USA > Indiana > Henry County > Hazzard's history of Henry county, Indiana, 1822-1906, Volume II > Part 36
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After the plan was arranged with Miss Fussell in 1880, the county leased the property in Spiceland where the home was kept during its existence. A year later, June 24, 1881, the property was purchased of Edmund and James White for $2,500. It was rented to Miss Fussell at $144 annually for the house and $25 for the ground which consisted of about seven acres. The house and buildings were continually enlarged and improved. The grounds were beautified with flower beds and walks and with fruit trees and garden. Much of the expense of this was borne by. Miss Fussell who frequently contributed from her private purse to the success of her plan and to the welfare of the children. The property acquired by the commissioners, with improvements, grew in value to $4.200. Prior to 1885. the rate per child was raised to thirty cents daily and was so maintained.
Miss Fussell was greatly assisted in her work by her sister. Miss Ada Fus- sell, who served without compensation and greatly improved the education of the children by her kindergarten work. They were taught useful facts and methods of house work and various out door employments. Instructors were provided for them. The care and attention were of the best.
Under the supervision of the founder and her sister, the home continued to flourish. About ninety children had been cared for and at least two thirds of them had found good homes in the county, up to the year 1887. In this year, in April, failing health made necessary the resignation of Miss Fussell as matron. Miss Martha E. Hadley was appointed to the position and filled the same faithfully and efficiently during the continued existence of the home.
On October 31. 1893, a contract was made by the commissioners, with Julia E. Work, superintendent of the Northern Indiana Orphans' Home at Laporte, In- diana. to deliver to her from the Spiceland Home, twenty two children who were to be cared for by her and placed in private homes, she to receive $35 for each child when placed in a private home. This contract annulled a similar one previ- ously made on September, 28, 1893, with the Children's Home Society of Indianap- olis, the latter having been for $50 per child instead of $35.
There had been considerable agitation concerning the expense attached to the care of the children and there was a dissension among the commissioners and inter-
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ested county officers regarding the advisability of maintaining the County Or- phan's Home at Spiceland. The money side prevailed : the conveniences resulting from years of hard and patient work were overlooked ; the congenial surroundings which made the children, happy and content, completely lost their value. It was decided that it would be cheaper for the county to enter into the contract with Mrs. Work.
On December 5, 1893, the commissioners contracted with the German Bap- tist Home at Honey Creek to care for the dependent children of the county, not then transferred to Mrs. Work's Home, at the rate of "five children at forty cents each, daily, ten children at thirty five cents each, daily, fifteen children at thirty cents each, daily, or forty children at twenty five cents each, daily" that institution to be free from taxation while acting as servant of the county. This contract removed the few remaining children from Spiceland and gave the finishing blow to the Home at that place, which had been in existence for more than thirteen years.
The home at Spiceland was sold for a greatly reduced sum in consideration of the improvements made on it and the advantages it offered. The work of a noble woman was brought to naught. Miss Fussell had died before the creation for which she had labored so unsparingly, was wrecked. She was thus spared the pain of seeing her life work destroyed. The Home, which had promised so much for the children and for the county, was no more.
The author of this History acknowledges himself indebted to that noble, charitable woman, a former member of the committee for the Spiceland Orphans' Home, Mrs. Sarah A. R. Boor, for the information contained in this article.
AGED PERSON'S HOME AND ORPHAN ASYLUM FOR THE GERMAN BAPTIST CHURCH OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA.
The beginning of organized effort for the care of aged members and orphan children of the German Baptist Congregation. in the Southern District of Indiana began to be discussed as early as 1881, and the work began to take form about that date, by the circulation of subscription papers in the several congregations of the district and the soliciting of means to secure a site, and funds for building. In 1883, an amount of sufficient importance had been secured to permit of organiza- tion which was effected at a meeting held at Beech Grove in the northern part of Henry County in 1883. Five trustees were selected into whose hands was placed the power of taking out articles of association. The names of the first board of trustees with the length of time for which they were chosen, were as follows : Jacob W. Yost, five years ; James M. Wyatt, four years ; John Hart, three years ; John L. Krall, two years ; Joseph D. Neher, one year.
