USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
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Another significant feature is the growth and development of Delaware county within the past twenty years, which has not only been rapid, but phenomenal. as evidenced by the extraordinary growth of the city of Muncie, the building up and extension of the smaller towns of the county, the in- creased values in farm property, and also, the extensive increase of individual wealth. These facts are strongly confirmed by the various financial insti- tutions of the county, whose combined resources aggregate over six millions. a very large proportion of which naturally gravitates toward the center of traffic, the city of Muncie, and is by the bankers, placed in the channels of trade and commerce, assisting in the general business and development of a city in which every citizen of the county is not only vitally interested, but proud of its prosperity and achievements.
CHAPTER XXIV. MILITARY HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
By A. L. Kerwood.
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone in all this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. ''
-LINCOLN.
THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
When the war for independence was fought the region now known as Delaware county had not yet seen the dawn of civilization.
The only tribute we can pay the memory of those venerable heroes of the past, who gave us a country and a flag, is to glean the fragments of their history from official or family archives, and present them in durable form for the information of the present and of coming generations. The data we have is scant, but being mainly from official records, may be considered re- Hable.
History, that patient and persistent worker of the ages, has left upon record a pen sketch of some of the heroic men who marched from Pennsyl- vania, Virginia and the upper Carolinas to join the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington, at the city of Boston. "They were determined men, stern of mien, and very striking in their appear- ance. They wore coarse, fringed hunting shirts, belted with deerskin bands, trousers of rough cloth. flax, wool or skin made by the industrious women in the cabins, raw-hide shoes of the roughest kind, woolen hats of cloth, also home made; some three-cornered with sprigs of green for cockades; some like 'Scotch bonnets ;' many with brimless crowns ; they carried their blankets folded and strapped over their shoulders by thongs of deer-skin ; pouches of the same held their day's supply of rock-a-hominy. ( Indian corn parched and pounded coarsely between two stones), a handful was eaten, then a cup of water was swallowed to moisten; this, and what wild game their rifles brought down, had sustained them on the long march to Boston. Their arnis consisted of their rifles, bits of lead, a powder-horn, home-made, some- times a cow's horn, sometimes a gourd, a hunting knife, and the Spartan soldier was ready for the fray."
"William Blount, who is supposed to have been a soldier of the Revolu-
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tion, and his wife, Mary (McCoy) Blount, were natives of Tennessee. They removed to Kentucky, but three or four years later came to Indiana, and located in Wayne county, on Whitewater river, two miles below Richmond. They built a cabin but only remained there four or five years, when they moved to the western part of the county on Martindale's creek, that being as far as they could go on account of the Indians. They subsequently moved to Henry county, and in 1820 removed to a farm seven miles above Muncie- town, remaining in the vicinity of Muncietown till their death. They had a family of eleven children-Andrew, John, William, Joseph, Amos, Thomas, Aaron, Rachel, Hannah, Mary and Elizabeth, all now deceased." The above facts we have taken from a history of Henry county, Indiana, pub- lished in 1884. Our own records show that on December 9, 1822, William Blunt, Sr. (it must be the same man), entered land in section twenty-eight in Liberty township. Some years later, by entry or purchase, he came to the possession of above one hundred acres of land just cast of what was, at that time, the village of Muncietown. It was afterwards owned by the late Thomas Kirby, and the growth of Muncie in recent years, has spread far be- yond the limits of the tract owned at one time by this venerable pioneer. When the board of directors of the Muncie Exploring Company made choice of the location upon which the first gas well in this vicinity should be drilled, one thought which prompted them was to pay a compliment to the memory of a broad-minded and benevolent gentleman, who did so much for the growth and benefit of Muncie. Little they suspected that by that act, they were also paying tribute to the memory of a venerable soldier who, we now believe, bore a part in the War of Independence. How long William Blount lived on these premises, and when he died, we are unable to tell; but we do know that he was buried in the east part of what is now the city of Muncie, and in ground which lies between Main and Washington streets. The records of the Interior Department at Washington show that there were seven William Blounts in the War of the Revolution, and that quite a good part of the number were from the South. We hope to be able to cut this Gordian knot, and some day, upon the pages of a permanent record, pur- chased by the Grand Army Post in this city, to see recorded the document which will place beyond any doubt the record of military service of this veteran pioneer.
