USA > Indiana > An illustrated history of the state of Indiana: being a full and authentic civil and political history of the state from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 22
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The law in relation to taxes is important. Taxes attach as a lien on real estate on the first day of April in each year. Corporation taxes mostly attach on the first day of January. Penalties attach on the third Monday in March, annually, and after that day all unpaid taxes are collectable by distress and sale of personality. Sales of real estate for taxes occur in each county on the first Monday of February annually. All lands on which taxes are delinquent for two years are offered. After
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LAWS AND COURTS.
sale, the owner has two years in which he may redeem. If not redeemed within the time, a deed is made to the purchaser by the county auditor. In order to sustain a tax sale, the party claiming under it must show a substantial compliance with every provision of the law authorizing the sale. After four years no suit to review the title can be brought. A tax deed is only prima facie evidence of regularity of the pro- ceedings, and may be contradicted. Possession under a tax deed is adverse though the title be invalid.
As to wills, all persons of a sound mind, who are twenty- one years of age, may make wills and devise all their estate, of every kind, to any person or corporation, saving the legal provision for the widow. Married women may devise their separate property. Wills must be in writing (except nuncu- pation, bequeathing not to exceed one hundred dollars), signed by the testator or some person by his direction and in his presence, and attested by two persons subscribing as witnesses. Wills may be probated by the court of any county where the testator resided, or in which he shall die leaving assets, on proof of execution by one or more subscribing witnesses, or by proof of handwriting of the testator and of the witnesses, in case of their incompetency, death or absence. Provisions are made by statute for contesting the validity and probate of ยท wills, either before or within three years after offered to pro- bate. Wills executed without the State, and probated in another State or country, according to the laws thereof, may in most cases be recorded, and shall have the same effect as if executed in the State.
Regarding witnesses, no party in a civil suit is disqualified as a witness by reason of interest, and one party to the suit inay compel the other to testify. Husband and wife are not competent witnesses as to matters for or against each other, or communications made during marriage. When an executor, administrator or guardian is a party, and the judgment affects the estate, neither party can testify unless called by the adverse party. A want of belief in the Supreme Being only affects the credibility.
The criminal laws of the State of Indiana consist of well
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HISTORY OF INDIANA ..
defined penalties for the various crimes. The list is very long, and too tedious for insertion in this volume.
We will close this chapter with a brief notice of the courts. The supreme court of Indiana has appellate jurisdiction only from the superior, criminal and circuit courts of the State. Injunctions are granted by it in certain cases. There is no distinction among the judges; each acts as chief justice in rotation, for a single term. The present judges of the supreme court are, five in number, as follows: John Pettit, of La Fay- ette; James L. Worden, of Fort Wayne; Samuel H. Buskirk, of Bloomington; Alexander C. Downey, of Rising Sun, and Horace P. Biddle, of Logansport. The terms of the supreme court commence at Indianapolis on the fourth Mondays of May and November. The court sits at chambers during the greater part of the year, and causes can be submitted, by agree- ment, on briefs, at any time.
The circuit and superior courts have original concurrent jurisdiction in most civil cases, such as actions on contracts, etc. The circuit court has exclusive jurisdiction in actions for slander. In all cases of concurrent jurisdiction the court first obtaining cognizance, retains it exclusively. There are four terms of the circuit court. The terms of the superior court commence on the first Monday of each month, except July and August. An appeal from the special to the general term of the superior court is granted as a matter of right, without bond except in special cases. The superior court was established in 1871. It exists at present only in Marion county, the latter being the only county containing a city (Indianapolis) of over forty thousand inhabitants, that being requisite to the organization of this court. Judgment may be had at. the first term after suit commenced, unless good cause of defense is shown. A judgment in either of these courts for less than fifty dollars does not carry costs.
Justices of the peace have jurisdiction in collections and other civil cases, to the amount of two hundred dollars, within the township where the debtor resides; but they may render judgment upon confession to the amount of three hundred dollars. Judgment can be had generally within a week or ten days.
