USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 81
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" On a beautiful winter night on the 10th of December,
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1862, the family of Thomas Thornburg, residing three miles north-east of Anderson, were awakened from their repose by a violent shaking of the front door. On going to ascertain the cause of the disturbance, Mr. Thornburg found on his door-step a little baby warmly clad and sleeping quietly in a little basket, which also contained a fifty-dollar gold piece wrapped in the following note :
"' Thischild is named Emma, and is of respectable parents, but was left to the mother to care for. Knowing that you are " Quakers" who would take good care of her, we leave her to your charity, and may God bless her:
" 'WM. LAWRENCE.'
"No second appeal to the kind-hearted Mrs. Thornburg was necessary, for she at once took the little homeless waif into her motherly arms and heart, and from that day to the day of its death was to it all that a kind, loving, and indul- gent mother could be. As the little one grew in years she twined herself so closely about the hearts of the kind family that she became to them an idolized child, and her sudden death cast them all into the greatest sorrow.
" Mr. and Mrs. Thornburg desired to keep the mystery of her birth a secret from her, but as she grew into woman- hood, this could no longer be done, and they were forced to tell her that she was the child of unknown parents. This was some time prior to her death, but it is believed to have had nothing to do with it. A letter came to the house regularly for four years after the little one had been left there, containing money and a request that they should still care for the child. The letters were always mailed from different States. They were invariably answered by the members of the Thornburg family, giving a full account of the life of the little girl. Finally letters ceased and no tidings came to say that the little one was not forgotten. So year after year rolled on until she had reached her seventeenth year, but still no news of the unknown parents, and then the life which began in mystery ended in mystery.
" On the morning of the 11th day of March, 1879, she was found dead in a room in an upper story of the house. A short time before, she was in conversation with Mrs. Thorn- burg and told her she intended to go up stairs and get some writing paper from her brother John's trunk, as she wanted to answer a letter which she had received the previous even- ing. Mrs. Thornburg afterward said that she never saw her
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in a happier or more joyous mood than she was then. Young Thornburg had in his trunk a revolver, which he had received a few days previous from.a friend, and had placed it there for safe-keeping. The young lady remained a long time, and Mrs. Thornburg stepped to the door and called her. Receiv- ing no reply, she waited a moment and then called her by name again, and still receiving no response, she stepped up stairs and found that the young woman was dead, and at the same time discovered a revolver lying in her lap, and noticed . a bullet wound just above her right eye. The neighbors were notified and the Coroner summoned, who held an inquest and returned a verdict of suicide. Many strange rumors were put afloat as to the cause of her death, some attributing it to sui- cide, while others claimed that it was accidental ; some sup- posing that she was merely handling the revolver and examin- ing it when it was accidentally discharged. It was also said that the young lady had been informed by school-mates of her mysterious origin, and that it had preyed upon her mind so that she temporarily lost her reason, and that this was the cause of her taking her life. It was generally believed, how- ever, by the Thornburgs and others, that her sad death was the result of an accident. Who the parents of this unfortu- nate girl were, is still an undeveloped mystery, and will prob- ably never be known."
TWO MADISON COUNTY SOLDIERS DROWNED IN THE MISSIS- SIPPI RIVER.
On the 22d day of August, 1862, Clinton Gutherie, of Lafayette township, and Wilson Relf, of Richland township, were drowned in the Mississippi river while on their return to their command in the army. They had been home on veteran furlough and were on their way back to the front, when the boat upon which they had taken passage sank, losing many who were on board.
These young men were well known by the people of Mad- ison county and the event was severely felt by the community in which they lived. They were neighbor boys and comrades in the same department in the army.
Relf's father, Malichi Relf, lived in Richland township and Gutherie's folks lived where Linwood now stands, in Lafayette township. The father of Gutherie was at one time a resident of Anderson and operated a tannery there.
" Al" Lemon, son of Peter H. Lemon, ex-Clerk of Mad-
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ison county, was a passenger on the ill-fated boat, but got off without harm to himself. He is yet living and is a resident of Indianapolis.
Gutherie had been previously wounded at the battle of Pea Ridge. He was a member of Company B, Eighth Indiana Volunteers. Relf was a member of Company G, Forty-sev- enth Indiana.
FINDING OF THE SKELETONS OF ABORIGINES.
