USA > Indiana > Whitley County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 23
USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 23
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227
TROY TOWNSHIP.
4th of July, 1839, at the house of Joseph Tinkham. The judges of that election were Jesse S. Perin, Samuel Hartsock ; Inspector, Price Goodrich ; Clerks, Thomas Estlick and Timothy Devinny. The number of votes cast was twelve, to wit: Bela Goodrich, Jesse S. Perin, James Sytel, William Doney, James Keirsey, Joseph Tinkham, Jacob Scott, Stephen Martin, Sr., Henry Moore, Sr., Jona- than Smith, James Joslin and Samuel Hartsock. At this election, Nathan Chapman received seven votes for Justice of the Peace, and Price Goodrich five votes and no more. The second election was held at the same place, Jo- seph Tinkhan's house, on the 1st Monday in August, 1839, by the following offi- cers, to wit : Price Goodrich, Inspector ; Joseph Tinkham and Samuel Hart- sock, Judges ; Timothy F. Devinny and James Keirsey, Clerks. Ten votes were cast, to wit : Bela Goodrich, Stephen Martin, Sr., Timothy F. Devinny, Samuel Hartsock, Price Goodrich, Joseph Tinkham, Nathan Chapman, Joel Rine, James Keirsey and Asa Shoemaker. This was the first general election held in the township, for township, county and State offices.
It is pretty well settled that Samuel Hartsock, from Tiffin, Ohio, was the first settler in what is now known as Troy Township, and that he located on Section 13, north of the now village of Loraine. This was in 1836. Thomas Estlick came next. Soon after the following named persons came with their families : Stephen Martin, Sr., John Snodgrass, Price Goodrich, George W. Elder, Joel Rine, Nathan Chapman, James Keirsey, Joseph Tinkham, Bela Goodrich, T. F. Devinny and Jacob Scott. The settlement of the township was quite slow till about 1840, when the settlers began to come in pretty fast. Robert Adams, Lewis Adams, Jacob Stackhouse, Henry Harpster, James Grant (who was the second Justice of the Peace and was commissioned in 1841), Samuel Marrs, Samuel Palmer, Henry Roberts, Levi Adams, Pearson R. Wal- ton, James Latoon, John J. English, Almond Palmer, Hiram Lampkins and Harlow Barber came in during the year 1838-9. William Jameson came in 1841; Alexander Blain came in 1840; Thomas A. Elliott came soon after ; Richard Vanderford came in 1842; William James came in 1838, and is still living ; was born in 1798; David and Mary James came at the same time, and with Samuel Hartsock's girls and boys constituted the young folks of the township. Carter McDonald came in 1841, and bought his land on Section 21, and moved his family in October, 1842, to the farm where William McDonald now resides. John Harrison came in 1841; Fielding Barnes came in 1843; Luke Mc Alister came about the same time ; Jonathan Sattison came in 1842 ; Lorin Loomis came in 1841, and settled at Grant's Corners ; Ambrose M. Trumbull came in 1842; had lived several years in Noble County, near Cold Springs, where his father settled in 1834 or 1835 ; was married to Rebecca Hisely, in Thorn Creek Township, in March, 1842; had seven children; two of the sons died in the army- Preston and Dwight Trumbull-and were members of Company A, Thirtieth Indiana Volunteers. Robert J. Elliott came in 1843, and is now the oldest Justice of the Peace in the township. There is no township in the county which has advanced in improvements more rapidly than Troy.
228
HISTORY OF WHITLEY COUNTY.
In 1838, the first taxes were assessed and collected as follows : John Burns paid $1.25 ; Thomas Estlick, $1.85 ; Samuel Hartsock, $3.06 ; Stephen Martin, Sr., $1.30; Jesse S. Perin, $3.40; Joel Rine, $2.51; John Snod- grass, $3.17, and Joseph Tinkham, $2.75. Total taxes for 1838, $19.31. This was for the whole township. The taxes were collected by Richard Collins, then Collector. The taxes for 1881 amounted to $6,394.
