USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 55
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 55
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The building is a frame, 26x36, and was commenced in the spring of 1849, and the frame-work completed and placed in position, and allowed to remain in this condition until late in the fall of 1850, when work on. the church was again resumed and the building soon completed. The dedicatorial sermon, preached by Rev. Eventus Doud, is mentioned by old pioneers as being one of much power. The estimated cost of the sanctuary was $500, $300 of which was raised by Rev. Doud on the day of dedication. The organization consisted of fifty members at the time of the completion of the church. The members of that church have been preached to by the following ministers in the order named, commencing with the first : Revs. Eventus Doud, Bradley, Hatfield, Adel, Utter, Forbes, Wood, Newhouse, Beach, Sanders, Conner, Tar, Hinge, McKen- zie, Beal, Crone, Cox, Reader, Langley, W. W. Jones, Vought, Bruner, and Sanders, the present pastor. The Presiding Elders who have held quarterly conference in this church since its founding occur in about the following order, beginning with the first : Revs. Graham, Westlake, Webb, Good, Marsey, Burgner, Michael, Utter, Cooper, Cissel, and Beck, the present presiding minister. The society has a present membership of about sixty. For many years there has been a Sabbath school held at
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this place, with a fluctuating attendance of from forty to seventy pupils.
Schools .- The first school in the township (a sixty days' term) was taught in the rude log cabin of Martin H. Venard in the winter of 1843 and 1844, with Mr. Venard as schoolmaster. The second was taught by Miss Mary Collins in the same house, and the third by Martin H. Ven- ard. Mr. Venard was a good scholar and took much interest in the edu- cation of his and other children. The schools that Mr. Venard taught were wholly unremunerative to him in a financial point of view.
The first schoolhouse in Harrison Township was a hewed-log building, 24x36 feet, erected (as nearly as can be ascertained) in the year 1848, on the northwest quarter of Section 34. In 1849, two schoolhouses were built, one on Section 32, and the other in the south- eastern part of the township. The Greenland Schoolhouse in the Bruce settlement was erected in 1853. In 1859, four frame schoolhouses were built. There are now eight frame schoolhouses in the township, the last one having been erected in 1880. The following is a list of the teachers who taught in the various districts in the township in 1867: District No. 1, W. E. Ward; District No. 2, Lu E. Moore ; District No. 3, Will- iam McJohnson; District No. 4, St. Clair Wildermuth; District No. 5, A. M. Ward; District No. 6, G. R. Allen, and District No.7, Adelaide Agnew.
The teachers in the schools of the township for the school year of 1882, are as follows : District No. 1, J. H. Barker; No. 2, John Starr; No. 3, Jacob Willhelm ; No. 4, William Fahler; No. 5, Calip Barker; No. 6, William Jackson; No. 7, Rachael Wents; No. 8, Earnest Helm. The average per diem for the teachers of 1882, is $1.80. The whole number of pupils admitted to the schools of 1882, in the township, is 261. The total estimated value of school property in 1882, is $2,500. In the first quarter of a century of the school history of Harrison Town- ship, the records were illy kept, and the following is but one of the many evidences proving that such was the case. In 1861, William R. Ballin- ger was elected Township Trustee, and when the preceding Trustee came to make his final report to Mr. Ballinger, it was, that he had so much good money and so much bad money on hand without a record of any kind to show what the money was to be used for.
Bridge .- The only bridge in the township of importance is the new iron one built across Big Mill Creek, at Mooresburg. The same was erected in 1882, by the Canton Ohio Bridge Company, at a cost of about $2,000. The bridge is fifty feet long and carefully built.
