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 7
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A dwelling house owned by James Trueblood, north of the factory, was also destroyed. The residence of Smith Andrews was at one time on fire, but was saved through the efforts of the hook and ladder company. Charles Goslin, an employe, was overcome with heat, and was carried away in an unconscious condition. Elias Vandyke was caught by a pile of burning heading and was badly burned. "Jack " Williams was also caught, but escaped with only slight in- juries. Fully 2,000 people were present and witnessed the scene.
The destruction of this factory was a heavy blow to the Adams Bros. and nearly wiped out their entire capital. The meagre amount of insurance they held was but a drop in the bucket towards the rebuilding of the plant. The Ander- son Board of Trade called a meeting to offer assistance to the unfortunate company, which the Adams Bros. agreed to accept on condition that they be permitted to reimburse the · gentlemen who might come to their assistance. Upon these terms the Board of Trade went upon the streets through its officers and solicited subscriptions to the amount of $7,000, and the factory was rebuilt.
The Adams Bros. executed notes to the citizens before commencing the rebuilding of their plant, and as soon as they had made sufficient money ont of their business repaid all who were kind enough to come to their aid.
DESTRUCTION OF ARMSTRONG'S PLANING MILL.
Nathan Armstrong, of Anderson, has been an owner and operator of a planing mill for a great number of years. He was for awhile the partner of William B. Wright, under the firm name of Wright & Armstrong, and carried on an exten- sive business of building and contracting. From 1867 to 1869 they built nearly every house within the limits of Anderson, that was erected during that period. Mr. Armstrong pur-
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chased from Mr. Wright, his interest, and continued to oper- ate the same, alone, with the exception of the last few years, during which time his son Walter has had an interest. On Monday night, January 12, 1883, his large and extensive fac- tory was noticed to be on fire by some persons who were pass- ing by at the time. They saw smoke issuing from the build- ing and immediately gave the alarm, but by the time people could reach the place, the fire had gained such headway that it was beyond control, and the workers were then directed to save the stock. The building being filled with inflammable material, burned so rapidly that in a short time nothing was left but the walls.
The loss to Mr. Armstrong was estimated to be $15,000, with no insurance. This fell heavily upon him, but being a man of nerve and business tact, he immediately set about re- building the structure and placed therein new and improved machinery, which he has operated from that time until the present period, doing a prosperous business and has long since recovered from the effects of the loss that he sustained in 1883. No man in Anderson has enjoyed more universally the confi- dence of his fellow-men than does Nathan Armstrong.
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN ANDERSON.
A very destructive fire occurred at the corner of Ninth and Meridian streets in Anderson on the morning of the 13th of July, 1886, in which the grocery store of Irey Brothers ; the millinery establishment of Miss Carrie Dodd; the meat market belonging to Rhoades Brothers; the shoe store of Minor Barrett ; the United States Express Company ; and the agri- cultural store of B. F. Alford were wiped out of existence. The buildings in which the fire occurred were wooden struct- ures which had stood there for many years and were joined closely together. The fire was first discovered in Irey Broth- ers store by night watchman Wolf, who gave the aların, but it being at an early hour in the morning when people are generally asleep very few responded in time either to assist in removing the goods or to help quench the flames. The cause of the conflagration was unknown but strong suspicions were aroused that it was the act of an incendiary. About two weeks prior to the fire a quantity of pine shavings which had been saturated with coal oil was discovered under the room occupied by the grocery store and had doubtless been placed there for the purpose of firing the building. The buildings
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belonged to Hester Neely, some of which were afterwards re- built under leases, and others by Miss Neely herself. The fire was a severe blow financially to Mr. B. F. Alford, from the effects of which he has never been able to recover.
BURNING OF THE AMERICAN WIRE NAIL MILLS.