When the first pioneers came, the township was one vast wilderness of very heavy timber. There is no township in the county which has produced more walnut timber for manufacture and shipment than Troy ; and no township has had a better set of honest, industrious and enterprising settlers. Improvements have very steadily advanced, and, to-day, it is one of the best improved and wealthiest townships in the county, and no township in the county has better society.
The first child born in the township was Thomas Estlick ; the next was a daughter of Joel Rine, and the first death is said to have been a child of the latter. Among the first marriages were those of Rev. Samuel Smith to a Miss Blanchard and David James to Eunice Goodrich. There were not many weddings during those days, as most every settler brought a wife with him.
The three oldest ladies living in the township at present are Mrs. Mary Myers, aged 86 ; Miss Margaret Rhodes, 80, and Mrs. Carter McDonald, 78.
The township had but very few roads up to 1842. From that time, as the settlements increased, roads were opened and improved. There were some few Indian trails. The old " Squaw Buck" trail was an important one. The first saw-mill and " corn cracker" was built by Robert Adams north of the center of the township, on the outlet of Cedar Lake. The first steam saw-mill was built by James Grant and Henry Swihart, at Grant's Corner (now the village of Loraine Post Office). There are now two saw-mills in the township, one owned by Mosher & Co., and one by Sipps & Smuthers. Each of these mills makes about 500,000 feet of lumber per year.
The first school in the township was taught by Stephen Martin, Jr., in his own house in 1838-39. The first schoolhouse was built at Grant's Corners, and Miss Clarissa Blanchard taught the first school in that house-a summer school. George Colby taught the first winter term in the same house, and boarded with James Grant; had eighteen scholars, at $2 a scholar, for three months. The next schoolhouse was built on the land of A. M. Trumbull, and was called the " Old North Schoolhouse, " it being north of Troy Center. The next schoolhouse was built at " Black Rock," near one Casey's land ; it was called " Black Rock" on account of Casey, who was a colored man and the only one ever residing in the township. The first frame schoolhouse was built on the Joseph Tinkham farm, near Allen Adam's place. Every school district in the township, except the Snodgrass district, has a nice brick school- house. No township in the county has better schools, nor better people to maintain them.
229
TROY TOWNSHIP.
The land in the township is quite rolling, interspersed with some of the finest lakes in the county, to-wit : Cedar Lake, Robinson's Lake, Rine's Lake and other smaller ones. The water, both from springs and wells, is the best in the county. The health of the township has always been good. This township has never had a murder committed within its borders, as known of. There has never been a saloon in the township ; it has neither a lawyer nor doctor. Since the early settlement it has been a quiet, peaceable and respect- able community.
The following are some of the energetic men of the township: Levi Belch, David James, A. M. Trumbull, James Blain, George H. Grant, Jona- than Sattison, Polk Lipps, William McDonald, S. J. W. Elliott, Jacob R. Elder, Chancey Goodrich, C. F. Marchand, Jacob Smith, Henry Snyder, Zachariah Barnes and others. Troy will always hold her own in good schools and laudable enterprises of all kinds.
There are two churches in the township-Presbyterian and Methodist- and most of the people are church-going and sincere. The following is proba- bly the first church subscription in the township :
We, the undersigned, hereby agree to pledge ourselves to pay the amount set opposite our names for the purpose of erecting a building for public worship at the following place in Troy Township, Whitley County, Ind., to wit: On the land now owned by Robert Tinkham, on the Columbia and Oswego Road, at the point where said road makes a right angle to the west, said building to be a frame of the following dimensions : Thirty-four feet wide and forty feet long, the same to belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church of said township ; Provided, however, that all evangelical denominations which may desire the use of the same for public worship shall have it when not occupied by said Methodist Episcopal Church. The subscriptions in materials are to be delivered and labor paid as shall be desired by the contractor, cash subscriptions to be paid by the first of October, 1849.
SUBSCRIBERS.
Cash.
Material.
Labor.
SUBSCRIBERS.
Cash.
Material.
Labor.
Harlow Barber.
$11 00
$6 00 $13 00
W. Y. B. Pierce
$1 00
A. M. Trumbull.
5 00
25 00
Martin Ireland.
