Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical, Part 12

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed. cn
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, F. A. Battey & co.
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Indiana > Brown County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 12
USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 12
USA > Indiana > Morgan County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 12

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).

RELIGION AT THE COUNTY SEAT.

Circuit riders of various religious denominations came to Martinsville early in the twenties, but if any attempt was made to found a class it resulted in nothing but failure. Late in the twenties, however, a small class of Meth- odists was partially organized, the greater number of the few members living outside of the town. This small class of Methodists was organized at the old log court house in 1827, among the earliest members being G. A. Phelps. James Epperson, John Craig, Edward Talbot, Noah Allison, Benjamin Bull, Dr. Francis A. Matheny, Jacob Harryman, Archibald

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

Cramer. Fred Gardner and their families and others. Late in the thirties and early in the forties, the class met at the house of Mr. Gardner for wor. ship. Ministers of the Presbyterian, Christian, Baptist and other de- nominations appeared and preached to motley assemblages of citizens in the court house and the schoolhouse. The second permanent class organ- ized in the town was that of the Cumberland Presbyterian. _ It was fully organized in 1841, by Rev. Elam McCord, with the following member- ship: Isaac D. and Thurzea Sheppard, John Taggart and wife, William Morgan and wife, James Maxwell and wife, Robert Hamilton, Grand- mother Bothwell, Polly Ray, Mrs. John Cox, Mrs. Anna Williams, Mrs. Franky Wilson. It was organized in the court house. Soon after this, Mr. Sheppard circulated a subscription list to raise means to build a church. He soon had about $600 subscribed. The few Methodists and Christians in the town about this time discovered what Mr. Sheppard had accomplished, whereupon members of those denominations, not to be out- done, also circulated subscription lists, but were met with the objection that it was out of the question to try to build three churches in the town at that time, and the attempts by these denominations were abandoned for the time. The Presbyterians were so active that their church, a small brick structure yet standing in the town, was constructed by James Craw- ford the following year, 1842. The total cost was about $1,500. Addi- tions later cost $500. Rev. McCord served the class for seven consecu- tive years-from 1840, when he first visited the town, to 1848. James Ray, William Orner, Samuel Downing, Benjamin Sweet, carpenters, worked out their subscriptions on the building. This old church was used until two years ago, when the present fine brick structure was erected by the same class at a cost of over $6,000. The class has been prosper- ous since the start, and has had a Sunday school the greater portion of the time. W. H. Miller, a most excellent man for the place, and a lead- er of the church, is the present Superintendent. The missionary work done by this class is said to be the largest in the conference. This is largely due to Mr. Miller's efforts and management.

The Methodists, as has been stated, had an organization at the coun- ty seat as early as 1827. The Grays, Crawfords and Warrens belonged later. The church was not built until about 1848-49. It cost about $1,000. Among the members at this time were Jacob and Catharine Harryman, Charity Gardner, Mr. McCormack's family, A. D. Rose, Susan Rose, Thomas Downing, Nancy Downing, William Downing, E. T. Harryman, John Edwards, Elizabeth Barrickman, Hester Barrick- man, Mathew Whetstine and wife, Mr. Elliott, Martha Orner, W. W. Wilson, and those mentioned above, and others to the number of about forty. The frame church was used until 1873, when the new brick struct- ure was built at a cost of nearly $17,000. Among the ministers have been Tinsley, Williams, Dorsey, Clifford, Powell, Dane, Wharton, Lath- rop, Smith, Sutton, McCan, Culmer, Grim, Asbury, Thompson, Chap- man, Hayes, Binkley, Talbot, Brant, McGinnis, and the present minister, J. H. Ketcham. The church has a membership of about 300, and has had a prosperous Sunday school for many years.

The Christian class was organized early in the forties, and a church was built about 1846. Among the members were P. M. Parks, Perry

BROWN TOWNSHIP AND MOORESVILLE.

