USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 84
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The pistols with which Hawkins committed the crime were purchased of Nichol & Makepeace. Hawkins bought one of them on a certain day, and another on the day follow-
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ing, saying that the one he had first bought was not a good one.
Johnson was sixty-one years of age and Hawkins about fifty-five when this tragedy took place. Hawkins was a man easily enraged, and was vicious for the time being with all about him, but generally was of a very pleasant disposition. Johnson, on the other hand, was one of those sympathetic, quiet, good-natured men, who scarcely ever become angry, and was highly respected by everybody who knew him.
The remains of Coleman Hawkins were interred in the Anderson cemetery, over which was erected a handsome gran- ite shaft that can be plainly seen from the Alexandria road as the traveler turns to the right after passing out of the iron bridge crossing White river.
The widow of Coleman Hawkins yet resides on the old farm, and has earned for herself the reputation of being one of the best farm managers in the county, having carefully pre- served the fortune left her by her husband.
SUICIDE OF HENRY DEWITT.
Henry De Witt, a farmer about thirty-five years of age, a resident of Stony Creek township, took his own life by hang- ing, on the 18th of September, 1896. He was discovered by some one who was passing the barn where his dead body was found hanging to the end of a rope, and he in a half sitting position. No cause could be assigned for his commission of the deed as he was happily married, and seemingly in good health, and in fair circumstances in life. Coroner Sells was notified and rendered a verdict of suicide in accordance with the facts.
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CHAPTER LXXVIII.
UNION TOWNSHIP.
This civil jurisdiction contains nineteen and one-half square miles and is the smallest township in the county. It is bounded on the north by Richland township, on the east by Delaware and Henry counties, on the south by Adams township and on the west by Anderson township.
The township was organized by order of the Board of Commissioners May 3, 1830, the following being the order :
"Ordered that a new township be laid off from Anderson township to commence at the corner of Section 23, Township 19, Range 8, thence north to the north corner of the county, thence west three miles to the north-west corner of Section 4, Township 22, thence south to the south-west corner of Section 12, Township 19, Range 8, thence to the place of beginning, being known and designated as Union."
The township was originally covered with a dense growth of valuable timber, the principal varieties being black walnut, poplar, ash, sugar, oak, hickory, beech and elm. The town- ship was named no doubt after the Federal Union, although it has been claimed that it derives its name from the circumstance of its being situated opposite the line where the counties of Delaware and Henry unite. The lands are generally level excepting along White river, which flows through the town- ship from east to west, where bluffs and hills abound.
The celebrated mounds-a complete description of which is given in a previous chapter-are situated in this township, and near them, but across the river, on the land that was orig- inally entered by Frederick Bronnenberg, the paternal ances- tor of the numerous family of that name, was, no doubt, situ- ated the burial ground of the mysterious people who built them.
William Dilts has the distinction of being the first white man to settle in the township. He came from Montgomery county, Ohio, in March, 1821, and located near Chesterfield, on what is known as the Willard Makepeace land. He
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
erected a cabin and cleared a few acres of land, but not hav- ing sufficient means to enter it and acquire a title, a man of the name of Joshua Baxter entered the land in 1824, and he moved to Delaware county. He returned, however, a few years later and entered 160 acres of land in the same section, but south of where he had first located. He built a double log house, where he furnished entertainment for travelers passing through the new country. This was the first tavern in the township. In 1835 Mr. Dilts erected a two-story brick house, near the same building, where he continued to entertain the public for many years. This building was the first brick house erected in the township and is still standing. The property now belongs to John Dusang and is the oldest house in the township, save one-the old frame Makepeace residence in Chesterfield.
The next settler in the township was Frederick Bronnen- berg, Sr., who came to the township in June, 1821. Mr. Bronnenberg was on his way with his family to the " prairie country" of Illinois when one of his oxen gave out at " Stup Hollow," or what has since been known as " Shiner's Hill." Mr. Bronnenberg called upon Mr. Dilts for assistance and that gentleman prevailed upon him to go no farther west. An Indian trader of the name of McChester had built a cabin in the vicinity a year or two before, which he abandoned, and Mr. Bronnenberg took possession of it. He remained here until the following spring, when he built a cabin north of White river, on what is now known as " Larmore's Hill." This land was a school section and he soon after entered the land that is now owned by his son, Frederick, and cultivated by his grandson, Ransom Bronnenberg. The mounds are sit- uated on this land.