CHAPTER XL.
OFFICIAL REGISTER OF INDIANA.
W "E will close the FIRST PART of this Volume with a list of the State officers who have served the people of Indiana, through the various grades of government, from 1800 to 1875.
TERRITORIAL GOVERNORS.
Arthur St. Clair, Governor Northwest Territory. William H. Harrison, from 1800 to 1812. Thomas Posey, from 1812 to 1816.
GOVERNORS OF THE STATE.
Jonathan Jennings, from 1816 to 1819.
Jonathan Jennings, (second term,) from 1819 to 1822.
William Hendricks, from 1822 to 1825. James B. Ray, (acting,) February, 1825. James B. Ray, from 1825 to 1828.
James B. Ray, (second term,) from 1828 to 1831. Noah Noble, from 1831 to 1834. Noah Noble, (second term,) from 1834 to 1837. David Wallace, from 1837 to 1840.
Samuel Bigger, from 1840 to 1843.
James Whitcomb, from 1843 to 1846.
James Whitcomb, from 1846 to 1848. Parris C. Dunning, (acting,) from 1848 to 1849.
Joseph A. Wright, from 1849 to 1852.
Joseph A. Wright, from 1853 to 1857.
Ashbel P. Willard, from 1857 to 1860.
Abram A. Hammond, acting from 1860 to 1861.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Henry S. Lane, (a few days,) 1860.
Oliver P. Morton, (acting,) from 1860 to 1865.
Oliver P. Morton, from 1865 to 1867. Conrad Baker, (acting,) from 1867 to 1869. Conrad Baker, from 1869 to 1873.
Thomas A. Hendricks, from 1873 to -.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS.
Christopher Harrison, from 1816 to 1819. Ratliffe Boone, from 1819 to 1825.
John H. Thompson, from 1825 to 1828. Milton Stapp, from 1828 to 1831. David Wallace, from 1831 to 1837. David Hillis, from 1837 to 1840.
Samuel Hall, from 1840 to 1843.
Jesse D. Bright, from 1843 to 1845. Godlove S. Orth, (acting,) 1845. James G. Reed, (acting,) 1846.
Parris C. Dunning, from 1846 to 1848.
James G. Reed, (acting,) 1849. James H. Lane, from 1849 to 1852.
Ashbel P. Willard, from 1853 to 1857.
Abram A. Hammond, from 1857 to 1859.
John R. Cravens, (acting,) from 1859 to 1863.
Parris C. Dunning, (acting,) from 1863 to 1865.
Conrad Baker, from 1865 to 1867.
Will. Cumback, (acting,) from 1867 to 1869. Will. Cumback, from 1869 to 1873. Leonidas Sexton, from 1873 to
SECRETARIES OF STATE.
John Gibson, Territorial, from 1800 to 1816. Robert A. New, from 1816 to 1825. William W. Wick, from 1825 to 1829. James Morrison, from 1829 to 1833. William Sheets, from 1833 to 1837. William J. Brown, from 1837 to 1841.
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OFFICIAL REGISTER.
William Sheets, from 1841 to 1845. John H. Thompson, from 1845 to 1849. Charles H. Test, from 1849 to 1853. Nehemiah Hayden, from 1853 to 1855. Erasmus B. Collins, from 1855 to 1857. Daniel McClure, from 1857 to 1858. Cyrus L. Dunham, from 1858 to 1859. Daniel McClure, from 1859 to 1861. William A. Peelle, from 1861 to 1863. James S. Athon, from 1863 to 1865. Nelson Trusler, from 1865 to 1869. Max F. A. Hoffman, from 1869 to 1871. Norman Eddy, from 1871 to 1872. John H. Farquhar, from 1872 to 1873. William W. Curry, from 1873 to John E. Neff, from 1874 to .
AUDITORS OF STATE.
