  younger  days,  displayed  considerable  literary  talent,  writing 
several  poems  of  local  interest.  Among  these  the  most  pretentious  was 
''The  Legend  of  the  Tippecanoe,"  a  lengthy  production  purporting  to 
give  the  origin  of  the  name  of  this  beautiful  river.  This  was  printed  in 
the  local  papers  at  the  time,  and  a  number  of  years  later — July  26, 1901 — 
was  reproduced  in  the  White  County  Democrat.  Mrs.  Hannum  removed 
to  Denver,  Colorado,  in  the  '70s,  where  she  died  November  18,  1907, 
leaving  three  daughters,  Mrs.  Marion  Lord,  Mrs.  Julia  Strong  and  Mrs. 
Maude  Karstul,  of  Colorado,  and  one  son,  Joseph  Hannum,  residing  in 
Albuquerque,  New  Mexico. 

Thaddeus  Hanway 

Born  November  14,  1830,  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania;  died  March 
30,  1897.  On  December  23,  1856,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Baker  at 
Hanover,  Pennsylvania.  Located  in  Monticello  in  1862,  where  he  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  Sixty-third  Indiana  Volunteers.  He  was  stricken 
with  paralysis  in  1891  and  continued  an  invalid  until  his  death.  He 
left  two  sons,  George  H.  and  Thaddeus  E.,  the  latter  being  at  present 
(1915)  the  well  known  manager  of  the  Monticello  Telephone  Company. 

Jonathan  Harbolt 

Jonathan  Harbolt,  who  died  at  Monticello,  August  12,  1872,  in  his 
sixty-seventh  year,  was  a  man  who  was  an  honor  to  White  County.  He 
was  a  native  of  Culpeper  County,  Virginia,  and  when  a  youth  crossed 
the  mountains  on  horseback,  located  in  Monticello  about  1835,  and  fol- 

*  lowed  bis  trade  of  cabinet-maker  and  undertaker.  The  old  cemetery 
fiorth  of  town  is  filled  with  his  old-fashioned  coffins.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  his  probity  has  passed  into  a  proverb : 
"As  honest  as  the  old  Squire."  He  was  a  Presbyterian  of  the  old 
school,  a  democrat  and  a  man  of  unfeigned  honesty  of  purpose.  In  the 
convention  of  1850,  that  formed  the  present  constitution  of  our  state, 
he  was  chosen  a  delegate  from  the  counties  of  Benton,  Jasper,  Pulaski 
.and  White,  was  present  at  its  opening  session  and  took  an  intelligent 

r'part  in  all  its  proceedings.  He  favored  the  election  of  one  senator  for 
each-  3,000  voters,  and  a  representative  for  each  1,000  voters,  which 
would  have  made  both  bodies  too  large.  He  was  instrumental  in  having 
a  clause  inserted  in  article  2,  section  9,  providing  that  in  counties  casting 
less,  than  1,000  polls  the  office  of  clerk,  auditor  and  recorder,  or  any 

.  two  of  them,  may  be  held  by  one  person.    His  wife  died  December  25, 


460 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 


1872.  Two  young  children  are  buried  by  their  parents,  one  son,  John, 
went  west  and  died,  one  lost  his  life  in  the  Civil  war  and  one  other  son, 
the  unfortunate  "Billy,"  is  the  sole  survivor  of  the  family. 

Thomas  A.  Hardy 


Juniata  County,   Pennsylvania,   sent  forth   many   of  her  sons  to 
pie  our  county  and  one  of  the  older  ones  was  Thomas  A.  Hardy,  who 
was  born  in  Mifflin,  Pennsylvania,  on  December  19,  1832.    On  January 
22,  1857,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Sulaff,  of  Mifflin,  who  died  December 
28,  1878.    In  1864  he  enlisted  in  the  army  and  at  his  death  was  a  mem- 
.  ber  G.  A.  R.  Post  No.  101  of  Monon.    He  came  to  Wolcott  in  1865,  to 
Monticello  in  1866,  then  to  Monon  in  1872.    He  united  with  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Mifflin,  Pennsylvania,  when  a  mere  youth,  brought  his 
letter  to  Monticello  in  1866  and  then  to  Monon  in  1889  and  was  one  of 
e  original  members  of  the  latter  church  at  its  organization.    He  died 
,t  his  home  west  of  Monon,  November  12,  1895.    He  had  nine  children, 
ve  sons  and  four  daughters,  but  was  survived  by  only  two  sons,  David 
d  Alexander,  and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  George  McDonald.    His  life  was 
that  of  a  consistent  Christian. 


Spencer  C.  Hart 

;  •  Born  in. Trenton,  New  Jersey,  October  6,  1819,  Spencer  C.  Hart  died 
at  his  home  in  East  Monticello,  Indiana,  April  17,  1915,  in  his  ninety- 

-  sixth  year.    He  removed  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  when  a  young,  man,  coming  on 

^to  Indiana  in  1863,  locating  at  Battleground.  He  came  to  White  County 
in  1864  and  located  in  Prairie  Township,  near  Brookstpn.  About  four 
years  prior  to  his  death  he  moved  to  Monticello.  November  30,  1853,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Catharine  Stine,  who  died  January  2,  1886.  They 
leave  four  children  surviving.  These  are  Lee  S.  Hart  of  Brookston,  Mrs. 
Charles  Alkire  of  West  Lafayette,  Mrs.  James  L.  Stanford  of  Brockton, 
and  Miss  Nettie  Hart,  who  kept  house  for  her  father  in  his  closing  years. 

j  Mr.  Hart  was  one  of  the  oldest  Masons  in  the  state,  having  been  a  member 
of-  the  order  sixty-five  years.  He  was  buried  at  Battleground  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Brookston,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

Mrs.  Carrie  Hartman 


'  Mrs.  Carrie  Hartman,  the  mother  of  Hon.  Charles  S.  Hartman,  and 
for  half  a  century  one  of  the  beloved  women  of  Monticello,  died  at  the 
•old  Heckendorn  home,  where  she  had  been  her  father's  housekeeper  so 
many  years  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  on  the  15th  of  December, 
.1911.  She  was  born  in  Juniata  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  12th  Of 
December,  1835,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Ann  C.  Heckendorn.  Her 
parents  located  in  Monticello  in  1838,  where  she  resided  until  her  mar- 
riage to  Sampson  Hartman  on  May  12,  1856.  Shortly  after  their  mar- 
riage the  young  couple  moved  to  Hudsonf  Wisconsin,  where  Walter  S. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  '461 

Hartman  was  born  February  22,  1857,  and  Alpheus  D.  Hartman  on 
March  6,  1859.  Soon  afterwards  the  family  moved  to  Hannibal,  Mis- 
souri, but  owing  to  the  ill  health  of  Mr.  Hartman  they  returned  to 
Monticello  in  the  fall  of  1860.  The  illness  of  her  husband  terminated 
in  his  death  on  January  26,  1861,  and  on  the  following  first  of  March, 
Charles  S.  Hartman  was  born.  The  widow  bravely  assumed  the  care 
of  her  three  young  children  and,  at  the  same  time,  was  her  father's 
'housekeeper  for  nearly  twenty  years  preceding  his  death  in  1886. 

Rufus  L,  Habvey 

One  of  the  most  highly  respected  men  who  ever  lived  in  Monticello 
wa»  Rufus  L.  Harvey,  who  served  as  deputy  clerk  of  the  county,  deputy 
auditor,  and  eight  years  as  county  recorder,  being  elected  to  that  office 
in  1874  and  again  in  1878.  He  was  again  his  party's  candidate  for 
recorder  in  1886,  being  defeated  by  a  narrow  margin.  After  the  death 
of  his  wife  in  1897,  failing  health  compelled  him  to  cease  work,  and  he 
went  to  the  National  Soldiers'  Home  at  Marion,  where  he  died  Septem- 
ber 10,  1901.  He  was  a  dependable,  working  member  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  K.  of  P.  organizations,  and  also  of  Tippecanoe  Post  No.  51, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  under  the  auspices  of  these  organizations  his  body  was 
brought  back  to  Monticello  for  burial.  He  was  born  in  Orange  County, 
Vermont,  December  14,  1824,  and  came  to  Monticello  in  1860.  Ha 
enlisted  in  Company  K,  Twentieth  Indiana  Volunteers,  in  1861,  but  was 
discharged  on  account  of  failing  health  in  December,  1862.  April  13, 
1863,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Sixty-third  Indiana  Volunteers,  and 
served  mostly  on  detached  duty  until  May  15,  1865.  He  left  surviving 
two  children,  William  R.  Harvey  and  Mrs.  Victoria  Winchell,  both  some 
place  in  the  West. 

.-/James  Hay 

\  James  Hay,  sheriff  of  White  County  two  terms,  from  1878  to  1882, 
died  at  his  home  in  Brookston,  February  4,  1902.  He  was  "a  genial, 
warm-hearted  man,  well  liked  and  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Teuxton  Head 

.  Truxton  Head,  long  an  active  business  man  of  Brookston,  died  at 
his  home  in  Indianapolis  on  December  1,  1913.  After  conducting  a 
general  store  at  that  place  for  a  number  of  years,  he  located  at  Lafay- 
ette, where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick.  About  1903,  with 
his,  wife  and  a  portion  of  his  family,  he  went  to  South  McAlester,  Okla- 
homa, and  thence  to  Indianapolis.  Mrs.  Head,  who  had  died  in  the 
preceding  January,'  was  born. at  Battle  Ground,  where  her  remains  were 
interred.  Seven  sons  and  daughters,  married  and  scattered  from  Indiana 
to  California,  survive  the  parents. 


i 


462  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Charles  Headlee 

Charles  Headlee  was  born  in  New  Jersey  March  15,  1794,  and  came 
to  White  County,  Indiana,  in  1856,  where  he  died  on  March  3, 1877,  aged 
eighty  years.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Cass  Township  and  did 
Kis  full  share  to  redeem  that  locality  from  its  wilds.  He  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  lived  an  upright  Chris- 
tian life. 

'  Silas  Headlee 

Silas  Headlee,  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  Headlee,  was  born  in  Green 
County,  Pennsylvania,  March  2,  1832.  On  September  7,  1854,  he  mar- 
ried Margaret  Emmons,  who  died  on  March  17,  1857.  On  December 
20,  1857,  he  married  Angeline  W.  Crowder,  who  died  August  2,  1908. 
To  his  first  marriage  was  born  one  son,  Charles  J.,  who  survived  the 
father,  and  to  the  second  marriage  was  born  one  son  and  five  daughters. 
:  He  was  a  devoted  husband,  a  kind  and  loving  father.  In  the  great  civil 
conflict  he  gave  four  years  of  his  life  in  support  of  his  country — for 
three  years  in  Company  G,  Sixty-third  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  one 
year  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth  Indiana  Volun- 
teers, in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  early  life  he 
joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  lived  an  unselfish,  devoted 
Christian  life.    He  died  February  18,  1909.    .  •  ^      " 

Samuel  Heckendobn 

Samuel  Heckendorn  was  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  of  all 
the  early  settlers  of  White  County.  He  was  born  in  Huntingdon  County, 
Pennsylvania,  March  26,  1809,  where  he  lived  until  1838,  locating  July 
4th  of  that  year  in  Monticello.  On  October  23,  1832,  he  married  Miss 
Ann  C.  McDonald.  To  this  union  was  born  three  children,  all  of  whom 
are  dead.  His  first  wife  died  March  1,  1857,  and  he  was  again  married 
March  28,  1858,  to  Elizabeth  M.  Thayer,  who  died  December  20,  1860. 
To  this  union  was  born  one  daughter,  Ellen,  who  died  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen. About  1833  he  united  with  the  German  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church,  but  on  coming  to  Monticello  he  joined  by  letter  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  where  he  remained  a  consistent  member  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  at  Monticello  on  June  10,  1886.  It  may  safely  be  said 
that  no  citizen  of  this  county  was  ever  more  universally  loved  than  Father 
Heckendorn. 

John  Bible  Hemphill 

^  ;'•  John  Bible  Hemphill,  who  died  in  Wolcott,  Sunday,  November  9, 
1913,  was  born  in  Fountain  County,  Indiana,  June  3,  1830,  and  was  the 
oldest  son  in  a  family  of  ten  children.  December  3,  1854,  he  married 
Sarah  Dobbins  of  White  County,  who  died,  and  in  1866  he  married  Mary 
E.  Pugh,  and  to  each  of  these  marriages  were  born  four  children.  In 
his  early  manhood  he  united  with  the  Christian  Church  and  was  an  active 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


Christian  worker  until  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  fourteen  charter 
members  of  Wolcott  Lodge  No.  180,  P.  &  A.  M.,  which  was  chartered 
May  30, 1866,  and  James  0.  Johnson  is  the  only  one  of  this  fourteen  who 
is  yet  living.  He  was  the  Master  of  this  lodge  for  several  years  and  was 
greatly  attached  to  the  institution  of  Masonry. 

.Matthew  Henderson 

Matthew  Henderson,  one  time  sheriff  of  White  County,  was  born  in 
Juniata  County,  Pennsylvania,  March  6,  1828,  and  came  to  Burnetts- 
yille  in  1850.  Ten  years  later  he  removed  to  Monticello,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  May  30, 1890.  He  was  married  three  times,  the  last  time 
to  Margaret  Ross  on  April  5,  1864.  He  was  twice  elected  sheriff  of  White 
County  and  at  his  death  was  a  "justice  of  the  peace  in  Monticello.  He  was 
'a  prominent  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow  and  his  funeral  was  one  of  the 
largest  ever  seen  in  Monticello. 

Capt.  James  Hess 

Capt.  James  Hess,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  D.  Hess,  was  born 
in  Pindlay,  Ohio,  February  10,  1839.  He  was  of  Welsh-English  descent 
and  came  with  his  parents  in  1856  to  Big  Creek  Township,  where  he 
learned  the  mason's  trade,  and  in  April,  1861,  enlisted  in  Company  K, 
Tenth  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  served  for  three  months.  In  October, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Forty-sixth  Indiana  Infantry,  and 
served  until  December,  1864,  when  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service 
at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  having  been  promoted  to  the  captaincy  on 
September  12,  1863.  He  was  in  many  hard  fought  battles  and  he  it 
was  who  planted  the  first  Federal  flag  on  the  ramparts  of  Fort  Pillow. 
In  1874  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  Honey  Creek  Township  and  after  a 
residence  of  a.  few  years  there  he  came  to  Monticello,  where  he  died 
-October  5,  1909.  He  was  married  February  21,  1866,  to  Lottie  E.  Law- 
son,  a  native  of  Sweden,  who  bore  him  three  children,  Lena  (deceased), 
Mary  D.  McCuaig  of  Monticello  and  Clara  W.  Warden  of  Coffeyville, 
Kansas. 

VWmjam  Hinchman 

'  William  Hinchman  was  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  citizens  of 
Princeton  Township,  where  he  located  October  13,  1854.  He  was  born 
in  Cabell  County,  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  August  1,  1830,  and 
r'died  at  his  home  July  26,  1912.  On  December  18, 1856,  he  married  Miss 
Rhoda  Nordyke,  who  survived  him.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  his  farming  interests.  He  served  one  term 
as  township  trustee  and  during  his  long  life  was  noted  for  his  absolute 
integrity. 

Robert  Baty  Hoover 

Robert  Baty  Hoover  came  to  Monticello  in  1865  and  entered  the 
medical  profession,  but  after  a  short  time  removed  to  Burnettsville  and 


i 


464 


•     HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 


continued  the  practice  in  his  chosen  profession  until  his  death  on  May 
3,  1880.  He  was  bom  February  22,  1825,  near  Lewistown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  May,  1849,  married  Miss  Sarah  J.  Roberts,  with  whom  he 
afterwards  joined  in  uniting  with  the  Baptist  Church.  In  our  Civil 
war  he  became  captain  of  Company  B,  Two  Hundredth  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  three  years.  In  May, 
1866,  he  lost  his  wife,  and  in  February,  1867,  was  married  to  Miss  R.  A. 
Wickersham,  by  whom  he  had  one  child.  He  was  the  father  of  Will  B. 
Hoover,  deceased,  who  at  his  death  was  owner  of  the  Monticello  Democrat. 
Doctor  Hoover  was  a  democrat  in  politics  and  always  took  a  deep  interest 
in  the  success  of  his  party. 


Will.  B.  Hoover 


\ 


Will  B.  Hoover,  one  time  editor  of  the  Monticello  Democrat,  was 
born  in  Lewistown,  Pennsylvania,  in  December,  1851,  and  removed  with 
his  father  to  White  County  in  1865,  locating  first  in  Monticello,  but  after 
a  brief  residence  in  that  place  his  family  removed  to  Burnettsville,  where 
his  father  continued  the  practice  of  medicine.  After  serving  for  a  short 
time  as  solicitor  and  reporter  on  the  Logansport  Journal  he  came  to 
Monticello  in  1877  and  took  charge  of  the  Monticello  Democrat,  which 
he  conducted  until  his  death  in  September,  1879.  Will  B.  Hoover  always 
took  great  interest  in  all  things  connected  with  his  .chosen  profession  and 
possessed  the  true  spirit  of  journalistic  enterprise. 


Nelson  Hoenbeck 

■  Nelson  Hornbeck  was  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  White  County,  a  man 
of  sterling  qualities  and  one  whose  death  was  a  great  loss  to  our  people. 
He  was  born  in  Piqua  County,  Ohio,  March  7,  1824,  and  died  in  White 
County,  January  22,  1885.  He  came  to  White  County  with  his  parents 
in  1837  and  for  three  years  served  as  a  county  commissioner  during  which 
time  he  proved  himself  a  faithful  and  prudent  public  servant.  He  was  a 
republican  in  politics  and  was  a  member  of  the  New  Light  Church,  which 
he  joined  in  1845. 

U  '"    John.  C.  Hughes 

John'C.  Hughes  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  April,  1828,  and  came 
to  White  County  at  an  early  date.  For  a  number  of  years  he  operated 
a  sawmill  at  Norway.  Later  he  moved  to  a  farm  on. the  east  side  of  the 
river,  just  above  that  village,  where  he  lived  until  he  removed  to  Monti- 
cello, where  he  died  September  1,  1903.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Odd 
Fellows  and  K.  of  P.  orders,  being  a  charter  member  of  Tippecanoe 
Lodge  No.  73,  K.  of  P.  ' 

Mrs.  Nancy  Hughes 

Mrs.  Nancy  Hughes  died  May  31,  1899,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
two  years.    Her  maiden  name  was  Nancy  Imes.    Born  in  Green  County, 


—— . 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  465 

Pennsylvania,  December  15,  1816,  where  she  was  married  to  Rowland 
Hughes,  April  25,  1833.  Soon  thereafter  they  located  in  Monticello, 
where  her  husband  became  the  leading  merchant  of  the  town,  continuing 
in  business  until  his  death  in  1883.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  character, 
positive  in  her  views,  and  though  for  many  years  in  feeble  health  she 
retained  a  controlling  hand  in  her  personal  affairs. 

Rowland  Hughes 

Rowland  Hughes  was  born  in  Green  County,  Pennsylvania,  June  15, 
1836;  died  February  9,  1899.  He  located  in  Monticello  in  1846,  and 
after  one  year  removed  to  a  farm  in  Liberty  Township,  where  he  resided 
till  death.  April  10,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Laura  McConahay,  who 
died  May  9,  1874.  One  son  of  this  union,  Rev.  M.  Allison  Hughes,  is 
now  (1915)  a  resident  of  Monticello.  He  was  married  a  second  time 
to  Margaret  J.  Bowen  on  October  21,  1875,  who  with  four  children  sur- 
vived him.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty- 
first  Indiana  Infantry. 

Richard  Imes 

Among  the  pioneers  of  White  County,  Richard  Imes  must  not  be  for- 
gotten. Born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1821,  he,  with  his  parents,  moved  to 
Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  where  he  married  Mary  Ann  Orr,  and  to 
them  were  born  eight  children,  only  two  of  whom,  Mrs.  John  Brannan 
and  Mrs.  Rolandus  Smoker,  survived  him.  He  died  September.  17,  1895, 
after  a  long  illness  from  a  complication  of  diseases.  He  was  an  earnest 
worker  in  the,  Presbyterian   Church  and  Sunday  school,  and  at  his 

•  funeral  in  the  Bedford  Cemetery  each  of  the  Sunday  school  children 
dropped  a  bunch  of  flowers  upon  his  casket  after  it  was  lowered  into  the 

'grave,  to  show  their  love  and  respect. 

Reuben  Imler' 

•Reuben  I-mler  was  born  in  Marion  County,  Ohio,  July  22,  1841,  and 
died  at  his  home  in  Liberty  Township,  White  County,  October  31,  1905. 
He  located  in  White  County  in  1852  and  enlisted  in  Company  F,  128th 
Indiana  Volunteers,  in  January,  1864,  serving  as  corporal  until  April  10, 
1866.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Baily,  September  11,  1867.  He  left  a 
.  widow  and  five  children,  Emma,  Sylvester,  Estella,  Cassius  and  Ellen. 

Capt.  Anderson  Irion 

•  Capt.  Anderson  Irion,  one  of  the  county's  oldest  citizens,  was  born 
in  Fleming  County,  Kentucky,  February  7,  1807.  At  an  early  age  he 
removed  to  Ohio  and  thence  in  1853  to  West  Point  Township,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  which  took  place  at  the  home  of  his  son-in-law, 
James  Lawrie,  February  23,  1894.    During  the.  Mexican  war  he  organ- 


■ 


466 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


ized  a  company  which,  however,  was  not  called  into  service.  He  was 
married  in  1833  to  Sophia  Dragoo  and  to  this  union  were  born  ten  chil- 
dren, seven  of  whom  survived  him.  He  was  at  one  time  a  county  com- 
missioner and  filled  the  office  acceptably. 

Mas.  EtiTza  Jane  Ibvink 

"Mrs.  Eliza  Jane  Irvine,  whose  home  at  Reynolds  is  with  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  J.  "W.  Gardner,"  says  the  Monon  News  of  September  6,  1912, 
"has  lived  in  White  County  eighty-three  years  and  holds  the  record  in 
point  of  continuous  residence.  She  passed  her  83d  anniversary  June 
27th  and  was  but  three  months  old  when  she  came  to  this  county.  Her 
birthplace  was  in  Ohio,  but  her  parents,  Joseph  and  Mary  Thompson, 
came  from  Virginia.  Mr.  Thompson  was  the  first  white  man  to  locate 
on  White  county  soil  and  entered  about  400  acres  of  land  in  Big  Creek 
township,  the  site  of  his  home  being  where  George  Wolverton's  residence 
now  stands.  All  the  trading  at  that  time  within  the  borders  of  the 
county  was  done  with  Indians,  who  were  friendly  but  had  no  regard 
■for  property  rights.  A  fine  walnut  grove  was  on  the  tract  entered  by 
Mr.  Thompson  and  was  an  inducement  in  choosing  his  location.  Here  was 
born  the  first  white  male  child  in  the  county  in  the  person  of, John 
Thompson,  who  died  at  Reynolds,  Indiana,  recently,  never  having  mar- 
ried, and  was  buried  in  the  Bunnell  Cemetery.  Lafayette  was  the  trading 
point  then  and  Indian  trails  were  the  highways.  Other  white  settlers 
soon  followed  Mr.  Thompson,  who  hailed  with  satisfaction  the  opening 
of  the  first  store  in  Monticello  by  Peter  B.  Smith.  The  Reynolds,  Spen- 
cers, Peter  Price,  Rowland  Hughes  and  others  who  names  are  familiar 
as  pioneers,  came  within  two  years  after  Mr.  Thompson  had  blazed  the 
way." 

