USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 89
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 89
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In the month of January, 1847, occurred a great freshet, memorable in this part of the State on account of the vast amount of property de- stroyed, and the great loss entailed on the settlers. In this township the streams overflowed their banks, and all the mills and dams on Big Raccoon were washed out or ruined so badly as to be totally unfit for use. Several mills have been erected since the flood, but only two are in operation at the present time, one owned by James Green, and situ- ated in the southern part of the township; the other was erected by John J. and Henry M. Cooper, many years ago, but no particulars of its history were obtained.
ROADS.
The early roads of Clay Township, like the first highways in other parts of the country, were mere traces or byways cut out through the woods to accommodate the greatest number of people living in the com- munity. No attention was paid to sectional or other lines, and as a con- sequence the township was early cut up by a large number of roads run- ning in all directions. As time passed, many of these zigzag roads were
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abandoned, while others were changed and properly established. One of the first highways laid out through the township was the one leading from Terre Haute to Bloomington, laid out as early as 1821 or 1822. In 1822, Col. John and T. C. Franklin viewed the route of the highway known as the Spencer & Bloomington road. In 1823, the Bloomington & Smith's Ferry road was established, and one year later a highway lead- ing from Spencer to the village of White Hall was surveyed. The Spen- cer & Bloomfield road was established as early as 1824, and later many other roads were laid out, the majority of which are still extensively traveled. In the year 1840, the township was divided into five road districts, and the following persons appointed Supervisors: Abraham Coffey, A. W. Reeves, John Butler, William Franklin and Abraham Green.
EARLY TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.
Thomas Butler and Samuel Franklin were the earliest Justices of the Peace. Then came William McDonald, David Crockett, William Mc- Donald, Joseph G. Stephenson, Amos D. Coffey, and others in the same office. The first Associate Judges were Joseph Stephenson and John Conn. Early Trustees, Col. John Franklin and Thomas C. Franklin. Early Constables were George Milton, Peter F. Livingston and William H. Butler.
VILLAGE OF WHITE HALL.
An early settlement on the present site of White Hall was made some time prior to 1835, by one James Brown, who, in the year 1838, laid out a few lots for the purpose of securing a post office and market place, and named the village for a town in his native State, North Carolina. The village is situated on the northeast quarter of Section 36, Town 9 north, Range 3 west, and originally consisted of thirty-eight lots, all of which were in size . 66x132 feet. In October, 1842, a Mr. Brown platted an addition of twenty-five lots of various sizes, lying on the east, west and north sides of the original survey. The first lots were sold at public outcry, and to Noel Hall belongs the honor of erecting the first building in the new city. This house was built of logs, and was used as a store- house. The first dwelling was erected by Thomas Pirtle. James Brown's residence was built before the platting of the town. Mr. Hall remained in business a number of years, and sold a large amount of merchandise from a general stock. The next store was started by Jacob Bixler, who carried on a good business in this and other small towns, in several of which he had stores. Amos D. Coffey opened the first hotel in the place about three years before the town was laid out. He was a mechanic also, and one of the principal business men of the village. Joel D. Coffey, now Postmaster of Spencer, began his business expe- rience at White Hall in the store of Mr. Bixler. Among the early me- chanics of the village can be named Woodson Truett, Samuel Watts, blacksmiths, and James Mahan, wagon-maker. William and Townsend Smith were among the first merchants of the place, succeeding Noel Hall in the goods business, which they ran for several years. David Butler was an early merchant also. He afterward sold out to Orlando Foster, and moved to Nebraska, and was subsequently elected Governor of that State. Foster is still in the village and is running a good store. For many years White Hall sustained the reputation of a good business point, and was the source of supplies for a large area of country. There are two stores at the present time, a post office and blacksmith shop.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
Another small town was started about the year 1835 or 1836, near the central part of the township, not far from the Livingston Mill, but no plat of lots was ever made. The only feature that gave the place any special prominence was a small store kept by Cornelius Coffey, who con- tinued the business only a couple of years.
PLEASANT VALLEY.
This little hamlet is situated in the eastern part of the township, on the southwest corner of the southwest quarter of Section 19, and was laid out on the 28th day of April, 1859, for Levi Carpenter, proprietor. The record of the plat shows 24 lots 60x100 feet in size, and four streets, namely: Main, Walters, South and Market, the first two of which run north and south, and the others east and west.
