A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1, Part 26

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 826

USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1 > Part 26

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"The last chapter of this sad history is

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

briefly recorded. The Pottawatomies had al- ways lived in the woods and hunted the game which frequented them and the secluded streams. In their new home, the wild. bitter, winter wind swept across the prairies and chilled the unacelimated Indians. The game, of which they knew the habits, was not there. In place of the deer and beaver and muskrat, buffalo and wolves and jackrabbits roamed the boundless prairies. The miserable aliens died and froze and starved and wandered away in despair. Some came back to their old homes and joined those who had evaded the government officers. Now, of this once powerful and peaceful tribe, a small remnant remains in Kansas and some 200 or 300 are scattered about St. Joseph and adjoining counties in Indiana and Ohio.

"Where once the simple-minded savage pad- dled along the quiet streams, or with cat-like stealth threaded these woods and swamps in search of game, or carried his store of skins and his birchen canoe across the land which divided into two his water-way from the lakes to the Father of Waters, now all is changed. The heavy rumble of trains, and the muf- fled roar of machinery profane the ancient solitudes. The slow and primitive methods of travel-the canoe and the portage-are gone forever, but not more certainly are they gone to return no more, than are those dusky tribes which, in innocence and contentment, onee owned and loved and lost this land, gone to exist hereafter only as a memory. as a tale that is told."

1 Sec. 5 .- OTHER EARLY SETTLERS OF THE COUNTY .- After Navarre. Coquillard and Taylor, some of the very early settlers in the county were as follows. In what is now Portage township. these settlers were: In 1827, Lonis Sancomb, Doctor Fowler, Timo- thy S. Smith, Job Brookfield, John B. Rulean, Peter Jebeau, Samuel Cannon; in 1828, Henry Painter, Eli Smith, Samuel Stude- baker (not related to the noted family that came later), Thomas Johnson. John Heag: in 1829, Levi F. Arnold, John Lasly, Henry

Stull, Isaac Bowman, Joseph Rohrer, John Becraft, Jacob Leer, Samuel Leer, Daniel Cripe, Benjamin Coquillard (brother of Alexis), Hiram Dayton, Samuel Rupe, Fred- erick Bainter, Oliver Bennett; in 1831, Isaac Cord. Jacob Cord. Samuel Cord, George Cord, Daniel Cord, William McCartney; in 1832, William Webster, Christopher Emerick; in 1833, Matthias Stover; in 1835, David Stover.

In what is now German township, the fol- lowing persons settled: In 1827, William Brookfield: in 1829, John Smith: in 1830, Christian Holler, Jacob Ritter, John Ritter; in 1831, Joshua D. Miller; in 1832, Jacob M. Whitmer; in 1833, David Miller, Aaron Miller. Jacob Miller, Abram Smith, Jona- than Smith, Daniel Wagoner, John Witter, Samuel Witter.

In what is now Penn township, the follow- ing persons settled : In 1828, William Moat, Timothy Moat; in 1829, William Iiolt; in 1830, Jesse Skinner, Samuel L. Cottrell, George W. West, E. Smith, Joseph Coe, Dan- iel Hollingshead, David Hollingshead, Will- iam Hollingshead, George Hollingshead, Dan- iel Edwards, Samuel Edwards, George Eutz- ler: in 1831, Jesse Bell, Henry Huntsinger. Jacob Ebler, Jonathan Macy, Jacob Byrkit. George Byrkit, Edward Byrkit. James Curtis. John Ireland, William Ireland, Braddock Chandler, Uriah Chandler, William Webster, Menzo Webster, Isaac Parks.

In what is now Clay township, the follow- ing persons settled: In 1828, Jacob Cripe, Daniel Eiler. Samuel Cannon, Benjamin Pot- ter; in 1829, John Hague. William Mc- Combs. John H. Smith; in 1830, John Cripe, Peter Cripe, Thomas Longley; in 1831, Peter Eaton, Jacob Eaton, William Smith, Joshua Johnson ; in 1832. John C. Statsman, Thomas B. Chalfant. Evan Chalfant, James Stuckey, Thomas P. Bulla, William F. Bnlla, Samuel Brooks, Gideon Draper; in 1833. Francis Jennings; in 1834, Joseph Ulery, Stephen Ulery.