Mooresburg Mill .- In the year 1841, Jonathan Washington began the construction of the first grist mill in the township, on what is known as Big Mill Creek. The mill is located on the southwest quarter of Sec-
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
tion 27, Township 30, Range 1 west. The next year found the enter- prise only partially completed, but sufficient for grinding corn; and it was not until the fall of 1843 that the mill was wholly built and ready for flour-making. The building was erected on the dam, directly over the main channel of the stream which occasioned the construction of a mill-race wholly unnecessary. One set of stone was used in the mill the first four years, when the business had increased to such an extent that another set was needed, and added. The interest continued under the management of Mr. Washington until 1846, when it was sold to James Moore, who conducted the business about three years, when he died, and the property passed into the hands his sons, Douglas L., Thomas M. and Ephraim R. Moore, who controlled the business until the spring of 1853, when Douglas died, and Thomas and Ephraim became sole proprietors. In the fall of 1853, the mill burned, was rebuilt again in 1855 by Ephraim Moore, and in the fall of that year W. K. Murphy purchased a one-half interest, and under the firm name of Moore & Mur- phy the business continued until July, 1863, when Moore died, and the interest passed through the hands of Newton Mullins, Albert G. Aikens, John Clary, and finally rests in the hands of G. W. Hastings and wife. The dam was partially washed away, some years since, and has never been rebuilt. The mill at one time was a good one for its day.
Wey's Mill .- The erection of the second grist mill in the township dates back to about the year 1854, when Thomas and Ephraim Moore (brothers) began building on Big Mill Creek, on the northwest quarter of Section 29, Township 30, Range 1 west, what is known as Wey's Mill. This, like the Mooresburg Mill, is also erected on the main chan- nel of the stream, and has thereby saved the cost of the construction and keeping in repair a mill race. This property has been owned and suc- cessfully conducted by the following persons in the order named : William Benifield and Milton Venard, Milton Venard, P. K. Kroft and Elias Wey the present proprietor. At this mill are used two sets of stone, and the excellent quality of flour made here has gained a reputation that extends far beyond the limits of Harrison Township or the boundaries of Pulask i County.
Saw Mill .- The only stationary mill of this kind in the history of the township was one built on Mill Creek, by Joseph Tunis about twelve years ago. The project was of exceedingly meager proportions, consid- ered only as a " one-horse " affair, and after sawing a few hundred feet of lumber the proprietor abandoned the project, declaring the saw mill business unprofitable. The saw used was the up-and-down kind.
Roads .- The highways in Harrison Township remained very crooked and wholly unimproved until the spring of 1860, when the work o
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straightening, and as far as possible, placing them upon section lines, and improving them was commenced, but there was not much done in this direction until after the close of the war, about the year 1866, when the work was re-commenced with much energy and great vigor, and was con- tinued until a majority of the roads in the township were placed upon regularly surveyed lines and much improved.
Mooresburg is supposed to have been so called in honor of the many Moores who lived in the neighborhood. It never was known as a village, but rather, as a thickly-settled country settlement. There was a post office established here in 1848, which was continued ten years. Douglas L. Moore was the first Postmaster, Samuel Ward the second, and Collins Doud, the third, who was serving at the time of the discontinuation of the office in 1858. Through the influence of D. W. Hastings and others, there was a post office established here again in 1876, and has continued ever since. Mr. Hastings has been Postmaster since the re- establishment of the office. This office is on the mail route leading from Winamac to Kewanna in Fulton County. The mail arrives and departs three times each week from the Mooresburg Post Office. Jonathan Wash- ington had a small store in the settlement at one time. The date could not be ascertained. In 1853 or 1854, the vicinity possessed two stores, one owned by Thomas Moore and Richard Richardson, and the other by Abraham Phillips. The store owned by Moore & Richardson burned in the year 1855. These industries were all short-lived and soon discon- tinued.
Notes and Incidents .- Edward Gilliland, Stephen Sutton, John Sut- ton and Joshua Turnpaugh were the pioneer hunters and fishers in the township.
It was a custom in the early days of Harrison Township for the in- habitants to go fishing regularly every three weeks. In one day they could catch enough fish to last them for three weeks, or until the next regular fishing day. On venison from the wild wood, honey from the tree, and fish from the stream, the pioneer families subsisted. It is reported that there were in early times what was known as the ague-seasons, and in those seasons there were scarcely enough well persons to attend the wants of those who were ill with the " shaky disease," as they termed it.