In the month of June, 1889, while some workmen were opening a gravel pit on the farm of Simms Garretson, in Rich- land township, they unearthed fourteen human skeletons. They were all in a remarkable state of preservation, but when exposed to the air immediately crumbled to dust. All appear- ances indicated that they were aborigines, the skeletons being quite large. They were buried in the earth to a depth of about five feet, huddled close together. The people of that vicinity did not remember that there had ever been a cemetery located in that neighborhood, but it is supposed that the skeletons were the remains of Indians, a tribe of which had at one time settled there. The remains were gathered up and re-interred in the locality where they were found. .
A LARGE BARN AND VALUABLE HORSES BURNED.
Silas Jones, one of the oldest and most influential farm- ers of Richland township, met with a severe misfortune on the 28th of May, 1889, in having a large barn, which he had just completed, destroyed by fire, entailing a loss upon him of all his hay, corn and oats; also vehicles, harness, horses and farming implements. The loss amounted to nearly $3,000. There were six horses in the stable at the time, all of which were cremated, among which was a fine stallion valued at $500.
The origin of the fire was not known, but was supposed to have been the act of an incendiary. When the fire was first discovered the entire building was wrapped in flames and almost ready to fall in. Mr. Jones was only partially insured, carrying policies to the amount of $1,200. Immedi- ately after the destruction of his property he rebuilt the barn, which can be seen from the Anderson turnpike road by the passer-by on his way north, and is one of the finest structures of its kind in Madison county.
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MADISON PENCE, AN OLD CITIZEN OF MADISON COUNTY, KILLED AT INDIANAPOLIS.
Madison Pence was born and reared in Madison county, and was well known to all the older citizens in the neighbor- hood of Anderson, Richland, and Monroe townships. He was considered a harmless, inoffensive man, and was afflicted with epilepsy, which on certain occasions, rendered him non compos mentis. He would often go from place to place, being from home for weeks and months at a time.
On Friday, the 27th day of September, 1889, a man was shot and instantly killed by Emsly Wright, living near Indian- apolis ; the man was supposed at the time to be a tramp, and having been seen in the neighborhood, had been directed to Wright as a man who would probably employ him. When he reached Wright's place it was dark, and being very cold, he started a fire in the barn-yard some distance from the build- ing. Wright noticed the fire and seizing a gun went out with two other men to ascertain what was the cause of the fire. In his testimony at the Coroner's inquest, Wright stated that he had ordered the man off the premises, who refused to go, and taking a club the man started at him as if he would strike him, at this Wright fired upon his assailant, killing him. It was some time before the body could be identified, as no clew as to who he was could be had in the neighborhood. When the Coroner of Madison county was called a scrap of paper was found upon his person which had the advertisement of L. M. Cox, of Anderson, printed upon it. Mr. Cox was notified, and parties from Anderson went to the scene of the tragedy in order to determine who the dead man might be. Upon examination he was identified as Madison Pence, half brother of Frank Pence, ex-Commissioner of this county.
His friends in Anderson were notified and his remains were interred by them. Pence had at one time been married, but his domestic life was a very unhappy one, and his wife obtained a divorce from him. At one time he was the owner of considerable real estate, but by bad trades and the intrigues of designing men, he was left a penniless wanderer.
KILLED WHILE RAISING A BARN.
In the summer of 1870, Joseph Mckinnon was killed on the farm of Madison Forkner while raising a barn with " block and tackle." He was in the act of placing a large timber in position on the building, when in some manner it swung
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around out of its proper position, and caught him, throwing him to the ground, killing him instantly.
He was well known in Anderson, where he lived. His widow is still living there. He was the father of William Mckinnon, the well known "sport," who has given the Anderson police much anxiety in looking after his " wellbe- ing." Mckinnon was a hard working man, and was not con- sidered a bad fellow, only for the fact that he was a little too fond of his " tea." He was a soldier in the war of the Rebel- lion and was said to have been a brave and courageous one.
His occupation was that of a house mover. He also raised large buildings with machinery, being efficient in that business.
A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT.
