USA > Indiana > Washington County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Harrison County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Crawford County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Clark County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Scott County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Floyd County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Jennings County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Jefferson County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 26
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
233
SOUVENIR SKETCHES.
was defeated by reason of the late hour in the canvass at which he came out. In January, 1879, he was united in marriage to Miss Ida J. Shellen- berger, of North Vernon, and two chil- dren-Florence and David Turpie-
bless the union. In the notable political campaign of 1888 for the Presidency, Hon. Greene L. Smith made an effect- ive canvass of Indiana for the re-elec- tion of Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Smith is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
SCOTT COUNTY.
(BY W. H. PERRIN, EsQ.)
SCOTT is a small county, and lies in the southeastern part of the State, some eighty miles east of south from Indianapolis. It is bounded on the north by Jackson, Jennings and Jeffer- son counties, east by Jefferson, south by Clark and west by Washington and Jackson. It contains 213 square miles and by the census of 1880 had 8,343 inhabitants. While it has not stood still for the last third of a century its increase of population has been slow. In 1860 the county had 7,303 inhabitants; in 1870 it had 7,873, an increase of 570 over 1860, while the decade from 1870 to 1880 increased the population only 470, or in two decades from 1860 to 1880, 1,040 increase.
The surface of the county is very irregular, and affords a variety of scenery. The north and north-western and central parts are very flat, as about Scottsburg, Austin, and especially in Johnson township; here the drainage is poor, excepting in the immediate vicinity of Big Creek, and north where the land is slightly rolling. The east- ern part of the county is roll-
ing, and the southern and south. eastern is very much broken by a con tinuation of the Knob range of hills of Clark county, which have an eleva- tion of from 300 to 400 feet. From the summits of many of these knobs are landscape views that would set the heart of a painter wild. White Oak Point. Rocky Point, Piney Point and many other elevations present views that command nearly the entire county. Five miles southwest of Vienna, on the dividing ridge between the headwaters of Silver Creek in Clark county, and the waters of Pigeon Roost Fork in Scott county, the view is very commanding. On suitable days when the atmosphere is in a favorable condition for the conveyance of sound, the whistles of locomotives and other noises can be heard for many miles : and the valley through which the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indian- apolis railroad runs, can be traced on a clear day, beneath the overhanging mist, to the falls of the Ohio, and to the west and north the highest land of Jackson and Jennings counties can be easily distinguished. The county is
T
235
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY.
well drained, except the low flats above referred to, by the folowing streams, viz .: Big Creek, and its tributaries ; the Southern or Brushy Fork of the Muscatatuck ; Woods Fork; Home Fork; Pigeon Roost Fork; Little and Big Ox, and Fourteen Mile Creek- the latter stream rising in Jefferson county, flowing through the south- western part of Scott and through Clark to the Ohio river. Big Creek is the largest of these streams and rises in Ripley county, flows in the direction of the Ohio and forms a part of the northern and western boundary of the county. It has considerable fall and a strong current, thus affording a num- ber of good mill sites. Flowing over a persistent formation of the Niagara limestone, it has shifted but little from its primitive bed, and hence has but little bottom land along this part of the stream, but frequent abrupt banks. Upon reaching the black slate, how- ever, it has rich alluvial bottoms, noted for their never-failing crops-especially of corn.
Wood's Fork rises in Jefferson county. The lands bordering it are very rich and productive. The rich bottoms of the Muscatatuck as farm- ing lands are scarcely surpassed in the State, and are referred to by the inhabi- tants as a standard of comparison. The season of 1874 will long be remembered as one of great drouth, yet the "flats" of Scott county and these bottom lands had the heaviest crops of corn they had produced for years. Home Fork rises in the south-
ern part of the county, flows past the village of Lexington and joins Wood's Fork. Pigeon Roost Creek, Kimber- land, Little and Big Ox, all have more or less rich and productive bottoms, which have some of the good farms of the county.
The knobs in the southern and west- ern part of the county, originally so barren and bleak, now, so far as subjected to cultivation, grow fruit very successfully. The timber of this knob region is mostly pine, from which tar is made in considerable quantities. Also chestnut, white and red oak grow pretty extensively here. In the valleys the timber growth is beech, sugar maple, poplar, walnut, sycamore and others common in southern Indiana.
