USA > Indiana > Brown County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 16
USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 16
USA > Indiana > Morgan County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 16
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The Methodist Church in the southeastern part of the township was organized about 1835, some of the early members being James Demoss, Thomas Grisham, Peter Farmer, Simon Hadley, William Tansey, Able Tansey, Jesse Tansey, William Hornaday and others. Meetings were often held at the houses of Thomas Grisham and James Demoss. After a number of years, their church was built. The Antioch Methodist Church east of Monrovia was established at a later date. Their church is worth about $700. The township has excellent religious advantages.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
One of the things of which the citizens of Monroe Township boast is the position taken by the older residents on the question of slavery. The anti-slavery sentiment came to the county with that noble class of
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
Christian people, the Friends, and from the earliest settlement until slav- ery was blotted out of the nation, no opportunity was lost to strike it a blow. Anti-slavery societies were organized at an early day, and public measures were adopted to bring the enormity of the "institution " squarely before the public eye. The Friends posted themselves thoroughly on the question from a social, moral and Biblical standpoint, and man- aged to "worst " those of sufficient courage to meet them in public de- bate. The Underground Railroad was an organization to assist runaway slaves, escaping from their masters, on their way to Canada. The Friends everywhere were prominently connected with this route, or routes, rather, as hundreds of different paths extended from the Southern States to the dominion of the British Queen. The procedure was a violation of the law of the land, but the Friends and Abolitionists knew they were right morally, and deliberately disobeyed the law. The routes were called " underground " because they were usually only operated at night to avoid detection and pursuit. Slaves that were worth from $600 to $1,200 each were not permitted to leave their masters without an effort being made to capture them. Bloodhounds were used, and every other measure to secure their return. The Friends constantly thwarted the slave catch- ers. A slave who made up his mind to run away would ascertain about the route to be taken, and get the name of the first Friend on the route, and just where his residence could be found. Then, under the cover of night, with his little bundle of clothes on his shoulder, he would resolute- ly turn his face northward, and make for the first station on his way. If that point was reached about morning, the agent of the railroad would feed the tired traveler, and then secrete him in some safe place about the premises until night came, when horses would be hitched to carriages or wagons, and the runaway would be rapidly driven northward ten or fif- teen miles to the next station. If considerable time yet remained before morning, the agent of the second station would hitch up as the first agent had done, and convey the slave to the third station, and the first agent would return home. In this way, after the lapse of many weeks, often through the direst dangers of pursuit, the slave would be safely landed in Canada, where pursuit would end, and where the hunted man would draw his first breath of freedom. Two or three routes extended across Morgan County, all of them passing through Monroe or Brown Town- ship. All of the Quakers were ready to assist runaway slaves, as were many Abolitionists who were not Quakers, but only a few men in the county were really members of the organization called " Underground Railroad." The leading members in Monroe Township were Jonathan Doan and his sons and relatives. They were known to take many a run- away to some point in Marion or Hendricks County. On one occasion, they conveyed a load of five slaves northward. They no doubt helped off scores of them. Eli J. Sumner, of Mooresville, was a prominent Aboli- tionist, but he did not belong to the railroad, though he did not hesitate an instant if a slave called upon him for assistance. William Bowles was the agent at Morgantown ; Mr. Kelso also. Several at Martinsville afforded assistance, though none there were members of the organization. Many now claim to have been connected with the road who at the time were either neutral or inclined to capture the runaways and return them to their masters and get the large reward.
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HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
TREATY WITH THE DELAWARES.
N T O other portion of Morgan County is surrounded with greater his- torical interest than Waverly and vicinity. Here it was that the first settlement in the county was made while the Indians were yet occupying the soil, and while all the species of wild animals of this latitude yet roamed almost wholly unmolested in the trackless forest. The "New Purchase," of which Morgan County was a part, was secured from the Indians by the treaty of St. Mary's, Ohio, in October, 1818 ; but by the provisions of the treaty, the natives were to have the privilege of re- siding upon the soil and of hunting thereon until 1820. The land could not be formally thrown upon the market until after the expiration of this privilege of occupancy, but the whites could enter the territory, select their farins and improve the same, and be in readiness to purchase when the land became marketable. This was done in Morgan County to a limited extent.
THE FIRST SETTLER OF THE COUNTY.
