USA > Indiana > Boone County > Early life and times in Boone County, Indiana, giving an account of the early settlement of each locality, church histories, county and township officers from the first down to 1886 Biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and women. > Part 15
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In 1884 there were 634,438 bushels of wheat harvested in Boone County from 52,113 acres, an average of a little more than twelve bushels per acre. In the same year there were produced 1,635,763 bushels of corn from 51,189 acres, an average of about thirty-two bushels per acre. The yield of oats was 106,277 bushels from 3,339 acres. In 1882 the yield of wheat in Boone County was 852,955 bushels; corn, 2,095,- 090 bushels ; oats, 78,992 bushels.
In 1884 Boone County had 13,012 acres in timothy meadow, which produced 21,861 tons of hay. In the same year there were 16,029 acres in clover meadow, producing 24,483 tons of hay, and 3,609 bushels of clover seed. The yield of timothy hay in 1882 was 24,994 tons, and of clover hay 32,560 tons. The foregoing examples of crops show that the soils of Boone County are fully up to the average in productiveness.
GEOLOGY. "
The surface deposits of Boone County consist wholly of sand, gravels, clays and bowlders. No exposures of solid rocks
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187
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
in place appear in the county. In the western part of the county the rocks are sometimes reached by the auger or drill in boring or driving wells, but they are always at a consider- able depth below the surface. In a few instances limestone has been touched in the wells, and occasionally sandstone has been found, but more commonly the stone reached in the bores is a silicious shale or " soapstone." In the eastern half of the county the total depth of the drift is unknown, as no wells have ever been bored through it. It is known, however, to be more than 100 feet thick, and in places is probably 300 or 400 feet in thickness. The blue clay generally alternates with layers of sand and gravel, but in some localities it lies in great compact, homogeneous masses, without laminations or evi- dence of stratification.
The elevated area, extending through the county from east to west, was evidently the summit of an ancient terminal mor- aine, the original height of which far exceeded the altitude of the highest elevations now to be found in the county. It is also evidently true that a series of high ridges occupied al- most the entire area of the county. As the glaziers were grad- ually dissipated under the influences of a temperature which slowly increased in fervency, the waters from the melting masses of ice sought out various courses through the many depressions between the more elevated heights, and struggling on from one depression to another at last found their way to the sea. Since the transported masses of drift were once piled up, in places, to a height exceeding, by hundreds of feet, the greatest elevations now remaining in the drift area, it is very probable that the valleys, or depressions between the ridges and hills, were once considerably below the level of the lowest lands of the present day. In many places, doubtless, the bare, planed surfaces of the rocks were exposed. The re- turn of congenial seasons, with continued days of sunshine and frequent moistening showers, resulted in the spread of vegeta- tion over a large portion of the drift area. It is quite evident that in some localities vegetation grew in profusion, especially
188
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
along the southern limits of the drift deposit. The growing plants covered the sides of the slopes, and also the lower grounds around the margins of the lakes and streams. Even in the marshes, ponds and lakes, aquatic and semi-aquatic plants grew in wild luxuriance. Evidence of these facts abound throughout the drift area. The continued rainfall washed the loose particles of material from the slopes of the hills and ridges and gradually filled up all the low places, completely covering the masses of vegetable matter that grew and accumulated in the low grounds, and thus underground "peat bogs" were formed. These buried masses of vegetation are quite frequently found in digging and boring wells in Boone County, and many other counties of the state. They are found at a depth of from ten to sixty feet below the sur- face. Professional well diggers and drivers call them "swamps." The appearance of the mud and accumulated vegetable matter found in them is almost identical with that of a surface swamp. The mud is black, usually soft and mirey, and consists largely of decayed vegetable matter. Leaves, twigs, and trunks and branches of trees are frequently found in them.
On the farm of Mr. John M. Shelly, in Jackson Township, four miles north of Jamestown, a well was bored in which, at the depth of forty-six feet, a swamp was reached which was twelve feet in thickness. The following is the complete see- tion of the bore :
. SECTION OF JOHN M. SHELLY'S WELL.
Soil and yellow clay, mixed with sand 12 ft.
Yellow Sand 2 ft.
Hard gravel 4 ft.
·Hardpan-gravel 4 ft.
White sand
6 ft.
Sand and clay-bluish
18 ft.
Black muck and loam, with branches of trees and other vegetable matter . 12 ft.
Blue clay
4 ft.
Gray sand, gravel, etc.
26 ft.
Total
88 ft.
