Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the., Part 3

Author: Forkner, John L. (John La Rue), 1844-1926
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Anderson, Ind. : Forkner
Number of Pages: 1055

USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 3

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

It will be seen from the foregoing that Madison county included all of what is now Hancock county and only so much of its present territory north of the White river as lies south of the north lines of LaFayette and Richland townships. With the formation of other counties adjoining the territory designated as the county of Madison the boundaries desig- nated in the original act were changed by subsequent legisla- tive enactments until the county boundaries were established as we find them to-day.

CHAPTER V.

FORMAL ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY-CIRCUIT COURT ORGANIZED-FIRST PUBLIC BUSINESS.

The county was formally organized November, 10, 1823, at the house of William McCartney, within the limits of what is now the town of Pendleton, in accordance with the provi- sions of the foregoing act. The house of Mr., or " Major " McCartney, as he was usually called by the early pioneers, was constructed of logs and was situated on the lot where the Universalist Church now stands. It had two rooms, and in one of these the county was organized and the first term of the Madison Circuit Court was begun and held. John Roberts, sheriff of Marion county, who had been appointed by the Leg- islature to conduct the organization of the county, was present to discharge the duties of his office. The record shows that on this occasion "Samuel Holliday and Adam Winsell presented their commissions as associate judges, they having been appointed as such by the governor of the State, William Hen- dricks. On each commission was endorsed the certificate of John Roberts, sheriff of Marion county, certifying that the person it was issued to had taken an oath to support the Con- stitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Indiana, an oath of office, and also the oath against dueling." The next commission presented was that of Moses Cox, as clerk, upon which was indorsed a certificate that he had taken the proper oath of office. Samuel Cory next presented his com- mission as sheriff of the county, upon which was indorsed the proper certificate entitling him to enter upon the discharge of his official duties. After these commissions had been received, Sheriff Roberts proclaimed that " the Madison Circuit Court is now open, according to law."

After the court had been organized, it appears of record that " Daniel B. Wick is now admitted as an attorney and counselor at law at the bar of the court. And it appearing satisfactorily to the court that his license is signed by two of the presidents, judges of the State of Indiana, and that the

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

oath prescribed by law is endorsed thereon, he is therefore admitted as an attorney and counselor at law in this court." Mr. Wick then moved " that Calvin Fletcher and James Gil- more be admitted as members of this bar as attorneys and counselors at law." They were admitted, accordingly, after being sworn by the clerk, and their names enrolled as members of the Madison county bar. These gentlemen have the dis- tinction of being the first attorneys admitted to practice their profession in the courts of Madison county.

The next business of the court was the impaneling of a grand jury. The sheriff returned the venire issued to him by the clerk, and announced the names of the grand jurors as follows : Isaac Jones, John Rogers, Captain John Montgom- ery, Charles Tharp, Jacob B. Hiday, Jacob Shaul, George Stockton, John Berry, Samuel Vangilder, John Russell, George Cunningham, Saul Shaul, John Montgomery. Henry Sybert, Nathaniel Richmond, Isaac Smith, Frederick Bron- nenberg, Sr., and John T. Bridge, the last named being one of the men who was subsequently hanged for the murder of the Indians in what afterwards became Adams township. It will be noticed that eighteen names were announced by the sheriff, but it is probable that only twelve of the venire served as jurors. John Berry was appointed foreman of this jury and James Gilmore prosecuting attorney by the court.

The first case on the docket for trial was that of Henry Nicholson vs. George Stockton, action and assumpsit, which was continued until the next term. The first case submitted for trial was that of Conrad Crosely vs. Andrew Sawyer, for slander. The case was tried by jury and a verdict returned, but the clerk neglected to record it.

The first indictment returned by the grand jury was against one of its own members, Jacob B. Hiday, for assault and battery. Mr. Hiday pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined six and one-quarter cents by the court. This completed the business of the first term of the Madison circuit court.

The second session began on the 8th of April. 1824, at the house of William McCartney, the business being con- conducted by the associate judges. in the absence of the presi- dent judge.

