USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 90
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 90
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Most of the early settlers of Morgan Township emigrated from sec tions where corn was the principal grain, and continued its cultivation here as their main crop, raising but little wheat, notwithstanding it was. of good quality and fair yield. But little as they did raise, it was just about as much as could be harvested with the implements then in use.
For several years after the first attempt at wheat-raising, the only means of harvesting was the old-fashioned reap-hook-a slow process. The man that could cut and bind one acre a day was considered an expert workman. During the harvest, the people of a neighborhood would unite, on the principle that "many hands make light work," and beginning at the farm where the wheat was ripest, proceed to reap first one field, then another, until all the grain was cut. They looked upon log-rollings, house-raisings and harvest as times of social enjoyment as well as profit, when the neighbors, male and female, met together and had a good time generally.
Wheat was threshed by beating it with flails, or laying the bundles down in a circle and tramping them out with horses. As there were no barns, the operation of threshing was performed mostly on the ground, scraped off and swept for the purpose. The grain was cleaned by slowly pouring it from a half bushel or sifting it through a coarse riddle in the. wind, and when this proved insufficient, an artificial current of air was produced by two men holding a sheet or coverlet at each end and bring- ing it around with a peculiar swing; this served to blow away the chaff and render the wheat tolerably clean.
In consequence of the scarcity of wheat, flour bread was quite a rarity, some families having none at all, others enjoying the luxury of biscuit for breakfast only on Sunday mornings.
As this was a heavily timbered country, where nuts and acorns were plenty, the settlers paid but little attention to any kind of stock except hogs. There was then but one breed-a lank, sharp-nosed, long-legged,
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ravenous hog that ran in the woods at least three-fourths of the year. Near the commencement of winter, the settlers usually began to hunt up their hogs for the purpose of converting them into pork. These hogs, when found in the fall, were more or less shy, many of them being en- tirely wild. After finding them, the first endeavor was to tame them in the woods, and when considered sufficiently gentle for the purpose they were brought home and put into inclosures until butchered. This pork afforded many of the early farmers their chief means of support. It was hauled to Spencer and Terre Haute, and sold for $1.50 her hundred-a high price for that day.
Some of the first apple and peach orchards in the county were plant- ed in Morgan Township. For many years it was noted for producing more and better fruit than any of the adjoining townships, and at the present time, according to population, it is equal to any other division, although the fruit is not so good as in former years. Among the first settlers who set out orchards were John Moore, John Carter and Jacob Beaman.
IMPROVEMENTS, MILLS, ETC.
The primitive round-log cabin was the prevailing house used by the early settler for a number of years. Hewed-log structures took their place in time, and in turn gave way to the more modern and comfortable frame dwelling. Frederick Shroer erected a frame house in an early day on his farm in the northern part of the township, as did also William Wiley, on the farm now occupied by John Stwalley.
The first lumber made in the township was manufactured by hand by William Cummings, Moses Carter and William King, and used in the construction of a barn on the farm belonging to John Carter. Some of this lumber is still in use and in a remarkable state of preservation.
For several years after the first settlements were made, the pioneers were compelled to do without mills of any kind. The sparsely settled country did not justify the expenditure required to erect mills even for grinding corn.
The earliest mill patronized by the pioneers of Morgan was the little water mill on Jordan Creek, in Jackson Township, erected by Oliver Cromwell about the year 1824 or 1825. Some of the settlers manufact- ured their own flour and meal with the old-fashioned mortar, while others used a common grater made of tin, which answered the purpose as long as the corn was not too dry. Mr. Carter relates that upon one occason two men from the East came through the country prospecting for a location for a factory, and stopped at his house to stay over night. They had the appearance of belonging to the gentry, or as Mr. Carter states it, to the " fine haired," and were unacquainted with the usages and customs of western civilization. They alighted from their horses, asked for a night's lodging, and requested that supper be prepared for them immediately. "Yes, sir," said our pioneer, "you can stay all night and have your suppers, too, just as soon as I can build a mill and make some meal." This reply was an enigma to the travelers, and they were further puzzled when they saw " Uncle" John get a large piece of tin and punch it full of holes with a nail and hammer. After fixing the grater to a board, the host procured half a dozen ears of corn from a patch near by and leisurely began rubbing them over the rough surface, and soon had a panful of meal. The good wife lost no time in baking a large "dodger" in the old-fashioned fire-place, and the astonished
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guests were soon feasting upon the most delicious bread they had ever eaten in their lives-so they said. The rapidity with which the mill was constructed, and the peculiar process of manufacturing the meal and preparing the bread, made such an impression upon the minds of the travelers, who had never before seen or heard of the like, that they never forgot the circumstance. Twenty years later, Mr. Carter met one of the gentlemen, who recalled the occasion to his mind and laughed heartily at his success as a millwright. About the year 1838, the first mill in Mor- gan was built by William Smith on quite a primitive plan.
