USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 85
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 85
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The last officers elected were J. R. Merrell, John Penrod, Lorenzo D. Coats and W. H. Foreman, Elders; E. F. Herrald and John Nation, Deacons.
This church is the outgrowth of faith. Its members have not been among the rich or among those highest in social circles; its success can only be attributed to Him who uses the weak things of this earth to manifest His power and glory.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was established in the very early settlement of the township at the residence of John Spangler, about one
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
and a quarter miles south of Lancaster. The first class meeting was held there, and also the first quarterly meeting. Among the members of this little society are remembered John S. Cole and wife, James Cham- bers and wife, Isaac Rader and wife. No official records of their acts were kept, and the class was not maintained for a longer period than two years, during which time Revs. Abraham Wright and John E. Burton preached at intervals.
The present organization is known as the Patricksburg Methodist Episcopal Church, and dates its history from the year 1846, at which time it was organized with about twenty-five members. The first meet- ing-place was the dwelling of Edward Brant, a short distance south of the village, and Revs. Joseph Pinkston and Asa Beck were the earliest preachers. In 1848, the organization was moved to Lancaster, where the majority of the members resided, and public worship was held from house to house until 1854, when a neat temple of worship was erected in the northwestern part of town, where the schoolhouse now stands. The lot on which the building stood was donated by Patrick Sullivan.
In the year 1874, the present edifice was erected at a cost of $1,100. It is a comfortable frame structure, 32x40 feet in size, and will accommo- date a congregation of 300 persons. For more than thirty years past, the church has enjoyed a reasonable degree of prosperity under the charge of the many preachers sent by the conference to minister to her people. A few familiar names of some of those worthy men are called to the minds of those acquainted with the church for more than a quarter of a cen- tury, such as A. Noy, A. Shively, William Zaring. Samuel Denney, Henry S. Dane, O. Fling, - - Tolbert, John Pitner, Sampson Cullison, John Tansy, S. C. Kennedy, Gideon Heavenridge, David Swartz, T. D. Welker, Calvin Lee, Levi Johnson, - Julian, Edward Boaz, Elisha Adamson, John T. Cooper, down to the present minister, John Spear.
The membership of the church is steadily increasing, and numbers at the present time about eighty-three.
Class leader, John Royer; Stewards, William Royer and James Knox; Sunday School Superintendent, Johu Royer. The society was formerly a point on the Bowling Green Circuit, but at the present time it is the head of the Patricksburg Circuit.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church-The history of this so- ciety begins with the year 1860, at which time it was organized by Rev. John F. Lantenschlager, with a membership of fifteen families, whose names are as follows, to wit: John Schmaltz, Adam Haldt, John Haldt, Matthew Haldt, Christian Weber, Gottlieb Schmaltz, Stephen Maeger- lein, Samuel Bierly, Abraham Keiser, Eli Dickey, Daniel Stahl, Fred- erick Sindlinger, Daniel Miller, Ludwig Schwinger and George Sander- son. Meetings were held in the village schoolhouse until the year 1862, when the subject of a more suitable place of worship began to be dis- cussed, and a building fund started. The citizens of the village were all afforded an opportunity, and many responded with liberal donations, members of other churches not excepted.
The contract for the building of their present commodious edifice, situated on Sycamore street, in the north part of the village, was award- ed in 1862, and the good work pushed to completion during that year. It is a frame building, 30x45 feet, and cost the sun of $1,500. Since its organization, the society has been ministered to by the following pastors in the order named: D. M. Martins preached three years; Will- iam J. Schrover preached the same length of time; T. H. H. Jaeger
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MARION TOWNSHIP.
preached four years; A. Eberbach, three years, and F. W. C. Wiechers, three years. The pastor in charge at the present time is Rev. William H. Price, who is now on his first year's work. About 100 members be- long to the church at the present time, and services are conducted in both the English and German languages. A good Sunday school is maintained throughout the year, with an average attendance of sixty scholars. The present Superintendent is John Schmaltz.