Blankenship, Benjamin Sweet, James Jackson, John Sims, William Ma- jor, Job Hastings, Joel Wilson, W. H. Craig, Samuel Tucker, Thomas Hess, Allen Hess, Jackson Warner, W. J. Sparks and others, including the families of the above. The class has been one of the most prosperous at the county seat. The same building, to which many improvements have been added, is yet in use. A Sunday school was organized at an early day, and has endured until the present with a large increase in the membership. The Tuckers have been prominent in the church since the first.

The Baptists organized at Martinsville as early as 1850. A. B. Alsip, the Frinks, and others were members. The brick church was built about 1857, but for some reason was not finished. The leading Baptists removed from the town, and the building was transformed into a school- house, being thus used until after the last war, when it was purchased by the Catholics for $700, and has since been used by them. Father Gillig was the first priest. Among the members who have belonged are B. Gil- lig, George Frisz, Mrs. Magee, Mrs. Singleton, Mrs. Woods, Pat King and family, Peter Miller and family, Mrs. Lockhart, Mrs. Max- ville, Peter Rooney, Mrs. Gillig, George Estling, Charles Schrader. The priests since Father Gillig have been Father Snell, Father Erceneus, Father Victor and Father Stanislaus, the present priest, who visits the class once a month.

POPULATION.

In 1823, there were about ten families at Martinsville. In 1830, the population was about 175 ; in 1840, about 400; in 1850, about 525; in 1860, about 700 ; in 1870, about 1,350; in 1880, about 1,943; and in 1883, about 2,300.

BROWN TOWNSHIP AND MOORESVILLE.

THE PIONEERS.

T HERE are many interesting historical items connected with Moores- ville and vicinity. The settlement there, after it had begun, was so rapid, and the settlers were so intelligent, moral and thrifty, that the northern part of the county was not surpassed by any other portion for enterprise and general advancement and excellence. It is difficult to give with any certainty the name of the first settler in Brown Township, as several came in about the same time. If carefully sifted reports are re- liable, there was no permanent settler until 1819, at which time a half dozen or more arrived. The first man was probably either Hiram Mat- thews, Benjamin Cuthbert, Charles Reynolds, Thomas Lee, Samuel Bar- low or William Ballard, all of whom entered the township for permanent residence in 1819. It is thought that Mr. Ballard was the first, as he opened a tavern on the old "Whetzel Trace " early in 1819. Among others who came during the next three or four years were John H. Bray, Eli Hadley, Harris Bray, Asa Bales, William McPherson, James Hadley,

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

Barclay Burris, Edward Bray, R. G. Burris, John D. Carter, then a boy, Joel Dixon, Thomas Ballard, Richard Day, Nathaniel Carter, Charles Vertrees, Joshua Carter, Levi Plummer, William Rooker, Samuel Jones, William Gregory, I. W. Rooker, Ira Mendenhall, William Reason, Henry Mc Cracken, William Bales, Benjamin White, William McCracken, Benjamin Thornburg, John Wilson, Thomas McNeff, William McNeff, William Matlock, Samuel Barlow, Joseph Moon, Eli Harvey, Samuel Moore and many others. The poll-tax payers in 1842 were Cary Bea- son, Edward Brady, William Brady, Caleb Beason, Harris Bray, John B. Burt, John Blanton, R. G. Burris, Smith Boyd, W. M. Black, Bar- clay Burris, Martin Beason, John Caveness, Alexander Conduitt, John Carter, J. H. Combs, Joshua Cox, J. L. Cox, John D. Carter, Perry Carpenter, Gabriel Coble, Daniel Cox, Nathaniel Carter, William Day, Aiken Daiken, Daniel Day, Thomas Dunegan, Nathan Dixon, Riley Dixon, John Day, Samuel Edmundson, Samuel Evans, John E. Fultz, Isaac Ferrand (a cooper), William Fogleman, William Fields, Dr. A. V. Gray, Daniel Greeson, M. T. Hadley, Eli Harvey, Simon Hadley, Will- iam Hadley, Dr. John Hiner, Job Hadley, David Harvey, Robert Har- vey, W. B. Harrold, Reuben Harris, Noah Housand, Joseph Hiatt, William Hardridge, John Hardrick, Jabez Hunt, Soloman Hunt, William Hinson, Thomas Herrold, T. E. Johnson, Hezekiah Jessup, John John- son, P. P. Johnson (a tailor), James Johnson, George Kimbro, J. R. Kerr (a weaver), J. S. Kelley, Obed King, James Lindley, Aaron Lloyd, William Leathers, Joel Landrum, Alfred Moore, Samuel Moore, G. D. May, Hiram Matthews, John Matthews, John B. Moon, William Mc- Cracken, Henry McCracken, Riley McCrary, William McPherson, Thomas McNeff, Ricks Newby, Robert Newby, M. L. Orell, James Pad- dock, John J. Pfoff, John Pope, Dixon Pennington, R. E. Preston (a school- teacher), Michael Rusee, Jesse S. Rooker, Isaac Reed, Thomas Rariden, James Richardson, Allen Robertson, T. H. Rooker, J. W. Richards, Jacob Shanafelt, Pleasant Sumner, Henry Shanafelt, J. E. Starr, S. V. Scott, B. D. Scott, John W. Thompson, Benjamin Thornburg, William Towell, I. W. Rooker, George Rosier, Reuben Rariden and Eli Vestal. This list is given to preserve the names of as many old settlers as possible.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND INCIDENTS.