It stood near the western boundary of the township, and went by the name of the "old stump mill," on account of the machinery resting upon a large stump. It was constructed for a corn mill, and manufact- ured a coarse article of meal, the motive power being supplied by horses and oxen. It was in operation but a short time, and was not pat- ronized save by the immediate neighborhood. A few years later, Wiley Hicks constructed a horse mill near the central part of the township, which was a decided improvement on the one described, having in addi- tion to the buhrs a bolting apparatus operated by hand.
It was made for a corn mill, but the people took their wheat there to have it ground into what they called flour, though it would hardly be so considered at the present time. Mr. Hicks supplied his own motive power, and his two old nags " Tad " and "Jack" were familiarly known throughout the settlements for many miles. The mill was operated about ten years, at the end of which time it had outlived its usefulness, and was allowed to fall into decay.
The Hurricane Steam Saw Mill was erected in the western part of the township, in 1853, by Jacob Fryer, who for several years did a large and lucrative lumber business. He afterward sold out to Moffett & Burk, after whom came several other proprietors, all of whom operated the mill very successfully. The last owner was Elias Dayhuff who moved it into the adjoining township of Marion. ,
ROADS.
The oldest road through the township was the Bloomington & Terre Haute road which connected those two cities. Its original course extended through the northern part of the township, from east to west, and for many years it was the principal highway. It has since been abandoned.
A State road through the southern part of the township, running east and west, was surveyed and established about the year 1830, and is the most extensively traveled thoroughfare at the present time. Other high- ways were established as the country increased in population, and at the present time the township is well supplied with roads, all of which are kept in good condition.
EARLY MARRIAGES.
We are informed by a local authority that George Hellum was the first man married within the present limits of Morgan, and that the partner he chose was Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Beaman. The ceremony which made them man and wife was performed by Esquire Oliver Cromwell, as early as the year 1830, and the occasion was signal- ized by a large backwoods "frolic," in which all the festive youth for many miles around participated. Henry Singleton and Susan Beaman,
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daughter of Isaac Beaman, assumed the responsibilities of married life in an early day, as did also William Randleman and Malissa Singleton, Morgan Carter and Louisa Singleton.
EARLY BIRTHS.
The first birth in Morgan Township is not now remembered. Chil- dren were born in the families of John Moore, Reuben Jordan and Sam- uel Beem, shortly after they came to the country. Preston Thomas, son of Elisha and Martha Thomas, was born on the 7th day of February, 1830, and Moses Carter, Jr., son of John Carter, was born one day later. They are both living at the present time, the former in Illinois, and the latter on the old Carter homestead.
DEATHS-CEMETERIES.
"It is appointed unto all men to die," says Holy Writ, and pretty faithfully have the pioneers of Morgan Township obeyed the summons. The grass has grown over their graves in the old churchyards, the flowers have bloomed and withered with the coming and waning years, and a new generation now fills their places upon the stage of action.