A small society of Adventists was organized about five or six years ago by Rev. Mr. Lane, of Battle Creek, Mich., who preached for the church at intervals for several years. A small frame house of worship was built in 1880, and stands in the western part of the village. It was terribly racked by the cyclone which passed over the town in the spring of 1883, and is in a dilapidated condition at the present time. The so- ciety seems to be on the standstill, numbering but few members, and sustaining no regular preaching.
Educational. - The first schoolhouse in Lancaster was a frame build- ing, and stood in the east part of town, on the lot occupied at the present time by William Royer. It was in use until the year 1865, at which time a larger and more commodious frame building was erected in the northern part of the village. This house had but one room, and in time the growth of the town demanded a larger building, so in 1875 the pres- ent handsome two-story edifice, containing two large rooms, was erected at a cost of about $1,000.
The Lancaster News, a small advertising sheet, was started, in 1875, by William Travis, present editor of the Clay City Independent, who conducted it a little more than one year, when he sold out to Messrs. Rice & Nugent. They conducted the paper but a short time, and closed out for want of patronage.
General Prosperity .- The town of Lancaster is situated in the midst ยท of one of the richest and best cultivated sections of Owen County, and is surrounded by as thrifty and intelligent a class of farmers as is to be found in any part of the State. No village of its size in this or adjoin- ing counties is blessed with a more liberal, wide-awake, enterprising class of merchants, hence trade is drawn from many miles around. The place has never been cursed by a few men of wealth, owning and con- trolling the commercial interests of the town, and the general state of society and morals is most excellent. There is a bright prospect in fut- ure for the little city, and it is reasonably hoped that a railroad will soon be completed through this part of the country, and bring the place in connection with the large cities and commercial centers of the State.
STEUBENVILLE.
The village of Steubenville is situated in the southeastern part of the township, and occupies a part of Section 28, Township 10 north, Range 5 west. It was surveyed in the year 1857, for Henry Wilgus, proprietor, and consists of fourteen lots, but few of which were ever sold or im- proved. A small grocery and saloon were started in an early day, and later three dram shops were in successful operation, and the place achieved the reputation of being the general resort of all the hard char- acters and thugs in the entire country, and was shunned by all respect- able people. As the country improved, and a better class of citizens bought up the adjacent lands, these moral ulcers disappeared, and in time the locality became more civil and law abiding. The plat was final- ly abandoned, and but few vestiges of the village remain at the present
750
HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
time. St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Steubenville was organized by Rev. John Lautenschlager, in the year 1856, with about twenty members. A schoolhouse was used by the congregation until 1858, at which time a log house of worship was built on the land of John Haas. In the build- ing of the house, the society was assisted by members of the German Reformed Church, a small organization of which sprang into existence about the same time, under the ministerial labors of Rev. Mr. Matzinger.
The house has been used alternately by both organizations down to the present time. Rev. Mr. Lautenschlager still preaches for the Lu- theran society, which numbers about fifteen members. The Reformed Church is a very small organization, numbering only about eight or ten members at the present time.
MARION MILLS.
Marion Mills is a small hamlet situated in Section 20, Town 10 north, Range 5 west. It received its name from a mill erected about the year 1857, by one Henry Fairchilds, of Ohio. Mr. Fairchilds came from his native State with the best of recommendations, and being a minister of the Gospel soon won for himself a place in the confidence of the citizens of the community, who assisted him in the milling en- terprise by donating the ground for the structure. After the building was well under headway, it was ascertained that the preacher was a pen- niless" adventurer, but rather than have the enterprise stop, the people contributed liberally, purchased the machinery and started the mill, which proved a valuable acquisition to the neighborhood. It was pur- chased by Perry Cherryholmes before its completion, and not finished until about the year 1864. It has been operated continuously ever since, passing through various hands, and is at present owned by David Dickey and operated by a Mr. Kinport. About the time the mill was erected, a post office was established and named Hausertown, in compliment to George Hauser, the first Postmaster, who lived near the village of Steubenville. The office was afterward moved to Steubenville, and later to the residence of John Hulet, near Marion Mills, by whom it was kept for several years. It was transferred to the Mills some time prior to 1865, where it has since remained. In the spring of 1857, Messrs Long & Baumgartner erected a store building near the mill, and stocked it with a general assortment of merchandise, which they bought at New Albany. They did business as a firm for a period of six years, at the end of which time the partnership was dissolved, Baumgartner re- tiring. He afterward built the house now occupied by M. Rentschler & Son, and sold goods for about ten years, when the stock was purchased by Henry Haas, who closed out one year later to M. Rentschler & Son, the present proprietors. Long continued business until 1878, at which time he closed out on account of financial embarrassment. The busi- ness of the place is represented at the present time by one good general store, one blacksmith shop and one wagon shop.