White Lick Creek was the attraction in early years. The land bor- dering it was nicely rolling, and was largely alluvial, and almost inexhaust- ible in fertility. Log cabins arose in every direction along its banks, and in a very short period waving seas of wheat and other grain could be seen. Richard Day built a small corn cracker on the creek as early as 1822. A small dam was built across the stream, and a short race conveyed water to the old " flutter wheel," which propelled a small pair of buhrs made of sand stone. The flour that was made at this mill invariably contained sand from the old stones. The settlers were accordingly full of sand in more respects than one. Their teeth were always sharp and their appe- tites good, both being whetted, no doubt, on the sand. It was a cheap grindstone. People were not as fastidious then as regards what they ate as they are now. Now we have this patent fandangled process that turns out flour so fine that you cannot see it with a microscope. Mr.

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BROWN TOWNSHIP AND MOORESVILLE.

Moon erected his saw mill on the East Fork in 1823. It was a rude affair, but furnished considerable native lumber for a few years. Mr. Moore says that when he reached the township in 1823, wolves, bears and numerous herds of deer were almost every-day sights where Mooresville now stands. John H. Bray started the first fulling mill in the central part of Indiana. It was located a short distance west of Mooresville, and commenced operation a year or two before 1830. It was a rude affair, but it served the purposes of the neighborhood. He did not even card. The settlers were obliged to do that themselves by hand. They bought their cards of Samuel Moore, who purchased them in the East with his goods. Mr. Moore also brought in huge bales of cotton, which were pur- chased and transformed into cloth by hundreds of wives for miles around. A calico dress at 372 cents per yard (only four yards), was then regarded as the most stylish costume in the woods. Mrs. Thornburg brought with her her silk wedding dress, but folks would have called her " stuck up" if she had dared to wear it. She used it to make winding sheets for the children that died in the neighborhood. Soon after the Thornburgs reached the township their horses were stolen, and while the men were gone for a week or more in pursuit, Mrs. Thornburg was left alone with three or four small children. She worked nearly all the time they were gone, burning brush and logs, and getting ready for the coming crop. She was the daughter of Rev. Peter Monical, a Methodist minister of more than ordinary ability and piety. The Thornburgs have since been among the most enterprising and respected citizens of the county. John H. Bray was a large man, and wielded great influence wherever he moved. During the winter of 1821-22, he is said to have killed twenty-eight deer without going hunting. That shows how numerous those animals were. Their hides were worth about $1, and often their flesh was worth little more than nothing. Coons were numerous and their hides were worth about a drink of whisky. It is told on the venerable Samuel Moore, that, on one occasion, a coon skin was traded him for a drink of whisky. He threw the skin up in the loft and resumed his place behind the counter. Some thirsty fellow took it down unnoticed by Mr. Moore, and traded it to him a second time for a drink. The crowd assembled caught the idea, and the cheat was repeated again and again until Mr. Moore imagined he had a loft full of fine skins. It is quite likely that the fellow who told this story had been reading the life of David Crockett, and had borrowed the tale to tell at Mr. Moore's expense. Mr. Moore bought and traded for coon skins, however, but he recollects nothing about finding his loft full of emptiness. The tale is a myth. How foolishly credulous some persons are, and how many will base fact on fiction !