So scarce was the hay and feed for cattle in March, 1842, that all sorts of means were resorted to keep the stock from starving. It is related of Mrs. Sarah Venard, that she took the hay out of the bed ticks for feed for her cows, and would also boil corn-cobs, and mash them so that the cattle would eat them.
Accidental Death .- One of the most striking incidents of death by accident known to Harrison Township history occurred in June, 1855,
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
The incident is related by an old settler, and, in substance, is as follows : On a hot June afternoon in 1855, James Helm and others were working on the road, near where Helm lived ; and, in conversation that afternoon, Helm remarked, that he could jump hell, and dodge lightning, and that night he was instantly killed by lightning while asleep. Mrs. Helm was not killed, but was so badly burned that she could not walk, and was compelled to crawl to the house of a neighbor (eighty rods distant), and inform them of the ill-fate of her husband. A plain marble slab in the Star City Cemetery marks the spot where the remains were interred, and upon that stone are the following inscriptions and lines,
JAMES HELM Died June 16th, 1855.
" Remember now, as you pass by, As you are now, so once was I; But, as I am now, so you shall be, Prepare for death and follow me."
Another incident of more than common occurrence is related as fol- lows : .On Friday morning in the spring of 1844, Mrs. James Tobey, after looking carefully about the premises for her little five-year-old, Caro- line, hastened (much excited) to a field (the nearest source for aid) where Andrew and James R. Dukes were plowing, and told them that Caroline was lost. James R. Dukes (the elder of the two boys) mounted his horse and went to Winamac to convey to Mr. Tobey the intelligence concerning his little daughter. Mr. Tobey, who had left home early in the morning for Winamac, could not be found. The supposition is that little Caroline, who was very anxious to accompany her father, had fol- lowed him, and soon became lost in the wood. The excitement over the missing child became intense. Many people searched for the lost little girl, but their searching was in vain. Night and day the search continued until Monday morning, little Caroline was found in the midst of a marsh or marshy prairie, about one mile and a half from her home, by Stephen; Bruce, who was crossing the marsh on his way to the house of the lost Caroline to join the fourth days' eager search. Caroline Tobey (now Mrs. Scott) is yet living, and is ever pleased to talk of the time when she was the lost little girl of six summers. The story goes that the reason Mr. Tobey could not be found by Mr. Dukes on that Friday morning, was because that he (Tobey) had gone up the Tippecanoe River with a hook and line on a fishing excursion.
Spring Election .- At an election held at Centre Schoolhouse on the first Monday in April, 1882, the following vote was polled : For Justice of the Peace, W. K. Murphy received 85 votes, and Hiram Rerick, 71 votes ; for Trustee, John F. Borders, 95 votes, and Isaac Baker, 65 votes; for Assessor, John Crane, 79 votes, and Samuel Bires, 78 ; for Constable,
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Joseph Williams, 82 votes, John Jenkins, 80 votes, Lawrence Hartlesode, 77 votes, and Beneville Bruce, 72 votes ; for Road Supervisor, Luman Smith, 88 votes, and George R. Taylor, 87. Inspector, David Herri ; Judges, N. W. Scott and I. B. Hood ; Clerks, J. V. Wilhelm and J. H. Watts.
Politics .- Harrison Township, politically, has always been Republi- can, and has cast Republican majorities of from twenty to sixty ever since the organization of the party, and to-day, Harrison is the banner Re- publican Township in the county. From the log-cabin and hard-cider campaign of 1840, until the Garfield campaign in 1880, Harrison Town- ship was solidly Republican on all State and National questions.
CHAPTER VI.
BY WESTON A. GOODSPEED.