The first house on the village site was a log dwelling, erected by Frank Bridge. John Thacker probably built the first frame, and Larkin Tilley sold the first goods. The village never acquired any prominence as a trading point, and bids fair, in time, to be abandoned. It was early nick-named " Dog Walk," by which appellation it is still known.
The place was visited a number of years ago by a very destructive conflagration, and before the fire could be extinguished the greater part of Pleasant Valley was a mass of smoldering ruins. From the effects of the disaster the village has never entirely recovered, and at the pres- ent time it presents a dismantled appearance, and boasts of a population of about forty souls.
PINEY TOWN.
This place has an existence only on the county records, which show a plat of twenty lots, lying on the west part of the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 20. The lots were surveyed in the month of April, 1859, for Moses Franklin, who put them on the market, but it appears that few if any of them were ever sold, and at the present time the town site is a part of a plowed field.
VILLAGE OF BRAYSVILLE.
Braysville is situated in the southwest quarter of Section 18, Town 9 north, Range 3 west, and consists of sixteen lots, all of which are 60 feet front by 160 feet in depth. The village received its name from the proprietor, Hiram Bray, who had it surveyed and recorded in the month of January, 1860. But little was ever done toward the development of the place, and at the present time some half dozen families constitute its entire population.
Jordan Owens was the first merchant. He induced his father-in-law, Allen Hastings, to sell his farm in Franklin Township, and move to the then promising village and embark in the mercantile business. Subse- quent history shows that their enterprise did not prove very profitable, as the principal (or son-in-law), retired from the business, to the Monroe County Poor House where he ended his days as a common pauper, while a similar fate overtook the father-in-law, who with his wife died in Owen County Asylum for the Poor. After Owens & Co., several other parties tried the mercantile business at Braysville, all of whom were fortunate enough to leave the place before becoming county charges.
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CLAY TOWNSHIP.
EDUCATIONAL.
Of the early schoul history of Clay Township, but little is known, many facts and interesting incidents pertaining thereto having been forgotten in a long lapse of years. The first schoolhouse was erected by David Elliott, Thomas C. and John Franklin and stood about one mile southwest of the county poor farm. It was of logs or poles, and was first ussd by " Tommy Butler," who taught a term the same year it was completed. The second house for school purposes was built a few years later and stood not far from the Salem Baptist Church.
Elijah Coffey, father of Joel Coffey, was probably the first teacher in the eastern part of the township. Among other pedagogues were John Hughes, Simeon Butler, Berry Raper, Harvey H. Dyer and Joel A. Dyer. Martin Coffey taught the first school in the Union Schoolhouse, which was built of hewed logs, the first structure of the kind in the township; it was erected about the year 1835, and for a long time answered the two- fold purpose of church and schoolhouse.
There are ten school districts in the township at the present time, and the houses are known by the numbers from one to ten.
District No. 1 has an enumeration of twenty-seven pupils, and is presided over by Sylvester Adkins.
No. 2 has an enumeration of forty-nine scholars; the present teacher is James A. Raper.
In District No. 3 are fifty scholars taught at the present time by A. C. Buzzard.
No. 4 has seventy pupils; teacher, Samuel Carpenter.
No. 5 seems to be more thinly populated, there being in the dis- trict but twenty-seven scholars. They listen to the instruction of Eva Phillips. Thirty-three children are living within the boundaries of Dis- trict No. 6, and Anna Dickerson wields the birch of authority over their devoted heads.
District No. 7 has twenty-nine scholars, with Mollie Mayfield teacher.
In District No. 8 are thirty-eight children who harken to the instruc- tion of McClellan Ooley. Charles E. Carpenter teaches thirty-eight pu- pils in District No. 9, and John W. Culver teaches the school in No. 10, which is attended by twenty-three scholars. The revenue for tuition, for the year 1882-83, was $1,661.34.
RELIGIOUS.
