USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical sketches and reminiscences of Madison county, Indiana : a detailed history of the early events of the pioneer settlement of the county, and many of the happenings of recent years, as well as a complete history of each township, to which is added numerous incidents of a pleasant nature, in the way of reminiscences, and laughable occurrences > Part 36
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ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING.
On the 5th of January, 1884, Miss Mary Ring was acci- dentally killed by the discharge of a gun, at the home of her sister, Mrs. Kidwell. The unfortunate lady was there on a visit at the time. In one of the rooms of the house an old army musket was standing in a corner, and at the solicitation of his wife Mr. Kidwell had lifted it out of its place to put it in a more secure position. In doing this the hammer of the gun was struck by some obstacle and the weapon was dis- charged. The load took effect in the face of Miss Ring. Her face was horribly . mutilated, her lower jaw was nearly blown off and her tongue torn out. Although suffering intensely she remained rational for some time and lived until Sunday night, the following day, when she died. At the time of the acci- dent she was engaged to be married to a young and prosper- ous farmer, and had it not been for this, the wedding ceremony would have been performed in a few days.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
DISASTROUS FIRE AT FRANKTON.
On the 3d of October, 1877, a disastrous fire took place at the village of Frankton, in which nearly the entire business part of the town was destroyed. A correspondent from that place to the Anderson Democrat of October 5 gives the fol- lowing account : " About half past five o'clock in the morn- ing an alarm of fire was given which aroused the slumbering citizens of the quiet village to a full sense of the fact that the long-expected conflagration had come. In a short time most of the citizens of the town and many people from the country were at the scene of the disaster. It was very fortunate for the place that the morning was calm and that scarcely a breeze was stirring to fan the raging flames. But for this reason nearly the whole town would have been laid in ashes. The fire originated in the stable owned by William Waples. Next to this on the south side was the stable of J. W. Phillips. From this building it went to the drug store of John A. Howard, then to the Dwiggins building, in which was the post-office and a grocery owned by James McLean. On the north of this was the Suman building, occupied by the Kimmerling Bros., druggists, and J. & W. Townsend, dry goods merchants. Still farther north of this was a hardware store owned by Hurst & Brother. All these buildings were swept away by the raging flames in a moment's time. Quick, Sharp & Co. was the only firm in town that did not move its stock. H. C. Brown moved out of his building, but it did not burn. The cool and delib- erate action of the people managed to save all the merchan- dise owned by the different firms. The most interesting incident of the fire was that of Isaac Wood, who tried to save two horses, but in spite of his efforts to rescue them from the burn- ing building one of them perished. William Wood himself, while trying to save his horses, was severely burned about the neck and face. A fine stallion owned by Waples & Phillips was also burned. The Masonic fraternity lost everything per-
taining to their lodge. The Odd Fellows saved their furni- ture and fixtures. The books owned by 'Squire A. H. Muhol- land were lost. together with some valuable notes and papers. The severest losers were parties living out of town who were the owners of buildings, none of which were insured, among whom were J. M. Cockran and Bernard Dwiggins. As usual on such occasions thieves were busily engaged and a large amount of property was stolen and carried off. Parties were seen going in every direction with bundles in their arms, but
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during the excitement no one attempted to halt them or recover the plunder they were carrying away."
It was generally thought that the fire originated in the headquarters of a lot of gamblers who were playing cards in the hay mow in a stable in which the fire was first discovered. This was a very severe blow to the enterprising village of Frankton, and it was some time before it recovered from the effects of the disaster.
THE KILLING OF JOHN LITTLE.
John Little, who lived near Frankton, in Pipe Creek township, was at one time one of the central figures of that community, in politics and business. He was a prosperous farmer, made money fast, lived well and enjoyed the respect of the people among whom he lived. In the year 1870 he con - cluded to contest for the nomination, on the Democratic tick- et, for the office of Sheriff of Madison county. He had always been a hard worker for the cause of his political friends and had numerous advocates of his elevation when he launched his boat upon the sea of politics. In that memorable year it seemed that nearly every prominent Democrat in the county aspired to some office. It was one of the most hotly contested and thrilling canvasses that was ever made for nom- inations since the formation of the county. The candidates went in droves from one township to another, making per- sonal appeals to the voters, generally winding up each even. ing at some school-house in the neighborhood, where all the candidates would be corralled and speeches would be made in advocacy of their claims for office.