William Daugherty, Sr., who was supposed to have been a soldier of the War of the Revolution, was among the very early pioneers of Delaware county. He came here irom Clinton county, Ohio, in the year 1829, and in 1834, as shown by public records, he entered land in sections fourteen and fifteen, in Mount Pleasant township. From all we can learn of him we con- clude he resided in Clinton County, Ohio, at, and possibly prior to, the year 1790. He was a very industrious man ; cleared up a farm in the wilderness.
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When 90 years of age he walked from his former home in Ohio to Delaware county. He died about the year IS45, being then 92 years of age. He was buried on the bank of White river below Yorktown, upon land now owned by David Campbell. He was of Irish ancestry, and may have been born in Ire- fand. The approximate age at date of death, would indicate he was about 23 years of age when the War of Independence commenced.
Based upon an application for a pension, made September 28, 1832, the records of the Bureau of Pensions at Washington disclose the fact that Sewel Gilbert, whose remains lie in Beech Grove cemetery, was born December 9, 1765. His residence at the time of his application was Springwater, Livings- ton county, New York, and his age was 67 years.
In 1780 he enlisted for a term of nine months as a private soldier under command of Captain Jotham White, and was credited to the state of Ver- cont. In 17SI he made a second enlistment for the same period, at Caven- dish, Vermont, under Captain Green. Fifty years had passed since the close of his last term of service. His claim for a pension was allowed, though we are unable to state the rate at which he was paid. In 1838 he had re- moved to the West and resided somewhere in Ohio, place not stated. Some time during the ensuing five years he took up his residence in Muncietown. November 8, 1843, Mr. F. E. Putnam made the following entry in his diary : "Old Mr. Gilbert ( Revolutionary pensioner), died; buried next day with martial honors." As shown by the records, he first enlisted in his sixteenth year, and he was 78 years old at the date of his death.
(From Delaware County Democrat, Nov. 11, 1843.) "Another old Revolutionary soldier dead. On the 7th inst., at the hour of I o'clock, at the residence of William Gilbert, died Suel Gilbert, aged S7 years, after a protracted illness of three weeks and two days. He entered the army when but a youth of seventeen years, serving three years ; was at the battles of Bunker Hill, Bennington, Castle Town, Crown Point, Ticonderoga, Fort Anne, Fort Edwards, Fort Miller, Saratoga or Queenstown Heights, at the capturing of Burgoyne; also at Falmouth, Mass., which was burned by the British. "This day, the 9th inst., we paid the last respect due to our old veteran. He was buried in military style and to the great credit of the citizens of Muncietown be it told, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, there was no lack on their part of showing that feeling which still burns in the breast of every American citizen toward those who fought" for their oppressed country. Although the day was unpleasant and cold, the ladies "came out en masse to show the respect due to one of the defenders of their country. After a very appropriate and elaborate discourse by the Rev. Robert Irvin, the procession moved on toward the graveyard under the solemn sound of martial music. The scene was affecting-twelve armed musketeers, commanded by Captain Liston, marched solemnly along to pay their last tribute at his grave. . As the old warrior lived, so he died ; always in good faith with his neighbors, truly honest and a good citizen. May
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his ashes forever rest in peace. Mr. Irvin closed the scene at the graveyard by prayer."