Following Mr. Bronnenberg came David Croan, of Ohio; Isaac K. Errick, of New York; Daniel Noland, Joseph Car- penter, William Woods, John Martin, Jason Hudson, of North Carolina, and John Suman, of Maryland, all of whom were heads of families except the latter, who made his home with William Dilts. Amasa Makepeace, of Massachusetts, also settled in the township about this time, and in 1827 Bazil Neely, of Ohio county, West Va. (at that time Virginia), came to the township where, in 1838, he purchased eighty acres of land. This land was a part of Section 35. He cleared up a farm and resided here for a period of sixty years. Mr.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Neely's portrait and a sketch of his life, contributed by his daughter, Miss Hester A. Neely, are presented in these pages.
MILLS AND STORES.
From 1821 to 18:5 the early pioneers of the township were compelled to take their corn to the Falls of Fall Creek to have it ground. But some time during the latter year Amasa Makepeace, with the assistance of the settlers, built a "corn- cracker" north of the present site of Chesterfield, on what was afterward called Mill creek. This mill was a great conven- ience to the pioneers of this part of the county.
In 1887 Frederick Bronnenberg built a saw-mill on White river where his son, Carroll, now lives. A run of buhrs for corn and wheat were soon after added to the mill, and subse- quently a carding machine, the first and only one ever in the township. This mill was destroyed by fire in 1847 and never rebuilt. Soon after the completion of the Bellefontaine (Big Four) railroad to Chesterfield, Brazleton Noland erected a large flouring mill near the line of the road at that place. Afterward J. B. Anderson built a steam saw-mill, which was also located near the railroad. Both mills in their time did a large business, but are now things of the past. There is not a grist mill at the present time in the township, and but one saw.mill.
THE FIRST STORE.
Shortly after the Makepeace mill had been completed, in 1825, Allen, son of Amasa Makepeace, opened a store in a log cabin near the mill. His goods were of that character most needed by the pioneers and were hauled from Cincinnati in a wagon. Mr. Makepeace continued in active business for a great many years and accumulated a fortune that was estimated at the time of his death at a quarter of a million dollars. He left but two heirs to inherit his wealth, a son, Quincy Make- peace, who resides in the township, and Mrs. John E. Cor- win, of Middletown, New York.
CHURCH SOCIETIES.
The first church organization in the township, perhaps, was that of the United Brethren in 1840. The society was organized in the neighborhood of Chesterfield by a Rev. Mr. Smith, who selected Henry Russell as class leader. The soci- ety at one time numbered about forty members, and built a brick church on what is now the poor farm, where religious
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
services were held regularly ; but through deaths and removals from the township the society dwindled in numbers, services were discontinued, and the little house of worship, built by the contributions of citizens of the township, was abandoned to decay. A portion of the ground where this church stood was devoted to Burial purposes, and many of the pioneers and early settlers of the township are buried here. This, it may be added, was the first public burial ground in the township. The late Allen Makepeace is buried here.
A Baptist society was organized at Chesterfield in 1869 through the activity of J. B. Anderson, who was chosen clerk of the organization. Rev. J. C. Skinner was pastor. The society did not prosper, and the members transferred their membership to the Baptist church at Anderson.
In 1870 a Methodist church was organized at Chesterfield by Rev. John Pierce, Robert Goodin and others. In 1871 a place of worship was erected, and for a time regular services were held therein once every two weeks. The society did not prosper, however, and the church was dropped from the circuit.
In 1890 the State Spiritualist society purchased of Carroll Bronnenberg thirty acres of land, situated just north of Ches- terfield, for a camp ground. Workmen were at once employed to clear up and improve the grounds. A large auditorium, capable of seating five hundred people, was erected, together with several cottages for the use of mediums or others who desire to remain on the grounds during the meeting, which is held yearly and usually during the month of August. Spirit- ualists from every part of the State, and from almost every portion of the country, assemble here annually to confer with each other and enjoy a revival of their peculiar faith. The society is responsible financially, and is adding many substan- tial, as well as attractive, improvements to its property. In- terest is also increasing in the meetings held here, and the society is rapidly growing in numbers and influence.
SCHOOLS.
