USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 8
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For nearly seventy years the board of commissioners continued to exercise, in each county of the state, the general administrative powers appertaining to county government. While this board was generally of the highest individual character, yet, by the nature of the powers vested therein, it was largely autocratic and irresponsible. The system of "checks and balances" has formed one of the inherent principles of our governmental system, as is seen in the universal division of powers among several bodies, each acting as a restraint upon the other. At the close of the last century this fundamental principle was, by state legis- lation, applied to the administrative machinery of each of the several counties in Indiana. The verdict as to the efficiency and value of the new system has been generally favorable, as it is likewise commended
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by reason. While on the subject of county commissioners, it seems proper at this point to give a very brief explanation of the new feature which of late years has increased the length of the county ballot and added another complication to the problem of self-government.
By an act of the general assembly approved March 3. 1899, there was created in the several counties of the state a body known as tlie County Council. Each county was divided into four councilmanic dis- tricts, each district comprising one or more entire townships: one coun- cilman is elected from each district and three are chosen in the county at large. The first election of county councilmen was held at the gen- eral election of November, 1900, the second in 1902, and thereafter the elections are to be held every four years.
This County Council, in its workings, has original jurisdiction over the tax levy of the county and over the appropriations for county pur- poses. The fixing of county tax rates, where not already fixed by law. is vested in this council, and the power of appropriating money from the county treasury is vested exclusively in this body. To the council are submitted all the budgets or estimates of expenditure by the county officers in their respective departments and the county commissioners cannot contract or bind the county beyond the amount appropriated for each object in question by the council. The discretionary powers of the commissioners are thus limited, and, while they have power to purchase all supplies, they can do so only on a written requisi- tion of the officer or employe for whom or for whose work the supplies are necessary. This council holds a regular annual meeting, fixed by law, but may also be called together by order of the auditor. In the list of county officials will be found the names of those chosen to the County Council of this county since the act of legislature went into effect.
It is one of the happy features of American democracy that the workings of civil government have very few points of contact with the average citizen, who by casting an intelligent ballot sets the proper ma- chinery agoing and needs have little further concern with constituted authority. The will of the people works out in a natural and easy manner, and only occasionally, in such a county as Elkhart, is there anything approaching a large issue. Because the affairs of local civil government are thus so largely a matter of course and take on the com- plexion of the every-day routine of household or personal life, the docu- mentary records are on the whole very uninteresting reading and offer
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only now and then something of more than ephemeral note and worthy to be set down in a history of the county. Therefore we shall close this chapter with some brief and casual items and then with a summary list of names of officials of Elkhart county.
The November session of the board of commissioners in 1831 was held at the new county seat of Goshen and in the house of George Mc- Collum, and in the session of May, 1832, is found the following: " It is ordered that lot No. I be given to school district No. - for the con- sideration of the schoolhouse to hold courts in and other county business and elections for the term of two years, and said house to be ready for to hold court in against the next term of circuit court." In March, 1834. the building of a county jail was ordered to be let at auction to the lowest bidder, and also the building of a " stray pen," from which it is evident that population had increased to the point where criminal humans and roving animals were a source of trouble to society. . \n- other evidence of the advance of Elkhart county in material improve- ment was the item of the record in May, 1834, by which the supervisor was ordered to work the roads. By September, 1834, twenty high- roads had been ordered opened in the county, at almost every session of the board some new road being reported as viewed and marked, which shows the zeal with which the early county fathers applied themselves to the improving the means of communication, by which civilization is most surely promoted and secured.
Some mention is necessary concerning the township civil govern- inent, in its historical aspect and the present system. In this regard the tendency has been away from complexity of officials in number and duties toward the modern idea of " one man power " with more central responsibility. The first uniform plan of township administration was effected by the state legislature in the early forties. In accordance with this act for rendering the mode of township business of Elkhart county more uniform, the acting clerk of the county court gave notice that on the first Monday of April. 1841, each township should elect the following officers: Three township trustees, one township treasurer, one town- ship clerk, two overseers of the poor, two fence viewers, a constable for each justice of the peace in the township. By this provision each township was burdened with the official weight of at least a dozen men, and the whole plan was evidently unwieldy.