In the early settlement of the county, wild pigeons were more plenty than any other of the feathered tribe. Pigeon Roost Creek received its name from the vast numbers of these birds which in early times sought this broken region as a favorite roosting place, particularly in the winter season. Their favor- ite food, the beech nut, was found within a radius of fifty or sixty miles in almost endless profusion. Old settlers whose recollection extends back fifty years, say that they have seen the ground about this pigeon roost covered to the depth of several inches with their drop- pings, and that often in the fall of the year they could be seen there in countless numbers and covering many square miles of territory.
236
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY.
With the Pigeon Roost is con- nected a sad and melancholy incident, which for many years threw a gloom over all the settlements of southern Indiana. The Pigeon Roost mas- sacre, though long remembered by the early settlers with a shudder of horror, is now fast fading from the minds of men. The best account probably that has been preserved of the sad affair is found in Dillon's History of Indiana. It is as follows :
Within the present limits of Scott county, there was in 1812, a place that was called the " Pigeon Roost Settlement." This settlement, which was founded by a few families in 1809, was confined to about a square mile of land and it was separated from all other settlements by a distance of five or six miles. In the afternoon of the 3d of September, 1812, Jeremiah Payne and a man whose name was Coffman, who were hunting for " bee-trees " in the woods about two miles north of the Pigeon Roost settlements, were surprised and killed by a party of Indians. This party of Indians, which consisted of ten or twelve warriors nearly all of whom were Shawanese, then attacked the Pigeon Roost settlement about sunset on the evening of the 3d of September; and in the space of about one hour killed one man, five women and sixteen children. The bodies of some of these victims of savage warfare were burned in the fires which consumed the cabins in which the murders were perpetrated.
The persons who were massacred at this settlement were Henry Collings and his wife; Mrs. Payne, wife of Jeremiah Payne, and eight of her children ; Mrs. Richard Collings and seven of her children: Mrs. John Morris and her only child, and Mrs. Morris, the mother of John Morris. Mrs. Jane Biggs, with her three small children, escaped from the settlement, eluded the vigilance of the Indians, and about an hour before daylight on the next morning arrived at the house of her brother, Zebulun Col- lings, who lived about six miles from the scene of carnage. William Col- lings, who had passed the age of sixty years, defended his house for the space of three-quarters of an hour against the attack of the Indians. In this defense he was assisted by Capt. John Norris. There were two chil- dren in the house. As soon as it began to grow dark Mr. Collings and Capt. Norris escaped with the two children (John Collings and Lydia Collings) from the house, eluded the pursuit of the Indians, and on the morning of the next day reached the house of Zebulun Collings.
After the time of the Pigeon Roost massacre many of the settlers on the northern and western frontiers of Clark, Jefferson, Harrison and Knox counties lived in a state of alarm until the close of the war in 1815. A number of the militia of Clark county immediately after the Pigeon Roost massacre proceeded to the melancholy spot, where they found
237
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY.
several of the mangled bodies of the dead surrounded by the smoking ruins of the houses. These remains of the murdered persons were brought together and buried in one grave. Mr. Zebulun Collings, who lived within six miles of the Pigeon Roost settlement, said : " The manner in which I used to work in those perilous times, was as follows : On all occasions I carried my rifle, tomahawk, and butcher-knife, with a loaded pistol in my belt. When I went to plow I laid my gun on the plowed ground and stuck up a stick by it for a mark, so that I could get it quick in case it was wanted. I had two good dogs. I took one into the house leaving the other out. The one outside was expected to give the alarm, which would cause the one inside to bark, by which I would be awakened, having my arms always loaded. I left my horses in a stable close to the house, having a port-hole, so that I could shoot to the stable door. During two years, I never went from home with any certainty of returning -not knowing the minute I might receive a ball from an unknown hand; but in the midst of all these dangers, that God who never sleeps nor slumbers has kept me."
Settlement of the County .- Scott, like most of the counties in southern Indiana, accumulated its population principally from the Southern States. The Pigeon Roost settlement, already referred to, was one of the first made in the county. After the battle of
Tippecanoe, and the removal of the Indians from this section of the State, settlements increased rapidly. Ken- tucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia sent large delegations who, though from slave-holding States, developed into good citizens and bitter opponents of slavery. These, with a few Irish, Scotch and Germans make np a large proportion of the popula- tion of the county. Mingled with it, of course, are a few of the "man and brother." When the first of them came, whether as "contrabands of war" or in an earlier day, is not now known. The first, possibly, came by the "under- ground railway," or with the early set- tlers as " free niggers," but not being deemed worthy of consideration before they were entitled to suffrage they existed simply as "hewers of wood and drawers of water" to the Philis- tines with whom they sojourned. But the time came when "Sambo" was a voter and he at once arose to the level of his citizenship and from obscurity and disregard he has passed into notice and consideration. Candi- dates have included him among their friends, and shook hands with him and " cow-shedded " him, and " stood treat " and cajoled and flattered him, and tried to induce him to vote for them ( with new two dollar bills), just the same as they did his white com- peers ; and to-day, so far as votes count, he is the equal of his white neighbor.
