USA > Indiana > Whitley County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 51
USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 51
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34
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
prisoners. No such attempt was made, and the trials proceeded in an orderly manner. There were no attorneys in Noble County at that time ; hence counsel had to be procured elsewhere. The prisoners were defended by Hon. Charles W. Ewing and Robert Breckenridge, Jr., of Fort Wayne; and an attorney from Piqua, Ohio, happening to be passing that way was employed by the peo- ple to prosecute. The cases were ably prosecuted, and the accused properly defended. Nine were held to appear at the next term of the Circuit Court, and all failing to find bail, seven of the number were sent to Fort Wayne and two to Goshen to be imprisoned, there being at the time no jail in Noble County. The two sent to Goshen were released upon a writ of habeas corpus for some pretended irregularity in the papers, while the seven sent to Fort Wayne released themselves by breaking out of the old jail at that place, and thus ended the first raid on the blacklegs of Noble County, but the people had rest for a season. But few settlers came to the county in 1839. The sad experiences of 1838 sent many back to their former homes, and the reports of the hardships that they had endured so alarmed others that few had the courage to risk the chances of a home in Indiana. There is little of general interest to write concerning 1839 more than what has already been said. During the year of 1840, more settlers came than in the previous year. It began to be ascertained that people could live in Noble County, and several who had remained began to gather about them not only the necessaries, but also some of the conveniences of life, and the settler who had battled manfully with adverse circumstances began to look forward to a time of greater enjoyment, when he could sit beneath " his own vine and fig-tree," and enjoy the fruit of his honest toil.
During this year there was perpetrated in the county a brutal murder. On the 16th day of May, 1840, at the village of Rochester, a number of per- sons were engaged in drinking poor whisky and shooting at a mark, a pastime quite common in those days. The natural consequences followed; some be- came drunk and quarrelsome, and fit for any act of violence. Among the number were John Lechner, a German, and John Farley, an Irishman. Both were under the influence of liquor, and Lechner, when drunk, was quarrelsome and abusive. A dispute arose, angry words passed and blows were exchanged; but Farley, who was a small man, was not able to cope with his burly antago- nist. Farley escaped from Lechner and started to run, when Lechner seized his rifle and fired at Farley, missing him; Farley ran a short distance when he climbed upon a fence, when a few words passed between them; Lechner then took a gun from the hands of his nephew, and taking deliberate aim shot Far- ley dead upon the spot. He then attempted to escape but was arrested and brought before Esquire Daniel Harsh, and was by him committed to jail in Goshen, there being no jail in Noble County. At that time there were but two terms of the Circuit Court in each year, in September and March. The cause came up for trial at the September term, before John W. Wright, Presi-
-
Tomb Ellbord
CLERK CIRCUIT COURT
37
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
dent Judge, and Thomas H. Wilson and Jacob Stage, Associate Judges. The prosecution was conducted by Lucien P. Ferry, Prosecuting Attorney, of Fort Wayne; and the court assigned as counsel for the prisoner Hon. Charles W. Ewing and Robert Breckenridge, Jr. The records of the courts of that date having been destroyed by fire, some matters in connection with the trial can- not be given, and the names of the jurors who tried the case have been forgot- ten. The evidence was clear; in fact, there was not one extennating or palliating circumstance. The guilt of the accused was established beyond a doubt, and although both Breckenridge and Ewing put forth their best efforts, they were of no avail. The speech of Judge Ewing on that occasion was probably the strongest appeal ever made to a jury in the county. Lechner was found guilty by the jury and the punishment fixed was death. He was sentenced to be hanged November 3, 1840. The sentence was executed on that day about half a mile west of Angusta, by Mason M. Meriam, Sheriff of the county. A large concourse of people were present, not only from Noble, but also from adjoining counties. This is the only judicial execution that has occurred in the county. After the sentence was executed, Lechner's body was taken in a wagon and driven rapidly to the western part of the county and privately buried, and few are now living who know the place. Farley, the murdered man, was buried in the old cemetery at Ligonier. The parties in the tragedy were both drunk, and the crime can be charged to nothing but alcohol. Perhaps it may not be out of place to remark that, up to this time, political differences had not dis- turbed the settlements. At the first election, in 1836, men of both political parties were elected ; Spencer, Bristol and Pancake were Democrats, while the two Hostetters and Engle were Whigs; and in 1838, when a convention, was called to nominate officers, men of both participated in the same meeting, the chief object being to find good men willing to serve. But in 1840, things were changed, for the wave of " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too," struck Noble County. Political tricksters now make their appearance, and demagogues perambulate the county, anxious to sacrifice themselves for the good of the dear people, and communities which once moved and acted in concert are rent to fragments, and arrayed in hostility to each other. During all the preceding years, while the tide of emigration was pouring into the county, there existed among the people a strong sympathy with each other, and strife and contention were strangers. There was no dividing up into classes ; all were friendly, for all were poor. And now the old pioneer of Noble looks back with regret to many things that were common at that early day, but have passed away never to return. The year 1841 was not marked by anything unusual in the development of the county, unless it be by increasing prosperity among the settlers. Emigrants con- tinued to come and the country was fast filling up, better dwellings were erect- ed, more land was cultivated, and better implements of husbandry were used, and it may be said that the most sanguine hopes of the settlers were realized.