In February, 1859, an act of the legislature reduced the number of township trustees to one, and vested in that one the duties hitherto
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
pertaining to the inspector of elections, overseer of the poor and fence viewer, with all the powers formerly belonging to the three trustees. This greatly simplified system has proved in its workings all that its authors hoped for, and carefulness, efficiency and dispatch have charac- terized township administration.
The progress of a county in a great measure depends upon the men who are elected by the people or appointed by the state to direct its affairs.
In 1905 the official directory for Elkhart county is as follows: Congressman for 13th district, A. L. Brick, of South Bend : state sena- tor. A. R. Beardsley, of Elkhart ; representatives, E. A. Dausman and H. H. Mosier: circuit judge, James S. Dodge; prosecuting attorney, W. H. Duff; county and circuit clerk, Martin H. Kinney ; county treas- urer. E. E. Drake; county auditor, O. H. Sweitzer; county recorder. O. C. Vernon ; sheriff, A. E. Manning ; superintendent of schools, G. W. Ellis: assessor, Charles Bryner ; surveyor, John L. Cooper; coroner, F. N. Dewey; board of commissioners: Charles A. Davis, Goshen; Will- iam Whetten, South district; Joseph Cainan, North district.
Township Trustees, elected November 8, 1904, to serve four years : Baugo, Cornelius O. Ehret ; Benton, Henry Hire; Concord. O. C. Puter- baugh; Clinton, Ed Bartholomew : Cleveland, Andrew Zigler : Elkhart, George S. Cobb; Harrison, Henry Bechtel; Jackson, Charles Rohrer ; Jefferson, W. W. Showalter: Locke, Levi Pippinger; Middlebury, Will H. Shultz; Olive, John M. Blocher; Osolo, John .P. Bickel; Union, Ed Iffert ; Washington, H. W. Kantz; York, Tracy Fisher.
The first county council elected for Elkhart county in November, 1900, was as follows: Henry Zeisel. Joseph Smith, George Milburn, Daniel Zook, John Cook, Edward W. Walker and Ira Hapner. The second council, chosen in November, 1902, were John Zeisel, F. E. Hawks, B. B. Knapp, who were the three members elected at large : and Dilman Rickert, for the first district; II. D. Sykes, for the second district ; Valentine Berkey, for the third district, and Ira Hapner, for the fourth.
The former incumbents of the principal county officers are given as follows :
Judges of the Circuit Court of Elkhart County-Charles H. Test. Gustavus A. Everts, Samuel C. Sample, E. M. Chamberlain, Robert Lowry, E. A. McMahon, James L. Worden, Reuben J. Dawson, Moses Kenkinson, Edward R. Wilson, Hiram S. Tousley, James D. Osborn,
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
William .A. Woods, James D. Osborne, appointed by Governor Gray, and elected for 6 years ; John M. Vanfleet, 6 years ; Henry D. Wilson, 6 years; Joseph D. Ferrell, served till death: Francis D. Merritt, ap- pointed.
County Clerks -- 1830, Thomas Thomas: 1844, E. G. Chamberlain ; 1851, Owen Coffin; 1854, Asa A. Norton; 1859, Milo S. Hascall; 1861, Melvin B. Hascall ( pro tem.) ; 1861, A. A. Norton, E. J. Wood; 1870, LaPorte Heffner; 1874, Thomas 11. Daily; Otis D. Thompson, No- vember, 1882; Daniel Zook, November, 1886; Harry S. Chester, 1890, poet and musician ; Geo. H. Fister, 1894: Louis .\. Dennert, 1898.
Auditors-1841, E. W. H. Ellis; 1850, Robert Lowry ; 1850, P. M. Henkel: 1859. E. W. H. Ellis; 1867. A. M. Tucker; 1874-82, C. D. Henkel; 1882, Conrad L. Landgreaver; 1886, Conrad L. Landgreaver ; 1890, George Milburn ; 1894, Edward L. D. Foster; 1898, P. B. Berkey.
Recorders-1830, John W. Violette; 1836, E. G. Chamberlain ; 1843, George Taylor ; 1850, Israel Wyland : 1859, Myron E. Cole : 1863, Benjamin C. Dodge: 1866, Michael Weybright; 1870, Lewis D. Thomas: 1874, W. H. Miller; 1878, Josiah Kronk; 1886, David W. Neidig; 1890, John B. Davenport; 1894, Cassius M. Immell; 1898, William F. Peddycord.