The first religious exercises in Clay Township were conducted by ministers of the Methodist Church at the residence of T. C. Franklin, where a class was organized as early as the year 1822, under the super- vision of Rev. John Cord. Among the early members of this society can be named T. C. Franklin and wife, Col. John Franklin and wife, Henry Baker and wife, Isom Sumpter and wife, Miss Crockett, Mrs. Samuel Franklin, Elizabeth Bryant, Mrs. David Thacker and Polly Crockett. Services were held at Franklin's residence and other places for several years, and after the organization gained sufficient strength, a house of worship was erected and named Asbury Chapel. The church has main- tained an existence ever since the original organization, and at the pres- ent time is one of the aggressive societies of the township.
The church known as Disciples or Christians held services in an early day at the residence of Henry Pirtle, and subsequently at the dwellings of J. J. and B. F. Stevenson.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
Their early preachers were Richard Lane, Michael Combs, Thomas C. Johnson, J. M. Mathes, Thomas C. Franklin and Thomas C. Hughes. A society of this church is still maintained, known as Concord, which has an active membership.
The Baptists established a church near Big Raccoon in an early day, the first meetings being held at the residence of Elijah Coffey. Among their preachers were Leroy Mayfield, William Carleton, James Medley and Reuben Coffey. The church is known as Bethel, and is in a flourish- ing condition at the present time.
The Salem Separate Baptist Church, on Little Raccoon, is an old or- ganization. The society has a good house of worship and has been a power of good in the community.
The Regular Baptists have an organization, known as Little Flock, which is reported in fair condition.
Heading's Chapel was organized at the residence of Jesse Walker in the year 1843, and three years later a house of worship was erected. This house was replaced in 1870 by a more commodious frame structure which stood eleven years, when it was destroyed by fire. A new building was. erected in 1882 on ground donated by J. Green. The present member- ship is ninety.
MORGAN TOWNSHIP.
BY G. N. BERRY.
T THE original township of Morgan was created February, 1821, and embraced within its limits the present townships of Jefferson and Marion, the southwest corner of Morgan, and the western portion of LaFayette. In July, 1825, a new township called Morgan was formed, with the following outline, to wit: "Beginning at the southwest corner of Section 14, in Township 10 north, Range 5 west; thence east to south- west corner of Section 14, in Township 10 north, Range 4 west: thence north to northwest corner of Section 2, in Township 11 north, Range 4 west; thence west to northwest corner of Section 2, in Township 11 north, Range 5 west; thence south to place of beginning." The township at that time embraced an area of fifty-four square miles, being nine miles from north to south, and six miles from the eastern to the western limits. Various changes were made in the original boundaries from time to time, and it was not until the year 1852 that the township was adjusted with its present area of thirty square miles. The township is six miles long from east to west, five miles from north to south, and lies. in the western part of the county with the following boundaries: Jack- son and Jennings Townships on the north, Montgomery and Washington on the east, LaFayette on the south, Marion Township and Clay County on the west.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
The northern and eastern portions of the township are considerably broken, while the western part is rolling or gently undulating. Fish Creek rises near the central part of the township and flows in a south- easterly direction through Sections 34, 33, 28 and 29, of Town 11,
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MORGAN TOWNSHIP.
Range 5, and crosses the southern boundary from Section 3, of Town 10, Range 5 west.
Jordan Creek flows along the northern boundary, and receives several small affluents. Six Mile Creek heads in Section 25, near the western part of the township, and leaves from Section 35, of Town 11 north, Range 5 west.
This division of the county is rich in minerals, block coal of a supe- rior quality and in immense quantities being easily accessible in various parts of the township, while iron ore is found in Section 28, in the eastern part.
No other township is better supplied with building stone, there being extensive beds of sandstone and lime rock in the southern part, all of which is near the surface, and could be utilized if there were means of transporting it. A fine quality of grit stone is found in various places, and is used by the citizens for grindstones.
The leading occupation of the inhabitants of Morgan is agriculture, although considerable attention is given to stock-raising, and in the near future this industry promises to become quite extensive, as the county seems peculiarly adapted to it, there being plenty of rich blue grass pasturage and an abundance of stock water. Among the different farmers of the township who give attention to stock, the following are the most prominent, viz .: George Gerrard, Matthew King, John Freeman, Nathan Halley, John Carter, Thomas P. Ford, John W. Lucksey, John S. Speer, John Wenning, David Welty and Frederick Shroer.
SETTLEMENT.