In what is now Harris township, the fol- lowing persons settled: In 1830, Jacob Har-

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ris, from whom Harris prairie and Harris township were named, Samuel Bell, Adam Miller, a Baptist minister, Adam Ringle, David Baldwin, Josephus Baldwin; in 1831. Joseph Buel. Jacob Myers, Arbogast Zaehnle, Henry Augustine, Jonathan Hartzell; in 1833, Robert Kennedy, David Ringle, Samuel Ringle, Levi Ringle.

. In what is now Olive township, the fol- lowing persons settled : In 1830. Charles Vail, for whose wife, Olive, the township was named, John Adams, Jacob Rush, Israel Rush. John Druliner, Malin Druliner, Samuel Gar- wood, Garrett Niekerson, Henry Niekerson, William White, Jacob Egbert, John Egbert, Elder George Boyd; in 1831. James Garoutte, Benjamin Redding; in 1832, Job Smith, Henry Ranstead, John Reynolds.

In what is now Center township, the fol- lowing persons settled : In 1830, Andrew Mill- ing, James Palmer and Asher Palmer, from whom Palmer prairie was named, John Rose, Nathan Rose, Jacob Rupel; in 1832, John Smith; in 1833, George Smith, Abiel Hunger- ford, Tyra N. Bray; in 1834, John Henson, Thomas Jones, Isaac Lamb: in 1835, James Inwood, Richard Inwood, William Phillips.

In what is now Greene township, the fol- lowing persons settled: In 1830, George Sumption, from whom Sumption prairie was named; in 1831, John Rupel, John Bird, Jacob Rupe, Grave Pomeroy, Staey Garwood, William Antrim, Abram Whitmer, William Rudduek; in 1832. George Holloway, Nathan Greene. John Rudduck, David Barrett, John Greene, from whom the township was named, Jonathan Wharton, M. Borton, George Baker. Gabriel Fender, Samuel Pearson; in 1833, M. E. Hammond, John McCullough.

In what is now Warren township, the fol- lowing persons settled: In 1831, Reynolds Dunn : in 1832, Peter Brick, Peter Wykoff, George Witter, John Kingery, Stephen Field, Nathaniel Wilson; in 1833, Jesse Frame, William Frame, Nathaniel Frame, Cornelius Frame, Isaac Frame, David Frame, Jesse Frame, Isaac W. Phillips; in 1834, Harvey

Buckles, James Dunbar; in 1835, Joseph P. Jones, Joseph Price, Thomas Jackson, Calvin Myler.

In what is now Union township, the fol- lowing persons settled: In 1833, John Hen- derson, Elijah Lineback, John Gardner. John Rector, Jacob Rector, Mark Rector; in 1834, Hubbard Henderson, James Moon, John Moon, Eli Moon; in 1835, James Annis, Henry Hardy, Daniel Glenn, Amos Heston.

In what is now Liberty township, the fol- lowing persons settled : In 1835, Jacob Ear- hart, John Earhart, John Kane, Isaac Town- send, Daniel Ross, Jesse Palmer, Samuel Loring, John Rupel, Daniel Rupel, Joseph Liggett. James Cole, Franklin Pearse.

The foregoing names and dates may not be strictly accurate in every instance, but the effort has been made to avoid all error. Neither is it intended that these were all the settlers up to the year 1835; it was our purpose only to give the names of some prominent families and the proximate times and places of their settlement in St. Joseph county. The list will also serve to show what parts of the county were first settled, and the years in which the several places were first occupied. It does not appear that in the territories now known as Madison and Lin- coln townships any settlements were made un- til after the year 1835.

V. THE LOG HOUSE.

The rude life which these early settlers were compelled to lead, and the many priva- tions to which they were subjected, are well illustrated by one who gives us his own reeol- lections in the following vivid sketch :ª

The poet who lived and wrote his songs, fifty to a hundred years ago, was inspired with environments, then existing, which now would be void of sentiment. We hear the song :

"How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood,

When fond recollection presents them to view.

a. Contributed by a writer to the Waterloo, In- diana, Press.

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The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood ;

And all the loved pleasures my infancy knew.

The old oaken bucket- The iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket That hung in the well."

The passing of the open well, with wooden curb, and the long "well sweep" balanced in the center on a post crotched at the top, a heavy stone fastened with large pegs on the large end of the long timber used as the sweep or elevating power, and the "old oaken bucket" fastened at the top with a chain equal in length to the depth of the well. Such sweeps were a familiar sight fifty years ago.