Treasurers-1830, James Frier ( who was removed in 1832 because he was not a naturalized citizen) ; 1832, Simeon Beck; 1833, J. B. Mc- cord; 1836, John Gilmore; 1837. Elias Carpenter ; 1850, Sam Geisinger : 1855. John S. Freeman; 1859. J. W. Irwin: 1862. George Sherwood ; 1864, Hiram Morgan: 1867. William H. Venamon; 1872, Charles J. Greene; 1876, T. F. Garvin; 1878-1884, Geo. W. Rich: 1884, Cyrus Seiler ; 1888, Franklin G. Romaine; 1892, E. A. Campbell; 1894, Wm. H. Holdeman : 1898, I. O. Woods.
County Surveyors-1832. George Crawford; 1835, James R. Mc- Cord; 1859, E. J. Wood; 1861, A. W. Watters; 1873, George T. Ager : 1876, Marion C. Proctor; 1878, Henry Cook; 1880-82, Henry Cook : 1884, Henry Cook; 1888. Chas. L. Kinney: 1896. J. D. Lowell; 1900, D. F. Cordrey.
Sheriffs-1830, Eli Penwell; 1832, James Beck: 1836, J. H. Defrees: 1840, Albert Banta: 1844, Eli Brown; 1848. Peter W. Roler ; 1850, D. B. Mather: 1852. C. W. Seely; 1859. George L. Keblinger; 1860, A. C. Manning; 1862: William Vesey: 1864, John H. Violette: 1866, E. R. Kerstetter; 1870, J. W. Egbert; 1874, Samuel B. Miller ; 1878, Christopher J. Gillette : 1880. Chas. E. Thompson : 1882-84. Chas.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
E. Thompson ; 1886, Robert E. Chatten ; 1890, Elliott Crull; 1894, H. F. Kidder; 1898, William O. Elliott.
County Superintendents of Schools .- L. V. Vennen, Dr. Foster, LL.D., George I. Ager, Valois Butler, D. M. Moury, Piebe Swart, Sam .. uel F. Spohn, George Ellis.
County Agents .- 1830, Oliver Crane; 1831, R. B. Randall; 1835, Joseph H. Defrees : 1835, R. B. Randall.
The first assessors were John Frier, in 1830, and Henry Beane, in 1832; and the first coroner, in 1843, was Jacob S. Raymer.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
CHAPTER VH.
PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS.
THE AIRLY DAYS.
I want plain facts, and I want plain words, Of the good old-fashioned ways, When speech run free as the songs of birds- Way back in the airly days.
Tell me a tale of the timber-lands, And the old time pioneers-
Somepin' a poor man understands With his feelin's, well as ears :
Tell of the old log house,-about The loft, and the puncheon floor- The old fire-place, with the crane swing out, And the latch string through the door.
Tell of the things jest like they wuz -- They don't need no excuse : Don't tech 'em up like the poets does, Till they're all too fine fer use :
Say they wuz 'leven in the family- Two beds and the chist below. And the trundle-beds 'at each helt three : And the clock and the old bureau. -JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.
To describe a people's habits, customs and manner of living is to tell some of the most interesting things that can be told concerning that people. For the successful performance of this task the writer ought to know whatever can be known concerning that people's life and all its details. He ought himself to live the life he is trying to picture, to be an eye witness of the scenes he is trying to describe, to be on intimate terms with the individuals whose characters he attempts to portray. Well may one shrink from attempting a work like this if he have not that intimate personal acquaintance with the people of whom he writes. In its absence he must depend upon making proper use of whatever data are accessible to him in their various forms. Something may be had from written records, something from the personal observations and experience of individuals who have lived during or near the period which the writer is describing and something even from tradition. By mak- ing a judicious use of whatever is obtainable from these several sources,
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carefully examining all of the data that are to be found. a reliable his- tory may be compiled. These are the methods that have been employed in the preparation of this article. The aim has been to use only material that is of known reliability and to eliminate everything concerning which there is any doubt. Much has been gathered from the recorded experi- ence of those individuals who are thoughtful enough to commit to writ ing for the benefit of future generations an account of those events in their own lives which they deemed of sufficient importance to be re- membered, as well as the conditions which surrounded them in earlier days. What the written records do not contain has been obtained from those pioneers' sons and daughters who are still with us, whose men- ories go back to the days of the earliest settlers and who would not ven- ture a statement that they did not know to be accurate.