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189
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
On the farm of Mr. Isaac Emerts, two and one-half miles north of Jamestown, a well was bored in which the swamp was reached at a depth of sixty feet. A considerable layer of blue clay lies over it. The following section was obtained from Mr. James A. Ball, of Thorntown, who bored the well. At the depth of seventy-five feet the rock was reached, and the boring was continued through the shale, or "soapstone," as the workmen termed it, to the depth of 235 feet :
SECTION OF MR. ISAAC EMERTS' WELL.
Soil
2 ft.
Yellow clay and sand
. 28 ft.
Quicksand
1 ft. 6 in.
Blue clay
. 29 ft.
Black muck, leaves, twigs and branches of trees . 3 ft.
Sand and clay
. 12 ft.
Silicious shale-"soapstone"
160 ft.
Total,
235 ft. 6 in.
A well was dug on the farm of Mr. Seth. W. Porter, six miles west of Lebanon, in which a walnut branch, five inches in diameter, was found in the blue clay a few feet below the surface. The well was only eighteen feet deep, and the follow- ing is the
SECTION :
Soil
2 ft.
Blue clay
11 ft.
Sand
.
5 ft.
Total,
18 ft.
In digging a well on Main street, just east of the Public Square, in Lebanon, the workmen passed through two feet of soil and twelve feet of blue clay, when a stratum of sand was reached in which were a large number of shells in a good state of preservation. Dr. A. G. Porter pronounced them to be fresh-water shells. About four feet lower down, in gravel, a number of Lower Silurian fossil-shells-Rhynchonella capax- were found.
190
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
At Witt & Klizer's flouring-mill, at Thorntown, a well was dug to the depth of 104 feet, and then continued by boring to the depth of 343 feet. At the depth of 100 feet, the trunk of a tree, apparently northern cedar, several inches in diameter, was found. The trunk of the tree extended entirely across the well. The exposed portion of the tree was nearly perfect, showing no scars nor affects of abrasion, such as would have resulted from violent contact with rocks or other hard substances.
The following is the entire section of the well, obtained from Mr. Ball, who superintended the boring :
SECTION OF WITT & KLIZER'S WELL, THORNTOWN.
Soil
2 ft.
Yellow clay
. 19 ft.
Quicksand
4 ft.
Blue clay
125 ft.
Silicious shale-"soapstone"
193 ft.
Total,
343 ft.
A section of the same well obtained from the engineer at the mill, who assisted in digging the well and also in the work of boring, differs very materially from that given by Mr. Ball. As no notes were taken by either of the gentlemen, and the sections were given from memory, it is not to be assumed that either should be absolutely correct.
SECTION OF WITT & KLIZER'S WELL, THORNTOWN.
( Obtained from the Engineer at the Mill.)
Soil
2 ft.
Yellow clay
13 ft.
Gravel
3 ft.
Blue clay
82 ft.
Cedar tree
Blue clay
37 ft.
"Soapstone "
60 ft.
Gray limestone
136 ft.
Total,
333 ft.
191
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
It is quite probable that the carbonated hydrogen gases so frequently found in the drift clays of northern Indiana are gases that were generated in the masses of buried vegetation so frequently occurring throughout the drift area. The gas is found at depths varying from twenty to seventy-five feet- depths corresponding with those at which the buried vegetation occurs. The flow of gas is always much stronger when it is first struck, and it gradually diminishes in volume until it finally ceases altogether. This indicates that the gas is con- fined in a pocket, or limited reservoir, from which no con- tinned supply may be expected. Confined in the ancient swamp beds beneath the impervious, massive layers of indurated blue clay, it will remain imprisoned for ages without sensible change in volume or chemical composition.
At many points throughout Boone County this gas has been found in the drift. In a well three miles southeast of Elizaville, on the Michigan Road, which was bored by Mr. Ball, of Thorntown, gas was found at a depth of forty-one feet. It flowed strongly for a short time from a stratum of fine, white sand, which probably accumulated on the margin of a small lake. The following is the
SECTION OF THE GAS WELL.
Soil and yellow clay
18 ft.
Quicksand
3 ft.
Blue clay
20 ft.
White sand-gas
11 ft.
Blue clay
6 ft.
Swamp muck, leaves, twigs, etc.
7 ft.
Blue clay
19 ft.
Total
84 ft.
In a well bored upon the farm of Clairborne Cain, five miles west of Lebanon, gas flowed from a stratum of gravel five feet in thickness, which was reached at a depth of seventy- three feet.