John McConnell, a soldier of the war of the Revolution, was of Scotch- Irish ancestry. His wife Barbara ( Bowman) McConnell was of German descent. . He had seven children all of whom have passed away. The old home was in Scioto county, Ohio, from which the family, or at least part of them, emigrated to Indiana. In 1832, one son, William McConnell, en- tered 80 acres of land in section 20, township 20, range 10, and the following year moved to what was then an unbroken wilderness. Presumably the parents came about the same time. Here at least these aged people resided for some years and here they died. John McConnell died January 6, 1847, at the age of eighty-three years, and his wife died in December, 1838, aged 63 years. They were first buried in ground now known as Forest Park. When improvements crowded in that quarter their remains were removed to Becch Grove Cemetery. There is no record of the command and services in this case, but there is a well-defined tradition that he was for seven years a regular wagoner in the Continental Army. That at one time when the train, taken by surprise, was attacked by the British, he made such heroic efforts that he and his team alone escaped the enemy and reached the Colonial camp, and then only after he was shot and severely wounded in the thigh. And thus another resting place of the heroic men of the Revolution is known.
John Quinn, a soldier of the war of the Revolution, was born in Scot- land in the year 1759. He was married to Sarah Tapper in that country after which he emigrated to America and enlisted in the Continental Army. He was a very early settler in Delaware county, having entered land in section 2 in Delaware township, on the 24th day of November, 1832. He had three sons and four daughters. We are unable to furnish any details of his sery- ice, or just at what date he took up his abode at Yorktown. But about his. having performed some kind of service there is no question whatever. In a census taken by the Government in the year 1840, the year in which he died, his name appears as one of the three pensioners then living in the county of Delaware. The other two in that list were William Williams and William Whicker. In the cemetery at Yorktown, upon a slab of sandstone sunk deep into the ground, we were able with some difficulty to make out the following inscription : "In memory of John Quinn, who departed this life in the year 1840, in the Sist year of his age."
Has the tomb of this oldl soldier ever borne the burden of a single flower in the land of his adoption and partly of his own creation?
Mrs. Cynthia A. Randal, of this city, with her gude Scotch face, hale and hearty at seventy-one years, is now the only surviving daughter of this venerable hero of the long ago. This warrior from the land of Burns was
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just old enough to vote when the thunder of the guns was reverberating about Bunker's Hill in Boston.
Benjamin Wallace, supposed to be a soldier of the war of the Revolution, was born in Ireland, and emigrated to the state of Virginia. The name of his wife (taken from a Bible published in 1829), was Sally. Milly Roleing. daughter of Benjamin and Sallie Wallace, his wife, was born the 17th day oi May, 1772. This is not positive as to the last figure. Even under a strong glass it is hard to decipher, as the figure has been changed and badly blurred. This daughter of the Revolution was the grandmother of Com-
rade James H. Childs, late of Company "C," 140th Regiment Indiana In- fantry, to whom we are under very many obligations for the tradition about
His great grandfather. The story shall be furnished in his own words : "Roland Childs, my grandfather, married Millie Roleing Wallace, and my father. George Childs, deceased, was their son. My grandmother said the family went from Virginia to the state of Tennessee, then back to Virginia, and then to Indiana, and settled near Bethel. She told me that grandfather Wallace served seven years in the Revolutionary war. That at one time during his experience with the army, he did without a bite of food to eat for eight days, except a stalk of cabbage which he was fortunate enough to find. Benjamin Wallace lived but one or two years after they came to Indiana. My father came in 1837, and grandfather died some time between that and the year 1840, at the home of his daughter, named Newhouse, on what was afterwards known as the Daniel Connor farm. He was a farmer during his lifetime. His burial took place at what is called the Miller graveyard in Harrison township. I think from what I can remember, that I could come within a very few feet of pointing out the spot where he lies. The tradition of the family has always been, as long as I can remem- ber, that he served under General Washington for the full period of seven years. He had one son (James Wallace) and three daughters, one of whom became Millie Childs, my grandmother." Comrade Childs, who is now in poor health, as the result of exposure and arduous service during the Civil war, besides at the village of Cammack. He married Miss Nannie S. Lee, who was born and raised in Mason county, West Virginia. She remembers her grandfather's name. George Lee, who was a cousin of General Robert E. Lee, the distinguished commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. She very much resembles General Fitzhugh Lee, a nephew of General Rob- ert E. Lee.
