USA > Indiana > Brown County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 89
USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 89
USA > Indiana > Morgan County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 89
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WILLIAM E. WHITESELL, farmer, is a native of Bloomington, Ind., was born July 17, 1833, and is the eighth of the fifteen children of Peter and Elizabeth (Akens) Whitesell, natives of Kentucky and Virginia respectively. Peter Whitesell moved to this county about the year 1824, and settled near Bloomington, where he entered land. William E. Whitesell was reared on a farm, and attended school for about six months. When about eighteen years old, he moved to Illinois for a time, where he began to work for himself. June 12, 1858, he married Eliza A. Matlock, of this county, which union gave being to five chil- dren, two of whom are living. September, 1864, he enlisted in the volunteer service, was on duty at Indianapolis, and was discharged May, 1865. He afterward came to this county and purchased 195 acres, some of which was improved. He now owns 225 acres, which constitutes a good home and farm. Mr. Whitesell has served for one term as Town- ship Trustee, and is in political classification a Democrat. He is an up- right, liberal citizen, and one generally esteemed and trusted.
HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
BY WESTON A. GOODSPEED.
INDIAN CESSION TREATIES.
T THE territory comprising the county of Brown lies partly within the limits of two tracts of land, secured at different times from the In- dians by treaty. A straight line drawn from Section 25, Township 9 north, Range 1 east, to Section 7, Township 7 north, Range 4 east, will coincide with this old Indian boundary, which extends, as will be seen by this, from southeast to northwest. All that portion of Brown County southwest of this boundary was, with other territory of which it formed a part, obtained of the Indians at the treaty of Fort Wayne, on the 30th of September, 1809, and constituted a portion of " Harrison's Purchase." The boundary line was run or surveyed at this time by Arthur Henrie and William Harris. All that portion of Brown County northeast of the line, remained the property of the Indians until the treaty of October 2 to 6, 1818, at St. Mary's, Ohio, when it became with other lands the property of the Government, and constituted a part of the "New Pur- chase." The Indians were permitted to occupy the lands for the pur- pose of obtaining sustenance from the chase for the period of two years, at which time they were removed farther west to territory prepared for them. The first settlers found the Indians still here. The survey of that portion of Brown County in the " Harrison Purchase," was made in the autumn of 1812 by Arthur Henrie and William Harris, and that portion in the "New Purchase " by J. Hedges and A. C. Looker, in 1819.
INITIATORY LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS.
The first known disposition made of any portion of the lands of Brown County by the General Assembly of Indiana, was at the session of 1817-18, when all south of the old Indian boundary of 1809 was made a part of Monroe County created at that time, as will be fully seen in another part of this work. This was a short time before the In- dians' title to the northern portion of the county was extinguished. Probably the next dispostion made of Brown County lands was in January, 1820, when that portion north of the Indian boundary, or in the "New Purchase," together with more of the "New Purchase," was formed into Delaware County, as will be seen from Section 2, of an act approved by the General Assemby, January 20, 1820, as follows :
SECTION 2. That all the remaining part of said New Purchaselying east of the Second Principal Meridian, except so much of it as has been attached to the counties of Fayette, Jackson and Wayne, by former laws, and except so much of it as is attached by the first section of this act to the counties named therein, be and the same is hereby formed into & new county, to be known by the name of Delaware.
