USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
The first houses were cabins, built of unhewed logs. It was nec- essary to build them as quickly as possible and with the least labor. In the course of a year or two the most progressive settlers built new cabins of hewed logs. These hewed log houses were regarded as some- thing of a luxury and became the aristocratic homes of that day. Many of the cabins at first had only dirt floors, while others had puncheon
74
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Hoors. These puncheons were split from the straightest logs that could be found and were made as near a uniform thickness as possible so as to have the floor as nearly level as it could be made. Under the floor was dug what was called a potato-hole, in which one stored not only the potatoes, but all other vegetables. Some of the first cabins had no doors, and a quilt, blanket or deerskin was hung up at the entrance to keep out the cold. The roof was made of clapboards or " shakes." as they are often styled. The chimneys were built of sticks, the spaces between them being " chinked " with mud, as were also the spaces be- tween the logs of the cabin itself. The first windows were of greased paper and were several feet long and as wide as one log, which had been cut out or left out for this purpose when the building was being erected. As the settlers became more prosperous and importations be- gan to be made from the older states, they made improvements in their homes. The door was the first addition to be made, and that was added in a short time, as it could be made by the head of the house- hold. But there were some families who spent a winter or two in their cabins before they made their doors. These doors were split out of the native timber, the several pieces being fastened together with wooden pins, because nails could seldom be had at first. They were hung on wooden hinges and had a wooden latch inside. In order to open the door from the outside a string was fastened to the latch, then passed through a hole in the door, and the other end hung on the outside. At night this string was pulled inside and the latch then served the pur- pose of a lock. In the day time it was kept hanging on the outside. Hence the saying that the latchstring was out, meaning that visitors were welcome, an expression which is frequently used at the present day to convey the idea of hospitality.
The furniture of many of these cabins was very rude in its con- struction, and there was not very much of it. A large slab with legs set in it served for a table. Smaller slabs were made into benches, which were used for chairs. Some of the pioneers brought a few chairs with them, but others had to be content with nothing but these rough benches at first. Stoves there were none, but instead there was in each cabin an old-fashioned fire-place under the stick chimney. The cooking had to be done over these fire-places, those who could afford them having Dutch ovens. These ovens were round and larger in diameter but not so deep as the common iron kettles used on our stoves. They had legs so they could be set over the coals, and there were also heavy cast-
75
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
iron lids upon which coals were piled to heat at the same time from the top. In these ovens the bread was baked. Corn bread was baked on a " Johnny-cake board," which was simply a board about two feet long and seven or eight inches wide.
Some of the settlers brought beds with them, while others had to make their own beds. These were made by boring holes in one of the logs in the wall, fitting one end of a pole into each auger hole and placing under the other end posts cut from poles. Small poles were laid across for slats. Some of those who had brought one or two beds and needed more made them in this way also. A trough, hollowed out of a large log, was used for storing the family's supply of pork. A few dishes and other household utensils usually completed the list of furniture to be found in the cabins of the earliest settlers.
The families of the pioneers suffered a great deal from sickness, chiefly ague and bilious fever. There were many swamps and marshes in this section of the state, and these were breeders of malaria. Consequently old and young alike suffered more or less from those diseases. They were spring and summer diseases, and did not trouble the people in the winter time. There were few physicians here, and they were kept very busy during those portions of the year when sickness prevailed. The first settlers knew something of the remedies employed in those days, and administered medicines to their own families. Although the neigh- bors lived several miles apart, everybody was quick to respond to a call for assistance in cases of sickness. Usually the members of each family took turn about in caring for one another. It was seldom that assis- tance became necessary, except when all or nearly all the members of the family were sick at the same time. As the period of illness usually came during the busiest season of the year it was necessary to care for the sick and do the work on the farm at the same time, and this made it considerable of a hardship. The work alone was hard enough, but when to this was added the care of the sick it made a heavy burden to bear. The year 1838 has been referred to frequently by the oldest residents as the sickly season. That year nearly everybody was sick and there was scarcely any one to take care of the suffering ones. Those who were the least ill had to take care of the others. There were occasionally some who escaped entirely, and these would go from place to place taking care of the sick people and helping them to do their work. The late Dr. M. M. Latta was a young man at that time, and he frequently spoke of that season as being particularly memorable.
