Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 13

Author: F.A. Battey & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 976

USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 13
USA > Indiana > LaGrange County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 13

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).

John Moulsinger LA GRANGE

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BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP.

ship, just northwest of Ontario. There are three bodies of water, wholly or in part within the township, of sufficient magnitude to entitle them to be classed as lakes ; these are Fish Lake, Sloan Lake and Cline Lake, the two former being in the southeastern part. These lakes are the resort, in the proper season, for those in quest of piscatorial sport, as they have within their waters a goodly supply of fish. The lands of Bloomfield were surveyed in July, 1831, by George W. Harrison, Deputy Surveyor, and soon after thrown open to settlement ; they were principally covered with a dense forest, consist- ing largely of oak, beech, hickory, ash, elm and walnut; but the richness of the virgin soil was soon detected by the experienced eye of the venturesome pioneer, and the advantage of securing a land-holding within its borders was appreciated, as shown by the rapidity with which purchases were made, the greater portion being entered in the years 1834-35 and '36. The first tract pur- chased from the United States was entered at the Government Land Office in Fort Wayne, March 13, 1833, by Hugh R. Hunter, being the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 1, and now owned by Pitt Cook and Noah C. Fair. Only two persons in the township have the distinction of owning and still residing upon the land originally entered by them ; of these, Jacob Tidrick is by far the earliest. November 5, 1835, he purchased of the United States the southwest quarter of Section 7, where he now lives in the enjoyment of his possessions, the title to which would not be difficult to trace. Hezekiah Hoard, though purchasing later, forms one of the twain ; in 1851, he secured from the State the northwest quarter of Section 16, it being a part of the land donated by the General Government for school purposes ; this tract he still owns and forms a portion of the well-cultivated farm on which he lives. John D. and Manley Richards entered the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 13, twenty-five acres of which is still owned by Manley Richards. The first white settler in the township was, probably, David Hanson, who came in 1833, and settled on the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 26.

In the beginning of the year 1836, there were but thirty families resident within the limits of Bloomfield. These were Caleb Jewett, Hart Hazen, a Mr. Townsend, Peter L. Mason, Amasa Durand, Ira Hays, Almon Lawrence, Cur- tis Harding, Palmer Grannis, Jacob D. Groves, Rev. Thomas B. Connolly, Joseph Welch, George D., Samuel and Daniel Carl, George Cooper, William Hern, Sr., William Hern, Jr., Moses J. Hill, Moses Newell Hill, Washington Adams, Elihu Champlin, Solomon Scidmore, Alanson N. Dewey, Levi Green, John Davidson, Joseph Davidson, Joseph Richards, Selah P. Benham and Thomas Newell. None of these are now living in the township ; thirteen died here, and the others moved away, some to the Far West; the widows of three of them, however, are still residents here, Mrs. Harding, Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. Durand, now Mrs. McClaskey. This locality received the most of its im- migration-as did the greater portion of the county-from the States of New

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

York and Ohio, and a few from Virginia and Maryland. Among the earlier settlers, and those coming in prior to the year 1844, besides those already given, may be mentioned Zopher L. Scidmore, who was elected Sheriff of the county in 1854, and performed the duties of the office in a satisfactory manner ; Nor- man Weir, Elijah W. Weir, Andrew Kilbury, Moses Marvin, Aaron Hill, Ivory Crandall, James D. and John R. Crandall, and a Mr. Green, who located in the eastern part of the township ; John Y. Clark, Christian Roop, and his sons Joseph and Benjamin, the Parkers, William and Hiram Jacobs, the Mattoons, in the central and southern part; Joseph Richards, Jacob Hoagland, Jacob Tidrick, Francis M. Price and John Preston in the northern part ; Daniel Sar- gent, Ira Church, Joseph and Jacob Mills and Reuben Hays in the southern part. George Holmes, Alexander Holmes, John M. and William Wigton, in the town of La Grange.