A very distressing accident occurred on the farm of Jos- eph Dillon in the year 1859, in which young Jesse Dillon was killed, his body being horribly mangled and cut by a reaping machine. Young Dillon was helping to cut the harvest on his father's farm, his part being to drive the horses attached to a McCormick reaper. In some manner one of the horses became tangled up in the harness and began kicking. This frightened the other horse hitched by his side and resulted in the team running away. Young Dillon held to the lines and made every effort in his power to stop them in their mad career, but to no avail. They swept on until finally Dillon was thrown forward, falling in front of the machine, cutting him in a frightful manner, from the effects of which he died in a short time. Jesse Dillon was a bright young lad of about seventeen years; universally liked by all the neighbors, and his taking off caused a gloom over the whole community for a long while after the occurrence.
The farm on which this accident occurred is situated near the old Thornburg place in Richland township, being directly across the turn-pike road from the Thornburg home. The Dillons are highly respected people in that neighborhood and the news of this shocking accident soon spread over the town- ship, causing much excitement and great sympathy for the family. It was the talk of the neighborhood for years after- ward. The field in which it occurred being along the Kill- buck pike it was often pointed out to the traveler, and the sad affair told to him by the people living along that highway.
The young man was a brother of Jonathan Dillon, who yet lives in Richland township, and also of Dr. Jeptha Dillon,
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late a resident of this county. Mrs. Joseph Croan and several other sisters and brothers are still living, whose names do not now occur.
Every neighborhood has its incidents and accidents. But this one will always hang like a pall over the surroundings of its occurrence so long as any one who lived in that locality survives.
Among those who witnessed the accident, besides the immediate family of the deceased, was Curren Beall, a neigh- boring farmer who was assisting in the work of harvesting. It made an impression on his mind never to be erased.
The Dillons and Thornburgs were very close neighbors, and the families were so nearly related that it was almost as severe a blow to the Thornburgs as to the Dillons. Mrs. Dil- lon, the mother of the unfortunate young man, was a sister of Mrs. Thomas Thornburg. They settled together in an early day in Richland township on three hundred and twenty acres of land along a country road dividing their possessions, and so well did they get along that for many years they held their lands in common. In the latter days of their life they finally divided the lands and the older members of the family have now nearly all passed away.
MICHAEL M'GUIRE THROWN FROM THE REAR END OF A WAGON AND HIS NECK BROKEN.
On the 4th day of March, 1871, John Nelson, Michael McGuire, Samuel Fossett and a man by the name of Trudelle had been in Anderson and in the evening started home-Nel- son in one wagon and the others named in another. They were all friendly and having a good time, going up the Kill- buck turnpike. They had been drinking somewhat in Ander- son, and had supplied themselves with a bottle of whisky to take home with them.
McGuire had the bottle, and he would occasionally take a drink from it and finally offered Trudelle a drink, which he accepted. Fossett was driving the team and noticed McGuire and Trudelle drinking, when he asked McGuire " why he did not pass the bottle to him." McGuire, in a rather insulting manner, replied, "Drive on your cart," but did not offer Fos- sett a drink. This angered Fossett, and he dropped the lines and grappled with McGuire, and, it is said, hit him once or twice. After considerable of a tussle, while the wagon was moving, McGuire was thrown from the rear of the vehicle,
1
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and in the fall had his neck broken. He died very soon, with- out uttering a word. Trudelle jumped from the wagon and hastened to McGuire's side, but found that life had left his body. He immediately called Nelson, who was in the other wagon, and they took his body to the roadside and laid it out on the ground for awhile, when it was placed in Nelson's wagon and taken to the Nelson home, which was but a short distance away.
The Coroner of the county was notified, and on the fol- lowing day, March 5th, John J. Sims, who was then Coroner, impaneled the following jury, which proceeded to investigate the cause of McGuire's death :
J. L. Shawhan, D. Furgeson, Bazil Neeley, Samuel Bodle, Isaac Scott, Calvin Thornburg, Fred Bodle.
After a full investigation the jury found that Michael McGuire came to his death in an unlawful manner at the hands of Samuel Fossett.
The following day Fossett was placed under arrest for manslaughter and taken before William Roach, a Justice of the Peace of Anderson township, and a hearing had, the result of which was that Fossett was bound over to the Circuit Court in the sum of $1,000, which bond he at once gave and was set at liberty until the next term of court, at which time a true bill of indictment was returned against him.
He was subsequently tried, and a jury in the Circuit Court acquitted him, on what ground it seems hard to tell, as all the circumstances appeared to be against him.