William Whicker, the subject of this sketch, was born August 27. 1700, near Richmond in Hanover county, Virginia. His father was from England, his mother was French. Soon after his birth they moved from Hanover county to the southern part of Virginia where they received a large grant of land, recognized by both the English government and the
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state of Virginia. Soon after locating on this land there was hostility with the Indians. The country was sparsely settled and on account of this In- dian outbreak, the entire colony moved further south expecting to return when peace was restored. He located in Granville county, North Carolina, and was living there at commencement of the Revolutionary war. When but a boy fourteen years of age, he entered the service without enlistment and remained with the Minute Men of Sumter and Marion until the fall of 1777, when he and his brother James enlisted as privates and served two months under Captain Hester, in the command of General Taylor. In 1778 he was still with the same company officer, and under command of General Richard Caswell. In 1779 he enlisted for three months in the company of Captain Pearce and was transferred to the command of Gen- eral Davidson. He was first sergeant of the company. On the morning of February 1, 1781, at McCown's ford, on the Catawba river, the defeat and death of General Davidson scattered his three hundred men. Sergeant Whicker was detailed to carry the news of General Davidson's death and the defeat of the three hundred men to General Butler. He rode all day in a steady, hard rain, catching his drinking water in the rim of his hat, and reaching General Butler late in the evening. General Davidson's command was utterly ruined in this engagement and William Whicker, for meritorious service (he having again enlisted ) was appointed a first sergeant in Captain William Gillam's company under General Butler, then in command of the South Carolina Militia. Sergeant Whicker was in five battles, among which were MeCown's Ford, Guilford Court House, Cowpens and Rugsley's Mills. In the last engagement he lost a thumb, for which he afterwards received a pension. Later in the war he again enlisted for three months, this, as shown by the records in the War Department at Washington, being his fifth enlistment. He was enrolled in Captain James Blackwell's company (in which he appears as second in command), in Colonel Mebane's regiment of cavalry. This regiment was made up of Colonial boys who furnished and ied their own horses, and were ready for service wherever sent. They were sometimes with Sumter and at other times with Marion. They were with General Greene on his march to the north after the battle of the Cowpens. They were also under the command of Generals Morgan and Gates. The; were fearless Rangers, ready for hazardous service at any call. At the close of the war Sergeant Whicker married Sarah Bingaman, a daughter of a German, who lived near Guilford Court House, and whose acquaintance he made while stationed near that place with the command of General Butler. He settled in Guilford county where he ran a boarding house and operated a distillery until about 1820. He had four sons and two daughters. The sons were Matthew, Asa, Luke and Berry. The daughters were Susan and Elizabeth. About 1820 he moved to Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, and
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purchased a distillery there and a distillery at Waynesville, Ohio. His sons Asa and Luke located in Jefferson township, Fayette county, Ohio. His wife died about 1830. He then sold his interests in Warren county, Ohio, and went to live with his son in Fayette county. While there he secured his pension, applying October 4, 1832. He was then seventy-one years of age, almost blind from a cataract and finally lost his sight entirely. His son Asa became blind from the same cause. He moved from Fayette county, Ohio, with his sons Asa and Luke, and his daughter, Susan Fisher, to Delaware county, Indiana, in 1834, locating near Albany, where he died November 2, IS51, aged ninety-one years, two months and five days. Mrs. Fisher died November 15, of the same year. His son Asa died April 30, 1853, and his son Luke died June 9, 1853. All these are buried in the Strong Cemetery near Albany. His daughter Elizabeth settled in South Bend, In- diana, and his son Berry settled in Fountain county, near Attica, Indiana, in 1854. William Whicker drove from Albany, Indiana, to Cincinnati, Ohio, once a year to get his pension. He was liberal in his religion but was not a member of any church. He was a member of the Masonic order but never moved his membership from Guilford county, North Carolina. He had a good education for his times, and in one political campaign he stumped the state of Ohio. It is not clear just what campaign this was, but it is sup- posed to have been the Jackson and Adams campaign of the year IS24. It is believed also that he knew General Jackson personally, having probably made his acquaintance subsequent to the war of the Revolution, and that by reason oi his admiration for the old hero, and perchance at his own request, he made his campaign for the venerable comrade. This is all that is known about the politics of William Whicker. The above sketch is compiled from information furnished by the War Department, Mr. J. Wesley Whicker, at- torney at law, Attica, Indiana, great grandson, and the Society of the Daughters of the Revolution in this city.
