USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 31
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THE FIRST HEARSE BROUGHT TO ANDERSON.
Looking out upon a funeral procession passing by, the streets lined with lodge men, brass bands, long strings of car-
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riages and an immense hearse, black as ebony, with plate- glass sides, drawn by two elegantly matched black horses, covered with heavy drapery of net work almost dragging the ground, with large plumes on their heads, caused the writer to turn back in memory to the long ago, and compare the simplicity of by-gone days to the gaudy splendor of to-day. It also caused him to investigate the matter as to who brought the first hearse to Anderson, and compare it with those of the present time.
Upon calling on several of the old fellows sitting on the store boxes around the square, who have spent their fifty years in Anderson, it was learned that A. A. Siddall, com- monly known in his life time as "Ab" Siddall, brought to Anderson the first hearse. This statement is agreed to by a majority of the old-timers now living. Mr. Siddall and his father, Atticus Siddall, were the first undertakers proper in Anderson. Their place of business was at the corner of East Main street and Central avenue, which was then the business center of Anderson. On the opposite corner was the "tavern," the only place of public entertainment.
This was in the '40s, between 1840 and 1845. The hearse, rude as it was, had its time and served its purpose. It was rather on the order of a spring wagon, with box- covered body, without glass in the sides, and more like what is now used as a "dead" wagon by all undertakers. This old hearse was used by the firm for several years, finally giving way to one of more modern pattern. After it was abandoned as a hearse, John Sabin procured the body of it and used it for a peddling wagon, while the "running gears" were used for a beer wagon. George Ilughel, Wesley Dunham and many other old settlers remembered this hearse, and in talking of it, compared it alike with the difference in the way people die and are buried now and fifty years ago.
In those days, when a man got sick unto death, no hired nurse nor lodge brothers stood around his couch, but the hardy pioneer neighbor dropped his work, went to the bedside, and watched until the last moment came. Then no cloth suit wrapped his form in preparation for burial, but a simple white muslin shroud was placed upon him. He was encased in a plain wooden coffin, without silver handles or covering, and with the assistance of friends and relatives the body was sol- emnly and quietly consigned to the tomb to await the final resurrection. No pomp, no splendor, no brass band preceded
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the procession. The tears shed at the burial were tears of real sorrow.
Those old fellows long ago gone before, buried in the plain simplicity of pioneer days will, no doubt, shine as brightly when called by Gabriel's trumpet, as those laid away with all the splendor of to-day. Many of them have no monuments to mark their last resting place, and their graves have long since been obliterated by the ravages of time. But when the time comes for the swinging open of the golden gates, they'll be there.
"Ab " Siddall, after going out of the undertaking business, became a druggist and later on a dry goods merchant, which business he followed until he died. He was fond of a horse and always kept a good one. One day he brought his horse up town and hitched him across the street in front of the store. On going home in the evening he noticed a horse tied up. It was raining and cold. " Ab" hunted up the marshal and in- formed him that some inhuman brute had tied his horse out in the cold rain, and that the animal ought to be taken care of. The marshal went and took the horse to the livery stable, where he had him cared for. In the morning, " Ab" went to the stable to feed his horse, when lo! the horse was gone. It just then dawned upon him that he had the day before hitched his horse up town and forgot all about it. He sneaked up to hunt the marshal, got his horse out of the livery stable, and paid the bill, making the boys promise to say nothing about it. It leaked out some way and he never heard the last of it.
JOHN M. SABIN, A MAN OF MANY PECULIARITIES.
John M. Sabin was a familiar figure upon the streets of Anderson for many years. He was well known to all classes of people, irrespective of their politics or religion, as he was one of those kind of men whose general make up admit them to all classes of society.