INDIAN CREEK TOWNSHIP-THE FIRST SETTLER-INCIDENTS-LAND ENTRIES-LIST OF SUBSEQUENT SETTLERS-MOUND-BUILDERS AND POTTAWATOMIES-ELECTIONS AND OFFICERS-SAW MILLS AND GRIST MILLS-VILLAGE OF PULASKI-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES- THE PEARL DIVERS-CONTRIBUTION OF AN OLD SETTLER.
T THE first settler in the township was John Reeder, who located on the south bank of the Tippecanoe, near Pulaski, during the latter part of 1837. But little can be learned of Mr. Reeder. During the following spring, Elisha Hall and Thomas Long appeared, and soon after- ward Moses L. Washburn arrived. During the autumn of 1838, Ben- jamin F. Grant, Leonard Widner, William W. Fisher and Robert Scott joined the others, all locating on the best land they could find within the present boundaries of Indian Creek Township. It is quite likely that others came in during the same period, as the facts are hard to get ; but if so they were few.
Early Voters .- In August, 1839, the following men, then living in Indian Creek Township, or rather in that portion of the county which afterward became Indian Creek, voted at the election held at the house of Asa Inman in Beaver Township : John Reeder, Robert Scott, Moses L. Washburn, Elisha Hall, Peter Prough, William Fisher and Benjamin Grant. Indian Creek Township remained attached to Beaver Township until December, 1842, at which time the County Commissioners ordered a separate organization, and named the new township "Indian Creek," after a stream which flowed through the southern part, and which had taken its name from the circumstance of its being in early years a favor-
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
ite location for temporary encampments of Pottawatomies. Township 29, Range 2 west (Indian Creek), was thus a part of Beaver from June, 1839, when the county was organized, until the month of December, 1842. The settlers voted during this interval usually at the house of Asa Inman in Beaver, and residents of each Congressional township were elected to the various local offices. On the 15th of June, 1839 (second election in the county), out of a total of thirteen votes cast in both townships, Moses L. Washburn received thirteen for Justice of the Peace ; William Fisher received one for Constable (hence was not elected), and John Reeder received six for Overseer of the Poor, and was elected, his competitor receiving a less number, several present not voting. At
the April election in 1841, for the combined townships, out of eighteen votes polled, Ira Brown received fifteen for Justice of the Peace; W. W. Washburn received eighteen for Inspector ; Samuel Dickey received seventeen, William Fisher eleven, and Samuel Key six, for Constable ; Moses L. Washburn received ten for Road Supervisor, and Jonas Good received seven for Fence Viewer. At an election in 1840, for the com- bined townships, out of eighteen votes cast, Elisha Hall received eighteen and Benjamin Grant twelve, for Justice of the Peace; Moses L. Wash- burn received sixteen for Inspector; Ira Brown received seventeen for Constable ; John Reeder, eleven for Road Supervisor ; Robert Scott, twelve for Overseer of the Poor, and Samuel Dickey twelve for Fence Viewer. So far as can be learned, and this is no doubt correct, the first election in Indian Creek Township, after its separate creation, was held on the first Monday in. April, 1843, at the house of Jonas Good, for- merly occupied by James Raver, with Moses L. Washburn Inspector of Election ; Jonas Good and Eliza Hall, Judges, and James Raver and Ira Brown, Clerks. At this election, the following men polled their votes : John March, John Reeder, Daniel March, Robert Scott, Jacob Ruff, Jonas Good, Peter Prough, Ira Brown, Elisha Hall, James Raver, Mo- ses L. Washburn, William R. Brown and William W. Washburn ; total, thirteen. For Justice of the Peace, Ira Brown received twelve votes ; Constable, Moses L. Washburn, twelve. Overseers of the Poor, Peter Prough, twelve ; Samuel Key, twelve. Fence Viewers, William Hines, twelve; Thomas Spencer, twelve. Supervisor of Roads, Jonas Good, twelve ; Daniel D. Gemberling, twelve. Inspector of Elections, Elisha Hall, twelve. At the August election, 1845, the following men voted in Indian Creek : George Christ, Moses L. Washburn, Samuel Decker, John March, John Reeder, James V. Blount. Daniel Tilman, Daniel D. Gemberling, William Parcel, William Washburn, Elisha Hall, Ira Brown, Daniel March, George Washburn, Thomas Fisher, William Taylor, Jonas Good, Thomas Spencer, Samuel Key, Peter Hoover, David Fisher, Jacob
Shill
191& RAW YORK FMALIC LIBRARY
ASIER LINUX AND TILDEN FOUNDATION F
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Ruff, William Fisher, James Raver, Samuel Dickey, Jacob Smith, Peter Prough, W. R. Brown, Benjamin Baker and Lester L. Smith ; total, thirty. This election was held at the house of Jonas Good, formerly oc- cupied by Isaac Hatterbaugh.