1 00
George Fesler
6 00
7 00
7 00|
Virgil Barber
1 00
$1 00
$8 00
James Goodrich.
15 00
5 00
10 00
Allen Adams.
5 00
5 00
Robert Tinkham.
5 00
10 00
10 00
Truman Barber
5 00
Joseph Tinkham.
10 00
10 00
John Adams.
5 00
Uri Tinkham
5 00
10 00
Benjamin Wooden
5 00
Price Goodrich
10 00
10 00
Jonathan Shoemaker
5 00
Carter McDonald
5 00
5 00
Isaac Hartsock.
5 00
Robert Adams.
10 00
Thomas A. Elliott.
5 00
Lewis Adams.
10 00
Henry Roberts
5 00
Levi Myers
2 00
C. W. Hughes
5 00
Jacob Keefer
2 00
J. S. Collins
3 00
P. R. Walton
5 00
Richard Collins
3 00
Henry Swihart.
8 00
*
Joseph H. Pratt.
3 00
Jacob Sayler.
2 00
Isaac Keirn ..
2 00
Franklin Templin
1 00
Francis L. McHugh
5 00
Francis Crabb
2 00
+
J. W. Baker.
1 00
Richard Vanderford
5 00
Samuel D. Jones
1 00
A. K. Goodrich.
2 00
Samuel Smith
2 00
B. M. Marrs.
2 00
Jane Martin ..
2 00
Henry Smith.
1 00
John McKeehan
10 00
Ralph Goodrich
3 00|Peter Snider.
2 00
* Lumber.
+ Materials.
L
230
HISTORY OF WHITLEY COUNTY.
As early as 1840, the Methodist class had been organized by Samuel Smith, pastor, and Burris Westlick, Presiding Elder, the following persons con- stituting such class : Price Goodrich and wife, Henry Roberts and wife, Joseph Tinkham and wife, Michael Blanchard and wife, Salmon Agard and wife, Rufus King, Samuel Hartsock and wife and Robert Tinkham. Among the pastors have been Revs. Miller, Blue, Eaton, Bradley, Forbes, Sparks, Blake, Cooper, Strite, Bradshaw, McCarty, Paton, Camp, McMahon, Baker, Lacy, Smith, Church, Slade, McElwe, Green, Smith and Reed. In 1877, a new brick church was built, at a cost of $2,504.90; it was dedicated on the 2d of De- cember, same year. The present membership is sixty-nine. Sunday school is conducted in summer.
The Presbyterian Church society was organized in 1846 by J. U. Sadd, and at the start had nine members. A frame church was built three years later, the cost being about $500. The present frame structure cost about $1,400, and was erected in 1880. Since the society was first organized, 116 persons have been members, 44 have been dismissed by letter, 32 have died, 3 have been expelled, and the present membership is 37.
On the 15th of June, 1878, an educational reunion was held in Troy Town- ship, at Cedar Lake Grove. Two thousand persons were in attendance. A large procession marched from the Methodist Episcopal Church to the grove. Martial and cornet bands were present. The object was to bring together the old and the new teachers, to have a good social time in talking of the past and the present school interests. Mrs. Harlow Barber was the oldest teacher present. She was given the wreath of honor by Miss Jennie Hartsock, in a beautiful and eloquent speech. Mrs. Barber's biography was read by her grand- son. After the picnic dinner, Rev. A. J. Douglas, then County Superin- tendent, spoke at length to the large assemblage. Among those who labored to make it pleasant on that day were O. L. Cummins, H. A. Hartsock, Miss Jennie R. Hartsock, Mrs. J. D. Jameson, Mrs. David James, James Blain, and Dr. S. S. Austin, of Etna Township, who read one of the psalms with splendid execution.
