USA > Indiana > Whitley County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 18
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HISTORY OF WHITLEY COUNTY.
cumstances would permit ; and the schools taught in them were what were denominated subscription schools. There were, perhaps, no schoolhouses built in the township at public expense prior to 1850, or, perhaps, a year or two later. The first schoolhouses built in this township were built in just about the same fashion that the early schoolhouses throughout the country were built in, and as that has probably been described in the history of each of the other townships, the readers of this history will lose nothing by its being omnitted here.
About the year 1838, a man whose name was John Bowls, who lived near the west bank of Blue River Lake, was arrested upon the charge of killing his wife. His little girl, who was about twelve or thirteen years of age, said that her father and mother quarreled, and that her father struck her mother on the head with a large potato, and knocked her down, after which he stamped upon her breast with the heel of his boot, until he killed her, all of which was wit- nessed by her. Whitley County not having been organized at that time, the territory which it at present comprises being then embraced within the bounds of Huntington County, there were no courts nearer than Hunting- tion in which to try him ; and, in consequence of the lack of means for the administration of justice, this man, whom every one believed to be guilty , escaped the punishment which he doubtless merited. After holding him in custody for a short time, and after a few of the good citizens had visited Hunt- ington several times, making futile efforts to set the machinery of the law in motion against him, he was set at liberty. In a short time afterward he went away, no one knew whither, and his children were sent back to Ohio, whence they had come.
When the tide of immigration was steadily flowing westward, as it did from about 1835 to 1850, or a little later, it was not an uncommon thing for farmers to convert their farm houses into a kind of tavern, with some such rudely lettered sign as " Entertainment," or "Traveler's Rest," prominently displayed in front of it. The house in which Nathaniel Metsker now resides was once such an asylum of rest for the toil-worn traveler, the proprietor of which was David Wolf. The first saw-mill in the township was a water mill, erected about the year 1850, on a small stream about seven miles northwest of Churubusco, by Jacob Brumbaugh. The stream has plenty of fall, but as the water is too low a good part of the year to run the mill, the water privilege is of comparatively little value. There has, however, been a great deal of sawing done there, and, judging from the amount of timber that still remains standing in the woods, in the vicinity of it, it will probably do a great deal yet, not- withstanding the dam is now washed out, and the whole property seems to have rather a dilapidated appearance.
About the year 1840, two men came to the house of John B. Godfrey, purchased some small article of him, and gave him, in payment, a bank bill, which Godfrey thought was counterfeit ; but upon their assuring him that it
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was genuine, he took it. Godfrey very soon had the bill examined by an ex- pert, who unhesitatingly pronounced it a base counterfeit. Something in the conduct of the men caused Godfrey to believe that they knew the bill to be counterfeit at the time when they passed it, and he hastened to a Justice of the Peace, procured a warrant, and soon had an officer in pursuit of them. They were pursued with such promptness and celerity that they were overtaken and arrested that same evening, where they had turned off and traveled some dis- trnce from the main road and encamped for the night by a fire that they had built by a large log. They were taken to Columbia City, where the grand jury, which was then in session, found an indictment against the one who passed the bill, and he was put upon trial for publishing, passing, and uttering coun- · terfeit money, knowing it to be such, with the intent to defraud John B. God- frey. In the trial of the cause, the comrade of the man who passed the bill, swore that the bill exhibited at the trial, was not the bill that the defendant had passed to Godfrey ; but, the testimony showing the identity of the bill was so overwhelming that he was immediately arrested on a bench warrant, on a charge of perjury. He was at once reported to the grand jury, who found a true bill against him, and at the next term of the court he was convicted and sentenced to a term of penal servitude in the penitentiary. The one who was charged with uttering counterfeit money was also convicted, and sent to the penitentiary for a term of years.
The first post office established in this township was on the farm now owned by Jacob Sine, and was kept in a log house which stood near where Jacob Sine's brick dwelling now stands. The mail was carried on an ox when the roads were bad, for the reason that the roads were so miry at that time that a horse could not get through many places which an ox could pass through, without much difficulty, for the reason that, owing to the conformation of his hoof, he could much more easily withdraw it from the mire. The post office was called Churubusco, and the name of the Postmaster was Joseph Scott. Scott kept a small stock of goods, which was the first stock of goods kept in the township (except that John B. Godfrey kept powder, lead, blankets, and a few other articles) and, perhaps, in the county. The second saw-mill erected in the township was also a water-mill, and was erected by Alpheus B. and George Gaff, in the year 1854, on a small stream, which is the outlet of three small lakes, in the southern part of Noble County. The mill, which has been dis- used since about 1864, stands about half a mile north of A. B. Gaff's house. The first jail erected at the county seat (a log jail which stood in the public square until after the year 1852) was built by a man named William Blair, who lived in Smith Township where Jacob Dull now lives.