On March 1, 1883. Jacob W. Yost. James M. Wyatt, and John L. Krall met Jacob P. Miller, on the farm near Honey Creek, Henry County, Indiana, where the home now stands, and completed negotiations for its purchase by which they were to secure one hundred and forty acres of land for the sum of seven thousand dol- lars, four thousand of which was paid in cash, Jacob P. Miller, donating one thousand dollars of this amount.
Articles of association, drawn by Frank W. Fitzhugh, a lawyer of New Cas- tle, were entered into on July 31. 1883, and transcribed into a book which is in pos-
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session of the secretary. The corporate seal as set out in article eight of the above mentioned articles of association was designed by David W. Kinsey and others. The legend "Pro Deo, Ecclesia et Re Publica" (For God, The Church and the State) is understood to have been contributed by Adolph Rogers, of New Castle.
The names subscribed to the articles of association are John Hart, of Beechy Mire, Union County, Indiana ; Jacob W. Yost, Sulphur Springs, Henry County, Indiana, and James M. Wyatt, Hagerstown, Wayne County, Indiana. In Decem- ber of the same year in a district meeting held near the home in the Upper Fall Creek Church, David F. Hoover was selected as one of the trustees instead of Joseph D. Neher, deceased.
In 1886, the first building was erected by Waltz and Thornburgh, of Hagers- town, Indiana, at a cost of $3,000. It did its duty well but was considered insuf- ficient for the growing work and in 1901, a second building was erected, Isaac H. Miller, of Middletown, being the architect, which cost about $2,500, and is fitted out for the aged people and is called "The Home," while the old building is called "The Orphanage."
The first superintendent employed by the trustees was John S. McCarty, of Clarksville, Indiana. He remained at the head of the institution for six years, and was succeeded by John Brunk, of Middletown, Indiana, who held the position for five years. Calvin Hooke succeeded John Brunk but gave over the work to his suc- cessor at the end of one year. A. C. Snowberger took charge of the work in Sep- tember, 1898 and continued for four years, when the present superintendent, Moses Smelzer, of Noblesville, took charge.
The first inmate was Jane Orr, of Ladoga, Montgomery County, Indiana, who entered the home, December 30, 1886, and remained there nearly twelve years. Since she entered many have come and gone for whom the final step of life has been made pleasant and happy in this excellent home. Many poor children have been provided with good homes through the agency of this institution, and twice, the county of Henry has contracted with this home to care for its dependent chil- dren.
In 1899, the General Assembly passed a law forbidding the detention of de- pendents between the ages of three and seventeen years for more than ten days in the County Poor Asylum. In 1901, this was amended, increasing the length of time to sixty days.
The first contract made by the Henry County Commissioners with the Ger- man Baptist Home to care for its children was made December 5, 1803. as hereto- fore stated. On April 10, 1901, the second contract was made by the commis- sioners with the German Baptist Home to care for its dependent children at the rate of twenty five cents per day for each child. This contract continued in force until May 1, 1905, when the Bundy Home at Spiceland, was opened. Part of the chil- dren at the Baptist Home and a few still remaining at Plymouth were taken to Spiceland and owing to the greater convenience of the Spiceland Home, the com- missioners decided to send all future dependents of proper age to that place.
Following the abandonment of the first County Orphan's Home which had been maintained at Spiceland since 1880, the children dependent on the county were in part taken to a home then superintended by Julia E. Work at Laporte, Indiana, who subsequently removed to Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana, and
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has since maintained there the well known Plymouth Home which has grown to such large size. Until April 10, 1901, children continued to be sent to the home of Mrs. Work but the inconvenience of taking children such a distance and the expense attached to the trip decided the board to send all county children to the Baptist institution. Still another advantage sought by the commissioners in mak- ing the change to the Baptist establishment was to give the children the benefit of a more individual attention than could be accorded them in the Plymouth Home which had grown very large. The Baptist home not only offered its cleanliness and well kept apartments as an inducement, but in addition, it could give the children more of the home life than could be given them in the larger place where so much routine and system is necessary.