38
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
During this year, there occurred a sad circumstance, that should not be passed over without notice, as it may be that in the future some light may be thrown upon what is now, and the last forty years has been, dark and mysteri- ous. On the 2d day of June, Mr. Aaron Noe, who resided on the farm now owned and occupied by Charles Weade, about two and a half miles southeast from Cromwell, started with his team to Elkhart County to mill. He left home early in the morning, and when near home, having just started, he ob- served his son, about three years old, following the wagon. He stopped and directed the child to go back to the house, and then proceeded on his journey. No further notice seems to have been taken of the child's absence for some time. There were several children belonging to the family, and the mother probably supposed that it was with them. The other children returning to the house without the boy, Mrs. Noe commenced to search for him, but was unable to find him. Becoming now alarmed, she and the older children con- tinued the search. They found the little tracks in the road where it was last seen and for a short distance beyond, going from the house and in the direction taken by the father with his wagon, when the nature of the ground prevented any further traces of foot-prints. Having searched for several hours in vain, the now distracted mother sent word to her nearest neighbors, and they, in turn, to others, and before night seventy-five or one hundred of the settlers were gathered, ready to render any assistance in their power. The woods along Solomon's Creek, where the child was lost, were swampy and afforded a retreat for the large timber-wolf, and there were many at that time in the county. There were droves of half-wild hogs, scarcely less savage and dan- gerous than wolves. The child had on only one garment, a loose slip or gown, and thus unprotected, if it should escape from the animals, it was probable that the insects, with which the woods were swarming at that season of the year, would torment it to death before another morning. It should be ob- served, that during the day a small body of Indians had passed the place, trav- eling in an easterly direction. It was surmised that they might have kidnaped the child, and it was determined to send some persons after them to learn whether such was the fact. Accordingly. Mitchell McClintock, Oliver Wright and Harvey Mckinney, all old frontiersmen, were selected for this service. They left Noe's a little before sunset, and, following the trail, found the Indi- ans encamped on the bank of Bowen's Lake, in Green Township. On coming in sight of the encampment, they concluded to take the camp by surprise, lest they should escape with the child, if they had it. Mounting their horses, they dashed at full speed into the midst of the sleeping Indians. Amidst the con- fusion, some of the Indians escaped to the woods, but they returned in a short time, and all denied having had or even seen the child. In this, it is probable, they told the truth, for they had been seen by several persons during the day, after they passed Noe's place, and no white child was seen with them. The party sent out returned the same night and reported their failure, and it was
39
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
then agreed to make thorough search and, if possible, find the little one alive, or if dead, to discover some traces that should disclose the fact of when, where and how it died. The next morning the search commenced. Lines were formed, the men walking within a few feet of each other, and traveling the country in every direction for several miles, and this was continued for eight or ten days. The search was made as thorough and complete as possible. Every swamp was explored, every pool of water was dragged, every hollow log found was torn to pieces. All business was suspended and the great heart of the community went out as the heart of one man, in sympathy with the be- reaved ones; but it was all in vain. No trace of the missing one was ever found. Whether, indeed, the little wanderer was picked up by Indians andl brought up among them as one of their tribe; whether it met its death from some savage beast, or died from the more lingering torments of hunger and fatigue, are subjects upon which we may speculate, but which we shall probably never know.