The first settlers of any section of country, those who go beyond the borders of the colonies or communities which already exist and plant new settlements in the wilderness. must necessarily be strong. sturdy people. The hardships and privations which they must undergo and the arduous labors which they must perform demand great physi- cal strength, almost unlimited powers of endurance and courage that never shrinks at danger. To leave behind even the meager privileges of a frontier colony and go far out into what is nothing less than a wilderness to establish a community in a land of which savages and wild beasts have been the sole occupants, is by no means an easy thing to do. Much more different and far more to be dreaded is an enterprise of this character for those individuals who leave an older state, who go out from homes which have been long established and in which they have enjoyed comforts as well as the associations of neighbors and friends, to whom they are bound by ties which are painful to sever. Those of us who have not passed through these experiences have no conception of what it means. Even when we read of them or hear them related by the pioneers themselves, we can form only a very in- adequate notion of what they were. To the people of the present day the story of the pioneer's life sounds like a romance. To those who lived that life it was a stubborn reality.
From the time when they left their homes in the older portions of the country, the east or the south, their hardships and privations be- gan. The means of transportation three-quarters of a century ago were very different from those of to-day. There were no railways upon which the traveler could be borne with the speed of the wind from the
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home which he was leaving to that which he was planning to build in the new country. , The slow, plodding ox team and the great lumber wagon furnished almost the only facilities for travel that were enjoyed in that period. Into those inassive wagons, which were several times as heavy as those which are now in use, all of the articles of house- hold furniture were loaded, together with the few rude farming imple- ments and whatever else they might possess. Then began the long, wearisome journey toward the new country. The roads over which the travelers passed were far worse than even the poorest and most neg- lected public highways of the present day. After they left the older portion of the country and began to approach the frontier they found only mud roads, and these became worse as they came farther from home. When they reached Indiana there was nothing but a trail through the woods, and often this was so soft that the wagons would stick fast so that they would have to be pried out of the mud. Some- times it would become impassable and a new way would have to be cut out through the woods, which made the progress exceedingly slow. When there were several families moving at the same time the teams would be "doubled up" when passing the bad places, and this was done quite frequently. There were no bridges, and all of the streams had to be forded. Oftentimes the rivers and creeks were so swollen by spring rains and thaws as to necessitate waiting a week or more before they could be crossed. Consequently many weeks and sometimes even monthis were consumed in traveling from the far eastern states. It has been said that occasionally after a whole day's travel the distance cov- ered was so short that one of the party of travelers would go back to the last night's camping place and bring coals with which to start a fire. Sickness frequently impeded the progress, and sometimes it would prove fatal, so that one or more of the party would have to be buried along the roadside, while the survivors would proceed sorrowfully on their way.
Although the obstacles encountered greatly retarded travel, they were not sufficient to prevent those courageous men and women from pushing forward to their destination. Nor were their trials and tribu- lations ended when they had arrived at their new home. This was really only the beginning of hardships which were to continue for years, and in the case of many of the first settlers throughout the remainder of their lives. The first requisite was that shelter should be provided for the family, which was done by the erection of a cabin. This was
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of rude construction and, if possible, still ruder appearance. And be- fore even this much could be done, unless an open spot was found in the woods, a place had to be cleared large enough so that the cabin would be out of danger from falling timber when the clearing should be con- tinued. An excuse of a stable was also built, which one of the pioneers described as being a little colder than outdoors, but sufficient to keep the horses from running away. The cattle had to content themselves with whatever shelter the woods or bushes afforded them. The same was true of the other animals, if there were any. The place selected for the house in many instances was near a spring or a stream, if one could be found upon the land which was to be the future farm. Of course there were no wells, so the buildings had to be located near a source of water supply or else the water for household purposes had to be carried from some distance, while the stock usually had to be driven to the water. This accounts for the location of many homes in the interior of the farm and some distance away from the public high- way. Oftentimes the spot selected for the home, even when it was near the road, was not a place which would be selected by the home builder of the present day. Conditions were frequently such as to prevent the settler from considering beauty and attractiveness in locating his home. Everything was sacrificed to utility, real or apparent. There were ex- ceptions to this rule, however, some among even the earliest settlers giving attention to beauty as well as utility. And on those farms upon which the place for the home was selected with an eye to beautiful sur- roundings there are still to be found some of Elkhart county's most at- tractive farm homes.