Ellis  H.  Johnson 


Ellis  H.  Johnson,  commonly  known  as  "Uncle  Haines,"  was  born  in 
Frederick  County,  Virginia,  April  28,  1814.  He  came  to  White  County 
with  his  father,  Jonathan  Johnson,  in  1835,  locating  near  the  range  line 
J  west  of  Monticello,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  George  T.  Inskeep.  Later 
he  located  on  a  farm  near  what  is  now  Wheeler's  Station,  where  he  was 
married  to  Ellen  Rease,  January  6,  1843.  She  died  in  1846,  and  their 
only  son,.  Hampton  Dodridge,  later  became  a  member  of  Company  D, 
Twelfth  Indiana,  and  died  at  Grand,  Junction,  Tennessee,  in  1863.  In 
1851  he  married  Chloe  Ann  Clark.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Monticello, 
December  20,  1898,  leaving  a  widow  and  two  children,  Harry  C.  and 
Fannie  Alice,  the  former  of  whom  still  resides  in  Monticello. 

Emily  J.  Johnson 

One  of' the  human*  links  connecting  Monticello  almost  with  the  days 
of  the  Resolution  was  broken  in  the  death  of  Mrs.  Johnson,  which 
occurred  July  17,  1915,  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  J.  P.  Simons, 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  467 

in  Monticello.  Her  father,  Drewry  "Wood,  was  born  in  North  Carolina* 
September  27,  1785,  and  her  mother,  Rhoda  (Shaw)  Wood,  was  born 
March  1,  1792.  They  were  married  August  21, 1814,  and  came  to  White 
County,  locating  south  of  Wolcott  in  1846.  Here  her  father,  Drewry 
Wood,  died  in  1856,  but  the  mother  lived  till  1878.  Emily  J.  Wood  was 
born  in  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  June  13,  1832.  She  was  married 
to  Jeremiah  B.  Johnson,  September  16,  1854.  He  was  wounded. at  the 
battle  of  Jackson,  Mississippi,  July  10,  1863,  and  died  July  19.  She 
remained  a  "war  widow"  the  remainder  of  her  life.  Her  only  son, 
Edgar  A.  Johnson,  died  in  1904.  She  left  surviving  two  daughters,  Mrs. 
Rhoda  DePorest,  of  Chicago,  and  Mrs.  Sallie  E.  Simons,  of  Monticello. 

Thomas  D.  Jones 

Thomas  D.  Jones  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  December  10, 
1830,  and  on  August  4,  1854,  was  married  to  Sarah  Parker,  and  to  this 
marriage  was  born  six  daughters  and  two  sons,  all  of  whom  were  present 
at  his  death  except  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Grace  Newberry,  who  died  in  1893. 
His  wife  died  September  1,  1908.  Mr.  Jones  came  to  Monon  in  1859 
and  lived  there  until  "his  death  in  May,  1912.  He  taught  school  for  a 
time,  was-  an  old  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  was  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
and  for  fifty  years  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  His  remains 
were  buried  in  the  Bedford  Cemetery. 

William  Jordan 

William  Jordan  was  born  in  Cable  County,  Virginia,  December  17, 

1803,  and  died  at  White  County,  Indiana,  May  5,  1876.    He  was  married^. 

to  Miss  Catharine  Sexton  on  March  19,  1826,  with  whom  he  lived  for 
.more  than  fifty  years.  In  1827  he  moved  to  Indiana  and  began  farm- 
-ing  about  six  miles  northwest  of  Lafayette,  and  on  June  7,  1844,  he 
■  moved  to  White  County,  which  was  his  home  until  his  death.     By 

industry,  frugality  and  honesty  he  amassed  a  competence  and  enjoyed 

ihe  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

John  M.  Jost 

•  John  M.  Jost,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county,  died  at  the  home  of 
his  married  daughter,  Mrs.  Richard  Hinshaw,  of  Monticello,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1913,  his  age  being  eighty-nine  years,  four  months  and  thirteen 
days.  By  trade  he  was  a  tailor,  but  at  various  times  had  been  engaged 
in  business  at  Francesville,  Cooper 's  Mill  and  Monticello.  The  deceased 
had- been  married"  three  times.  He  was  an  old  Mason  and  ah  upright 
*  citizen. 

■  John  William  Jost 

*  '  John  William  Jost  died  April  3,  1903.  For  a  number  of  years  Mr. 
Jost  had  been  a  well  known  and  successful  grocer  in  White  County,  first 


468 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 


at  Cooper's  Mill,  later  at  Norway,  and  finally  in  Monticello,  whcro  for  a 
number  of  years  he  was  connected  in  business  with  Walter  R.  Spencer. 
During  this  partnership  they  built  the  splendid  two-story  brick  business 
building  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets.  Lutcr 
Mr.  Jost  joined  with  M.  Goodman  &  Son  in  the  corporation  known  us 
•  'The  Big  Store,"  which  joined  in-the  building  of  the  Odd  Fellows  Block 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets.  He  had  charge 
of  the  grocery  department  of  the  company  in  this  building  at  the  timo  of 
his  death.  Mr.  Jost  was  the  son  of  John  M.  Jost  and  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  February  8,  1855.  He  was  never  married.  His  father  was 
born  in  Staffenburg,  Birken  Province,  Germany,  May  3,  1824,  and  camo 
to  America  in  1851.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Sheffield,  Englund,  and 
died  in  White  County,  May  20,  1878,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  years.  His 
father  has  since  died — about  1913.  Three  brothers,  Charles,  Henry  and 
Albert,  are  still  living;  also  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Lizzie  Booth  of  Rochester, 
New  York,  and  Mrs.  Rosina  Hinshaw  of  Monticello. 

.  August  Karp 

August  Karp  was  born  January  28,  1842,  in  Hesse,  Germany,  and 
came  to  Monticello  from  Danville,  Illinois,  in  1875,  and  two  years  later 
married  Miss  Maggie  Manders,  to  whom  were  born  five  children,  four 
of  whom  are  still  living,  the  widow  and  one  son  having  died  at  the  same 
time,  about  1913.  He  was  for  many  years  a  partner  of  the  late  Peter 
Fox  in  the  retail  liquor  business  in  Monticello.  No  man  was  more 
attached  to  his  family  or  more  dearly  beloved  by  wife  and  children.  He 
was  successful  in  business  and  identified  with  many  of  the  improvements 
of  the  town  during  his  life.     He  died  at  Monticello,  May  3,  1895. 


John  C.  Karr 

John  C.  Karr,  an  old  and  well  known  resident  of  Liberty  Township, 
was  born  in  Middletown,  Ohio,  September  25,  1824.  Came  with  his  par- 
ents to  White  County  in  1839.  In  1849  he  was  married  to  Rachel  M. 
Moore  and  bought  the  farm  on  which  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
This  farm  included  the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Buffalo,  which  was 
laid  out  by  him.  His  wife  died  in  1890,  and  in  1893  he  married  Mrs. 
Emily"  Yount,  who  died  three  years  later.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  char- 
acter and  held  in  high  esteem.    He  left  nine  children  surviving  him. 

William  B.  Keefer 

"Only  a  few  residents  of  Monticello  could  clajm  a  longer  residence 
'here  than  William  B.  Keefer,  and  few  could  show  a  cleaner  record." 
Such  was  the  eulogy  of  a  friend  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Keefer.  ne  was 
born  in  Franklin  County,  Pennsylvania,  December  9,  1829,  and  moved 
to  Ohio  in  early  life,  where  he  married  Sarah  A.  Mowre#in  1850,  and 
in  1853  came  to  White  County  and  established  himself  in  the  tailoring 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  469 

business,  in  which  he  was  quite  successful.  In  1879  his  wife  died  and 
later  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Briggs.  By  his  first  marriage  he,  had 
seven  children,  of  whom  four  survived  him.  He  was  an  earnest  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Church,  an  honest  man,  and  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him.    He  died  at  Monticello,  February  8,  1891. 

.-.'  Robert  Keever 

After  being  confined  to  his  home  for  some  two  years  Robert  Keever 
died  at  hi*  farm  home,  four  miles  northeast  of  Monticello,  September 
16,  1897.  He  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1818  and 
came  to  "White  County  in  1850.  Like  so  many  of  the  county's  early 
settlers  who  came  from  that  part  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  a  sturdy, 
successful  farmer  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Francis  G.  Kendall 

Francis  G.  Kendall  was  born  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  January 
2,  1823,  and  came  to  White  County  in  1833  where  he.  continued  to 
reside  until  .1865  when  he  removed  to  Burlington,  Iowa.  He  died  at 
Tipton,  Iowa,  October  30,  1890,  and  was  buried  in  Burlington,  Iowa,  on 
November  2d  of  the  same  year.  During  his  residence  in  White  County 
he  was  one  of  our  most  prominent  business  men  and  was  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was  the  first  W.  M. 
of  Lihanus  Lodge  No.  154,  F.  &  A.  M.  at  Monticello,  at  its  organization 
in  1854. 

Mrs.  Mart  Eliza  Kendall 

.  ;  Mrs  Mary  Eliza  Kendall  was  the  third  daughter  and  last  surviving 
.member  of  the  family  of  George  Armstrong  Spencer.  She  was  born  in 
Perry  County,  Ohio,  in  1825  and  came  to  White  County  with  her  parents 
in  1830.     She  was  married  to  Charles  W.  Kendall  in  1845.     She  died  at 

g  her  home  on  North  Illinois  Street  May  22, 1901,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years,  leaving  four  children :  Howard  C,  Mrs.  Sallie  Loughry,  wife  of 
A.  W.  Loughry  of  Monticello,  Mrs.  May  E.  McDowell  of  New  Jersey,  and 

I  Charles  W.  Kendall  of  Duluth,  Minnesota.  Two  other  children,  Walter 
R.,  Kendall  and  Mrs.  Maria  Hull,  wife  of  Philip  A.  Hull,  had  died  some 
years  previous. 

Llewellyn  G.  Kenton 

Llewellyn  G.  Kenton,  a  son  of  William  Miller  Kenton  and  grandson 
of  Simon  Kenton,  the  famous  Indian  fighter,  was  born  fm  his  father's 
farm  three  miles  west  of  Monticello,  March  9,  1839,  and  died  at  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  Marion,  Indiana,  October  1,  1911.  He  enlisted  Novem- 
ber 5,  1861,  in  the  Forty -sixth  Indiana  Infantry  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged.  On  December  6, 
1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  M.  Hull,  who,  with  four  daughters 


470 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


and  one  son,  survive  him.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors  in  tho 
old  cemetery  at  Monticello. 

William  Miller  Kenton 

William  Miller  Kenton,  a  son  of  Simon  Kenton  of  Indian  fighting 
fame,  died  at  his  home  about  four  miles  southwest  of  Monticello,  April 
30,  1869,  in  his  sixty-third  year.  His  remains  were  buried  in  the  old 
Kenton  graveyard  about  five  miles  southwest  of  town,  but  about  1885 
were  removed  to  the  old  cemetery  in  Monticello.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  received  a  commission  in  the  navy,  but  after  a  brief  service  he 
resigned,  was  appointed  a  cadet  in  the  military  academy  at  West  Point 
where  he  excelled  in  athletic  sports,  but  was  averse  to  the  strict  discipline 
enforced  by  that  institution  and  was  at  last  honorably  relieved  from  any 
further  attendance.  He  then  went  home,  was  married,  and  having  some 
means  of  his  own,  came  to  what  was  then  Carroll  County,  but  later 
White  County,  bought  large  tracts  of  land  from  the  Government  (about 
3,000  acres)  and  was.  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Grand  Prairie.  He  was 
largely  engaged  in  farming  and  cattle  raising,  dispensed  a  profuse  hos- 
pitality to  both  white  and  Indian,  and  was  popular  with  all  classes.  lie 
had  some  claims  for  lands  in  Kentucky  which  he  had  inherited  from 
his  father's  estate  and  frequently  visited  that  state  on  this  business.  On 
one  of  these  trips  he  went  on  board  a  steamer  at  Madison,  Indiana, 
named  Simon  Kenton,  and  when  the  captain  discovered  he  was  a  son  of 
the  man  after  whom  his  boat  was  named  he  refused  to  accept  any  fare, 
but  treated  him  throughout  the  trip  as  a  guest  of  honor.  In  politics  he 
was  an  ardent  whig,  a  personal  friend  and  adherent  of  Henry  Clay,  who 
had  also  known  and  befriended  his  father  in  the  olden  days.  He  served 
for  several  terms  in  the  legislature,  was  a  close  personal  friend  of 
Albert  S.  White  and  had  the  honor  of  placing  that  gentleman's  name 
in  nomination  for  United  States  senator  when  he  was  elected  to  that 
office.  Near  the  clo§e  of  his  life  he  became  involved  in  some  financial 
difficulties  which  caused  him  much  annoyance,  but  by  this  statement  no 
charge  is  placed  against  his  honesty.  He  saved  much  of  his  property 
out  rdf  the  wreck  and  closed  his  life  in  peace.  Many  of  his  descendants 
are  living  in  White  County  and  are  reckoned  among  our  most  respected 
people. 

Artemus  P.  Kerr 

•  Artemus  P.  Kerr  was  born  in  Rossville,  Indiana,  February  15,  1851. 
His  father,  a  Baptist  minister,  had  learned  the  saddlers'  trade  with 
Joseph  E.  McDonald,  afterward  United  States  senator.    Located   in 

•'  Monticello  in  1862,  where  he  learned  the  printer's  txade  and  was  later 
connected  with  James  W.  McEwen  in  the  publication  of  the  Constitu- 

•  tionalist.  In  1880  he  moved  to  Indianapolis  and  fpr  some  years  was 
connected  with  the  Indiana  Newspaper  Union.  He  wrote  some  very 
creditable  poems,  among  which  was  one  entitled  "The  Old  Tippecanoe," 
.which  was  published  with  an  account  of  his  death,  which  occurred 


* 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  471 

August  20,  1901.  His  remains  were  brought  to  Monticello  and  buried 
in  the  old  cemetery  at  the  north  edge  of  town. 

Clement  S.  Kingsbury 

Clement  S.  Kingsbury  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York, 
March  14,  1843,  died  at  his  home  in  Monticello  April  15,  1906.  He  was 
a  member  of  Company  D,  Twelfth  Indiana  Volunteers.  In  1867  he  was 
married  to  Harriet  C.  Ross,  who  died  only  a  few  months  prior  to  his 
decease.  He  was  elected  trustee  of  Union  Township,  serving  one  term 
and  for  a  number  of  years  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business.  He 
left  four  children.' 

Ira  S.  Kingsbury 

.  .  Ira  S.  Kingsbury,  who  died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Day, 
at  Olivet,  Michigan,  on  December  21,  1913,  aged  eighty-seven  years,  had 
spent  almost  his  entire  life  in  Monticello,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade 
of  bricklayer.  Only  a  few  months  prior  to  his  death  he  compiled 
a  history  of  the  Kingsbury  family  in  America  for  the  White  County 
Historical  Society.  It  is  a  finely-bound,  typewritten  book  of  thirty-seven 
pages  and  exhibits  much  care  in  its  compilation.  His  family  came  from 
England  in  1628  and  is  now  scattered  throughout  the  entire  country. 
He  came  from"  good  old  Puritan  stock,  was  for  many  years  an  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  and  was  always  found  on  the  right  side  of  all 
moral  and  religious  subjects.  He  was  born  August  21,  1826,  and  was 
twice  married,  both  wives  having  preceded  him  to  the  unknown.  His 
remains  were  brought  to  Monticello  and  interred  in  the  old  cemetery! 

■    -  '  Mrs.  Mary  Kingsbury 

Mrs.  Mary  Kingsbury,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Sarah  Buchanan,  was 

born  in  Big  Creek  Township  November  19,  1832.     She  died  at  her  home 

,    in  Monticello,  December  15, 1904,  leaving  a  half-brother,  James  E.  Barnes, 

of  Galena,  Kansas.    February  24,  1853,  she  was  married  to  Thomas 

•Roberts,  and  in  1857  they  moved  to  Northwestern  Iowa,  building  their 

/  home  on  the  present  site  of  Sioux  City.    Here,  in  July,  1861,  Mr. 

Roberts  and  a  companion  were  killed  by  Indians  while  at  work  in  a  field 

some  distance  from  the  house.    Soon  after  she  returned  with  her  three 

small  boys  to  Monticello,  where,  December  11,  1864,  she  was  married  to 

Ira  Kingsbury.    Her  only  surviving  son,  Fred  Roberts,  is  still  a  resident 

of  Monticello,  where   he   is  secretary   and   manager  of-  the   Farmers 

Elevator. 

.  Rev.  William  P.  Koutz  « 

z  Rev.  William  P.  Koutz,  remembered  by  our  oldest  citizens,  died  at 
Cutler,  Indiana,  July  18,  1900,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  He  was 
stricken  with  paralysis  about  a  year  before  his  death  and  on  July  7  came 


. 


472  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

a  second  stroke,  from  which  he  died.  When  a  young  man  ho  taught 
school  in  Logansport  and  later  was  elected  recorder  of  Cass  Couuty  and 
served  one  term.  He  had  also  been  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  for  more 
than  fifty  years  he  had  labored  as  a  minister  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
In  1864,  after  a  pastorate  of  five  years  in  Monticello,  he  resigned  and 
entered  the  service  as  chaplain  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth 
Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  served  until  near  the  close  of  the 
war.  His  remains  were  "brought  to  Monticello  and  buried  in  the  old 
cemetery. 

Abram  C.  Lane  • 

Abram  C.  Lane,  an  honored  citizen  of  White  County,  passed  away 
at  his  home,  four  miles  southwest  of  Reynolds,  August  8,  1908,  in  his 
ninety-first  year,  and  was  interred  in  the  Lane  Cemetery  near  his  old 
home.  He  was  born  March  28,  1818,  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and,  after 
learning  the  trade  of  wagonmaker,  he  married  in  May,  1839,  at  Spring- 
dale,  Ohio,  Miss  Eliza  R.  Wooley,  who  died  at  Stockwell,  Indiana,  Febru- 
ary 15,  1858.  Three  children  were  born  to  them,  one  of  whom,  Mrs. 
Bernard  G.  Smith,  now  lives  in  Monticello. 

On  January  27,  1859,  he  married  Miss  Barbara  Darland,  of  Clinton 
County,  Indiana,  who  died  at  the  old  home  place  in  September,  1868, 
leaving  two  children,  Eliza,  wife  of  Thomas  Baker,  and  a  son,  John. 
His  third  marriage,  and  to  which  no  children  were  born,  was  to  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  Baker,  mother  of  Thomas  Baker.  This  marriage  occurred  in 
November,  1869,  and  she  died  at  their  home  June  1,  1877. 

In  the  spring  of  1852  Mr.  Lane  moved  to  what  is  now  known  as 
Stockwell,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  until  1864  when  he  came  to  White 
County  and  purchased  the  farm  on  which  he  died. 

When  yet  a  young  man  he  became  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church 
through  the  preaching  of  a  noted  divine,  Rev.  George  Campbell,  apd 
remained  a  faithful  attendant  and  liberal  supporter  of  that  organization 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  character,  with 
well-grounded  convictions  on  all  subjects.  In  polities  he  was  identified 
with  the  old  abolition  party,  but  when  the  republican  party  was  organ- 
ized he  transferred  his  allegiance  to  it  and  remained  true  to  its  "prin- 
ciples the  rest  of  his  life. 

Mr.  Lane  lived  through  many  great  epochs  of  our  national  history. 
He  saw  and  felt  the  effects  of  three  great  wars.  Saw  all  our  great  west- 
ern territories  admitted  as  states  of  the  Union.  Saw  slavery  abolished 
and  the  telegraph,  telephone  and  railroad  network  constructed,  and  all 
the  up-to-date  improvements  in  all  of  which  he  took  great  interest 
"  and  felt  a  just  pride. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Large 

Mrs.  Sarah  Large,  widow  of  John  Large,  was  born  in  Wayne  County, 
Ohio,  January  17,  1820.  Her  maiden  name  was  Burnet^  and  she  was 
married  to  John  Large  in  1837,  and  came  with  him  to  White  County  in 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  473 

1865,  locating  in  Big  Creek  Township.  She  was  the  mother  of  Frank 
and  Charles  Large,  formerly  of  Monticello,  Mrs.  U.  M.  Ballenger,  who 
removed  to  Michigan  City,  and  Mrs.  Bonam  Fox,  of  Athens,  Tennessee. 
She  died  at  her  home  in  Monticello,  March  24,  1896. 

Charles  Augustus  Lawson 

Charles  Augustus  Lawson  was  born  in  Sweden,  January  20,  1846, 
and  died  at  his  home  near  Reynolds,  October  5,  1914.  Since  his  fourth 
year  he  had  been  a  resident  of  White  County  and  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  war  and  a  member  of  Tippecanoe  Post  No.  51,  G.  A.  R.,  Monticello, 
Indiana.  On  November  24,  1870,  he  married  Miss  Virginia  John,  and  to 
them  were  born  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  who,  with  the  mother,  sur- 
vived him.    He  was  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Hiram  F.  Lear 

A  resident  of  White  County  for  sixty-seven  years,  Hiram  F.  Lear  was 
born  in  Culpeper  County,  Virginia,  January  21,  1821,  and  died  at  his 
home  in  Wolcott,  May  16,  1905.  His  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  his  father  in  the  War  of  1812.  His  father's 
family  came  to  White  County  in  1838,  locating  in  Big  Creek  Township. 
Here  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Ann  Burns,  daughter  of  Uncle 
John  Burns,  and  soon  after  located  in  Princeton  Township.  He  left 
thirteen  living  children. 

