USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 11
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There are now in the county from 1,000 to 1.200 (esti- mated) gas wells, one-third of which are owned by non-resi- dent companies. Thousands of acres of land have been leased by these companies and a vast amount of gas is piped outside the county annually, principally to Indianapolis and Chicago. As the reader of these pages hereafter may be interested in knowing the extent of the three gas fields of the United States, their areas are given as follows: Ohio, forty-two square miles ; Pennsylvania, 100 square miles ; Indiana, 5.120 square miles.
CHAPTER XXI.
INTERESTING MISCELLANY CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY-EXPRESSES CONTEMPT FOR THE WOLVES.
Before the country became thickly settled, and when the people in Madison county lived in the woods hewing from the forests their homes and future habitations, one of the greatest menaces to the happiness of the pioneer and his flocks were the wolves, which were both numerous and ravenous. They roamed at will over the country and committed many depreda- 'tions in the way of killing sheep and young hogs, and were at times dreaded by the farmer, when he chanced to meet one alone. So bad did they become that it was a necessity for them to be dealt with by those in power whose duty it was to protect the peace and dignity of the State, and to preserve the happiness of the inhabitants thereof. At the March term 1844, of the Board of Commissioners they made the following unique order in relation to his wolfship, and openly declared war against him :
"Upon petition of many of the good and worthy citizens of Madison county, be it resolved : That for the utter con- tempt and long hatred which we have had towards that perni- cious animal that prowls around our farms and kills our sheep, and being duly impressed that the good of the county requires that a reward should be given for the eradication of the same, we therefore offer a reward of one dollar for every wolf scalp that may be killed in this county and properly proven for the term of one year from this date."
This resolution it is supposed had the effect to put all the trappers and hunters on the war path at once, as at subse- quent sessions of the Board many allowances were made for scalps produced. It is told by one old timer that an individual who then lived in the county thought it easier to raise wolves than to spend his time and endanger his life hunting them, so he provided himself with a pair of these animals and bred them and sold the scalps to the Commissioners. This he car-
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ried on for quite a while until the scheme was discovered, when his business was broken up.
Willis Odem, who is still remembered by many of the old- timers of Anderson township, did considerable business in the way of selling wolf scalps to tax payers while the above order was in effect. About the time taxes were due, Willis would come to Anderson with a basket on his arm filled with wolf scalps which he would dispose of to tax payers at a discount, thereby realizing something for himself as well as the tax- payer. During tax-paying time he was a familiar figure about the court house until the wolves in the county had disap- peared.
AN OLD TIME CRIMINAL.
At the September session, 1839, the Commissioners made the following orders in relation to the capture of John Flinn for the crime of murder, and conveying him to Indianapolis :
" Ordered that Alfred Makepeace, constable of Anderson township, be allowed three dollars and fifty cents for his serv- ices in taking John Flinn on charge of murder."
" Ordered that G. W. Remiker and W. B. Adams be al- lowed each the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for their serv- ices in assisting in taking John Flinn."
" Ordered that Wm. Myers be allowed the sum of eight- een dollars and thirty-one cents for money paid as stage agent for the conveyance of John Flinn and his guard by stage to Indianapolis."
" Ordered that Joseph Howard and John Lewark each be allowed the sum of two dollars and eighty-seven cents for removing John Flinn to Indianapolis, Indiana."
** Ordered that John Rogers, jailor of Henry county, be allowed two hundred dollars for keeping. boarding, washing and making fires in the said jail for John Flinn and other prisoners of Madison county."
Madison county at that time did not have a jail sufficiently secure in which to incarcerate criminals guilty of important violations of the laws.
The allowance for taking Flinn to Indianapolis was for. taking him there for safe keeping.
This occurrence took place so long ago that it has almost faded from the recollection of the oldest living inhabitants. There is none who can give a correct account of who it was that Flinn killed.