There are several school houses in the township, and seven teachers. In 1858 there were 214 children of legal school age in the township; in 1874 the number was 288, and this year 237. The population in 1850 was 623; in 1860 it was 858; in 1870 it was 851; in 1880 it was 917, and in 1890 it was 897, showing a decrease for the past decade.
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA. 978
CHESTERFIELD.
This village is one of the oldest in the county, and at one time one of the most prosperous. It was laid out in 1830, by Allen Makepeace, and was originally known as West Union. At the September session, 1834, of the Commissioners' Court, the name of the town was changed. The petition for the change was signed by the citizens generally and was presented by Allen Makepeace. It set out an act of the Legislature on the . subject, and other important reasons for such change. The Board, after due consideration of the matter, made the following order :
" It is ordered by the Board that the name of the town of West Union be changed, and that the same be henceforward known and designated as Chesterfield."
At the time of the completion of the Bellefontaine railroad to this point, and for many years afterward, considerable busi- ness was done by the mills and other enterprises located here, but owing to certain causes the place entered upon a decline about the year 1860, from which it has never recovered.
Prominent among the professional and business men who have resided here are : Dr. Henry, the first physician, Dr. Godwin, Dr. Ballingall, Dr. William Cornelius, Dr. J. W. Crismond, Dr. T. Kilgore, Dr. Kelly, Dr. M. H. Pratt, Dr. C. L. Armington. Dr. Downey is the present and only phy- sician in the village. The merchants have been Allen Make- peace, Jacob Shimer, J. M. Dilts, J. D. Carter & Bro., True- blood & Dusang, A. J. Cornelius. James K. Trimble for many years kept the only hotel in the village.
SLYFORK.
At the crossing of the State road and the Pan Handle rail- road, one mile south of the residence of Daniel Noland, in Union township, there once stood what promised to be the metropolis of that locality.
It was commonly known as Slyfork station, but the United States gave it the name of Branson's Post Office.
This village sprang up after the building of the Pan Handle railroad, in 1855, and was for a while quite a little trading point for the neighborhood, Ballingall & Tucker being the merchants and in charge of the post-office. A saw-mill was also added to the industries of the town, and for a while did the neighborhood sawing.
There is not a vestige left now to tell where this hamlet
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
once stood, the old store building having long since been torn away, and the saw-mill gone to decay.
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
The first distillery in the township was built by Samuel Suman. Frederick Bronnenberg, Sr., afterwards built and operated a still on his farm. This distillery was destroyed by fire.
There was a Masonic lodge at Chesterfield at an early day, but surrendered its charter long since to the Grand Lodge. The county infirmary is located in this township, four miles east of Anderson and one mile west of Chesterfield.
The P. C. C. & St. L. railway passes through this town- ship in a south-easterly direction, but has no station.
Among the prominent citizens of the township who have been elected to county offices, are Hon. William C. Fleming, Representative ; Brazelton Noland, County Treasurer ; Will- iam Noland, County Treasurer ; Henry Bronnenberg, County Commissioner.
In 1894 the grade of the Chicago & Southeastern railway was constructed through the township. William Cronin was the contractor and superintended the work.
The late Michael Bronnenberg, of Richland township, was the first child born in the township and the second male child in the county. He was born on the 24th of November, 1821, and died of heart disease, either on the night of the 22d or early in the morning of the 23d of October, 1896, as he was found dead in his bed on that morning. He had been in Anderson on the 22d to attend a political meeting at which the Hon. William J. Bryan, Democratic candidate for the Presidency, spoke, and appeared unusually lively during the day. He returned home in the evening in his usual health, and retired without a premonition of his approaching dissolu- tion. During the night he expired, but at what hour will never be known.
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE INFIRMARY ASSAULTED.
John W. Kinyoun, who for so many years served as super- intendent of the County Infirmary, had a thrilling experience with an inmate of that institution on the 20th of April, 1886. James M. Willetts, a deaf and dumb inmate, whom he had punished for some misconduct, made a most vicious assault upon him. Willetts was armed with a table knife ground to
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
a sharp point, with which he struck Kinyoun a blow in the right breast, inflicting a gash that bled profusely, and making an ugly wound. About four inches of the blade of the knife was broken off, and was afterwards removed by a physician who dressed the wound. Dr. Spann, who attended the wounded man, was of the opinion for some time that the wound would prove fatal. Kinyoun was affected to such an extent that for several hours he had severe internal hemorr- hages, but, being a vigorous man, he overcame his affliction and is yet living. Willetts was a man about thirty-two years of age, and had been an inmate of the institution at different times ever since 1860, and was sent there from Pipe Creek township when but a lad of six years of age. After this cut- ting affray he disappeared from the poor farm, and his where- abouts was never known.