In the summer of 1818, before the lands of the New Purchase had been ceded to the Government by the Indians, Jacob Whetzel, brother to the famous Indian fighter, Lewis Whetzel, and an Indian fighter him- self, went to the camp of the Delaware chief, Anderson, whose principal village was where the city of Anderson now stands, to get permission to cut a trace from White Water River in the eastern part of the State to the Bluffs* on White River, the object being to secure a road from such eastern point to the Bluffs, the remainder of the way to Vincennes to be by the river. Mr. Whetzel had in view then a permanent location at or near Vincennes. Permission was granted by Anderson, and the following autumn Mr. Whetzel, accompanied by his son Cyrus, and supplied with the necessary axes, guns, provisions, etc., blazed this route through to the Bluffs. This blazed road through the wilderness was probably the first in this part of the State, and became a famous highway for fam- ilies seeking homes in the New Purchase. It may yet be seen in some places, and is still known as "Whetzel's Trace." Mr. Whetzel was so pleased with the Bluffs and the surrounding country that he resolved to go no farther toward Vincennes with a view of settle- ment, whereupon he selected a piece of land in the valley of White River a short distance north of the present residence of his grandson-in-law, Mr. Mckenzie, and resolved to send out his son, Cyrus, the following spring to clear a small tract and raise a crop. Early the next spring (March, 1819), Jacob and his son Cyrus, with the necessary seeds, im- plements and arms, came via Whetzel's Trace to the Bluffs, estab-
*A mile and a half northeast of Waverly, where old Port Royal used to stand, generally called "The Bluffs."
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lished with stakes the permanent boundary of about sixty acres of land just below Waverly, and after erecting a rude log cabin the father went back to his family, leaving Cyrus to clear immediately a few acres for a crop of corn, wheat and vegetables, and to deaden a larger tract during the summer. The second night after the father had gone, a heavy snow fell, and Cyrus built a large fire to drive off the wolves and the cold. During the night, he felt something creep under the blanket under which he was sleeping, but was too unconcerned to make further discoveries until the next morning when he was somewhat surprised to learn that his sleeping companion was none other than a huge Delaware Indian. This discovery was not sufficient to scare very perceptibly a man in whose veins ran the distinguished blood of the Whetzels. Cyrus was but eighteen years of age, yet he felt no fear in the wilderness, though sur- rounded with wild and dangerous animals, and with the scarcely less wild and dangerous Indians.
THE FIRST FARM.
Cyrus Whetzel, assisted by a young man whose name is no longer recollected, and who came out soon after the young man did, cleared off a small "truck patch," where corn, vegetables and a small quantity of wheat were raised. Ten or fifteen acres of heavy timber were also dead- ened. The following autumn the family came out to stay permanently. This settlement may justly be dated from the fall of 1818, one year be- fore the family came out, as the farm was then selected and the intention fully matured to locate thereon permanently. The elder Whetzel, Jacob, was a professional hunter, knew but little of farming, and practiced less, but he perhaps never had an equal in the county in woodcraft, and in experience of the Indian. Much of his time was spent in hunting until 1827. when he died. He manufactured his own powder, and dressed almost altogether in buckskin. He did some coopering. His son Cyrus inherited the Whetzel constitution and sagacity, and in his younger years gained an extensive acquaintance with the Indian character. He soon married and became one of the foremost men of the county. He after- ward represented the county in the Legislature. He was brave enough and farseeing enough to look beyond the day in which he lived, and to take the advanced and nobler, liberal position of to-day on the subject of religion. He died in 1876, full of years, respected by all true men, and lies buried near the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. Mckenzie.
.
INCIDENTS.
At a very early date, a number of Delaware Indians came to the cabin of Jacob Whetzel, and a big brave named " Nosey " (part of his nose had been cut off, and hence the name) bantered Cyrus to shoot at a mark. The challenge was accepted, but Cyrus proved to be the better marksman. This threw Nosey, who possessed a violent temper, into a furious rage, but his fear of the stalwart and courageous young man pre- vented any serious results to the latter. The party soon left, but one of them, who dared to taunt the Indian with his defeat, was instantly killed by the still enraged savage. The latter was given one year, according to custom, to redeem his life by furnishing 100 deer skins to the murdered
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man's relatives. This could easily have been done, but no effort was made, and Nosey was accordingly put to death by torture.