William H. Lilley, from 1816 to 1829. Morris Morris, from 1829 to 1844. Horatio J. Harris, from 1844 to 1847. Douglass McGuire, from 1847 to 1850. Erastus W. H. Ellis, from 1850 to 1853. John P. Dunn, from 1853 to 1855. Hiram E. Talbott, from 1855 to 1857.
John W. Dodd, from 1857 to 1860. Albert Lange, from 1861 to 1863. Joseph Ristine, from 1863 to 1865. Thomas B. McCarty, from 1865 to 1869.
John D. Evans, from 1869 to 1871.
John C. Shoemaker, from 1871 to 1873.
James A. Wildman, from 1873 to - -.
Ebenezer Henderson, from 1874 to
TREASURERS OF STATE.
Daniel C. Lane, from 1816 to 1823. Samuel Merrill, from 1823 to 1835.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Nathan B. Palmer, from 1835 to 1841.
George H. Dunn, from 1841 to 1844. Royal Mayhew, from 1844 to 1847. Samuel Hanna, from 1847 to 1850. James P. Drake, from 1850 to 1853. Elijah Newland, from 1853 to 1855. William B. Noffsinger, from 1855 to 1857. Aquilla Jones, from 1857 to 1859. Nathaniel F. Cunningham, from 1859 to 1861. Jonathan S. Harvey, from 1861 to 1863. Matthew L. Brett, from 1863 to 1865. John I. Morrison, from 1865 to 1867. Nathan Kimball, from 1867 to 1871. James B. Ryan, from 1871 to 1873. John B. Glover, from 1873 to B. C. Shaw, from 1874 to -
ATTORNEYS GENERAL.
James Morrison, from March 5, 1855. Joseph E. McDonald, from December 17, 1857. James G. Jones, from December 17, 1859. John P. Usher, from November 10, 1861. Oscar B. Hord, from November 3, 1862. Delano E. Williamson, from November 3, 1864 Bayliss W. Hanna, from November 3, 1870. James C. Denny, from November 6, 1872. Clarence A. Buskirk, from November 6, 1874.
JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT
James Scott, from 1816 to 1831. John Johnston, from 1816 to 1817. Jesse L. Holman, from 1816 to 1831. Isaac Blackford, from 1817 to 1853. Steven C. Stevens, from 1831 to 1836. John T. Mckinney, from 1831 to 1837. Charles Dewey, from 1836 to 1847. Jeremiah Sullivan, from 1837 to 1846.
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OFFICIAL REGISTER.
Samuel E. Perkins, from 1846 to 1865.
Thomas L. Smith, from 1847 to 1853.
Andrew Davidson, from 1853 to 1865. William L. Stewart, from 1853 to 1857. Addison L. Roache, from 1853 to 1854.
Alvin P. Hovey, (appointed,) from - to 1854. Samuel B. Gookins, from 1854 to 1857.
James L. Worden, (appointed,) from 1858 to 1865.
James M. Hanna, (appointed,) from 1858 to 1865.
Charles A. Ray, from 1865 to 1871. John P. Elliott, from 1865 to 1871.
James S. Frazier, from 1865 to 1871.
Robert S. Gregory, from 1865 to 1871.
James L. Worden, from 1871 to -.
Alexander C. Downey, from 1871 to ---
Samuel H. Buskirk, from 1871 to -
John Pettit, from 1871 to - -.
Andrew L. Osborn, from 1872 to
Horace P. Biddle, from 1874 to
UNITED STATES SENATORS.
Class 1. James Noble, from 1816 to 1831.
Class 3. Waller Taylor, from 1816 to 1825.
Class 3. William Hendricks, from 1825 to 1837.
Class 1. Robert Hanna (appointed), 1831.
Class 1. John Tipton, from 1831 to 1839.
Class 3. Oliver H. Smith, from 1837 to 1843.
Class 1. Albert S. White, from 1839 to 1845.