The old oaken bucket made by the local cooper, bound with iron hoops, lasted several generations, and hence became "moss cov- ered." The sweep was pulled down and the "bucket" dropped into the well, with a weight fastened to one side to sink it in the cool waters at the bottom, and it came up on a balance with the stone at the other end of the "sweep." Here the poet quaffed the refresh- ing drink of his childhood days, and received his inspiration for the song.

Alongside the well with the sweep and the "old oaken bucket" stood the old log house, the home of the pioneer. now only a memory, and to the present generation unknown, as log houses are a thing of the past. Sixty-two years ago the writer, after leaving the strap- iron railroad in Adrian, Mich., came from "York state" by "rapid transit," consisting of "an ox team" and a covered "movers' wagon." Several days' travel with the fam- ily in the wagon, landed us in the midst of a dense forest. A small spot was cleared of underbrush, and strong, enthusiastic men cut down trees of uniform size and built the log cabin in the woods. There were no public highways in that time, and a man with an ax went before the ox team to remove some of the brush and obstructions, for the passage of the wagon.

Those homes of the early pioneer, would be a revelation to the present generation. The logs were cut to equal lengths as required for the size of the building, and rolled up on skids as the building increased in height with each log, the ends being notched to fit close, and at the same time bind the building to- gether. The structure was tapered off at the

top with smaller timbers, and the roof, made of shakes, split from clear oak with a frow and maul, were fastened on the poles across the top of the building by placing small logs on top of them, kept equal distance apart by short sections of timbers at right angles. Then a bass wood log was secured to be split into chinks for closing up the cracks between the logs, which were plastered with clay mud, without lime or cement. The windows were often of greased paper, and the heavy slab doors hung on wooden hinges with a heavy latch inside, lifted by a leather string from without, and the string pulled inside when the door was to be locked. Hence "the latch string always hangs out" was the greeting given to neighbors, meaning they were wel- come to call.

While their rude homes were being built, the families lived and slept in the covered wagon. There were no stoves in those days, and the old fireplace was cut out of one side of the building, and walls were made of stone or bog ore, found in marshes or swamps in the early days. The chimney was built of small pieces of wood four square split from the remnants of blocks from which the "shakes" for the roof were made, and this structure was plastered inside and out with mud. There were no carpets on the floors, and not infrequently the massasauga, or black rattlesnake, the dread of the mother and the children, found its way through the puncheon floor and located in the bed or under the household effects, where his rattles warned all comers to beware. The strenuous life in the days of old, was along different lines. It was many years before the rag carpet made its appearance, because of the fact that the cloth- ing of the parents was made over and over and handed down from the oldest to the youngest child, until there was not enough rags from which to ent strips for weaving into carpets.

Those were pioneer days; and what a strange contrast with present conditions and customs! The generations now living hardly realize how much credit should be given the early pioneers who carved out their rude homes from the dense forest, and made it possible for the great changes that followed them.

VI. REMINISCENCES.

Sec. 1 .- BY DANIEL GREENE .- On Septem- ber 19, 1832, John Greene and his family

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arrived in the territory afterwards to be or- ganized under their name, as the township of Greene. On the seventy-third anniversary of that day, Daniel Greene, one of the chil- dren of the family, now an honored citizen of the city of South Bend, gave to his friends and the public a most interesting interview, detailing the coming to their Indiana home in those far off years. The story which he tells is the story of hundreds of pioneers who left their homes in the east, to find other homes in the west. By permission of the venerable narrator, the following is taken from this interview :a

"My parents, John Greene and Nancy Ann Jackson, were born and married in the state of Delaware. Not being in sympathy with the institution of slavery, they decided to seek a home for their little family in the then distant free soil of the northwest, be- yond the reach of its blighting influence. In the fall of 1811, with their three boys, Israel, John and Ezekiel, and such articles as eould be transported in a light wagon drawn by one horse, they bade a final farewell to dear ones and native state. Guided by the star of hope, they started on the long, perilous journey over hills and mountains, across plains and valleys, towards the setting sun, cheered by the hope of a home of their own in a land of freedom.