The settlement of Morgan Township extends so far back in the past that it is somewhat difficult to obtain reliable data in regard to the orig- inal pioneers. Among the first to locate here was John Moore, a North Carolinian, who came with his family prior to the year 1824, and settled near the central part of the township, on the land now owned by William Ward. Moore had previously lived near Spencer, and married a Miss Walker, whose parents were among the earliest settlers in the northern part of the county.
Immediately after his marriage, he came to this township, but did not enter or purchase land, but made improvements in various places. The land upon which his first improvements were made was entered in the year 1826, by David Bright. In 1850, Moore sold out to William Wiley, and moved near Spencer, where he died a number of years ago.
Samuel Beaman, and his sons, James, Samuel and Alvin, came from North Carolina about the year 1824, and located where John Carter lives, which land was entered by Beaman for Carter in the year 1830.
The Beamans never owned land in Morgan, but in later years moved to Jennings Township, where they all became owners of real estate, and where several members of the family are still living. In 1825 came Elisha Thomas, a Kentuckian, and located a farm in the western part of the township, on the Terre Haute & Bloomington road, where the Widow Blair lives. He lived upon his original purchase until about the year 1853, at which time he sold his farm to Amos R. Blair and emigrated to Illinois.
Reuben Jordan came the same time as the foregoing, and settled near the central part of the township, where he entered a tract of land one year later. He sold out to Maranda Westfall about the year 1845,
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
and moved to the east side of the township, where he lived until the time of his death in 1858.
Oliver Cromwell settled on the line of Morgan and Jackson in the northwest corner of the township in an early day, and was one of the first pioneers in the northern part of the county. A portion of his land extended into Morgan, and he can be termed a settler of both townships, as he was well and favorably known in each. An account of his settle- ment, however, will be found in the chapter devoted to Jackson.
His sons, Thomas, Benjamin and Elkin, entered lands in Morgan in the years 1827 and 1828.
Benjamin Bowlin, William Bowlin, Sr., and William, Jr., became residents as early as the year 1825, settling near the central part of the township. Isaac Beaman came in 1827, and entered land near the northern boundary of the township a couple of years later. His sons, Isaac, Laban and Abraham, came the same time, and afterward became prominent citizens of the county.
One of the earliest settlers, the date of whose arrival could not be as- certained, was William Reynolds. He came from North Carolina as early as 1823, and made a good farm in the northern part of the town- ship, where John Brewer lives. Two brothers, Moses and John Carter, came in the year 1829, and settled in the southern part, the former mak- ing his first improvements where William Brown now lives, and the lat- ter locating where Samuel Beaman had formerly settled. They came direct from North Carolina, making the trip of 700 miles in wagons, and were over seven weeks on the journey. Upon arriving at their des- tination, they found no house, so they improvised a camp of their wagons, in which the families lived until a habitation could be con- structed. This was in the month of March, and very bad weather seri- ously interfered with the building, but they went to work manfully, and, with the help of a few neighbors, a cabin of split-poplar logs was hast- ily erected. A partition through the middle of the room divided it into two apartments, each of which was occupied by a family, and our pioneers began backwoods life in real earnest. An inventory of their finances at this time revealed the fact that John could produce just 12 cents of available cash, while his brother, more fortunate, could by hard work, and much searching, boast of about twice that amount. Moses lived upon the place he settled about ten years, at the end of which time he sold out to his brother-in-law, Shubal Hunt, and immigrated to Missouri, where he died in 1853. John purchased Samuel Beaman's claim, and obtained a patent for the land in the year 1830, since which time he has been one of the leading citizens of the township.
William Trent settled in the northeast corner of the township in 1830. He sold out five years later and moved to Iowa. His son Wilson afterward became a prominent Baptist preacher, and assisted in the or- ganization of nearly all the early churches of that sect in the county.
Matthew Cummings settled where George Gerrard lives, in the south- west part of the township, about the year 1831. He sold his land a couple of years later to Mathew Phipps, and moved to the southern part of the township, and improved the farm now owned and occupied by John Freeman. His son William came with him to the new country, and figured as one of the pioneers of Morgan. Marady Lucas came in 1833, and settled on Jordan Creek, in the northern part of the township, where his son John lives. He was a native of North Carolina, and re- sided in the township about forty-six years.