Oliver H. Smith, afterwards elected United States Sen- ator ; Charles H. Test. Lot Bloomfield. James Bloomfield, James B., and Martin M. Ray. Josiah F. Polke. Philip Sweet- zer and William R. Morris were admitted to practice in this

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

court. The grand jury at this term consisted of Amasa Make- peace. Saul Shaul, William Young. Moses Corwin, John Su- man, Isaac Williams, Samuel Hull, and James Montgomery. Amasa Makepeace was selected as foreman of the jury. After the jury had been empaneled, the prosecuting attorney, James Gilmore, asked that the court appoint Cyrus Ferich as assist- ant prosecutor, which was accordingly done. It was this grand jury that returned bills of indictment against John T. Bridge, John Bridge, Andrew Sawyer, James Hudson and Thomas Harper for the murder of the Indians, to which reference has before been made. Two witnesses, Andrew Jones and Ste- phen Sawyer, were required to enter into bond in the sum of $800, with approved security. for their appearance in court to testify when the indicted parties should be tried. The indicted men, excepting Harper, had been arrested and imprisoned in a jail built of logs hewed square, so that each timber fitted close to the one upon which it rested. There was but one door and no windows in the structure. It was guarded night and day from the moment the murderers were placed within its rude walls. That the wants of the guards were not neg- lected appears from the following order of court : " Thomas McCartney is allowed the sum of $5 for furnishing whiskey and corn for the use of the guards." The following order was also made at this term of court : " Charles Tharp is allowed the sum of $35 for impaneling a jury and holding an inquest on the bodies of certain Indians found dead in Madison county."

CHAPTER VI.

CONCERNING THE LOCATION OF THE SEAT OF JUSTICE-JOHN BERRY'S PROPOSITION - MORE LEGISLATION-PENDLE- TON - ANDERSON SELECTED. -

Immediately following the enabling act of the General Assembly authorizing the organization of the county, John Berry, one of the first settlers to locate at Anderson, made a proposition to the commissioners, designated in the act, to meet at the house of William McCartney on the first Monday in September. 1823, and select a seat of justice: to donate certain lands at Anderson for that purpose. What the con- ditions of this proposition were are not known, but it is evi- dent that they were not satisfactory to all concerned, as the commissioners met as directed and considered the matter, but failed to select a county seat.

In the meantime justice was administered at Pendleton, by the Associate Judges. Madison county was within the limits of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, the president judge being Hon. William W. Wick. The Associate Judges for the coun- ty. at that time, as has been stated, were Samuel Holliday and Adam Winsell. Subsequent legislation placed the county in the Third Judicial Circuit. and Judge Eggleston became the President Judge, presiding at the trials of Sawyer and the Bridges, father and son, for the murder of a number of friendly Indians, an account of which is given in a separate chapter elsewhere in this volume. Hudson, the other murderer. was tried before Judge Wick.

But for various reasons there was more or less dissatisfac- tion concerning the continuance of the seat of justice at Pen- dleton, and steps were again taken to re-locate the county seat, as we find that at the session of the legislature of 1-25-6 a supplemental act was passed for the purpose of disposing of the matter. The act. which was approved January 13. 1526, is as follows :

Be it enacted, etc .. That Benjamin Irwin. of Bartholomew county : George Hunt, of Wayne county : Lewis Hendricks,

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of Shelby county ; Elisha Long, of Henry county, and Daniel Heaton, of Hamilton county, be, and they are hereby, ap- pointed commissioners, to re-locate the seat of justice of Mad- ison county. The commissioners above named, shall meet at the house of Moses Pearson, in said county, on the first Mon- day in June next and shall proceed to locate the seat of justice of said county under the provisions of the laws regulating the fixing of the seat of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off.

Section 2, of said act provides that the circuit and all other courts of said county shall be held at the house of the said Moses Pearson, until suitable accommodations can be had at the county seat, when all the courts of said county shall be removed thereunto.

There were several other sections of this act, in one of which reference is made to the donation of " John Berry and others to said county at Andersontown, in said county." The section annuls and revokes all previous proceedings with refer- ence to the donation of land for a seat of justice.