It was in this year that the late Neal C. Mccullough made his famous fight for the office of County Auditor, receiv- ing the nomination and then being defeated at the polls in the subsequent election. John Little was successful in securing the nomination for Sheriff ; James F. Mock for County Treas- urer ; Neal C. McCullough for County Auditor; Jacob Hub- bard for County Recorder, and James W. Sansberry for Rep- resentative. During the scramble a great deal of bitter warfare was indulged in, causing a feeling among the candi- dates, which was impossible to allay or pacify after the pri- maries had closed. This warfare was kept up to the bitter end, thereby insuring the defeat of every candidate on the Democratic county ticket, except Hon. James W. Sansberry for Representative, Jacob Hubbard for Recorder, and Thomas
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
J. Fleming for Clerk of the Court, who had no opposition for the nomination or final election.
The canvass, made in the spring and before the fall elec- tion, cost Mr. Little nearly his entire fortune, and made a financial wreck of him for the balance of his life, and he never thereafter was able, although frugal in his habits, to over- come the indebtedness that he had made in this political fight. and when he died he left his family in poor circumstances.
The sad end of his life was caused by an altercation with Henry Burk in the city of Anderson, in the month of March, 1876. Mr. Little had been to Indianapolis on business, and. on returning, stopped at Anderson to await the train to go north at midnight on the Pan Handle road. In order to while away the time he stepped into a saloon on South Main street. kept by Hezekiah Trueblood. When he left the saloon he carried away an overcoat belonging to Henry Burk, the bar- tender. After leaving Mr. Trueblood's place he entered the saloon owned by William Ryan, where it is said he put Burk's coat into the stove and then left for the north depot to take the midnight train for home. Mr. Little had evidently been drinking, or he would never have indulged in this kind of con- duct, from the fact that, although at times he was rough in his manners, no one ever accused him of being dishonest, or would have for a moment suspected him of taking the coat with any intention of converting it to his own use, as he was entirely above reproach in that respect. Mr. Burk followed Little to the depot, and when he came upon him demanded Little's coat in place of the one he had destroyed, which Little readily assented to, and gave Burk his coat, who returned to town. Mr. Little, instead of going on with the train, followed Burk back to town and overtook him in the office of the United States hotel. a large three-story building that the older citizens of the city of Anderson will remember as having stood on the corner of Ninth and Main streets. It was occupied at that time by Frederick Cartwright. Little carried two large bowl- ders in his hands, and upon entering the room he dropped one of them on the floor and caught Burk by the collar with his left hand, and was in the act of striking him with the other stone when Louis Tetherington, a 'bus driver, grasped Lit- tle's uplifted arm and took away the stone. Little at this juncture let go of Burk and struck Tetherington a terrible blow on his face, which sent him reeling to the other side of the room. Burk, realizing the great strength of Little, and know-
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ing his disposition to be ugly in a fight, took advantage of the occasion and determined to protect himself. He armed him- self with a billet of wood, and when Little returned to attack him Burk struck him on the head and face, knocking him down. Little's face was beaten and cut into a perfect jelly, and he also received a fracture of the skull, from which he was found to be unconscious. Medical aid was summoned, and such relief as was necessary at the time was rendered him, and on the Saturday following the patient was removed to his home at Frankton, and after lingering for several days he finally died from the wounds, Dr. S. W. Edwins attending him in his last hours. Burk was placed under arrest for the crime of man- slaughter, but upon a trial was acquitted and exonerated from any criminal act on the ground of his having acted in self- defense, Little being the aggressor.
For many years after this a bitter feeling prevailed between the friends of Little and Burk, and it was feared for a time that the blood of other parties might be shed over this lamentable occurrence, but time has effaced all the memories clinging around it and it is now only alluded to as a matter of history.
