USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 63
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 63
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Elections .- At an election held at the house of Asa Inman, on the first Monday in April, 1840, the following men voted : Charles M. Si- lence, Samuel Dickey,* Peter Prough,* David Buzzard, Andrew Hamil- ton, Robert Scott, * William W. Curtis, Asa Curtis, Samuel Rey, Robert White, Jr., David Fisher, John Reader, * Robert White, Sr., Moses L. Washburn,* Thomas Hamilton, Patrick Toles, William Fisher, Benjamin Grant, Jesse Coppack, Ira Brown,* Elisha Hall* and Asa Inman. The above was a Township Election for one Inspector of Election and two Overseers of the Poor.
At an election held at the same place the same year, Moses L. Washburn received thirteen votes for Justice of the Peace, William Coppack twelve votes for Constable and William W. Fisher one vote for same office, William Creg ten votes for Supervisor of Roads and Asa Inman two votes for the same office, William C. Curtis six votes for Overseer of the Poor and John Reader six votes for the same office, Thomas Hamilton six votes for Fence Viewer and Charles M. Silence six votes for the same office. At this election, the following men voted : William W. Washburn, Will- iam Fisher, S. Large, George Coppack, John S. Ulery, Moses L. Washburn, Samuel Dickey, William Taylor, Charles M. Silence, John
* Those marked with a * were residents of what is now Indian Creek Township.
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
Dowl, Robert White, Benjamin Grant, Samuel Rey and Thomas Grant. At an election held at the house of Asa Inman, on the 2d of August, 1841, the following cast their ballots : Asa Inman, John Reader, Asa Curtis, Alexander Coppack, Thomas Grant, Thomas Good, William M. Wall, William Fisher, William W. Washburn, Robert White, Isaiah Coppack, Samuel Burson, Peter Prough and Benjamin Grant. At an election held at the house of Jesse Coppack, on the 7th of August, 1843, the following men voted : Nathaniel B. Silence, William Sneethen, Henry White, Robert White, Sr., Robert White Jr., William White, John White, Asa Inman, Jonah Coppack, Isaac Brooks, J. M. Williams and Jaocb Huffman. Jesse Coppack was one of the first Commissioners of Pulaski County, being elected on the 13th day of May, 1839. Mr. Cop- pack was faithful to the trust reposed in him, and did much good toward improving and advancing the interests of Pulaski County.
Settlers .- In the fall of 1837, Jesse Coppack emigrated from Ohio with his family to Pulaski County and commenced settlement in Beaver Township. The first log-cabin in the township, is supposed to have been erected on Section 36, by Mr. Coppack. The cabin was built of round logs and was sixteen feet square. This same year (1837) came from the same State (Buckeye) Asa Inman, and began settlement in the township near where Mr. Coppack had reared his pioneer home. It is related that the Coppack family lived in a canvas tent while the cabin was building. In 1839, the following persons, among others, had settled in the town- ship : Charles M. Silence, Daniel Walls, Robert White, Henry White, Robert White, Jr., John White, David White, Ezekiel Sneethen, Isaac Brooks, Christian Williams and Isaac Williams. William C. Curtis came in 1838, as also did Charles M. Silence, and commenced settlement in the township. In 1840. William and Nicholas White removed from Ohio to the township and began for themselves the experiences of the new country. This same year (1840), Jacob Huffman came into the township from Ohio and purchased the place that Jesse Coppack had begun to improve. Among the list of early settlers may also be mentioned the names of Thomas Vint, John Vint and Mr. Van Scoyke, who begun set- tlement in the township at a very remote day in its history. At about this time, Henry Clark came into the township and commenced improving a home.
Land Entries .- The County Records show the following early en- tries of land in Beaver Township : William Murphy, December 24, 1838, 160 acres on Section 36; Joseph Smith, November 15, 1838, 154 acres on Section 36; Isaac Coppack, November 30, 1838, 160 acres on the same section; William M. Sherrard, December 4, 1838, 138 acres on Section 36; John Tilman, August 6, 1839, 160 acres on Section 35;
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Samuel Burson, December 4, 1838, ninety-seven acres on Section 22; Jesse Coppack, February 23, 1839, 160 acres on Section 25; Asa In- man, February 23, 1839, forty acres on Section 24; Charles M. Silence, March 18, 1839, eighty acres on Section 25; Michael Williams, August 6, 1839, eighty acres on Section 25; Robert White, April 15, 1839, forty acres on Section 26; Mr. Lane, December 16, 1839, 160 acres on Section 35; William M. Curtis, March 23, 1840, forty acres on Section 26; William White, April 17, 1841, forty acres on Section 26. Nearly all of the above named parties made settlement on the land they entered, thus keeping it out of the hands of land speculators.