Mr. Whetzel one day loaned a Delaware his " gig" to spear fish, and when it was returned one of the prongs was gone, the Indian stating that he had broken it off in a log. A few days later, Mr. Whetzel came upon the same Indian on the river where he had speared a wagon load of the finest fish, with a gig made from the broken prong, which had been driven into the end of a tough slender pole. This Indian was en- gaged in drying the fish. He was so expert that he could strike a fish eight or ten yards away. Many years ago, the Whetzels discovered about a half bushel of bullets of all sizes from a shot to a half-ounce ball on the bottom near Waverly. They had been scattered out over several rods, by the action of the water no doubt, but how they came there is a mystery yet to be solved.
ADDITIONAL EARLY SETTLERS.
The name of the second settler in Harrison Township is not certain- ly known. Among those who came in soon after the Whetzels were Christopher Ladd, Jesse Tull, Benjamin Mills, David E. Allen, Henry Rout (who remained but a short time), John Paul, John Hamilton, Thomas Ingles, George Powell, Joseph Bennett, Thomas Gardner, William Good- win, James Burch, Robert C. Stott, Barlow Aldridge, Joseph Frazee, William Etter and many others whose date of settlement cannot be cer- tainly fixed. The following list of men paid poll tax in Harrison Town- ship in 1842, the list being given here to preserve the names of as many of the early residents as possible. A few of the men never resided in the township: Barlow Aldridge, J. D. Bromwell, J. F. Brenton, James Burris, Joseph Brenton, Joseph Baker, James Duke, J. W. Davis, Dixon Dee, Daniel Etter, Cornelius Free, J. G. A. Frydinghire, George Haslett, Elijah Henderson, John Harrow, Benjamin Harrold, William Harrold, Benjamin Holland, Abner Hightour, G. Kershner, Richard Dee, J. M. Laughlin, J. A. Laughlin, Lewis Leach, J. S. Leach, Alan- son Lewis, Benjamin Mills, Allen McLain, Thomas Mitchell, G. J. Mills, Daniel Newkirk, J. H. B. Nowland, J. M. Norton, George Powell, W. Prescot, Aaron Prescot, Jason Rust, David Rust, Frederick Swartz, . George Smith, Robert Smith, John Stephenson, I. W. Tacket, William Tull, Drury Trusty, Cyrus Whetzel and Jesse Wharton.
THE BLUFFS, OR PORT ROYAL.
The Bluffs were known before there was a solitary settler in the county. Frenchmen from Vincennes and vicinity had come up the river before the war of 1812; and if tradition is correct had established temporary trad- ing stations with the Delaware Indians, who then occupied the country. Various adventurers and speculators had visited the spot, and it became called The Bluffs. It is likely that Christopher Ladd was the first white settler at the point. He located there either in 1819 or early in 1820. He it was who claimed the location of the capital of the State at the Bluffs. Several of the Commissioners appointed by the Legislature to permanently fix the capital voted in favor of the Bluffs. Mr. Ladd be- gan keeping tavern there before the county was organized, and was the
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
first man in the county to take out the necessary license to keep tavern and sell liquor. The corpse of a man was found on the river bottom near his house, and Mr. Ladd was arrested and tried for the murder, but not a shadow of substantial evidence was found against him. He was acquitted, and his lack of means only prevented him from prosecuting his defamers, as they no doubt deserved. This was the first noteworthy trial of the county. Cyrus Whetzel and Mr. Ladd were intimate friends, and the former always insisted on the latter's innocence. Mr. Whetzel always suspected an Indian, who, after the murder, was found in possession of a horse and saddle, a black silk handkerchief, a red morocco pocket-book, etc., of which he failed to give a satisfactory account. No doubt the murdered man had come out to buy land, and falling in with the Indian was foully murdered for his effects.
The town was surveyed and platted before the county was organized, James Borland being the surveyor. It was laid out about the middle of September, 1821, on the north half of the southeast quarter of Section 13, Township 13 north, Range 2 east, in the Brookville Land District. Forty-three lots were laid out on the bluffs of White River. Thomas Lee was the proprietor.