BURNING OF A BARN.
William B. Bronnenberg, son of County Commissioner Henry Bronnenberg, had his barn consumed by fire on the 5th of October, 1887. About 11 o'clock at night the barn was discovered to be on fire, and was soon in ruins. The barn had just been rebuilt and overhauled, the carpenters having fin- ished their work the day before the fire.
A number of persons attracted to the place saw a man running away from the building in the direction of the woods, but he could not be recognized, and no one ever knew who the guilty party was.
Mr. Bronnenberg, the owner of the barn, is one of the most prosperous young farmers of Madison county. He . rebuilt his barn immediately, and is still a resident of that township. He is quite an inoffensive man and has no known enemies, and why the torch should have been applied to his property is a thing unaccountable to himself and his friends.
KILLED BY A TRAIN.
On Saturday night, the 9th of March, 1878, James Wes- ley Dagget, of Yorktown, was run over by a Bee Line train and his body was ground to atoms, near the village of Ches- terfield. On the night mentioned the citizens of the village were on the streets discussing the results of the primary elec- tion, when the news came that a man had been run over by the cars and killed at the dirt road crossing of the Middletown and Bee Line Railway, half a mile west of the village. The
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Coroner was notified and soon eight of the section men, under John Fitzgerald, left Anderson in a hand-car to go to the scene of the accident. On arriving at the crossing they dis- covered the dead body. From the crossing running east for a distance of a quarter of a mile, they found the scattered frag- ments of a human body and particles of his clothing along the track. They also found upon the deceased a number of letters fully identifying him as James Wesley Dagget, of Yorktown. The remains were gathered up as best they could be and placed, together with the shreds of clothing, in a box and con- veyed to the passenger depot in Anderson. On Sunday morn- ing the Coroner empaneled a jury and held an inquest over the remains. Facts were developed at the inquest that Dagget had been in Anderson on Saturday and that he was intoxi- cated. Samuel Pence had sold for him on the streets a rifle gun for the sum of $2.50. It is supposed that with the pro- ceeds he purchased the liquor and became drunk, and either sat down on the rails and went to sleep or had fallen, and being unable to rise, was struck by the train. His remains were taken to Yorktown by his friends on the Sunday even- ing following the accident, where they were interred in the village cemetery.
AN INCENDIARY FIRE.
The venerable Frederick Bronnenberg, whose familiar face is every day seen upon the streets of Anderson, for many years resided on his magnificent farm in the edge of Union township, near the Mounds, upon which was located a large barn. On the 24th of June, 1864, this barn was destroyed by fire, it being the work of an incendiary, whose identity was never established. At that time politics was at fever heat. Mr. Bronnenberg, being an ardent Republican and very free in expressing his political convictions on all occasions, had many enemies in the opposite party. For years he has loudly proclaimed that the destruction of his barn was due to his political opponents, but cooler heads in the community dis- credit such an idea. While there was no doubt existing in the minds of many at that time that the fire was the work of a miscreant, there was no one who would believe that there was a Democrat in that locality mean enough to resort to such means to get even with a political enemy. All efforts to bring the guilty parties to justice failed. The citizens of the com- munity, regardless of their party feeling, lent all assistance in
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
helping Mr. Bronnenberg find out who the guilty parties were, but they were unsuccessful, and the wretches escaped without punishment.
UNEARTHING OF A MONSTROUS SKELETON.
In the month of August, 1890, while a man of the name of Frank Martin was engaged in making an excavation for a cellar on the farm of Edwin Gustin, three miles south of Ches- terfield, he unearthed the bones of what was supposed to be the skeleton of an Indian of gigantic size. The bones were in a good state of preservation, and judging from their size, it is estimated that the Indian, when alive and erect, must at least have been seven feet in height. The teeth were very much worn. There had been several skeletons found previously near the same place, at different times. The earth at that place appeared to be full of bones of those who had once inhabited this county, and the locality was, perhaps, at one time the seat of an Indian village, but it must have been long ago, as no history is given of it within the recollection of the oldest inhabitant. No account is given either of any ceme- tery or burying place for Indians ever having been established there.