John Little when sober was a noble hearted man and would sacrifice anything almost to do a friendly favor ; was hospitable at his home and was surrounded by a large circle of friends.
In the election above referred to Mr. Little was the cen- tral figure in the fight and it was made principally against him, but had a most wholesome effect upon the politics of the county as it caused the Democratic party, which was then in the ascendency, to be cautious as to the men who received the nominations and it was also a means of stopping the nefarious business of buying votes in the nominating conventions and at the polls in the following elections. At the following elec- tions in 1872 the Democrats redeemed themselves and elected their entire ticket.
John Little in this election was defeated by David K. Carver, Esq., who was the first Republican sheriff that ever held the office in this county, and it is a real pleasure for the authors of this book to state that Mr. Carver was a conscien- tious official and filled his place to the satisfaction of the pub- lie, and had it not been for the overwhelming majority of the county he would have been re-elected.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
A SAD SUICIDE.
William Townsend was a young business man of Frank- ton, who was engaged in merchandizing with his father, under the firm name of J. & W. Townsend. They carried on an extensive business and enjoyed the respect of the community and had a large circle of friends in the county.
On the 5th of October, 1881, the citizens of Frankton were shocked at receiving the news by telegraph that William . Townsend had shot himself at the Crawford House, in Cin- cinnati. No seeming cause could be assigned for the rash act, as he was pleasantly situated in business, belonged to a very good family, and was highly esteemed. He was happily married, and was the father of a three-year-old daughter whom. he dearly loved. He was at times, it is said, given to fits of melancholy, but no stress was laid on that fact, as he had made no demonstration of doing injury to himself or to others. On the day prior to his death he went to Cincinnati on the evening train and registered at the Crawford House, paying his bill in advance for the time he expected to remain. He was apparently in the very best of spirits, and after supper left the hotel to spend the evening with a friend by the name of James Duncan, who represented one of the wholesale. houses of which he purchased goods. During the evening he was more than usually cheerful, and never once raised a sus- picion of the terrible deed he was about to commit. On leav- ing his friend he charged him particularly to call for him at seven o'clock the next morning. He entered the hotel where he had an order placed upon the register to call him at half -. past six o'clock the next morning, and after a brief conversa- tion with the clerk, he retired for the night. The next morn- ing the clerk, at the designated hour, went to his room, but getting no response, he forced the door open and was horrified to find young Townsend dead. He was lying with his pants and shirt on, with a bullet hole in his head, and a 32-calibre Colt's revolver clinched in his hands.
The alarm was at once given and the Coroner notified. Ile empaneled a jury, held an inquest, and after investigation a verdict returned that the deceased had come to his death from a pistol shot by his own hand.
He had on his person $800 in money, and a handsome pair of bracelets which he had purchased for his daughter. His father went to Cincinnati and took the remains home on the following Friday night, and on Saturday he was buried 58
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in the village cemetery. ITis funeral was one of the largest ever witnessed in that section of the county.
It was a sad blow not only to his father, mother and other near relations, but also to his young wife, who yet survives him, and who is at this time a resident of Anderson.
KILLED BY DAMPS IN A WELL ..
On the 24th of July, 1890, Louis Peppin and David Welker, his son-in-law, both of Frankton, were digging a well .near that place, when they were overcome by gas, or "' damps," and were suffocated. They had dug the well to a depth of twenty feet, when Peppin, who was in the bottom, struck a vein of gas, and coming up, sat down, remarking that he believed he had struck a gas-well. After resting a few moments he again descended. He had nearly reached the bottom when his farther progress was arrested by the gas, which was pouring out to such an extent as to prevent him from going down farther, and was overcome. David Welker looked down and saw his father-in-law lying limp and help- less. It dawned upon him that there were " damps " in the well, and he started down to rescue Peppin from his perilous position. When he reached the bottom he attempted to lift the body into the bucket, and in doing so, he himself was also overcome, and both bodies lay at the bottom of the well in a lifeless condition. The accident produced a momentary panic among the men who had assembled on the brink of the well, and it was fully twenty minutes before the bodies were recov- ered. No one dared to enter the deadly well, and therefore a rope was let down and looped around the legs of the unfortu- nate men, and thus they were drawn to the surface. Peppin was a man about sixty-eight years of age, and his son-in-law, Welker, was much younger. They both left families in needy circumstances. The well in question was upon the farin of John D. Gooding, ex-Deputy Sheriff of Madison county, and was southwest of the town of Frankton. The remains of the unfortunate men were interred in the cemetery near the place of their death. Welker was a nephew of Mr. George Welker, ex-Chief of Police of Anderson.