"After weeks of toil, privation and suffer- ing, they pitched their tent by the roadside in the beautiful valley of the Miami, in Greene county, Ohio; where they lived in tent and cabin and as farm renters for twenty years, enduring the hardships incident to pioneer life. and adding in that time six boys and three girls to their little Delaware family, and increasing somewhat their worldly goods. Not having realized their long cherished hope of a home of their own, my father started, in the fall of 1830, on a home-seeking tour on horseback through northern Indiana and southern Michigan, returning by way of Fort

In the South Bend Tribune, September 19,

Wayne, after having failed to locate a home. "Not being satisfied with what he had seen, he started, in the fall of 1831, on a second tour, passing through Indianapolis, Logans- port and intervening territory, and arriving in South Bend a few months after the town had been laid out. Here he was offered a lot for five dollars, if he would ereet a log cabin on it. Continuing his prospecting tour into southern Michigan, he entered one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land near where Berrien Springs now stands. He re- turned again by way of Fort Wayne, with the intention of moving to the land the com- ing fall. After reaching home, and giving the matter more mature consideration, he thought it not best to take his large family into the heavy timbered lands to open a farm, as it would entail too much labor and hard- ship on the family, and so changed his mind and decided to go with some old friends to northern Indiana.

"Memory, aroused, rolls back the shades of time, covering a period of years reaching back beyond the wild scenes, privations and dan- gers of pioneer life in this country to the old Ohio home and environs where I first assisted in making the ball go round in the active game of a busy life eighty years ago. There, during the winter of 1831 and 1832, the little colony was organized and Michigan road lands received for future homes by de- positing one dollar and twenty-five cents an aere with the secretary of state, and receiving therefor a certificate of deposit, for which deeds were to be obtained some two years later, signed by Governor Noble. One of those deeds I now have. Arrangements were then completed for moving the coming fall.

"Early in the spring of 1832. my brother Nathan, and John Mannering, a cousin, were equipped with an ox team, tools, implements and seeds, and were sent out to fenee, plow and plant a part of the land to corn. potatoes and other useful erops for supplies for the families upon arrival at the anticipated time. They took with them at the same time Nathan

a. 1905.

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Greene, another cousin, and his wife. to assist in the work and then take care of the place while the young men returned to Ohio to aid in moving the family in the fall.

"That being the year of the Black Hawk Indian war in the west, the country, and especially the little valley where we lived, was kept in a state of anxiety and unrest by the exciting and exaggerated rumors of Indian treachery, depredations and massacres of early settlers along the western frontier. My brother, Nathan, and cousin, then at work on Sumption prairie putting out the crop at the future home, kept our people more correctly informed about the Indian war scare, and when they returned the first of August were able to relieve much of the anxiety of the colony as to the danger to life or otherwise from the Indians.

"September 2, 1832, the day long fixed for starting, came bright and cheering, and the little Ohio valley soon became one scene of commotion and excitement. When the fam- ilies of John Greene. George Baker, Joshua Garwood, Jonathan Wharton, Edward Powers and Michael Robertson, over sixty people in all, fell into line in the dusty streets of Xenia, their old county town, with twelve canvas covered wagons, some drawn by two or four good horses, and others by six oxen, with a large following of loose cattle, sheep, hogs and dogs, for a starter at their Indiana homes, all kept in line by a lot of lively boys and girls, they found the streets of their old town lined by hundreds of friends, neighbors and strang- ers, waiting for a last friendly greeting, ex- pressions of interest in the future success and welfare of these adventurons friends were profuse, and a last friendly handshake was accompanied by expressions of wonderment why they were leaving one of the garden spots of the earth, friends, homes and plenty, to face the dangers and hardships of a long journey, and the sufferings and privations of frontier life in the then distant west.

"Words fail me to tell of the emotions and parting scenes of that day. The last sad look

is taken and the last farewell is said. The wheels begin to turn, the wagons begin to fall in line and the long train has started on its long and perilous journey. Camp was formed that first night out about five miles north of Xenia. By arranging the wagons in a circle a large court was formed, in the center of which the general camp fire was lighted, and there the evening was spent. It was an evening long to be remembered by the many sad hearts that devoted the night to struggling with their hopes and fears, whether all should end well that seemed to promise well.

"Early the next morning things began to assume a more normal or business-like ap- pearance. Sad faces began to brighten and cheer up as the wagons began to fall in line for another day's march toward the promised land and home. After the noon lunch and rest, one of the older men was sent in advance on horseback to select and secure a camping place for the night. Every day thereafter the camping place was located in the same way, and each night the wagons were ar- ranged in a circle, forming a large open court, in the center of which a general camp fire was lighted. There the evenings were spent as age and taste suggested, with music, games, conversation and entertainment of visitors. Meals were prepared and served on the out- side, to each family as called for.