Class 3. Edward A. Hannegan, from 1843 to 1849.
Class 1. Jesse D. Bright, from 1845 to 1861.
Class 3. James Whitcomb, from 1849 to 1852.
Class 3. Charles W. Cathcart (appointed), from 1852 to 1853.
Class 3. John Pettit, from 1853 to 1857.
Class 3. Graham N. Fitch, from 1857 to 1861.
Class 1. Joseph A. Wright, from 1861 to 1863.
Class 3. Henry S. Lane, from 1861 to 1867.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Class 1. David Turpie, 1863.
Class 1. Thomas A. Hendricks, from 1863 to 1869.
Class 3. Oliver P. Morton, from 1867 to -. Class 1. Daniel D. Pratt, from 1869 to 1875.
Class 3. Joseph E. McDonald, 1875 to
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PART SECOND.
COUNTY HISTORIES.
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CHAPTER XLI.
INTRODUCTORY.
TN the first part of this work we have treated only of mat- ters pertaining to the State, in a general sense. It is our purpose, from this point, to present sketches of the moral and material progress of different localities within the State, or, of each county. In taking up these county histories, we shall observe no particular order, unless it be to follow the lines of early immigration through the State. One, and the most important of these, is by the way of the Maumee, and the Wabash, to the Ohio, the oldest route ever traveled by the whites, on the territory now within the borders of the State of Indiana. We shall first take up this route, observing the pioneer history, and giving brief sketches of the condition of each county during our progress.
A good many people, and some modern writers, are not a little mixed on the question of the date of the first settlement in Indiana. It must be admitted that the question is an important, and interesting one, and yet, after all, no great good would follow an authentic elucidation of the subject. It is important only as a starting point for the subject of the following chapter, and to satisfy one species of curiosity not
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
altogether worthless. We shall take more pride in pointing to the causes that led to the first settlement of the territory, and in defining their relationship with the government of the county, than to demonstrate, exactly, when and where the first outpost of civilization in Indiana was established. Nev- ertheless, we shall be able to draw our lines with some degree of certainty as to the latter.
The first white man who visited the territory was a French Jesuit missionary, who came from the old French mission of the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, which was one of the oldest Jesuit missions in the lake region. This missionary (or mis- sionaries) came among the Miamis in the latter part of the seventeenth century, probably in 1675. It was through the adventurous spirit of these early representatives of the Cross, that the route from "New France " to "Louisiana," by the Maumee, Wabash, and Ohio rivers was discovered. This dis- covery has directly to do with the early settlement of Indiana, for with the knowledge of the route mentioned, and the con- sequent travel over it, came the necessity of military estab- lishments along the line for its protection. It will be remem- bered that at the close of the seventeenth century, France held extensive possessions in Louisiana and in Canada. There was no established trade between the two colonies, as the former had direct communication with the mother country by the way of the Mississippi and the Gulf, and the latter by the way of the river St. Lawrence and the Gulf of that name. Not- withstanding this, there was, at the date mentioned, a commu- nication established between them. About the same period, the French Government, from its knowledge of the wealth and extent of the Mississippi Valley, as well as of the adjacent territory on either side, resolved on the full possession of the country. The English appeared to be content with but a nar- row strip of land on the Atlantic seaboard, while the French were constantly pushing their conquests or discoveries west- ward. In 1700, the French foresaw the conflict that termi- nated with the fall of Quebec, over fifty years later, and with a view to strengthen themselves in their new and valuable possessions, they adopted measures looking to the speedy
.
335
ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
establishment of a chain of fortifications, extending from Canada to Louisiana. For a time, the great question with the French colonial authorities was the location of these for- tifications. The route by the Maumee and the Wabash was, at length, adopted, and in 1701 a fortification was established on the Detroit river. This was the first step towards carry- ing the measure into effect, but it was not the last. During the four years that followed, forts with military garrisons were established at the head of the Maumee, where the city of Fort Wayne now stands; at Ountanon, on the Wea prairie, in what is now Tippecanoe county, and at Vincennes. These posts were probably garrisoned first in 1704-5, but as to which of them should take precedence in point of antiquity, there is considerable doubt. They were, however, all established about the same time.