Among the earliest deaths was Allan Dyar, who was laid to rest in the burial place on George Gerrard's farm, known as the Cummings Graveyard. The date of his death was not learned. Mrs. Martha Cum- mings was buried in the same cemetery in a very early day, as were also Mrs. Hannah Mason, and several children of the first pioneer families of the township. One of the first persons who died in Morgan, if not the first, was Francis Beaman, father of Samuel Beaman, and grandfather of Elder James Beaman, of Jennings Township. Mr. Beaman departed this life as early as the year 1827, and was buried in the northern part of the township on the farm owned at the present time by Mr. Plummer. Mr. Lucas states that when this death occurred there was no undertaker's establishment in the county, nor could there be any lumber procured in the neighborhood with which to make a coffin. Jacob Hicks manufact- ured the burial case from a large poplar log, digging it out like a rain trough, and fastening on the lid with long wooden pins.
The New Union Graveyard, located in the northern part of the township, was laid out in an early day on ground owned by Jacob Bea- man. The first interment therein was a child of Benager Randle, and the second burial was one of the children of Marady Lucas. Mrs. Dicy Lucas, wife of Marady Lucas, was the third person laid to rest in this cemetery. In the northeastern part of the township is a burial place known as the Pleasant Grove Graveyard, but it is not so old a cemetery as the ones mentioned. The cemetery at the United Presbyterian Church in the western part of the township was consecrated to the burial of the dead about the year 1863.
SCHOOLS.
A great deal of attention is given the cause of education in this township, and her schools are among the best in the county. The oppor. tunities for acquiring an education in the early pioneer times were scarce, and books were limited, although a school was organized as early as 1835. This school was taught in a little pole cabin which stood in the northern part of the township on land now owned by James Miller. The house had been previously used as a dwelling by a squatter, and
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
after its abandonment the neighbors fitted it up for school purposes, by furnishing it with a few rough puncheons benches and building a large fire-place in one end of the room. It was used by S. B. Bowlin who taught a term during the winter of 1835-36, and afterward abandoned and torn down. The second house in which schools were taught was an abandoned log residence about 16x16 feet, which stood near the farm of A. L. Nichols. Among the first pedagogues here was one John L. Higby, who taught a six months' subscription school about the year 1836 or 1837. Among the pupils who attended this school were E. Reynolds, Solomon R. Isom, I. S. Lucas, Jacob Beaman, William Lucas, Elijah B. Martin, A. L. Nichols, Randle Hicks, Jacob Jordan, Sarah and Mary Moore, Sarah and Emeline Hicks and several others.
An early school was taught by Marady Lucas, in the kitchen of his dwelling, and was patronized by the Beaman, Hicks and Haltom families.
A schoolhouse was built near the village of Atkinsonville in an early day, and went by the name of the Wallace Schoolhouse. It was used by the following teachers, viz .: George L. Adams, Wilson Trent, Alexander McBride and William Leech. It was afterward destroyed by fire.
Another early schoolhouse stood near the central part of the town- ship, on the Buckner Dickinson land. It was a log structure and was first used by John Heath, who taught several consecutive terms. An old man by name of Lane afterward taught at the same place. The free school system met with considerable opposition from the early settlers of Morgan, many of whom could not appreciate its advantages. After its adoption, however, the long-felt prejudice gradually died away before the success of the venture. There are at the present time seven districts in the township, with as many good buildings in which schools are taught from four to six months in the year. The teachers for the school year 1882-83, were L. O. Hoffman, William Atkin, W. W. Wiley, Callie Williams, Daniel V. Williams, G. M. Williams and A. J. Hicks. The amount expended for tuition during the above year was $1,151.80. The last enumeration returned the names of 306 children of proper school age living in the township.
RELIGIOUS.
The earliest religious services in Morgan were conducted under the auspices of the Christian and Baptist Churches, about the year 1830, at the residences of the different settlers. Among the pioneer preachers were Elders Thomas Johnson and Frederick Hauser of the Church of Christ. They held meetings at John Carter's residence in an early day, but did not organize any society. Elder John Case of the Regular Bap- tist Church conducted religious services at the residence of George Hicks, and later at the Wallace Schoolhouse.
Little Flock Baptist Church was organized in an early day in the northern part of the township. 3 The first meetings were held at the res- idences of Marady Lucas and Jacob Beaman. Early pastors were John Case and - Owens. A house of worship was built about the year 1843, and used till 1881. The society was re-organized many years ago, and took upon itself the name of New Union Baptist Church, which it still retains. A frame house of worship was erected in the year 1881, on land owned by Mr. Lucas, and cost the sum of $1,200. The organi-
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zation is in good condition at the present time, with a membership of about seventy five.