680
HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
By an act of the General Assembly, approved December 31, 1821, that portion of Brown County in the New Purchase, and west of the ex- tended line dividing Sections 4 and 5, Township 10 north, Range 2 east, was made a part of Monroe County-not attached, but made a part of. By an act approved January 16, 1828, the following territory, now com- prising a part of Brown County, was attached to Jackson County, to wit : Beginning on the line dividing the counties of Jackson and Bartholomew, at a point where the line dividing Ranges 3 and 4 east, of the Second Principal Meridian, intersects the same ; thence north with said line three miles to the northeast corner of Township 7; thence west with the line dividing Townships 7 and 8, to the line of Monroe County ; thence south to the line of Jackson County; thence east to the place of beginning. And at the same time, by the same act, the following territory, now com- prising a portion of the county of Brown, was attached to Monroe County, to wit : Beginning at a point on the line dividing Townships 7 and 8, where the line dividing Sections 30 and 31 intersects the same ; thence north with the last mentioned line to the line dividing the counties of Bartholomew and Johnson ; thence west with said line to the northeast corner of Monroe County ; thence south, to the line dividing Townships 7 and 8; thence east with the last mentioned line to the place of begin- ning. At the same time, and by the same act, it was provided that all territory east of Monroe County and west of Bartholomew County, not attached to Jackson or Monroe Counties, should form a part of Barthol- omew County. No other change seems to have been made until the creation of Brown County in 1836. The territory composing the county was of course formed into townships, or at least attached to townships in the counties of Bartholomew, Monroe and Jackson. Bartholomew
County was created in 1821, Monroe in 1818, and Jackson in 1815. That portion of Brown County attached to Monroe formed a part of Jackson and Salt Creek Townships ; that part attached to Bartholomew formed part of Harrison, Union, Nineveh and Ohio Townships, and that part attached to Jackson formed part of Salt Creek Township. In the meantime, the settlers continued to come in slowly and locate, for the most part, on the hills of Brown County. At last, in 1835, enough had arrived to warrant the formation of the county, and accordingly the Rep- resentatives in the State Legislature were requested to introduce the bill and carry it through, which in February, 1836, was done, as follows :
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, that from and after the 1 st day of April next, all that tract of country included in the following boundary lines shall form and constitute a new county, to be known and designated by the name of the county of Brown (in honor of the late Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown) : Beginning at the north- west corner of Section 1, in Township 10 north, of Range 1 west, of the Second Principal Meridian ; thence south with the Government land line twenty miles, to the southwest cor- ner of Section 12, Township 7 north, of the aforesaid range ; thence east sixteen miles, to the southeast corner of Section 9, in the last-mentioned township, and in Range 4 east; thence north with the Government land line twenty miles, to the northeast corner of Sec- tion 4, Township 10 north ; thence west with the line dividing Townships 10 and 11 six- teen miles to the place of beginning.
SEC. 2. That the new county of Brown shall, from and after the 1st day of April next, enjoy and possess all the rights, privileges, benefits and jurisdictions which to sep- arate and independent counties do or may properly belong or appertain.
SEC. 3. That James Alexander and Aquilla Rogers, of Monroe County, David Deitz and Hiram Wilson, of Bartholomew County, and Stephen Sparks, of Jackson County, be and are hereby appointed Commissioners, agreeably to the act entitled "An act fixing
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
the seat of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off." The Commissioners afore- said shall meet on the second Monday in August next, at the h use of James Dawson, in the said county of Brown, and shall proceed immediately to perform the duties required of them by law ; and it shall be the duty of the Sheriff of Monroe County to notify said Commissioners, either in person or by writing, of their appointment, on or before the second Monday of July next ; and for such service he shall receive such compensation as the board doing county business in the said county of Brown may, when organized, deem just and reasonable, to be allowed and paid as the other county claims.
SEC. 4. The Circuit Court and the Board of County Commissioners, when elected under the writ of election from the Executive Department, shall hold their sessions as near the center of the county as a convenient place can be had, until the public buildings can be erected.
SEC. 5. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sale of lots at the county seat of said county of Brown, sha'l reserve ten per centum out of the proceeds thereof, and pay the same over to such person or persons as may be appointed by law to receive the same for the use of a county library.
SEC. 6. The county of Brown shall be attached to the Seventh Judicial Circuit of this State for judicial purposes, and for Representative purposes the citizens of said county shall vote in the counties of Bartholomew and Monroe in the following manner: Those living within the territory of said new county, which was stricken from either of the counties aforesaid, shall vote with the respective counties from which they were stricken.
SEC. 7. That the Circuit Court shall be held in the county of Brown on Mondays succeeding the week of the Monroe Circuit Court, and sit three days at each term, should the business require it.
SEC. 8. That the Justices of the Peace in and for said county, when elected and quali- fied by a writ of election from the Executive Department, shall constitute the Board of County Commissioners, and the Board of Commissioners aforesaid shall hold special ses- sions, not exceeding three during the first year after the organization of said county, and shall make all necessary appointments, and do and perform all other business which may or might have been necessary to be performed at any other regular session, and to take all necessary steps to collect the State and county revenue, any law or usage to the contrary not withstanding.
SEC. 9. That the act entitled " An act providing the mode of opening and repairing public roads and highways in the county of Monroe " (approved February 2, 1833), and the act entitled " An act to amend the several acts regulating the jurisdiction and duties of Justices of the Peace in the several coun ies herein named" (approved February 7, 1835), be and the same are hereby declared to be in force in the said new county of Brown.