CONTINUED REMINISCENCES.

The old Moon Saw Mill continued to operate for several years. Har- ris Bray owned a saw mill about a mile and a half east of town, and also conducted a small distillery there for a number of years. When Hiram Matthews came to the township in 1820, a heavy fall of snow had just fallen. He crossed the tracks of seventeen different bears, all turned south except one. Benjamin Thornburg came in 1822. He had no corn, and could get none in the settlement, and went up northeast of Indian-

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

apolis to Strawtown, where he obtained a supply which was floated down White River to the Bluffs, and then hauled out by wagon. He helped his neighbors roll logs thirty days of the first season, and in return had his rolled. It was a sight, no doubt, to see thirty or forty men in a big field where logs and brush lay in every direction. The men would be divided into companies with Captains, and each party would try to outdo the others. Four strong, skillful men with handspikes would pick up and carry an enormous log. It would take about a score of men nowa- days with half a dozen derricks to lift such a log! You are not required, reader, to believe that statement unless you so desire. The women would usually gather to do the cooking, and the times in and around the cabins were about as lively, and far more attractive than out in the field, for our mothers were young then, and strong, and had the bright faces, round forms and light jokes and laughter which we so well remember in our boyhood days. We cannot be too kind to the old grandfathers and grand- mothers whose feet never tired waiting upon us when we were helpless.

BEAR STORIES.

One day in September, about the year 1829, Nathaniel Carter went to Richmond, Ind., to attend the Quaker annual meeting. While he was gone, along during the evening Ira Mendenhall came over to his house to get help to haul in a large bear that he had just killed. He said that he had gone out to get his cows, and had discovered the bear, whereupon he fired and wounded it. He chased it and wounded it with a second shot. This so disabled the bear that he was enabled to get close enough to fin- ish it, which he did with a shot through the head. It was a very large animal, and was hauled to the house with a horse. J. D. Carter, then a large boy, walked behind to see that the bear kept on its belly so that its hair would not be injured. The hide was taken off and put to soak. Mr. Rooker was asked to come over to judge whether the meat would do to eat. He pronounced it good, and the neighbors were accordingly re- galed with choice bear steak. They also pronounced it good. One day J. D. Carter was digging ginseng root near the woods. Upon looking up suddenly, he was astonished to see a large bear on a limb not many rods distant. He was considerably scared, and ran to the house to get his father. Mr. Carter, Sr., hurried out with his gun, and brought Mr. Bruin down at the first fire. The animal weighed about 300 pounds.

A SNAKE STORY.

In April, 1823, the rattlesnakes were very numerous where Richard Day lived, near the toll gate east of Mooresville. There was a den of them in the big spring there. The Day boys and Carter boys secured several tall sycamore gums and placed them by the springs, and then by watching with long poles succeeded in throwing thirty-six of the venomous reptiles into the gums, whence they could not get out. On Sunday, sev- eral neighbors gathered to see the snakes. Blood was taken from the arm of some man present, and held in a cup, while the snakes were maddened with a stick, and permitted to strike several times into a small piece of cloth, and then the cloth thus poisoned was dipped in the blood. Ac- cording to J. D. Carter, who witnessed the experiments, the blood "boiled

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BROWN TOWNSHIP AND MOORESVILLE.

and boiled." After the blood had been thoroughly poisoned, the cele- brated rattlesnake root was crushed up and placed in the cup, whereupon the boiling instantly ceased. This is a snake story.