Sarah  Line 

Sarah  Line,  daughter  of  Elihu  and  Nancy  Line,  was  born  in  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  January  30,  1814,  and  died  near  Monon,  August  21,  1897. 
In  1832  she  married  Smith  Jessup,  two  years  later  he  died,  and  in  1835 
she  came  to  White  County,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  county. 
She  was  the  last  survivor  of  her  family  and  her  sole  heir  was  her  nephew, 
Dennis  Line,  who  yet  lives  in  Monon.  She  was  a  woman  of  deep 
religious  convictions,  always  interested  in  the  old  settlers'  annual  meet- 
ings, which  she  was  careful  to  attend,  and  a  peculiarity  was  revealed  by 
her  when  she  bid  all  adieu  before  dying  and  asked  to  be  buried  in  a 
shroud  made  by  her  thirteen  years  previous.  She  was  buried  at  the 
Chapel  Cemetery  three  miles  east  of  Monon. 

William  Lisk  -,. 

William  Lisk,  the  pioneer  merchant  of  Wolcott,  was  born  near  Mor- 
ristown,  New  Jersey,  June  -10,  1819,  but  in  his  youth  his  father  moved 
to  Franklin  County,  Ohio,  and  in  1844  to  Ross  County,  Ohio,  and  here 
two  years  later  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  married  to  Sarah  A. 
Edmonds,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Margaret  Edmonds,  and  ti8»this  mar- 
riage seven  children  were  born.  In  1847  Mr.  Lisk  moved  to  Tfcppecanoe 
County,  Indiana'.     Seven  years  later  he  migrated  to  Wapello  County, 


■     - 


474  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Iowa,  returning  in  1860  to  Tippecanoe  County,  and  eight  years  later  to 
Princeton  Township,  White  County,  where  he  died  February  9,  1899. 
He  was  a  son  of  Peter  and  Abigail  (Moore)  Lisk  and  of  Dutch  and 
Scotch  descent.  William  Lisk  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  interested  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community  and  a  member  of  the  republican  party. 

Nelsojst  B.  Loughry 

Nelson  B.  Loughry,  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  in  White 
County,  was  born  in  Indiana  County,  Pennsylvania,  February  13,  1815. 
Was  married  to  Rachel  Wright  November  13,  1834,  at  Mifflintowu,  Penn- 
sylvania, with  whom  he  lived  for  more  than  half  a  century.  In  1855 
he  came  to  Indiana  and  after  four  years  spent  in  Lafayette,  he  moved 
to  White  County  where  he  lived  until  his  death  on  August  24,  1890. 
Several  years  prior  to  his  death  he  retired  from  active  business,  that  of 
milling,  and  turned  his  affairs  over  to  his  sons,  who  are  yet  in  business  in 
Monticello.  His  was  a  life  well  spent.  He  let  his  influence  for  good 
be  felt  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  which  he  was  an  earnest  member 
and  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  His  three  sons,  Joseph  E., 
Albert  W.  and  Cloyd,  have  for  several  years  conducted'  one  of  the  largest 
milling  and  grain  trades  in  the  state. 

Labkin  Lowe 

One  of  the  wealthiest  and  best  known  men  in  White  County,  and 
for  many  years  one,  of  the  well  known  Lowe  brothers, ' '  Lark  and  Stave, ' ' 
Larkin  Lowe  was  born  in  Miami  County,  Indiana,  June  26, 1836,  and  died 
in  Monticello,  November  1,  1907.  His  parents  were  Charles  and  Eliza- 
beth Lowe.  In  1840  they  came  to  White  County,  locating  in  Monon 
Township.  Early  in  life  he  and  his  brother,  Gustavus,  formed  the  part- 
nership above  mentioned  and  continued  in  the  stock  business  until  1888, 
when  he  moved  to  Monticello.  In  1890  he  purchased  the  Monticello 
elevator,  which  he  conducted  for  several  years  under  the  firm  name  of 
Lowe  &  Son.  In  February,  1862,  he  was  married  to  Celnira  Phillips, 
who,  with  two  sons,  John  arid  Bert  (Larkin  B.),  is  still  living. 

The  Magee  Family 

With  the  old-time  residents  of  White  County  must  be  numbered 
the  Magee  family.  Empire  A.  Magee,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  this 
county,  was  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  January  30,  1797, 
where  he  spent  his  boyhood  and  learned  the  millwright  trade.  On 
August  22,  1822,  he  married  Jane  Noble,  of  Ohio,  who  died  in  the  State 
of  Missouri  in  1837,  leaving  five  children  to  be  cared  for  by  relatives  in 
Ohio,  one  of  which,  Miss  Anna  Magee,  now  lives  in  Monticello.  nis 
second  wife,  Emily  Gay,  was  born  in  East  Randolph,  Vermont,  February 
12,  1812,  her  mother  dying  when  she  was  quite  young.    She  was  taken 


JgL 


HISTORY  OF  "WHITE  COUNTY  475 

by  her  oldest  brother,  Doctor  Gay,  to  Fort  Dearborn,  now  Chicago,  where 
she  was  married  to  Empire  A.  Magee  in  1840.  Sonic  time  after  this 
the  family  moved  to  Logansport,  where  Mr.  Magee  followed  his  trade  for 
a  time,  when  he  removed  to  Lockport,  in  Carroll  County,  whore  be  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  April  10,  1849,  when  he  located  in  Monticello,  built 
the  dam  and  flouring  mill  for  Reynolds  &  Brearley  and  a  few  years  later 
built  the  woolen  mill,  just  north  of  it,  for  Hoagland  Brothers,  of  Lafay- 
ette. The  old  flour  mill  stood  for  over  sixty  years  and  was  destroyed  by 
fire  Sunday  evening,  May  20,  1911,  and  the  woolen  mill  was  abandoned 
and  taken  away  many  years  ago.  The  Magee  home  was  for  many  years' 
on  the  lots  now  occupied  by  the  Loughry  Brothers  Milling  and  Grain 
Company.  There  the  family  lived  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
until  the  death  of  both  parents  in  1875,  when  the  family  home  was  aban- 
doned. Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Magee  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Monticello  and  one  of  the  windows  in  the  south  side  of  this 
church  is  set  aside  as  a  memorial  to  these  worthy  people. 

Jacob  Markle 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  White  County  was  Jacob  Markle, 
who  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1803  and  died  at  Monti- 
cello in  November,  1880.  After  spending  most  of  his  life  in  Tippecanoe 
and  Jasper  counties,  Indiana,  he  removed  to  White  County  about  the 
close  of  the  Civil  war  and  built  the  woolen  factory  which  formerly  stood 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river  opposite  Monticello,  but  this  enterprise  was 
beyond  his  means,  the  result  was  financial  ruin,  his  friends  forsook  him 
and  his  life  was  closed  in  comparative  poverty. 

William  P.  Marshall 

William  P.  Marshall  died  suddenly  in  Monticello,  Monday  evening, 
April  5,  1914.  He  was  born  in  Beaver  County,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 2,  1834,  and  on  August  17,  1865,  was  married  to  Florence  Rose 
Brown  of  Monticello,  who  is  still  living.  A  son,  Charles  Marshall,  of 
Indianapolis,  was  born  to  their  union.  He  left  a  good  soldier  record, 
being  a  member  of  the  One  Hundredth  Pennsylvania  and  the  Ninth 
Indiana  regiments.  He  was  a  skilled  painter  and  decorator  by  trade, 
but  for  the  last  years  of  his  life  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Monticello. 

Edward  McCloud 

Edward  McCloud,  an  old  time  resident  of  Cass  Township,  died  at 
the  home  of  his  son  Sidney,  Tuesday,  July  17,  1900.  He  was  born  in 
Franklin  County,  Ohio,  February  4,  1829,  came  to  Indiana  in  1850,  and 
on  August  21,  1851,  married  Emeline  Wiley,  by  whom  he  had  nine  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  survived  him.  On  January  3,  1804,  he  enlisted  in 
the  Sixty-third  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteers  and  at  the  close  of  the  war 
returned  home.    He  was  intensely  religious,  a  good  citizen  and  a  brave 


jm. 


476  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

soldier.    His  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  White  Oak  Church  and  his 
remains  were  interred  in  the  Buffalo  Cemetery. 

^  Maritta  McCloud-Parcels 

Maritta  McCloud-Parcels  was  born  in  LaRue,  Marion  County,  Ohio, 
November  9, 1826,  and  died  at  Monticello.,  June  9, 1912.  She  was  a  sister 
of  Edward  MeCloud  and  grew  to  womanhood  in  the  place  of  her  birth. 
On  February  25,  1847,  she  was  married  to  William  II.  Parcels,  who  died 
in  Monticello,  May  19,  1886.  In  1850  they  moved  to  Pulaski  County, 
t  Indiana,  and  six  years  later  came  to  Monticello  and  located  on  the  prem- 
ises where  both  died.  In  early  life  she  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  continued  faithful  until  her  death.  She  was  also  the  last  sur- 
viving charter  member  of  the  Rebekah  Lodge  of  Monticello.  Rev.  J.  E. 
MeCloud,  her  nephew,  assisted  Rev.  H.  L.  Kindig  in  the  funeral  services 
and  her  body  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Monticello  Cemetery. 

Solomon  McColloch 

Solomon  McColloch,  the  pioneer  of  Prairie  Township,  died  at  the 
home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Clara  Lilly,  at  Pleasant  Ridge,  Ohio,  in 
April,  1912,  aged  ninety-four  years  and  four  days.  He  was  born  near 
Bellefontaine,  Ohio,  March  29,  1818,  both  his  parents  being  Scotch.  He 
had  two  brothers  and  three  sisters.  His  father,  Solomon  McColloch, 
Sr.,  moved  from  Ohio  to  White  County  with  a  family  of  five  children  in 
1832,  being  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Prairie  Township  and  the  first 
election  inspector  appointed  after  the  organization  of  the  township. 
Solomon  McColloch,  Jr.,  was  married  three  times  and  of  the  twelve  chil- 
dren born  to  him  by  these  unions  three  only  survive.  For  many  years 
Mr.  McColloch  farmed  the  Bartley  place  on  the  southeast  border  of 
Monticello,  and  it  was  here  that  his  older  children  reached  manhood 
and  womanhood.     The  deceased  was  buried  at  Pleasant  Ridge,  Ohio. 

William  W.  McColloch 

William  W.  McColloch,  a  soldier  who  lost  a  leg  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  was  county  recorder  eight  years  and  postmaster  at  Monticello  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  For  almost  forty  years  Mr.  McColloch  was  one  of 
the  most  familiar  figures  on  the  streets  of  Monticello,  with  a  wide  ac- 
quaintance all  over  the  county.  He  was  a  son  of  Solomon  and  Elizabeth 
McColloch  and  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Brookston,  September  14,  1842. 
He  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Twentieth  Indiana  Infantry,  July  22,  1861 ; 
was  wounded  in  the  seven  days'  fight  before  Richmond  June  25,  1862, 
taken  prisoner  and  had  his  left  leg  amputated  by  rebel  surgeons.  Was 
confined  for  a  time  in  Libby  Prison.  While  attending  school  at  the 
Battleground  Academy  he  was  elected  county  recorder  in  1866  and 
entered  upon  his  official  duties  in  July,  1867,  serving  eigKt  years.  He 
then  became  a  member  of  the  abstracting  firm  of  McColloch  &  Bushncll 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  477 

and  was  appointed  postmaster  in  Monticello  in  January,  1898,  re-ap- 
pointed in  1892,  having  served  a  little  more  than  five  years  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  March  8,  1903.  October  5,  1871,  he  was  married  to  Martha  M. 
^Huff,  daughter  of  Judge  Samuel  Huff,  who  survived  him  a  little  more 
than  five  years,  dying  April  20,  190S.     They  had  no  children. 

Thomas  McCollum 

Thomas  McCollum  was  born  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania, 
June  20,  1803,  and  was  married  February  28,  1823.  In  1836  he  moved 
to  Coshocton  County,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  1872,  when  he  located 
on  a  farm  four  miles  northwest  of  Monticello.  In  the  spring  of  1878 
his  wife  died,  and  on  August  13,  18S0,  he,  too,  passed  away,  lie  was 
the  father  of  fourteen  children,  most  of  whom  are  dead.  One  son, 
Mr.  James  H.  McCollum,  a  retired  business  man  of  Monticello,  and 
now  past  eighty  years  old,  is  living  in  Monticello,  which  has  been  his 
home  since  1854. 

David  McConahay 

David  McConahay,  of  Jackson  Township,  who  always  enjoyed  the 
name  of  "Buckwheat  Dave,"  from  his  singing  the  old-fashioned  notes, 
was  born  in  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky,  January  5,  1817,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  White  County  in  the  fall  of  1833,  but  after  a  short 
stay  moved  to  Rush  County,  where  he  lived  for  two  years  and  came 
back,  locating  in  Big  Creek  Township.  He  taught  the  first  school  held 
in  what  later  became  Liberty  Township.  On  October  15,  1840,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Sarah  Crose,  who  was  born  in  Indiana,  August  15,  1825,  and 
this  union  was  blessed  with  seven  children.  In  1848  he  located  in 
Jackson  Township.  He  was  ordained  a  preacher  in  the  Christian 
Church  in  1853,  and  for  many  years  followed  that  calling.  A  democrat 
in  politics,  he  served  as  county  assessor  in  1849-50,  and  for  two  terms 
served  as  township  trustee,  in  all  of  which  offices  he  left  an  unblemished 
record.  His  wife  died  in  March,  1900,  and  he  passed  away  at  Idaville, 
December  30,  1890. 

Ranson  McConahay 

In  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky,  was  born,  November  30,  1803,  to 
David  and  Jane  (Ranson)  McConahay,  a  son,  who,  with  his  family, 
was  destined  to  play  an  active  part  in  the  early  history  of  White 
County.  Ranson  McConahay  received  a  good  practical  education,  later 
he  taught  school,  learned  the  blacksmith  and  shoemaker's  trade,  and 
for  a  time  engaged  in  farming.  On  March  2(5,  1829,  he  married  Mary 
Thompson,  in  Campbell  County,  Kentucky,  and  in  the  same  year  located 
in  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  where  he  farmed  for  three-years,  when 
he  came  to  what  is  now  White  County,  locating  about  twelve  miles  south 
of  what  is  now  Monticello.  For  twelve  years  he  fanned  and  taught 
school,  when  he  moved  to  Liberty  Township,  and  upon  the  death,  on 
January  7,  1846,  of  William  Sill,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  clerk, 


478  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

auditor  and  recorder  of  White  County,  the  office  held  by  Mr.  Sill  at  his 
death.  He  was  the  second  incumbent  of  this  office,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term  by  appointment  he  was  elected  clerk  and  served  two  terms, 
the  last  term  closing  in  1858,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Orlando. 
He  then  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Monticello,  Burnettsville,  . 
Norway  and  also  Pulaski  County.  About  the  year  1867  he  quit  the  active 
life,  and  on  April  22,  1868,  died  at. the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Haworth,  in  Pulaski  County.  His  remains  are  buried  in  the  Star  City 
Cemetery.  His  first  wife  died  in  Monticello,  September  19,  1849.  She 
was  the  mother  of  Orlando,  deceased,  and  James  A.,  yet  living  in  Kansas. 
On  December  17,  1850,  he  married  his  second  wife,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
(Haworth)  Sturgeon,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Ranson  C.  and 
John  W.  His  son,  Orlando  McConahay,  served  for  two  terms  as  clerk 
of  White  County,  being  the  third  person  to  hold  that  office,  quitting  it  in 
1867.  From  this  brief  sketch  the  reader  will  readily  see  that  Ranson 
McConahay  fdled  a  prominent  part  in  our  early  history.  For  twenty 
years  he,  with  his  son  Orlando,  filled  the  responsible  position  of  clerk  of 
the  county,  and  filled  it  well. 

David  McCuaig 

Locating  in  Monticello  at  a  comparatively  early  date  and  engaging 
in  the  hotel  business  Mr.  McCuaig  was  closely  identified  with  the  town 's 
material  and  social  advancement  throughout  a  long  and  busy  life.  He 
was  possessed  of  a  well  balanced  mind  and  natural  force  of  character 
which  made  his  counsel  and  advice  valuable  both  in  public  and  private 
matters.  He  was  born  in  Greenock,  Scotland,  September  17,  1836,  and 
came  with  his  parents  to  America  in  1846,  stopping  first  in  Washington 
County,  Ohio.  He  came  to  Monticello  in  1856,  and  on  November  20, 
1860,  was  married  to  Jane  Clingen,  who  is  still  living.  In  June,  1866, 
they  began  the  hotel  business  in  a  little  one-story  building  on  lot  42,  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets.  To  this  they 
added  as  the, years  went  by  until  it  grew  to  a  large  and  commodious 
hostelry,  known  as  "The  McCuaig  House,"  for  many  years  the  town's 
leading  hotel.  In  1901  they  sold  the  lot  and  the  site  of  the  old  hotel  is 
now  occupied  by  the  splendid  Odd  Fellows'  Block  erected  the  same  year. 
Mr.  McCuaig  died  March  11,  1902. 

Amor  S.  McElhoe 

Amor  S.  McElhoe  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  Decem- 
•  ber  5,  1817,  died  at  his  home  north  of  Monticello  October  12,  1905,  aged 
nearly  eighty-eight  years.  He  was  a  son  of  Samuel  McElhoe,  a  revolu- 
tionary soldier,'who  served  under  Washington  and  who  told  of  losing  his 
shoes  on  the  night  the  troops  crossed  the  Delaware  to  surprise'  the 
Hessians.  His  grandsons,  Robert  and  William  McElhoe,  still  living  near 
Monticello,  remember  well  how  their  father  and  mother  used  to  have 
to  aid  this  revolutionary  grandfather  in  dressing  himself.     Thus  are 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  479 

those  remote  times  of  that  stirring  period  linked  directly  with  the  present. 
Amor  S.  McElhoe's  family  located  in  Monticello  in  1848,  coming  from 
Pennsylvania  overland  and  by  the  "Wabash  and  Erie  Canal.  He  was  a 
blacksmith  and  claimed  to  have  made  the  first  steel  mouldboard  plow  in 
White  County.  He  was  married  in  1842  to  Mary  D.  Burns,  who  died  iu 
December,  1896.  He  left  surviving  four  children,  Mrs.  Joseph  Adams, 
of  Rensselaer,  Mrs.  George  Henderson,  of  Wolcott,  and  Robert  and  Wil- 
liam McElhoe,  north  of  Monticello. 

Robert  McWilliams 

Robert  McWilliams,  son  of  David  and  Martha  Hamilton  McWilliams, 
was  born  in  Knox  County,  Ohio,  October  1,  1819,  and  died  on  his  farm 
near  Idaville  in  1892.  In  1840  he  came  on  a  canal  boat  from  Dayton, 
Ohio,  to  Logansport  to  visit  Robert  Ginn,  on  which  occasion  he  bought 
a  farm  northeast  of  Idaville,  but  returned  to  Ohio  and  pursued  his  trade 
of  wagonmaker  for  fourteen  years,  when  he  came  back  to  Jackson 
Township,  lived  for  a  year  on  the  Stringtown  Road,  and  in  1855  located 
on  the  farm  which  he  owned  until  his  death.  He  was  married  three 
times,  first  to  Emily  Jones  on  July  1,  1847,  who  died  Juno  4,  1848. 
They  had  one  son  which  died  in  infancy.  On  December  26,  1850,  he 
married  Mary  Jane  Jacoby,  and  to  this  union  was  born  seven  children, 
Emily,  wife  of  Daniel  S.  McCall ;  John,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twelve ; 
Martha,  who  married  David  Hess ;  Peter,  who  died  in  his  youth ;  David, 
a  farmer  in  Illinois;  Henry  and  Robert,  Jr.,  of  California.  His  second 
wife  died  January  17,  1870,  and  on  September  5, 1871,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth McCall,  who  died  childless,  about  1898.  Mr.  McWilliams  was  a 
republican,  but  no  office-seeker.  In  1874  he  was  the  republican  can- 
didate for  trustee  of  Jackson  Township,  being  defeated  by  one  vote  in 
that  democratic  stronghold.  About  the  year  1868  he  united  with  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Idaville,  of  which  he  was  an  active  mem- 
ber until  his  death.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  and  positive  religious  con- 
victions and  active  in  upholding  all  that  was  -for  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived. 

.  .  Dr.  John  W.  Medaris 

Dr.  John  W.  Medaris,  who  died  in  Brookston,  September  21,  1911, 
wanting  one  month  of  being  ninety-seven  years  old,  was  one  of  the  most 
honored  of  our  old  settlers.  At  his  death  he  was  doubtless  the  oldest 
Mason  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  having  been  a  member  of  that  institution 
since  1846.  He  was  born  in  Clearmont,  Ohio,  October  22,  1814,  was 
educated  in  Ohio  and  married  Miss  Martha  Perry  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
who  died  in  1856,  and  in  1858  he  married  Elizabeth  S.  Pate,  of  Lawrence- 
burg,  Indiana,  who,  with  two  children,  Wilbur  and  Alta,  survived  him. 
His  only  child  by  his  first  marriage,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Cochran,  of  Danville, 
Illinois,  died  in  October,  1911.  In  1859  Doctor  Medaris  located  in  Brooks- 
ton,  and  thereafter  was  intimately  identified  with  the  welfare  of  its  people. 


I  LIT* 


480  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

Francis  M.  Million 

Francis  M.  Million,  son  of  Ephraim  Million,  was  born  in  Jackson 
Township,  June  19,  1841,  and  died  in  Burnettsville,  November  29,  1911. 
His  father  was  killed  by  a  runaway  team  in  1847.  On  October  4,  1 860, 
Mr.  Million  was  married  to  Katie  E.  Hoagland,  who  survived  him  with 
their  three  children.  His  entire  life  was  spent  in  and  around  Burnetts- 
ville, where  he  was  well  known  and  respected. 

Randolph  J.  Million 

A  well-known  member  of  the  White  County  bar,  and  son  of  Francis 
M.  and  Kate  E.  Million,  was  born  in  Jackson  Township,  September  7, 
1867,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Monticello,  September  8,  1911.  He  grad- 
uated from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  in  1889 
and  the  following  year  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  White  County 
bar.  On  August  29,  1891,  he  married  Miss  Zulu  Hanna,  of  Burnetts- 
ville, and  to  them  were  born  eight  children,  six  of  whom,  with  the 
mother,  were  left  to  mourn  their  loss.  Soon  after  coming  to  Monticello 
he  united  with  the  Christian  Church,  in  which  he  held  a  membership  at 
the  time  of  his  death.    He  was  buried  in  Riverview  Cemetery. 