76
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
It would be supposed that under the unfavorable conditions attend- ing the settlement of a new country there would be neither time nor opportunity for social commingling. But the early settlers did have their social diversions, and while the pleasures might not be enjoyed by the people of the present day they must have been enjoyable to those who participated in them. Some of those pleasures accompanied the tasks that had to be performed. in fact were a part of them. The work to be done was of such a nature that neighbors had to assist one another. Without particularly intending it each neighborhood was a co-operative society. The clearing of the land. getting rid of large timber necessitated what were known as log rollings. No one indi- vidual could dispose of the great trees of those primeval forests. If he had undertaken it his progress would have been so slow and the work so difficult, if not wholly impossible for him to perform, that he would have given up in despair long before his task was completed. Necessity compelled co-operation in this work, and that principle was carried into much of the other labor that had to be performed. The man who was so selfish or so mean as to refuse his assistance to a neighbor who needed help was regarded with disfavor by the other settlers. In fact he became almost an outcast. In more ways than one he was a greater loser than the one whom he refused to assist.
After the settlers had been here for a number of years and were raising large crops of corn, husking bees began to take the place of the log rolling's of the earliest days. This does not mean that the log rollings ceased when the corn huskings began, for both were kept up at the same time throughout a number of years. But after each farmer had a comparatively large acreage cleared the log rollings became less frequent and the corn-huskings more frequent. The women, too, had their methods of co-operation as well as the men, and they also made opportunities by this means for social gatherings. Wool pickings and quiltings were among their frolics, and those occasions were not less enjoyable to them than the log rollings, raisings and corn-huskings were to the men. Many of the women knew as much about outdoor work as the men, and some of them even more. Often they assisted their husbands in the fields in order that the farm work might be done at the proper time and the necessaries of life provided for the family. And their household duties were more arduous than are those of the farm- ers' wives of the present day. Besides, on account of living so far apart. their isolation was more complete. The occasions on which the
77
IHISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
women of the neighborhood would get together to help one another with a portion of their work afforded a pleasant relief from the toilsome labor at home, whether it was the labor of the field or of the house- hold. Besides the diversions already mentioned there were apple par- ings, in which both men and women took part, and taffy pullings for the younger people in the season of maple-sugar making.
There was but little social diversion for that purpose alone, but it was associated with the labor in one form or another. This was not because the people of those days would not have enjoyed pleasure for pleasure's sake as well as can the people of the present day. but rather because stern necessity decreed otherwise. Thus the social life of the pioneers became a part of their industrial life, and it is impossible to describe either one without associating the two. A few years later, when the people were not compelled to devote to labor every hour that was not spent in sleep. they found other methods for employing the time when they could come together. Singing schools, spelling schools, debating clubs and literary societies began to take the places of the corn huskings, apple-parings and taffy pullings. But even these, like the other gatherings which preceded them, had their double purpose. The opportunity they afforded for mingling socially was not the only reason why they came into existence. The cultivation of the musical talent, the mastery of the art of spelling or training for talking in pub- lic was the paramount object.
The clothing worn by the pioneers and their families was home- made. Some of the farmers had sheep, and from the wool shorn from those sheep were made the flannels and all other woolen goods that were needed. Others raised flax, and this, by means of a process of which the present generation knows nothing, was transformed into linen. There were some who were fortunate enough to have both flax and wool, and who consequently could produce a greater variety in their wearing apparel than those who had only one. Most of the homes were equipped with the tools necessary for the manufacture of the goods to be used for clothing, and there were few housewives who did not thoroughly understand the process by which the transformation was wrought. Each home was a miniature manufacturing institution. But few articles of home consumption were procured elsewhere at first. Those things which were not made at home had to be brought from a long distance and transported in wagons, so it was only at long inter- vals that any foreign merchandise could be obtained. For these rea-
75
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
sons about all of the wearing apparel both of young and old was of homespun, and there was not much of a variety in the articles worn. All were content for the time being to be comfortably clad, without so much regard to outward appearance. According to the evidence of some of those who were boys at that time the girls looked just as at- tractive in the homely garb of that period as do those of the present day in all of their expensive finery.
The food presented little variety in comparison with that which we have at this day. Corn at first entered largely into the diet, prob- ably because it could be grown more easily and more quickly than other grains. This was beaten into a coarse meal in a hominy mortar, another article which long ago passed into disuse and of which per- haps there is not one in existence in the county. As soon as the first wheat crop was harvested it became possible to procure flour from the home-grown crop. But for some years there was such a rapid incom- ing of settlers that it was impossible to grow enough to feed all of them. Besides the wheat had to be ground into flour before it was ready for use, and this necessitated the long, tedious trip to mill. The nearest mill was at White Pigeon, Michigan, which would be con- sidered quite a distance by the present generation. It took a great deal longer to make the trip then than it would now, because there were no roads except the mud roads. Besides there were streams to be forded and other difficulties to be encountered which made the trip a disagree- able one and sometimes even a dangerous one. So the pioneer farm- ers did not go to mill very often, and when the supply of flour was exhausted the family had to be content with corn bread until more flour could be procured. Corn meal and bacon were the standbys, and to those two articles may be credited the chief support of our ancestors during the earliest period of Elkhart county's history.