William Williams, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, is supposed to have been born in Virginia, and from that state to have entered the Con- tinental Army. Among the early events that occurred in what is now Liberty township, was the holding of the first election for President. At that time Delaware county had no distinct civil existence, being still within the territorial area of Randolph county. The election was held at the cabin of William Williams. The year was 1824, and the candidates were John Adams and Andrew Jackson. March 3, 1836. William Williams. Sr., entered land in section twenty-seven in Liberty township. He had but one son, William Williams, Jr., who was a teacher and Justice of the Peace. Mr. Michael Dunkin relates that in those early days there was a venerable Methodist preacher, who also did merchandising in the village of Smith- field. At one time this preacher, Rev. Benjamin Garrison, felt called upon
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to impart a serious warning and appeal to the old soldier, concerning his spiritual interests. The veteran listened patiently to the end, and then, after some time was taken to deliberate, he said: "Uncle Ben, d-d if I don't think the Methodists and the dog fennel will take the town." When the old man became feeble, the son built a round-log house for him and his wife, in which they endes, their days. He died about the year 1842, and was buried only some 300 yards distant near the bank of White River, upon land now owned by a Mr. Eckenberger. In 1840 he was drawing a pension from the Government, being then one of three survivors of the war of the Revolution, then living in Delaware county. Who would have believed that the ashes of eight of these old heroes reposed within our borders?
SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.
"I hear the tread of pioneers, Of millions yet to be; The first low wash of waves, where soon Shall roll a human sea."
-WHITTIER.
James Abbott was born where the city of Cincinnati now stands, February 27, 1794. He was a son of Aaron Abbott, of English extraction, who was born near Boston, Mass., but reared in Warren county, Ohio. Shortly after the removal of the family to that county the colony was at- tacked with cholera, and Mr. Abbott was one of the few who survived the scourge. Soon after the birth of his son James, he died, and all pre- vious records of the family were lost. James Abbott was reared in Warren county, and there learned the trade of cabinet-maker. While yet a minor he enlisted in the war of 1812, and in 1813 was in one of the vessels on Lake Erie during the battle between Commodore Perry of the Lawrence and the British fleet. His service did not extend over very many month -. and after his return home he located at Lebanon, Ohio, where he worked at his trade, until his marriage June 19. 1825. After this event he re- moved to Miami county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming for about twelve years, when he removed to Indiana, in 1847, and became one of the carly pioneers of Delaware county. He purchased a fine farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres near Granville, in Niles township, and there remained until his death, which occurred October 14. 1874. His wife died April 16, 1881, and both were buried in the Granville cemetery, where a modest stone marks their last resting place.
Mr. Abbott was a successful business man and became possessed of considerable property. Both he and his wife were members for many years of the Free Will Baptist church. In his early days he was a Whig,
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bet upon the birth of the Republican party he joined that and supported its principles through life. He was the father of seven children: Aaron, john K., Ellen, William, James D., George and Sarah E.
Edmund Alldredge. a soldier of the war of 1812, was the son of a Revolutionary sollier whose ancestors came from Wales. His services continued throughout the entire war. He took part in the battle of Bunker's 18, and brought with hi i as a souvenir, from its bloody field, a British powder-horn embellished by a brazen deer on one side. Edmund Alldredge was born April 2, 1784, near Wilkes Court House, North Carolina. It was from this mountain home that his father went forth to fight his coun- try's battles. Like all pioneers at that carly day the opportunities for elucation were limited, but he succeeded in acquiring a fair knowledge of the three R's and was all his life a wide reader. Hearing of the fertile country in Indiana, he set out on horseback and rode the entire distance. After numerous hardships he reached the No Name country south of Mancietown, containing not over a half dozen houses.
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