The coming in of each family meant the erection of a cabin and another opening in the forest by the felling of the timber for a clearing, and a prepar- ation for crops. These clearings for the first year or two were usually limited to an acre or so planted to corn and vegetables with perhaps a patch of oats and wheat. To be successful in those days in raising grain and " garden truck " required eternal vigilance to protect them from the depredations of the wild turkey, deer, raccoon, squirrel and other pestiferous animals with which this county in the early day was fairly swarming. However, these, though pests in this respect, served a valuable purpose in affording almost the entire supply of meat to the settlers. In common with the experience of all frontiersmen in the settlement of a new country, the early settler here was subjected to many hard- ships and privations, and ofttimes the most heroic fortitude was required to overcome the seeming insurmountable obstacles. The products from the little patch of ground in the clearing, and the game that was brought down by the unerring rifle, afforded subsistence for the family. The spinning-wheel and loom supplied the cloth for clothing and household purposes, save, however, where the prepared deerskin and the furs from the fur-bearing animals were utilized. Luxuries were obtained at great cost, and many times at no small sacrifice. Groceries and the commonest kinds of merchandise were in those days catalogued as luxuries, only to be indulged in in the most sparing manner. Trading points were miles away through dense woods, without road or perhaps trail. Danger was upon all sides ; wild beasts were prowling around, maddened by hunger ; impassable swamps impeded progress, unbridged streams were almost insurmountable barriers, and only to be crossed-except by fording- with the possibility of the faithful horse and its rider being carried down by the rushing waters. The Indians, though generally friendly and harmless in this locality, were not always to be trusted, and to be intercepted by them was attended with an uncertainty as to results. The traveler without guide, and perhaps compass, was liable to lose his way and be overtaken by darkness ; these and many others were the surroundings to be taken into consideration

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when about to start upon a journey. In those days, the nearest trading-point of any considerable importance was Fort Wayne, Toledo, Hillsdale or Michi- gan City. To these points grain . was hauled for marketing under the most trying circumstances, and at prices so insignificant the farmer of to-day would not consider it sufficient remuneration for the mere transportation to market over the best of roads. Yet, with all of these impediments to be surmounted, there was real and unalloyed happiness to be found in the pioneer's cabin. In those primitive, days, their wants were of the simplest kind and in keeping with their surroundings. Society was upon a common level ; the only passport to a membership was good character; even the want of this was not always taken into consideration. For the young man or the young woman to go to church barefoot was no disgrace; for whole families to eat, sleep and live in one room was the rule, and to be in the enjoyment of more than that was the exception. The influx of settlers necessitated home industries, and a demand for milling facilities was among the first and the most important. In all communities, and upon all occasions, there are those, prompted partly by gain and partly by an accommodating spirit, who are ready to supply the wants. Saw-mills in various parts of the township were built at an early time. The first of these was put up by Daniel Harding in the year 1835, in Section 17, and though a rude affair was a great convenience to this advance guard of civilization. The Van Kirk Mill was built quite early on the farm now owned by Christian Miller, a short distance south of La Grange; it was erected by Peter Prough, now a resident of Clay Township. Among others were Newton's Mill, built by Otis Newton, of Lima Township; Green's Mill, now owned by Jonathan Dorsey ; and Hill's, all on Fly Creek, on the old Fort Wayne road.

Ira W. Brown built the first steam saw-mill, on his farm, about three miles east of La Grange, and Jeremiah Outcalt the second, a short distance south of Brown's; these are still in operation. Whilst these mills have been a great convenience to the community, and a source of profit in most cases to their owners, the effect of their existence is plainly manifest by the denudation of the land of the best timber afforded by the magnificent forest trees that once covered the township surface.

Other callings of a lesser nature were prosecuted to meet the growing wants of the neighborhoods, and here, as elsewhere, the tastes of the people were not altogether agricultural. Some had learned trades before coming, others being handy at almost anything to which they might turn their efforts. They usually gave attention to such occupation as would offer the best remu- neration, and subserve the interests of those about them. David Hanson, the first settler in the township, was the first to manufacture brick, not only in the township, but in the county. Joseph Welch was the first cabinet-maker and undertaker, thus providing for the convenience and comfort of the living and the decent burial of the dead. Contemporaneous with the early saw-mills was Levi Green, the first carpenter ; and before the development of " bog iron " as

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

an industry in other parts of the county came John Hardy, who operated at the forge as the first blacksmith. Caleb Jewett was the first shoemaker to provide for the wants of the bare-footed denizens in his time. Moses J. Hill, as a physician, is said to have been the first to administer professionally for the sick.