Rev.  Robert  M.  Million 

Rev.  Robert  M.  Million,  who  served  for  many  years  as  an  active  min- 
ister of  the  Church  of  God  (New  Dunkards)  at  Burnettsville,  died  at  his 
home  in  that  place  in  May,  1912.  He  was  a  native  of  the  county,  born 
January  22,  1839,  and  spent  his  entire  life  in  the  vicinity  of  Idaville  and 
Burnettsville.  In  June,  1862,  he  was  married  to  Marie  J.  Alkire  and  in 
October,  1868,  they  both  united  with  the  Church  of  God,  in  which  two 
years  later  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  Besides  his  wife,  the 
deceased  left  two  sons  and  a  daughter: 

George  H.  Mitchell 

The  late  George  H.  Mitchell,  who  claimed  to  be  the  first  native  white 
child  in  Jackson  Township,  was  born  December  5,  1835,  and  a  few  years 
afterwards  the  family  settled  on  the  first  farm  north  of  the  present  Town 
of  Idaville.  His  father,  William  W.  Mitchell,  was  a  Kentuckian  who 
moved  to  Madison  County,  Ohio,  where  he  married  Miss  Maria  Phoebus. 
After  the  birth  of  a  son  in  1828  the  family  located  in  Tippecanoe  County, 
Indiana,  ten  miles  north  of  Lafayette,  and  two  daughters  were  born  in 
that  locality,  before  the  family  settled  in  Jackson  Township  during  1834. 
Most  of  Mr.  Mitchell's  life,  was  spent  on  the  old  farm,  except  the  Civil 
war  period,  which  he  spent  in  active  service,  but  in  1890  he  moved  to 
Idaville,  where  he  died  in  1913. 

Isaac  B.  Moore 

Isaac  B.  Moore  was  born  in  Morgan  County,  Ohio,  January  30,  1827 ; 
came  to  White   County  in  1845;  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  A.. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  481 

VanNice  September,  1858;  died  at  his  home  just  west  of  Monticcllo, 
June  9,  1901.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Hanover  College  and  of  MeCormick 
Theological  Seminary.  A  number  of  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to 
the  ministry  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  failing  health  caused  him 
to  drop  this  work  and  engage  in  farming. 

Thomas  B.  Moore 

Liberty  Township  has  had  few  more  honored  citizens  than  Thomas 

B.  Moore,  who  was  born  in  Morgan  County,  Ohio,  August  9,  1824,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  moved  to  the  farm  in  Liberty  Township, 
where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  married  September  20,  1849, 
to  Louisa  W.  Paul,  who  died  in  July,  1892.  He  was  afterward  married 
to  Mrs.  Sarah  Tucker.  He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Lilly  Renwick  and 
Prof.  Benjamin  P.  Moore,  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  the  state 
and  at  present  superintendent  of  the  city  schools  of  Muncie,  Indiana. 
His  life  was  one  of  industry  and  sacrifice  and  he  became  one  of  the 
county's  most  prosperous  farmers.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  joined  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  remained  steadfast  in  his  faith  during 
life.     His  death,  occurred  at  his  home  near  Buffalo,  October  8,  1895.' 

John  W.  Nethercutt 

John  W.  Nethercutt,  a  pioneer  of  Jackson  Township,  died  in  Burnctts- 
ville,  Thursday,  December  18,  1913.  He  was  born  in  Eaton,  Darke 
County,  Ohio,  November  29,  1830,  and  came  to  Indiana  with  his  parents 
when  he  was  but  a  mere  infant,  locating  on  a  farm  southeast  of  Burnetts- 
ville.  He  spent  his  entire  life  in  that  locality,  being  outside  the  state  but 
once,  making  a  visit  to  Chenoa,  Illinois,  when  what  is  now  the  Pan 
Handle  Railroad,  was  completed.    On  April  30,  1857,  he  married  Lydia 

C.  Smith  and  to  them  was  born  ten  children,  six  of  whom  and  also  the 
wife  preceded  him  to  the  unknown.  Those  children  who  survived  him 
were  Alfred  H.,  William  E.,  Clifford  H,  and  Arch  0.  At  the  time  of 
bis  death  he  was  Burnettsville  's  oldest  business  man  and  for  many  years 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Noble  Nordyke 

Noble  Nordyke,  who  came  to  White  County  in  1846,  was  born  in 
North  Carolina,  February  11,  1832,  and  died  at  Wolcott,  August  15, 
1912.  He  was  reared  a  Friend  but  his  latter  days  were  spent  as  a 
member  of  the  Advent  Church.  In  1852,  he  married  Mary  E.  Vinson 
and  they  lived  together  forty-six  years,  until  her  death  April  12,  1898. 
In  December,  1898,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Eliza  Carpenter  of  North 
Liberty,  Indiana,  who,  with  three  children  by  his  first  marriage  survived 
him.  .. 


J 


482  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

William  Orr 

William  Orr  was  born  in  Greene  County,  Pennsylvania,  May  25, 
1814,  where  in  early  life  he  learned  the  printer's  trade.  In  1835  he 
located  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and  the  following  year  moved  to 
Lafayette,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  1847  when  he  located  on  a 
farm  about  three  miles  northwest  of  Monticello,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death  on  August  20,  1891.  A  man  of  strong  personality  and  generous 
to  a  fault  he  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him  and  his  untimely  death 
(by  being  struck  by  a  railroad  train)  brought  sorrow  to  a  wide  circle 
of  friends. 

Alfred  R.  Orton 

Alfred  R.  Ox-ton,  for  the  last  seventy  years  a  resident  of  Monticello, 
was  born  in  Perry  County,  Ohio,  November  5,  1833,  and  at  the  age  of 
twelve  came  to  Monticello  with  his  mother,  his  father  having  died  in 
1844.  Mr.  Orton 's  parents  were  of  English  stock,  his  father,  John  B. 
Orton,  being  a  native  of  Vermont,  where  he  was  born  early  in  the  last 
century.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  died  in  the 
Orton  home  at  Monticello  in  the  summer  of  1879.  Mr.  Orton,  after  a 
course  in  Wabash  College,  did  some  surveying  in  the  West,  then  for 
over  twenty  years  was  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Monticello  and  in 
1882  was  elected  surveyor  of  the  county,  being  the  only  candidate  elected 
on  the  republican  ticket.  On  December  27,  1859,  at  Bedford,  Indiana, 
he  married  Miss  Addie  C.  Parker,  who  is  yet  living,  and  to  them  have 
been  born  three  children :  a  daughter  Ora,  who  for  almost  twenty  years 
has  been  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Monticello ;  a  son,  Julius  Orton, 
a  minister  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a  daughter  Emma,  deceased. 
Mr.  Orton  is  one  of  the  .most  prominent  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  White  County  and,  with  his  family,  is  highly  respected  in 
Monticello. 

Julius  W.  Paul 

.  Julius  W.  Paul,  ex-treasurer  of  White  County  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  cashier  in  the  Farmers  Bank  in  Monticello.  He  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  near  Guernsey  in  White  County,  December  8,  1862.  His 
father  died  November  20,  1873,  and  five  years  later  his  mother  removed 
to  Monticello.  He  taught  school  for  four  years,  then  served  four  years 
as  deputy  under  his  uncle,  County  Treasurer  Robert  R.  Breckenridge, 
and  also  four  years  as  deputy  under  County  Treasurer  H.  A.  B.  Moor- 
-hous.  He  was  elected  treasurer  in  1892,  but  was  defeated  for  re-election 
in  1894.    He  died  November  20,  1898,  leaving  a 'widow  and  one  son. 

Mrs,  Mary  Paul 

•  Mrs.  Mary  Paul  was  a  native  of  White  County  and  one  of  the  oldest 
continuous  residents.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John  Reynolds  and  was 
born  on  the  George  A.  Spencer  farm,  southwest  of  Monticello,  May  18, 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  483 

1838,  being  one  of  the  first  white  children  horn  in  Big  Creek  Township. 
She  died  at  her  home  in  Monticello,  April  1G,  1915.  She  wns  married  to 
Benjamin  D.  Paul,  September  8,  1859.  lie  died  November  20,  1873,  and 
soon  thereafter  she  removed  to  Monticello,  where  she  lived  the  remainder 
of  her  life.  Three  children  born  to  them,  Julius  W.,  Mary  B.,  after- 
wards Mrs.  Bert  Kingsbury,  and  Louis  B.,  all  preceded  her  in  death. 
She  is  survived  by  two  grandsons,  Paul  Kingsbury  of  Bloomington  and 
Benjamin  Paul  of  Hammond,  Indiana. 

Benjamin  D.  Pettit 

Benjamin  D.  Pettit  was  born  in  Miami  County,  Ohio,  June  30,  1822, 
and  on  November  29,  1849,  was  married  to  Miss  Patsy  Morris,  and  in 
1853  removed  to  Marion  County,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  for  thirteen  years, 
after  which  he  migrated  to  White  County,  where  he  resided  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  April  28,  1879,  on  his  farm  near  Brookstou. 
Of  him  it  was  said  that  he  was  "a  good  citizen,  a  noble  man,  a  kind 
husband  and  father  and  a  patron  of  suffering  humanity." 

■    Nathan  C.  Pettit 

Nathan  C.  Pettit,  a  pioneer  merchant  of  Monticello,  was  born  in 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  October,  1831,  and  on  October  16,  1851,  was 
married  to  Martha  Scott,  who  survived  him  for  about  ten  years.  He  was 
one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  local  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  and  in 
1888  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  retained 
his  membership  until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  Monticello  on  May 
28,  1895.  Mr.  Pettit  was  the  father  of  five  children,  only  two  of  whom 
are  living.  He  was  one  of  Monticello 's  prosperous  business  men  and  at 
his  death  was  planning  to  enlarge  his  business. 

Reuben  R.  Pettit 

Mr.  Pettit  was  at  one  time  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  White 
County.  He  was  born  in  Burlington  County,  New  Jersey,  November  18, 
1826,  and  was  married  there  on  April  2,  1848,  and  came  to  AVhite  County 
in  1849,  locating  at  Burnettsville.  He  later  resided  at  Reynolds  for  a 
number  of  years,  where  he  became  prominent  in  local  Masonic  circles, 
subsequently  transferring  his  membership  to  Wolcott  and  then  to  Rem- 
ington.   He  died  at  the  latter  place  October  30,  1897. 

',.'•-.  Mas.  Matilda  Pierce 

Mrs.  Matilda  Pierce  died  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  J.  II. 
Shultz,  in  Logansport,  January  12,  1901,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years.  She  was  the  widow  of  Lucius  Pierce  and  for  many  years  resided 
with  her  husband  and  family  at  the  old  Pierce  home  on  the  sand  ridge 
on  what  is  now  North  Dewey  Street;  the  little  old  brick  house  being  still 


484  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

occupied  as  a  residence.     She  was  a  daughter  of  George  Armstrong 
Spencer,  one  of  White  County 's  earliest  settlers. 

Joseph  Pogue 

Joseph  Pogue,  eldest  son  of  William  and  Sarah  Pogue,  was  born  in 
Shelby  County,  Ohio,  November  20,  1829,  and  died  at  the  home  of 
Ertie  J.  Rogers,  in  Montieello,  on  March  27,  1914.  He  came  from  his 
Ohio  home  to  Indiana,  on  horseback,  in  1854  and  on  January  1,  1856, 
married  Rachel  Layman,  who  died  in  1865,  and  later  two  of  their  four  | 
children  were  taken  by  death.  On  May  5,  1867,  he  married  Leah  Jami- 
son who  died  June  15,  1888,  and  on  December  3,  1890,  he  was  married 
to  Ellen  M.  Thompson  and  to  this  marriage  was  born  one  child.  When 
forty  years  old  he  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  which  he 
remained  a  consistent  member  until  his  death.  He  had  resided  in  White 
County  for  more  than  fifty  years. 

i 

i  John  Price 

i 

John  Price,  fourth  son  of  Peter  and  Asenath  Price,  born  at  the  Price 
home  just  west  of  Montieello,  February  14,  1836,  died  at  the  same  place 
January  2, 1896.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Miss  Nancy  Ellis,  who,  with 
their  only  child,  died  1874  and  both  were  buried  in  the  same  grave.  He 
was  successively  sergeant,  second  and  first  lieutenant  of  Company  K, 
Twentieth  Indiana  Infantry.  His  merit  as  a  soldier  was  attested  in  a. 
fitting  tribute  prepared  by  his  captain,  John  C.  Brown. 

Joseph  Price 

Joseph  Price  died  at  his  home  in  Carroll  County,  just  southeast  of 
Montieello,  September  8,  1898.  He  was  a  son  of  Peter  Price,  one  of  the 
first  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Montieello,  where  he  grew  to  manhood.  His 
widow,  Mrs.  Maria  Price,  and  three  children,  Ben  Price,  Jr.,  Mrs.  George 
Biederwolf  and  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Davis,  are  now  residents  of  Montieello. 
At  the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Price  was  in  his  sixty-ninth  year. 

William  L.  Ramey 

One  of  the  prominent  farmers  of  the  eastern  part  of  Prairie  Town- 
ship, William  L.  Ramey  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Kentucky,  Janu- 
ary 19,  1834.  Located  in  White  County  in  1846.  He  was  married  to 
Clarinda  Smith,  April  2,  1857.  He  died  December  26,  19D7,  leaving  a 
widow  and  eight  children — five  boys  and  three  girls — all  of  adult  age. 

David  Rathfon 

At  his  death  on  August  26,  1895,  David  Rathfon  was  the  oldest 
resident  of  White  County,  wanting  but  a  few  weeks  of  being  ninety-. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  485' 

eight  years  old.  He  was  Lorn  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania, 
November  6,  1797,  and  moved  to  Wayne  County,  Indiana,  in  1838. 
In  1855  he  came  to  White  County,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life. 
In  1822  he  married  Nancy  Warfel  and  to  them  were  born  five  sons  and 
three  daughters.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Dunkard  Church 
and  the  record  of  his  long  life  leaves  no  reproach  upon  his  memory. 

William  W.  Raub 

William  W.  Raub,  for  many  years  a  well  known  and  prominent  busi- 
ness man  of  Chalmers,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  J.  &  W.  W.  Raub,  grain 
buyers,  and  later  extensively  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  for 
himself,  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  December  26,  1845; 
located  at  Chalmers  in  1872.  December  18,  1877,  he  was  married  to 
Mary  Allen,  daughter  of  a  commission  merchant  at  the  Union  Stock 
Yards,  Chicago.     He  left  one  son,  William  Webster  Raub. 

Dr.  Cyrus  A.  G.  Rayiiouser 

Dr.  Cyrus  A.  G.  Rayhouser,  one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of  White 
County,  was  born  in  Columbiana  County,  Ohio,  October  29,  1825,  and 
after  completing  his  education  at  the  Vermilion  Institute,  then  one  of 
the  most  noted  schools  of  Ohio,  he  was  principal  of  the  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana,  schools,  and  for  four  years  was  school  examiner  of  LaPorte 
County,  Indiana.  In  1856  he  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  Ferguson 
of  Lafayette,  and  then  began  the  study  of  medicine,  at  the  same  time 
following  the  profession  of  teaching.  In  1860  he  began  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Roekfield,  Carroll  County,  and  in  1863  enlisted  in  the 
Twenty-second  Indiana  Battery.  He  was  later  appointed  assistant  sur- 
geon and  was  detailed  to  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  where  he  remained  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  In  1868  he  located  at  Wolcott,  where  he  opened 
a  drug  store,  and  two  years  later  was  appointed  postmaster  at  that  place. 
In  1893  he  removed  to  Chalmers,  but  in  1898  retired  to  his  farm  on 
Pike  Creek,  and  five  years  later  removed  to  Monticello,  where  he  died 
March  16,  1910.  While  at  Wolcott  his  wife  died  and  his  nephew,  Bert 
Thompson,  became  his  companion  and  proved  a  loyal  friend  in  his  declin- 
ing years.  .  Few  men  ever  lived  in  White  County  who  were  more  favor- 
ably known  than  Doctor  Rayhouser. 

Judge  Alfred  F.  Reed 

Judge  Alfred  F.  Reed,  who  was  the  last  judge  of  the  old  Common 
Pleas  Court,  was  born  in  Clark  County,  Ohio,  February  3,  1824,  and 
died  at  his  home  just  east  of  Monticello,  October  23,  1873.  His  parents 
came  to  Indiana  in  his  early  childhood  but  a  few  years  later  returned 
to  Ohio  and  on  April  8,  1845,  he  was  married  to  Louisa  J.  Downs  and 
to  them  were  born  eight  children,  only  two  of  whom  survived  the  father. 
In  November,  1852,  he  came  to  White  County,  where  his  wife  and  five 


486  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

children  died  and  on  December  31,  1857,  lie  married  Elizabeth  Haver 
by  whom  he  had  five  children  and  of  these  four  survived  him.  'Judge 
Reed  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Ohio  and  on  his  coming  to  White 
County  at  once  entered  into  the  practice.  On  August  1,  1861,  he  en- 
tered the  Civil  war  as  captain  of  Company  K,  Twentieth  Regiment 
Indiana  Volunteers  in  which  he  served  until  the  fall  of  1862  when, 
upon  being  elected  to  the  State  Senate  he  resigned  to  take  that  office. 
He  served  during  one  session  of  the  Senate  and  on  March  1,  1864,  was 
commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Twelfth  Indiana  Cavalry  in 
which  capacity  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war  when  he  returned 
to  Monticello  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  On  March 
22,  1867,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court  for  the 
district  composed  of  the  counties  of  Benton,  Carroll  and  White.  He  was 
elected  to  succeed  himself  in  1869  and  again  in  1872,  but  the  legislature 
abolished  the  office  and  he  again  entered  the  practice  of  the  law  which 
he  followed  until  his  death.  Judge  Reed  left  an  enviable  record  as 
soldier,  lawyer  and  official.  nis,was  a  life  of  ceaseless  activity  but  in 
every  position  he  held  he  measured  up  to  the  full  standard  of  a  man. 

Benjamin  Reynolds 

Benjamin  Reynolds  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  White  County,  closely 
and  prominently  identified  with  its  early  settlement,  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  natural  resources.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  May  3, 
1799,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Big  Creek  Township,  June  6,  1869.  When 
quite  a  young  man  he  operated  a  stage  line  from  Vincennes,  Indiana,  to 
Toledo,  Ohio,  but  in  1828  a  distemper  broke  out  among  his  horses  which 
left  him  almost  a  bankrupt.  Two  years  later  he  came  to  what  is  now 
White  County,  began  life  anew  and  became  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of 
White  County  lands.  Later,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  con- 
struction of  both  the  Monon  and  Pennsylvania  railroads  and  was 
financially  interested  in  the  old  Junction  Railroad  in  which  he  lost  about 
$100,000.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Julia 
Ann  Collier,  w'ho  was  born  January  10,  1801,.  and  died  October  17,  1837. 
On  April  2, 1840,  he  married  Lydia  J.  Gardner  at  her  home  in  Vincennes, 
Indiana.  She  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  February  21,  1820,  and  died 
at  her  White  County  home,  January  27,  1902,  in  her  eighty-third  year. 
Benjamin  Reynolds  platted  and  laid  out  the  Town  of  Reynolds,  which 
was  named  for  him  by  Governor  Willard.  His  descendants  are  still  num- 
bered among  our  most  respected  citizens. 

Isaac  Reynolds 

Isaac  Reynolds  was  one  of  the  most  honored  and  well  known  men 
who  aided  in  the  development  of  White  County  and  many  of  his  descend- 
ants are  yet  with  us.  This  pioneer  was  born  July  23,  1811,  in  Perry 
County,  Ohio.  In  March,  1837,  he  married  Miss  Mary  J.  Hughes. 
About  1835  he  came  to  Monticello  and  entered  the  mercantile  business 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  487 

iu  which  he  was  engaged  most  of  his  life  until  1871,  when  lie  was  stricken 
with  paralysis,  which  soon  deprived  him  of  his  reason.  He  became  a 
member  of  the  Presbylerian  Church  in  1843  during  a  revival  service 
conducted  by  Rev.  S.  N.  Steele  and  for  many  years  was  a  trustee  of 
the  church.  He  was  also  a  charter  member  of  the  1.  0.  0.  F.  fraternity 
of  Monticcllo  and  a  man  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  in  which  he 
lived.    He  died  at  Monticello,  June  30,  1877. 

James  Culbertson  Reynolds 

James  Culbertson  Reynolds  was  born  in  Perry  County,  Ohio,  October 
14,  1816,  and  in  1837  came  to  Monticello,  where  he  lived  for  nearly  forty 
years.  On  January  21,  1843,  at  the  organization  of  the  New  School 
,  Presbyterian  Church,  he  became  an  active  member  and  for  the  rest  of 
his  life  he  never  wavered  in  his  devotion  to  the  church  in  which  he  served 
as  a  ruling  elder  for  twenty-three  years  and  was  also  active  in  Sunday 
school  work.  On  March  15,  1849,  he  married  a  daughter  of  William 
Sill,  deceased,  who  survived  him  at  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Monti- 
cello, March  25,  1877. 

John  G.  Reynolds 

Son  of  Isaac  Reynolds,  and  born  at  the  Reynolds  homestead  north  of 
Chalmers,  December,  1842.  Died  at  the  home  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Jacob 
Raub,  in  Chalmers,  July  13,  1899.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  K, 
Twentieth  Indiana,  and  was  wounded  in  the  arm  at  Spottsylvania.  He 
married  Hattie  E.  Callow,  at  Battleground,  June  6,  1807.  He  left  two 
sons,  Joseph  and  Earle,  the  latter  later  being  the  well  known  roller  skater, 
who  made  several  tours  of  the  world  with  his  wife,  also  a  champion  skater, 
under  the  name  of  Reynolds  &  Donnegan. 

Levi  Reynolds 

While  engaged  in  threshing  on  his  farm  about  five  miles  north  of 
Monticello  on  August  17,  1897,  Mr.  Reynolds  was  standing  in  his  barn 
talking  to  a  neighbor  when  he  suddenly  sank  to  the  floor  and  expired 
without  a  struggle.  He  was  born  in  Perry  County,  Ohio,  August.  20, 
1831,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  White  County  in  1836.  He  was 
married  to  Margaret  McCuaig  in  1858.  At  his  death  he  left  two  daugh- 
ters, Mrs.  S.  C.  Orr  and  Miss  Lottie  Reynolds,  both  still  residents  of 
Monticello. 

Maj.  Levi  Reynolds 

Maj.  Levi  Reynolds  was  born  May  13,  1795,  and  died  at  Monticcllo, 
February  1,  1871.  He  was  of  English  parentage  and  served  a  term  in 
the  Northwestern  Army  in  the  War  of  1812  while  yet  a  mere  boy.  But 
little  can  be  learned  of  his  life  except  that  he  was  a  prominent  figure 
in  all  the  celebrations  and  social  gatherings  in  Monticello  and  at  his 


JL 


488  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

death  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  in  Monticello.  His  funeral  was 
conducted  from  the  residence  of  Isaac  Reynolds,  in  Monticello,  at  2  P.  M. 
of  February  2,  1871,  with  the  following  named  pallbearers:  Dr.  Ran- 
dolph Brearley,  Joseph  Rothroek,  William  S.  Iloagland,  James  H.  Me- 
Collum,  Jeptha  Crouch  and  Orlando  McConahay.  Of  these  gentlemen 
only  Messrs.  McCollum  and  Crouch  are  now  living. 