KILLED BY A BEE LINE TRAIN.
On the 21st of August, 1890, Moses Decker and Lyman Preston went to sleep on the Bee Line railroad track, near the brick yards at Chesterfield, and were instantly killed by a passenger train. The engineer saw by his headlight the two men lying on the track, but the speed of his engine was too great to check in time to prevent it from running over them. The train was an hour behind time and was running at a fear- ful rate of speed. The men were both in a drunken condition. The train stopped at Chesterfield, which is only about sixty rods from the place where the accident happened. No one knew of the casualty except the engineer, and he said nothing about it. At Yorktown, the next station, he passed a west- bound train, and there he informed the engineer of that train that he had killed a couple of men near Chesterfield. The Coroner was immediately notified, and after holding an inquest returned a verdict in accordance with the above facts. The bodies were found by l'eter Bushaw, a farm hand in the employ of Thomas Bronnenberg, who while passing along stumbled over the corpse of Lyman Preston. A few feet further along he discovered the body of Moses Decker, whose 62
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
head was severed from his body and whose legs had been cut off at the knees. Preston's head was mashed to a pulp, and his features were unrecognizable. Young Preston was about twenty-one years of age and unmarried. He had relatives living at Chesterfield who took charge of his remains. Decker was about thirty-five years old and had no relatives living in this part of the country, and had been brought to Middletown when a lad, with a company of waifs from New York City. He was a quiet, peaceable fellow, but was very fond of intox- icating liquors. This was the fourth occurrence of this char- acter at this fatal spot.
DISCOVERY OF A SKELETON.
While some workmen were digging a gas trench, near Chesterfield, on the 24th of August, 1889, they unearthed a skeleton that had been buried two feet under ground. It was in a sitting position with the head severed from the body. The arms occupied a space of two feet wide by three feet long, the lower limbs having been bent forward and the body curved to one side. The Coroner of the county was summoned, and on examination he pronounced the skeleton to be the body of a white female. The skeleton was remarkably well preserved, the skull indicating that the person was of more than ordinary intelligence. It was in a secluded spot, but none of the neighbors remembered anything about the mysterious disap- pearance of any woman. It was the supposition that a foul murder had been committed at some distant point from here and that the remains had been brought to this locality for burial. But who the principals in this dark tragedy were will probably never be known. It is an old proverb that "murder will out," but the saying in this case will probably never prove true.
A SUDDEN DEATH.
The first death to occur at the Spiritualists' camp grounds at Chesterfield, came suddenly to Professor F. M. Davis, on the 1st of August, 1896. He was a medium in attendance at the meeting, his home being in Iron Valley, New York, where his family was notified of his decease. He was found dead in his bed in a cottage on the grounds, and Coroner Sells, with an ambulance, took charge of the remains. A letter was found on his person addressed to Mary Brown, at Iron Valley, New York, and $200 in money was found in his clothing.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
He was a composer of music, and was a man of more than ordinary intelligence.
A SUDDEN DEATH.
Wesley T. McDowell was a young man of about twenty- five years of age, who was left an orphan when quite young, and had to make his way through the world by his own labor. When he was quite a young lad he went to live in the fam- ily of James Forkner, and worked on the farm in summer time, and in the winter months attended school. After he had grown to manhood he had an ambition to become a tele- graph operator, which he since commenced to learn in an office in Anderson, in the year 1871. He had to work out on the farm a part of the time to earn enough with which to pay his way. He, in due course of time, finished his chosen profession, but had no one to push him to the front, so he was not successful in getting employment, and he went back to the farm. In the meantime his old friend and benefactor, James Forkner, had died, and he took up his home with Alfred Forkner, a son, and lived with him until the 17th of July, 1876, when on that day while he was alone in the field he was suddenly stricken down with death. No one ever knew what was the cause of his sudden taking off, but it was the sup- position of the Coroner, who held the inquest, that it was sun- stroke. Wesley was a favorite with those who knew him, and his death was the cause of much grief among his friends. He was a quiet, inoffensive young man, and strictly honest in all his dealings.
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