The Bluffs, or Port Royal, as it became called afterward, attracted settlers early. Ladd was the first. Robert Bradshaw was probably the second. Daniel Allen was about the third. He was the first tailor. He sold liquor in 1827 and merchandise in 1828. Bradshaw sold liquor in 1826. Ladd's tavern was a great rendezvous for those who loved the flowing bowl. It was a great pleasure for the early settlers at Port Royal to gather round his blazing bar-room fire when the nights were icy cold and the bitter wind dashed the falling snow in eddies around the old log tavern, to listen to the stories of the travelers who stopped there for rest. It became a famous place. The early members of the Legislature from the southern part of the State would make Ladd's tavern their last stop- ping place before reaching the capital and the first place after leaving it. Mrs. Ladd was a genial, hospitable woman, a good conversationalist, and a woman who could not be excelled in the manufacture of good tea and coffee. Her guests discovered this latter fact, and a word of praise was sufficient to insure a beverage rarely found in the backwoods. On one occasion, her supply failed so nearly that she was obliged to mix tea and coffee as a last desperate resort. A traveler sipped the steaming bever- age, raised his eyebrows, curled up the corners of his mouth in a saga- cious smile, and speaking to his hostess, said, " Mrs. Ladd, if this is tea bring me coffee, and if it's coffee bring me tea." The good lady was obliged to explain the situation, which satisfied the polite traveler, who resumed his meal.
The Blairs, the Paytons, the Hollands, the Wheatleys, the Davises, the Armstrongs, the Balls, the Beattys and others were among the early residents of Port Royal. Ladd sold the first merchandise in about the year 1823. His stock was insignificant, but was kept to accommodate a few of the residents. Robert Stafford, Peter Hennison, Hugh Endsley, William Agness and Henry Riddle were in business early. Bradshaw sold calicoes, etc., about 1827. John Wheatley was probably the first blacksmith. David Allen had a few hundred dollars' worth of goods late
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in the twenties. Luce & Allen opened the first goods store in 1832. Their stock was worth more than $1.000. M. C. Rust sold liquor in 1832 and groceries in 1833. C. H. Hayes & Co. began selling from a large general stock late in 1832. Ayres & Pinney were the leading mer- chants in 1833 ; they were the successors of Luce & Ayres. About this time, the town was at the zenith of its prosperity, and contained a popu- lation of about 150. Cyrus Whetzel took out a grocery license in 1834. McCarty & Williams, H. Saunders, D. Rust were other merchants late in the thirties. The town began to die about 1840. Nothing is left of it now.
VILLAGE OF WAVERLY.
This little village started up when the canal was being constructed, about 1837. J. H. B. Nowland, now a resident of Indianapolis, the author of one or more interesting volumes on the early settlement of this part of the State, opened the first store of consequence on the "Island," in about 1838. A number of " shanties " had been erected before for the accommodation of the canal workmen, in one or more of which provisions . were kept to supply the tables. Mr. McLain was a superintendent. The first storehouse was built by Cornelius Free. Brown and Robinson each owned a tavern. Various rude dwellings soon went up, and the town began to grow. Mr. Brannon really sold the first goods. The canal men made it lively of nights at the saloons. Cornelius Free was the central figure from the start. He built a large grist mill in 1837, four stories and a half high, with four or five runs of buhrs. This mill was one of the finest ever in this part of the State, was the life of Waverly, and received a patronage over a radius of forty miles. Attached to it was a saw mill and a woolen factory, where carding only was done at first, but later spinning and weaving. An attachment for kiln-drying corn was soon added, and the united enterprises received an enormous patronage. Mrs. McKinzie said she had seen more than a hundred teams stand waiting their turn to be waited upon. The corn was ground in the mill, then kiln-dried, then shipped by boat to Southern markets. Benjamin Sweet, of Martinsville, was the leading carpenter who built the big mill. The water which operated these industries was from the canal feeder, and was purchased of the State by Mr. Free. After a few years, Jacob Corman leased the mill, and late in the forties the property was sold to John Carlisle. Samuel Moore and J. S. Kelley, of Mooresville, packed a con- siderable pork at Waverly, shipping the same by flat-boat down White River. Dr. Paris was an early physician. Dr. Overstreet was his part- ner. They owned an apothecary's shop, the ancestor of the modern drug store. The Breeces, the Kershners, the Swopes, the McLains, the Now- lands, the Wishards, the Stevensons and others were among the leading residents in the thirties. A Polander named Frydingshire packed pork at Waverly. McLain conducted a big saw mill, and shipped consider- able lumber down the river. Howe afterward conducted this mill. Among the merchants of the forties were McLain, Boles, Jones, Nowland, Frank and Washington Landers, John Huntsinger. Abe Breneman. Margarum owned a cooper shop; Harrah and Reese, carpenter shops, and John Gleason, a cabinet shop. Dr. White practiced medicine. It is said that James Burris opened the first carpenter shop in Waverly, and
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
a man named Robinson the first wagon shop. This was about the year 1837. Waverly was laid out and recorded in 1841, by M. H. Brown, O. G. Kershner and D. W. Howe, owners and proprietors. Fifty-five lots were laid out on the southeast side of the Central Canal, and a large lot was left for a public square. The principal street-the one extending northeast and southwest-was Main street.