From this time forth, the growth of the county has continued until the present. The first census taken in Noble County was in 1840, when the pop- ulation was 2,702. This census was taken by Isaac Spencer. In 1850, Hiram S. Tousley took the census, which was now 7,946. In 1860, John C. Rich- mond was Deputy Marshal, and found 14,915. In 1870, the population was 20,389, and in 1880 it was 22,804. When the first census was taken, in 1840. Noble County, in population, was the seventieth ; in 1850, it was the fifty- ninth; in 1860, the forty-first, and in 1870, the twenty-eighth, a position that she still holds.
During the time that the steady stream of population was pouring into the county good prices were obtained for all agricultural products, but when the. settlers had so improved their lands that a surplus began to accumulate, prices began to decline, and, for several years, all products raised by the farmer were very cheap. Wheat, after being hauled to Fort Wayne, was worth about 40 cents; corn, 12} ; pork from $1 to $1.25 per 100 pounds. Labor was corre- spondingly cheap, and day laborers' wages from 31 to 40 cents per day. This was in consequence of a lack of transportation to the sea-board. Railroads were then unknown, and, for a time, all produce had to reach the lakes, either at Toledo or Michigan City. In 1843, the Wabash & Erie Canal was opened from Fort Wayne to Toledo, and this had a tendency to give better prices, though wheat was then worth only about 60 cents at the most favorable times, but the construction of railroads has created a good market, and now the farmers of Noble County are receiving good prices near home for all their sur- plus products.
The records of the Auditor's office having been destroyed in 1843, it is impossible to ascertain the valuation of property in the county prior to that time or the total amount of taxes paid each year; but from the Auditor of State the taxes paid to the State prior to that time have been ascertained, and
40
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
by computation we may reach very nearly the number of polls in the county for each year. There appears to have been no taxes paid to the State until 1838, and that year Noble County paid $301.35. In 1839, $385.50 ; in 1840, $381.72 ; in 1841, $870.59, and, in 1842, $1,515.44. This only includes the State taxes, and we can only approximate the total taxes for all purposes, but it is safe to say that three times the State tax would make the entire duplicate. Again the number of polls is not given prior to 1843, but we arrive at a result that is nearly correct by calculation, and find the following :
In 1838, we had eighty-one polls, and the duplicate was $ 904 05
In 1839, we had ninety-nine polls, and the duplicate was.
1,150 50
In 1840, we had ninety-nine polls, and the duplicate was. 1,145 16 In 1841, we had two hundred and ninety-seven polls, and the duplicate was.
2,611 77
In 1842, we had five hundred and twenty-two polls, and the duplicate
was.
4,546 32
The effects of the scourge of 1838 are plainly seen in the two years that follow it. The following table is from the records :
YEAR.
VALUATION.
DUPLICATE.
POLLS.
YEAR.
VALUATION.
DUPLICATE.
POLLS.
1843 ..
$ 558,386
$ 7,477 22
611
1863.
$3,088,978
$ 49,640 72
2,491
1844
564,718
9,320 01
699
1864
3,709,157
63,193 28
2,457
1845
582,828
7,500 99
848
1865.
4,108,295
173,828 82
2,314
1846.
732,080
17,415 24
949
1866
4,558,495
67,500 97
3,013
1847
649,822
13,049 40
1,027
1867
4,643,428
68,129 28
3,270
1848.
656,478
13,959 57
1,024
1868
4,910,492
72,138 50
3,334
1849.
706,085
8,633 76
1,236
1869.
5,767,630
81,486 87
3,324
1850.
733,572
13,073 30
1,313
1870.
5,702,445
69,486 06
3,318
1851.
1,381,913
17,333 31
1,475
1871
5,747,295
82,191 64
3,398
1852
1,391,329
16,560 73
1,512
1872.
5,731,695
101,539 11
3,199
1853
1,556,515
16,576 04
1,560
1873
8,948,432
163,967 73
3,239
1854
1,758,778
25,833 31
1,638
1874.
8,323,026
113,485 15
3,859
1855.
1,901,190
25,019 55
1,790
1875.
8,959,098
114,882 05
3,365
1856.
1,893,474
25,155 99
1,840
1876.
9,027,103
118,830 54
3,588
1857
1,882,375
25,973 75
1,998
1877
7,903,424
106,255 68
3,681
1858
1,995,678
26,799 54
2,132
1878.