Rehoboth Baptist Church was organized in the year 1850, and a log house of worship built a little later on land owned by Meade Speers, in the eastern part of the township. The society was at one time a flourishing organization, but from some cause unknown, it was dis- banded several years ago. The old building is still standing.
The Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, in the northeastern part of the township, dates its history from about the year 1850, and is still a good organization. Their first house of worship was a hewed-log structure, and stood upon the land of Samuel P. Evans. It was after- ward replaced by a frame building, the one in use at the present time.
In the year 1858 or 1859, a Presbyterian Church was organized in the southern part of the township, and a good frame building erected on the farm of George Gerrard, where meetings were held for a number of years. The society was known as the United Presbyterian Church, and maintained its existence until a few years ago, when it was abandoned.
The Union United Brethren Church, one mile west of Jordan Village, is a strong organization and in good working order. The congregation meets in a neat frame house of worship, and numbers among its members many of the best citizens of the community.
VILLAGE OF ATKINSONVILLE.
This little village is situated in Sections 21 and 22, of Town 11 north, Range 4 west, and dates it origin from March, 1850, at which time it was surveyed for Stephen Atkinson, proprietor. The plat con- tains a fraction over fifteen acres, and is divided into six blocks of eight lots each. The place is but a mere hamlet of a few houses and two stores, kept at the present time by Chaney & Son and Daniel Quarry. At different times, the following merchants sold goods in the village: Will- iam and James Connolly, William G. Gibson, - Schrier and William Lockhart.
TAYLOR TOWNSHIP.
BY G. N. BERRY.
T AYLOR lies in the northern tier of townships, second from the east- ern boundary of the county, and has a geographical area of twenty square miles, with the following boundaries, to wit: Putnam County on the north, Harrison and a portion of Wayne Township on the east, Wayne and Montgomery Townships on the south, and Jennings Township on the west. The surface is gently undulating in the central and eastern portions, while in the southern part the land is broken, and in some places rough and hilly. The soil is clay, except the bottom lands along Eel River, where a rich sandy loam predominates.
Taken as a whole, Taylor presents as good an area of farm and stock land as can be found in any other division of the county, while for both stock-raising and agriculture, it is far superior to the majority of the townships.
Eel River affords the principal drainage. It flows a westerly course
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
through the central part of the township, and crosses the western bound- ary from Section 32, Town 12 north, Range 3 west.
Brush Creek enters the township in Section 26, and flows a south- westerly direction through Sections 27 and 28, and empties into Eel River in Section 33, about one mile and a half from the western bound- ary. The varieties of timber common to the part of the State are four d here in abundance, walnut, poplar, oak, sugar tree and beech predom- inating.
PIONEER SETTLEMENT.
The first permanent settlement within the present limits of Taylor was made by Andrew Evans in Section 9. Town 11 north, Range 3 west, where he entered land as early as 1817, although he did not move to his purchase until about two years later. Mr. Evans was a native of Ken- tucky, and appears to have been a man of considerable business tact, and engaged in various enterprises. In later years, he became financially embarrassed, and moved into the adjoining township of Harrison, where he secured land and figured as an early settler. Samuel Evans, a brother of Andrew, came about the same time, and settled in the southern part of the township, where he lived until the year 1863, at which time his death occurred. Several descendants of these early pioneers reside in the county, all of whom are estimable citizens. William Baker came from Kentucky in 1819, and settled in Section 2, Town 11, Range 3, where he made an improvement and entered land one year later. He was the father of a large family, and,resided for twenty-five years upon his orig- inal purchase. The land on which he settled is owned at the present time by the Montgomery heirs.
Abraham Henderson came in 1820 and located in the southern part of the township. William Baker came the same year and purchased of the United States a tract of land lying in Section 2, near the eastern bound- ary line. Jesse Henderson, a brother of Abraham Henderson, became a resident as early as 1820, but did not secure land until some time later. James Killough, a Kentuckian, entered land where E. Devore lives, in Section 10, Town 11, Range 3, as early as 1821, and was one of the lead- ing citizens in the community where he resided. He is now dead, but a number of his descendents live in this and adjoining townships.