In the foregoing we have pointed out, with some clearness, the causes that led to the first settlement of Indiana by the French. We will now speak of the characteristics and growth of those settlements.
CHAPTER XLII.
ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
TT was at Fort Wayne, or near where the St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers form the Maumee, that the somewhat celebrated family of Indians of the Algonquin nation, the Miamis, had their ancient capital. Around this spot, for many years, perhaps for centuries, the Miami chiefs assem- bled in council to deliberate upon the affairs of their confed- eracy, or to decide for war or peace. How often have the echoes of Indian oratory sounded along the valley of the Maumee, and the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers! It has
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
broken the silence of the forests many times in defense of justice; it has excited the savages to war to repel an Indian enemy; it has eloquently pleaded the cause of the red man against the oppressions of the whites.
Kekionga was, to the patriotic Miami, the dearest of all places in his broad domain. There was an eloquence in the scenery around the place that won high admiration in his savage heart. To the simple Indian mind there was some- thing supernatural, something unspeakably grand, in the quiet of this fertile valley. It was here that they buried their illustrious dead. It was in this valley, and particularly at the head of the Maumee, where all their important cer- emonies were commemorated. Returning from the chase, these Indians would assemble in the beautiful groves along the banks of these rivers, and pass the time in their usual sports. Games of chance, feats of strength and agility, and the feast were all enacted here with native enthusiasm. But, at length, say in 1676, the white adventurer found his way to the Miami capital. He was not a warrior, not a trader, but a simple, pious, yet zealous Jesuit, who came, in his mysterious robe, telling the story of the Cross, which the savages could never fully appreciate.
Here, at once, we pass from tradition to history, in which connection it is expedient to state that the sources of much of the information following is through the recollections of the oldest settlers of Fort Wayne, still living. The compiler being aware that previous efforts to produce a history of Fort Wayne have not resulted to the satisfaction of those inter- ested, first sought to learn the errors already committed by hasty writers. Collecting every scrap of history pertaining to the settlement of the place, he proceeded to Fort Wayne, where he remained some three weeks, interviewing the oldest settlers, and comparing their statements with the incomplete writings previously published. By this method he has been enabled to present a straightforward, truthful and complete history of Allen county.
It has not been our custom in this work to present inter- views verbatim, but in this single instance the ends in view
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ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
can best be accomplished by departing from the rule. On the twenty-sixth of October, 1874, a compiler of this work called upon Judge -, a gentleman well informed on matters of local history, at his residence in Fort Wayne, and was kindly favored by the following conversation:
Compiler .- "Judge, I have been frequently referred to you as a person well qualified to give me much information con- cerning the early history of Fort Wayne. Have you any objection to state to me what you know about the early his- tory of Allen county, and the sources of your information?"
Judge .- " I cannot boast of any particular knowledge on the subject, and there are others of our citizens who could give you much more accurate information than I can, but what I have collected is at your service. I must premise, however, that most of it is mere tradition of the Indians, and, therefore, not to be relied upon implicitly. When in Europe, in 1861-2, I spent most of the summer of the latter year in London and Paris. Through the influence of Mr. Dayton, our French minister, and the kindness of Mr. Peabody, I obtained access to the colonial documents and records in the archives of those governments, from which I obtained some information, and when I located here, about thirty-five years ago, I had frequent interviews with the late Miami chief, Richardville, as also with Messrs. Coquillard and Comparet, the earliest French traders then living. I took down in writ- ing their statements, but do not place so much confidence in the tradition of the Indians as some do, yet, I have no doubt, but that the ancient Indian route between the Ottawa (Mau- mee) river and down the Wabash to the Ohio and Mississippi, was first made known to the French in Canada by a visit of one of the French priests from their mission on Lake Mich- igan to Kekionga, about the year 1676. Nor can there be the least doubt but that Baron La Salle was at Kekionga in the year 1680, as his letter to the Governor-General of Canada states that fact, and also mentions that the route alluded to had been already traveled by French traders from Canada, who had pursued this route in their trade with the Indians on the Lower Wabash."