.
.
192
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
SECTION OF MR. CAIN'S WELL.
Soil and yellow clay
17 ft.
White quicksand
5 ft.
Blue clay
51 ft.
Dry gravel-gas seam
5 ft.
Blue clay
165 ft.
Total
243 ft.
At the depth of two hundred and forty-three feet obstruc- tions accumulated in the pipes, and the boring had to be dis- continued. It is unfortunate that the obstructions should occur before the entire thickness of the great stratum of blue clay was ascertained.
At Jamestown, and many other localities throughout the county, gas, in small quantities, has been found in boring and digging wells. But in every instance the flow of gas is strongest when it is first reached, and it soon gradually ceases altogether. In no instance has a continuation of the bore ever resulted in developing a stronger flow of gas, and in no instance has it ever been found in bores continued into the paleozoic rocks. The futility, then, of expecting to find the great reservoir from which the gas accumulated in the drift has escaped is very apparent. The gas of the drift areas is merely local accumulations resulting from the decay of buried vegetable matter. Although this gas will burn, it has never yet been found in a quantity sufficient to entitle it to consid- eration from an economic standpoint.
The blue clays of Boone County are generally in dense, stiff, indurated masses, unlaminated, and without evidence of stratification. At many points they form the surface soil, where they may be recognized by their ash-gray or whitish color, and uniformly fine and even texture. The whitish appearance is due to years of leaching and bleaching. In their natural state these clays form an unproductive soil, which can only be made profitable by a liberal use of manures.
The well on Washington Street, Lebanon, shows a varying
JOHN'M. BURNS.
193
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
condition of strata to a depth of about forty feet. The fol- lowing is the
SECTION OF THE WELL ON WASHINGTON STREET, LEBANON :
Soil
7 ft.
Yellow sand 1 ft.
Yellow clay 3 ft.
Bluish sand and clay
1 ft.
Sand
4 ft.
Blue clay
3 ft. .
Sand and gravel
4 ft.
Blue clay
2 ft.
Gray clay
3 ft.
Hard-pan -- indurated clay
4 ft.
Blue (laminated) clay .
14 ft.
Gray clay
3 ft.
Sand and clay
10 ft.
Blue clay
. 23 ft.
Coarse gravel
1 ft.
Blue clay
25 ft.
Total
108 ft.
The well of Mr. D. M. Burns, Civil Engineer, which is located on his farm, two miles north of Lebanon, on the Frankfort road, exhibited the following
SECTION :
Soil
2 ft.
Yellow clay
7 ft.
Gravel and sand
2 ft.
Blue clay
. 22 ft.
Gravel .
2 ft.
Gravel and clay
3 ft.
Blue clay
50 ft.
Bowlder
1 ft.
Blue clay
23 ft.
Total
112 ft.
In the vicinity of Ratsburg no accurate knowledge of the depth or character of the drift could be procured. Water is obtained in required quantities at from ten to twenty feet
13
4
194
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
below the surface. The following section of Mr. J. M. Chambers's well illustrates the character of the deposits there so far as known :
SECTION OF MR. CHAMBER'S WELL, RATSBURG.
Soil
1 ft. 6 in.
Gray clay
16 ft.
Sand
6 in.
Total
18 ft.
In this locality water is always found in the first layer of sand.
In the vicinity of Slabtown water is obtained at depths varying from twenty to fifty feet. The well of Mr. George Dischman, at that place, presents fairly all that could be ascer- tained regarding the drift in that locality.
SECTION OF GEORGE DISHMAN'S WELL, SLABTOWN.
Soil
2 ft.
Blue clay
30 ft.
Gravel
6 in.
Blue clay
14 ft.
Total
. 46 ft. 6 in.
In the neighborhood of Big Springs, water is abundant in wells at from eight to ten feet below the surface. The surface deposits are soil and gravel, no clay being reached at that depth. Numerous springs throughout this region flow out at the surface of the ground.
At. Rosston water is obtained at from eight to twenty feet below the surface.
SECTION OF AVERAGE WELLS AT ROSSTON.
Soil
1 ft. 6 in.
Red clay
8 ft.
Sand and gravel
1 to 10 ft.
Total
19 ft. 6 in.
At Northfield, water is obtained at from twenty to forty feet below the surface.
1
195
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
SECTION OF AVERAGE WELL AT NORTHFIELD.
Soil 2 ft.
Yellow clay
10 to 20 ft.
Sand or gravel 10 to 20 ft.