As is common in all newly-settled sec- tions of the country, the pioneers
238
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY.
of Scott county were generally friendly and sociable. It was not uncommon for a man to go four or five miles to help a new-comer raise his cabin and sometimes if he heard of it he went without further notice. Log rollings were common in the timbered sections, and at these neighborly gatherings it was thought no harm to have a little whisky. The phase of society was not perfect in its moral symmetry and the Sabbath was as generally a day of hunting and fishing as of religious wor. ship. This, however, is usually the case in a new country and Scott county was no exception to the rule. But as people came in and settlements increased, schools and churches were established, society improved and the foundation laid for the civilization and refinement which have ever been a distinguishing characteristic of Scott county.
County Organization .- Scott county dates back to 1817 as a municipality. The act of the Legislature for its forma- tion passed at that session and its municipal machinery was at once arranged and put in motion. The seat of justice was chosen, public buildings were erected and the county started on the full tide of municipal experiment. How successful that experiment has been its present prosperity is the best proof and assurance.
SCOTTSBURG, the county seat, is situ- ated on the main line of the J. M. & I. railroad, near the center of the county and is a pleasant little city. It
has a population of 700 according to the last census and is a place of con- siderable business; has a good sub- stantial court house, a comfortable school house, several handsome churches and the usual proportion of lawyers and doctors. The next largest town is Lexington, situated in the eastern part of the county, on the Louisville division of the O. & M. rail- road, and by the last census had 500 inhabitants. Austin in the northern part of the county, on the J. M. & I. railroad, is the next largest town in point of population and had 325 by the last census. Vienna in the southern part of the county,- also on the J. M. & I., had 175 inhabitants by the last census. Underwood in the southeast- ern part, is a place of 100 inhabitants, and Alpha in the extreme northern part, is a small place -merely a depot on the J. M. & I. railroad.
Railroads .-- Scott county has two railroads. The main line of the Jeffer- sonville, Madison & Indianapolis runs almost through the center of the county from south to north; and the Louisville division of the Ohio & Mis. sissippi passes through the eastern part of the county. There are several stations on these roads within the limits of the county which afford the people the most ample facilities for exporting as well as importing their goods, produce and stock.
WILLIAM B. EVERITT-Was born February Sth, 1832, and is a sou
239
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY.
of William D. and Mary C. (Lewellen) Everitt, the latter descended from one of the first families who settled at Louis- ville, Ky .; the former was a native of Virginia and removed to Louisville, Ky., soon after the close of the war of 1812 in which he served as a soldier. Subsequently he removed to Scott county where he died at the age of $7 years.
The subject of this sketch was brought up on the farm and educated in the common schools. He was married in 1853 to Matilda E. Esom, whose parents came from Maryland to Kentucky at an early day. They have eight living children and one dead. Six of those living are boys, viz: Thomas H., present Sheriff of Scott county ; James C., married and living at Vienna and in the mercantile business ; William R., at home ; Charles H., Oliver N., and Oessa . F. and Martha F., at home with her parents and Bertha Ellen. Mildred A. died in 1876.
Mr. Everitt volunteered in the Fed- eral army in August, 1862, and served until June, 1865, when he was honor- ably discharged. He was enrolled as Second Lieutenant of Co. I., and recruiting officer of the 81st Indiana Volunteers.
THOMAS H. EVERITT-Was born in Clark county, Indiana, June 17th, 1857, and was brought up on a farm near Vienna, Scott county. He received a common school education.