About the year 1867, an aged colored woman, named Fanny Pompey, met death under the following most tragic and horrifying circumstances : She was very decrepit, being about one hundred years of age, and was living alone. Relatives, living near by, attended to her wants during the day, but at night
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she always stayed alone. One night, some of the neighbors discovered that her house was on fire, and, although they repaired to the spot with all possible speed, yet they were too late to save the old lady from the most horrible fate of perishing in the flames. The flames were issuing from the roof when the fire was first discovered, and it is not probable that her life could have been saved had those who discovered the fire been there on the spot. It is supposed that she had been smoking in bed, after she had retired for the night, and that some sparks of fire had fallen from her pipe upon the bed and set it on fire ; that her clothing caught fire from the burning bed and that she, being so very feeble with age, was soon strangled and overcome by the smoke and the flames, and had fallen in the middle of the floor, where she was seen to be lying by those who first arrived on the spot.
Smith Township contains the second largest town in the county-Churu- busco. About the year 1845, William B. Walker and David Craig settled on the land that was subsequently laid out and platted as the towns of Union and Franklin, that part south of the railroad being called Union and that north of it Franklin. Those towns were laid out about the year 1853, when the first work was done on what is now the Detroit, Eel River & Illinois Railroad. Subsequently the towns were consolidated, under the name of Churubusco. The first building erected in the town was the hewed-log house of William B. Walker, erected about 1845, on very nearly the same spot that William Shifler's dwelling-house now stands on, and the second was the building now occupied by Jacob Kichler as a grocery and bakery. It was occupied and used as a hotel until about 1878, when Jacob Kichler, the present proprietor, purchased it and converted it into a provision store, bakery and eating-house. He discon- tinued the restaurant in the fall of 1881, and continues only the grocery and bakery. Whilst it was conducted as a hotel, it passed through numerous hands, among whom were Andrew Farmer, Western Ackley, Henry C. Pressler, Jo- seph R. Sunderland, and so on, ad infinitum. The next building erected in the town was the old frame building east of Kichler's bakery, built by John G. Croy for a grocery. About the year 1856, George Howe erected a frame build- ing on the corner, where Lewis' saloon now stands, for a grocery. About the same time, or a little later, a man named Harding erected the building in which Charles Patterson now has his harness shop, for a furniture shop. The next building erected in the town was a dwelling-house, west of and opposite to the Larimore House, erected by Joseph Brown. The first dry goods store in the town was kept by Joseph Richards, in a building erected by him for the pur- pose, being the same building in which G. W. Ott now has his stock of groce- ries. Richards sold goods there for several years and then sold out to Harvey Mccullough. John L. Isherwood also kept a dry goods store there for several years prior to 1877, when he moved his stock to where it now is. About the year 1868, Joseph Richards erected the building in which he is now doing business, for a dry goods store. He has been doing business in the same build-
JEFFERSON TP. Or. J. Buv.M. 20.
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ing ever since, up to the present time. In the same year, the building in which J. L. Isherwood now has his hardware store was built by Henry C. Pressler, for a hardware store. About the year 1877, Pressler sold out his hardware store to John R. Ross and George W. Fair, partners under the firm name of Ross & Fair. About the year 1870, the building in which G. W. Maxwell is now keeping a dry goods store was erected by William Ross and Francis M. Magers for dry goods and drugs. Then, the building in which Thomas A. Rhodes has his grocery and dry goods store was begun by a man named Newell and completed by John Deck, for a drug store. In the year 1872, John Deck built the hotel near the railroad depot, which is now the Larimore House. Very soon after its completion, Alexander M. Long became the owner of the property and continued to be the owner of it until the year 1881, when the present proprietor, Thomas Larimore, became the owner of it. Mr. Larimore expended about $5,000 in rebuilding it, and it is now one of the neatest, best kept and best furnished hotels in the country, a credit to the enter- prising proprietor and to the town. Before Mr. Larimore bought it, it had been leased by several different persons and run by each a short time, very few of them as long as a year. A few of those who kept hotel there were William Waterson, John W. Hutsel, Jr., Joseph Parks, Isaac N. Keller, Frederick S. Shoaff, John Gerdinck and several others. In the same year that the hotel was built, Robert Hood erected the building in which G. Kinzy's gun shop now is, for a wagon shop. The next building was the one in which Isay's meat shop now is, which was built on the rear part of the lot, and was subsequently moved to the front, where it now is. It was built for a gun shop.