In the Anderson Democrat, of December 22, 1882, a fine tribute is paid to Mr. Sabin by an old friend and admirer to which we give place as follows : " The subject of this sketch was born in Clinton county, Ohio, near the town of Wilming- ton, on the 16th of January, 1832, and died at his home in Anderson, December 16, 1882, at the age of fifty years. He was the son of Doctor Sabin, a man distinguished for his learning, enterprise and generosity. John M. Sabin received a common-school education, and early in life learned the sad-
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dlery and harness-making trade. At the age of sixteen years he enlisted as a volunteer for the Mexican war, but never got farther south than the city of New Orleans. In 1850, he came to Indiana, and settled in Greensburg where he remained until 1854. Here he became imbued with those studious habits for which he was noted. He was distinguished for his ready wit, and keen satire. He was also a prominent mem- ber of a literary or dramatic society which ranked first in the State. Many of its members have become distinguished in literature, and in State and National politics. He came to Anderson in 1855, which he made his home almost continu- ously until the day of his death. He served acceptably four years as Justice of the Peace. In 1857 he was married to Miss Eliza Jackson, daughter of the Hon. Andrew Jackson, of Anderson, by whom he had one son and two estimable daugh- ters, who survive him.
"In speaking of John M. Sabin, the writer is fully aware that his life was not altogether blameless. No one ever spoke unkindly of him who was his intellectual peer. He was a man of very much more than ordinary intellectuality, with a vast amount of general information, and was quite conversant with many standard works of history and fiction. He pos- sessed a marvelous and accurate memory, and a fair amount of language, with a kind and generous nature. He was a genial companion and a devoted friend, and naturally endowed with the instincts of a gentleman. His associates were the best in the community. He rarely indulged in profanity or vulgarity. In his days of prosperity, many partook of his hospitality and liberality who have since traduced him. Whatever his faults and shortcomings may have been, he had none of the sin of ingratitude. He never forgot a kind act or word. For several years his bodily sufferings had been such that he should have had sympathy, and many who with- held a kind word while he lived were the most fulsome in his praise after he was dead and beyond their reach or need for any of their sympathy."
In addition to what the above writer has stated, we wish to add that while Mr. SSabin had his faults like other men, his sympathetic nature, genial disposition and keen sense of humor brought about him associations that might be envied by men holding a much higher station in life than he. Mr. Sabin, besides many other peculiarities, was a very sensitive man. If he should happen to be standing and talking with a
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party of gentlemen, and a friend should join the circle and ask any of the party for a chew of tobacco, and not ask him, he would feel that he had been slighted. On one occasion while in the act of conversing with some friends, a gentleman . approached all the members of the party except Mr. Sabin and requested change for a five-dollar bill, which none of them had. A few days after this the gentleman who desired to have the note changed was met upon the street by Mr. Sabin who asked him why he had offered him an insult on that occasion. The gentleman was very much surprised and requested him to state what he meant. Sabin replied that he had asked every other gentleman in the crowd but himself to change his bill, and that while he might not have had the money to make the change, common courtesy would have dictated that he also should have been asked, as there was a stranger or two in the crowd who did not know whether he (Sabin) was worth one dollar or a million.
He was full of dry wit and sarcasm ; they both oozed out of him when he was sitting around. He made a race for the nomination for mayor of Anderson, at the same time Nathaniel Garrish ran for marshal. Sometime afterward Sabin and Garrish got into a quarrel. Several flings were made at each other, when Sabin said to Garrish, " If I would ever run for office in this city, and not get more votes than you did for marshal last spring, I would leave the place."
An examination of the poll books showed that Garrish got six votes and Sabin seven. Sabin and Buff Dehority planned the organization of the first street railroad enterprise for Anderson, in 1866. They intended to put a line around the public square, then from the Pan-handle to the Bee Line depot. The Bee Line then had its station out at the Ohio avenue crossing. After much talk and bluster, the scheme fell through. Some of Sabin's friends asked him why it was not a go.
" Well," said he, " the main reason was that we had not sufficient means. We bought the iron on credit, but could not raise the money to ferry it over the river at Louisville."