Perhaps the greatest gathering ever in the township was the Old Settlers' Reunion, held in September, 1881. Several thousand persons were present. Committee on Programme-Jacob Scott, O. L. Cummins and Cyrus Keiser ; Committee to Award Presents-W. A. Marrs, David James, John Smith, C. F. Marchand and Abram Elder; Committee to take Care of Old Settlers-J. Q. Adams, J. R. Elder, Thomas Estlick, Jacob Smith and Rodney James ; Marshals-F. D. Cummins, S. J. Elliott, Jr., Joseph Snodgrass and J. G. Stickley. John Snodgrass was President of the Day, and A. M. Trumbull, Secretary-the latter was Acting President. John Snodgrass, the oldest set- tler in the township, was presented a fine gold-headed cane. Francis Tulley, the oldest settler of the county, was presented a beautiful silver-headed cane. Mrs. Sarah Roberts, the oldest lady settler of the township, was given a nice
231
TROY TOWNSHIP.
rocking-chair. The exercises of the day were closed by the following eloquent address, entitled "Respect for Old Age," delivered by E. L. Barber, of Larwill :
ADDRESS OF E. L. BARBER AT THE OLD SETTLERS' RE-UNION IN TROY TOWNSHIP, SEPTEMBER 3, 1881.
MR. PRESIDENT, OLD PIONEERS, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS :
Through the kindness of your committee in charge of affairs on this memorable day, I have been asked to add something in honor of the occasion and in memory of the pioneers of Troy, both living and dead, who nearly half a century ago left homes in the older States to brave the perils incident to the settlement of a new country in the wilderness of the then far West. I will try and not tire your patience, and while my story will be, to some extent, ramb- bling and disconnected, in it is embodied what I thought might be appropriate for the occasion. I see around me to-day familiar faces. Many of them I remember having seen when a boy, thirty or forty years ago. I see in this company the bronzed faces (wrinkled by time), of many of the old pioneers, who dared forty years ago the perils of a life in the woods ; who dared the privations, such as the young men of the present day know nothing of, and with which they would not care to grapple. Like way-marks of the olden time, a few of them still linger, weak with age, and bowed with the weight of many toilsome years. These old pilgrims are worthy of our veneration, and they are worthy of our kindliest care and warmest thanks-for to them and such as they, we owe the privilege of assembling to-day on the banks of this beautiful lake; in the shade of these trees, surrounded with well-tilled farms; with churches, with school- houses and the happy homes of an intelligent, moral and cultured people. For had not they and such as they hewn out the way, you never would have followed. Had they not endured the privations of the early settlers, you would not have just been reaping a plenteous harvest, for 'twas the old settlers-the pioneers-who bore the burdens, endured the privations and made your happy homes, surrounded with plenty, a possibility to-day.
They cleared up the forests, cut down the great trees, and with prodigious labor prepared the untamed soil. We are but reaping the fruits of their labors. These old gray-headed men and women are the survivors of a once numerous band. They are the few remaining links of the broken chain which bound the years of the dead past to the living present. Their age and weakness are appeals to our hearts. With them the very citadel of life seems crumbling from the effects of time. With a full knowledge of " waning strength and increasing weakness," they are yet powerless to resist the unequal warfare. Commend to me the young man, the young lady, or the child who is not afraid, but quick with pleasant smiles, with loving words and deeds of kindness, and whose hearts commiserate the sufferings and excuse the foibles of the decrepit and old, the sun of whose lives is near its setting. Weak, often sick ; scarcely ever well, they are hopeless for anything better on this side of the grave. Weary with a long and toilsome journey, sensitive to slights and more appreciative of deeds of kindness than when flushed with health and prospective years, they live in their hearts. Listen, then, you who are younger-listen patiently to their oft-told story of suffering. Commiserate with them in their sorrows, and be glad with them in their fleeting moments of joy, for their hearts are just as young as they were before their cheeks were wrinkled with care, their eyes dim with
age, or their hair whitened with the frost of years. Remember those stooping shoulders were bowed, carrying heavy burdens for you ; those shrunken, bony hands, once fair and shapely, are now stiffened with age; those stumbling feet and tottering limbs, once swift and sure as your own, were never tired in doing countless errands of kindness for you. They are fast nearing the River's bank. Their journey is nearly ended. For them there soon shall be rest in the quiet of the grave. They have nothing left here but you. Your smiles are the sunshine of their hearts. Your loving care is to them more precious than gems which cluster and glisten in royal crowns. Their hopes are centered in your success. You are to them a part of their very existence. Their few remaining days, or years, by you can be made happy. You can smooth the few remaining miles of their journey to the sheltering rest of the grave. Kindly and
232
HISTORY OF WHITLEY COUNTY.
considerate treatment of the old and helpless speaks in unmistakable language of a true and tender heart, and God will not forget any who respect and tenderly care for the old pilgrims bowed with years of toil and sorrow, no matter what your creed.