Settlement .- When the first white settlers arrived in Indian Creek Township, Pottawatomie Indians were every-day sights. All along Tip- pecanoe River and Indian Creek were favorite locations where detach- Inents of the tribe temporarily encamped during certain seasons of the year to hunt, trap and fish. They visited the houses of the earliest set- tlers to beg, trade and, in some cases, buy ; but their greatest skill lay in their unrivaled powers of begging. If this proved unavailing, they usu- ally had recourse to barter, offering cranberries, huckleberries, venison and other wild meat, and various trinkets. They wanted flour, meal, and all garden vegetables, and were not exacting in the least as to the cleanliness of the articles desired. During the winter of 1838-39, some ten or twelve families of Indians wintered on the land upon which Ira Brown settled in May, 1839. Some time after Mr. Brown's arrival. the Indians came one day to his house to trade for a large, valuable hunting dog owned by him. They offered two blankets, two silk handkerchiefs, and two saddles of venison ; but Mr. Brown shook his head, and intimated that they must raise the price. They were very much surprised, and drew themselves up in disgust, shrugging their shoulders, shaking their heads and mut- tering their displeasure. The trade was a failure. In the township the Indians had built something, the use of which is not at present generally known. They dug an excavation in the earth about three feet deep, shaping it like a butter bowl, and then packed the bottom and sides with a tight floor of stones. During the afternoon they would kindle a brush fire in the excavation, feeding it until the stones were quite hot, and finish- ing about bedtime. They would then remove the fire and ashes, roll themselves in their blankets, lie down on the warm stones, and enjoy a comfortable sleep despite the intense cold weather. This ingenious de- vice enabled them to pass the severest cold nights.
Incidents .- Old settlers tell various stories about the early times. Some say they endured almost incredible hardships ; had to deny them- selves every luxury, and suffer continually from lack of sufficient food and clothing ; had to go scores of miles to mill or to market, and be gone a week or more at a time; had no roads or bridges, and no teams except oxen or horses, and these were so poor that it " took two to make a shadow ; " had no money, and nothing to sell to bring money, and no market if they had anything to sell; were forced to wear buckskin or go naked; were compelled to eat pork from hogs so thin and weak that they "had to lean up against a tree to 33
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
squeal ; " had to scrape and save for a year to get enough to pay taxes, and a score of other privations that undermined strong constitutions, and bent many a stalwart form almost double. On the contrary, others say they enjoyed themselves much better than they do at present ; had an abundance of pork, venison, wild turkey, beef, squirrel, wild fowl, etc .; had suits of warm, home-made clothing, colored with leaves of bark from the woods ; had good, strong teams of horses that could easily overcome the lack of roads and bridges, if the load was not too heavy ; had enough money to buy provisions, notions and supplies from the store, to pay taxes and to buy an adjoining tract of land, and had their hours and days of pleasure in social enjoyment. No doubt both tell the truth. It was then as it is now. Some had an abundance of all that makes life happy, while others were destitute of the plainest and commonest comforts and necessaries. History repeats itself the world over. The wise live, thrive, enjoy, multiply ; the unwise, suffer, agonize, divide, and eke out short, miserable lives, and pass speedily from the earth they are unable to ap- preciate or adorn.