Believing in the Scripture charge that " it is not good for man to be alone," he married at the age of eighteen, Miss Mary C. Gray, a native of Scott county and a descendant of one of the old and prominent families of Ken- tucky. They have had eight children six of whom are living, viz: W. H., aged twelve ; Jesse H., nine ; Lydia, seven ; Ida B., five; Lola A., three ; and Elsie B., an infant. Mr. Everitt followed farming and engaged exten- sively in stock dealing until 1886, when he was elected Sheriff of the county which position he still holds. He is one of the few Republicans who have been elected to office in this county the usual Democratic majority being over 300. He was elected Sheriff by fifty-four majority over Win. Rice, the nominee of the Dem- ocratie party.
Mr. Everitt owns 190 acres of finely improved land; also some valuable property in Scottsburg. He is prom- inent as a Mason and is a leading member of the Methodist church.
BARNET K. GLADDEN - Was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, September 8th, 1830, and is a son of Elijah and Sarah (Whitlatch) Glad- den, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania who emigrated to this county in 1831 and settled on Hog Creek three miles from Lexington where he died in 1850 ; the latter is a daughter of Barnet Whitlatch, a native of Harford county, Maryland. Great-
240
SCOTT COUNTY.
grandfather John Kimberlin, from Green county, Pennsylvania came here in 1805 and settled three miles from Lexington where he built the first house in that neighborhood, and as he was the first settler on the little creek it took his name-Kim- berlin Creek.
The subject was reared on a farm and has followed farming all his life, but has found time to devote to politics and has filled several civil offices,-was township assessor of Lexington township for seven years, and in 1886 was elected County Auditor on the Democratic ticket which position he now holds. He also served some time as postmaster and was Alternate in the convention that nominated Cleveland and Thur- man for the Presidency and Vice- Presidency.
Mr. Gladden was married to Moriah Summerville, a daughter of Joseph Summerville, of Scott county, a native of Licking county, Kentucky, who is still living and is 84 years of age. They have four children living, viz. : Josephine, wife of Arby L. Hardy, of New Hampshire ; Sarah C., wife of Cyrus Noaks, of Lexington ; Clara, and Dan Voorhees, Deputy Audi- tor. Harriet M. died in November, 1884, and was the wife of William Blocher.
Mr. Gladden is a prominent Odd Fellow, and has filled the chairs. He represented his Lodge in 1886 in the Grand Lodge.
W. E. GREEN, M. D .- A native of the town of Tupper's Plains, Meigs county, Ohio and was born January 22d, 1851. His father, William Green, was born in Oswego, N. Y., in 1803. He was a farmer in humble circumstances and one of the earliest settlers in Meigs county, Ohio.
W. R. Green's early educational advantages were meagre, attending the common schools in winter and working on the farm during the sum- mer seasons, and so continued until he became twenty-one years of age. He then attended Tupper's Plains Seminary for about two years pursu- ing an irregular course under Prof. L. C. Crippen, an able instructor of Athens, Ohio.
He began the study of medicine immediately on leaving the Seminary under the tutelage of Dr. Josephus Parsons. He subsequently entered the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio ; on leaving the Insti- tute he returned home and in a short time came to Lexington and began the practice of his profession.
He located at Lexington September 15th, 1876, and has succeeded in building up a splendid practice in Scott and adjoining counties and is regarded as one of the most successful physicians in the county.
He was married to Miss Flora B. Paswater July 20th, 1879. She is a daughter of William and Eliza Paswater. Her father . is a highly respected farmer, living at Lexington.
-
241
SOUVENIR SKETCHES.
He was born in 1818 and one of the pioneers of Scott county.
Dr. Green was initiated into the I. O. O. F. Lodge at Lexington July 22d, 1879, and was the repre- sentative of his Lodge in the Grand Lodge at Indianapolis in 1884.
COLUMBUS B. HARROD-Is descended from one of the most prom- inent families of Kentucky-no less distinguished a man than Col. James Harrod, the founder of Harrodsburg, . the oldest town in Kentucky, and for whom it was named. ยท
Wm. Harrod, the grandfather of Columbus, was the first white child born at the Falls of the Ohio, now Louisville, and was a lineal descendant of Col. Harrod, the pioneer. William B. Oard, the maternal grandfather, was an early settler in Scott county, and came from Virginia.