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Compiler .- " Who were the first white men to visit this place?"
Judge .- " The tradition of the Indians, which is undoubt- edly true, is that one of the missionaries from St. Joseph came to Kekionga about four years before La Salle came in 1680. La Salle was the next to follow the missionaries."
Compiler .- " When and where was the first stockade built at Fort Wayne?"
Judge .- " In one local history already published, it is stated that La Salle was at Kekionga in 1680, and at that time caused a small stockade fort to be built here .* The statement is made on the authority of Mr. Goodman, who claims to have obtained his information from the French records at Montreal and Quebec. But in the year 1705, Santer Vincennes, of the French army, was at Kekionga, and found here, at that time, several Indian traders from Pennsylvania. It has been gen- erally supposed that then it was that Vincennes, by the direc- tion of the Governor-General of Canada, erected the French stockade north of the present Catholic hospital, between the canal and the St. Mary's river, in the old Tipton or Rock Hill orchard, near the residence of Judge McCulloch, our late sec- retary of the treasury, on the same spot where Mass was first said by the Catholic priest in 1676. This was the stockade, ' the dim outlines of which were traced by General Wayne in 1794.'"'
Compiler .- " What became of this fort?"
Judge .- "It was destroyed by the Indians at the time of 'Nicholas's' conspiracy."
Compiler .- " Judge, a good many people get this conspir- acy mixed up with Pontiac's conspiracy. This is a sorry mis- take. Will you state your recollections of Nicholas's con- spiracy ?' .
* The statement that La Salle built a fort at the head of the Maumee in 1680, is probably incorrect. He was at that time returning from his some- what disastrous Mississippi expedition, and being on a journey to Can- ada, in search of the Griffin, and out of supplies, it is unreasonable to assume that he erected a fort at this place. The author is of the opinion that the early records in Quebec and Montreal show only that La Salle reported the place as well suited for a fort.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Judge .- " About the year 1745 the celebrated Indian chief of the Huron tribe, called by the French and English, Nich- olas, but whose Indian name is said to have been Sandosket, and who lived at the Indian village where the city of San- dusky, Ohio, now stands, formed a conspiracy to destroy all the French ports and settlements northwest of the Ohio. The French post at Kekionga, erected by Vincennes in 1705, fell in this war. It was burnt by the Indians-the Miamis, the Otta- was and the Pottawatomies assisting the Hurons."
Compiler .- " Did the French government cause another fort to be erected here? "
Judge .- " Yes; Captain Dubuisson, of the corps of royal engineers, was sent here, and erected a new fort in 1748. He did not erect this fort on the same spot where Vincennes erected the stockade in 1705, but at a point not far distant to the west, and near the present canal aqueduct, and a little to the east of the residence of Judge Lowry. The fort, or rather a part of its foundation, was still standing when Colonel John Johnson came here in 1800."*
In the conversation which we have given with Judge -, it will be seen that there were two French forts or stockades erected at Fort Wayne, one in 1705 and the other in 1748. Following this chain of events, we next come to the English fort which was erected on the east bank of the St. Joseph's river, by Ensign Holmes, in the fall of 1760, or winter of 1760-61. With the fall of Canada in 1759, all the French forts in the northwest fell into the hands of the British, and Major Rogers was sent to Detroit with an army to occupy them. Ensign Holmes, with a small detachment, came to Fort Wayne, but finding the old French post here unfit to pro- tect the garrison, at once commenced the erection of the Eng- lish fort.
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