Thus for years the German Baptist Home has been very closely associated with the other benevolent institutions of the county. Many homeless, children have found here a good residence or through this institution, have been taken into good homes. Its care has always been of the best and the conditions surrounding the home are very pleasant.
The author of this History acknowledges himself indebted to the Reverend David F. Hoover for the information contained in this article. In the opinion of the author, it is owing to the attention and care that David F. Hoover has de- voted to this home that it has reached its present high degree of excellence and has accomplished so much good.
THE BUNDY HOME AT SPICELAND.
On May 1, 1905, for the second time, an institution for the care of orphan and homeless children was opened at Spiceland. The "Children's Home" as it is known, was the result of a joint conference of the commissioners of the counties of Henry and Rush. The joint meeting of the commissioners came after a proposition made hy Mrs. Ella Bundy, formerly in charge of the home at Rushville, to establish a home for the dependent children of the two counties. Spiceland was selected by the commissioners as the most desirable location for such a home, on account of its convenient location and the many advantages offered there for the care of chil- dren.
Acting largely on the advice of the commissioners of the two counties, Mrs. Bundy purchased the Kersey K. Kirk home in the west part of Spiceland, adjoining the academy on the western boundary. It is a fine piece of land particularly adapted for its present use. It contains six acres and has a large house, barn, and other buildings. The property was purchased for $4,000 and Mrs. Bundy has since greatly improved and added to it, at an additional expense of $1,200. Large dormitories have been arranged for the boys and for the girls. Play rooms and other conveniences for the children have been fitted up. The house now contains fourteen rooms.
The commissioners of the counties of Henry and Rush entered into a three year's contract with Mrs. Bundy, after the purchase of the land, to care for all county children between the ages of two and seventeen at the rate of twenty five cents per day, per child, and for all children under that age at the rate of $3.00 per week. For this price, Mrs. Bundy feeds, clothes, educates and otherwise exer-
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cises maternal care over the children, doctoring them when ill, at her own expense. save in case of contagious disease.
The place was bought on March 2, 1905, and was opened for the reception of the children on May Ist. At present there are twenty five children under the care of Mrs. Bundy. Seventeen of these are boys and eight are girls. Twelve of the children are from Henry County and thirteen are from Rush. They range in age from nine months to fifteen years.
Practically the entire ground surrounding the house, with the exception of nearly an acre, which is in grass and is used for a play ground, is under cultivation. Mrs. Bundy raises a great variety of fruits and vegetables and interests the children in the cultivation so that they all have some little task to do each day and not only keep out of mischief but are benefited by the knowledge they gain. The children are also taught in a general way, the work of caring for the house, so that in a short time they acquire a knowledge of practical things which will always be of use to them. The children are kept clean and are apparently happy. Their food is of the best and their dining quarters are light, airy and very clean. Their dormitories and beds are extremely neat and as comfortable as the most fastidious could de- sire.
Only one inconvenience is now noticeable in the home, this being the ease with which parents from either county may come to see their children. The tendency of such visits is to make the children homesick and dissatisfied. Parents, in some cases too, are inclined to have their children cared for at the expense of the county, if they can see them frequently, whereas if the visit was not so convenient, they would care for them themselves. This difficulty will be overcome soon, however. by the strict enforcement of a ruling limiting the number and frequency of the visits of the parents.
COUNTY BOARD OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS.
The following, from section one of an act passed in 1899, by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, for the purpose of providing "Boards of County Charities and Corrections," resulted in the appointment, June 19, 1902, of such a board in the county of Henry, by Judge William O. Barnard, then presiding.
"Be it enacted that in each county of the State the judge of the circuit court may, and upon the petition of fifteen reputable citizens, shall appoint six persons not more than three of whom shall be of the same political party or belief. and not more than four of whom shall be men, who shall constitute a Board of County Charities and Corrections, to serve without compensation, two of whom, as indicated by the judge of the circuit court, shall serve for one (I) year, two for two (2) years, and two for three (3) years, and upon the resignation or ex- piration of the term of each, his or her successor shall in like manner be appointed for the term of three (3) years."