8,984,795
105,917 50
3,728
1859
2,809,335
36,395 35
2,372
1879.
8,877,715
113,680 80
3,704
1860
2,881,594
37,720 43
2,362
1880.
8,295,625
114,775 62
3,750
1801
2,847,979
39,041 82
2,517
188
9,027,103
not comp'd
3,778
1862:
2,874,874
41,018 36
2,620
Thus, from the insignificant amount of about $1,000, the total amount of taxes paid in 1838, there is now collected over $100,000. And in consequence of the increased wealth, the taxes are now paid with less trouble than in early times. The railroad corporations in the county pay taxes on over $1,000,000 valuation, thus paying one-ninth of the entire taxes paid. The increase in the material wealth is amazing. In 1843, there was but one man in the whole county that was assessed with personal property to the amount of $500. In that year, Joseph Galloway, of Washington Township, returned that amount, and now a farmer who has not that amount, or more, is considered poor, while many of the tax-payers are assessed with over $100,000 of personal property, and this assessment as a general thing is not more than one-half the real value. In 1843, the entire school tax collected in the county was $8.50; in 1844,
I
41
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
$125.54 ; in 1845, $139.51; in 1846, $204.80. There is now expended annu- ally in the county over $50,000, a large part of which is raised by taxation, which the people pay willingly, being convinced that intelligence is essential to the best interests of the State.
In the matter of county seats, Noble has had her full share. At the ses- sion of the Legislature in March, 1836, George A. Fate, R. McDonald and Eli Penwell, were appointed Commissioners to permanently locate the seat of justice for Noble County, and on the 3d day of May, 1836, reported as follows : To the Honorable the Commissioners of Noble County, and State of Indiana :
The undersigned Commissioners, appointed by the Legislature of this State to fix the per- manent seat of justice of the county of Noble aforesaid, have, after being duly sworn as the law directs, fixed the permanent seat of justice and drove the stake for the same on Section Twenty- four in Township numbered Thirty-four north, of Range numbered eight east, in said county, on the land of Isaac Spencer aud Reuben Jackson Dawson. And beg leave to submit the fore- going report with the donation bond for $3,000, payable A. D. 1839. GEORGE A. FATE, R. MCDONALD, ELI PENWELL.
NOBLE, May 3, 1836.
The bonds of Spencer and Dawson, with Simpson Cummings as surety, was filed the same day, and was approved by the Locating Commissioners, the Commissioners of Noble County not having been elected, nor were there any until the June following. This location was in Sparta Township, on the old Fort Wayne and Goshen trail, and on the farm now owned by Nary Fry. Although this was near the western part of the county, yet at the time it was probably very nearly central as to the population. No public buildings were ever erected at Sparta, and the county seat remained there only a short time. Other parts of the county began to be settled and the people objected to the erection of buildings at a point so far from the center of the county ; and which, although a very desirable location in some respects, yet had no water-power or other natural advantages. Hence, a petition was presented to the Legislature asking for a re-location, and an act was passed and approved February 4, 1837 appointing Oliver Crane, of Elkhart; Levi L. Todd, of Cass ; John E. Hill, of Allen ; Samuel F. Clark, of Miami ; William Allen, of La Porte, and Greene T. Simpson, of Henry, County Commissioners to re-locate the seat of justice. On the 3d of July, 1837, all the Commissioners, except Allen and Simpson, met at the house of Patrick C. Miller, at Wolf Lake, and proceeded to ex- amine the different points offered. Several ambitious towns which had been laid out were anxious for the distinction. Sparta was, of course, in the mar- ket, also Van Buren, near the Blackman farm in York ; Wolf Lake, the first town laid out in Noble County ; Augusta and Port Mitchell-all entered the race, and each made munificent offers to secure the coveted location. The Commissioners having looked over the ground and considered the offers of dona- tions, agreed upon Augusta, a point two miles west of Albion. The people appeared to acquiesce in the location, and a court house and jail were built there, the county officers removed thither and the town gave considerable evi- dences of growth ; two hotels were built, several stores started and various
42
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
mechanical interests were represented. There is but little doubt that the county seat of Noble County would have been at Augusta now, had not the court house been accidently destroyed by fire. This occurred early in the year of 1843, and by the burning of the building the books belonging to the offices of the Auditor and Treasurer were lost. This was a great calamity, and in en- deavoring to prepare an authentic history of the county, we sadly miss those records. Port Mitchell had never been happy over the location at Augusta, and now made an effort for another permanent location. Another act of the Legislature was passed January 14, 1844, for a re-location, and Charles W. Heaton, of St. Joseph; Lot Day, also of the same county ; Ephraim Seeley, of La Grange, and John Jackson and Allen Tibbitts, of Elkhart, were appoint- ed Commissioners. They met at Augusta on the first Monday of March, 1844, and drove the stake and permanently located the seat of justice at Port Mitchell. Here brick offices were built and a temporary building was erected for a court house. The people of Port Mitchell were happy, and visions of the coming greatness of the town floated before them. But their triumph was of short duration. The seat of justice was a movable institution and neither a permanent location nor driving the stake could hold it.