New communities, as well as old, require a civil organization and officers to execute the behests of the sovereign people and conserve the peace. Bloom- field having been organized into a civil township, an election was ordered to be held at the house of Moses J. Hill, on the first Saturday in June, 1835, for the purpose of electing a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Hill was appointed in- spector of said election, and was also elected as said Justice. A division of the township was made into two road districts. All the territory west of the middle line of Range 10 comprised the first, and all east of said line comprised the second district. William Hern was appointed Supervisor. The first general election for the township was held April 3, 1837, at the house of Abel Mat- toon, on the southeast quarter of Section 21. Solomon Scidmore, John David- son and Horace Bartine constituted the election board. Jacob D. Groves was elected Justice of the Peace; George D. Carl, Constable ; William Hern, Jr., Inspector of Elections ; E. W. Weir and Daniel Carl, Overseers of the Poor ; Joseph Davidson and Alanson N. Dewey, fence-viewers ; John Davidson, Hiram Babcock and Marvin J. Hill, Supervisors. The young people in the primitive years of the township, in some essential particulars, were not unlike those of later times. Whilst in those days the young men and women were not being constantly " mashed " on each other at first sight, as expressed in the modern vulgar vernacular, yet there were genuine love affairs ; and the courting, though from the very nature of the surroundings conducted under difficul- ties, was earnest and with a proper purpose in view-that of marriage and a prospective home, where each could be a source of aid and comfort to the other. Among the first legitimate results of these mutual admiration scenes in the township was the marriage of Moses N. Hill and Nancy Martin, January 28, 1832, by Luther Newton, one of the Associate Judges of the county ; Wash- ington Adams to Miss Laura Hill, who were united by S. Robinson, a Justice of the Peace, at Lima, August 9, 1832. The license for the marriage was issued on the 18th of the same month, and was the first issued after the organi- zation of the county ; Elijah W. Weir and Amy Hern, by Rev. T. B. Connelly, May 16, 1836.

[In May, of the year 1836, William C. Tillman, proprietor, employed a surveyor, and laid out twenty-four blocks of twenty-four lots each, and nine blocks of twelve lots each, on the north half of Section 1, Bloomfield Township, and named the village thus founded Burlington. The proprietor was something of a speculator, at least he was a shrewd man, for, it is said, he had a large, beautifully colored plat of his village made, showing that it was located on the bank of the Pigeon River, which was represented on the plat as being of suffi- cient size to be navigable by the largest vessels. Armed with this map, and

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loaded to the inuzzle with glowing metaphors in praise of his village, Mr. Till- man went East, and there exhibited the plan of his Western town, and suc- ceeded in selling lots (corner ones), to some six or eight families, and inducing them to move West to the village. When these families reached what their imaginations and the promises of Mr. Tillman had pictured as a fine growing village, they found the site to be in a swampy place, and half of the lots covered with water. The disappointment and dismay were complete. Not an effort, with one exception, was made to colonize the place, but all left for some other locality. One man made arrangements to build a house, obtained some lumber, and perhaps got the frame up, but soon abandoned the attempt, and the pros- pective Burlington was left to the sole habitation of the snakes, birds and batra- chians .- ED.]

The village of Bloomfield, now more generally known as " Hill's Corners," is in the eastern part of the township, on the old Fort Wayne Road, and was platted on the southeast quarter of Section 23, by Moses J. Hill and Ivory Crandall, September 14, 1836. It bid fair for a time to become a flourishing town, and was a rival for the location of the county seat ; but not succeeding in that, and the railroad having been located through La Grange, it failed to meet the expectations of its projectors, and still remains but a mere hamlet.

The church interests of the township have principally centered in La Grange, the several denominations maintaining organizations there affording more satisfactory opportunity for the people in the country to worship accord- ing to their belief than could be secured in any other way. In the early days of the settlement of the country, itinerant preachers of various denominations visited the township and dispensed the Gospel at the cabins of the pioneers in the good old-fashioned way, when people cared less for style and more for the benefits derived than at the present day. Some attempts to maintain church societies have been made in the township, but with little permanent success. In 1835, the Rev. Thomas B. Connelly, of the M. E. Church, organized what was called the Bethel Church in his neighborhood, in the east part of the town- ship, with seven members-himself and wife, Jacob D. Groves and wife, Joseph Welch and wife, and Mary Groves. In 1852, this society built the Bethel Chapel, which was constructed of hewed logs, which was used by them for a place of worship until it fell into disuse for church purposes. Mr. Connelly was a native of Maryland, and came to this county in 1835, settling on a farm about four miles east of La Grange. He is described, by one who knew him well, as the embodiment of goodness, and as having " preached more ser- mons and visited more sick persons than all the other ministers combined." The school opportunities of Bloomfield Township are on a par with those through- out the county, and varying in no essential particular from the regular district school system. The first schoolhouse in the township was built of logs in the spring of 1838, on the southeast corner of Section 23. The school was taught the ensuing summer by Miss Almira Crandall, now the wife of Ebenezer Hill,