DENMARK.
Denmark is a small, rambling village of a few houses situated on Lick Creek, in the southwest corner of the township. No plat of the town was ever put on record, and the only feature that ever gave the place any importance was a store kept in an early day by William Harstine, who was also Postmaster. At the present time there is no business done at the place, and erelong the last vestige of the village will have disappeared.
751
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
BY G. N. BERRY.
THE order of the Owen County Commissioners' Court creating Franklin Township bears date of March 4, 1819, and proceeds with the usual phraseology of such enactments, and defines the boundary lines as follows : " Beginning at the southeast corner of Owen County ; thence west to the Vigo County line ; thence north to the line dividing Townships 9 and 10 north ; thence east to the line dividing Owen and Monroe Counties ; thence south to the place of beginning." As originally formed, the township included all that part of the county south of the line dividing Congressional Towns 9 and 10 north, and embraced a geographical area of 120 square miles, being twenty miles long from east to west, and six miles from the northern to the southern boundary. From this large scope of territory were subsequently created Clay and Jefferson Townships, the former in the eastern, and the latter in the western part of the county, with Franklin lying between. In the forma- tion of Clay, thirty-six sections were used, while Jefferson, being more than a full Congressional township, contains forty-eight sections, leaving Franklin with a territory of thirty-six square miles, its present area. It borders upon Greene County on the south, La Fayette and Washington Townships on the north, Clay Township on the east. Jefferson on the west, and in the Congres- sional survey is designated as Town 9 north, Range 4 west.
White River crosses the northern boundary near the northwest corner, flows a southwesterly direction, and nearly equally divides the township. This is the largest and most important water-course in the county, and was the chief attraction in inducing immigration to this part of the country. Adjacent to the stream on either side are low bottom lands, varying from a half to a mile and a half in width, and possessing a deep sandy soil, which is very fertile, and well adapted to agriculture. These bottoms are, in fact, the only real valuable farm lands in the township, and fifty years of con- stant tillage have in no wise diminished their fertility. Fish Creek enters the township from the north, flows a southerly course through Sections 5, 8, 17, 18, 19 and 30, and empties into White River in Section 31, a short dis- tance from the Greene County line. Raccoon Creek flows an easterly di- rection through the southern part of the township, crossing the eastern boundary in Section 25, and emptying into White River in Section 23. These creeks are running streams throughout the year, and receive a number of small tributaries, none of which are of sufficient importance to merit a special mention.
Aside from the low land skirting White River, the surface of the town- ship is very rolling, rising into large hills in some localities, the most promi- nent of which is Mount Pisgah, in the southern part. The hills and bluffs along Fish Creek are, in some places, very abrupt, and rise to a distance of many feet. They are composed, for the most part, of conglomerate and Chester sandstone, and outcroppings of Kaskaskia lime rock at intervals. Along the line of the Indianapolis & Vincennes Railroad are vast bluffs and beds of the finest building stone, all of which are easily accessible ; several quarries have already been opened, the largest of which is near the village of Freedom, where stone of the finest quality is taken out and shipped. Good stone is found in every section of the township, much of which has
752
HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
been utilized by the farmers in the construction of chimneys, foundations, and in the erection of outbuildings. All over the township have been found what are known as Indian relics, the most common being heart-shaped flint rock, which was doubtless used for pointing arrows, and was the savage's ammunition with which he warred and hunted. Stone axes and pipes have also been found, but no authenticated specimens of pottery. In the northern part of Section 15, not far from the I. & V. R. R., are several mounds, some of which are very large, and appear to have been constructed by some pre- historic people, as human remains, barely distinguishable from the earth, have been found in and around them. Other elevations, which some suppose to have been the work of the Mound-Builders, are, no doubt, the result of denuding forces acting upon the surface, which have swept away the sur- rounding strata, leaving these isolated hills as indications of the former level of the adjacent region. In the southern part of the township, near the county line, a good quantity of block coal is found, and several local mines have been developed and successfully operated. These deposits are in Sections 22 and 34, and appear to be the only coal outcroppings in the township as far as known.