SAMUEL MOORE.

This well-known man who is yet living in Mooresville, at the age of eighty-four years, with recollection not a whit impaired by the ravages of time, came to Brown Township in 1823. He had been a resident of Salem, Ind., for a short time previously, and had there formed a partner- ship with Mr. Newby, of the firm of Booth & Newby, of Paola, by which the latter was to furnish $1,500 for three years, and Mr. Moore was to furnish $500 and his services for three years, to conduct a general mer- cantile business, at some good point in the New Purchase that was then rapidly settling up. Mr. Moore came with his $2,000 worth of goods, and placed the same in a blacksmith shop, which had previously been built and operated by a smith, named Charles Vertrees on the old Indian Trace, but which was then vacant. That amount of goods then was in bulk, only about one-third as large as at present. Calicoes, 372 cents per yard, and other things in proportion, greatly reduced the bulk from what it would be at present. The goods completely filled the little log building that stood at the foot of the hill, about a quarter of a mile south of Mooresville, and hence was not in Mooresville at all. Here Mr. Moore lived for three years, boarding with some of the families near by, and enjoying a lucrative trade for that time and place with the white settlers, and often with Indians who had furs to dispose of for trinkets and ammu- nition. At the end of three years, the partnership between Mr. Newby and Mr. Moore was at an end, and as the latter had cleared enough to furnish him with a satisfactory capital, without the aid of a partner, he concluded to settle with Mr. Newby, and continue the business on his own responsibility. The net profits for the three years were $3,000. After the business had been settled, Mr. Moore returned with a fresh stock, and opened the first store in Mooresville proper, which was then a total wilder- ness of heavy trees, in a frame building, which was erected by Joshua and Nathaniel Carter, carpenters, and Samuel Harryman, mason.

MOORESVILLE.

The first house upon the present site of the town was built by Asa Bales in the fall of 1824. About the same time, Charles Wilcox, Samuel Moore, William B. Harrold and Dr. Curtis G. Hussey built houses. The latter is now a millionaire of Pittsburgh, Penn. Mr. Moore's house was a frame structure, the lumber coming from Mr. Moon's saw mill. It stood where Mr. Woodward's store now stands. William G. Lear, Thomas Harrold, Jacob Combs, Isaac Edwards, Eli Tansey, William Cline and others, were other early residents of the little town which grew rapidly. Mr. Moore of course had the first store. In 1826, Alexander Worth & Co. opened the second store, with a stock worth about $4,000. Worth had been interested in the Salem firm of Booth & Newby, the senior member of the firm being the father of Senator Booth, of California. He had formerly been a clock peddler in the Carolinas.

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

He afterward moved his business from Salem to Terra Haute, where he did a mammoth business and became rich. He is said to be living there yet. Mr. Worth was really the agent of this firm, whose goods he was intrusted with. W. G. Lear opened the third store in 1826, and Silas Stapp, the fourth, in the fall of 1827. Pemberton Dickens opened a liquor shop in 1828. He afterward went to Danville, where he engaged in the grocery business. He could not write, and was in the habit of using signs in keeping his book accounts. One day one of his patrons went to him to make the semi-annual settlement, and found among other articles that he was charged with a whole cheese. He denied having purchased such an article of diet, but there on the day book which Mr. Dickens proudly exhibited, was the big O, the sign representing the cheese. The patron still denied it, and after reflecting a moment, stated that he had bought a grindstone. "Oh yes," exclaimed Mr. Dickens, " that's so, I forgot to make the hole." Whereupon he completed the entry in his day book thus O.