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

and living in the township near Hill's Corners. Malcolm Burnett taught the school the winter following. Among the earlier teachers in the township were Rev. T. B. Connelly, John Rhodes, R. C. Blackman, Miss Griffith and Miss Weir. The number of schoolhouses and schools now in the township, exclusive of the town of La Grange, is nine ; pupils enrolled, 169 males and 150 females. The school buildings are generally neat and commodious, and are furnished with school furniture and apparatus of the modern style, the schools generally being conducted in a satisfactory manner.

CHAPTER VII. BY WESTON A. GOODSPEED .*

LIMA TOWNSHIP-THE PIONEERS-CATALOGUE OF EARLY SETTLERS-THE RED RACE-FIRST LAND PURCHASED IN LA GRANGE COUNTY-INTERESTING IN- CIDENTS-FOUNDING OF LIMA VILLAGE-OUTLINE OF ITS GROWTH-MANU- FACTURING INTERESTS-VILLAGE OF ONTARIO-ITS INDUSTRIES AND DE- VELOPMENT-THE LIMA SEMINARY-THE LA GRANGE COLLEGIATE INSTI- TUTE-FIRST SCHOOL IN THE COUNTY-EDUCATION AND RELIGION.

L IMA TOWNSHIP justly enjoys the distinction of having been the site of the first white settlement in La Grange County. Benjamin Blair, Nathan Fowler, Jason Thurston, William Thrall and Jonathan Gardner located within the limits of the township prior to the spring of 1829, and it is quite certain that the first three were residents of the township in 1828. Benjamin Blair, who moved from Ohio to Southern Michigan in about August, 1828, did not remove to Lima Township until November or December of the same year. During the interval he selected his land, now the Craig farm, a mile west of Lima Village, and erected thereon a small log cabin. At the time his family moved into this unpretentious domicile, the families of Nathan Fowler and Jason Thurston were already occupying a small log dwelling situated on the north side of Crooked Creek, and almost directly north of Lima. Both families, though small, were occupying one small room-the only room of the dwelling. To render the situation more trying at the time the Blairs appeared, a small child of the Thurston family died, and its corpse was lying in the cabin when the Blairs first occupied their new home. This was, unquestionably, the first death in the township. In 1829, there came, among others, Moses and Ica Rice, William Gardner, Arthur Burrows and very likely several others. Among the earliest were Lemuel Fobes, John Hewett, John Kromer, Thomas Gale, John Gardner, Miles Bristol, Mr. Horning, Mr. Sinclair, Nathaniel Callahan, Fred- erick Hamilton, T. R. Wallace, David Smith, Daniel Fox, Almon Lawrence, Micajah Harding, Moses Price, Andrew Newhouse, Clark Classon, William Leverick, Daniel Davis, Lewis Switzer, William Adair, John Adams, John and Asa Olney, Nathan Jenks, John B. Howe, Christopher Cary, George Egnew, Oliver Classon, Nehemiah Coldren, Luther Newton, Elisha H. Shepard, Mat- thew Hall, Joshua T. Hobbs, Samuel P. Williams, John Jewett, Andrew Crawford, David Jewett, Cornilius Gilmore, Nathan Corwin, Robert Brecken- ridge, Stephen Corwin, George Latterar, William McCoy, Lorenzo Bull, Ben- jamin Corder, John C. Kinney, Robert Hamilton, William Hamilton, Jacob Sidener, Michael Riley, Jonathan Stephens, Sylvanus Halsey, E. A. Brown, Abbott Fleming, John Trask, Sydney Keith, John G. Lewis, Peter Miller, Samuel A. Howard, Jesse Ingraham, Hiram Harding, Daniel Harding, Enoch

* Portions of the facts contained in this chapter were compiled by John P. Jones, J. C. Kinney and others.