"As we advanced, the distance between set- tlements increased, and our visions of red- skins, tomahawks and scalping knives became more vivid and the timid ones more nervous. The roads, after a few days, became very bad, and, in many places, mere winding ways through the forests. The difficulty of crossing the larger rivers with the teams and loose stock made progress very slow. One day, in the black swamps east of Fort Wayne, only four miles were traveled. The route lay through Dayton, Fort Wayne, Goshen and Elkhart. At Elkhart Messrs. Powers and Robertson broke ranks, and proceeded on to southern Michigan, where they located. The

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

other four families, forty-four people in all, followed down the south bank of the St. Joseph river to South Bend, then a little In- dian trading post of a few log cabins nestled among the old oaks.

"From the trading post we followed the old Indian trail out to Sumption prairie, break- ing ranks finally near the place where the James Oliver farm house now stands. Each family took its course from there through the tall prairie grass for its new home. Just as the sun was sinking behind the western forest, our family came to a halt at the cor- ner of a lonely cornfield where father, alight- ing from his horse, said, 'At home at last.'

"We lived in and under our wagons until a hewed log house, eighteen by thirty feet. with a large fireplace in each end, the first of its kind south of this city, was erected. Taking in the howling of the wolf in one ear and the whoop of the Indian in the other, we moved into the house without floors, doors or windows; and it soon became known as Greene's big house. When the township was organized it was named for the Greene fam- ily.

"While the house was being built the ox team was sent to Trail Creek, now Michigan City, a distance of forty miles, for lumber for floors, doors, windows and other purposes. It required about six days to make the trip. When the team returned, we found the lum- ber broad poplar boards, just as the logs had been sawed through, not edged or shaped, and it had to be shaped by hand with saw and splitting gauge. As soon as the house was ready to receive the goods my brother Ezekiel returned to Ohio with the four-horse team to assist my brothers Nathan and Jackson, who had remained there, to gather and market the crops grown there and winter the team. When the little erops grown here had been cared for, a part of the field sown to wheat, and everything made as convenient and comfort- able as possible for the family, John Manner- ing, the cousin, also returned to Ohio with the ox team to winter there.

"Early in the spring of 1833, both teams returned well loaded with a year's supply of flour, farm implements and other articles, among them a loom, a large and a small spin- ning wheel and a reel, all of which at that time were considered indispensable articles of the household outfit. As an illustration of the value and service rendered by the wheels and loom in every home in the early settlement of this country, I well remember myself, like other boys of the settlement, then in my teens, elad in a straw hat, linen shirt and trousers, the materials having been grown, and the goods manufactured, cut and made on the farm. Thus elad I toiled many a warm sum- mer day, armed with an ox gad with a long buekskin lash, driving four yoke of oxen, which drew a large breaking plow, made of wood, except the share and bar, and turning over the tough prairie sod for the first time. This was a fair sample or illustration of the average boy of the settlement and of his work, in the early days of our trials and triumphs.

"When Alexis Coquillard and Lathrop M. Taylor established their little Indian trading posts on the banks of our beautiful river, to exchange their merchandise for the furs, pel- try and other Indian products that abounded in the vicinity of the Kankakee swamps, and for miles in all directions, they were several years in advance of the permanent home-seek- ing pioneers who found these rich prairies and vast forests untouched by the hand of civili- zation. These lands were as yet untouched by the ax or the plow, and were still roamed over at will by the Indian on the hunt and chase and by the wild beast of the woods and the plains. The regular and permanent settle- ment of the county began in the spring of 1830, the county being organized and the first government lands being placed on the market early in the spring of that year.

"The rich productive soil of the prairies, and their readiness at all times, without pre- vious labor, to welcome the plowman and his seed, made them most desirable: and they were, therefore, the first to be entered and

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occupied. All the prairies of the county began to be settled about the same time, that is. early in the spring of 1830.

"The first white person to settle in that part of the county lying southwest of the city of South Bend, was George Sumption, who was subsequently honored by having his name given to our prairie. He located there in the spring of 1830. on what is now the James Oliver farm. Mr. Sumption being a man of courage and energy, soon became one of the leading citizens of the settlement, and re- miained such until the day of his death. He made the brick for and erected and occupied the first brick house south of the city of South Bend. John Rupel. a sturdy son of Pennsyl- vania. came next, in the spring of 1831. locating westward of and adjoining Sump- tion. John Bird came a little later in 1831, settling west of and adjoining Rupel. Later, the same season. Jacob Rupe. Grove Pomeroy and Stacy Garwood located on the southeast part of the prairie.

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1, Part 26

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 826

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 826