Mathias B. Hughel is of the opinion that he was arrested
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for the murder of a man of the name of Perrine, a contractor on the canal, employed in the construction of the branch that extended west of Anderson. Perrine mysteriously disappeared and his body was afterwards found along the river not far from where the farm of Joseph Burke is situated, on what is now known as the Perkinsville pike.
Augustus M. Williams corroborates Mr. Hughel, and says that Flinn killed Perrine by drowning him ; by jumping on him and bearing him down in the water in White river and leaving his body, which afterward floated down to the place where it was discovered.
Mr. Williams says that Perrine was also a contractor on the canal, and there was a misunderstanding existing between the two men which led to the crime. He also says that Flinn was tried at Newcastle on change of venue, for the crime. The allotment on the canal on which Flinn was engaged at the time was near what is known as the Wise farm between Perkinsville and Hamilton. Dr. John Darr, one of the early physicians of Newcastle, was made an allowance for medical aid to Flinn.
THE FIRST NURSERY IN MADISON COUNTY.
The first nursery in the county was established in Ander- son by Benjamin Collins in 1853 on the ground lying between the Big Four railroad and Thirteenth street, on what is now south Jackson street.
He operated this for several years and sold it to Silas HIughel, his brother-in-law, who has continued in the business since on Ohio avenue, and on his farm northeast of the city.
J. C. Lee purchased the old nursery ground and laid it out as Lee's addition to Anderson, and it is now covered with handsome residences.
RESIGNS THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
It is an old saying that " a public officer seldom dies and never resigns." This, like all rules, has its exceptions. Joseph Howard, who was Auditor of Madison county back in the '40s resigned on the Bd of September, 1844.
Ile had been elected to fill that place by the people and had served his time nearly half out when, owing to a misun- derstanding with Jesse Forkner, one of the county commis- sioners, about a claim against the county for services, he, in a passion, resigned. Howard was a Democrat, and Forkner
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
was a Whig. There was not the best of feeling existing between them and it took but little to bring about the state of affairs that led to the result in this instance.
Mr. Howard's resignation is copied in the record as fol- lows :
. " To whom these presents may come, greeting: Know ye, that I, Joseph Howard, have this day resigned my office as Auditor of Madison county. Given under my hand this 3d day of September, 1844. JOSEPH HOWARD."
The resignation was promptly accepted and on the same day R. N. Williams was appointed his successor, and filled out Howard's unexpired term. Mr. Howard did not relinquish his hold on the people, but was afterward elected county Treas- urer, and also served as Sheriff of the county. He was a prom- inent and influential politician, and a prosperous business man in Anderson for many years. He was the father of T. A. Howard, so well known in this county, and also of Mrs. G. D. Searle, now of Chicago.
Mr. Howard died a few years ago universally esteemed by all who knew him. His widow now lives in Los Angeles, Cal. A daughter also lives in Richmond, Ind., the wife of ex-mayor Perry Freeman, of that city.
KEPT THEIR OFFICES IN A SHOE SHOP.
Away back in the days of coon skins and hard cider the county of Madison was not the best fixed county in the State in regard to public buildings. The offices were kept in private buildings away from the court house, and it seems that the public held such a grip on the temple of justice that it was used for nearly every thing besides what it was intended for. and the County Commissioners had much trouble in restricting the use of it.
.At the September session, 1844. the board made the fol- lowing order : " The board of commissioners have rented from John Galimore, the house now occupied as a shoe shop, for the term of one year, ordered that the clerk and auditor re- move their respective offices to said building, and that the court house be ' procured' by W. B. Allen, sheriff, to be cleaned out and put in good repair, and that the sheriff be re- quired to lock the same and keep it closed, excepting upon public occasions."
At that time there was no public hall in Anderson, and the court house was used for all kinds of entertainments,
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shows, school exhibitions and as a place of worship, and for holding singing schools which were much in vogue at that period.