SEC. 10. This act to be in force from and after its passage.
Approved February 4, 1836.
A mistake was made by the clerks of the Legislature in the wording of this enactment, which was corrected at the succeeding session as fol- lows :
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the word west, when it occurs in the eighth line of the first section of said act, shall be and the same is hereby declared to be a misprint, and that the word east shall be substituted in lieu thereof, and that the boundary lines of the said new county of Brown shall be permanently established in accordance with said change.
SEC. 2. That the election of all officers, and that the proceedings of the board doing county business in said county from its first organization up to the time of the publica- tion of this act, be and the same are hereby legalized and rendered as valid to all intents and purposes as if no misprint or mistake had occurred in the law for the formation of said county.
SEC. 3. That all fines assessed on any person or persons, citizens of said county of Brown, for the non-performance of militia duty, and the non-performance of road labor, or either of them in Mouroe County, be and the same are hereby declared to be illegal, and in any case where a fine as aforesaid has been assessed and paid, the same shall be re- funded to him or them or an equivalent amount of county orders. This act to be in force from and after its publication in the Indiana Democrat.
Approved December 20, 1836.
THE FIRST COUNTY ELECTION.
The first thing necessary in the new county was the election of the necessary officers for the management of county affairs and the adminis-
682
HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
tration of justice. James Dawson was commissioned Sheriff by the Gov- ernor, and directed to order an election of a Clerk and Recorder, two Asso- ciate Judges of the Circuit Court, and three County Commissioners. An election was accordingly held on the first Monday in June, 1836, and re- sulted as follows: John Floyd, Clerk and Recorder ; James Taggart and Lewis F. Raper, Associate Judge; and Daniel Hedrick, William Jackson and James Davidson, County Commissioners; James Dawson's commission as Sheriff was dated April 20, 1836, and was to remain in force until his successor was elected and qualified the following August. The com - missions of the two Judges and the Clerk and Recorder were issued July 9; the County Commissioners were not commissioned, but were to begin service as soon as elected and qualified. At the August election, James Taggart became County Sheriff; William Followell, Coroner, and James McIntire, Probate Judge.
FIRST MEETING OF THE COUNTY BOARD.
The three County Commissioners met at the house of James Dawson, as provided by law, on the 25th of July, 1836, for the transaction of busi- ness. The first act was the subdivision of the county into townships and election precincts, as follows :
CREATION OF TOWNSHIPS AND OTHER ACTS.
Hamblen Township, bounded as follows : Beginning at the north west corner of Section 5, Township 10 north, Range 3 east ; thence ten miles to the southwest corner of Section 20; thence east eight miles to the southeast corner of Section 21, in Range 4 east ; thence west eight miles to the place of beginning. Van Buren Township, bounded as follows : Beginning at the northwest corner of Section 29, Township 9 north, Range 3 east ; thence ten miles to the southwest corner of Section 8, Township 7 north, Range 3 east; thence eight miles east to the south- east corner of Section 9, Range 4 east; thence ten miles north to the northeast corner of Section 28, Township 9 north, Range 4 east; thence eight iniles west to the place of beginning. Johnson Township, bounded as follows : Beginning at the northeast corner of Section 30, Town- ship 9 north, Range 3 east; thence south ten miles to the southeast cor- ner of Section 7, Town 7 north, Range 3 east ; thence eight miles west to the southwest corner of Section 12, Township 7 north, Range 1 east, thence ten miles north to the northwest corner of Section 25, Township 9 north, Range 1 east ; thence eight miles east to the place of beginning. Jackson Township, bounded as follows : Beginning at the northeast cor- ner of Section 6, Township 10 north, Range 3 east; thence ten miles south to the southeast corner of Section 19, Township 9 north, Range 3 east ; thence eight miles west to the southwest corner of Section 24, Township 9 north, Range 1 east; thence north ten miles to the north- west corner of Section 1, Township 10 north, Range 1 east; thence eight miles east to the place of beginning.