This was one among many other schemes of Mr. Sabin's. Many men have lived in Anderson, but few better-hearted men ever did. Ile was true to a friend, and a favor bestowed upon him in his adverse days. was always remembered ; though perhaps unable to repay it, it was always on his mind. If any one did him a wrong, it was as deeply felt and as long remem-
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bered. Peace to the ashes of John Sabin, and may kind friends see that his grave is kept green.
JOSEPH MIX, " THE SEER OF WHITE RIVER."
Joseph Mix is one of the characters of Anderson town- ship, having lived here for nearly fifty years.
To meet him on the street one would consider him noth- ing more than an ordinary individual, as there is nothing out- side of the ordinary that impresses the passer by with his appearance, yet his fame is spread all over this country as a .
JOSEPH MIX, THE "SEER " OF WHITE RIVER.
wonderful " seer." He was born in Ohio in the year 1824, and is now about the age of 72 years. He moved with his father to Madison county when he was quite a small lad, and settled in the northern part of Lafayette township, near where the village of Linwood now stands.
In the year 1851, the father of Joseph Mix was found dead near the root of a large tree, having been on a spree, and in trying to find his way home, had lost his bearings. The weather being very cold he was frozen to death.
In the year 1861, Joseph Mix was married to a Miss
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Fifer, and in a little while thereafter, removed to the place where he now resides in North Anderson. He soon became acquainted with Dr. John W. Westerfield, and through his influence conceived a great interest in spiritualism. He first entertained the idea of mediumistic power, and its benign influence, but soon discovered the fact that his clairvoyant powers enabled him to see things hidden from the vision of other mortals, and he developed into a full-fledged fortune- teller.
It is not for the rest of the human race to know how this peculiar endowment comes about, or why the author of our being has denied to us what he has been pleased to furnish to Joseph Mix, unless it be that it is necessary to keep some things from the wise and reveal them to the weak. Be this as it may, many wonderful discoveries were made through the vision of this seer, property located, and lovers made misera. ble or happy, which served to maintain Mr. Mix's reputation as a seer.
Mr. Mix is really ignorant of anything like books, as he can neither read nor write, and to this fact he attributes the failures he has made in his line. Mr. Mix in his old age has nearly lost his mind which has destroyed his usefulness as a seer and has placed him almost upon the verge of poverty, as he had but little means laid by for a cold day from his earn- ings in a younger and more useful life. Only a short time since a guardian was appointed for him in the Madison circuit court in the person of Floyd S. Ellison. who is chargeable with taking care of his person and property.
Among the many strange things that Mix has performed as a seer or fortune teller, one instance comes to mind in which in the year 1877, John Awalt, who was then a jeweler in the city of Anderson, lost a valuable horse, one that he had purchased for his wife's special use, and which was prized very highly. One morning the horse was missing from the stable, and was gone for quite a while. A diligent search was made by Mr. Awalt. The city marshal and others in the immedate vicinity of Anderson assisted him, but their united efforts were not successful in locating the animal.
Mrs. Awalt had often heard of the wonderful powers said to be possessed by Mr. Mix, and without the knowledge of her husband, in company with a lady friend, went to the Mix residence, and related the circumstance of the stolen horse. After going into some kind of a trance and manipulating
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himself in various ways, Mix described the horse and the lo- cality where he would be found-near Rochester, Indiana. Mrs. Awalt returned to the city and imparted the information to her husband who at first made light of it, but afterwards concluded that as the investigation would cost but little, he would follow Mix's advice. Mr. Awalt set out for Rochester, and employed assistance. In a few days the horse was found in the locality described.
Another instance : Mrs. J. L. Forkner lost a gold watch and chain which she valued very highly, having been a pres- ent to her. After exhausting all means known to her, to re- cover her lost property, she, as a last resort, went to see Joseph Mix. He told her that on a particular day in a large crowd, she was in the act of stepping across a gutter in the street when a man clipped the chain and took the watch from her person. He informed her that on a certain day within two weeks a black-eyed man would visit her husband and pro- pose to return the stolen property for a consideration, pro- vided no questions would be asked as to where it had been ; that it was in a distant town and that it would take several days to procure it, and that the property when returned should be brought back through the hands of Amos Coburn, who was then the City Marshal.