One of the articles that had to be transported from a long dis- tance was salt. It had to be hauled from Michigan City for several years. Sometimes the farmers would drive there after it and some- times men who made a business of teaming would haul it. As soon as the farmers began to have some surplus crops to sell a load of grain could be taken to market at the same time. By hauling loads both going and returning the cost of transportation was materially reduced. Sometimes trips were made to Pipua and other points in Ohio for a similar purpose. Those long drives to market and for the purpose of purchasing supplies added to the hardships of those days, and helped
79
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
to make pioncer life more of a burden than it would otherwise have been. The trip always consumed several days, and it required weeks to make those to the most distant points. The driver had to be pre- pared to camp out should night overtake him when there were no places to find shelter. But in quite an early day taverns were built along the principal roads for the accommodation of the traveling pub- lic. These were found to be not only a great convenience but came to be regarded for a time as a necessity. A little later towns grew up, which became the stopping places and the old country roadside taverns were eventually abandoned. But while they flourished they played an important part in the development of the newly settled country. Many of the old-time tavern keepers were noted characters in their day and were long remembered by those who sojourned at their places.
There were no carriages then. The only vehicles were the big. heavy lumber wagons which had conveyed the settler and his family from the home in one of the older states to the new country. That was used in the long trips to market and to mill and for any other heavy hauling that had to be done. Travel about the neighborhood and to nearby places was either afoot or on horseback. The young man of that day could not take his best girl out buggy riding because he didn't have any buggy. Occasionally the young people of that period would go horseback riding together. Sometimes each one had a horse to ride and sometimes two would ride the same horse, the young lady riding behind the young man. Carriages would have been ill adapted to the conditions of that day had there been any in use, for they could not have stood being driven over the rough roads and trails which had been cut through the woods. So the lack of them was not the only cause of the inconvenience or discomfort incident to travel.
Notwithstanding the unremitting labor that was required to fur- nish the bare necessities of life, the pioneer settlers did not neglect the education of their children. Usually the first winter after they had become located they managed to open a school. Some of these first schools were conducted in abandoned cabins. But as soon as possi- ble after building the house and barn and beginning their simple farm- ing operations attention was turned toward the erection of a school- house somewhere in the neighborhood. In these rude schoolhouses the children of the pioneers spent their school days. Some of them had to go several miles, but as a rule they improved the meager oppor- tunities which they had and became proficient in the several branches
80
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
that were taught at that time. There were many people who firmly believed in the principle laid down by Pete Jones in the Hoosier School- master, " No lickin', no larnin'. " The rod was considered a necessary article of the school's equipment, and in those schools which had a number of large boys muscle was thought to be as necessary to the teacher as brains.
Many, perhaps a majority, of those who settled here were relig- ious people and as soon as possible made whatever provisions they could for holding religious services. Sometimes these services were held in the cabins of the settlers and sometimes in a schoolhouse. The fact that there were no church buildings of any kind did not prevent the hokling of church services. As the Methodist church was about as numerously represented as any that church was one of the first to gain a foothold here. Azel Sparklin, who settled on the west side of the prairie in 1831 or 1832, was one of the first local preachers of that denomination. In the absence of regular ministers it often fell to his lot to perform the duties belonging to that office. The house of Chris- topher Myers, which stood between the present McConaughy home- stead and Goshen, was one of the places at which the Methodists held their services. Colonel John Jackson became a prominent member of the Methodist church in later years, as were Matthew Rippey and John D. Elsea. Among the first settlers were also Presbyterians, and they. too, began holding services almost as soon as they came here. The leading man among them, until he died in 1835. was Alexander Irwin. father of John Robert and Elisha Irwin. A Rev. Mr. Cory, who lived on Mongoquanon prairie now in LaGrange county, used to come over to Elkhart prairie to hold services for the Presbyterians. \ Mr. Miller. of Baldwin's prairie, Michigan, and a Rev. Mr. Hall would come to the same neighborhood and preach for the Baptists. The services of those days sometimes continued several hours. Not many people of the present day would be content to sit as many hours in church as was the custom then. AAn old pioneer who as a boy attended those services said that the young people often thought they had come to the time and place referred to in the good old hymn :
" Where congregations ne'er break up And Sabbaths never end."