Columbus B., the subject of this sketch, is a son of Win. G. and Sarah Ann (Oard) Harrod, and was born April 13th, 1849, in Jennings town- ship Scott county. His father lives in Scottsburg, and is a prominent farmer of the county. His grand- mother was Elizabeth New, a sister of John B. New, a prominent Christian minister of this State. Being an only son, Columbus received a liberal edu- cation. He was brought up on the farm, and received his early training in the common schools of the neigh- borhood. Afterward he attended the Blue River Academy, a Quaker
institution in Washington county. He read law for a time and then entered the State University at Bloom- ington. After an irregular literary course, he entered the law department, from which he graduated in March, 1872. He was admitted to the bar at Bloomington the same year, and in 1875 commenced practice at Scotts- burg, where he has since resided and followed his profession. He is a prominent Republican politician, and has made several unsuccessful political races, owing to his party being in the minority. He owns a farm of eighty acres of good land in this county. Mr. Harrod was married the 31st of October, 1881, to Miss Lina Brown of Jeffersonville. They have three chil- dren. He is a man of fine attain- ments, a lawyer of more than ordinary brilliance, and a polished gentleman socially.
HORATIO S. HAZZARD-Is a native Indianian, and was born in Scott county, February 12th, 1839. He is a son of Albert and Eliza Ellen (Keith) Hazzard, natives of Mary- land, and early settlers of that State, the latter a daughter of Horatio Keith, who came to Scott county in an early day. The elder Hazzard was a prom- inent farmer, and died when his son was still quite young; his wife died shortly after.
Horatio S., the subject of these lines, was reared on the farm and received a common school education.
242
SCOTT COUNTY.
He followed the profession to which he was brought up until the fall of 1886, when he was elected County Treasurer of Scott county on the Democratic ticket, an office he now holds. He has served four years as Justice of the Peace and two years as Trustee of Vienna township.
He is one of the popular and enter- prising men of his neighborhood, as evinced in the public positions he has held. Mr. Hazzard was married in 1859, to Miss Amanda Ellen Clark, born in Scott county, and a daughter of James Clark, a native of Virginia, and who was a prominent farmer here. They have three children : Augusta Alice, Martha E., and James A. Wm. Hazzard owns one hundred and twen- ty-seven acres of fine land adjoining Scottsburg, which is highly improved. He is a member of the Christian church, of the fraternity of the I. O. O. F. and of the Knights of Honor.
LEVI R. JONES-Was born in Vienna township in Scott county, Nov. 28th, 1843, and is a son of William and Eliza (Sparks) Jones, the former a native of this State and the latter a daughter of Hector Sparks, an early settler of Kentucky.
He was brought up on a farm and educated in the common schools, and in 1866 was married to Miss Sallie M. Collins, a daughter of William E. and Nancy Collins, natives of Kentucky. They have seven children, two boys and five girls, viz .: Anna E. married
Geo. W. Richey, living in this county; Sarah E., Emma C., M. Jane, Nancy B., Jesse E. and W. Howard. Mr. Jones volunteered in the Federal army in August, 1862, in Company K. Sixty-sixth Indiana Infantry.
He served faithfully until the close of the war, and participated in several battles. He was taken prisoner at Lexington, Ky., and remained a pris- oner for two months. He was with Sherman in his march to the sea.
Mr. Jones is a prosperous farmer, owning 233 acres of excellent land, well improved. He does not aspire to office, but is content to move on in quiet and private life. He and family are members of the M. E. church.
REV. CHARLIE A. MANKER, a prominent divine of the Christian church, was born in Ohio, a State indig- enous of great men, near Hillsboro, Highland county, on the 16th of August, 1838. He is a son of Lewis and Sarah (Swadley) Manker, natives of Pennsylvania and belonging to the good old family of Pennsylvania Dutch.
His father was a minister of the Gospel. The subject of our sketch was brought up in the village where he was born, until he was fifteen years old, when he went to Cincinnati and was apprenticed to a carriage manu- facturer, in which he remained for five years. He then located at Columbus, Indiana, where he worked at his trade.
243
SOUVENIR SKETCHES.
In 1867 he came to Scott county and together with his brother-in-law, James W. Allen, engaged in carriage manufacturing at Woostertown, this county (Scott), which he continued for two years, and then abandoned it and engaged in farming.
In 1880 he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court on the Democratic ticket, and in 1884 proved his popularity in the county in his re-election to the same office.
In October, 1870, he was married to Miss Mollie E. Allen, of Scott county, a daughter of Elijah S. Allen, a prom- inent farmer of the county. They have three children. He has been a minister in the Christian church since 1870, and preached every Sunday. He has charge of the Scottsburg Chris- tian Church, the largest in the county, and through his zeal in the Master's work is constantly increasing in members.
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.