KILLED BY A TRAIN.
On the 16th of May, 1882, a sad accident occurred at the townof Frankton, whereby Mrs. Mary Timmons, of that place, lost her life by being run over by a train of cars on the Pan
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Handle Railroad. She had been in the dry goods store of Quick & Co. making some purchases and on leaving went towards the railroad. This she intended to cross and walked in a northernly direction, but had her attention drawn the opposite way by looking at some object along the roadside. She was unconscious of the approaching train, and being very deaf could not hear its noise. The train was running at con- siderable speed and struck her on her left side so that she was . thrown a distance of forty or fifty feet, falling under a flat-car on the side of the track. Her body was considerably bruised and mutilated and she lived only an hour after the accident. Several persons saw her going to the railroad and beheld the danger that she was in, but were too far away to render her any assistance. Dr. Edwins was immediately called and took charge of the woman, being assisted by Dr. Brown. But noth- ing could be done. Her injuries were fatal.
On examination it was found that her left arm was broken and badly crushed and a dangerous wound was also discovered in her left side. Michael Ryan, Coroner of Madison county, was notified and proceeded to Frankton to hold an inquest. He returned a verdict of death in accordance with the facts as stated. The Coroner also exonerated the railroad company from any blame in the matter. Lafayette Freeman was the engineer and W. H. Green, fireman, in charge of the engine. They testified that they saw the woman, but not in time to stop the train, and supposed that she heard them, and every moment looked for her to step off the track. Mrs. Timmons left a husband, but no children.
INCENDIARY FIRE.
In the month of August, 1890, a man of the name of MacDonald erected a building in Frankton for the purpose of occupying the same with a retail liquor saloon, but while in course of erection in some manner it was set on fire and com- pletely destroyed. It was almost certain that the fire was the act . of an incendiary, as no fire was about the premises and there was no other way in which it could have been ignited. No clue was ever obtained as to who the guilty parties were. It was strongly suspected that some parties who were opposed to having the building occupied by a dram shop took this method of getting it out of the way.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
A BURGLARY.
The usually quiet town of Frankton was visited on the night of the 20th of October, 1887, by a band of burglars who rifled the dry goods store of D. Canaday & Company, Sigler Brothers' drug store, and Quick's hardware store. The bur- glars, however, secured but little valuable booty, as they were frustrated in their designs by someone walking on the street, which compelled them to abandon their object. A little money had been left in the cash drawer at Sigler's store, which was taken, and from the other establishments a few pocket- knives and revolvers were carried away. Strong suspicion pointed to some parties in the immediate vicinity, but sufficient evidence was not obtained to cause their arrest, and none was ever made in connection with the matter.
WILLIAM MASSEE DISEMBOWELED.
In the year 1888. William Massee came near losing his life by having his bowels cut by a knife in the hands of a cousin, Charles Massee, at the town of Frankton. The occurrence was the result of a family feud that had for some time existed. The Massees were Kentucky mountaineers, who had not been long residents of this community, and little is known of them by the writers. Soon after this affair they removed from the county, and their whereabouts is now unknown. Dr. S. W. Edwins was soon upon the scene, and in a very skillful man- ner replaced the intestines and sewed up the wound, and the unfortunate man recovered.
CAPTURE OF BURGLARS AT FRANKTON.