In 1830, Worth & Kelley went into partnership in the mercantile business. Armstead Jackson was the tavern keeper in 1832. A Mr. Worthington went into partnership with Mr. Moore in about 1834 or 1835. He was related to the latter by marriage. John J. Cox opened a tavern and grocery about the same time. It may be said here that Samuel Moore sold goods at Mooresville for forty-four consecutive years. He was the leading business man of his day in the northern part of the county. J. S. Kelley was probably next in business activity. Both kept excellent stores during the thirties and forties, often having as high as $15,000 worth of goods, which were purchased in Eastern markets twice a year. William Yarborough kept a tailor shop in town about 1840. Along in the forties, Mr. Worth failed in the pork business and was suc- ceeded by Hadley & Worthington. Among the residents and industries about 1836-37 were the following: Samuel Moore, J. S. Kelley, Alex- ander Worth, merchants; Israel Hunt, Gabriel Coble, W. M. Black, J. M. Leathers, John Cox, Jeremiah Blankenship, Joseph Hiatt, A. Jack- son, W. C. Cline, Solomon Hunt, Joshua Cox, J. H. Combs (wagon- maker), W. H. P. Woodward (a young man just arrived), Fred Lester (shoe-maker), B. Wood, Joseph Wood, George D. May, B. B. Ball, Isaac Williams, Thomas Murphy (wagon-maker), Samuel Watts, James Richard- son, Charles Wilcox, George Crayton, Solomon Dunegan and his three sons-Lemuel, Thomas and Frank, all blacksmiths and the father a Bap- tist preacher. Cox, Blankenship and Jackson were the liquor sellers and tavern keepers. Mr. Bray's saw-mill and distillery, east of town, were running. Richardson and Wilcox made hats from lamb's wool; Watts was a tailor. Mr. Woodward commenced the business with him in 1835 and continued the business many years, until his health began to fail him, when he abandoned the business, as he says, just about the time sewing machines came into use. A Frenchman named Segart was a tailor also. Isaac Williams conducted a saddlery and harness shop. J. S. Kelley erected a pottery a short distance west, and Ball was his potter. They manufactured many excellent crocks, jars, jugs, etc., some of which may yet be seen in neighborhood. Several thousand of these useful household articles were made annually and found a ready sale for many miles

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around. Alexander Worth's carding mill was another important enter- prise. At first nothing but carding was done, but later, in obedience to the demand, spinning and weaving machinery was purchased and a Mr. Bastian, a practical weaver, was employed. Flannels, jeans and sat- inets were woven. At this time (late in the thirties) the village had a population of over 300, and business of all descriptions was very active.

MERCANTILE TRADE, PORK-PACKING, ETC. '

Mr. Moore established branch stores at the Bluffs and at Martins- ville, the business at the latter place being conducted by Mr. Worthing- ton. He had over $30,000 invested in general merchandise at the three places during the forties. His book accounts were enormous, and his trade equally as extensive. He cleared thousands of dollars. He erected a big grist mill early in the thirties on White Lick Creek near the town, and there was not a larger, better or more active grist mill at the time in the central part of the State. That alone added more than any other one thing to the rapid development of Mooresville. Large quantities of flour, corn meal, wheat and corn were shipped by boat from the mill down the creek to the river and thence down to Southern markets. He also engaged extensively in the pork-packing business, employing many hands in the packing season during the colder months to do the slaughtering. He owned a big pork house at the Bluff. He sent off as high as five boat loads of pork and produce in one year. John Scott, Reuben Hen- derson, Perry Carpenter, Jacob Peyton and others were his pilots. He sent a total of nearly thirty boat loads down the river while he was in the business. He bought nearly 100 horses in 1833, and drove them to Virginia to market. They were taken to the large sugar plantations on the island of Cuba. Large numbers of the hogs bought were not slaughtered at all here, but were driven into Ohio and sold at the big markets there. He took off as high as 3,000 hogs at one time in this manner, separating them for convenience in handling into droves of 600 or 800, and driving the droves a few miles apart. Many men were needed to take care of them and feed them on the way. The hogs then were not as they are now. They were older, poorer, and, hence, were much better travelers. J. S. Kelley also did considerable business in pork packing and shipping. Mr. Moore conducted a saw mill in con- nection with his big grist mill.

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Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical, Part 12

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed. cn Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, F. A. Battey & co. Number of Pages: 814

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed. cn
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, F. A. Battey & co.
Number of Pages: 814