Nicholas Devore settled in the southern part of the township, where he entered land in 1822. He was a prominent citizen and one of the pioneer preachers of the county. In the year 1823, entries were made by James Bennington, Jonathan Payne, Robert Lockridge and Edmund Fisher, the first and last of whom were residents. John Lockridge set- tled the same year where Hugh Devore lives, which land he entered some time later. He was a man of intelligence, a kind of a leader among the early settlers, and was Captain of the milita company, which mustered in this part of the county. He was also an active local politician, and made the race for Representative in an early day, but sustained an in- glorious defeat. In later years he moved West, and died while crossing the plains. Elijah and Joseph Lockridge, brothers of John, came about the same time, the first settling in the Mugg neighborhood and the latter improving a farm south of Quincy. Valentine Lyon came in 1824 and settled west of Quincy, on farm occupied by his son-in-law, Jerry Devore, where he is still living, the oldest living settler in the township. ,John Dunkin and his son Freeborn became residents in 1824, the former en-
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tering land in Section 23, Town 11, Range 3, in the northeast corner of the township.
The following year came William Combs from Nelson County, Ky., . and settled in Section 26, a short distance from the village of Quincy, where he entered the land upon which he still resides. A log cabin had been erected on the land the summer previous to the family's arrival by a couple of men whom Mr. Combs hired for the purpose, giving them for the work the sum of $30. Upon his arrival in the fall, Mr. Combs found the cabin in an unfinished state, and moved his family into a tent, where they lived until the mansion was completed. The first work our pioneer did on his new home was to construct a hearth for the large, open-mouthed fire-place, which occupied nearly all of one end of the building. Mr. Combs states that the family were ten days making the trip from Kentucky, and that they brought with them provisions suf- ficient to meet their wants during the first six months. The first winter Mr. Combs cleared and prepared for the plow five acres of ground, which was the beginning of the beautiful farm where he has since lived and upon which his old age is being passed in quiet and content. Other settlers who came in 1825 were John and Reuben Partlow, Susannah Champer, George Johns, John Conn, John Hallenbeck, Daniel Hartsock and Allen Hartsock.
The Partlows resided in the township but a short time, selling out and emigrating to Illinois in an early day.
Mrs. Champer was a widow. She settled in the southern part of the township and entered a tract of land in Section 10, Town 11, Range 3. Her son, Boswell Champer, became in after years a prominent lawyer of Morgan County, and died at Martinsville. Johns was a Kentuckian, and a pioneer of the true backwoods type. He settled on a farm south of the village of Quincy, and raised a large family.
Conn and Hallenbeck were sons-in-law of Mrs. Champer, and lo- cated in the southern part of the township near her farm. The Hart- socks secured homes in the southwestern part of the township, and were citizens of some note, Allen having served as Justice of the Peace in an early day, and Daniel was the pioneer mill builder of Taylor.
A noted settler was Henry Devore, who came to the country about the year 1828, and is still a resident of the township which he has seen developed from a wilderness state to its present civilization. Mr. Devore has been an active business man, and has figured prominently in all pub- lic enterprises which had for their aim the good of the country.
In addition to the foregoing list, the following persons came in an early day and can be classed with the early settlers, i. e., Allen Pittman, William Wade, J. H. Smith, Benjamin Truax, George Young, Benjamin Fowler, Thomas Fowler, John Mugg, William Fowler and Thomas Fow. ler. The non-residents who entered land in an early day were Samuel Fain, Nathaniel Harst, Samuel Freck, Elizabeth Fisher, David Shake, Benjamin Mugg, Irvin Carmack, Taylor Loving and David Fulton.
EARLY IMPROVEMENTS.
The improvement of the county during the first few years of its history was very slow indeed, owing to the natural obstacles to be over- come and the difficulties experienced in obtaining the necessaries of life. When a family arrived and it was understood that they wanted a house, the settlers assembled, and some cut logs and built the walls, while others
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