An election precinct was established at the residence of James Daw- son, for all that part of the county taken from Monroe County, and one at the house of James Taggart and one at the house of Cornelius Hurley, for that portion taken from Bartholomew County. Elections were ordered
683
HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
held in the four townships created on the first Saturday in September, for all the township officers except Constables. Assessors were appointed, the returns to be made by the first Monday in September. Thomas Hempson was appointed County Treasurer. Overseers of the Poor were appointed for the various townships, their names appearing in the township sketches accompanying this volume. Supervisors of Roads were appointed. At the next session the locating Commissioners appointed by the Legislature presented the following report :
We, the undersigned Commissioners appointed by the act of the Legislature of 1836, for the location of the county site of Brown County, Ind., do certify that according to said act we met at the house of James Dawson, in said county, on the 8th of August, 1836, and on the 11th of August located the site of said county of Brown on Section 19, Township 9 north, Range 3 east, or a tract of fifty acres of land donated by James Dawson, Banner Brummet, John Followell, Pierson Brummet, James Huff, Will- iam Snyder, John King and Henry Jackson. Also, we have received a donation of $150 to be paid in cash, for which we have received a note payable to the Commissioners of said county of Brown in the following persons, to wit : Banner Brummet, James Dawson, James Huff, Pierson Brummet and J. W. Dunning. We also certify that we have named the county site Jacksonsburg. Given under our hands this 11th day of August, 1836.
STEPHEN SPARKS, JAMES ALEXANDER, DAVID DIETZ, HIRAM WILSON,
Locating Commissioners.
The amounts claimed by the Commissioners were as follows ; Stephen Sparks, for seven days, $21; David Dietz, for five days, $15: James Alexander, for five days, $15; Hiram Wilson, for five days, $15; total $66. This was not paid until October, 1843, after the lapse of seven years.
This report was ordered, received and spread upon the records. On the 15th of August, 1836, the township of Washington was created, with the following boundaries : Beginning at the southwest corner of Section 36, Township 9 north, Range 1 east ; thence east sixteen miles with the town- ship line to the southwest corner of Section 33, Township 9 north, Range 4 east ; thence four miles north to the northeast corner of Section 16; thence sixteen miles west to the north west corner of Section 13, Township 9 north, Range 1 east ; thence four miles south to the place of beginning. On the same day also Banner C. Brummet was appointed County Agent, with bond at $4,000, and directed to lay out the county seat into lots to be sold at public auction, the first auction to be September 12, 1836. The sale was ordered advertised in Brown, Monroe, Bartholomew, Johnson and Jackson Counties, and was to continue as long as the agent deemed advisable. The terms of the sale were to be one-fourth in advance, one- fourth in eight months, one-fourth in sixteen months, and the remainder in twenty-four months. On the 16th of August the County Agent was ordered to lay out the county seat, which he proceeded to do. One dollar was ordered paid for each wolf scalp, and the first claimant under this order was William Snyder, who presented the scalp of one wolf over six months old. James Dawson was appointed County Surveyor. The license for taverns in the county was fixed at $5; liquor or gro- ceries, $5; merchandise, $10; wooden clock peddlers or sellers, $8; ferry keepers, $2. The tax levied was 20 cents on each $100 valuation and $1 on each poll. John Richards was appointed Collector of the State
43
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684
HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
and county revenue. After the lots of the county seat had been laid out, Jonathan Watson and George Groves were appointed to value them, assisted by the County Agent, and the latter was instructed to sell lots at auction thereafter quarterly. Nashville at this time was called Jackson- burg. On the 7th of November, 1836, John S. Williams was appointed County Treasurer. John Floyd had been serving and continued to serve as County Clerk and Recorder, the two offices being held by one man at that time and for a number of years afterward. In January, 1837, Will- iam Snyder was appointed Commissioner of the three per cent fund, and William Jackson was appointed Seminary Trustee. All the fines of the Circuit, justices' and other courts went to this fund, which was to be used to found a county seminary when sufficient in amount. F. Goss, J. Watson and William Taggart were appointed a committee to select public lots upon which to erect county buildings. D. D. Weddel, Jonathan Watson and H. C. Weddel were appointed a committee to settle with the County Agent. They found his report to January 3, 1837, to be as fol- lows : Fifty lots had been sold for $694.87}. Of this $91.90} had been received in cash, and the remainder in notes according to the above conditions of sale. James Dawson was appointed Inspector of the "General Election," to be held in Brown County. All these orders were issued and business done by the County Board, which, after the first fow months, consisted of all the Justices of the Peace in the county, who met as the County Commissioners now meet for the transaction of busi- ness. As high as ten or twelve met at one time. Meetings of the board were held at the house of James Dawson. The county court house and the jail were built in 1837. The tax for 1837 was 20 cents on each $100 valuation, and $1.25 on each poll. Lot No. 1 was selected for the jail, and Lot No. 2 for the court house. The board had been without funds enough to do county business, and had issued " orders," which soon began to depreciate in value. The burden then fell upon individuals, in whose hands they fluctuated. To cap the climax, the board in March, 1837, ordered that no county order should be received in payment for town lots. This served to still more depreciate the value of the orders, though they still continued to pass current at a variable point of discount. After a few years this trouble was outgrown.