Besides being of a religious character the early settlers were a law-abiding people and were not long content to live without govern-
81
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
mental regulations. But little time elapsed before the coming of the first white men until steps were taken for the organization of a county and the establishment of a local government. As early as 1830, which was not more than two or three years after the first permanent settle- ment was made, a stable government was founded and officers were elected who were charged with the execution of the laws. And this same county organization has continued without interruption since that time and with only such modifications as the laws of the state have pre- scribed or the development of the county has demanded.
As would naturally be inferred the labors necessary for the found- ing of a community and the hardships that had to be endured through many long years developed a people who were noted for strength, in- dustry and habits of economy. The first settlers were people of this stamp and the same characteristics appeared in their sons and daugh- ters. They had neither the time nor the opportunity they would have liked for cultivating all of the finer graces, neither were their environ- ments conducive to this culture. Yet it was not neglected, as is evi- denced by the refinement and the pleasing personality of those few in- dividuals who still survive at the age of four score years or more and who form the connecting link between the present and the past. Be- sides, both those who came here and their immediate descendants culti- vated the homely virtues of honesty, sobriety, loyalty to county and home, and others of like character which enter into the development of a noble manhood and womanhood. It is true there were here and there individuals who possessed none of these characteristics. There were some who were mere hangers on, adventurers, but these were the exceptions and many of them soon moved on to other places, so that those who were left constituted only a small portion of the popula- tion.
Such is a brief recital of the experiences, habits, customs and man- ner of living of Elkhart county's pioneers, as gathered from every source that is available to the writer. In an article of this character it is impossible to give the reader more than a glimpse at the work which the pioneers did in preparing the way for the building up of one of the best counties in the state of Indiana, if not in the central west. But a history of the county which failed to record the experiences of those who laid the foundation would be incomplete. There are some peo- ple who fait to appreciate the work which they did and who think a review of their experiences is a waste of time and effort. Such indi-
62
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
viduals have an inadequate conception of what constitutes real history. They willingly pore over the achievements of those who came from the old world to found a new nation, and it is all right that they do so. The names of those who founded the first colonies on this side of the Atlantic ocean deserve to be cherished in . the memory of every true American. Yet to the citizens of Elkhart county the names of these strong, courageous men who came here three-quarters of a century ago and began the wondrous transformation which has been wrought in those years should be not less precious. While the children in our schools are being taught to remember and to reverence the names of Carver and Bradford and Endicott and Roger Williams and John Smith, as well as many others that could be mentioned, there should also be impressed upon their memories the names of Colonel John Jackson, Major John W. Violett, James Frier, Elias Carpenter. Alex- ander Irwin. Chester Sage, James Middleton, Thomas Thomas, Azel Sparklin, William Bissell, Thomas Miller, Michael Cook and many more which are scarcely less worthy of remembrance. These are the men who cleared away the forests that stood upon the lands now occupied by the magnificent farms of our own Elkhart county. They are the men who founded our cities and towns. They are the men who came here when our fair lands were occupied by wild beasts and only a little less wild men. They have builded for themselves monuments which are to be seen wherever we go, yet the names of many of them have already faded from memory and are to be found only by search- ing among the old records of the almost forgotten past.
-H. S. K. BARTHOLOMEW.
83
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
CHAPTER VIII.
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Clear the brown path to meet his coulter's gleam ; Lo! on he comes behind his smoking team, With toil's bright dewdrops on his sunburnt brow, The lord of earth, the hero of the plough. -HOLMES.
The history of the agriculture of any country or state, or even of a single community, tracing its development step by step from the beginning, is always instructive. Particularly is such a history valt- able to those who are engaged in that pursuit. The remark is fre- quently hcard that agriculture has not kept pace with other vocations, that everything else has progressed more rapidly than it has. Be this as it may, the study of this great industry from the time when this county was settled to the present day reveals wonderful progress. Those individuals who hold to the opinion that it is behind other industries can profit by studying the agriculture of Elkhart county from the time the first settlers came here in 1828 until the year of 1905, a little over three-quarters of a century.
The pioneer farmers of this county were probably as progressive as those of any other part of the country at that time. They brought with them from their homes in the older states the methods which pre- vailed there. And as many of them came from the east, which was considered the most progressive section of the country, they must have known the best methods of farming that were practiced in their day. To trace in complete detail the evolution of the twentieth century agri- culture from that of pioneer times would be impossible, owing to the fact that the data which are accessible are somewhat meager and can be obtained only in a fragmentary form. A hasty description of the pioneers' methods of farming will first be given, together with a cur- sory view of the industry during the earliest period of our county's history. This will be followed by mentioning some of the more im- portant steps in the progress of this art from that time until now.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.