In an agricultural point of view, Franklin is not what can be considered a No. 1 township, owing to the broken and stony land, and the thin soil. In some places, however, there are many good farms, especially in the low valleys among the hills, and along Eel River, where the soil will com- pare favorably with the best tilled portion of the county. As a grazing country, this section cannot be excelled, and stock-raising is rapidly coming to the front as the leading industry.
SETTLEMENT.
The land of Franklin Township was surveyed and placed upon market in the year 1816, but if any white persons became residents that early such fact is not now known. It is certain, however, that the township was often traversed by hunters and speculators from the South, and by traders who crossed the country in order to traffic with the Indians, who, at that date, were scattered over the greater part of what is now Owen County. Various Indian trails were the highways over which these traders traveled. Wild animals were found abundantly in all portions of the country, especially along the streams, where almost impenetrable thickets abounded, and where the animals sought refuge when pursued by the hunters. Old settlers of Franklin, now living. state that bears were numerously found in all that re- gion bordering on White River, and that such region was a favorite hunting ground of several Indian tribes. The country was constantly invaded by hunters and trappers for a number of years prior to the permanent settle- ment, and erelong the bears had nearly all been killed or driven away, and even the deer had become quite shy. As early as 1816, several persons se- cured lands within the present limits of the township, and during that year patents were obtained by Fetter & Hughes for a portion of Section 22 ; John Latta for the northwest quarter of Section 1; Levin Lawrence for several tracts in Section 12 ; Joseph Bartholomew and Alexander Kirkpatrick for parts of Section 16; Hamilton Reddaugh for 160 acres of Section 22 ; Joseph Freeland for a portion of Section 21 ; and Vance Wilson for a piece of land lying in Section 27.
It cannot be determined with any degree of accuracy which of the per- sons named was the first bona fide settler, as none of them moved to their respective purchases until about ten years after the entries were made. Mr. Hugh M. Light, the oldest living settler in the township at the present time, is of the opinion that John and William Latta became the first permanent
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FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
residents, as they had good improvements on their claims as early as the summer of 1818. The land which John Latta entered, and on which he lived until about the year 1829, is situated in the northeastern part of the township, and is owned at the present time by Isaac Barnes. The Lattas were men eminently qualified for pioneers, belonging to that hardy class developed by the times, and found on the frontier of all early settled coun- tries.
John appears to have been a man of honor, and was well respected in the community which he founded ; but the reputation of William was rather unsavory, and in later years he created quite a sensation by leaving the country in company with a woman whom the laws of the State gave him no right to live with-in other words, he took her for " better or worse " without the formalities of a wedding ceremony.
Joseph Freeland was probably the next permanent settler. He came from Maryland early in 1818, and located near the village of Freedom, where he remained about ten years, after which he returned to his native State. He afterward came back to Indiana and improved the land which he entered, and was a resident of Franklin Township until about the year 1838, at which time his death occurred. In many respects, Mr. Freeland was in advance of the early pioneers by whom he was surrounded, having been a man of education and refinement, which fitted him to move in any circle of society. He was one of the pioneer preachers of Owen County, and a devout and sincere Christian in every respect. His son was the first Clerk of the county, and a man distinguished for his many sterling qualities.