Total
42 ft.
The wells at Clarkstown are from fifteen to forty-five feet deep.
SECTION OF AVERAGE WELL AT CLARKSTOWN.
Soil
2 ft.
Yellow clay
. 6 to 10 ft.
Blue clay
10 to 30 ft.
Total
42 ft.
The wells at Zionsville are from twenty to sixty feet in depth.
AVERAGE OF WELLS AT ZIONSVILLE.
Soil 2 ft.
Yellow clay
10 ft.
Blue clay
4 to 10 ft.
Gravel
. 1 to 3 ft.
Blue clay
20 to 40 ft.
Total .
65 ft.
At Royalton water is usually obtained at depths varying from ten to forty feet. Messrs. Foster & Leap, however, had a well bored to the depth of ninety-five feet.
SECTION OF FOSTER & LEAP'S WELL, ROYALTON.
Soil
3 ft. 6 in.
Yellow clay
. 17 ft.
Gravel
5 ft.
Blue clay, with frequent thin layers of sand and
gravel
70 ft. 6 in.
Total
96 ft.
Water is usually procured at Jamestown at depths varying from twenty-five to thirty feet. The deepest well in the town is located at the saw mill.
196
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
SECTION OF WELL AT THE SAW MILL, JAMESTOWN.
Soil .
3 ft.
Yellow clay . 8 ft.
Quick sand 1 ft.
Blue clay 28 ft.
. Gravel
2 ft.
Blue clay
48 ft.
Total
90 ft.
SECTION OF WELL AT THE GRIST MILL, JAMESTOWN.
Soil
0 ft. 8 in.
Yellow clay . 10 ft.
Sand
2 ft.
Blue clay .
. 49 ft.
Total .
61 ft. 8 in.
In digging a well just south of the railroad, near the depot, at Jamestown, a few years ago, a small reservoir of gas was struck which exploded with some force, and burned with some violence, but the flow lasted only a few minutes, when it ceased altogether.
The wells at Brunswick vary from eleven to thirty-five feet in depth.
AVERAGE SECTION OF WELLS AT BRUNSWICK.
Soil .
1 to 2 ft.
Yellow clay or gravel
5 to 10 ft.
Sand and gravel
1 to 3 ft.
Blue clay
4 to 20 ft.
Total
11 to 35 ft.
AVERAGE SECTION OF WELLS AT MILLEDGEVILLE.
Soil .
1 to 2 ft.
Yellow clay or gravel .
5 to 10 ft ..
Gravel and sand . 1 to 10 ft.
Blue clay
5 to 20 ft.
Total
12 to 42 ft.
By digging through the soil and sand in the vicinity of Dover to the depth of seven feet an abundance of water i- found. A short distance north of Dover, on the farm of Mr.
197
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Thomas McDaniel, a well was dug to the depth of twenty-two feet six inches.
SECTION OF THOMAS M'DANIEL'S WELL.
Soil .
1 ft.
Yellow clay
6 ft.
Blue clay
15 ft.
Gravel .
6 in.
Total
22 ft. 6 in.
Mr. Ball, of Thorntown, bored a well for Mr. Gar. Vande- veer, six miles south of Lebanon, in which a large amount of vegetable matter was found in an ancient swamp, now buried sixty-five feet beneath the surface.
SECTION OF MR. VANDEVEER'S WELL.
Soil
2 ft.
Yellow clay
18 ft.
Blue clay
45 ft.
Swamp muck, leaves, twigs, etc.
10 ft.
Blue clay
25 ft.
Sandstone
9 ft.
Total
109 ft.
Three miles north of Thorntown Mr. Ball bored two weils on opposite sides of the road, one of which was for Mr. S. Dukes, and the other was for Mr. Al. Wetherald. The depths of the wells were 185 and 187 feet respectively. The strata were the same in both wells. The following is the
SECTION :
Soil and yellow clay
18 ft.
Quicksand
12 ft.
Blue clay
153 ft. 6 in.
Red sandstone
3 ft. 6 in.
Total .
187 ft.
In the vicinity of the Montgomery County line the thick- ness of the drift is much less than it is in the central part of county. The following section of Mr. Louis Dunbar's well, just over the line in Montgomery County, is about an average
-
198
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
of the wells in that vicinity. The paleozoic rocks are usually reached at a depth of from 20 to 40 feet.
SECTION OF MR. DUNBAR'S WELL.
Soil and yellow clay 20 ft.
Dry white sand 2 ft.
White "sandstone "-probably chert 44 ft.