About the year 1873, or perhaps 1874, Hosack's wagon shop was built. About the same time, or a little earlier perhaps, James E. Witham built his blacksmith and wagon shop on the south side of the railroad, in what was for- merly the town of Union. The building at present occupied by John Diller as a saloon was built by James M. Harrison, just north of Oscar Gandy's resi- dence, for a furniture store, with schoolroom above. A few years later, the building was sold to Levi Butterbaugh and Solomon B. Leckrone, who kept saloon in it for a short time at that place; then moved it to the northwest corner of what is commonly known as the mill lot, just south of the railroad. William A. Geiger subsequently purchased the building, and moved it to where it now stands. When it will be again moved or to what place the writer is unable to state.
About the year 1873, the building now occupied by Henry Wyatt, as a saloon and restaurant, was built by Henry C. Pressler for a saloon. It has been occupied by various parties, sometimes as a saloon and sometimes as a grocery and bakery. Among those who have done business there are the following: Henry C. Pressler, Oscar Gandy, Samuel Haller, Edward Snyder, James Marker, Andrew Farmer, Jacob Kichler, Samuel Eby, Henry Wyatt and James Mason. The building occupied by Samuel F. Barr as a furniture
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HISTORY OF WHITLEY COUNTY.
store was built by the present owner, Mr. Barr, about the year 1873, for a furniture store, and has been occupied by him for that purpose ever since.
In the year 1874, Harvey Mccullough erected the building now owned and occupied by John A. Rich as a drug store. Isaac N. Whittenberger, Har- vey Mccullough and Alpheus B. Gaff sold dry goods there. About the year 1878, the building was purchased by John F. Shoaff and John Deck, who very soon afterward sold it to the present owner. The building in which Snyder & McGuire are keeping saloon was built, about the year 1873, by William G. Hughes for a dwelling, on the west side of the lot on which W. A. Geiger's hardware store is situated. It was subsequently moved to the place where it now stands, and used for a time as a meat shop, until about the year 1880, when George F. Walburn became the owner of it and opened a saloon there ; since which time it has been occupied by various persons for that purpose. The present post office building was erected about the year 1875.
About the year 1877, the building in which Craig & Richey sell hardware was erected by H. C. Pressler for a hardware store. The building was occu- pied for a few years by Henry C. Pressler and William A. Geiger for a hard- ware store, and then for about two years as a dry goods store, by Joseph Hyman, Mayer & Ney and Mayer & Eichhold in succession. Since the fall of 1881, it has been occupied by Craig & Richey as a hardware store. The present owner is Lemuel Richey. The building in which Samuel Eby's saloon is kept was built, about the year 1874, by Morris Madricker as a dwelling house. For a time after Madricker ceased to occupy it as a dwelling house, it was used by Charles Brown as an agricultural store; after which it was used by various parties as a meat shop, until it was finally purchased by Adam Avry, and converted into a saloon.
C. C. Walkley's grocery was erected about 1877. About the same time, or a little later, the building occupied by William A. Geiger as a hardware store was erected by William G. Hughes & Co. for the purpose of renting it to Joseph Hyman for a dry goods store. William A. Geiger now owns the building. The next building erected in the town was the building now occu- pied by Brand & Bro. as a drug store, built, in 1878 or 1879, by Dr. John F. Criswell and John W. Goodrich for a drug store.
In the year 1881, the brick building owned and occupied by Mayer & Eichhold as a dry goods store was erected by the present proprietors, at a cost of about $10,000. The building occupied by John R. Young, as a meat shop, was built about the same time, perhaps a little later, and was the last business house built in the town.
About the year 1855, Joseph Brown built a saw-mill about on the same ground that Randolph & Brown's mill now stands. The mill now owned by Randolph & Brown was built by S. J. Clark about the year 1872. It was subsequently owned by Theodore F. Gilleland, William G. Hughes & Co. and Randolph & Brown, the present owners. It has two large boilers, and con-
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tains, besides the saw-mill, a planer, turning-lathe, machinery for manufactur- ing almost all the parts of a wagon (except the hub), saws for lath, table-legs, shingles, heading, handles, etc. The grist-mill now owned by Joseph Kichler & Bro. was built by Jacob Hose and Alexander Hall in the year 1870. David Shilling and William Waterson purchased the property of Hose & Hall, but did not own it long until they sold it to the present owners.