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

Layton, Joseph Leverage, Augustus Hewins, Seth Tucker, William Whitney, John Taylor, Thomas Lock, Ralph Herbert, Merriam Fox, Joseph Keir, Will- iam A. Mills, C. K. Shepard, Emilius Bartholomew, Richard Ferry, Joseph Kerr, T. J. Spaulding, L. P. Hutchinson, Jeremiah C. Robble, Isaac Wallace, William T. Codding, Robert B. Minturn and Dickinson Miller. Some of these men did not reside in the township except, perhaps, for a short time.

It is a matter of regret that the names of all the earliest settlers cannot be given. No one seems to have had either time or inclination to keep a record of early events, and the familiar proverb, " What is everybody's business is nobody's business, " is thus verified. For an indefinite period preceding the occupation of the county by the whites, the site of the village of Lima was a well-populated and widely-known Indian village. Here large numbers of Pot- tawatomies had congregated for many years, as was shown by the well-culti- vated garden near by, and the large number of deeply-worn trails which seemed to center from all directions upon "Mongoquinong," as a local point. Notwithstanding the ravaging effects of time, some of these trails may yet be seen in the vicinity of Lima ; and where the village now stands, especially the northwestern part, the corn-hills hoed up by the Indians more than half a cen- tury ago are yet easily traced. The old settlers say that, growing from the sand in the western part of the village was quite a large orchard that had been planted either by the Indians or the French traders, or (who shall say not ?) "Johnny Appleseed." The trees, though seedlings, furnished, in some cases, excellent fruit. From reliable authority, it is certain that Mongoquinong Vil- lage contained an Indian population of several thousand before the white race had entered Northern Indiana or Southern Michigan. While, so far as known, the French traders erected no store building at the village, nor perhaps estab- lished no constant trading-point there, yet it is certain that the French were often there with Indian trinkets and supplies, strapped in packs on the backs of ponies. These traders were accustomed to travel from village to vil- lage, remaining several days at each point, where their goods were displayed in some rented wigwam, and sold or traded for all kinds of valuable furs. As the Indian's standard of the measure of values differed essentially from that of the trader's, and that of the latter was in all cases used, it is not to be won- dered that the red men were fleeced to an almost unlimited extent. As the settlers began to appear in Northern Indiana, the Indians began to scatter and retire, until, in 1828, perhaps no more than about thirty wigwams were standing at Mongoquinong. Even these had been removed somewhat farther west, and scattered for some distance along Pigeon River; in truth, the place scarcely looked like an Indian village. The large population seemed to have been parceled out among the number of lesser chiefs, and to have been thrown out upon their own resources, as small bands were to be found every few miles, on every stream. Mrs. (Blair) Eno says that her father, Benjamin Blair, dur- ing a portion of the year 1829, permitted Ica Rice to sell whisky to the In-

Din Sincerely yours

LA GRANGE JD Camel

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LIMA TOWNSHIP.

dians in the cabin of the former. One day a very thirsty Indian pledged his blanket for a drink of whisky. The blanket was thrown for safe keeping upon the roof of the cabin, but after a few hours it had mysteriosly disappeared. The Indian had undoubtedly taken it, and thus succeeded in getting his liquor for nothing. To make good the loss, Mrs. Rice poured two or three pailfuls of water in the barrel. This was the beginning of quite an extensive barter with the Pottawatomies at the village. The trade was carried on through the years 1830 and 1831, in a small building that had been built for the purpose. Mr. Rice sold whisky, blankets, beads, tobacco, powder and lead, or ex- changed them for furs. The Indians were peaceable, except when inflamed with passion while under the influence of whisky. An Indian one day became so incensed at Mr. Rice that he raised his rifle and fired at him, but luckily missed the mark. They were consummate beggars, and were often extremely skillful in their efforts to secure coveted articles from the whites. They would quietly enter cabins without warning or invitation, seat themselves usually on the floor and light their pipes. In cold weather, they were often permitted to roll themselves in their blankets and sleep upon the floor by the fire until morn- ing. Sometimes the floor was covered with them. Many interesting inci- dents might be narrated if space permitted. No serious outbreak ever occurred, though an occasional knock-down would take place. At the time of the Black Hawk war in 1832, the Indians were somewhat excited ; but this was owing to the possibility of their being drawn into the fray, not against the whites, but against the Sacs and Foxes. In about the year 1839, the Indians were removed, and were not afterward seen at Lima, except an occasional straggler who had sorrowfully returned to view for the last time the happy home of his youth.

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Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 13

Author: F.A. Battey & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 976

Author: F.A. Battey & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 976