Total
66 ft.
North of Sugar Creek, in Montgomery County, near the Boone County line, Mr. Ball states that the cherty layers of stone are always found at from 20 to 30 feet below the surface.
SECTION OF WELL ON MR. WM. MILLS' FARM, ONE MILE WEST OF THORNTOWN.
Soil and yellow clay
25 ft.
Quicksand .
3 ft.
Blue clay
80 ft.
Total
108 ft.
On the farm of Mr. Frank Harris, one mile south of Thorn- town, a well was bored to the depth of 132 feet, which showed great thickness of blue clay, which is underlaid by a cemented gravel.
SECTION OF MR. HARRIS' WELL.
Soil and yellow clay
19 ft.
Quicksand .
4 ft.
Blue clay
. 103 ft.
Cemented gravel
6 ft.
Total
132 ft.
West of Thorntown about one and one-half miles is a heavy deposit of dry gravel. The total thickness of the bed is not known. On the farm of Mr. Charles Moffitt a well was dug through 4 feet of soil and 40 feet of gravel, when the work . was discontinued without finding water. At other points in the same locality the gravel is known to be of a very great depth. Also in the vicinity of Lebanon there are numerous thick beds of gravel. Gravel occurs all over the county at
.
199
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
points sufficiently convenient of access to be economically used for road-making.
Sand of good quality for plastering and building purposes and for the manufacture of tiles, brick, etc., is readily obtained in any part of the county. It is often found in beds of great thickness. On the farm of Robert Woody, three and one-half miles west of Thorntown, a stratum of sand fifty-five feet in thickness was passed through in boring a well. The follow- ing is the
SECTION OF MR. WOODY'S WELL.
Soil and yellow clay
18 ft.
Fine white sand
55 ft.
Blue clay
71 ft.
Limestone
3 ft.
Total,
147 ft.
Throughout the northwestern part of the county quicksand almost uniformly occurs under the yellow clay. The thickness of the beds of quicksand varies from two feet to fifteen feet. The yellow clay runs from three to thirty feet in thickness. The section of a well three miles east of Thorntown, near the Union Church, illustrates the character of the deposits throughout that region :
SECTION OF WELL NEAR UNION CHURCH.
Soil and yellow clay
27 ft.
Quicksand
9 ft.
Blue clay
75 ft.
Total,
111 ft.
PALEOZOIC GEOLOGY.
Since no exposure of paleozoic rocks occur in any part of Boone County, any statements concerning the underlying formations and groups would be unreliable and gratuitous. The workmen who continued the bores in wells until the rocks were reached were barely able to distinguish the various kinds of rocks-shales, sandstones or limestones-and from the lim-
200
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES.
ited information obtained from them no sufficient knowledge of the strata was acquired to enable one to form definite or reliable conclusions. However, as limestones underlie the drift in the western part of the county, it is quite likely they are St. Louis or Keokuk-most probably the latter. It is uncertain whether the sandstone reached in a few instances is Knobstone or not. Although no bores have ever touched the rocks underlying the drift in the eastern part of the county, it is altogether probable that they are Devonian. The particles of rock taken from the bores in different parts of the county contained no organic remains so far as observed by the workmen.
ARCHEOLOGY.
There are no walled enclosures in Boone County, nor any mounds of great interest. Occasionally small mounds are seen, but explorations in them have not disclosed any facts other than are generally known concerning these works. Ashes, charcoal, and occasionally implements have been found in them. Granite and flint implements, while not so common as in many other counties, are still frequently found in the county. Mr. Tribbets, of Thorntown, has quite a valuable col- lection of stone implements, collected partly from this county, but principally from Montgomery. There are a few other small collections in the county.
THANKS.
Many courtesies were received from the citizens in general during the progress of the survey, and especially from Dr. Lane and Attorneys Stokes and Wesner, at Lebanon; Dr. Curryer, at Thorntown; Dr. Heady, at Jamestown, and James Dye, at Northfield.
CHURCHES.
EAGLE CREEK REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH.