Early Customs .- The early days of Beaver Township do not materi- ally differ from those of the adjoining townships. Here, as elsewhere, could be found the primitive-fashioned, small-dimensioned log cabin, with its extreme lowness, its floor of roughness, its large old fire-place with its huge stick-chimney; with its one door and the long old-time wooden latch that was manipulated at will with the smooth worn leather string; with its one tiny window that for years and years was wholly paneless, but the light was transmitted through a sheet of paper that had been many times greased. But in these homes of seeming poverty, of apparent want (according to the best authority, the statements of the old pioneer fathers and mothers of the country) there existed the most serene domestic joy. Here, in the wilderness-home, the father would toil from early morn till close of day, and in the moon-light often- times, the muscles of iron would swing the ax of improvement with so much force that its echoes and its effects are seen to-day in many splen- did farms and homes. It is frequently remarked by old settlers that we had hard times in an early day. but they were happy times. Beaver Township has had its share of those times, but the people (what few there were) lived, and were comparatively happy; perhaps there is not another township in Pulaski County where a more extensive good feeling existed among the people or where greater neighborly kindness was manifested than was in the days long since gone. The men would walk miles to house-raisings and to help neighbors do their harvesting, and the women would walk just as far to assist their neighbor sisters with the cooking on particular occasions. In 1837, many wild animals were in abundance in the township, though the larger, such as bears, etc., had disappeared ; deer were an every-day sight, and were said to have been as numerous as snow-birds; they were also very tame, would come into the clearings and fields to feed on the cultivated vegetation ; so near would they come to the cabins that they could be shot from the windows and doors. Mr. Lorain Davis, who moved into the township in 1853, tells that work was so scarce the first winter that he could not get anything to do, so he went
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
to hunting, and the first winter he succeeded in killing forty deer, these were worth $1 each at Logansport. Mr. Davis, as well as others in the township, would farm in the summer and hunt in the winter. This was one of the ways the people of Beaver Township employed to get along in early times. Many stories are told how the people in Beaver Township would travel ; some of them would walk as far as five or six miles to at- tend religious exercises, while others would go in an ox-cart (some of them drawn by one ox, and some of them by a yoke of oxen), and the preacher would invariably travel on horseback. In the winter, oxen were used to draw sleds. Sleigh-riding in those days was "slow but sure."
The first hewed-log house erected in Beaver Township was built on Section 35 in the fall of 1839. The house was 18x20 feet, an extraordi- nary large house for its day, but for Mr. White it took a good-sized one, for his family numbered sixteen persons when the returns were all in. This log structure was securely built and stood for many years, not be- ing thrown down until 1880. This was the only hewed-log house in the township for several years.
Schools .- The first school in the township was taught in Jacob Huff- man's log cabin in the winter of 1843 and 1844, by Moses Kelly. School was held in this cabin for several winters. The first school was composed of ten scholars. In those early days, children would walk three or four miles to attend school. The teachers of those times knew no six hours' system, but taught from early in the morning until dark almost. A common way to dismiss those early-time schools was after the following manner : "It is growing dark ; the school is dismissed. Let the girls pass out first."
The first schoolhouse erected in the township was built in District No. 1 in about 1853. The structure was of hewed-logs and 14x16 feet. The seats were made of puncheons, and the desks of the same material, which was extremely in the rough. The branches taught in this school were spelling, reading, arithmetic and a small share of " writin'." A man by the name of Hedge taught the first school, for which he received $10 per month and was boarded.
The first frame schoolhouse built in the township was erected in this district (No. 1) in 1871, at a cost of about $700. There are now seven frame schoolhouses in Beaver Township, the last two having been recently erected. The teachers for the schools of the winter of 1882-83 are as follows : George Reddick, District No. 1; Ella McGahan, No. 2; Lydia Reish, No. 3; Annis Pogue, No. 4; H. Morhart, No. 5; Charles Grosley, No. 6; Otto Heiser, No. 7. Under the management of Town- ship Trustee Vint, the schools are each year becoming better. Mr. Vint has been Trustee for almost twenty years.
