USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 36
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Archibald Parker, a soldier of the war of IS12, was born in North Carolina in 1794. In 1811, at the age of seventeen years, he removed to Fayette county, Indiana. He was one of the early pioneers of Harrison and Mount Pleasant townships. While yet a resident of Fayette county, he married Elizabeth Patton. In 1828 he settled near Yorktown on White river upon land which he rented. In 1833 he entered a tract of land in sec- tion thirty-six, and here began the labor of clearing a farm which was after- wards owned by William Lee. He lived on this farm for several years, when he sold out, purchasing another farm in Madison county. Several years later he again sold out and removed to the state of Iowa. He died there in the year 1878. He was a man of strong character, and never be- hind his neighbors in the matter of improvements. It was he who presented the petition for the organization of Harrison township, and by him the name was conferred in honor of the "hero of Tippecanoe." We have no details of his service nor the officers under whose command he served. Ii he performed the duties of a military career as he did those of a sturdy pioneer, he must have been a good soldier.
Jacob Peyton, a soldier of the war of ISI2, was born November 26, 1787. He married Lois Hutchings, who was born November 6, 1793. They
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had nine children, seven sons and two daughters. The family moved from Kentucky at an early day. On August 17, 1832, Jacob Peyton entered land in section thirty in Liberty township. He cleared a large part of the old Home place now owned by Mr. Gabriel Peyton, who came to this county at the age of nine years. They settled first in Wayne or Union county, In- diana. The wife of Mr. Peyton died in 1861, in Delaware county, Indiana. He afterwards moved to the state of Iowa or Illinois, where he died. We have no details of his service.
William Peyton, a sol 's of the war of 1812, appears among the ver .. early pioneers of Liberty township, he having entered land in section seven- teen on June 27, 1833. He had two sons, David and William, and seven daughters. He was a model of physical manhood. He was low in stature but very well developed, and very stout. Some writers would say, "he was well set up." It is said of him that at one load he carried seven bushels of wheat up two flights of stairs. In his earlier life he was a farmer, and cleared up much land. What a soldier he must have been! He was an old- time Methodist local preacher. In disposition he was like a ray of sunshine, and was brimful of good humor and innocent mischief. He had quite a reputation for attending meetings-class meetings, quarterly meetings and camp meetings. He was strong in the pulpit and popular with the people- a good preacher and a good man. He "allured to brighter worlds and led the way." When age crept upon him and he ceased to carry the heavier burdens of life, he removed from Delaware county and took up his residence at Roanoke, Indiana. We have heard a specimen of the mischievous pranks perpetrated by him late in life. From some kind of soft wood he carved a pipe, with bowl large enough to hold nearly a pint. This he put in his over- coat pocket, and called upon his merchant to "please furnish him with a pipe of tobacco." When the pipe came to view the merchant was so much amused at the old man's humor, he presented him an entire package of smoking tobacco, of the best brand, and, quite probably, his known favor- ite. When the end came he "ceased at once to work and live," having dropped dead without an hour's iliness. He was buried at Roanoke. Soon afterwards the body was exhumed and sold to the Medical college in Fort Wayne for the purpose of dissection. Here his remains were recognized by an acquaintance, secured, and sent to Iowa for reinterment, where they rest in peace. "Aunt Polly" Brown, of Avondale, is the oldest living de- scendant of the old soldier, and one of the oldest persons now living in Dela- ware county. Mrs. Abner Wolverton, of Albany, is also a daughter.
Alexander Price, a soldier of the war of 1812. was born in the year 1797. He entered the army from Ohio, he at that time being a resident of Mami county. In the year 1834 he moved to Delaware county, where he entered land upon which he afterwards lived to the close of his life. The
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maiden name of his wife was Ilannah Studabaker. He had three children, all daughters, Mary, Catharine and Elizabeth. He never applied for a pen- sion nor received a warrant for land. Ilis home was in Niles township, near the village of Granville. Ile died January 4, 1860, aged sixty-three years, eight months and twenty-eight days. His tombstone in the cemetery at Granville bears this inscription :
"Ilis toils are past, his work is done, And he is fully blest ; He fought the fight, the victory won, And entered into rest."