The following professional men have, at various times, been located in the place : Physicians-Drs. Kelly, Birney, Madricker, Aldrich, Keller, Magers, Criswell, Kester and Squires, the last four of whom are still here. Attorneys -Edward A. Mossman and Frank A. Brink. Dentists-F. F. Cook and L. D. Palmer. The tailors of the town have been - McKinnon, John Thu- vis, Henry Finkbender and Joseph Simon ; and the jewelers George B. Chase, John Stratton, Thomas Hanson and William Shifler.
The schoolhouse in the town of Churubusco was built in 1875, whilst George Gaff was Township Trustee, at a cost of about $4,000. It is a large two-story brick building, about forty by seventy-five feet, with two rooms below and two above. It is sufficiently commodious for the present, but it might have been made to look much better had a good architect been employed to furnish a design, which might have been done for a small sum, perhaps for $25.
The Churubusco News was established, in 1876, by William E. Grose. The paper subsequently passed into the hands of Chase Milice, and the name was changed by him to the Herald. He conducted it but a short time, when it passed into the control of Daniel M. Eveland. Before it came into Mr. Eveland's hands, it had been neutral in politics; but he soon avowed himself an out-and-out Republican, and made some very severe strictures upon the opposite party, whereat many of his Democratic subscribers withdrew their patronage, and he was soon compelled to dispose of the office and seek another field. I. B. McDonald then became the proprietor, with William Haw & Son as editors and publishers. Under their management, the paper was as strongly Democratic as it had been Republican under Mr. Eveland's management. At the end of about a year after William Haw & Son assumed control of the paper, they retired, and were succeeded by C. T. & F. M. Hollis. The paper not proving satisfactorily remunerative, Mr. McDonald removed it to Columbia City in November, 1871, where it has since been published under his own per- sonal control. The Sunbeam, Charles L. Kinzy and Lizzie A. Eveland, edi- tors and proprietors, folio, was established in 1878; subscription, 50 cents per annum. Its existence terminated with Mr. Eveland's connection with the . Herald. The White Elephant, bi-weekly, 75 cents per annum, was established in 1878, Anes Yocum, editor and proprietor.
The first church society in the county was organized at the house of Samuel Nickey in 1838, by Rev. R. S. Ball, of the Methodist denomination, with a membership of about twelve. The first church erected in the township was a
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HISTORY OF WHITLEY COUNTY.
log building by the name of Concord, and stood where Concord Church now stands. It was erected about the year 1848 .. The present membership of Con- cord Church is about thirty. Present minister, Rev. Church. Salem Church, the church at Fuller's Corners, Lake Chapel, in Lake Township, Allen County, and Pleasant Hill, are all offshoots of Concord Church. The United Brethren, the Baptist and the Methodist denominations have good churches in the town of Churubusco, the United Brethren Church being erected in 1872, the Baptist in 1875, and the Methodist in 1878. The Methodist Church is a brick building, the others frame. The United Brethren and the Methodist denominations are prospering well, but the Baptist does not seem to be doing so well for some reason. They have no pastor at present. The Seventh-Day Adventists held a series of meetings in Churubusco in the fall of 1881, and at the close organ- ized a church with seven or eight members. They have no regular services. Pleasant Hill Church was dedicated by Rev. Dr. Robinson in December, 1865, with about twenty-five communicants. Present membership, about fourteen. Sunday school is kept up summer and winter. There is a very neat cemetery near the church.