The members of this board as constituted by Judge Barnard were John H. Hewitt living east of New Castle, Benjamin S. Parker, and Mrs. Julia A. Loer of New Castle, Mrs. Anna D. Welsh of Middletown, William S. Moffat of Ken- nard, and Mrs. Richard Wagoner of Knightstown. Mr. Parker and Mrs. Loer served the full three years. Mr. Hewitt and Mrs. Wagoner were appointed for the two-year term. Mr. Moffat and Mrs. Welsh were assigned to the short term,
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one year. Up to the present time, all members of the board have been re- appointed at the expiration of their respective terms by Judge Barnard's successor, Judge John M. Morris.
The law providing for the creation of the board, directs that a chairman and secretary shall be elected at the first meeting of the board which shall be "within one week after receiving the notice of appointment." At the present time and since the board was organized, the officers have been John H. Hewitt, Chair- man, and Mrs. Anna D. Welsh, Secretary.
This board acts as "the eyes and ears of the county." It has no executive power. Its duties consist in visiting the various lockups, county poor asylum, orphan's home, jail, "and any other charitable or correctional institutions, receiv- ing support from public funds, that may exist in the county . . . at least once each quarter," and reporting to the county commissioners once each quarter the results of such visits and investigations. Similar reports are transmitted to the state board of charities which at all times acts as an advisory board and in some measure directs the work and actions of the county board.
The chief benefit of the board is in the publicity it is empowered and author- ized to give to the methods used in conducting the county benevolent institutions, and to the condition in which it finds them. It acts as an advisor to the county commissioners and at all times may report to the commissioners such plans for improvement or remedy as it deems advisable. It tends to act as a check on carelessness or mis-management on the part of county officers having charge of these institutions.
The law provides that "the county council in each county shall appropriate and the board of county commissioners shall allow, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) each year for the actual expenses of said Board of County Charities and Corrections." The economy of the Henry County board is apparent from the fact that the entire expense of the board for the term of its existence has not yet exceeded twenty dollars. The amount is trifling when compared with the possi- bilities for good which exist in this board.
CHAPTER XL.
THE FIRST COURTS AND FIRST ATTORNEYS.
THE FIRST MEETING PLACE OF THE COURTS-THE COMMISSIONERS' COURT -- AP- POINTMENT OF THE FIRST COUNTY AGENT-THE BOARD OF JUSTICES-THE CIRCUIT COURT-THE GRAND JURY-EARLY PRESENTMENTS-EARLY TRIALS -FIRST ATTORNEYS.
The act of the General Assembly organizing the county of Henry provided that the "Circuit Court and all other courts shall meet and be holden at the house of Joseph Hobson, until suitable accommodation can be had at the county seat." The same act, however, provided that the Circuit Court might, if in its wisdom it deemed it advisable, remove to some more suitable place.
COMMISSIONERS' COURT.
In accordance with these provisions, the Commissioners' Court assembled "at the house of Joseph Hobson" on June 10, 1822, and we find the following as the first record of an official character ever made in the county of Henry :
"June Term for the year 1822.
"At a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, in and for the County of Henry, State of Indiana, on Monday, the 10th day of June, A. D. 1822, present Allen Shep- herd and Samuel Goble, Esqrs., who produced their respective certificates and were sworn into office by Jesse Healey, Esq., Sheriff of the county aforesaid, as is required by the Con- stitution and laws of this State."
As the Commissioners meant business, their first act, after taking the oath of office, was the appointment of Rene Julian, Clerk of the Board, he being the Clerk of the Circuit Court elect, and the second order reads :
"Ordered by the Board, that the Court adjourn until to-morrow morning at ten o'clock. (Signed),
"ALLEN SHEPHERD, "SAMUEL GOBLE."
Elisha Shortridge, who was doubtless elected at the same time as Shepherd and Goble, did not put in an appearance until the July term, when he "appeared and presented his credentials in due form," and now Goble was absent, from some cause not mentioned. From time to time the record shows that the Board met "at the house of Joseph Hobson" until the May term, 1823, following, when it
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met at the house of Charles Jamison, in New Castle. Of Charles Jamison, Judge Martin L. Bundy furnishes the only information obtainable which is as follows :
"The house of Charles Jamison was a double cabin, built of round logs, which stood flush with the south side of what is now Church Street, about half way between Main and Twelfth streets, which locates it in rear of the Nixon residence, and diagonally southeast, and across the street from the Presbyterian Church. I do not remember when it disappeared. It was probably built in 1820 and was the first house ever built on the town site of New Castle. It was a most convenient place for the transaction of the business of the new county of Henry, because there was no other house in New Castle.