The land having been selected and the house built, it became nec- essary to prepare the ground for planting. This was not easy work, especially for those who settled in the timber. The ground first had to be cleared, which was no easy task. The brush and small timber were all that were cut away at first, leaving the larger trees to be cut later. These werc "deadened" by chopping through the bark all around the tree. The time selected for this work was on two certain days in Au- gust. "when the sign was right" and when the work was supposed to be more effective. At that time everything else was neglected, and dur- ing the two days when the trees were being girdled the sound of the ax was heard on every farm from early in the morning until late at night.
The first planting was among these large trees, except when some of them could first be cut away, which was not often the case. The
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settlers generally counted themselves fortunate if they could get the smaller trees and bushes removed in time for planting. As the ground was full of roots, plowing was no easy task. Several yoke of oxen were usually hitched to the plow and the roots were torn up as well as could be done. A small patch of corn and one of potatoes were planted, and these were cultivated entirely with the hoe. This was laborious work, and all of the members of the family usually assisted in doing it. If crops had to be produced by this process now, even in sufficient quan- tities for home consumption, it is not probable that the provision for our living would be very bountiful. The crops gathered from the first season's planting had to furnish sustenance for man and beast through the year foliowing. In the meantime more land had to be cleared so that the acreage for planting could be enlarged. It was a long time before many of the settlers could grow enough to have any surplus for market. and when that time did come the markets were so far away that it was almost impossible to reach them.
The prairie settlers had an advantage in not having any land to clear. All they had to do was to plow the prairie sod and their land was ready for planting. Large teams consisting of several yoke of oxen were used for "breaking," as the work was called. The prairie farms could be brought under cultivation a great deal quicker than the timbered farms, so those who settled on the prairies had several years' start of the others. And there was an inequality in another respect even among those who had the same kind of land and the same conditions as to labor. Some were in well-to-do circumstances before coming here, and consequently had enough to pay for their lands and some sur- plus besides. Others had to pay out every dollar they had for their land and then were compelled to go in debt for whatever else they needed. These were greatly handicapped by their lack of funds, and it often took them years to get a start.
However, all had their hardships to contend with, even those whom outward circumstances had most favored not being able to escape them. To perform the laborious tasks necessary for the establishment of homes and to provide for the living of the family required unceasing labor from early morning until late at night during all the working season. The "eight-hour day" of that period consisted of eight hours in the forenoon and eight hours of the afternoon, and if this was not suffi- cient for the performance of the day's labor the day was stretched out a little longer. As a matter of course there was little or no leisure.
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Incessant toil was the lot of the pioneer, as well as of all the members of his family who were old enough and strong enough to work.
.As the prairies of the county are of limited area those who had the experience of beginning in the woods and of transforming those woods into the farms that were to be seen throughout a great portion of the county a score of years later were largely in the majority. This meant that each year for the first few years a certain acreage had to be cleared until half or three-fourths of the farm was under cultiva- tion. Clearing the land became one of the principal features of the first settlers' occupation during their earliest years here in this new country.
Unlike the conditions of the present day when it has become nec- essary to husband carefully the meager timber supplies that are left. it was necessary to get rid of all the timber on the land which was wanted for cultivation except that which was needed for buildings and fences, And in making fences. too, as much timber was used as pos- sible. The fence problem of that day was not how to get along with a very little wood in fence building, or to find substitutes for wood. as is necessary at the present day, but to put in all of the timber that could be used, for that saved burning it. The rails were made about as large and heavy as they could be handled. \ log was laid at the bottom of each panel in laying the " worm " and the big heavy rails on top of that. The fences were nine or ten rails high, staked and double ridered, and one of the heaviest rails was picked out to be placed on top to hold the fence firmly in position. \ forked stick was used in lift- ing this heavy top rail to its place. While this method of building fences helped to get rid of considerable timber, that was by no means the only reason why they were built as heavy and strong as they were. Another, and doubtless the principal reason, was they had to be heavy and strong in order to prevent the stock from breaking through them. It must be remembered that the stock kept in those days was of a far different character from the improved breeds of live stock at the pres- ent day, and it required something of a fortification to keep it enclosed.
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