Robert Sanders was born in Pennsylvania in 1765. From there he moved with his parents to Culpeper county, Virginia, thence to Ohio, where he married Sarah McCormick, sister of Judge McCormick, one of the earli- est residents of Washington township. From there he moved with his fam- ily to Fayette county, Indiana, remaining until about the Ist of December, IS26, when he came to Delaware county. Upon arrival at the trading sta- tion, established in 1823 by David Connor, who had entered the land now known as the McCormick farm, just west of the village of Wheeling, he found in the person of its owner an old comrade, who had been with him in the Indian campaign under General Anthony Wayne. He made a brief stop with his comrade and then rented his farm. Later he entered land join- ing it on the east, where he made his home for a number of years. He kept the first tavern in the township, which was located on the Government road; devoted much time to traffic with the Indians and clearing and cultivation of his land. October 21, 1829, he entered land in section three, township twenty-two, in Grant county, Indiana (the original deed from the Govern- ment being yet in existence). Upon this land he laid out the town of New Cumberland, September 16, 1833. He was one of the earliest settlers in Delaware county. When he came the Indians were still here in large num- bers. Game abounded in great variety. Bears, wolves, deer, wild turkeys and many other kinds. He was the father of eleven children, viz .: . John, Katharine, William, Mary, Nancy, Millie, James, Abner, Lavina, Coleman, and Joseph. Of these only Mrs. Lavina Reasoner is now living, at the age of ninety-four years. This heroic soldier, frontiersman and pioneer served for three years under General Wayne in his arduous Indian campaigns. en- during the hardships, encountering the dangers of this important service. He bore a part in several engagements and scouting expeditions in the vi- cinity of Fort Wayne, along the Maumee, St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers, and in the region about Detroit, Michigan. When he settled here the neigh- bors were far apart, the nearest settlement being at Muncietown, about four- teen miles distant. He lived an exemplary life ; he was a useful and honored
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citizen, respected by all who knew him. He died March 31, 1861. His final resting place is in the cemetery at Wheeling.
George Saunders, son of Theodore Saunders, of German ancestry, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and was born April 25, 1792, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He afterwards removed to the state of Ohio, where be enlisted about May 1, 1813, at Troy, and soon after he was ordered to a Blockhouse on Turtle creek, about ten miles from Piqua, for duty. The tra- dition in his family is, that he made two enlist rents. Of these we have the data of one only. At one time he marched ir m Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Sidney, Ohio, when the roads and swamps were in a fearful condition. He assisted in the care of stores and in furnishing supplies to a body of fifteen hundred Indians of whom the Government had charge at Sidney. He was discharged at Troy, Ohio, in October or November, 1813. Afterwards he was married to Elizabeth Sills. He had twelve children, four sons and eight daughters. Two sons and three daughters died in infancy. His wife died in 1836. Soon after he moved to Delaware county and settled on land east of Muncie. He received warrants for two eighty-acre tracts of land. By occupation he was farmer, carpenter and pumpmaker. He cleared a farm which is now part of the estate of Mr. Thomas Wilson. Mr. Saunders died November 10, 1878, at the home of Elizabeth Barker, a daughter, in this city, aged about eighty-six years. His remains were interred at Black's cemetery in Niles township. This venerable soldier has quite a long line of descendants. This writer has a genealogical list made up ten years since, at the time of holding a Saunders-Wilson reunion in Delaware county, which then numbered two hundred and fifty-seven. Nowhere have we found a list so thoroughly and carefully compiled showing all branches of the family tree. Mrs. Mary Carpenter, the youngest and only living daugh- ter, but two weeks since furnished many of the particulars of this sketch. She has since passed to the great beyond. In 1871, he then being seventy- nine years of age, Mr. Saunders applied for and received a pension, which he continued to draw until his death, at the rate of twelve dollars per month.
William Scott, a soldier of the war of 1812, was born in the state of Virginia in 1785. He removed to Fayette county, Indiana, in an early day, and later he came to Delaware county, settling in Delaware township, where lie continued to reside until his death. June 15, 1860. Ile was buried at the Bethel cemetery, near Albany. We have no details of his service. He was a farmer. He had two sons and three daughters. He was a small and very active man : physically, tough as a pine knot.