But it is doubtful whether anything was accomplished by the commissioners under this act, as we find that an act was passed by the succeeding legislature and approved January 26, 1827, giving authority for the re-location of the county seat. This was the last act of the legislature concerning the matter, and is as follows :

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., that William Shannon, Jeremiah K. Lemon and William C. Blackmore, of Hamilton county ; Moses Prewitt, of Shelby county, and John Thomp- son, of Marion county, be, and they are hereby appointed Commissioners to re-locate the seat of Justice of Madison county. The commissioners above named shall meet at the house of John Perry (Berry), in said county, on the third Monday in May next, and proceed to locate the seat of justice of said county agreeably to the provisions of an act entitled, "An act to establish seats of justice in new counties," ap- proved January 14, 1824, and the act amendatory of the same approved December 19, 1825.

The Commissioners named in the above act met at the house of John Berry, in " Andersontown," on the third Mon- day of May, 1827, and pursuant to the authority vested in them, proceeded to re-locate the seat of justice. The proposi- tion of John Berry was received, and the terms being satisfac-

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

tory, wasaccepted. And " Andersontown " became the county seat of Madison county.

The main provisions of John Berry's proposition are set forth in the deed given by him and his wife, Sally, dated November 7. 1527, to William Curtis, the county agent appointed for the purpose. The tract of land conveyed by Berry and his wife is described as follows : .. Commencing at the southeast corner of lot No. 16, in the southwest square in the town of Andersontown : thence north with Meridian street to the northeast corner of lot No. 1, in the northwest square of said town ; thence east to White river; thence up said river, at low-water mark, until a line running a due south course till it comes parallel with the south end of Meridian street, will contain thirty acres, being part of the southwest quarter of section 12, town 19 north, of range 7 east * * * so long as the town aforesaid continues to be the permanent seat of justice of Madison county *

* * and in considera- tion of lot No. 7. in the north front of Andersontown, in said county, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged.

The boundary lines of this donation circumscribed the site of Chief Anderson's village, but was resurveyed by order of the Board of Commissioners, in 1829, by Samuel C. Wood- worth and Normon Way, the original survey having been found to be imperfect. The land thus given to the county for a seat of justice is now the most valuable in the city of Ander- son. embracing as it does all that part of the city east of Mer- idian street between Eighth and Eleventh streets to the river. Along with the donation of land a subscription was raised among those who favored Andersontown as the county seat, but the amount subscribed is not known, neither the names of the subscribers. It appears, however, from the records of the Commissioners' Court that the subscription amounted to several hundred dollars as an entry concerning the building of a jail states among other things that " the Board agrees to appropriate the sum of $200, according to the conditions of a subscription signed at the January session of this Board for 1829." The land donated was divided into lots, platted and sold for the purpose of erecting public buildings. An order made by the Board of Justices at their September term, 1828, reads as follows : "Ordered that Samuel Cory be allowed the sum of $5 as an additional allowance for whisky and crying the sale of lots in Andersontown." Another sale of lots took place April 1, 1829, after the town had been resurveyed by

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

Woodworth and Way. The record with reference to this sale reads : Ordered, that Bricknell Cole be allowed the sum of $3.124 for crying the last sale of lots at Andersontown, and for whisky furnished for said sale.

At that early day, and indeed for a quarter of a century later, it was customary on important occasions in this and other new states to dispense liquor to the public. In fact, there were but few " gatherings " aside from those of a relig- ious character at which there was not a jug or two of liquor to stimulate the feelings of those in attendance. At house- raisings, log-rollings, corn-shuckings, during harvest and at political meetings, the " little brown jug " usually cut an im- portant figure. Without it there was an absence of that joy- ous spirit with which the early pioneers usually entered upon undertakings of " pith and moment." And yet, be it .said to the everlasting credit of the men who first peopled this great county, that notwithstanding the hospitable customs of their time, but very few of them indulged to excess in intoxicating liquors. They were hardy, sober, honest, industrious and gen- erous, and whatever shortcomings they may have had, their character will not suffer when brought into comparison with the men who have followed them thus far or who may follow them hereafter. Their manners were homely and in keeping with their surroundings, but their ways were honest and their faults were of the head rather than of the heart. We of today may be superior to them in many respects, but it will be gen- erally admitted that from the standpoint of morals we have made no improvement on their time. Their descendants have no cause for shame while perusing their history, for there is but little doubt that they would not have achieved the same triumphs or have been so successful under similar circumstan- ces. They were preeminently the men for the time and the herculean undertaking of subduing the wilderness. That they succeeded, the fruitful fields and fair homes of the county abundantly attest.