The first meeting of Churubusco Lodge, A., F. & A. M., under dispensa- tion, was held March 11, 1875, with the following officers: Edward A. Moss- man, W. M .; Andrew Anderson, S. W .; George W. Fair, J. W .; Isaac N. Whittenberger, S. D .; Henry M. Wyatt, J. D .; Samuel F. Barr, Treas .; and John R. Ross, Sec. Number of members, fourteen. On the 29th of July, 1876, the lodge was instituted by William Carr, Special D. G. M., as Chur- ubusco Lodge, No. 515, A., F. & A. M., with officers the same as under dis- pensation. Present officers-John W. Brand, W. M .; Abraham V. Gordon, S. W .; Charles Errickson, J. W .; Frederick S. Shoaf, Treas .; Henry C. Press- ler, Sec .; John Slofer, S. D .; Charles Rapp, J. D .; Horace McDuffey, Albert Eichhold and George H. Johnston, Trustees. Present membership, sixty-five. Time of meeting, first Thursday and third Saturday in each month. Churubusco Lodge, No. 462, I. O. O. F., was instituted Aug. 18, 1874, by Oliver P. Koontz, D. D. G. M., with the following officers : Appleton R. Jackson, N. G .; Oscar Gandy, V. G .; Winfield S. Gandy, R. S .; John E. Pike, P. S .; John A. Rich, Treas. Number of charter members, eleven. Present officers- William A. Geiger, N. G .; John N. Fowler, V. G .; Daniel Beaber, R. S .; John W. Orndorf, P. S. Present membership, fifty-four. Time of meeting, Friday evening of each week. Churubusco Lodge, No. 2,109, K. of H., was instituted March 11, 1880, by Charles G. Aichele, D. D. G. D. (of Fidelity Lodge, No. 1,375, K. of H., of Kendallville, Ind.), with the following officers : Winfield S. Gandy, D. D .; Anes Yocum, D .; George F. Brand, V. D .; Michael Kichler, A. D .; William H. Carter, R .; John H. Grisamer, F. R .; Frederick S. Shoaff, Treas. Number of members at date of organization, twenty-one. Present officers-John N. Fowler, D .; Martin Kocher, V. D .; Frederick S. Shoaff, P. D .; Ellison T. Campbell, A. D .; Harrison Speer, R .; John H. Grisamer, F.
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R .; Frederick S. Shoaff, Leander Slagle and Anes Yocum, Trustees. Present membership, twenty-five. Time of meeting, Tuesday night of each week.
On the 16th day of December, 1879, the most appalling accident that ever occurred in Smith Township occurred at Lewis Turnbull's saw-mill, about a quarter of a mile north of Collins Station, whereby five persons were in- stantly killed. Their names were Lewis Turnbull, the proprietor of the mill ; his two sons, Robert and Wesley Turnbull ; his nephew, Lorenzo Turnbull, son of John Turnbull ; and Elzie Glenn-all of whom were employed on the mill. There was no other person in or about the mill, or the destruction of life would no doubt have been greater. The explosion of the boiler was the cause of the disaster. So terrific was the explosion that the concussion of the air occasioned thereby was felt by persons ten and twelve miles distant. Some of the unfortunate victims were most horribly mangled and mutilated, so that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to identify them but for the shreds of clothing that remained on them. Alonzo Turnbull had left the mill but a few minutes previous to the explosion and gone to the woods a few hun- dred yards off, with his team, for a log. So great was the force of the explosion that it knocked him down and caused his nose to bleed profusely. In the opin- ion of experts in the use and management of steam boilers, the great force of the explosion attested the fact that the boiler was sound throughout; for, had · there been a weak spot in it, a rent would have occurred at that point, and, in all probability. there would have been no loss of life or other serious conse- quences.
CHAPTER IX.
BY MISS LOUISA S. GREGG.
UNION TOWNSHIP-ORIGIN OF NAME-FIRST TOWNSHIP ELECTION AND OFFICERS -THE EARLIEST SETTLERS-OLD TIME REMINISCENCES-VIOLENT DEATHS- AMUSEMENTS-THE PIERCE SAW-MILL-THE SLAGLE & BURTON GRIST- MILL-THE FIRST STORE-COESSE-OUTLINE OF ITS GROWTH-THE REPUTED ORIGIN OF WITTENBURG COLLEGE, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO - EDUCATION AND RELIGION.
TN the early part of the year 1839, several persons then residing within the territory now constituting Union Township, Whitley County, petitioned the proper authorities for the organization of their territory into a township. In answer to the prayer of the petitioners, it was ordered that an election be held at the residence of Joseph Pierce on the 4th day of July, 1839. Talcott Perry was appointed Inspector of said election. At this election, Perry was elected Justice of the Peace in and for said township, which was named Union, upon an agreement to that effect between the said Perry and George W. Oman. Perry was the first settler in the township. In the month of June, 1837, Ben- jamin Gardner, a native of New York, settled with his family in this township, on the farm now owned by Joseph Baldwin. Dr. Joseph Pierce, a native of
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