Jacob Secrist, a soldier of the war of 1812, was, so near as we can learn, born near Sabina, Clinton county, Ohio. He came to Delaware county in the early thirties and entered land here. He cleared ten acres and erected a home. He returned to Ohio to secure funds with which to pay for his land,
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took sick, and was delayed so long that the time for payment expired. Some other man, knowing the date was past, made the entry under him and com- pelled the old soldier to surrender possession of the premises. He then en- tered the land now owned by Mrs. Samuel Stout, near Reed's Station, and there cleared up a farm. There he lived until his death in 1852. He was buried in the Jones cemetery. We have no details of his service. He had three sons, all of whom were soldiers in the Civil war. He also had five daughters.
Joseph Shannon, a soldier . : 1812, was born near Baltimore, Mary- land, in the year 1795. He was married to Elizabeth Artz, and in an early day removed to the state of Ohio. Some time in the thirties he came to Delaware county. Ile was a fariner by occupation. He reared a family of ten children, four sons and six daughters, all now deceased. From what state he enlisted we cannot tell. His descendants have a combination knife, fork and spoon which he carried while in the service. The letters "M. L." are inscribed in a monogram upon the horn handle. It would be interesting to know what they stand for. Could they be the initials of some British soldier? Mr. Shannon was a good man and useful citizen, one of those who did such noble work here in the early days. He died July 5, 1850, aged fifty-five years. His wife Elizabeth died November 23, IS59. They are both buried at the Leard cemetery in Union township.
Isaac Shellenberger, a soldier of IS12, was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1797, and came with his parents to Greene county, Ohio, when about ten years of age. He enlisted for six months and was enrolled in Capt. William Wrightmyer's company, Ohio militia, in Fairfield county, Ohio, and was honorably discharged at Detroit, Michigan, in March or April, ISI5. He married Mary Jane Clark in Greene county, Ohio, and in October, 1845, came to Indiana, settling in Liberty township. He received a warrant for eighty acres of land and this he sold for eighty dollars in gold. He was under age at the date of his enlistment and took "French leave." His appli- cation for pension, made April 4, 1871, was approved, and to the end of his days he was paid eight dollars per month. He had fourteen sons and daughters, part of whom died in infancy. Mr. Shellenberger died at the home of Mr. Stewart Cecil, and was buried at Mount Tabor cemetery, in Liberty township.
Henry Shults, a soldier of the war of 1812, enlisted for the war at Newport, Kentucky, in Captain Hawkins' company, Seventeenth Kentucky Infantry, and was discharged at Chillicothe, Ohio, in June, 1815. He re- ceived bounty and land warrant for one hundred and sixty acres of land. He was a broommaker by trade. He probably came from Ohio to Delaware county, but we have failed to learn when. He had six children, three sons and three daughters. He made his home at the Richwoods. April 21, 1871,
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when seventy-four years of age, he applied for a pension under the Act of February 14, 1871. Later he removed to the county of Huntington, where he died. Date of death and place of burial we do not know. His taste ran to the use of bright colors in dress. The flashy stripes of a vest he invari- ably wore gave to him the well-used name of "Jack of Diamonds."
Daniel Simmons, a soldier of the war of 1812, was born in the state of Virginia, and probably entered the army from that state. He emigrated 15 Ohio, where, in 1816, he married Catharine Hoover, who was born in 17!" in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. Thence he removed to Delaware count., Indiana, locating at Prairie Creek, where he remained until, in 1831, when he came to Muncietown. He was a miller by trade and worked at Gold- smith's mill. He was large, tall, stout and active; the true type of a pioneer. He had two sons and three daughters. William Simmons, a son, saw service in the Mexican war; he was a member of Company C, Nineteenth Regiment Indiana Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Daniel Simmons died of erysipelas after four days' illness, in the year 1845. His widow, so well known among our people in her day as "Aunt Katy Sim- mons," hearty and sprightly, survived her husband many years. She never wore glasses, and her eyesight was good to the end. She was more than fifty years a member of the German Baptist church. Her education was meager, but she was intelligent and could relate many interesting remin- iscences of her experience with the Indians, who surrounded her home in the early days. This venerable couple were buried in Beech Grove cemetery.
George M. Smith was a soldier in the war of 1812. He had eleven chil- dren, three sons and eight daughters. He died in the year 1845. No fur- ther details furnished.