At a previous term of court held in September, 1841, the Board made a similar order as follows :
" Resolved by the board that S. H. Brattain be allowed to occupy the northwest room up stairs in the court house for one year, upon condition that he will keep the same in repair, and he is hereby authorized to prohibit the holding of religious meetings or schools of any kind in the court house for the pre- sent year. provided, however, that traveling preachers may be allowed to preach in said building."
THE FIRST APPROPRIATION FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.
The first money appropriated by Madison county for the purpose of encouraging agriculture was ordered by the Board of Commissioners on the 7th of March, 1837, as recorded in the minutes of said court, as follows :
" Ordered by the board, that the sum of twenty-five dollars of the county funds be, and the same is hereby ap- propriated to the agricultural society of said county, which sum shall be audited by the clerk, and paid by the county treasurer to the president of said society."
ONCE RECORDER.
Isaac T. Sharp, who was a brother of Townsend Sharp, the father of Joseph and Isaac C. Sharp, and Mrs. James Wellington, of Anderson, mention of whom is elsewhere made, was for a short time recorder of deeds of Madison county, by appointment. The order of the County Commis- sioners made in the matter appears in their September session, 1838, as follows :
" Ordered that Isaac T. Sharp be, and he is hereby ap- pointed recorder of Madison county, until the 25th day of October next, to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resigna- tion of Robert N. Williams."
ASSOCIATE JUSTICES.
Among the many who have served in the capacity of as- sociate justice of the Madison circuit court, none were more prominent than Judges Uriah Van Pelt and William Prigg. They were members of the court in the latter days of its ex- istence, when the county had assumed the proportions of a large and cultured population : when litigation was more of
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an important nature than when the country was new and un- developed, when any one who could muster the requisite number of votes to be elected was thought to be competent to fill this position. These two gentlemen filled their places on the bench with dignity. and with honor to themselves and their constituency. The Board of Commissioners made the following allowance at the September session, 1844. to these two judges for their services. at the close of the term of court :
"Ordered, that U'riah Van Pelt and William Prigg be each allowed the sum of three dollars and a half per day, for eleven days' services as associate judges of the circuit court."
Judge Van Pelt wis the father of Samuel D. Van Pelt and Capt. Frank Van Pelt, and also of Mrs. David E. Croan, all well known in this county. Judge Prigg enjoyed a large acquaintance in the southern part of the county, and has yet many friends and relatives living in the community.
The associate justice's office was done away with under the Constitution of 1852, since which time one judge presides at the sittings of the court.
Judges Prigg and Van Pelt were warm personal friends during their incumbency in office. Judge Prigg lived quite a distance from Anderson, and was always a guest at the Van . Pelt home during the sittings of the court.
THE HUSKING BEE.
In early times, when neighbors were miles apart and help was scarce, it was a job of no small importance to take care of the crops in the fall of the year after they had been raised.
In order to prepare the corn for market after it had been gathered from the fields the neighbors for several miles around would gather at the home of a friend and assist him in shuck- ing his corn, which he had previously gathered from the stalks by pulling the ears off in the husk. These gathering, were called " husking bees."
Those who attended were invited by the one who needed the assistance, and to go to one of these without an invitation was a breach of etiquette of which no one could afford to be guilty.
They were most enjoyable affairs, and the many happy hours thus spent by the pioneers can never again be realized.
The participants generally chose sides under the leader- ship of a captain on either side, and the winners made a great ado over a victory won in the contest.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
The old and young alike took part in the work and en- joyed together the sports of the occasion.
The first red ear husked by a lady was laid aside until a gentleman in the party found one; then the lady had to un- dergo the ordeal of being kissed by the gentleman. This was sometimes a pleasant task, especially if the two happened to be lovers. On the contrary, if the opposite was the case, it was not so well relished; but it was the height of impolite- ness not to comply with the established custom.
The most of the corn husking was done in the barn by the young people, while the old folks were preparing a sumptuous meal at the cabin. A good article of whisky was generally on hand, and the party partook of a sufficient amount to become hilarious, but not drunk, although there was always some one in such a crowd, as there would be in the present time, who would become tipsy. .