CHAPTER VII.

FIRST PUBLIC BUILDINGS-COURT HOUSE-JAIL .- COUNTY INFIRMARY.

Immediately following the locating of the county seat preliminary steps were taken toward the erection of a court house and jail, and the record shows that a notice of the in- tention of the County Board to erect a court house was pub- lished in newspapers adjacent to the county with an invitation to builders and contractors to submit plans and specifications for the same. One of these notices was inserted five times in a newspaper at Centerville, this State, published by " Septi- mus Smith, Esq.," for which he was allowed the sum of $2.25 by the Board at the January term, 1829. .At the following term it was ordered by the Board that " the agent of Madison county sell to the lowest bidder the building of a jail in Andersontown, according to the plan adopted at the present session, to be finished within six months, requiring bond and security for the performance of the building in a workmanlike manner."

At this time the Board of Justices, or County Board, con- sisted of the following named members: William Curtis, William S. Penn, Amasa Makepeace, John Busby. Thomas M. Pendleton. Daniel Hardesty. Jacob Hiday, William Nelson, Daniel Wise and Richard Kinnamon. William Curtis was president of the Board. He had formerly resided at Pendle- ton, but had taken an active part in securing the re-location of the seat of justice at Andersontown. He subsequently moved to the county seat, and the first term of the circuit court was held in his house. after the seat of justice had been removed from Pendleton. His house stood on Main street, about where the hardware store of J. P. Barnes now stands.

It seems that for some cause or other no action was taken with reference to the building of a court house for some time after the first notice was published, for at a session of the County Board in January, 1831, it was, " Ordered by the Board that the agent of the county of Madison, sell to the 3

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

lowest bidder, the building of a court house, to be built on Lot No. 17, in the northeast square, in Andersontown, to be built on the following plan, to-wit : One story high, thirty-six feet long and twenty feet wide ; to be elevated one foot from the ground and underpinned with stone; the story to be ten feet between floors; the building to be well weather-boarded and covered with good joint shingles; to have a good brick chimney in the west end, with a large fire place therein ; ten feet of the end to be partitioned, so as to make two ten foot jury-rooms ; all the partitions to be made of good seasoned planks ; each of said jury-rooms to have a door to open into the large room ; the. said house to have three twelve-light windows in the south side and three in the north side; the windows to be so placed that the large room shall have four and each of the jury-rooms one; the under floor to be laid in good, workmanlike manner, the upper floor to be laid of loose planks ; hou-e to have one door in front, to open near the par- tition ; the windows to be in, the outside door hung and the house inclosed on or before the second Monday in May next, and the whole work completed, according to the above plan, on or before the second Monday in November next. The sale to take place in Andersontown on the third Saturday in Janu- ary, inst., the said agent taking bond of the contractors in double the amount for which the work is taken, conditioned for the completion of the work against the 15th day of No- vember, 1831."

At the time designated in the foregoing order the con- tract for the court house was let to Daniel Harpold, but the building was not completed according to contract, as it appears from the proceedings of the Board at the January session, 1832, that John Drewry and Nathaniel Chapman were ap- pointed a committee to examine the new court house and re- port if it had been built according to the contract. This com- mittee reported to the Board that the contract had not been fully complied with, and recommended that " $30 be deducted from the amount of the original contract, which recom- mendation was adopted by the Board and the contractor dis- charged."

This building stood about where the Lovett block now stands, on East Eighth street, between Main and Central ave- nue, and answered the purpose for which it was built for a period of about six years, when it was sold by order of the County Board, a new court house having been built in the

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

public square in the meantime. The building was used as a residence until it was torn down in order to make way for the present business block that now occupies its site. The jail that was built in 1830 was situated about where the west steps of the present court house are situated. The structure was sixteen feet square, a story and a half high, and was made of hewed logs. The entrance to the jail was in the upper story. which was reached by a flight of stairs con- structed on the outside of the building. There was a trap- door in the ceiling of the lower room, through which prison- ers were let down to the first floor by means of a ladder. After the prisoner was let down to the cell or room below the ladder was removed and the trap-door closed. With the sale of the old frame court house the County Board ordered the re- moval of the jail from the public square, as it was not only unsightly but insecure. It was accordingly torn down, and from 1837 to 1842 all prisoners that had to be confined for any length of time, or who were considered dangerous, were taken to Indianapolis for safe keeping. During the trial of prison- ers they were guarded and securely ironed, which entailed no little expense to the county. The following is a copy of a claim that was allowed at the March session, 1844, of the County Board for this purpose :

Allowed Daniel Williams-

For riveting irons on $ .25.