Mrs.  Lydia  J.  Reynolds 

Mrs.  Lydia  J.  Reynolds,  widow  of  Benjamin  Reynolds,  of  Big  Creek 
Township,  and  mother  of  John,  Benjamin  and  Levi  Reynolds,  Nancy  J., 
now  Mrs.  George  Wolverton,  and  Sallie  O,  now  Mrs.  Jacob  Raul).  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Maj.  John  Gardner,  former  register  and  receiver 
of  the  land  office  at  Winamac  and  later  auditor  of  Jasper  County.  She 
was  married  to  Benjamin  Reynolds,  April  2,  1840,  at  her  home  in  Vin- 
cennes,  Indiana,  and  immediately  came  to  White  County.  She  died  at 
her  home  in  Chalmers,  January  27,  1902,  in  her  eighty-third  year,  having 
been  born  in  North  Carolina,  February  21,  1820.  Her  parents  located 
in  White  County  in  1830  and  were  said  to  be  the  second  oldest  family 
in  the  county. 

Miranda  J.  Reynolds 

Miranda  J.  Reynolds,  daughter  of  William  Sill,  was  born  in  Wash- 
ington County,  Indiana,  February  10,  1829,  came  with  her  parents  to 
Monticello  in  1832,  and  was  married  to  James  C,  Reynolds  in  1849.  In 
1848  she  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Monticello  and  in  this 
church  she  retained  her  church  relation  for  fifty  years  until  her  death 
in  Monticello  in  January,  1898.  She  was  a  woman  deeply  interested  in 
church  work,  knew  the  early  history  of  Monticello  and  White  County  as 
few  others  knew  it  and  was  deeply  interested  in  all  that  pertained  to 
the  welfare  of  the  community  in  which  she  lived.  Her  father,  William 
Sill,  held  the  offices  of  clerk,  auditor  and  recorder  for  the  first  twelve 
years  of  our  county's  history  and  Mrs.  Reynolds  was  a  perfect  cyclopedia 
of  its  early  annals.  She  was  a  real  pioneer  and  delighted  to  dwell  on 
the  memories  of  her  girlhood  when  the  town  was  in  embryo.  About 
six  years  previous  to  her  death  she  prepared  and  read  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Old  Settlers  of  White  County,  a  paper  on  our  early  history  that  was 
a  most  interesting  addition  to  our  local  history.  She  was  a  sister  of  the 
late  Milton  M.  Sill,  the  well  known  lawyer  of  Monticello. 

Boyd  F.  Ritchey 

Boyd  F.  Ritchey,  a  son  of  Rev.  John  Ritchey,  a  Methodist  minister, 
was  born  in  Dubois  County,  Indiana,  October  10,  1827,  and  when  four- 
teen years  old  came  to  White  County,  where  lie  lived  until  his  death, 
Sunday  night,  August  23,  1896.  He  was  married  January  24,  1847,  to 
Elizabeth  Korn  and  to  them  was  born  four  children.  His  wife  died  in 
1872  and  on  May  27,  1875,  he  married  Mrs.  Alvira  Cullen,  widowed 

_ _ «L_ 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  489 

daughter  of  Joseph  Conkling,  and  she  is  still  living  in  Montieello.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  joined  the  Methodist  Church  and  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  he  was  an  active  and  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  local 
church  of  Montieello.  Boyd  F.  Ritchey  was  a  man  in  all  that  word 
implies  and  those  who  knew  him  will  ever  remember  his  generous, 
kindly  manner  and  his  hopeful  words  and  advice.  His  only  living  child, 
George  Ritchey,  is  married  and  lives  in  Los  Angeles,  California. 

Bernard  K.  Roach 

For  many  years  Mr.  Roach  was  one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed  men 
in  White  County.  He  was  born  in  Alleghany  County,  Pennsylvania, 
May  16,  1810.  In  1862  he  removed  to  White  County,  locating  near  what 
is  now  known  as  Guernsey.  For  several  years  prior  to  his  death  he  lived 
with  his  son,  James  B.  Roach,  the  well  known  merchant  in  Montieello, 
at  whose  home  he  died  August  13,  1896. 

David  G.  Roach 

David  G.  Roach  was  the  youngest  son  of  Bernard  K.  Roach,  and 
brother  of  James  B.  and  John  T.  Roach.  He  was  horn  in  Columbiana 
County,  Ohio,  September  4,  1848,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  White 
County  in  1862.  June  13,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  McCuaig. 
He  resided  in  Montieello  and  vicinity  nearly  all  his  life.  He  removed 
with  his  family  to  Chicago  only  a  short  time  before  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  that  city  June  15,  1908.  He  left  a  wife,  one  daughter,  Mary, 
and  two  sons,  James  B.  and  Charles.  His  remains  were  brought  to 
Montieello  and  buried  in  Riverview  Cemetery,  interment  being  under  the 
auspices  of  Montieello  Lodge,  I.  0.  0.  F. 

James  B.  Roach 

The  oldest  continuous  business  man  in  Montieello  is  James  B.  Roach, 
who  conducts  a  dry  goods  store  on  the  south  side  of  the  public  square. 
He  is  a  son  of  Bernard  K.  and  Eliza  J.  (Thompson)  Roach  and  was 
born  in  Columbiana  County,  Ohio,  October  17,  1842,  coming  to  White 
County  in. November,  1861,  where  he  engaged  a  short  time  in  school 
teaching.  August  9, 1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Sixty-third  Indiana 
Volunteers,  and  was  made  corporal.  After  serving  on  detached  duty 
in  the  Provost  Marshal's  office  at  Indianapolis  for  almost  a  year  he 
joined  his  regiment  at  Camp  Nelson  and  with  it  saw  active  service  until 
his  discharge  at  David's  Island  Hospital,  June  29,  1865. 

For  thirteen  years  after  his  return  home  he  clerked  in  the  dry  goods 
store  of  Mr.  James  H.  McCollum,  later  moving  to  his  farm"  near  Guern- 
sey. Some  years  later  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brothers  John 
and  David  G.,  and  again  engaged  in  business  in  the  corner  room  north 
of  the  courthouse.  Here  he  continued  after  the  death  of  his  brothers 
until  the  remodeling  of  the  room  for  the  Fanners  State  Bank  necessitated 


ML 


490  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

his  removal  to  his  present  location.  December  18,  1872,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  S.  Berkey,  who  died  April  23,  1909,  leaving  him 
with  two  children,  Miss  Margaret  15.,  for  many  years  a  teacher  in  the 
Monticello  public  schools;  and  Frank  15.,  a  civil  engineer,  now  residing 
in  New  York.  Mr.  Roach  is  an  active  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  of  Tippecanoe  Post  G.  A.  P.,  and  is  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  by  all  who  know  him. 

John  T.  Roach 

John  T.  Roach,  son  of  Bernard  K.  Roach,  was  for  many  years  a  well 
known  business  man  in  Monticello.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  his  brothers,  James  B.  and  David  G.,  in  the  dry  goods  store, 
north  of  the  public  square,  under  the  firm  name  of  Roach  Bros.  He  was 
bom  in  New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  June  19,  1846.  Came  to  White  County  with 
the  Roach  family  in  1862.  Some  years  later  he  took  employment  with 
Dr.  William  Spencer  in  his  drug  store  and  in  the  late  seventies  was 
cashier  of  the  National  Bank.  July  3,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Anna  M.  Brearley,  daughter  of  Doctor  Brearley,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Monticello.  Their  only  child  died  in  infancy.  He  died  February  26,  ' 
1905.     His  widow  is  still  living  in  Monticello. 

Mrs.  Martha  Roberts 

One  of  White  County's  early  settlers,  widow  of  John. Roberts  and 
mother  of  William  D.  and  Robert  D.  Roberts,  Mrs.  Maria  L.  Fraser  and 
Mrs.  Perry  Spencer.  She  was  born  in  Ohio,  October,  1810 ;  her  maiden 
name  being  Martha  Dyer.  Married  to  John  Roberts  in  1827,  located  in 
Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  in  1828  and  in  White  County  a  short 
distance  southwest  of  the  site  of  Monticello  in  1831.  They  removed  to 
Monticello  in  1866,  where  her  husband  died  in  1872.  For  many  years 
she  lived  alone  in  her  large  brick  residence  on  South  Main  Street.  Died 
at  the  home  of  her  son,  County  Commissioner  Robert  D.  Roberts,  Janu- 
ary 14,  1896.  ;'  '  •" 
Robert  D.  Roberts 

Robert  D.  Roberts,  for  many  years  prominent  in  the  agricultural 
progress  of  Union  Township  and  the  industrial  life  of  Monticello,  died 
April  28,  1912,  as  the  result  of  an  injury  received  at  his  farm  south- 
west of  Monticello.  He  had  been  engaged  in  blasting  rock  on  his  land 
and  had  loaded  it  upon  a  boat  for  transportation,  when  a  large  stone 
fell  upon  him  and  injured  him  internally.  The  deceased  was  born  in 
White  County,  January  21,  1837,  being  one  of  the  eight  children  of 
John  and  Martha  Roberts.  His  parents  had  located  on  a  tract  of  160 
acres  of  Government  land  in  1831,  occupying  an  Indian  shack  as  their 
first  home.  In  that  locality  they  lived  until  1866,  when  they  gave  up 
farm  life  and  moved  to  their  new  home  on  South  Main  Street,  Monti- 
cello, where  the  father  died  in  1872.    In  1861  Robert  D.  Roberts  married 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  401 

Susan  Seowden  and  for  several  years  devoted  himself  to  fanning  and 
stock  raising;  but  in  1876,  with  William  15.  Keefer,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Roberts  and  Keefer,  he  purchased  the  woolen  factory  which  stood 
at  the  foot  of  the  mill  race  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  anil  converted 
it  into  a  flour  mill,  giving  it  the  name  of  the  Crystal  Mills.  Some  time 
later  he  purchased  Mr.  Keefer 's  interest  and  later  took  his  nephew, 
Fred  Roberts,  as  a  partner;  and  they  conducted  the  mill  successfully 
until  it  was  burned  in  1889.  Later  he  served  a  term  as  township  trustee 
and  as  county  commissioner.  He  continued  to  reside  at  his  home  on 
the  hill  east  of  the  river  dam,  but  devoted  most  of  his  time  ami  atten- 
tion to  his  large  tract  of  land  south  of  town.  Mrs.  Roberts  died  in 
December,  1910,  the  mother  of  five  children.  Though  seventy-five  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Roberts  was  active  physically  and 
clear  mentally,  so  that,  despite  his  years,  his  death  seemed  premature. 

The  Thomas  Roberts  Family 

Thomas  Roberts,  the  son  of  John  and  Martha  Roberts,  was  born 
December  19,  1829,  about  one  and  one-half  miles  southwest,  of  Monticello, 
Indiana,  on  the  farm  now  in  the  possession  of  Robert  E.  Roberts.  During 
his  early  years  he  formed  a  friendship  with  Margery,  the  daughter  of 
Armstrong  and  Mary  Buchanan  who  lived  on  a  farm  about  four  and 
one-half  miles  southwest  of  Monticello.  In  1851  they  were  united  in 
marriage  and  for  three  years  lived  on  what  is  now  the  Charles  0.  Spencer 
farm. 

In  1854,  with  their  son  Frank,  they  moved  to  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
where  they  were  among  the  first  settlers.  Here  Mr.  Roberts  entered 
160  acres  of  land,  at  the  same  time  engaging  in  the  mercantile  business. 
In  July,  1861,  while  he  and  Mr.  Cordaway  were  working  on  their  land, 
a  party  of  Sioux  Indians  slipped  up  behind  them,  shot  and  killed  both 
men  and  took  their  horses. 

In  October,  1861,  Mrs.  Roberts  returned  to  Monticello  with  her  two 
children,  Frank  and  Fred,  Will  and  George  having  died  in  infancy. 
In  1864,  she  was  united  in  marriage  to  Ira  S.  Kingsbury.  Her  eldest 
son,  Frank,  died  in  1878,  leaving  Fred  as  the  only  remaining  child.  She 
continued  to  reside  in  Monticello  till  her  death  in  1904. 

Thomas  A.  Robison 

Thomas  A.  Robison,  who  had  resided  in  Indiana  since  1844,  was 
born  in  Piqua,  Ohio,  May  13,  1829,  and  came  to  Camden,  Carroll  County; 
thence  in  1858  to  Burnettsville ;  thence  to  Idaville,  and  in  1881  to  Mon- 
ticello, where  he  lived  at  the  home  of  his  brother,  Dr.  F.  B.  Robison,  but 
while  visiting  relatives  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  in  November,  1909,  he  died 
and  his  remains  were  brought  to  Monticello  for  burial.  In  1850  he  was 
married  to  Nancy  J.  McClurg,  who  died  July  •'!,  1897.  In  1863  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Burnettsville,  but  later 
transferred  his  membership  to  the  church  in  Monticello.     During  the  war 


492  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

he  whs  ii  member  of  the  Twelfth  Indiana  Cavalry  and  was  given  an  hon- 
orable discharge  in  November,  1865.  lie  was  an  honored  member  of 
Tippecanoe  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Monticello.  Of  his  five  children,  three 
only  are  living,  Edward  S.  of  Oakland,  California;  Harry  13.  of  Roso 
Lake,  Idaho,  and  Mrs.  Blanche  Darrow  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  at  whose 
home  he  died. 

Mbs.  Mary  Virginia  Ross 

Mrs.  Ross  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  P.  Bennett,  for  many  years  a 
well  known  grocer  and  justice  of  the  peace  in  Monticello,  a  man  of 
sturdy  character  and  held  in  high  esteem.  She  was  born  in  Harrison 
County,  West  Virginia,  March  17,  1848.  She  came  with  her  parents  to 
Monticello  about  1868.  About  twelve  years  of  her  life  were  spent  as  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools.  She  was  married  to  Benjamin  P.  Ross 
in  1872.  She  died  April  27,  1901,  leaving  her  husband  and  two  sons, 
Charles  V.  and  Frank  B.,  the  latter  later  becoming  a  well  known  attor- 
ney in  Indianapolis  and  judge  of  the  Probate  Court  of  Marion  County. 

Charles  Roth 

For  many  years  a  well  known  carpenter,  contractor  and  builder  in 
Monticello,  many  of  the  best  buildings  in  that  city  being  constructed  by 
him  and  his  brother  Frank,  Charles  Roth  was  born  in  Koerperick,  Prus- 
sia, and  came  to  America  in  1856.  He  located  in  Monticello  a  few  years 
later.  He  left  surviving  five  children:  Amer,  Eugene,  Thomas  and 
Felix  Roth  and  Mrs.  Daisy  Ireland,  wife  of  Melville  Ireland.  All,  except 
Amer,  still  reside  in  Monticello. 

Francis  William  Roth 

For  many  years  Francis  W.  Roth  was  engaged  with  his  brother, 
Charles,  as  contracting  builder,  under  the  firm  name  of  Roth  Bros.,  and 
what  was  said  of  the  latter  as  to  honesty  and  reliability  can  as  truthfully 
be  said  of  him.  He  was  born  in  Prussia,  January  6,  1832,  and  came  to 
America  in  1856,  locating  in  White  County  in  1866.  He  was  married 
July  4,  1861,  to  Mary  Jane  Ruble,  who  died  only  a  short  time  ago.  He 
left  two  sons,  Charles  M.  Roth  and  William  F.  Roth,  both  still  residents 
of  Monticello. 

Eliza  (Burns)  Rothrock 

At  the  time  of  her  death  Mrs.  Rothrock  was  Monticello 's  oldest  con- 
tinuous resident.  Her  maiden  name  was  Eliza  Burns ;  born  in  Lewistown, 
Pennsylvania,  December  15,  1815,  died  in  Monticello,  January  19,  1904, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-eight  years.  Her  father,  Hugh  Burns, 
came  to  White  County  in  September,  1838,  locating  on  what  they  called 
"Edge  Hill"  farm,  two  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Monticello,  and  where 
her  brother,  James  Burns,  lived  for  many  years  after.  She  was  married 
to  Joseph  Rothrock  September  25,  1839.    Four  children,  Mrs.  James  S. 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  493 

Wigmore,  J.  Bowman  Rothrock,  Samuel  A.  Rothrock,  of  Montieello, 
and  Mrs.  Belle  Ilaunum,  of  Denver,  Colorado,  survived  her,  but  all  have 
since  died,  except  her  son  Bowman,  still  a  resident  of  Montieello.  For  a 
long  series  of  years  she  lived  in  a  commodious  frame  house  on  lot  35, 
just  south  of  the  present  O'Connor  Building. 

Elizabeth  J.  Rothrock 

Elizabeth  J.  Rothrock,  widow  of  William  Rothrock,  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  women  of  White  County.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  Cochell  and  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  Mny  7, 
1830.  Died  at  her  home  south  of  Montieello,  July  5,  1906.  With  her 
parents  she  came  to  White  County  in  1846,  locating  in  the  little  Village 
of  Montieello.  November  11,  1848,  she  was  married  to  William  Rothrock 
and  they  at  once  began  life  in  a  log  house  about  a  mile  south  of  town, 
where  later  they  erected  the  commodious  brick  residence  in  which  they 
lived  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  She  was  the  mother  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, only  four  of  whom  are  now  living.  These  are:  Anna,  now  Mrs. 
David  Lilly;  Martha,  now  Mrs.  David  M.  Rothrock;  Eliza,  now  Mrs. 
Frank  Britton,  and  Belle,  now  Mrs.  Rufus  Ross. 

Jacob  Rothrock 

Jacob  Rothrock,  a  respected  member  of  the  Rothrock  family  of  White 
County,  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  January  10,  1824, 
and  died  at  his  Montieello  home  January  29,  1913.  In  18  4G,  he  married 
Henrietta  Stroup.  To  this  marriage  was  born  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  two  daughters,  Mary  and  Aramina,  of  Iowa,  and  two  sons, 
Luther,  of  Nebraska  and  David  Milton,  of  Montieello,  are  still  living. 
The  wife  and  mother  died  in  1893  and  in  1895  he  married  Mrs.  Mary 
Myers  and  then  located  in  Montieello  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business.  He  was  in  early  life  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church  but 
later  united  with  the  Baptists  and  remained  a  consistent  member  of  that 
organization  until  his  death.  He  was  simple  in  his  tastes,  kind  in  the 
family  and  a  good  citizen. 

Joseph  Rothrock 

Joseph  Rothrock  was  born  in  Mifflintown,  Pennsylvania,  August  3, 
1812 ;  was  married  in  1839  and  died  at  Montieello  May  7, 1880.  He  was  a 
pioneer  of  White  County  and  was  well  known  for  his  charity  and  benevo- 
lence. The  people  three  times  gave  him  the  very  important  office  of  treas- 
urer of  this  county. 

Robert  Rothrock 

The  Rothrock  family  was  one  of  the  very  earliest  to  locate  in  White 
County,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  having  lived  here  from  1831  to  the 


494  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

time  of  his  death,  February  17,  1882.  He  was  born  in  Miffliu  County, 
Pennsylvania,  February  19,  1807,  and  first  came  to  Indiana  in  1829,  but. 
it  was  not  until  two  years  later  that  be  located  at  what  was  later  to 
be  Monticello.  He  was  prominently  identified  with  our  local  history  and 
entered  from  the  Government  the  lands  on  which  our  county  seat  is 
located.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Christian  Church  and  his 
influence  for  good  wrought  results  which  we  of  today  so  fully  enjoy. 

William  Rothrock 

William  Rothrock  came  to  White  County  with  his  father  in  1831 
when  he  was  but  ten  years  old.  This  was  seven  years  before  the  Indians 
were  taken  West  and  three  years  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  county. 
He  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  August  23,  1821,  and  all 
of  his  life,  after  passing  his  tenth  year,  was  spent  in  White  County.  He 
endured  all  the  hardships  incident  to  pioneer  life,  his  first  home  in  White 
County  being  in  a  tent  which  the  family  occupied  until  a  log  cabin 
could  be  built.  On  November  11,  1848,  he  married  Elizabeth  Cochell, 
who  also  came  from  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  who,  with  five  daugh- 
ters, survived  him.  He  was  the  youngest  of  eight  children.  His  daugh- 
ters, who  survived  at  his  death,  were:  Mrs.  Samuel  Hornbeck,  Mrs.  David 
Lilly,  Mrs.  Frank  Britton,  Mrs.  Rufus  H.  Ross  and  Martha  Rothrock, 
now  the  wife  of  Milton  Rothrock,  of  Monticello.  He  was  a  life-long  mem- 
ber of  the  Brethren  Church,  a  man  of  strict  honesty,  who  by  his  industry 
achieved  success,  and  what  is  far  better  than  riches,  left  a  good  name. 

Zachariah  Rothrock 

Zachariab  Rothrock  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  Octo- 
ber 8, 1814,  and  first  came  to  White  County  in  1835,  but  in  1837  returned 
to  Pennsjdvania  where  he  lived  until  1846,  when  he  came  back  to  Indiana 
and  engaged  in  building  boats  on  the  old  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal.  In 
1850  he  was  married  to  Catharine  Opp,  by  whom  he  had  three  children, 
one  of  whom,  John  A.,  was  for  some  years  prior  to  his  death  the  owner 
of  the  White  County  Democrat  and  county  superintendent  of  schools. 
The  two  daughters  still  live  in  White  County.  In  1853  he  removed  to 
his  farm  about  four  miles  northeast  of  Monticello,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  March  11,  1886.  In  1871  his  wife  died  and  in 
1873  he  married  Mrs.  S.  M.  Heaton.  Mr.  Rothrock  was  held  in  high/' 
esteem  by  all  who  knew  him.  / 

James  C.  Rufing 

Probably  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Monticello  during  twenty  years 
prior  to  1897  was  James  C.  Rufing,  painter  and  decorator  and  leader  of 
the  Monticello  band.  In  this  latter  capacity  he  had  a  reputation  extend- 
ing all  over  Northern  Indiana;  and  his  enthusiasm  and  geniality,  coupled 
with  a  tireless  energy,  for  many  years  gave  Monticello  a  splendid  musical . 


HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY  495 

organization.  lie  was  twice  married,  his  last  wife,  who  survived  him, 
being  Mrs.  Lillie  Owens,  widow  of  the  late  Harry  1'.  Owens,  and  daugh- 
ter of  John  Switzer,  one  of  Monticello 's  early  residents,  lie  died  April 
30,  1897,  leaving  six  children  by  his  first  marriage,  viz.:  James  and 
William,  Bernice,  Ota,  Hazel  and  Elizabeth,  all  since  married  and 
removed  from  Monticello. 