After the husking was over the crowd would repair to the house and partake of what would now be termed a ban- quet, spread by the ladies of the neighborhood, and such a feast as it was is too good to think about. Country-cured ham, home-made molasses, lye hominy, honey dripping from the comb. pumpkin pie and sweet milk, Johnny cake, corn- dodger, venison, hard cider and red apples, home-made sau- sage, and in fact everything that the good old mothers could think of to prepare for such an occasion.
Supper over, the tables were cleared away. and the "country fiddler," who was invariably on hand, began to tune up, and the merry dance set in and was kept up till daylight next morning.
The enjoyment of such a scene cannot be imagined by one who never witnessed it. To undertake to describe it would be a useless task.
We have said enough here to put the old-timer's head to whirling as he reads these pages and wanders back in his im- agination to the time when he anxiously hustled to get the red ear when he saw the apple of his eye husk out the first one of the evening.
People may now be more polished in manners and live on a higher plane, but certainly are not better. not purer or more generous than they of the good old days of the husking bee.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
THE DAYS OF THE STAGE COACH.
The present generation who enjoy the luxury of being transported to and from different parts of the country behind the swift. snorting steam horse, snugly seated in a parlor car, know but little about the vexations of the carly mode of travel in a stage coach, and in fact there are many now living in Mad- ison county who never saw a stage coach. Fifty years ago this was the only way of traveling to and from distant points.
The leading State roads that traversed the country were stage routes, and the United States mails were carried over them, generally by contract with the owners of the stage line, much the same as the railways now transport the mails.
The arrival and departure of the stage coach at the towns and villages along the routes was a thing looked to with more anxiety than the witnessing of a circus parade at the present time.
The last stage coach that ever ran in Madison county was owned by William G. Pittsford, and made its last appear- ance in Anderson in 1867. Mr. Pittsford was then the owner of the line from Anderson to Marion via Alexandria and Jonesboro. He had a contract with the government to carry the mails, and also with the American Express company to transport their freight between these places. and made a trip each way every alternate day. He also had the contract for the same service as far north as Wabash. but sublet it from Marion north to other parties. This stage line was owned prior to the war by Oliver H. P. Carey, of Marion, who vol- unteered his services at the breaking out of the rebellion. and became Lieutenant Colonel of the Thirty-sixth Indiana regi- ment of volunteers, under Col. William Grose of Newcastle, who afterwards became a general in the army.
Mr. Pittsford during his ownership of the line had for his partners at different times, Mr. Richard J. Hunt and Samuel Pence.
Among many who once were drivers on this line were A. J. Hunt, R. J. Hunt, William Mc Atee, Samuel Hunt and Mar- shall Bonner. William McAtee drove the last stage coach into Anderson in 1867. The building of a railroad through Marion from cast to west gave them an outlet for travel to Indianapolis and other places, and cut off the mail contract and passenger travel to such an extent that it was no longer profitable and the stagecoach became a thing of the past, and gave way to a hack
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of small dimensions, which did service between Anderson and Jonesboro, until the building of the C. W. & M. railroad in 1876, when the line was discontinued. The last owner of the property was Mr. Walker Winslow of Jonesboro.
The old stage line transported the first company of sol- diers from Marion that went into the service from that place, to Anderson, where they took passage on the railroad for In- dianapolis, where they went into camp.
At a place on the State road near where Summitville now stands, was a staging station, and point to change horses and fced.
For many years the post office, at the corner of Eighth and Meridian streets, in Anderson, was where the stage " hauled " up when it arrived, invariably being greeted by a large crowd of anxious people, waiting to see who was on board. The Myers House was for years the popular hotel with the traveling public, and was patronized by the passengers of the stage line. It was kept by William Myers, mention of whom is elsewhere made. Later the Ross House and the Burke Allen House were headquarters for the stage traveling public. Both have given way to more pretentious hotels, but the hospitality of these old time hostleries will never be surpassed ; they were the homes of the traveler in every sense of the word.