For riveting irons on .25.

For riveting irons on 12.

For cutting rivets. . .12 1%.

For altering rivets and riveting on .25.

For fastening handcuffs on

.06.

$1.05

The names of the parties upon whom the irons were fast- ened were given in the claim but are omitted here for vari- ous reasons.

ORDER FOR A NEW COURT HOUSE AND JAIL.

The order for a new court house to take the place of the frame in which the county business had been trans- acted was made by the County Board at the September session 1828, but was afterwards revoked, and it was not until April. 1837, that the contract for the new building was let. The description of the building given in the contract is as fol- fows : " Of brick, forty-four feet square, two stories high,

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

all to be like the court house at Noblesville, except the court room, which is to be on the lower floor ; the tower to be like that on the court house at Indianapolis, and the cupola which is to be like that on the court house at Ind anapolis." The build- ing was to be erected, according to the terms of the contract, in the public square of Andersontown, and was to to be inclosed previous to the 1st of November, 1837. The contract was awarded to Messrs. Crawford & Meek, of Hancock county, for the sum of $5,770. The building was completed "on time," and according to the terms of the contract, and was first occupied for judicial purposes at the October term of the Cir- cuit Court, 1839. At this time the officers of the court were Judge William W. Wick, who presided over the first court held in the county, Andrew Jackson, clerk, and Joseph How- ard, sheriff. William Prigg and Abraham Thomas were the Associate Judges. This court house stood in the center of the public square until the morning of the 10th of December, 1880, when it was consumed by fire, and with it many inter- esting and valuable records. The fire was undoubtedly of incendiary origin, but no steps were taken either by the county commissioners or other authorities to apprehend the guilty party or parties.

Many matters of interest could be written about the build- ing, as it was for many years the only public place of meeting in Anderson excepting perhaps the frame Methodist church which at an early day stood on the northeast corner of Merid- ian and Eleventh streets. The record of the commissioners' court shows that one of the rooms was once used as the post office, as it is " ordered that Ninevah Berry pay $3 per month rent for the room which he now occupies in the court house for the post office so long as he remains in the same." Also at the March session, 1846. it was " ordered that the south- cast room of the court house, up stairs, be assigned to Mount Moriah Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and to be kept in good order by said lodge." A lodge of the Sons of Tem- perance also met in one of the rooms " up stairs " for a num- ber of years. Other rooms were rented for law offices from time to time and also to Justices of the Peace up to 1860, when the commissioners devoted the entire building to the exclusive use of the county.

Shortly after this building was erected notice was given by the board of commissioners that " sealed proposals would be received until the first Monday of December (1841) next

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.

for the erection of a jail in Andersontown." The structure was to be built of hewed oak timber twelve inches square, two stories high, 18 x 22 square ; stories to be eight feet high be- tween the floors. "The jail to be built on the public square west of the court house, the north side of the jail to be on a line with the north side of the court house," which was about the same site of the one previously removed. This jail was completed and accepted by the county commissioners June, 1842. It cost but $149, and was not a very secure place in which to confine a restive criminal possessed with ordinary ingenuity and a desire to be at liberty. In fact it soon be- came a burden to the county on this account, as rewards for escaped prisoners were frequently given, and this, with other expenses for its maintenance, determined the commissioners to provide a new jail. This was accordingly done, the Board at the March term (1852) appointing John Davis, George Millspaugh and William Roach to superintend the erection of a new jail, with full authority "to make contracts and esti- mates and order allowances, and do all other things in the premises they may see fit."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the., Part 3

Author: Forkner, John L. (John La Rue), 1844-1926 Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Anderson, Ind. : Forkner Number of Pages: 1055

Author: Forkner, John L. (John La Rue), 1844-1926
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Anderson, Ind. : Forkner
Number of Pages: 1055