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Churches .-- The first preacher who ever preached in Beaver Town- ship was that old divine, Abraham Sneethen, who was also one of the first ministers who preached in Harrison Township. Rev. Sneethen preached at the houses of Robert White, Sr., and Daniel Walls, in the township ; and afterward he held service at the schoolhouse in District No. 1. Serv- ices are yet held in schoolhouses of the township, as the religious portion of the inhabitants of Beaver Township are as yet wholly unable to build a house of worship, but eke out a miserable religious existence by " sponging " from the State.
The township at one time had a post office, the same having been established about 1851 (as nearly as could be ascertained), and was known as Beaver Creek Post Office. Moses Kelly was the Postmaster. The office was on the old mail route running from Monticello to Winamac. The mail was received once a week. The office was short-lived, only existing about two years, when it was abandoned. It was previous to the Star Route history that this office lived.
The first blacksmith shop in the township was one erected on Section 36, by William Lewis. The enterprise was commenced about 1854 or 1855, and continued only about two years, as there was not sufficient pa- tronage in the neighborhood to keep alive the industry.
Dr. Kelley, who lived on Section 36, was Beaver Township's first phy- sician. Dr. K. continued the practice of medicine in the township for several years, when he suddenly left, taking with him, however, the bet- ter half of one of his pioneer neighbors. For a few years, the township was without a physician, when Dr. John Reed moved in and located on Section 26, where he lived quite a number of years, and was known and distinguished as Beaver Township's only physician. The township is at present without a male physician.
Early Events .- The first white child born in the township was Lovess White (now Mrs. Thrasher), whose birth occurred in October, 1840. The first marriage that ever took place in the township was that of Robert White, Jr., and Miss Mary Ann Curtis, in 1839. It is claimed by some that this was the first marriage that occurred in Pulaski County.
Charles M. Silence was the first white person who died in Beaver Township. The remains were interred in what was known as Clark's Burying Ground in the edge of White County.
Previous to 1855, the township did not make any very extended efforts in the way of improvements, but in about this year (1855) and later, a num- ber of enterprising families from Ohio moved in and commenced the work of making for themselves comfortable homes. The arrival of these new- comers imbued some of the first settlers with new energy and fresh courage, and they, too, began tearing down the first cabin and building better and
.
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
more comfortable homes, and the good work continues. In many instances, the old log cabin of forty years ago, and which was made comfortable by the annual chinking and daubing process, has been exchanged for good frame houses. Those who toil will succeed in life.
CHAPTER XIV.
BY M. T. MATTHEWS.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP - NAME, CREATION AND ORGANIZATION - THE FIRST SETTLER - ELECTION RETURNS - CATALOGUE OF OLD SET- TLERS-THE FIRST CHURCH AND SCHOOLHOUSE - INDUSTRIES - DRAINAGE-INCIDENTS-STATISTICS.
THE early history of the territory which now comprises Franklin Township is properly a portion of the first history of Tippecanoe Township, as the territory now embraced by the boundary lines of Frank- lin remained connected with Tippecanoe until June, 1855, when the County Commissioners were petitioned to give the township a separate or- ganization, which was accordingly done. The new township was bounded as follows : Commencing at the northeast corner of Section 1, Township 31 north, Range 2 west; thence south to the southeast corner of Section 36 in said township; thence west to the northwest corner .of Section 31 in said township ; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 6 in said township, to the place of beginning.
Name .- At the time of the creation or formation of the township, the County Commissioners seemed at a loss concerning a name to apply to the newly-made district, and in consequence thereof the honorable board consulted Joseph B. Agnew (a leading and influential citizen of the terri- tory), and he suggested the name Franklin, for a township by the same name in Ripley County, Ind. (a county that yet has a county seat witho ut a rail- road), where Mr. Agnew had resided for twenty years previous to com- ing to Pulaski County. The Commissioners acted upon the suggestion, and the territory has since been known as Franklin Township. The Com- missioners also appointed Daniel E. Eikelbarner, John Hart and Samuel Mann to serve as Trustees for Franklin Township.