THE FIRST CIRCUIT COURT.
This was held on the 20th of April, 1837, before Elisha M. Hunting- ton, President Judge, and James Taggart and Louis F Raper, Associate Judges. The first acts were the administration of the oaths of office to the Judges. The next was the consideration of a bastardy case, wherein the defendant moved to dismiss proceedings against him on account of irregularity, which motion was overruled by the court. As it appeared that a regular traverse jury had not been called for the April term of the court, and as the defendant called for a jury, the case was continued until the next term of court, the defendant giving sufficient bond for his ap- pearance. The next case was one of slander-Pierson Brummet vs. Reuben Mathis. The plaintiff, by his counsel, moved to dismiss the suit, which was done by the court. A seal for the court was then ordered as follows: "Brown County Circuit Court," inscribed in a circular form
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY.
near the margin of the seal, and in the center the figure of a Western hunter leaning upon the muzzle of his rifle, with his dog lying at his feet, the whole to be engraved on the usual material of proper diameter and thickness. Banner Brummet, David D. Weddel and John Floyd were then appointed Commissioners to view and re-locate so much of the Bloom- ington & Columbus State road as crossed the farms of Henry Newkirk and Robert Henderson. Court then adjourned.
The second session was begun on the 19th of October, 1837; present, same Judges as before. The following panel of grand jurors was sum- moned and took their seats. Henry Sipes, Henry Newkirk, Joseph Bracken, Asa Hatten, James Dawson, Stephen Matney, Arnold Helton, H. A. Stivers, Thomas Elkins, James Mathis, Henry Jackson, John David and Stephen Parks. There not being enough of the regular panel present, the Sheriff was ordered to summon two bystanders, which he did as follows : Aaron Mathis and D. D. Weddel. The jury was sworn and sent out. The following attorneys were then admitted to practice at the court: John Cowgill, C. W. Hester, Paris C. Dunning, Willis A. Gor- man, Louis F. Coppersmith and Samuel W. Smith. The bastardy case above mentioned was continued at the cost of the defendant. John Cow- gill was State's Attorney. The next case was a recognizance to keep the peace-Nancy Polly vs. Thomas Polly. Nancy, upon being called, came not, and the defendant was discharged without a day. Six cases were disposed of at this term of court. The grand jury returned ten bills of indictment-six gaming, three assault and battery, and one assault and battery with intent to murder. And so the second term ended.
The record of the County Board shows that both traverse and grand jurors were chosen iu 1836 as follows: Grand jurors for October, 1836- James Weddel, J. S. Williams, Daniel King, Eliakim Hamblen, Pierson Brummet, Robert Henderson, Robert Robertson, James S. Wood, Alfred Hicks, Griffith Davidson, Henry Jackson and John Hubbard. Traverse jurors for October, 1836-William Whiteham, Wiley Guy, Silas Smith, Solomon Followell, Rolly Sturgeon, Jacob Fleener, Stephen Motley, Hi- ram Mabe, Cornelius Cox, Sandy Walker, Arthur Rippy and Pleasant Weddel. Jurors were also drawn for 1837 as follows: Grand jurors for April, 1837-David Warner, John Sinex, Asa Hatten, Cornelius Hurley, William Rippy, Simon Weatherman, William Elkins, Henry Newkirk, William Snyder, John Helton, D. D. Carrol and Abraham Chappel. Traverse jurors, April, 1837-William Johnson, Israel Mullinix, Will- iam Davidson. David Siveley, James Dawson, Thomas Brown, Stephen Sparks, John Hoover, John Conner, George Followell, Ezra Wilson and Levi Tablet. So far as known, neither of the four juries above given, though legally appointed, served the county.
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