This occurrence took place near the iron bridge that crosses Killbuck at the old Sam Forkner ford, in the neighborhood of the farm that was so long owned by John Nelson and was for many years used by Madison county for a poor farm.
Mr. Fossett is yet living some place in Madison county. John Nelson died at Daleville a few years ago, and the where- abouts of Trudelle is now unknown. Trudelle and McGuire were old cronies and were nearly always together, spending much of their time about Anderson, when not at work in the country.
Fossett was an inoffensive sort of man, with no murder in his make-up, and this affair was in no way premeditated on his part. It was one of those occurrences that often happen when a man is in his cups, that cause remorse and regrets as long as life lasts.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
John J. Sims, who held the inquest, is now a resident of Anderson, and has a grocery store on Brown street.
It was in the trial of this case in the Circuit Court, before the Hon. James O'Brien, Judge, that John Nelson got in his quaint answer to a question propounded to him.
There was some sparring among the attorneys and wit- nesses. Nelson was being cross-questioned pretty severely, when the Judge broke in : "Mr. Nelson, you mean to say to the jury that the man was dead when you got there?" " Dead; he was deader ne'r hell," John replied, without noticing that he had broken or transgressed the rules or eti- quette of court. Nelson's earnest manner convinced the Court that he meant no harm, and was not fined for his rudeness.
BURNING OF JACOB BRONNENBERG'S HOUSE.
In the earlier days of Richland township the people who lived in frame houses were few and far between ; in fact, there were but very few who made such pretensions. Jacob Bron- nenberg was one of the prosperous farmers who had grown rich enough to abandon his log cabin and build for himself what was then considered a very fine frame residence, into which he moved his family and had just begun to enjoy life, when, on the 16th of November, 1857, it was swept away in a jiffy. Fire having caught through a defective flue in the rear of the house, and there being no way to fight the flames, it was soon laid in ashes, and Mr. Bronnenberg and his family were homeless. He had, fortunately, left standing the old Indian cabin that he vacated when he moved into his new home, and he removed the remnants of his household goods saved from the ruins, into it, where he remained that winter. The house that burned was a large two story frame and stood on or near the site of the brick residence now standing on the farm, owned and occupied by Benton Bronnenberg. As soon as spring-time came Mr. Bronnenberg commenced the making and burning of a kiln of brick and erected the handsome brick house that he so long occupied prior to moving to Anderson. The brick residence built by him was by far the largest and handsomest in Richland township at that time; and, in fact, it was with scarcely a rival in the county. The loss to Mr. Bronnenberg was about $2,000. He lost many of his household goods and valuables that he could not replace. He was a man to easily overcome such a disaster, and in a very few years he was so well and comfortably fixed that it was
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not noticeable, even to himself. This fire was the largest that that locality had witnessed up to that date and of course was talked of for a long while in the community.
JAMES W. HOLSTEN ACCIDENTALLY KILLED.
On Sunday morning, September 9th, 1894, a most dis- tressing accident took place at the residence of J. A. Holsten, of Richland township, in which James W. Holsten lost his life.
He and a young man by the name of William Kinyoun, who was employed by Mr. Holsten as a farm-hand, roomed together, and had gotten up in the morning and gone to the barn to feed the stock while the family were preparing the morning meal. In a short time they were followed by Mr. Holsten, who chatted with the two companions for a few min- utes and then went about his work.
After the young men had completed their labor they begun scuffling, and had taken out their revolvers and were flourish- ing them in a friendly manner, when in some way the pistol in Kinyoun's hand was discharged, taking effect in young Holsten's heart, killing him instantly.
Mr. J. A. Holsten heard the shot and hastened to the scene to see what was the cause, when, to his horror, he found the victim in the last agonies of death.
The neighbors were aroused by the ringing of the farm bell, and soon two hundred people had assembled at the place of the accident. The Coroner, Dr. C. L. Armington, was notified and an inquest held. It was shown that young Hol- sten and Kinyoun were the warmest of friends, and that the fatal shot was purely accidental. Kinyoun was acquitted of any criminal intent by the Coroner, and no arrest was made.