Summitville, Alexandria and Prosperity were all stopping places in this county on the line, and when the blast of the stage driver's bugle sounded giving warning of the coming of that important vehicle of travel and commerce, the popula- tion of these villages turned out en masse to witness its arrival and departure.
In the early spring months it was almost impossible to travel over a portion of the route, and in some instances it became necessary to abandon the stage coach for days at a time and traverse the route with a cart with two horses hitched to it to carry the mails, as they had to go through, at all all hazards.
Mr. Pittsford relates that in the spring of 1865, it was so muddy that he drove over the entire route with the front wheels of a wagon on which was placed a queensware crate which served as a receptacle for mail and express matter, and that the only passenger he hauled in the period of three weeks was a Methodist minister who came to Anderson to attend conference.
Congressmen, United States Senators and men of mili-
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tary renown have been passengers on this stage line. It was the only outlet north for many years, and was patronized by all, high and low.
A stage driver was one of the envied of all envious peo- ple, and was generally foremost of all in the social world. Many a boy while plowing corn along the highway where the stage coach passed has looked upon the driver and wished for the day to come when he could leave the farm and become a stage driver.
Mr. Pittsford's first experience as a stage driver was at Stockton, California, where he was in the employ of a com- pany driving across the plains and mountain ranges in an early day.
The hand of progress has made the stage coach a thing only in history, the locomotive has driven it out of existence. What disposition electricity will make of the locomotive is left for the future to unfold.
THE FIRST BRIDGE IN THE COUNTY.
Until the year 1842 no effort was made to bridge White river so that the people could pass and repass from north to south through the county during times of high water, which occurred much oftener in the early times than at present, on account of the country not being drained, and the timbered lands being covered with surface water most of the year, especially in the early spring. Almost every season we had what was termed the " January thaw," when the snows began to melt in the latter part of that month and the first part of February, which caused the little streams all over the country to be much swollen, and their waters emptying into White river caused it to become impassable during those periods. A ferry boat was for many years maintained at Anderson upon which the populace crossed in going to and from market to sell their produce. At the March session of the Board of Commissioners, 1842, a move was put on foot to place a bridge across the river. The Board made the following order appropriating money for that purpose.
"Ordered, that $600 of the 3 per cent. fund belonging to Madison county be appropriated to the constructing and build- ing of a bridge across White river where the Fort Wayne and Andersontown road crosses the same, or as near as a good situation can be had, and William Sparks, Willis G. Atherton, Paschal Baker, John Renshaw and William 9
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.
Young are hereby appointed superintendents of said bridge, and they are empowered to raise funds by subscriptions, and they shall make report to this board."
Thus the matter rested until at the December session, 1842, when the superintendents aforesaid came into open court and informed the Board of Commissioners that they had failed to agree as to the proper place to locate the bridge, and resigned their places.
At this time the County Board made the following entry after accepting the resignation of the superintendents :
" Ordered, that the board of commissioners now take the responsibility upon themselves, and now proceed to locate the bridge at, or near, the lime kiln, below the termination of the bluff at the northeast corner of the plot of Anderson- town."
The Board afterward let the contract to Henry and Hugh Rogers to build the structure, which was evidently not com- pleted for quite a while, as no final settlement was made for the work until the September session, 1846, when they were paid $300 as the balance due them on their contract, all of which appears of record. At the same session that the ap- propriation was made for this bridge, a similar one was made for the purpose of the erection of a bridge across Fall creek, at Pendleton.
The bridge at Anderson was washed away during the high water season in January, 1847, an account of which is elsewhere given. The pier on the west side of the river, upon which this bridge stood, is still intact, and is situated not far from the foot of Sixth street, close to the Norton brewery. It has served for half a century as a place from which the boys who resort to the " old swimmin' hole," dive into the river. There is not an " old " boy in Anderson scarcely, who has not plunged into the clear and beautiful waters from this pier. There are men in Madison county who are now gray-headed, who have in their boyhood days dived into the river from this place.
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