There is inspiration in the surroundings of to-day, thoughts of the olden time come gently drifting back, thronging the halls of memory. The very air seems filled with the lingering echoes of voices now hushed forever. The soft summer winds seem whispering to the murmur- ing leaves of the scenes and the friends of long ago. Again we see the pioneers of the olden times building their log cabins and cutting down the great trees; we hear their ringing axes and the thundering of falling timber; again we see the blazing brush, and the sky is filled with the glare of burning heaps of logs, and the sun is darkened with blinding smoke; we see the stalwart forms of sturdy pioneers and hear them shouting to their patient teams of oxen as they clear the rich soil of the encumbering logs ; again we hear the sound of mauls as they split out rails to fence their little fields. Now we see them tilling the soil with hoes and planting corn, pumpkins and potatoes among the roots and stumps. We help to gather the corn and dig the potatoes. Now 'tis evening, and we listen for the bells-for the cows are coming home from the rich peavine pastures of the woods and are standing down by the bars with distended sides waiting for milking time. The chores are all done, and night has filled the woods with darkness and gloom, and we hear the long-drawn mournful howl of hungry wolves, and an owl is hooting down by the swamp. Again we see the hunter, clad in buckskin, with waumous and coon-skin cap; now we hear the deep bay of hounds as they chase from swamp to swamp, and from run" way to runway the panting, frightened deer, and hear the crack of a rifle from where a hunter is lying in wait for the unsuspecting game.
The scenes change. The crops are gathered, the corn is cribbed, the potatoes are buried, and the great yellow pumpkins are covered with vines to protect them from frost; the prairie hay is cut and stacked, and great heaps of logs are hauled into the door-yard for winter wood. Now the boys and girls have new suits of home-made linsey or the old ones patched, and, with each a new pair of cowhide shoes (which must last a year), are getting ready for the winter school in the new log schoolhouse, with a great open fire-place, greased paper for windows and long benches hewn out of split logs for seats. There are many here to-day who then mastered the rudiments of an education in keeping with the opportunities of the times. Then the school- master of those early days-what an important personage he was ! How stately he looked, as, with whip in hand, he marched up and down the little room, hearing a class in reading, teach- ing the little ones their A B C, and showing the older ones how to cipher. Occasionally he would touch up some of the boys who had been caught whispering or making faces at the girls. How they would jump and scratch ! for their pants were thin and the whip was of hickory well seasoned in the hot embers of the glowing fire. Oh, what spelling-schools! How can you forget them ? How we used to stand up in a long row, with folded arms, and spell-yes, until we could spell every word in the book. And such dinners as we took to school ! Didn't we do justice to them ? Yes, dinners of johnny-cake and venison steak, and sometimes a big piece of pumpkin pie, and once in a great while a slice of wheat bread with butter, and a little sugar sprinkled on the butter. Now I see a group at home, gathered around a blazing fire in the fire-place, with hearth, jambs and back wall made of pounded clay, and chimney of mud and sticks. Oh, what fires ! how they cracked and roared those cold winter nights! There, too, sat father smoking his wooden pipe, and mother with her knitting, while the girls were making the old spinning- wheel hum as they spun into yarn the rolls, which had been carded by hand; while the boys would work at their sums, crack hickory nuts, or whittle out puzzles of little wooden blocks, while the great fire threw out a cheering heat, and a gleam of comfort pervaded the whole house.
Then the visits from neighbors those long winter evenings ! A loud knock would be heard at the door, and a welcome " come in !" was the response, and in the open door would stand some old neighbor and his wife, who came to spend the evening. Oh, how welcome they were, how glad we all were to see them ! How they would sit by the fire and talk over the story of their lives and their future prospects. And such stories of hunting and trapping ! How they could tell stories of adventure and escape, till in our young imagination we could see all again enacted before our eyes. Oh, yes, those were the days of hardships on the frontier, and some-
233
TROY TOWNSHIP.
times of short rations, but withal were happy days, and their memory is engraven on the tablets of our hearts, and cannot, must not be forgotten.