Young Holsten was the son of ex-Sheriff David H. Wat- son, of Anderson, who was killed February 2, 1862, and was adopted by J. A. Holsten when a small child and took his name. He was a brother of Mrs. John L. Forkner, of Anderson. He was a popular young man among his associates, and had no bad habits. He was devotedly fond of his adopted parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Holsten, and always made his home with them, never having married. He was thirty-five years old when the accident occurred. He was a member of the Alex- andria Tribe of Red Men, and was buried by that order in the Anderson cemetery.
Mr. and Mrs. Holsten, the adopted father and mother of :
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the unfortunate young man, deeply mourned his death, and as long as they live they will not fully recover from the shock.
CONFIRMED HYPOCHONDRIAC.
On the 25th day of October, 1883, a most distressing occurrence took place in the quiet precincts of Richland town- ship, which shocked the citizens of that locality. Mattison Hitt, a young man of that neighborhood, who had been an invalid for a long time, committed suicide by shooting himself. He lived with his mother, Mrs. Mary J. Hitt, a widow. He was about thirty years old when he committed the deed, and no reason could be given for his actions other than dispondency. He at one time had a severe spell of sickness and to all out- ward appearances had recovered, but would never have it that he was well. He kept his room constantly for seven years previous to his suicide ; although he seemed at all times quite sane, it is quite certain that he was not. When he first took to his room he was only a medium sized youth, but grew so fleshy in his self imposed confinement that he weighed about 200 pounds at the time of his death.
HURT IN A HORSE RACE.
In speaking about Madison county's old-timers, there are few who date back much farther or who are more worthy of notice than Michael Bronnenberg. Michael now lives in peaceful retirement in the refreshing shades of the classic stream of Killbuck, where he can sit in the twilight of a sum- mer's evening, as the sun hides itself behind the western skies, and look upon his 1,000 acres of Killbuck bottom, the best land in Madison county's borders, nearly all of which he has accumulated with his own hands. Michael has worked hard in his lifetime, but has had lots of fun. The world has but few cares for him. His motto is,
" Let the wide world wag as she will, I'll be gay and happy still."
Michael's residence in Madison county dates away back to the early '20s, when his father, Frederick Bronnenberg, Sr., camped upon the banks of White river, near what is now the town of Chesterfield, upon the land owned by Carroll Bron- nenberg. It is said that while there in camp a child of the Bronnenbergs took sick and died and was buried in that then dismal locality. The family could not reconcile themselves to
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moving farther on and leaving the child in the wilderness, so they permanently located on the spot, purchased the land and made it the future home of the Bronnenbergs.
The father of the Bronnenberg family built a mill on White river, near the original camp, which served for years to furnish corn-meal and other feed for the carly settlers of that neighborhood. There he reared a large and respectable fam- ily, obtained a goodly store of riches for himself, and finally ending his life, at a ripe old age, on that camping ground. Michael Bronnenberg was one of the best boys the old man had. That is, he had lots of " git up and git." He never let the grass grow under his feet. He loved recreation and amusement as well as hard labor. While he was piling up his riches he was also having good times and laying up treasures in Heaven. One of Michael's early pastimes and enjoyments was horse racing. It is one of the traits of the Bronnenberg family to love a good horse. Some of the fastest running horses of this country have been bred by the Bronnenbergs. Michael, when young and active, would rather straddle a horse and ride a race than to eat a meal when hungry. But horse racing, like all other sports, sometimes has a serious ending. So it did in his case. He nearly always had a good horse and never allowed any one to ride the length of a "neck " ahead of him.
One cold wintry day, away back in 1852 or' 58, Mike and Wm. Nelson, had been to Anderson together. After spend- ing the day together in town they took up their journey for home. They being neighbors they had to travel over the same road together. There had been a big rain, after which it had turned cold, the ground freezing up suddenly, but in many places there were holes in the road that were not solidly closed up. The two rode and chatted along together until they came to a nice, straight stretch in the road when one of them ban- tered the other for a chase of a " quarter." No sooner said than off went hats, spurs applied, and away they went up the. road neck and neck at a mile a minute gait. Each rider plied the bud, whooped and hallowed, their horses with nostrils spread and leaping for life. The end of the stretch was near at hand when in an instant Bronnenberg's horse plunged head- long upon his fore quarters, plowing his head along the ground catching for a new footing. At last regaining himself he sped on, dragging his rider at his side with foot fast held in the stirrup until his almost lifeless form released itself in some way 80
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