WAVERLY IN LATER YEARS.
Merchants since 1850 have been, among others, Landers Brothers, J. L. Knox, Peter Baxter, Ezra Allman, James Griggs & Son, John Cook, Thomas Hussey, Cannon, Smith & Dunn, A. J. Tarleton, John Graves, W. W. Dorman, Howe & Etter, F. M. Fields at present, G. Scroggs, Eli Paddock at present, Jacob Duncan & Son at present, and Vincent & Dukes at present. The greatest population of Waverly has been about 250. Carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, wagon-makers, etc., etc., have come and gone like an endless chain. The present population is about 150.
SCHOOLS.
Several terms of school were taught in Port Royal quite early in the twenties in an old log cabin, or rather in several old log cabins. The names of the teachers cannot be given. A schoolhouse was built near the town about 1829, where the town children attended as long as there were town children to go, which was until about 1840. Schools were first held in Waverly about 1842. The few children, however, usually went south to the country schoolhouse which stood southwest of town on Mr. Mckenzie's farm. This house was used many years, or until the present one was erected, about 1850. This building, though over thirty years have elapsed since it was built, is in a fine state of preservation, and, owing to the fresh coat of paint, looks like a new house. In Sep- tember, 1826, there was formed at Port Royal a " Union Society for the Encouragement of Learning and Religion," at the head of which were Danial Boaz and Henry Brown, of Johnson County, and David Allen and others of Port Royal and vicinity. This society furnished excellent schools for that day, employed competent teachers, and the town soon acquired quite a reputation for its advancement in learning and morals. The enterprise died out in the thirties.
CHURCHES.
No doubt the first class in the township was established at Port Royal. Late in the twenties, the Methodists formed a small class there. Scarcely anything is known of the class, as it soon died. In 1840, the Methodists formed a class on Section 36, Harrison Township, and soon after were the owners of a small church. Among the members were the families of John Taylor, of Johnson County, Thomas Mitchell, Jacob L. Bromwell, James Epperson, Henry Brenton, Gideon Drake and others. Land for the church was furnished by Mr. Bromwell. Rev. Zelots S. Clifford was the pastor in 1846. This was called the Shiloh Church. The Trustees in 1846 were James Epperson, Gideon Drake, William Robe, Lewis W. St. John and Josiah Drake. This society flourished for many years. Early in the forties, the Presbyterians formed a small class at Waverly. They
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met to worship in residences and in the saw mill of Mr. Free. Here it was that Henry Ward Beecher preached several consecutive days. His auditors sat on rude plank benches around him, and the since famous minister so stirred them up with his eloquence that his sermons are yet distinctly remembered by many. The Methodists had a nominal organi- zation at Waverly in about 1840, and soon afterward a small class was partially organized by Rev. Hammond. About 1857, the class had be- come strong enough to build a church, which the members proceeded to do, getting a large subscription from other denominations and from out- siders, with the understanding that the building should be open to all Christian denominations and to all moral public lectures. The building was erected, but after a number of years the Methodists took absolute possession and control of the house, and refused to allow other denomina- tions or lecturers to use it without the arbitrary consent of their Trustees. How strange it is that so many Christian denominations, after solemnly dedicating a church to the service of God, can piously turn around with a prayer on their lips and fraudulently obtain absolute possession of the building which is at least partially owned by others. Christians do not act thus. Among the early Methodists were John Graves, Barlow Al- dridge, Aaron T. Wiley, William J. Knox, George Rinker, Robert P. Gray, E. A. Allman, Cyrus Etter, James Griggs and their families. Cy- rus Whetzel paid liberally toward the construction of the People's Church. M. W. Brenton was pastor in 1856. This church was really a branch of the Shiloh and Mount Olive organizations.
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