But little confidence was placed in this story. but it so happened that on or about the day that Mix had predicted, a man filling the description given by him, and who is at this writing a resident of Anderson, came and proposed to return the watch through the channels above described, which was eventually done, and Mrs. Forkner now has the watch and chain in her possession.
It transpired that the watch had been taken from her on the occasion of Hi Henry's minstrels making a parade through the streets of Anderson. The watch was taken from her in the manner described.
Another instance : A woman from the State of Kansas came to ascertain the whereabouts of her husband, who had deserted her several years previously. Mr. Mix described her lost husband and told her that he was at a certain town in the State of Kentucky, and was married to another woman. The wife immediately set out for that locality, where she found her husband living with the woman described.
Numerous other instances of this wonderful faculty of Mr. Mix might be cited, but it is unnecessary to take up the
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time of the reader. Suffice it to say that Mix, the seer of White river, is known throughout Indiana, southern Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, and in nearly every State in the Union. From all sections of the country people have come to him to locate lost or stolen prop- erty, and have had their property returned to them in scores of cases. He has not only located the treasures in his catalep- tic state, but has told the names of parties of whom he had never heard, who were, it is claimed, the thieves that had stolen the goods. In this manner Mr. Mix had accumulated quite a respectable sum of money. It was rumored that there was a large sum buried by him about his premises, but this is not believed by the writer, or by any considerable portion of the people among whom he has lived. Whether or not Mr. Mix is really endowed with the wonderful powers claimed, there is no question but that he has done many wonderful things, and that a great many people have unbounded confi- dence in his ability in these respects.
Since writing the above Mr. Mix has passed beyond the dark river, and is now mingling with the pioneers gone be- fore, he having died on the 12th of July, 1896.
JOHN W. PENCE.
Among the many old-timers in Madison county, there is none more worthy of special mention than John W. Pence, the present affable and genteel cashier of the Citizens' bank. John is the personification of independence. While he has all due respect for the opinions of others and is always ready to give audience to any one who wishes to converse with him on any subject, and is able to cope with any one in argument upon any question that comes up, he doesn't care a fig for what peo- ple think of his ideas or expressions upon any topic, and there are no topics of importance upon which he has not an opinion. His opinions are honest ones, made up after mature delibera- tion, and when expressed and squarely spoken, as you might say, " the word with the bark on," none ever get angry with him, though he often comes to the point in very emphatic terms. While he is always obedient to those over him in any position he may be called to fill, no power, be he prince or potentate, can trample on him. He will assert himself at all times and on all occasions.
He was for many years agent for the Bee Line railway at this place and was for a long while stationed at the crossing of
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the Pan Handle and Bee Line, on the east end of Ohio avenue, when that was the principal railway station in Anderson. He had charge of all the departments-freight as well as passenger traffic. One time he was giving personal attention to the switching and changing of some freight cars from one track to another, when by some means a freight train was thrown from the track and several cars damaged and banged up to a con- siderable extent. John did not like to be discharged from the service of the road, but realized that his name was " Dennis,"
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JOHN W. PENCE.
so he never took time to look after the matter any further, or to give himself any concern, but immediately leaped from the top of a box car, telegraphed in his resignation and at once consid- ered himself a private citizen. IIe sauntered back to the depot, where he unexpectedly ran across the superintendent of the road, who was on the rear end of the freight train when it col- lided, but the fact was not known to Pence. The superin- tendent tackled Pence for an explanation of the matter.
"No explanation about it; my resignation has already gone into headquarters."
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The superintendent leisurely walked around the wreck and took in the situation, but said nothing to Pence further about it. When the superintendent got to Indianapolis, he wired Pence that his resignation was not accepted. This was the last ever heard of the matter. and Pence continued in the service of the road many years thereafter. He was agent for the Bee Line when Justinian Walters robbed the ticket office and was convicted and started over the road to the ". pen" in custody of Sheriff Ross, but made his escape near Walkerton by jumping from the train into the midst of a tamarack swamp, never being recaptured and is still at large, if living.