Located on Eagle Creek. This is the mother of churches in Boone County, being constituted in the year 1829. The following are among the first members: George Dodson, Elizabeth King, Frederick Brendell and wife, John King, Thomas and Polly Dodson, Robert Dodson, Mary Dodson, Samuel Laine and wife, Edward Bradley, David Marsh, John Dulin and wife, Squire Dulin and wife, James Peters and wife, Robert Duly and wife. The first clerk was James Bradly. The first house was a log building, rather rough, but it an- swered the above persons to worship in. A second house was built about the year 1850, this time a frame, costing about $600. Among the early preachers were Isaac Cotton, Benj. Harris, Isaac JJones, George Dodson. Noah Gifford was for many years the church clerk, followed by Bennett Isaacs, Thomas Hand, Benj. Cox, Andrew Harvey. The present clerk is Benj. Shelburn. The society meets every month, keeps up the church organization. Around this old church cluster many pleasant reminiscences of the past. The present preacher is James W. Sherley.
ANTIOC OR POPLAR GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH.
The above church is located in the southwest part of Har- rison Township, and about one and one-half miles south of New Brunswick. A log house was first built here many years
1
202
EARLY LIFE AND TIMES IN
ago (1856) by the M. E. Church, and occupied by them for several years, until they organized at Brunswick, when the Baptist brethren occupied it and organized a church, with the following as some of the first members : George Johnson and wife, William . Joseph and wife, John D. Fear and family, Jacob Dimsmore and wife, Elisha Higgins and wife, Robert Walters and wife, Elizabeth Myers. Among the ministers are the following: John Clemens, Joseph Hoover, John Case, John Joseph, George Dodson, Peter Keeny, Franklin Keeny. The first clerk was Wm. Perkins, the present one J. H. Dims- more. The present house was built in 1867; cost, $1,000; will seat abont four hundred persons. Adjoining on the north and east is the cemetery, which is one of the most popular burying places in the county. Antioc has been for years one of the most popular preaching places in this part of the county. We are indebted to Noah Chitwood and James Myers for the above.
BAPTIST CHURCH AT DOVER.
BY LEWIS DENNEY.
The above society was first organized in 1869, as a joint society, and the house was built as such between the Newlights and Baptists. The house cost fourteen hundred dollars. Ded- icated January, 1870, by Rev. Harry Smith, of Indianapolis. The first trustees on the part of the Newlights were, A. D. Beek and James Irwin, and Jesse Jackson on the part of the Baptists. The Baptists organized March 26, 1870, with six members by letter and three by baptism, Fielding Denny, Luey S. Denny, W. B. Denny, Elizabeth F. Denny, Amanda M. Denny and Grace Dinsmore by letter. Jesse Jackson, Amelda Jackson, Mary J. Custer ( the last one by baptism). Present trustees are W. R. Roberts, William M. Kerns, John F. Campbell. Soon after the organization, the Baptists bought out the interest of the Newlights, paying five hundred dollars for their part of the house. The present deacons are W. R.
203
BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Roberts, W. B. Denny, Wm. Service. Among the pastors are R. B. Craig, C. B. Allen, John F. Cruse, W. K. Williams, H. R. Todd. Present number of members, 110. Clerk and treasurer, E. M. Denny.
SKETCH OF THE ELIZAVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH.
About the year 1850 the Baptist families in and around the village of Elizaville determined on an organization. But not until the 13th day of August, 1853, was an organization effected, when a number of brethren and sisters met at the school house one-half mile south of town for the purpose of organiz- ing a " regular Baptist Church." The council was composed of brethren from the following churches, viz: Freedom, Mid- dlefork of Sugar Creek and Crooked Creek. The council was organized by appointing Brother Dooley Moderator and Dr. A. J. McLeod Clerk, when the following persons became members: Lindsy Powell, Matilda Powell, Harry Harris, Susannah Harris, Henry Padgett and Kitty Jones. Elder John Hawkins was chosen pastor for one year, who appointed Henry Harris clerk. The name of the church was first called " Friend- ship," but in August, 1865, it was changed to that of "Eliza- ville." The society now owns a comfortable house 40x60 feet, which will seat five hundred persons; hold regular meetings ; and the society is kept up and is a power in the neighborhood. It has a membership of nearly fifty. The following pastors have served this church since its organization : John Haw- kins, A. H. Dooly, R. B. Craig, Benj. Daily, C. B. Allen, F. M. Huckleberry, B. A. Melson, B. W. Harmon, J. F. Creams and H: R. Todd. The following have served as deacons: Lindsy Powell, W. C. Wylie, James R. Everman, John Carr, Sydna Marsh and A. S. Campbell. The following have served as church clerks : Harry Harris, Benj. Garrett, William C. Wylie, A. S. Campbell, John Silver, John Carr, Marion Eaton, J. R. Wylie, T. R. Caldwell and Edward Silver. The church here has had upon its rolls some of the best men and women
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