Land Entries .- Long before the creation of the township, quite a number of entries had been made, but there are no traces of settlement, save one or two exceptions, until several years after the first land entry. The county records show that the following are the names of persons who first entered land in the territory which now comprises Franklin Town-
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ship : Margaret Ingrim, ninety-five acres in Section 12, October 12, 1841 ; Eli Lemmon, thirty-seven acres in Section 1, October 27, 1841; Lerris Phillips, thirty-eight acres in Section 12, October 12, 1841; Homer H. Taylor, eighty acres in Section 12, May 17, 1842; George Ingrim, sixty- four acres in Section 13, September 28, 1841; William Merritt, eighty acres in Section 25, September 13, 1841; Jesse Millison, twenty-two acres in Section 13, May 17, 1842; Homer R. Taylor, forty-two acres in Section 13, May 23, 1842; O. H. P. Grover, 142 acres in Section 13, October 25, 1842; Mr. Lane, thirty-nine acres in Section 12, July 22, 1844; Jesse Millison, eighty acres in Section 24, March 13, 1844; Ezekiel Barnett, eighty acres in Section 24, May 17, 1844; Eli Ander- son, forty acres in Section 29, February 20, 1844, and from this time until the township had been created there were quite a large number of land entries made.
First Settlement .- Almost half a century has elapsed since the first settlement in Franklin Township. Nearly a whole century has passed since the Jenkins family quit that old southern seaboard State, South Carolina, and emigrated to Ohio, settling there in 1804 and remaining until 1828, when it again took up its line of onward march westward and made a second settlement in Tippecanoe County, Ind., in the last year men. tioned above, and here the family remained for about twelve years, or un- til 1840, when it removed to Pulaski County, Ind., and the major portion of the family commenced settlement in Monroe Township. T. W. F. Jenkins, who in the meantime had married Miss Margaret Frost, of Tip- pecanoe County (the marriage occurring in the year 1841), founded, in March, 1842, what was soon and for many years afterward known as the Jenkins settlement. Mr. Jenkins was without question the first white man who established or attempted to establish a permanent settlement in what is now Franklin Township. Here in the northeastern part of this territory, on the banks of the Tippecanoe River, was erected, in the early spring of 1842, by Mr. Jenkins, the first house built by a white man in what is now Franklin Township. The rude round-log cabin built near the bank of the river was 12x14 feet, with its large stick chimney, its huge fire-place and its floor of puncheons, served well the purpose for which it was intended, and comparatively happy were the persons who passed in and out over the threshold of this mansion of "ye olden time." Mr. Jenkins at once began the improvement of his farm, which consisted of 160 acres of entered Government land.
In the fall of 1842, the Jenkins settlement was enlarged by the add- ition of a Mr. Taylor, who came from Ohio seeking a home in the grand old Hoosier State, and, in 1843 the settlement was again increased by the family of William Wait, from Ohio. These men both entered land
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
and were soon busily engaged in transforming the wildwood and the wild- erness into profitable farms. A man by the name of Lewis Guss moved into the territory in 1850, and began settlement.
In the fall of 1852, David James came from Ohio, and purchased the northwest quarter of Section 30, and at once began the improvement of his new home, and in the spring of the next year (1853), Joseph B. Agnew, who had left his native home in Ripley County, Ind., in 1850, and settled in Monroe Township, this county, purchased land in Sec- tions 31 and 32, and removed his family there. Jesse Cramer moved into this township from the Buckeye State in 1852, and located in the southeastern part of the township. Mr. Cramer was the first man to settle in this part of what was soon to constitute Frauklin Township. In the year 1854, Jonathan Ridgely removed from Ohio, and made settle- ment in the township, and in this same year came William Hart, John Hart and Daniel Freeman, from the same State. They were followed from the same State by Samuel Mann, Isaac Parrott, John Parrott, Joseph Garbinson and Henry Penny, in the fall of 1854. In 1855 came Jacob Keller from Ohio, and began settlement, and the next year (1856), brought Hampton W. Hornback, who also were soon busily engaged in transforming the wild into an improved home.
The old pioneers of what is now Franklin Township have nearly all moved away or have died. W. O. Taylor and Spedden Hackett are the only living old settlers now residing within the limits of the township- Mr. Taylor has lived in the township since 1843, and Mr. Hackett was one among the first men to come to Pulaski County (1837).
The early settlements in this district were divided into two neighbor- hoods. The one in the eastern part of what is now Franklin Township was known (as before stated) as the Jenkins settlement, and embraced all those families living in the eastern, the northeastern and the southeastern parts. The western settlement was in the western part of the territory.