Dr.  William  II.  Sampson 

I 
Dr.  William  II.  Sampson,  an  old  physician  of  Brookston,  died  at  his 
home  in  that  town  April  5,  1913.  He  was  a  Hoosier,  born  in  Janesville, 
December  8,  1839,  and  became  a  soldier  of  the  Sixty-sixth  Indiana 
Infantry  during  the  year  of  his  marriage,  1861.  After  serving  through-  ■ 
out  the  Civil  war,  he  located  at  Springsboro  and  there  practiced  medi- 
cine until  1876,  after  which  he  continued  his  professional  career  at 
Brookston  until  his  death.  He  was  the  father  of  six  children.  As  a 
leading  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  his  funeral  services 
were  conducted  under  the  forms  both  of  religion  and  fraternity. 

John  Saunders 

John  Saunders,  an  old-time  resident  of  Monticello,  whither  he  came 
as  a  young  man  in  1854,  died  in  his  later  home  at  Lake  Cicott,  Cass 
County,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1912,  at  the  age  of  nearly  seventy-nine 
years.  His  remains  were  brought  to  Monticello  and  interred  under  the 
joint  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Church  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  to  both  of  which  bodies  he  owed  a  long  allegiance.  The 
deceased  was  an  Ohio  man,  born  at  Lancaster,  Fairfield  County,  Decem- 
ber 11,  1833.  He  was  one  of  eight  children  born  to  William  and  Matilda 
Saunders,  who  had  migrated  from  England  during  the  previous  year. 
In  1854,  as  stated,  John  Saunders  located  at  Monticello,  where  he  re- 
sided continuously  until  1905,  when  he  moved  to  Lake  Cicott.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1857,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Imes,  a  sister  of  Richard  lines.  The 
three  sons  and  one  daughter  of  that  union  survive,  their  mother  dying 
December  22,  1879.  By  his  second  marriage  to  Mrs.  Margaret  L.  Neas 
he  had  no  children.    His  widow  lives  at  Lake  Cicott. 

.     .  William  E.  Saunderson 

William  E.  Saunderson,  who  died  at  Monticello,  May  15,  1874,  in  his 
thirty-eighth  year  was  serving  his  second  term  as  sheriff  of  White 
County.  His  wife  died  in  October,  1873,  and  after  her  death  Mr. 
Saunderson 's  health  began  to  decline  and  his  death  came  after  a  long 
and  painful  illness.  He  was  quite  popular,  a  good  sheriff  and  a  worthy 
citizen.  His  brother,  Judge  James  E.  Saunderson,  now  lives  in  Fowler, 
Indiana.  * 


A 


4%  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Caleb  Scott 

A  medical  practitioner  of  sixty  years'  activity  in  White  County,  Dr. 
Caleb  Scott  finally  succumbed  to  the  demands  of  ninety  years  and  on 
October  2,  1911,  died  at  the  home  of  his  married  daughter,  Mrs.  Hat  tie 
L.  Willarson,  in  Idaville.  His  remains  were  interred  at  the  Warden 
Cemetery  near  Sitka.  The  deceased  was  born  in  Wayne  County,  Indiana, 
and  in  1827,  when  Caleb  was  about  six  years  old,  the  family  moved  to 
Cass  County,  near  Burnettsville.  He  early  showed  an  inclination  and 
a .  talent  in  treating  the  sick  and,  having  studied  under  several  local 
physicians,  he  moved  to  Burnettsville  in  1817,  and  the  succeeding  sixty 
years  he  devoted  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  mostly  in  Eastern 
White  County,  with  the  exception  of  One  year  which  he  spent  in  Illi- 
nois. In  1868  he  located  on  his  farm  in  Liberty  Township,  upon  which 
lie  resided  until  1906  when  he  went  to  reside  with  his  daughter.  Mrs.' 
Wilkerson,  at  whose  home  he  died.  Doctor  Scott  was  thrice  married 
and  left  as  descendants,  eight  children,  thirty  grandchildren  and  one . 
great-grandchild. 

Jacob  H.  Sexton 

Jacob  II.  Sexton  was  born  in  Cabell  County,  West  Virginia,  November 
28,  1819;  died  January  24,  1896.     He  came  to  White  County  in  1852* 
and  located  on  what  was  known  as  the  Jordon  Grove  farm,  where  he 
resided  to  the  time  of  his  death,  a  leading  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  whose  home  was  noted  for  its  genial  hospitality. 

Alexander  R.  Shafer 

Alexander  R.  Shafer,  a  native  of  White  County,  a  son  of  Samuel 
Shafer,  was  born  on  December  25,  1838.  On  July  3,  1887,  he  married 
Miss  Alberta  Osman,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  a  daughter,  now  living 
in  Illinois.  He  died  the  latter  part  of  March,  1895,  at  his  home  south  of 
Monticello,  having  spent  his  entire  life  in  White  County.  A  life  of  fifty- 
six  years  spent  in  one  locality  is  a  good  test  of  a  man's  wearing  qualities 
and  Mr.  Shafer  stood  the  test.  His  brother,  John  P.  Shafer,  still  lives 
about  five  miles  south  of  Monticello.  . 

^^-Jobn  M.  Shafer 

John  M.  Shafer  was  perhaps  as  well  known  in  and  about  Monticello 
as  any  one  who  lived  here  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century.  He  was 
the  son  of  Andrew  and  Sarah  Shafer,  was  born  in  Delaware  County, 
Indiana,  September  30,  1845,  and  ten  years  Jater  came  with  his  father's 
family  to  White  County,  where  his  life  was  spent.  When  a  lad  of  eight- 
een he  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  country,  but  was  rejected  on  account 
of  his  age,  but  he  made  a  second  attempt,  was  accepted  and  went  as  a 
private  in  Company  B,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Indiana  Volun- 
teers, under  command  of  Captain  Thomas,  and  was  honorably  discharged 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  497 

hi  July,  1865.  On  February  17,  1869,  he  married  Miss  Isabella  Clingan 
and  to  this  union  were  born  four  children,  three  of  whom,  George  A,  of 
Peru,  Lulu  S.  Bernfcldt,  of  Logansport,  and  Mary  E.  Springer,  of  Col- 
umbus, Ohio,  are  yet  living. 

He  was  an  ardent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and, 
"his  word  is  as  good  as  his  bond,"  was  the  words  of  confidence  on  the 
lips  of  men  with  whom  he  did  business.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Monti- 
cello,  July  20,  1911. 

Linas  H.  Shank 

Linas  H.  Shank,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Chalmers,  died  of  heart 
disease  in  the  streets  of  Chalmers,  in  July,  1912.  He  was  a  local  re- 
publican leader  and  an  esthusiastic  Knight  of  Pythias. 

Samuel  Shenk: 

Samuel  Shenk,  an  old  resident  of  AVhite  County,  was  born  in  Lebanon 
County,  Pennsylvania,  October  15,  1829,  being  one  of  the  six  children 
of  Abraham  and  Magdalena  (Overholser)  Shenk,  both  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  father  died  at  the  old  home  when  Samuel  was  but  ten  years  old,  but 
for  eight  years  he  worked  and  attended  school,  then  for  six  years  he 
labored  on  a  farm  and  in  the  spring  of  1856  he  came  to  White  County, 
locating  on  the  farm  of  160  acres,  which  he  has  owned  for  almost  sixty 
years,  and  which  is  now  one  of  the  best  farms  in  While  County.  On ' 
October  26,  1852,  he  married  Catharine  M.  Behm,  of  Lebanon  County, 
Pennsylvania.  To  them  was  born  one  son,  Henry  D.,  and  a  daughter, 
Clara  B.,  both  now  living  in  Monticello.  Mr.  Shenk  retired  from  the 
farm  and  in  the  spring  of  1902  moved  to  Monticello  where  his  wife  died 
May  8,  1914. 

Elizabeth  Sill 

Elizabeth  Sill,  widow  of  William  Sill,  died  at  her  home  in  Monti- 
cello, September  6,  1882,  in  her  eightieth  year.  She  was  a  perfect  type 
of  the  grand  heroic  wives  and  mothers  who  laid  the  foundations  upon 
which  the  superstructure  of  our  society  rests  today.  Her  husband  was 
commissioned  by  Gov.  Noah  Noble,  on  July  18,  1834,  clerk  of  the  White 
Circuit  Court,  which  for  two  years  held  its  sessions  at  the  home  of 
George  A.  Spencer  in  Big  Creek  Township  and  she  could  recall  remi- 
niscences of  Judge  John  R.  Porter,  the  first  circuit  judge,  whose  circuit 
included  all  the  territory  north  of  Putnam  County,  to  Lake  Michigan;  of 
Andrew  Ingram,  the  first,  and  Joseph  A.  Wright,  afterwards  governor, 
the  second  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  White  Circuit  Court.  All  these 
men,  in  their  day,  sat  at  the  hospitable  board  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Sill, 
as  did  Albert  S.  White,  John  Pettit,  Tighlman  A.  Howard,  Edward  A. 
Hannegan,  Henry  S.  Lane  and  many  others  whose  lives  form  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  history  of  the  State  of  Indiana.  In  fact  Mrs.  Sill 
in  her  life  linked  together  the  past  and  present  of  our  history  for  more 
than  half  a  century.     She  nobly  filled  the  duties  of  wife,  mother  and 


•His  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

friend.  .She  was  1  he  mother  oi'  three  daughters,  Miranda  J.  Reynolds, 
deceased,  who  married  James  C.  Reynolds;  .Sarah,  who  married  Sylvan  us 
Van  Voorst,  and  who  died  many  years  ago;  and  Georgiana,  widow  of  Hie 
late  Calvin  Reynolds,  who  now  lives  with  her  sow,  William  M.  Reynolds, 
about  a  mile  east  of  Monticello.  She  was  also  the  mother  of  Robert  YY. 
Sill  and  Milton  M.  Sill,  both  deceased,  and  through  each  oi'  these  sons 
and  daughters  she  has  left  descendants  who  are  now  living  among  us 
active  and  useful  lives.  Of  all  the  pioneer  women  of  White  County  none 
filled  a  larger  space  in  our  local  history  than  Mrs.  Sill.  She  was  a 
Christian  woman  and  well  and  worthily  did  sfie  illustrate  in  her  life 
the  virtues  and  graces  of  her  chosen  faith. 

Milton  M.  Sill 

Milton  M.  Sill,  son  of  William  Sill,  who  erected  the  first  house  in 
Monticello,  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  May  20,  1833,  came 
with  his  parents  to  Monticello  in  the  fall  of  1834,  and  died  here  at  the 
home  of  his  son,  Charles  W.  Sill,  June  22,  1903,  after  a  continuous  resi- 
dence of  nearly  sixty-nine  years.  During  this  long  period  his  activities 
were  closely  interwoven  with  the  town's  social,  professional  and  business 
life.  He  had  been  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  editor  of  the  Monticello 
Herald,  an  employee  in  the  paymaster  general's  office  at  Washington, 
filled  the  position  of  provost  marshal  and  the  offices  of  county  surveyor 
and. county  sheriff;  also  justice  of  the  peace.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  engaged  in  writing  a  history  of  White  County,  which  was  printed 
serially  in  the  White  County  Democrat  during  1901,  1902  and  the  first 
half  of  1903,  but  which  he  did  not  live  to  complete.  December  3,  1859, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  McConahay,  who  died  October  10,  1873,  leaving 
him.  with  five  small  children,  William,  Charles,  Bertha,  Nina  and  Ed- 
ward, all  of  whom  reached  adult  age  and  were  living  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  never  remarried.  His  funeral  was  under  the  auspices 
of  Libanus  Lodge  No.  154,  P.  &  A.  M.,  of  which  he  was  long  an  active 
member. 

William  Sill 

William  Sill  was  one  of  the  very  first  settlers  in  Monticello,  having 
come  here  in  1834,  when  he  erected  the  first  house  built  in  Monticello  on 
lot  No.  1,  being  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Marion  and  Bluff  streets.  He 
was  born  in  Shelby  County,  Kentucky,  August  9,  1801,  and  on  Novem- 
ber 22,  1822,  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Martin,  who  died  in  Monticello, 
September  4,  1882.  His  father,  Adam  Sill,  was  a  native  of  England 
and  came  to  the  United  States  about  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war 
and  after  a  brief  residence  in  New  York  removed  to  Kentucky.  In 
1830  William  Sill  removed  to  Tippecanoe  County  and  in  the  autumn  of 
that  year  removed  to  near  the  present  location  of  Brookston,  where 
he  taught  a  school  and  in  1834  came  to  Monticello.  In  1834  he  was 
elected  to  the  offices  of  clerk,  auditor  and  recorder;  which  offices  he  held 
until  his  death  on  January  7,  1846.    He  was  the  father  of  the. late  Capt. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  499 

Robert  W.  Sill,  one  time  sheriff  of  While  County,  Miranda  J.  Reynolds, 
Milton  M.  Sill  and  Mrs.  Georgiana  Reynolds,  all  of  whom,  except  the 
last  named,  are  dead.  William  Sill  was  a  pioneer  of  While  County. 
For  twelve  years  after  its  organization  he  wrote  all  the  records  of  its 
three  principal  offices  and  filled  all  these  positions  with  honor  to  himself 
and  credit  to  the  family  name. 

James  P.  Simons 

,  James  P.  Simons,  recorder  of  White  County  for  eight  years,  and  for 
almost  twenty  years  editor  of  the  White  County  Democrat,  has  been  a 
resident  of  Monticello  and  its  immediate  vicinity  nearly  all  his  life. 
He  was  born  in  Prairie  Township,  southeast  of  Brookston,  November 
9,  1856,  and  was  the  oldest  of  nine  children  born  to  George  II.  and 
Mary  (Welch)  Simons.  His  ancestors  were  residents  of  the  mountainous 
region  now  composing  the  eastern  part  of  the  present  state  of  West 
Virginia,  and,  as  the  name  indicates,  were  of  Semitic  origin.  His  great- 
great-grandfather,  Christian  Simon,  as  the  name  was  then  spelled,  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  left  three  sons,  Jacob,  George 
and  Abraham;  the  last  two  being  only  half  brothers  of  the  first.  A  son 
of  Jacob  Simon,  also  named  Jacob,  married  his  half  cousin,  l'riscilla 
Simon,  daughter  of  the  above  named  George,  and  to  them  on  August 
29,  1837,  was  born  George  H.  Simons,  who  came  with  his  father's  family 
to  White  County  in  1848,  locating  a  few  miles  south  of  Monticello,  where 
his  father  died  May  16,  1853.  January  23,  1856,  George  II.  Simons  was 
married  to  Mary  Welch.  George  H.  died  at  his  home  south  of  Monticello 
May  19,  1913,  and  his  wife,  Mary,  died  in  March,  1914.  Both  are 
buried  in  Riverview  Cemetery,  east  of  Monticello. 

At.  the  age  of  eighteen  James  P.  Simons  began  teaching  in  the 
public  schools  of  White  County,  his  first  school  being  at  Badger  Grove, 
in  Prairie  Township,  in  the  winter  of  1874-5.  His  last  term  was  at  the 
Smith  schoolhouse,  south  of  Reynolds,  in  the  winter  of  1882-3.  in 
November,  1882,  he  was  elected  recorder  of  White  County  and  moved 
to  Monticello  in  1883.  He  was  re-elected  in  November,  1886,  serving 
until  July  7,  1891.  In  December,  1894,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Mr.  A.  B.  Clarke  and  purchased  the  White  County  Democrat  from  John 
A.  Rothrock,  and  continued  as  editor  of  that  paper  until  May,  1914, 
when  he  sold  his  interest  to  the  Democrat-Journal-Observer  Company, 
the  present  publishers. 

September  21,  1881,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Johnson,  of 
Reynolds,  whose  father,  Jeremiah  B.  Johnson,  was  a  member  of  Com- 
pany G,  Forty-sixth  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Jackson,  Mississippi,  in  July,  1863.  Her  mother,  Emily  J.  Johnson, 
never  re-married  and  died  at  her  daughter's  home  in  Monticello,  July 
17,  1915,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  To  James  1'.  and  Sarah  E.  Simons 
have  been  born  seven  children,  Walter  A.,  Frank  L.,  Maude,  Howard 
J.,  George  B.,  Hazel  and  Esther,  all  of  whom  are  still  at  the  parental 
home  except  Frank,  who  resides  in  Fresno,  California,  and  Howard,  who 


500 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 


was  married  to  Miss  Faye  Hanawalt,  June  27,  1915,  and  resides  at 
Fowler,  Indiana. 

Hiram  Sluyter 

Born  in  Ulster  County,  New  York,  January  16,  1829,  Hiram  Sluyter 
came  with  his  parents  to  White  County  in  probably  1837  or  1838,  locating 
in  Liberty  Township,  just  south  of  the  present  village  of  Buffalo,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death,  December  7,  1900,  at  the  age  of  nearly  seventy- 
two  years.  Mr.  Sluyter  was  one  of  the  successful  farmers  of  the  county 
and  was  held  in  high  esteem.  He  served  twelve  years  as  justice  of  the 
peace.  September  29,  1850,  he  was -married  to  Elizabeth  J.  Dibra,  and  to 
them  were  bom  three  sons,  of  whom  Francis  M.  and  Samuel  D.  are  still 
living,  and  the  latter  being  a  well  known  physician,  formerly  of  Chalmers 
and  now  practicing  his  profession  in  Wolcott. 

Rev.  Gilbert  Small 


Rev.  Gilbert  Small  was  born  in  Argyle,  New  York,  February  7,  1828. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Argyle  Academy  and  Union  College  and  later 
studied  in  the  Associate  Theological  Seminary  at  Cannonsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  became  pastor  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  in  Indian- 
apolis, where  he  remained  some  years,  until  1867,  when  he  located  at 
Idaville.  He  severed  his  relations  with  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 
in  1877  and  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  filling  vacancies  in  the 
Logansport  Presbytery  for  several  years.  About  1890  he  quit  the  active 
ministry  and  devoted  himself  to  his  books  and  to  writing  for  various 
periodicals.  He  founded  the  Idaville  Observer  for  his  two  sons  in  1886. 
In  1896,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years,  he  united  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  receiving  the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  council  degrees  at 
Monticello,  and  for  some  four  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  an  able 
contributor  to  Masonic  literature,  his  contributions  to  the  Masonic 
Advocate  being  copied  in  Masonic  publications  all  over  the  world.  He 
died  July  20,  1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  leaving  two  sons,  twins, 
William  R.  and  Albert  G.,  now  residents  of  Indianapolis;  a  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mc Arthur  of  Troy,  New  York,  and  a  son,  Dr.  Harry  E.  Small. 

Jacob  Clay  Smith 

Jacob  Clay  Smith  was  born  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  January  28,  1845, 
died  in  Monticello,  August  4,  1905.  He  joined  the. Tenth  Indiana  as 
drummer  boy  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war,  and  later  became  a 
private  in  Company  C,  Sixty-ninth  Indiana.  He  located  in  Monticello 
in  1869,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  Herald  office  for  a  time  and  later 
in  the  Constitutionalist  office.  In  1878  he  founded  the  Nationalist,  a 
populist  paper,  which  he  continued  to  publish  intermittently  until  a 
short  time  before  his  death.  He  was  married  in  1873  to  Miss  Euphemia 
Black,  who  is  still  living  with  their  only  daughter,  Mrs.  Stella  Black,  in 
Indianapolis. 


HISTORY  OK  WHITE  COUNTY  501 

Maijlon  F.  Smith 

Mahlcm  P.  Smith,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  who  as  a  mere  hoy 
served,  under  Capt.  John  C.  Brown,  in  the  Twentieth  Indiana  Infantry, 
was  born  in  White  County  in  1842  and  died  at  his  While  County  home, 
March  20,  1891,  leaving  a  widow  and  one  son,  Bernard.  The  widow  died 
some  years  ago  and  the  son  married  and  is  now  living  in  Fowler,  Indiana. 
Captain  Brown  was  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Smith,  who  assisted  in  carry- 
ing the  captain  to  the  rear  in  an  engagement  wherein  the  captain  was 
seriously  wounded,  and  at  his  death  wrote  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Smith  in  which  he  said  he  was  absolutely  devoid  of 
fear  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word.  His  wife,  whom 
he  married  in  1868,  was  a  Miss  Mary  Kenton,  a  granddaughter  of  Simon 
Kenton  of  Indian  fighting  fame. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Smith  , 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Smith  was  a  daughter  of  William  M.  Kenton,  and 
granddaughter  of  "Simon  Kenton,  the  noted  pioneer  and  Indian  fighter. 
She  was  born  in  Big  Creek  Township,  southwest  of  Monticello,  March 
10,  1841;  was  married  to  Mahlon  P.  Smith,  who  died  some  years  prior 
to  her  death,  leaving  her  one  child,  Berney  K.  Smith,  now  a  resident 
of  Kokomo. 

Henry  Snyder 

Henry  Snyder,  who  claims  to  be  the  oldest  continuous  resident  of  White 
County,  was  born  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Jefferson  streets 
in  Monticello,  on  March  31,  1837,  when  there  were  less  than  half  a  dozen 
buildings  in  the  town.  He  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Abraham  and  Margaret  Palk 
Snyder,  and  with  his  father,  assisted  by  numerous  yokes  of  oxen,  boasts 
of  having  broken  up  more  acres  of  new  land  than  any  other  man  in  the 
county.  He  also  assisted,  about  the  year  1850,  in  digging  the  first  or 
old  race  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  opposite  Monticello. 

In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  three  months'  service,  his  term  expiring  on 
July  4th  of  that  year,  but  as  on  that  date  he  was  fighting  the  battle  of 
Rich  Mountain,  Virginia,  he  was  not  discharged  until  several  days  later. 
On  October  13,  1861,  he  re-enlisted  in  Company  E  of  the  Forty-sixth 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  and  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant. 
Oh  June  12,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  captain  of  his  company.  Mean- 
while on  December  8,  1861,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Charlotte  Downs 
and  the  day  after  his  marriage  left  to  join  his  company  in  Logansport 
and  was  with  his  command  for  three  years  and  one  day.  Captain  Snyder 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Champion  Hill,  sieges  of  Vicksburg  and 
Jackson,  as  well  as  many  other  union  engagements  and  was  also  in  the 
famous  expedition  of  General  Banks  up  Red  River  in  which  for  200 
days  he  was  in  hearing  of  guns  of  the  enemy. 

At  Sabine  Cross  Koads  he  commanded  his  regiment  where  he  lost  over 


Al 


502  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

100  men  anil  on  the  retreat  was  shot  in  the  right  leg  by  a  sharpshooter 
and  carries  the  ball  yet  in  his  leg.    This  put  him  out  of  active  duty. 