Mound-Builders .- Indian Creek Township is quite rich in the re- mains of that ancient, mysterious people. known among scientists as Mound-Builders. That this country was inhabited by a tribe or race of people prior to its occupancy by the Indians, is no longer doubted by those who have made the subject a study. Some eminent authorities main- tain that they were the remote ancestors of the Indians, while others em- phatically deny this and insist that the Mound-Builders were an entirely different race of people, giving as proof, among other things, the differ- ence in the shape and size of the skull, the principal means of distin- guishing the skeletons of one race from those of another. The latter view is the prevailing one. If the citizens of Indian Creek knew that in some half dozen places in their township are the skeletons of human beings who lived upon the earth at the time of Abraham and centuries before Christ appeared to redeem mankind, the fact might cause them some surprise. This is the case. Across the river from Pulaski is a large, earthen mound, which, in early years, was fully twelve feet high, and is yet, notwithstanding it has been plowed over for scores of years, fully five feet above the surrounding level. No doubt this mound was constructed thousands of years ago by rude barbarians, who carried the soil there in small vessels strapped upon their backs. The mound is a very large one for this locality, being nearly 100 feet in diameter at the base, and undoubtedly marks the last resting place of some distinguished personages who were famous among their kind. Many years ago, a min- ister living temporarily at the house of Ira Brown assumed the responsi- bilities of a resurrectionist and made an excavation in the summit of
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the mound, and threw out with the spade several crumbling human skeletons. The bones were very large and strong, though the smaller ones had returned to dust and the heavier ones were on the verge of disintegration. Two mounds of a similar character, though much smaller, were discovered some distance up the river from Pulaski, and opened many years ago, human bones and charcoal being found. At two other places below Pulaski, mounds were found, and in one case opened, the usual bones and charcoal being thrown out. What a field for thought and speculation do these mounds and their contents afford ! How strange that a race of people should have once lived here and cultivated the soil and we know nothing of it save what is gleaned from their crumbling bones and earthworks! Fact is stranger than fiction.
Physical Features .- This township was one of the earliest settled in the county. The low, marshy tracts of land were few, and as a con- sequence settlers came in rapidly, locating upon the higher sandy land, which was erroneously thought to be the most valuable. Those who came early enough to have choice of land almost invariably selected the sand ridges, under the delusion that they were the most valuable, whereas precisely the reverse is true, the lower lands, if they can be properly drained, being much the richer and better. In 1840, some twenty fam- ilies lived in the township. All who lived in Indian Creek prior to the spring of 1839, except those who purchased their land by proof, were squatters, and held their homes under the laws of squatter sover- eignty. The following men purchased their land by proof during the year 1838, before the general land sale, given here in the order of pur- chase : William Craig, November 15, 1833, eighty acres on Section 32, the east half of the northeast quarter. This was the first purchase of land in the township, and the only one in November, 1838. In December, 1838, the following men, in order, entered farms : John Reeder, Section 9; Ira Brown, Sections 9 and 10; Elisha Hall, Section 4; George Heter. Section 7; Elias Weiker, Section 8; William Fisher, Section 8 ; Samuel Burson, Section 8 and 18; John Nerhood, Section 3; William J. Walker, Section 31; Robert Scott, Section 32; David Fisher, Section 17 ; Moses L. Washburn, Section 23; James Lemon, Section 3; James Lemon, Jr., Section 15; Noah S. Larose, Section 17 ; Robert R. Dickey, Sections 7 and 8 ; Joseph Smith, Section 31; Benjamin Grant, Section 31, and Samuel C. Sample, Section 3. In 1839, the following ad- ditional persons, in order, entered land : Martin R. Tilman, Sections 7 and 18; Peter Blue, Sections 3 and 10; Hannah Blue, Section 10; Samuel Decker, Sections 10 and 17; James G. Mckinley, Section 4; Joseph Felker, Section 14; Amos Beufer, Section 15; Daniel March,
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