Soon after, at the session of the Legislature for 1845-46, an act was passed providing for a re-location by a vote of the people. The act provided that an election should be held on the first Monday of April, 1846, at which the voters should write on their ballots the name of the place where they wished the county seat to be located. Another election was to be held the first Monday of June, at which time only three places should be voted for ; that is, the three highest on the list voted for in April, and the final vote was to be taken between the two highest at the June election, on the first Monday of August in the same year. The contest was a spirited one, as there were sev- eral places in the county that were ambitious to be county seats. Speeches were made, and at least one campaign song was composed for the occasion, and a club of singers organized. At the election in April, votes were cast for Port Mitchell, Augusta, Rochester, Ligonier, Springfield, Lisbon, Northport, Wolf Lake, and the "Center," as Albion was then called. It may be that votes were cast for other places. At this election, the three highest on the list were Port Mitchell, Augusta and the Center. At the June election, Augusta fell two votes below Port Mitchell, and was left out. The contest was now between Port Mitchell and the Center. The friends of Augusta were indignant, and generally voted for the Center, and it received a majority and was declared the county seat. It has remained here since, although several efforts were made to remove it. The construction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through Albion, in 1874, has settled the question, and Albion will, without doubt, remain the county seat.
The first buildings erected by the county were at Augusta, where a frame court house was built, which was done by the proprietors of the town as a part
43
HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.
of the donation to the county, in consideration of the location of the county seat at that place. The building would be considered a cheap affair at this time, but when it was erected it was the pride of the people, as it was much better than any in the adjoining counties. This was completed in 1840, and the next year a wooden jail was built. There is still left a part of the cells of the old jail remaining, which is the only memento left to remind the traveler of the former greatness of Augusta. The temporary buildings erected at Port Mitchell have disappeared, and most of the town plat, as well as all of the town of Augusta, is now devoted to agricultural purposes. After the final vote on the location of the county seat, the Board of Commissioners, on the 14th day of October, 1846, made the following order : "Ordered, that James L. Worden, County Agent, proceed to advertise the letting of a court house at the new county seat of Noble County, and that he receive sealed proposals for the same until the second day of the next December term of the board, at 8 o'clock A. M." At the December term, James L. Worden reported that the lowest and best bid for the building was by Harrison Wood, William M. Clapp and David B. Herriman, and the job was accordingly let to them. They sublet to Samuel T. Clymer, of Goshen, who completed the building in 1847, and, on the 16th day of Sep- tember of that year, the Commissioners ordered the removal of the offices and records to the new court house. A jail at Albion was built in 1849. The court house was built ot a cost of $4,045. The cost of the old jail at Albion was about $1,300. This court house was burned in January, 1859, and the cir- cumstances surrounding the catastrophe leave little room for doubt that it was the work of incendiaries. The present court house was built in 1861, at a cost of $11,000, and was built by George Harvey, who now resides in Albion. In 1875, the present jail was built at a cost of over $25,000, and is as safe as it could be made, and is doubtless the finest building in the county. It contains rooms for the jailer and his family; has twelve cells, the top, bottom and each side wall being composed of a single stone eight inches in thickness, all four securely fastened together. These cells are surrounded by a hall composed of stone similar to the cells, and it would seem to be a bootless undertaking to attempt to break out. The court house is a plain, substantial building, but large enough to accommodate our courts; but the day is not distant when better accommodations will be required for the county officers, and more room for the records.
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