Captain  Snyder  holds  a  cane  given  hiin  by  the  Old  Settlers'  Assoeia-  ' 
tion  of  White  County  at  its  annual  meeting  in  1913  for  being  the  oldest 
continuous  resident  of  the  county. 

He  is  one  of  the  four  living  charter  members  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
Lodge  No.  73  in  Monticello.  A  member  of  Tippecanoe  Post  No.  51, 
0.  A.  R.  A  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  an  ardent 
republican.  His  wife,  to  whom  was  born  no  children,  died  February  24, 
1913,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  in  the  old  home  awaitug  only  the 
time  when  he,  too,  can  be  "mustered  out." 

John  Snyder 

John  Snyder,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  White  County,  purchased  275 
acres  of  land  near  the  present  site  of  Guernsey  in  1848.  This  he  sold  in 
187G  and  purchased  a  farm  in  Liberty  Township  but  removed  to  Monti- 
cello  several  years  later.  He  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania, 
September  22,  1821,  and  in  early  life  followed  the  trade  of  tanner.  He 
was  twice  married,  first  to  Nancy  Way  in  1841,  who  died  in  1852,  leaving 
three  children.  In  1854  he  was  again  married  to  Nancy  J.  Bratton,  who, 
with  four  children,  survived  him.  Among  the  earliest  recollections  of 
the  writer,  reaching  wa3r  back  to  early  childhood  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  war,  is  Uncle  Johnny  Snyder  as  a  neighbor  when  neighbors  were 
scarce  and  a  friend  when  friends  were  most  needed.  His  visits  were 
always  welcome  and  visits  to  his  hospitable  home  were  always  a  treat. 

Philip  Snyder 

Philip  Snyder,  an  old  veteran  dropped  out  of  the  ranks  at  his  home  in 
Norwaj',  September  4,  1909.  Born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  July  4, 
1833,  he  married  Sarah  J.  Hanaway,  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1854,  and  for  several  years  lived  on  what  afterward  became  the  great 
battlefield.  He  gave  his  services  to  his  country  in  the  great  conflict  be- 
tween the  states  and  at  its  close  came  back  to  White  County,  where  he 
farmed  for  several  years  and  then  engaged  in  the  woolen  factory  and 
dry  goods  business  in  Monticello.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors 
by  Tippecanoe  Post,  G.  A.  R. 

Daniel  P.  Spears 

Daniel  P.  Spears,  born  in  Erie  County,  Ohio,  December  29,  1822,  died 
at  his  home  in  Morrison,  Illinois,  March  27,  1906.  He  was  one  of  the 
early  business  men  of  Monticello,  being  in  partnership  here  with  W.  R. 
Davis  from  1851  to  1858.  In  the  latter  year  he  located  in  business  in 
Morrison,  Illinois,  and  was  one  of  the  successful  merchants  of  that  city. 
December  G,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Shafer,  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Susan  Shafer.  who  resided  about  five  miles  south  of  Monticello,  and  sister 


! 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  503 

of  John  P.  Shafer,  who  still  resides  there.     The  widow,  three  sons  and 
one  daughter  arc  still  living. 

James  S.  Spencer 

James  S.  Spencer,  one  of  the  pioneer  newspaper  men  of  White  County* 
still  lives  in  Liberty  Township.  He  was  born  in  Adelphi,  Ross  County, 
Ohio,  March  18,  1838,  and  came  to  Monticello  with  his  father's  family 
in  1848,  in  and  near  where  he  has  resided  for  more  than  two-thirds 
of  a  century.  He  was  married  December  25,  18GU,  to  Emma  L.  Skinner, 
of  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  to  whom  were  born  seven  children :  Schuyler 
O,  DeFoe,  Bessie  L.,  James  H.,  Kizzie  and  Pearl,  twins,  and  Emily  S., 
the  latter  three  dying  in  infancy.  DeFoe  died  April  4,  18U4,  aged 
twenty-eight  years,  leaving  a  wife,  Mrs.  Anna  B.  and  one  son,  DeFoe. 
In  1859  Mr.  Spencer  founded  the  Spectator,  now  the  Herald.  He  is  a 
Civil  war  veteran  and  for  eight  years  was  engaged  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness in  Remington.  His  oldest  son,  Schuyler  O,  is  the  leading  lawyer  of 
Seattle,  Washington.  James  H.  is  a  contractor  in  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, and  his  daughter,  Bessie,  is  the  wife  of  I.  W.  McOwen,  connected 
with  the  Joliet,  Illinois,  Daily  News.  Mr.  Spencer  is  a  man  of  positive 
character,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  ardent  in  his  sup- 
port of  the  temperance  cause. 

William  Spencer 

At  Zanesville,  Ohio,  on  November  5,  1833,  was  bom  to  Dr.  Robert 
and  Eleanor  Spencer,  a  son  who  later  was  christened  William  and 
became  one  of  the  prominent  pioneers  of  White  County.  His  father  was 
a  successful  physician  and  after  several  years  of  general  practice  he 
was  elected  professor  of  anatomy  in  Cincinnati  College  of  Medicine  in 
1855,  and  held  that  position  for  seven  years  when  he  was  appointed  sur- 
geon of  the  Seventy-third  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
died  in  the  service  in  1863.  A  few  years  later  his  widow  died  of  a 
disease  of  the  heart  and  both  are  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  north  of 
Monticello.  Dr.  William  Spencer  studied  medicine  with  his  father  for 
a  time  and  in  1855  graduated  from  the  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
Philadelphia.  For  six  years  he  engaged  in  the  practice  with  his  father 
at  Monticello  when  he  entered  the  military  service  and  was  commis- 
sioned captain  of  Company  E,  Forty-sixth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry, 
but  after  seven  months'  service  he  resigned  to  accept  a  position  with  his 
father  in  the  Seventy-third  Indiana  Regiment.  He  was  captured  by  the 
Confederates  in  Morgan  county,  Alabama,  on  April  30,  1863,  and  was 
held  a  prisoner  until  November  22d  of  the  same  year  when  his  exchange 
was  effected.  On  April  16,  1864,  he  accepted  a  commission  as  surgeon 
of  the  Tenth  Tennessee  Cavalry  but  later  was  transferred  and  served 
for  a  time  on  the  staff  of  General  Jackson  and  on  August  5,  18G5,  was 
discharged  when  he  returned  to  Monticello,  opened  a  drug  store  and 
•  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine.     Doctor  Spencer  was  married  on 


504  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Now  Year's  Day,  1856,  to  Miss  Harriet  V.  Kistler,  who  died  in  .1888,  und 
this  uniou  was  blessed  by  three  children,  Charles  (deceased)  ;  Gertrude, 
now  the  wife  of  Curtis  D.  Meeker;  and  May,  the  wife  of  Samuel  A. 
Carson,  president  of  the  State  Bank  of  Monticello.  Doctor  Spencer  was 
successful  in  all  of  his  business  ventures  and  at  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred ut  Monticello,  October  26,  1901,  left  a  large  estate.  He  was  a 
Presbyterian  and  quite  prominent  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

This  sketch  should  not  be  closed  without  a  reference  to  his  military 
career  which  was  most  unusual.  For  seven  months  he  was  held  in  Libby 
Prison  under  sentence  of  death,  as  hostage  for  a  Doctor  Green,  a  rebel 
surgeon,  but  by  intervention  of  Governor  Morton  his  life  was  spared  and 
he  was  exchanged  and  came  back  north. 

(  Capt.  James  G.  Staley 

Capt.  James  G.  Staley,  of  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
eighth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Franklin, 
Tennessee,  November  30,  1864,  and  his  remains  were  brought  to  Monti- 
cello for  burial ,  in  the  old  cemetery.  He  was  a  true  patriot  and  in 
the  beginning  of  the  war  served  for  two  years  in  the  Ninth  Indiana 
Volunteers.  He  received  his  commission  as  captain  in  January,  1864, 
and  in  March  left  to  join  in  the  Atlanta  campaign.  In  the  battle  of 
Franklin  he  was  commanding  his  company  when  a  minnie  ball  struck 
him  in. the  forehead,  killing  him  instantly.  His  funeral  at  the  Metho- 
dist Church  in  Monticello  was  largely  attended.  The  Eev.  II.  Cissel 
preached  the  sermon  and  an  account  written  for  the  Herald  stated  that 
when  the  casket  was  lowered  many  shed  bitter  tears.  His  grave  is  one 
of  the  many  landmarks  in  the  old  cemetery. 

ftEORGE    StEPHAN 

For  many  years  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  highly  esteemed 
farmers  of  Big  Creek  Township,  was  George  Stephan,  born  in  Germany, 
March  7,  1831.  His  father  brought  his  family  to  Massillon,  Ohio,  in 
1846.  Here  he  was  married  to  Miss  Louise  Werts,  April  2,  1855,  and  in 
1858  they  came  to  White  County,  purchasing  a  fine  body  of  land  a  short 
distance  northeast  of  Chalmers.  Here  they  lived  until  a  few  years  before 
his  death,  when  they  removed  to  Monticello.  He  died  at  his  home 
there,  March  4,  1905,  leaving  a  widow,  one  daughter  and  two  sons. 

John  S.  Stevenson 

John  S.  Stevenson,  born  in  Sussex  County,  England,  December  3, 
.1830,  died  'at  his  home  in  Monticello,  March  22,  1905.  He  was  one  of 
nineteen  children  born  to  Richard  and  Mary  Stevenson.  He  came  to 
America  about  1850  and  soon  after  located  near  Monticello.     Later  he 


^SBf 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  505 

moved  to  Kansas,  but  returned  to  Montieello  in  1879.     He  was  a  member 
of  the  Twentieth  Indiana  Volunteers  and  was  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 

Harrison  S.  Stine 

Harrison  S.  Stine  was  born  in  Lehigh  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  April 
17,  1836.  He  came  to  Wabash  County,  Indiana,  in  1850,  and  nine  years 
later  removed  to  Burnettsvilte  and  began  teaching  school.  In  18GG  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Isabel  Hanna.  He  died  January  2(J,  1800,  after 
an  illness  of  one  year,  of  heart  failure.  His  son,  Albert  B  Stine,  former 
postmaster  at  Burnetts  Creek,  is  still  living.  Mr.  Stine  was  an  old  lino 
democrat  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  success  of  his  party,  though 
he  never  sought  any  office. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Stout 

Mrs.  Hannah  Stout  (Grandmother  Stout)  was  an  Ohio  woman,  born 
near  Dayton,  and  died  December  3,  1912,  at  the  home  of  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  James  Wilcoxon.  Had  she  lived  until  the  succeeding  6th  of 
March  she  would  have  been  ninety-four  years  old.  Mrs.  Stout  came 
to  Indiana  in  1845,  settling  first  in  Tippecanoe  County ;  thence,  with 
her  husband  and  children,  she  moved  to  White  County  in  1853,  residing 
for  a  time  on  the  Kenton  farm  and  later,  for  a  long  time  on  the  Spencer 
farm,  south  of  Montieello.  Her  husband,  Reuben  Stout,  died  in  1877, 
and  thereafter  she  lived  with  her  daughters.  Mrs.  Stout  was  almost  a 
life-long  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  She  left  three 
daughters  and  a  son. 

David  C.  Tedford 

David  C.  Tedford  was  born  in  Blount  County,  Tennessee,  about  1820 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  Carroll  County,  Indiana,  in  1833  and  the 
family  settled  on  the  county  line  about  four  miles  southeast  of  Montieello. 
He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  White  County,  where  he  died  May 
20,  1889.  He  was  twice  married,  but  left  no  children,  his  only  child,  a 
son,  Oscar  N.,  having  died  in  Montieello  on  April  19,  1875,  while  he  was 
a  student  at  Wabash  College.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian Church  and  a  good  man  and  citizen. 

Robert  Newton  Tedford 

Robert  Newton  Tedford,  fifty  years  of  whose  life  was  spent  in  White 
County,  was  born  in  Monroe  County,  Tennessee,  April  9,  1822,  and  set- 
tled in  Carroll  County,  Indiana,  with  his  parents  in  1832.  In  1847  he 
married  Margaret  A.  Delgell  and  settled  on  a  farm  about  four  miles  east 
of  Montieello,  in  .White  County.  After  a  married  life  of  fifty -three  years, 
his  wife  died  and  he  never  re-married.  During  tin.  Civil  war  he  gave  his 
services  to  his  country  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  war. 


506  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

In  early  life  he  joined  the  Associate  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pleasant 
.Run,  in  Carroll  County,  but  later  became  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  to  which  he  belonged  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  the  father 
of  eight  children,  of  whom  John  M.,  Eva  and  Angie  are  dead,  and  three 
hous,  all  now  in  the  Baptist  ministry,  to-wit:  Rev.  J.  G.,  of  Logausport- 
Rev.  Willard  P.,  of  Frankfort,  and  Rev.  I.  O,  of  Hutsouville,  Illinois; 
also  Newton  A.,  a  son  who  now  lives  near  Burnettsville  and  Miss  India 
Ted  ford,  of  Monticello.  He  died  at  Logansport,  Indiana,  at  the  home 
of  his  son,  October  9,  1909.  In  all  relations  of  life  Mr.  Tedford  measured 
up  to  the  full  stature  of  a  man  and  left  a  record  which  his  children 
delight  to  honor. 

Daniel  M.  Tilton 

For  nearly  sixty  years  Daniel  M.  Tilton  was  a  resident  of  Monti- 
cello  and  saw  "White  County  develop  its  civilization.  Born  near 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  September  6,  1809,  he  came  to  Monticello  in  1836  and 
lived  in  White  County  until  his  death,  at  the  home  of  his  son,  D.  J.  Til- 
ton, in  Monticello,  on  August  4,  1894.  Soon  after  locating  here  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county  and  at  one  time  ran  for  the  Legislature 
against  David  Turpie,  by  whom  he  was  defeated.  He  was  twice  door- 
keeper of  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  and  had  a  wide  accuiaintance  with 
the  public  men  of  the  state.  He  was  among  the  first  to  enlist  when.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  called  for  troops  in  1861  and  after  three  months'  service 
was  honorably  discharged.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  captain  of  the 
capitol  police  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  at  the  close  of  this  service  he 
returned  to  Monticello,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  In  1836  he 
joined  the  Baptist  Church  to  which  he  remained  a  firm  adherent  during 
the  rest  of  his  life.  His  wife  died  in  1867  and  he  never  re-married.  Of 
liis  four  children,  Thomas  J.  died  in  infancy,  Zebulon  S.  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  died  in  the  service  of  his  country,  Mrs.  Grace  Wirt  died 
about  1895  and  Daniel  J.  Tilton  died  in  the  spring  of  1915. 

Daniel  Josephus  Tilton 

Daniel  Josephus  Tilton,  who  passed  away  at  his  home  in  Monticello, 
May  28,  1915,  was  born  at  Monticello,  November  20,  1838.  He  was  a 
son  of  Daniel  M.  Tilton,  an  old  time  resident  of  White  County,  and  was 
married  April  17,  1861,  to  Sarah  Belle  Wilson.  To  this  union  was 
born  seven  children,  six  of  whom,  John  A.,  of  Springfield,  Ohio ;  Mrs. 
Clara  G.  Tallman,  and  Anabel  Spencer,  of  Monticello;  Mrs.  Milton 
Davis,  of  Rockford,  Illinois ;  Miss  Lillian  and  Beryl  Tilton,  of  Spokane, 
Washington,  survive.  The  youngest  daughter,  Verne,  died  in  1892,  and 
his  widow  is  living  in  Monticello.  Mr.  Tilton  was  the  second  oldest 
resident  of  Monticello,  where,  with  the  exceptions  of  a  few  years  spent 
in  Cliieago  and  Rockford,  Illinois,  he  passed  his  entire  life.  He  was 
buried  in  Riverview  Cemetery. 


J 


HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY  507 

Benton  Thompson 

.  In  the  death  of  Benton  Thompson  at  Brookstou  on  August  18,  1895, 
that  community  lost  one  who  was  regarded  as  its  best  liked  citizen,  and 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  best  known  men  of  bis  time  in  Southern  While  . 
County.  He  was  for  many  years  a  merchant,  and  possessed  the  sterling 
character  and  those  genial  personal  qualities  which  give  a  man  great 
wealth  irrespective  of  his  material  acquisitions. 

Benton  Thompson  was  born  May  1,  1851,  in  Hancock  County,  Illi- 
nois, being  the  fifth  among  eight  children  born  to  Dr.  Almon  and 
Isabella  Thompson.  His  youth  was  spent  on  a  farm  and  his  education 
came  from  public  schools.  His  first  important  experience  was  as  a 
school  teacher,  and  in  1874,  in  early  manhood,  he  removed  to  Brookstou, 
Indiana,  and  was  first  located  with  and  came  to  be  known  to  the  people 
of  that  community  as  clerk  in  the  drug  store  of  his  brother-in-law, 
George  Patton.  In  1875  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Pat  ton  and 
in  July,  1881,  became  sole  proprietor.  Thereafter  for  fourteen  years 
he  was  the  principal  druggist  of  the  village. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  a  democrat,  and  served  as  township  trustee  and 
in  other  ways  became  a  factor  in  public  affairs.  He  was  social  in  dis- 
position, and  was  well  known  both  among  individuals  and  among  fra- 
ternal organizations.  He  was  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  also 
affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

On  October  13,  1887,  Mr.  Thompson  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Holmes, 
daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Martin)  Holmes.  The  two  sons  of 
the  union  are  Bernard  W.  and  Benton  II.,  both  of  whom  graduated  from 
Purdue  University  with  the  degrees  Bachelor  of  Science  and  Ph.  C.  The 
sons  now  operate  a  drug  store  at  Brookston,  where  they  and  their  mother 
reside. 

William  Turner 

William  Turner  was  born  in  Mifflin  County,  Pennsylvania,  April 
17,  1820,  and  died  at  Monticello,  March  30,  1912.  He  came  to  White 
County  in  1840,  and  settled  on  the  old  Rothrock  farm  about  a  mile 
south  of  Monticello.  In  the  autumn  of  1844  he  entered  the  land  on 
which  the  old  poorhouse  lately  stood,  about  six  miles  northwest  of  town. 
He  assisted  in  building  the  first  dam  across  the  river  at  Monticello 
and  the  old  flouring  mill  that  burned  on  May  20,  1911,  and  was  familiar 
with  all  the  old  landmarks.  On  September  14, 1843,  he  married  Susannah 
Imes  and  in  1853  he  removed  to  Ohio,  and  there  on  May  5,  1878,  his  wife 
died,  leaving  five  grown  children  besides  two  who  had  died.  On  Decem- 
ber 29,  1881,  he  was  married  to  Katherine  Conley  and  to  this  union  was 
born  four  children,  two  of  whom,  with  his  widow,  survive.  He  came 
back  to  White  County  in  April,  1888,  and  resided  here  until  his  death. 
He  was  the  last  surviving  member  of  the  grand  jury  that  indicted  Cant- 
well  and  Dayton  in  the  famous  murder  trial  of  1850,  and  his  memory  of 


508  HISTORY  OP  WHITE  COUNTY 

past  events  was  always  to  be  trusted  for  he  retained  his  faculties  to  the 
end. 

Abram  Van  Voorst 

Abram  Van  Voorst  died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Henry  Van  Voorst 
Friday  evening,  March  24,  1899.  He  was  bom  in  New  York  State, 
May  24,  18]  2,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Lucas  County,  Ohio,  where  he 
lived  until  the  death  of  his  first  wife  in  1849,  when  he  located  in  West 
Point  Township,  in  White  County.  Later  he  moved  to  Reynolds  and 
in  1897  came  to  Monticello.  He  was  married  three  times,  and  left  sur- 
viving him  his  last  wife  and  four  sons,  Henry,  who  died  in  1910,  being 
by  his  first  marriage,  and  the  other  three,  George,  John  and  Earl,  by 
his  last. 

Isaac  S.  Vinson 

Isaac  S.  Vinson  was  born  in  Scioto  County,  Ohio,  March  21,  1812. 
On  August  12,  1832,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rebecca  Johnson  and  in 
the  fall  of  1835  he  settled  on  a  farm  between  Monticello  and  Reynolds 
and  died  ou  August  27,  1883,  in  his  seventy-second  year.  As  a  factor 
in  the  early  settlement  of  White  County,  Mr.  Vinson  deserves  a  place  in 
the  memory  of  this  and  coming  generations.  He  was  the  father  of  James 
V.  Vinson,  now  living  near  Monticello. 

Samuel  Virden 

Samuel  Virden,  one  of  the  most  respected  men  who  ever  lived  in 
White  County,  was  born  near  Circleville  in  Pickaway  County,  Ohio, 
January  23,  1815,  being  the  second  son  in  a  family  of  nine  children,  of 
which  he  outlived  all  except  a  sister,  Mrs.  Jane  Burns,  and  a  brother, 
David  Virden.  When  nineteen  years  old  he  came  West  with  his  widowed 
mother  in  1833  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Big  Creek  Township,  but  after 
living  here  five  years  the  family  moved  to  Tippecanoe  County  and  here 
on  January  25, 1853,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Welch,  by  whom  he  had  but 
one  child,  Turner,  who  died  about  1898.  From  1857  to  1862  he  con- 
ducted a  flouring  mill  at  Loda,  Illinois,  but  coming  back  to  Indiana  he 
finally  settled,  in  1873,  on  the  farm  in  Honey  Creek  Township,  where  he 
died  July  11,  1894,  universally  respected  by  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

Silas  M.  Virden    . 

Silas  M.  Virden  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  to  locate  in  White  County. 
Born  in  Pickaway  County,  Ohio,  on  February  19,  1819,  he  came  with  his 
parents  in  1833  and  settled  in  Big  Creek  Township.  Five  years  later  they 
removed  to  Tippecanoe  County  and  in  1856,  during  the  mining  excite- 
ment, he  went  to  Pike's  Peak,  Colorado,  where  he  lived  two  years,  and 
for  many  years  prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred  February  12,  1894,  he 
made  his  home  with  different  members  of  the  family,  having  never  mar- 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  509 

ried.    He  was  a  member  of  the  Virden  family  and  a  respected  citizen  of 
this  county. 