"Charles" Jamison was a small man physically, and was about the size of the late Andrew Nicholson. I do not know from what State he emigrated, probably, however from Tennessee, which was the State from which his son-in-law, Isaac Bedsaul, came. I do not remember his wife, but her daughter, Polly Bedsaul, who died of cholera in 1833, I remember very well, she being so kind to me when I was a small boy. I do not think Charles Jamison had any sons. He died, I think, at the house of Henry Courtney, two miles southeast of New Castle, about 1836. I do not know that he had any regular occupation, and he was rather too old to work when I knew him."
The Board met in June, July, August, and November, 1823, and yet the records of their doings fill but eighteen small pages, while the proceedings of three terms are crowded into eight pages, each one of which was about twice as large as this page. The adopted court house was a "second-hand cabin," which had been moved up from the bottom, west of town, and was, perhaps, twelve by sixteen or sixteen by eighteen feet square, and without chinking or daubing.
The second day of the first term seems to have been a busy day, as William Shannon, Dilwin Bales, and Abraham Heaton were appointed superintendents of several school sections. Shannon was also made Treasurer and John Dorrah was appointed Lister of the county. A poll tax of twenty five cents was levied for county purposes, and Dudley, Wayne, Henry and Prairie townships were created, and elections were ordered to be held in each. Inspectors were appointed for each, after which the Board adjourned "until the first Monday in July next" (1823).
The act of the General Assembly organizing the county provided for the appointment of an agent for the county, who was to receive donations of grounds made for the purpose of a county seat, buildings, etc. The July term was called for the purpose of appointing such agent, and "the lot fell upon" Ezekiel Leavell, of whom biographical mention is made in connection with the location of New Castle. He was duly charged with the duty of superintending the sale of town lots in the New Castle that was to be, the making of deeds, and, in addition, when a court house, a jail, or a stray pen was to be constructed, the Agent was ordered to "offer for sale to the lowest bidder, in the town of New Castle, the building of the court house of Henry County," or the erecting of a "pound, com- monly called a stray pen," or the "jail of Henry County," as the case might be.
The Commissioners' Court was a very important institution in early times. Treasurers, Collectors, Listers, Constables, Pound-keepers, Supervisors, Road- viewers, County Agents, Township Agents, Superintendents of school sections
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(section sixteen of every Congressional township was set aside for school purposes, and the proceeds of the subsequent sale of these sections, is the foundation of our present common school fund), County Commissioners, County Surveyors, Inspectors, etc., were all the creatures of this body. It not only was the keeper of the public funds, levied or remitted the taxes, made the allowances of the other officers, but granted permits to "keep tavern," "keep store," "keep grocery," or "peddle clocks," and with equal facility fixed the price of "liquors, lodgings, horse feed, and stabling." The early commissioner seemed equally at home, whether allowing the treasurer fifteen dollars for his annual services, or regulating the cost of a half pint of whisky, quart of cider or "gallon of oats or corn."
BOARD OF JUSTICES.
On January 31, 1824, the General Assembly enacted that the Justices of the Peace for the several counties should constitute a "Board of Justices" for the transaction of "county business," with all the powers and duties heretofore exer- cised by the commissioners. It was made the duty of "each and every justice in the several townships to meet" at the seat of Justice on the first Monday in Sep- tember following, "and then and there to organize themselves into a County Board of Justices, by electing one of their body President," &c., "and to meet on the first Monday of January, March, May, July, September, and November, in each and every year," at such time, unless the circuit court happened to be in ses- sion on that day, in which case they were to meet on the Monday after its ad- journment. Any three of these justices were competent to transact business, ex- cept at the May and November terms, when it should require at least five mem- bers, and a less number than a quorum could meet from day to day and compel the attendance of others.
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