Elections .- At an election held at the house of Mrs. Guss, on the second Tuesday in October, 1856, the following men voted : J. B. Ag- new, D. R. Freeman, H. W. Hornback, George Parrott, Wesley Briggins, Edward Guss, Joseph Garbinson, Samuel Mann, T. W. F. Jenkins, J. Elmore, David Jones, John Shuh, Elijah Justice, Benjamin Cooper, Elias Replogle, William Wait, Patrick Clark, Michael Crane, O. Briner, Pat- rick Coil and Barney Coil.
At the State and county election, held at the house of Daniel Free- man, on Tuesday, the 2d day .of October, 1860, there were thirty-one votes cast by the following persons : H. W. Hornback, Jesse McKee, W. A. Agnew, F. W. Williams, Patrick Rourk, Samuel Mann, David Jones, Benjamin Cooper, S. Hartteroth, John Shiner, Jesse Cramer, Ja-
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FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
cob Ginder, William Cooper, Conrad Cupp, Joseph Cooper, William O. Taylor, Jonah Jones, Henry Taylor, Elijah Justice, S. B. Parker, F. M. Haller, Jacob Kelly, William Keller, Asa H. Freeman, William H. Wait, W. Agnew, J. D. Myres, David E. Myres, J. B. Agnew, Daniel R. Freeman and Daniel Agnew.
It may observed from the above that even at an important election in 1860, there were very few votes cast in Franklin Township, accounted for in no other way than at this period there were only a small number of persons living in the township. At the first election held in the town- ship at the house of D. R. Freeman, on the first Monday in April, 1857, the following vote was polled : D. R. Freeman received ten votes for Township Trustee; Jacob Siders, received eight votes for Road Supervi- sor, and W. H. Wait received two votes for the same office. Whole num- ber of votes cast, ten. David Janes, Inspector ; H. W. Hornback and D. R. Freeman, Judges ; Asa H. Freeman, Clerk.
The first blacksmith shop known in the history of the township was one constructed in Section 30, in the western part of the new township, in 1868, by William Hornback. The enterprise was of meager propor- tions, and for want of sufficient patronage was discontinued, Mr. Horn- back removing to Winamac, and there engaging in the same business on a more extended scale.
The Jacobs House .- The fact has been previously stated that the first log cabin erected in the township (with the exception of the bark sheds and decaying wigwams built by the Indians), was in the eastern part, on the banks of the Tippecanoe, but somewhere about the year 1843 (the exact date unobtainable), there came a man from no one knows where, and whose name was Jacobs, and erected a round-log hut, 12x14 feet, in the western part of the township. The structure was very rude, being covered at first with poles and bark, but it answered the purpose of this seemingly strange Jacobs, who occupied it only a brief period, and he had gone, and his going was as strange as his coming, but the cabin (known for many years as the Jacobs House), has a more extended his- tory, for it was used both as a place of worship and a place of education. For some years, the structure stood unused and uninhabited, the people of the surrounding country thinking that the Jacobs man would surely return ; but he came not, and the house was repaired and used for relig- ious service. The first service of this kind, as far as known, was held in the Jacobs House, by a Rev. Slite, of the United Brethren in Christ denomination. This divine, if we are allowed the expression, was a grossly ignorant, untidy personage, who was an extremely poor preacher, and made his bread-and-butter in those early days by dealing out his preaching. Religious services were conducted here for several years,
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HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY.
when the cabin became too small and other quarters were sought, and yet at times the seeking still continues, for there has never been a church erected within the limits of the township. Public service, when had in the township, is held in the schoolhouses or private homes.
Sunday School .- The first organization of this nature held in the township was at the "Jacobs House." Noah Freeman was the first Superintendent. The school numbered twelve members, and was counted an interesting one for its day.
Railroad .- The only thoroughfare of this kind crossing the township is the Cincinnati, Columbus & Indiana Central, which, however, is leased for a term of years by the Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis, and which is more generally known as the Pan Handle. This internal improvement and aid to this section of country enters Franklin Township at the south- east corner of Section 33, in said township, and runs in a northwesterly direction, leaving the township at the northwest corner of Section 18.
This railway, completed through the township in 1860, greatly increased the value of the land lying along its right of way, which, at that time, was almost wholly worthless. In addition, the road seemed to inspire the people of the entire township with a greater determination to improve and develop their lands.
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