Miciiael  Vogel 

Michael  Vogel,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  a  resident  of  Reynolds 
for  over  fifty  years,  was  born  in  Eapsweyer,  Germany,  August  10,  1830, 
and  landed  in  New  York  August  24, 1852.  He  at  once  set  to  work  to  earn 
sufficient  money  to  send  back  to  his  old  home  for  his  old  sweetheart  and 
schoolmate,  Elizabeth  Hinnewinkel,  and  they  were  married  in  New  York 
October  14,  1855,  and  the  next  year  came  to  Reynolds,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death  on  May  7,  1910.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  was 
engaged  in  that  work  until  1890,  after  which  he  gave  his  entire  time  to 
his  farm  in  Big  Creek  Township.  He  served  during  the  Civil  war  in 
Company  H,  Thirty-fifth  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged at  its  close.  He  helped  to  establish  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church 
at  Reynolds  and  was  one  of  its  main  supporters.  His  widow  is  still  living 
in  Reynolds  and  his  son,  Bernard  A.  Vogel,  is  deputy  state  treasurer  at 
Indianapolis.  At  his  death  he  left  four  sons,  one  daughter,  fifteen  grand- 
children and  two  great-grandchildren.  Always  jovial  and  kind-hearted, 
frugal  and  industrious  he  made  a  success  of  life  in  his  adopted  country 
and  left  to  his  family  the  memory  of  a  well  spent  life. 

Granville  B.  Ward 

Granville  B.  Ward,  who  for  more  than  half  a  century  has  been  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  history  of  White  County,  was  born  in  Monroe 
County,  Indiana,  May  7,  1834.  His  father,  Austin  Ward,  was  a  native 
of  Virginia,  moved  to  White  County  in  1850,  entered  200  acres  of  land 
in  Round  Grove  Township  and  on  this  land  he  lived  until  1873,  when 
he  moved  to  Brookston.  After  having  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, Granville  B.  Ward  in  the  autumn  of  1860  entered  the  State  Uni- 
versity, but  in  the  following  spring  responded  to  the  call  of  his  country 
and  enlisted  as  a  noncommissioned  officer  in  Company  K,  Fourteenth 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  in  the  spring  of  1862  was  made  captain. 
He  was  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Fredericksburg,  was  with  his  regi- 
ment in  all  its  battles  until  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  where  his  left 
leg  was  shot  off  above  the  knee,  when  he  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
service.  He  returned  to  White  County  and  in  1864  was  elected  county 
treasurer  and  was  re-elected  in  1866.  He  was  also  postmaster  at  Monti- 
cello  from  1889  to  1893.  In  May,  1864,  he  married  Miss  Catharine  C. 
Rawlins  of  Monroe  County,  Indiana,  and  to  them  have  been  born  seven 
children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living.  Captain  Ward's  regiment  was 
the  first  regiment  from  Indiana  mustered  into  the  three  years'  or  during- 
the-war  service.  His  military  service  is  one  of  which  he  feels  a  just 
pride.  He  now  has  passed  his  eighty-first  milestone  and  with  his  family 
lives  in  Monticello. 


510  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

Philip  J.  Ward  i  i 

Philip  J.  Ward  was  born  in  Kent  County,  Maryland,  May  28,  18:j:j. 
His  father,  Henry  Ward,  was  a  farmer  and  in  the  spring  of  1837  came 
to  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  and  purchased  a  small  trad  of  land 
on  what  is  now  a  part  of  the  City  of  Lafayette;  later  he  traded  this  for 
255  acres  in  Big  Creek  Township,  on  which,  he  lived  until  1865  when 
he  moved  to  Reynolds  where  he  died  in  1867.  Philip  J.  Ward  lived  on 
the  home  farm  for  several  years  and  then  worked  for  several  years  in 
Tippecanoe  County  but  in  1862  came  back  to  White  County  and  on  the 
death  of  his  father  purchased  the  interests  of  the  other  heirs  and  soon 
found  himself  the  owner  of  255  acres  of  as  good  land  as  is  to  be  found  in 
White  County.  On  September  10,  1860,  he  was  married  to  Catharine 
G.  Brady  and  to  this  union  has  been  born  three  children — one  died  in 
infancy  and  two  still  live.  His  son,  Paul  Ward,  is  now  serving  his 
second  term  as  surveyor  of  White  County  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Emma 
Ward  Ryder,  lives  in  Ohio.  His  wife  died  in  1896  and  two  years  later 
he  married  Mrs.  Florence  J.  Pierce,  who  with  one  daughter,  Katharine, 
now  lives  on  the  old  farm.  At  his  death  Mr.  Ward  owned  320  acres 
of  splendid  farm  land.  He  died  April  20,  1913,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Lane  Cemetery. 

Samuel  Miller  Waed 

Samuel  Miller  Ward  came  into  this  world  at  Middletown,  Ohio,  on  , 
April  26,  1825,  and  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life  was  spent  at  and 
near  Monon,  dying  at  the  latter  place  August  10,  1895.  His  wife  died 
in  1894  but  he  was  survived  by  six  children.  He  was  a  farmer  on  an 
extensive  scale  and  was  a  large  buyer  and  shipper  of  all  kinds  of  live 
stock,  especially  of  cattle,  and  at  his  death  had  amassed  quite  a  fortune. 
He  was  a  prominent  Odd  Fellow  and  his  funeral  was  held  under  the 
auspices  of  that  order  at  the  Bedford  Church. 

Bucklin  Warden 

Bucklin  Warden  died  at  his  home  in  Monticello,  July  19,  1915,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  almost  eighty-eight  years.  He  was  born  in  Illinois  in 
1827  and  came  with  his  parents  to  White  County,  locating,  at  Norway, 
in  1836.  His  father,  Elisha  Warden,  Sr.,  was  one  of  the  early  sheriffs  of 
the  county,  serving  from  1844  to  1848.  Bucklin  was  a  carpenter  and 
cabinet  maker  by  trade,  working  with  "Squire"  Ilarbolt  in  his  younger 
days  and  serving  as  boss  builder  and  repairman  for  the  Monticello  Pulp 
and  Paper  Mills  in  the  days  of  their  prosperity.  All  his  life  he  was 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  who  knew  him.  It  might  also  be  men- 
tioned that  in  the  days  when  harvesting  wheat  and  oats  with  a  cradle 
was  in  vogue  he  was  reckoned  one  of  the  best  eradlers  in  the  county.  He 
was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Elizabeth  Wickham  and  bis  Inst, 
wife,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Wilson,  formerly  Welch,  who  with  two  children 
survives. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  .    511 

,  Abbam  Wabfel 

Abrani  Warfel  was  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  Fel.ru- 
an;  9,  1816.  Tn  1834  lie  married  Nancy  Henry,  after  whose  death  lie 
married  Mary  Patton  on  June  9,  1836.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the. 
Church  of  God  for  fifty  years.  By  his  second  wife  lie  was  the  father 
of  six  children,  two  of  whom,  Mrs.  William  II.  Dangherty  and  Miss  Nancy 
Warfel,  both  of  Monticello,  survive.  For  many  years  lie  was  a  leading 
citizen  of  White  County  and  many  of  his  descendants  are  yet  with  us. 
He  died  July  14,  1894,  aged  seventy-eight  years. 

Geoege  D.  Washburn 

'  George  D.  Washburn,  born  in  Brown  County,  Ohio,  about  1809,  died 
at  the  home  of  his  daughter  in  Royal  Center,  September  27,  1902,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-three.  For  many  years  he  was  a  resident  of 
Monticello  and  later  resided  near  Guernsey.  He  was  a  minister  in  the 
Baptist  Church  and  was  held  in  high  esteem.  He  left  five  children 
surviving.  These  were:  Lewis  Washburn  and  Mrs.  Melissa  Lyle,  of 
Royal  Center;  Mrs.  Eliza  Bernetha,  of  Rochester;  Mrs.  Tirzah  Scott 
Alexander,  also  of  Royal  Center,  and  Or.  George  W.  Washburn,  now  of 
the  village  of  Buffalo. 

Jesse  L.  Watson 

One  of  the  very  first  settlers  of  White  County  was  Jesse  L.  Watson, 
who  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1805  and  came  to  what  is  now  White  County 
in  1830,  which  was  his  home  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Monon, 
December  24,  1884.  Most  of  his  business  life  was  spent  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  in  which  by  his  integrity  and  attention  to  detail  he  had  amassed 
a  competence. 

John  Welch 

John  Welch,  for  many  years  a  well  known  citizen  of  Burnettsville 
and  vicinity,  removing  thence  to  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  in  1881.  He  was 
born  in  Ohio,  January  22, 1836,  coming  to  White  County  with  his  parents 
when  a  boy.  .  He  was  a  member  of  Capt.  William  Spencer's  Company  E, 
Forty-sixth  Indiana,  serving  a  little  over  four  years.  Was  captured  at 
Sabine  Cross  Roads  and  spent  nine  months  in  the  rebel  prison  at  Tyler, 
Texas.  He  was  a  brother  of  Mrs.  George  H.  Simons,  who  for  many  years 
lived  south  of  Monticello,  and  of  Mrs.  Bucklen  Warden,  who  still  resides 
here.  His  father,  Wisby  Welch,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  White 
County  and  died  at  his  home  south  of  Monticello  about  1873  or  1874. 

Eliza  Wickebsham 

Eliza  Wickersham,  born  in  Logan  County,  Ohio,  April  11,  1821,  died 
at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  at  Lima,  Ohio,  March  19,  1902.     Most  of 


512  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

her  life  was  spent  in  White  County,  where  her  husband,  Job  Wickcrsham, 
died  March  29,  1874.  She  was  the  mother  of  ten  children,  live  of  these 
surviving  her.  Perhaps  the  best  known  of  these  were  Job,  for  many 
years  a  well  known  resident  in  and  near  Monticello,  and  Chester,  a 
resident  of  Cass  Township. 


James  Stuart  Wigmore 

James  Stuart  Wigmore,  son  of  Arthur  Wigmore  and  Rebecca  Oliffe 
Wigmore,  was  born  at  Wesley  Place,  Youghal,  Ireland,  October  3,  1833. 
(He  was  one  of  the  Fielding  family  who  trace  their  lineage  to  Pharamond, 
king  of  West  Franks  in  Germany,  430  A.  D.)  His  father  and  mother 
came  to  Toronto,  Canada,  in  1847,  where  they  conducted  a  musical  and 
art  studio.  In  this  city  Mr.  Wigmore  learned  the  watchmaker's  trade. 
After  the  death  of  his  mother  in  1850  he,  with  his  father,  went  to  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  to  make  his  home.  His  father  died  in  1860,  and  Mr. 
Wigmore  came  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  where  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  C.  C.  Tuttle  in  the  jewelry  business.  On  August  1,  18G2,  he 
enlisted  in  the  army  at  Salem  Crossing  and  served  until  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Perrysville,  Kentucky.  When  wounded  he  was  captured  by  a 
rebel  living  near  the  battlefield.  This  man,  upon  recognizing  him  as  a 
brother  Mason,  showed  him  every  courtesy  and  was  the  means  of  restoring 
him  to  his  own  ariny.  Mr.  Wigmore  was  a  charter  member  of  Libanus 
Lodge  No.  154,  of  Monticello,  Indiana,  bringing  his  demit  from  Capital 
City  Lodge  of  Indianapolis.  He  was  reared  an  Episcopalian,  but  after 
his'  marriage  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  a  jeweler 
until  the  time  of  his  death,  March  5,  1912.  August  3,  1864,  he  was 
married  to  Martha  Jane  Rothrock,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Eliza  Roth- 
rock,  pioneers  of  Monticello.  She  was  born  August  1,  1845.  Their 
home  was  an  inn  where  the  present  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  stands. 
Here  she  grew  to  young  womanhood,  receiving  her  education  under  the 
guidance  of  Prof.  George  Bowman.  ■  Mrs.  Wigmore  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  from  early  childhood.  She  died  March  5, 1913.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wigmore  were  born  five  children :  Emma,  wife  of  M.  J. 
Holtzman,  of  Brookston,  Indiana;  Charles  F.,  deceased;  George  A.  and 
Lida,  of  Monticello,  and  Estelle  H.  of  Indianapolis. 

Thornton  Williams 

Thornton  Williams,  born  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  September  11, 
1815,  located  in  Honey  Creek  Township,  White  County,  Indiana,  in  1848 
and  in  1849  was  married  to  Mary  E.  Rinker,  who  died  in  1872,  after 
which  he  continued  to  keep  house  with  his  children  until  all  reached 
adult  age.  One  son,  William  H.  Williams,  is  still  a  resident  of  Reynolds. 
Two  daughters,  Mrs.  Jessie  Dern  and  Mrs.  Ida  Isley,  reside  at  Kingman, 
Kansas.  He  died  at  the  home  of  William  II.  Williams,  in  Reynolds, 
August  19,  1901. 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  513 

James  K.  Wilson 

An  old  and  highly  esteemed  citizen  of  Monon,  James  It.  Wilson  was 
accidentally  killed  by  a  train  at  Monon,  February  18,  1907.     Mr.  Wilson 

had  been  a  resident  of  Monon  and  vicinity  all  his  life  and  was  si\f\  two 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  administrator  of  the  Hugh 
Lowe  estate,  one  of  the  largest  estates  ever  administered  on  in   White 

County  up  to  that  time,  and  on  the  day  of  the  accident  had  I n   in 

Monticello  making  final  settlement  of  his  trust.  After  returning  liomo 
he  started  about  seven  o'clock- to  go  up  town,  and  in  crossing  tho  Motion 
track,  a  short  distance  west  of  the  station,  was  run  down  and  horribly 
mangled  by  a  southbound  train,  known  as  the  "milk  train."  He  ],.|'t  « 
widow  and  two  daughters,  Mrs.  John  Kent  and  Mrs.  William  Hancock. 

"William  D.  Wilson 

On  July  19,  1894,  the  Town  of  Chalmers  and  Big  Creek  Township 
was  shocked  by  the  news  that  William  D.  Wilson  had  been  killed  by  a 
stroke  of  lightning  while  at  work  in  the  meadow  of  Thomas  J.  Hoshour. 
He  was  found  to  have  been  instantly  killed  by  the  electric  current.  He 
was  born  July  1,  1834,  and  on  February  24,  1856,  he  married  Rebecca  E. 
Burk.  To  this  union  was  born  nine  children,  five  of  whom  survive  him. 
On  March  25,  1883,  he  was  married  to  Rachel  Gallaher,  who  with  one 
child,  were  living  at  his  death.  For  many  years  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  in  1890  was  the  candidate  for  sheriff  of  White  County 
on  the  prohibition  ticket,  in  which  party'he  was  an  active  member. 

John  W.  Wimer 

No  history  of  White  County  would  be  complete  without  a  notice  of 
John  W.  Wimer.  Born  in  New  York,  February  7,  1829.  When  young 
John  was  twelve  years  old  the  family  came  to  Carroll  County,  Indiana, 
where  he  attended  school  and  having  attained  his  majority  he  clerked 
in  a  store  in  Georgetown  for  eight  years,  when  he  was  appointed  post- 
master at  Lockport,  which  position  he  held  for  three  years,  when  he 
moved  to  Delphi ;  he  later  came  to  Burnettsville  and  engaged  in  general 
merchandising  until  1882  when  he  quit  business  and  removed  to 
Logansport,  but  later  returned  to  Burnettsville  where  he  died  November 
13,  1901.  Mr.  Wimer  was  an  active  republican.  From  1864  to  1870 
he  served  as  postmaster  at  Burnettsville.  In  1870  he  was  elected  repre- 
sentative from  the  "counties  of  Benton  and  White,  in  1876  he  was  a 
republican  presidential  elector  and  in  1880  was  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Republican  Convention  held  in  Chicago  in  which  he  voted  for  James 
A.  Garfield.    He  was  a  militant  member  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

Dr.  Alvin  n.  Wirt 

For  many  years  during  and*  after  the  war,  Dr.  A.  II.  Wirt  was  the 
leading  dentist  in  Monticello  and  for  a  time  he  was  the  only  one  engaged 


¥ 


514  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

in  that  profession.  He  was  born  in  AUentown,  Pennsylvania,  March  27, 
1828.  He  came  to  Montieello  about  1858,  and  in  1859  was  married  to 
Mary  Grace  Tilton,  daughter  of  Daniel  M.  Tilton,  then  a  prominenl  citi- 
zen of  Montieello.  Doctor  Wirt  died  suddenly  while  sitting  on  the  porch 
at  the  home  of  his  son,  William  D.  Wirt,  July  2,  1898. 

Will  D.  Wirt 

Will  D.  WTirt,  son  of  Doctor  Wirt,  Montieello 's  pioneer  dentist,  was  a 
native  of  White  County,  having  been  born  north  of  Montieello,  July  20, 
1860.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  October  28, 1906,  he  was  surveyor  of  White 
County  and  a  candidate  on  his  party  ticket  for  re-election.  December 
2-1,  1890,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Nellie  Ginn,  at  Sorento,  Illinois.  She, 
and  one  son,  Carl,  are  still  living,  being  residents  of  West  Lafayette. 
A  monument  to  his  public-spiritedness  can  be  seen  by  people  of  Monti- 
cello  and  of  White  County  every  day.  This  is  the  large  box-alder  tree 
near  the  southwest  corner  of  the  courthouse.  This  was  planted  there 
by  him  in  the  spring  of  1906,  some  six  months  before  his  death. 

Martin  Witz 

One  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Montieello,  Martin  Witz  was  for 
many  years  here  engaged  in  the  ice  and  meat  business.  He  was  born  in 
Hilson  Heim,  Prance,  December  13,  1831 ;  came  to  America  with  his  par- 
ents in  1838,  locating  in  Allen  County.  In  185S  he  was  married  to  Melissa 
Shuey  in  Fort  Wayne  and  moved  to  Lafayette  in  1859.  In  1861  he 
enlisted  in  the  Fifth  Kentucky  Regiment,  from  which  he  was  discharged 
because  of  a  wound  received  at  Shiloh.  He  re-enlisted  in  the  Eleventh 
Indiana  Cavalry  and  served  to  the  end  of  the  war.  Soon  thereafter  he 
located  in  Montieello,  where  he  resided  until  his  death,  August  29,  1901. 
His  widow  and  two  children,  Alvin  Witz  and  Mrs.  Daisy  Willems,  reside 
in  Montieello.  Another  son,  William  Witz,  lives  in  Cass  Township.  He 
was  a  Mason  and  a  member  of  Tippecanoe  Post  No.  51,  G.  A.  R. 

Samuel  Wolfe 

Samuel  Wolfe,  one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of  White  County,  died 
at  his  home  in  Liberty  Township,  April  13,  1913.  He  was  born  in 
Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  May  29,  1824,  and  fourteen  years 
later  moved  to  Greene  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  on  September  5, 
1848,  he  married  Eliza  Winget  and  they  at  once  left  for  Athens  County, 
Ohio,  where  he  lived  for  six  years.  In  1854,  with  his  wife  and  four 
children,  he. came  to  White  County  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  On 
February  22,  1882,  his  wife  died  and  on  April  26,  1886,  he  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Gruell,  who  survived  him  but  one  week  and  died  on  April  20, 
1913.  In  November,  1864,  Mr.  Wolfe  enlisted  in  the  Forty-second 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  ami  was  mustered  out  in  July,  1865.  He 
was  an  honored  member  of  the  Missionary. Baptist  Church  in  which  he 


HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY  515 

served  as  tleaeon  for  several  years,  lie  was  a  loyal  soldier  and  a  member 
of  the  0.  A.  R.  Mr.  Wolfe  was  noted  for  his  benevolence  and  his  kindly 
regard  and  care  for  the  unfortunate. 

James  11.  Wood 

An  old  settler  of  White  County,  James  It.  Wood  was  born  in  North 
Carolina,  July  3,  1829.  His  father  located  in  West  Point  Township  in 
1846.  In  1856  Mr.  "Wood  purchased  and  located  on  a  farm  just  south  of 
Wolcott,  where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  married  on 
April  14, 1857,  to  Esther  Thomas.  To  them  were  horn  thn  e  children,  only 
one  of  whom,  Erasmus  M.,  is  now  living.  His  widow  and  one  grandson, 
Garey,  are  also  still  living,  all  residents  of  Wolcott.  Mr.  Wood  was  a 
member  of  Company  K,  Twelfth  Indiana  Cavalry,  lie  was  next  to 
the  youngest  of  ten  children.  His  youngest  sister  and  the  only  surviving 
member  of  the  family  is  Mrs.  Emily  J.  Johnson,  whose  husband,  Jere- 
miah J.  Johnson,  was. killed  at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  and  she  is  now  in 
the  hospital  at  the  State  Soldiers'  Home  at  Lafayette.  He  died  Novem- 
ber 14,  1902. 

John  Worthington 

John  Worthington  was  a  son  of  Richard  Worthington,  who  came  to 
Pennsylvania  from  England  in  1822.  He  was  born  in  Mifflin  County, 
Pennsylvania,  May  19,  1822,  and  when  but  eleven  years  old  came  with 
his  parents  to  White  County,  the  family  living  for  many  years  on  a 
farm  about  a  mile  west  of  Monticello.  Of  the  family  of  eleven  children 
he  was  the  last  survivor  except  his  sister,  Mrs.  Victoria  Bishir,  of  Marion, 
who  was  able  to  be  present  at  his  funeral.  He  was  married  April  10, 
1853,  to  Lydia  Vauscoy  and  to  them  were  born  eight  children;  his  wife 
and  three  daughters  survived  him.  In  early  life  Mr.  Worthington 
became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  which  com- 
munion he  lived  his  entire  life.  He  died  at  his  home  in  East  Monticello, 
September  7,  1914. 

John  E.  Worthington 

On  account  of  his  size  and  weight,  Mr.  Worthington  was  for  many 
years  a  conspicuous  figure  about  Monticello.  He  was  born  in  Monon 
Township,  June  9,  1855,  but  most  of  his  life  was  spent  on  his  father's 
farm  just  west  of  Monticello.  About  ten  years  before  his  death  his 
extreme  weight  compelled  him  to  leave  the  farm  and  seek  other  em- 
ployment. Three  times  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  Union 
Township.  He  died  December  14,  1896,  before  entering  upon  his  third 
term.  .  % 

William  Wynekoop 

William  Wynekoop  was  born  at.  Kirklin,  Indiana,  May  21,  1835,  the 
sixth  child  of  a  family  of  twelve  children,  of  which  he  was  the  last 


5]6  HISTORY  OF  WHITE  COUNTY 

survivor.  In  1S57  he  located  on  a  farm  two  miles  south  of  Woleott, 
where  he  lived  until  1904,  when  he  hi'i  to  end  his  days  with  his  sun, 
Dr.  Charles  I.  Wynekoop,  oi'  Chicago,  where  he  died  December  31,  1913. 
He  was  twice  married,  the  first  time  l<>  Ellen  Matthews,  to  whom  was 
born  one  child,  Lewis  Matthews,  who  survived  him.  His  second  wife  was 
Helen  Haynes,  1o  whom  he  was  married  in  1865,  and  to  them  was  horn 
ten  children,  three  of  whom  had  preceded  him  to  the  grave.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  Rose  Hill  Cemetery,  Chicago. 


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