James Stewart, a soldier of the war of 1812, was born in the state of Virginia in the year 1787. He married Sophia Chew, and lived for some years near Leesburg, Highland county, Ohio, when he came to Indiana and settled on land near Albany. He was one of the sturdy pioneers who came to this state when the forests were dense, the county new, and but sparsely settled, to carve a farm and a home out of the unfavorable surroundings. He was the father of three sons and six daughters. Particulars of his serv- ice there are none. He was rugged and strong, and, under the law then in force, could not have drawn a pension. He was a member of the M. E. church for forty years. This devout and venerable man passed to the future life January 19, 1872, aged eighty-five years, nine months and nine- teen days. Sophia Stewart, widow of James Stewart, survived him until January 26, 1886, when she died, aged eighty-seven years, eight months and twenty-five days. She was a member of the M. E. church for fifty-five years. They lie side by side in Bethel cemetery, sleeping the years away.
David Thompson was born September 12, 1771, in Amherst county,
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Virginia. He performed distinguished services during the campaign against the Indians of the Northwest under General Wayne, and received a letter from the captain of the company in which he served, showing his bravery and high standing. It is in the following words :
"The bearer hereof, David Thompson, has served as a Corporal in my company of riflemen, in the Army of the United States, from which he ha, obtained an honorable discharge. But in justice to the said Corporal, for many services he has rendered the public, I consider it my duty and am isty warranted to say that his conduct has uniformly met with my approbat ...... as well as that of all other officers who had an opportunity to know him. Corporal Thompson was employed in reconnoitering the Indian country. and paths leading to and from their several towns and villages, as well as being constantly in advance of the army during the campaign. While thus engaged he assisted in taking seven Indian prisoners-all warriors except one-from their towns and villages, in order to gain information for our army. In accomplishing this great object several skirmishes ensued, in which he behaved in a brave and soldier-like manner, and when the garri- son at Fort Recovery, which I had the honor to command, was attacked and surrounded by nearly two thousand savages this Corporal Thompson made an escape through them with intelligence to the Commander-in-Chief, who was twenty-four miles distant from the place. For this service I now beg leave to return him my sincere thanks, and hope that all good people, who are friends to their country, may receive and treat with respect the said David Thompson, a reward which he has merited.
"Certified under my hand and scal at Staunton, in the State of Virginia, the 29th day of October, 1795.
ALEX. GIBSON, "Captain of the Tenth Legion."
Ilis discharge is in these words :
"By his Excellency, Anthony Wayne, Esqr., Major General and Com- mander-in-Chief of the Legion of the United States:
"These are to certify that the bearer hereof, David Thompson, a Cor- poral in the Fourth Sub Legion, has served in the above Legion, and in Capt. Gibson's company, for the space of three years, and is, for the reason below mentioned, discharged from the said Legion, he having received his pay up to the ist of January, 1795, clothing of all kinds, and all other just demands from the time of his enlisting in the Legion to the day of his dis- charge, as appears by the following receipt. He is discharged, having faithfully served the full term of time for which he engaged. To prevent any ill use that may be made of his discharge by its falling into the hands of any other person whatsoever, here follows the description of said David Thompson: He is twenty years of age, five feet eleven inches tall. dark complexion, black hair and black eyes; born in the county of Amherst. in the State of Virginia; a farmer.
"Given under my hand and seal, at headquarters, this roth day of Au- gust, 1795- WILLIAM CLARK, "Lieutenant Acting. Sub Legion, Major and Inspector to the Fourth Sub ANT'Y WAYNE.
Legion.
"To whom it may concern, civil or military."
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After the treaty of Greenville, August 8, 1795, when the troops were disbanded, Mr. Thompson settled in the western part of Virginia (now West Virginia), and there formed the acquaintance of Miss Mary Swope, whom he soon afterwards married. She was born September 21, 1775, in the old fort in Monroe county, Virginia. In 1817, Mr. Thompson removed with his wife and ten children to Butler county, Ohio, and in 1823 to Henry county, Indiana. About 1842 they sedied in Salem township, Delaware county, where both Mr. Thompson and his wife died. Mr. Thompson died Oc- tober 22, 1847. Mrs. Thompson died March 9, 18444. They were buried at the Sharp graveyard, in Salem township. This fine old soldier was the father of twelve children, four sons and eight daughters. One of these sons is Mr. David Thompson, one of the oldest and longest residents of Dela- ware county, who, with his wife, yet remain to witness and enjoy the won- deriul changes which have come to us in these later years.