.
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MORGAN TOWNSHIP.
Later came Elijah Creech and his son William, both of whom located in the western part of the township, the former entering the land upon which Charles White lives. Noah Randle and his son Benager became residents about the year 1834, settling in the northern part, where they both became owners of real estate. King Freeman came about the same time, and entered a tract of land in the western part of the township, where Hamilton Moffett lives. He afterward sold his farm and pur- chased in the southeast corner of the township, where his widow still re- sides. William Nichols was an early settler, locating where his son, A. L. Nichols, lives, as early as the year 1835. A. L. Nichols came with his father, and for almost fifty years has been one of the prominent cit- izens of Owen County, serving three terms as Commissioner, besides till- ing several minor positions of trust. Among the early settlers who be- came identified with the township prior to 1840, can be named Will- iam Wiley, Henry Singleton, a step-son of John Carter, and one of the earliest Justices of the Peace; John Wallace, William Carter, broth- er of Moses and John Carter, Robert Mustard, William Criss, Jacob Hicks and his brothers Able and Wiley, Jacob and Zachariah Beaman, David Staley, Ezekiel Jenkins, Frederick Shroer, Robert Burbridge, James W. Haltom, George Hicks and Spencer Haltom. Other settlers additional to those mentioned, are entitled to a notice, but their names and facts concerning them have been forgotten in the lapse of time. A few of those enumerated are still living, but by far the greater number have passed away as "a tale that is told," many being scattered to other lands, but by far the greater number have passed to that "undiscov- ered country from whose bourn no traveler returns."
EARLY CONDITION OF THE SETTLEMENTS.
The first settlers of Morgan, like the pioneers in other portions of Owen County, were of the poorer class in the States from whence they came, and experienced many hardships while clearing their homes and gaining a foothold in the new country. They at first depended mostly for meat on the game which abounded in the country. Nearly every ar- ticle of clothing worn by either male or female was manufactured at home by the women on the old-fashioned spinning wheels, cards and looms. The men dressed in homespun jeans and buckskin, out of which were made pantaloons, hunting shirts, moccasins and occasionally dresses for the women. Shoes were made from leather tanned at home. To do this, a tree, three or four feet in diameter, was cut down, and as large a trough as possible dug out of it; this constituted a kind of vat, into which the hides, after being duly prepared, were placed, along with oak bark broken to pieces and pulverized a little by pounding, the whole being covered with water. They were kept in this condition until tanned. Some of the leather manufactured in this way was very good, but the most of it was rather indifferent. These primitive tanners put no blacking in their leather, for the reason that lampblack could nowhere be obtained. Of course this kind of material made a rough kind of shoe, but being the best that could be procured, the people were content. In fact such foot gear best suited the rough jaunts taken on foot by many of the pioneers, through brush, briers and grass wet with dew. Boots were seldom worn, except by professional men, and no better evidence could be adduced of a man being a preacher, doctor or a law- yer than his appearing in public with boots on. Everything not manu-
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
factured at home was termed a "store article," as "store shoes," "store hat," "store bonnet," and any one wholly, or even partially, attired in "store articles" excited envy in the breast of the younger and more shallow-brained portion of the community, and many a young lass, when appearing in public, considered herself highly honored if so fortunate as to secure the attentions of a "feller with store clothes" on, furnishing an instance of that weakness in human nature, too common, even yet-judg- ing persons by external appearances.
Agriculture was for many years in a very rude state, when compared to the science to which it has since been reduced. The prime cause of this was the great lack of agricultural implements, which were few in number and of simple construction. Inventive genius and Yankee en- terprise had not yet been employed in this direction to any great extent .. The plows in common use, when the first settlements were made, were of a rude character and of three kinds, viz .: the "bar shear" the "shovel" and "bull tongue." To attempt a description of the "bar shear" would be useless, as those who never saw one could scarcely understand the de- scription; like the alligator, they must be seen to be appreciated. The shovel plow is yet in use and need not be described. With such imple- ments as these, it was impossible to do good plowing, the ground being merely scratched over, instead of broken up deep. Some of the harrows used by the early settlers, had wooden instead of iron teeth; but a heavy brush, drawn by a pair of oxen or horses, usually served in their place.
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