During the early part of the year 1890 the vicinity of Frankton had been the scene of several small burglaries and petty thieving operations. The store of Jefferson Ring was entered during that time and a considerable quantity of goods taken therefrom. Mr. Ring and others, who had suffered by these depredations, did their best to trap them but without avail, and finally the detective agency of Charles Page, of Richmond, was brought to bear upon them. Park Page was placed immediately at work upon the case, and a " stool pigeon" was sent to Frankton to overlook the field. One of the first clews obtained was that Charles Rains and Preston Shell, two young men living near Frankton, had some time previously come into possession of a key to the rear door of Ring's store, having stolen it of a carpenter of the name of Hiser who had
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worked on the building. The young man who had been sent to Frankton as a " decoy " and the detectives soon gained the confidence of the boys and a plan was entered into to rob the store on a certain night during the month of May in that year. Mr. Ring and the detectives secreted themselves in the store. About 12 o'clock Rains, Shell and " the decoy " put in their appearance and opened the rear door with the stolen key. As they entered the store the acute ear of Rains heard the ticking of Detective Page's watch and having some misgivings that . he and his partner were " bagged " endeavored to make his escape. The detective stepped to the door and drawing his revolver captured the two boys and placed them in irons. After the capture they admitted that they robbed the store on two different occasions and had obtained entrance by the key which they had stolen. They were handcuffed together and taken to Anderson and lodged in jail to await their trial. They were both young men, one twenty-one and the other nineteen years of age. They had both been born and reared on farms in the vicinity of Frankton.
At the May term of the Madison Circuit Court they were placed on trial for the crime of burglary, Shell being defended by Hon. C. L. Henry and Hon. George M. Ballard. Judge M. A. Chipman having heard the evidence, young Shell was sentenced to two years in the State's prison, and on account of the youth of Rains and by his being badly influenced by his companion he was left off with a light punishment.
KILLED BY AN OFFICER.
A serious shooting affair occurred at the town of Frank - ton on the night of August 20, 1872, the facts of which are about as follows: The firm of C. Quick & Co. had been suspecting for some time that there were parties who contem- plated robbing their store and safe. They were large dealers in clothing, merchandise and groceries, and had a large Hall's safe in their office, as they also conducted a banking business for the accommodation of the Frankton public. They were formally notified of the intended raid by information which was communicated to them by a detective by the name of Will- iam Shoemaker, who resided at Centerville, Wayne county, Indiana.
Shoemaker had fallen in with one William Beeson at Indianapolis, one of the parties upon whom suspicion rested. Shoemaker caused Beeson to believe he was also a burglar.
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The detective told Beeson that he was not a good hand at opening safes, but that he had a friend who was very success- ful in that line, and would send him to assist Beeson. This assistant came, and it seems that he and Beeson made the nec- essary arrangements and fixed upon a certain night to commit the burglary. Quick & Co., in the meantime, had been made acquainted with the scheme, and deemed it proper to provide such means as would tend to the capture and arrest of the parties who were about to engage in this criminal act. Thurs- day night of that week was fixed upon as the time for the burglary. Quick & Co. sent a messenger to the city of Anderson to inforin the Sheriff of Madison county, and to request him to have some proper officer detailed to visit Frank- ton on the night in question in order to arrest the parties while they were engaged in the act of burglarizing the store. David K. Carver, then Sheriff of Madison county, willingly com- plied with this request and selected Mr. Stephen Metcalf, his deputy, and called to his assistance Cornelius Daugherty, Constable of Anderson township, and Mr. Oran Walker, a deputy Sheriff.
These officers immediately proceeded to Frankton. At about 12 o'clock at night, two men entered the store, and, at a signal of the detective, who had met and become acquainted with Metcalf and his assistants, and who had communicated to them how the details should be arranged as to the capture, rushed to the store front, which was thrown open by the detective, who was on the inside of the building, in company with Beeson, in the act of committing the burglary. At that very moment, one of the men in the store, who had a dark- lantern, shut off its light, and in doing so, threw up his arm. The light reflected on the lantern and caused it to glisten. Mr. Metcalf mistook this for a revolver, and, from the man's motions, supposed he was in the act of shooting. Mr. Met- calf, acting upon: the spur of the moment, and in the full con- fidence that he was acting in defense of his own life, and in the discharge of an official duty, instantly fired his revolver, the shot taking effect in the left arm of Shoemaker, who had been mistaken for Beeson, the burglar, passing thence into his side, causing instant death.
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