John Pence has seen more of the world than any other man in this locality and has a large store of general informa- tion. He is not fond of displaying what he knows, but if you flash something upon him that is not exactly correct, he will call you down, and in nearly every instance his ideas are cor- rect and borne out by some standard authority. He has trav- eled extensively in this and foreign countries, and singular to say, with all he has seen and knows about his travels, he rarely ever alludes to the matter unless asked about it.
Away back before railroads traversed the golden shores of the Pacific ocean, when to go to California was much more of a task than a tour around the world would now be, .John went to California. His trip to California included a tour of the wild West. He was at Virginia City, Nevada, when it was a mining camp, and was then supposed to be one of the richest in the world and excitement ran high and real estate went crazy. At that time a " Californian " was as great a sight to behold as Barnum's tattooed man or his bearded woman. Who has not sung that melodious old song the " Dy- ing Californian?"
One of the mistakes of John Pence's life is that he does not write and publish his travels, trials and tribulations, and leave them behind him when he is dead and gone. Pence was not born in Madison county, but was so nearly reared in the county that he looks upon it as his native land.
The Pence family came here from Frankfort, Clinton county, away back in the early fifties, when John was a mere lad. Dan Mustard was then a boy, younger several years than Pence. He says that when he spied John first upon his arrival from the wilds of Clinton county, he was somewhat of a curiosity in the homespun make-up he had on, consisting of
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linsey breeches, home-made straw hat and blue checkered shirt.
But Pence was not long in Anderson before he asserted himself and placed himself upon a foundation as solid as the "Rock of Ages," where he has ever since done business and from whence he has sent out all business dispatches. While John Pence is by no means a wit, nor does he make any pre- tentions in that direction, yet in his way he is funny.
The man who sits in a room in a circle of friends with John as the center of attraction, as he of course would be, if he did not laugh at Pence before the group was broken up, would certainly have no laugh in him. In his style of con- versation and his way of answering inquiries he is always sure to say something to bring down the house, although he does not mean to be funny. He has been the butt of many good stories ; some, of course, are true, and no doubt many are the offsprings of imagination. He has a genteel way of swearing that is not profane, and, to tell the truth, adds to his conversational powers in a way that is not unbecoming. In other words, it just fits him, and no one can take offense.
It is said that one time a party of young folks had con- gregated at the Pence residence, on the corner of Thirteenth and Brown streets, to go through some literary exercises. Among the guests was the Presbyterian preacher, whom John was entertaining in conversation while the young folks were having a time in the adjoining room. A lady with soft, light step glided up behind Pence's chair and laid her angelic hand upon his shoulder.
" Mr. Pence, do you care if we dance?"
"No, I don't care a d-n what you do if you don't tear down the house."
Never breaking the thread of conversation with the preacher. In fact, he nor the preacher was conscious that he swore, but oh, my. it shocked the angel behind the chair ; she nearly fainted.
Pence, besides having traveled all over this country, has also done Europe and Mexico in a style it is seldom done by one of the common people. Several years ago he sailed for Europe, where he remained for one year, and if you think he didn't see it, you are mistaken. He took in every- thing, from licking the Blarney stone in " Ould " Ireland, to standing upon the ruins of Pompeii. The Holy Land, Paris, London, and all the sights in London, were done
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in his meanderings through foreign lands. Pence never wears a necktie, it is too much trouble to take it off, adjust it, and put it on. The only time in his life when he ever ap- peared in a real necktie was in Monaco. He through curiosity visited a gambling house there that is the finest in the world. On coming to the entrance with a card of admission, which he handed to the gentleman at the door, it was taken and carefully read, and handed back to him in the politest manner in the world, with " Yes, sir, you will be admitted, but you have no cravat on."
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