Ephraim Thompson, one of the first residents of Delaware township, was a soldier in the early wars. He seems hard to classify. His record is very obscure, and his actual service and what we know is founded on what he repeated in his lifetime. No campaign is remembered and no battle de- scribed. To us he first appears as the owner of a parcel of real estate, sus- pended on a hillside, on the banks of a stream called Brush creek, in the county of Adams and state of Ohio. A cabin crowned the crest of the ridge; part way down was a rough, log stable, and at the foot a deep gulley, cut out by the descending floods of water. He was an Irishman, a raw product from Erin, a kind of military conundrum, whom war might batter and disfigure but never quite kill, floating down the stream of time. He probably had some serious disagreement with George the Third, King of England, and did not admire crowned heads very much at best. No heavy guns were fired when he sailed, and upon arrival at our shores he failed to assist the historian by keeping a true account of future proceedings. He had a wife, whom he called Margery. He also had two sous and one daughter. One of the sons he called "Robert Jeems." He had other prop- erty. There was a yoke of oxen, designated "Buck and Berry." Though mach in the company of these pioneer bovines, it is hinted that upon certain occasions there was quite a good deal of disagreement. At one time the oid hater of despotism caught one of these animals violating some of his very important regulations. He protested against these infractions of good order and discipline in vain. But he took prompt measures to prevent their repetition. He slipped the bow, released the pestiferous ox, pushed him over the bank of the gully, and landed him at the bottom. He then covered Him with logs and brush, lighted a kind of Scandinavian campfire and burned him to a crisp as warning to all other oxen to be more prudent in their con- duct. He had three names. Ilis front name was Ephraim. This was pre-
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sented to him as a souvenir of the day on which he was born. The other two he earned. He had a scrap with some party having an athletic jaw- bone, who bit off nearly an inch of his nasal appendage-smoothly, as if cut with a knife. Afterwards he was called "Nosey" and "Bit Nose." This disfigurement added quite a bit to the facial charms of the old Hibernian. When he talked, especially when in an earnest or emphatic way, a kind of whistle escaped through the nostrils at the same time he was making a noise with his mouth. He liked a good racehorse. At times he had the spare change to make such an investment. His presence at the races must · have been fully as entertaining as the main show. One might imagine his movements, and the discordant sounds to which he gave utterance, when he sidled up to his hopeful son, sitting astride the Rosinante, champing his bits and waiting the signal, and urged him to "push 'em up, push 'em up. Robert Jeems," but to attempt it here would be a task impossible. His first and main dependence in horse flesh was a faithful old nag he called "Bawley." When all other horses failed "Bawley" was true as steel. He would ride this patient and sensible steed, hitched to the front wheels of his wagon, to Youngsville, to bring home a barrel of liquor. The effort to transfer the contents of the barrel to his stomach was often too much. Sometimes he fell off and lay for hours beside "Bawley," who never got the least excited upon such occasions. When the master "straightened up" they proceeded to their place of abode. Fire destroyed his house and its contents. Ordinary discouragements, however, never daunted him. Into the center of a mow, filled with straw, he burrowed like a ground-hog and found warm and com- fortable quarters. When he came to live in Delaware county we could not learn, but no one who ever knew him doubted the fact of his ar- rival. The old warrior brought with him from beyond the sea a great fond- ness for the "Yule-tide" festivities. The season having arrived for his fa- vorite ceremony, he paid a neighbor who owned a vacant house with a fire- place the sum of two dollars for the use of his premises until the "Yule- log"* burned out. He and his invited guests cut and rolled in a back-log of black gum. Whether the preparation was attended with an ancient custom, which required much detail, we are unable to say. But there ap- peared no disposition to hurry along the business after exercises commenced. When they continued for a week, the owner presented himself and tendered the two dollars as an inducement for that interesting group to vacate the premises. The log was then only just well marked. Eccentricity increased with advancing years. He became a perfect recluse or hermit. Beside a large log he constructed a rude hut or shelter. Here he lived; and here, all
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