Other settlers who located in the township as early as 1818 were Chris- topher Wyatt, a Virginian, who made improvements in Section 12 ; Thomas Bush, who secured land in Section 15, now belonging to the Hicks estate ; William Wyatt, a brother of Christopher Wyatt; Levin Lawrence, whose entry has been referred to ; William Buckles, who located in Section 15, where he made a good farm ; Charles Pettitt, who obtained a tract of land in Section 19 ; James Gallagher, who cleared a small farm in Section 29 ; Michael Yax and John Stokeley, both of whom settled near Gallagher's place ; Samuel Jackson, who settled in Section 33; and David Deem and Leonard Brake, who made their first improvements in Section 34.
About this time came Capt. John Johnson, a man prominently identified with the early settlement and development of the township, and located a short distance below the site of Freedom Village, where he cleared a small farm and established a trading point for the purpose of trafficking with the Indians. He was well acquainted throughout the entire southern part of Indiana, over which he had traveled extensively for several years before set- tling in this county, his business being that of a trader. Among the early settlers of his community he seemed to enjoy a kind of supremacy, being a man of rare business qualifications and of more than ordinary intelligence, which well fitted him to be a leader. He was elected Captain of the militia company, which mustered here at an early day, and later ran for the Legis- lature, but, belonging to an unpopular party, was defeated, after a very spir- ited contest. During the early days of the county, he carried on an exten- sive business in shipping grain and produce by flat-boat to New Orleans, by means of which he accumulated a handsome competency. In later years, he became an uncompromising partisan, which rendered him unpopular with many of his political enemies; yet, notwithstanding this fact, his abilities were recognized by all, and he was elected County Commissioner several terms. During the war of the rebellion, he was untiring in his efforts to in- duce men to enlist for the Union, and his house was known far and wide as the soldier's home, and became a favorite stopping place for the boys in
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
blue. He died in the year 1868, after a long and eventful life, the greater part of which was spent in the development of Jefferson Township.
In the early part of 1819, Abner Light, a native of South Carolina, moved to this township, and entered land in Section 29, to which he moved the latter part of the same year. Hugh M. Light, his brother, then a young unmarried man, came the same year, but did not remain any great length of time. He went back to Harrison County, where his parents originally set- tled, and remained there a number of years, visiting this country at intervals. He afterward settled in the township, a short distance from Freedom, where he still lives, one of the oldest living pioneers of the county. Israel Light, another brother, came in 1819, and settled where his son, Israel Light, Jr., now lives.
An early settlement was made in the southeastern part of the township by a man by name of Buskirk, who established a trading-post on the east bank of White River, at a place known as the " Point." The exact date of Buskirk's settlement was not learned, although it appears to have been as early as 1819 or 1820. He kept a small stock of goods, consisting princi- pally of calicoes, notions and whisky, and trafficked with the Indians for furs, venison, etc., which were purchased at regular intervals by men from Louis- ville, of whom Mr. Buskirk obtained his merchandise. In his dealings with the redskins, our frontier merchant drove many good bargains, and retired from his business in later years with a neat little sum of money, which enabled him to purchase valuable tracts of real estate in this and adjoining counties.
An early settler deserving special mention was one Caleb Nichols, an in- telligent Yankee from Vermont, who located where Charles Lucas lives about the year 1819. He was a mechanical genius, and exercised his skill in various ways, chiefly in the construction of mills, and in manufacturing furniture for the settlers. He was a resident of the township until the year 1861, at which time his death occurred. His son, William Nichols, lives near the village of Freedom, and is one of the oldest residents of the town- ship. Luke Vaughn came to Owen County in 1820, and settled on land adjoining Abner Light's farm, in Section 32. Beverly Vaughn and Cassius Edwards came about the same time, and settled in the northeast corner of the township, on land which was purchased in 1823 by Alexander Scott. The last named was a native of Ohio, and a resident of Franklin until 1843. Thomas Harvey, a noted hunter, came in 1820, and made an improvement on the farm now owned by John L. Stoots. John Ooley came in an early day, and settled near White River, on the land that Mr. Buskirk entered. Later, he moved further northeast, and made a farm in Section 22.
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