Again the scene changes. 'Tis the fall of the year. The poison of the undrained swamps has made us all to shiver and shake with the ague, or lay for weeks burning with fever, without well ones enough to wait on the sick. Then came old Dr. McHugh, picking his way among the swamps and logs, on horseback, with blazed trees for his guide and an old Indian trail for his road. Oh, what doses of medicine he gave us-calomel, jalap, ipecac, Dovers powders, with Peruvian bark and pills as big as peas, with pink and senna and snakeroot. Oh, how they vomited, and purged, and bled us, and how, after weeks of fever and shakes, we pulled through, mere skel- etons, and what yellow, bilious-looking wrecks we were!
How discouraged the old settlers used to get, and how they talked of and longed for the comforts of the old homes they left when starting for the West. Oh, yes, many of them suffered long and died, and were buried in rough, unpainted coffins, here and there, in the shades of the great woods, without stone or monument to mark their place of rest. Again, how punctual were the early settlers in attending meetings, sometimes at a neighbor's house, and often, in the pleasant days of fall and summer, they gathered in the woods to hear the old-time preachers expound the Word. Yes, in those days, everybody went to meeting, on foot or on horse- back. And such preachers ! How they would travel and preach, and preach and travel on horseback from one neighborhood to another, to fill their oft-recurring appointments, always car- rying a pair of saddle-bags, in which were stowed a well-worn Bible and hymn book, with occa- sionally a copy of Pilgrim's Progress or Baxter's Saints' Rest. No preachers in this neck of woods had in those days fine top carriages and double teams to roll them to their Sunday ap- pointments ; but a horse, bridle and saddle were considered a complete outfit, and most of their work was done on week days and evenings, and it was a lucky neighborhood which had preach- ing on Sunday. Preachers were hard worked and poorly paid. But all seemed happy and con- tented, and as a class were well fed, honored and respected. Such, old friends and neighbors, were some of the incidents and surroundings of the olden time, with which many of you are familiar.
Long years have passed since then. Your ranks have been thinned and your numbers lessened, until but few are left to tell the story of the first settlement of Troy. Many have given up the struggle and are now at rest. Some have been sleeping for many years, and now quite often we hear of one, and then another, who long years ago were your neighbors in Troy, going to their last home, full of years and honors. Yes, most of the army who started on the journey with you have dropped out of the ranks. Their lives have been eventful and full of thrilling experiences. They, with you, have suffered great privations; their feet have often trod gently among new-made graves; they have often shed tears of sorrow with those who mourned ; their eyes have gazed sadly on many mournful processions; and now they, too, are gone. One at a time they were gathered home. The soft winds of summer and pitiless storms of winter have sighed and howled over some of their windowless homes with the dead for many years. Their work is done. They now rest from the weary strife. Their warfare with nature and the great woods of Troy is over. They have cut down their last trees and have made their last roads. They have built their last cabin, have trapped their last wolf, shot their last deer; have sat quietly fishing in the old canoe on this beautiful lake for the last time. They have plowed their last furrow among the roots ; have hoed their last row of potatoes and corn. They have gathered at the old Center Schoolhouse on election day for the last time; have builded their last log schoolhouse ; have carried the log benches for the last time into the old settler's cabin to accommodate their neighbors when they assembled to worship their God. They have set their last example, given their last counsel, endured their last suffering. They have taken their last medicine, uttered their last prayer and said their last "good-by." They have filled the full measure of usefulness and have left a record of good deeds, kindness, patience and endurance. As a class, the old pioneers are almost extinct. Once in a while only, now, we see them-one here and one there, halting on their staff, with dimming eyes and dull ears. They are the survivors of a once great band, who, dressed in buckskin, linsey and blue jeans, nearly half a century ago, laid the foundation on which the fair fabric of our present prosperity is builded.
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