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One of the most destructive fires that ever occurred in Anderson took place at the American Wire Nail Company's buildings in Hazelwood addition on the 13th of March, 1890, by which that immense industry was almost totally destroyed. The roof burned first and fell on the machinery and lower floor. Some of the stacks were left and the office fixtures were also saved. The rolling mill and the repair shop were totally destroyed ; a greater portion of the wire mill depart- ment was saved. The machinery was badly burned and much of it broken by the falling of the roof; minor parts of the en- gine and boiler were broken and injured. This fire entailed a great loss to the company. During the conflagration there was much excitement, and consternation reigned supreme. The mill was covered by $50,000 insurance, which did not make up the amount destroyed, much less the loss of time and delay in re-building. Immediately after the fire a move was put on foot to re-build the plant upon a more substantial basis. The directors, at a meeting shortly after, decided upon reconstructing the plant by building it entirely as an iron structure. The Board of Trade of Anderson called a meeting and entered into an agreement with the company to enlarge its plant to a certain capacity and donated a subsidy for that purpose. The leading members of the board and the best citi- zens of the city helped the company, and soon the buildings were restored and the men were again at work.
This is one of Anderson's best industries. The new buildings erected are entirely of iron, and it would be almost an impossibility to again burn them down.
This manufactory is spoken of elsewhere in these pages.
A LINE SHAFT VICTIM.
On the morning of December 16, 1894, Curtis L. Tingle, of Anderson, an employe of the Woolley foundry, met death in a most horrible manner. . A fellow workman at the foundry heard a pounding noise in that portion of the building where Tingle was accustomed to work, and its unusual sound at once
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filled his mind with apprehension. He immediately signaled the engineer to stop the engine. He then hurried to the cupola, where the limp body of Tingle hung suspended from the line shaft. The clothing of the unfortunate man was wrapped so tightly around the shaft that it became necessary to cut his body loose. There were no cuts or bruises visible, save a fractured left arm near the wrist. The face, however, bore every trace of an agonized death. How it happened will for- ever remain a mystery to his friends and the inmates of the factory, as no human eye was a witness. The generally ac- cepted supposition, however, is that in adjusting a belt on a pulley his clothing was caught by the shaft, and the man, helpless and paralyzed with fear, was hurled to death. His cry of distress, if uttered at all, was never heard. The thump, thump, thump of his body as it struck the side of the wall told of an unusual situation in the cupola section and led to the discovery.
ACCIDENT AT THE COUNTY FAIR.
The County Fair at Anderson was for many years looked forward to as a great season of enjoyment by the people of the county. Many enjoyable days have been spent in the beautiful grove of spreading oaks that lent their grateful shade to the comfort of the mass of humanity who congregated there annually to give themselves up to gaiety and sport. Among the many scenes of pleasure there have been some of sadness . as well. One of the unfortunate affairs was the breaking of the leg of A. W. Stewart, of Elwood, on the 7th of Septem- ber, 1876. While " scoring ". the horses for a start in a race Stewart was coming down the "stretch " at a lively gait when he collided with a horse driven by Richard Hunt, whereby his sulky was overturned and he was thrown out after being dragged for some distance, and had his leg broken and being otherwise bruised.
He was kindly cared for by friends and soon recovered. This accident caused the greatest excitement throughout the densely crowded grounds, and it was simply miraculous that others were not injured.
- BURNING OF KILGORE'S HEADING FACTORY.
The extensive heading factory owned by J. L. Kilgore & Co., on South Main street, opposite the Big Four passenger station, was destroyed by fire on Sunday, the 16th of February,
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1887, being one of the most destructive fires that ever took place in the city. The flames were first discovered in the engine room, where a spark from the furnace ignited a pile of saw-dust that lay close by. The fire spread with startling rapidity, owing to the combustible nature of the timber in the building. Although the firemen responded with promptness the factory was almost consumed before a stream of water could be turned upon it. This was a great loss to the propri- tors as well as to the community from the fact that it was at that time the largest manufacturing industry in the city, and gave employment to a great number of workingmen, who were left almost destitute in the dead of winter. The build- ing and its contents were partially insured, but not sufficiently to pay the loss. The company owned another factory at New Castle and it was several weeks before the proprietors de- termined upon re-building ; but after mature deliberation the factory was re-built and placed in operation and so continued until a few years ago, when, in consequence of the scarcity of timber in this section of the country, the plant was moved to Paducah, Kentucky, where it is now in active operation ..
THE FATAL SWIMMING HOLE.
On the 24th of August, 1876, Charley Brown, a lad of eight years of age, was drowned in White river, just below the Pan Handle railroad bridge, while swimming with some boys. Ile was the son of a widow, who was a domestic in the family of Michael Skehan, who then lived on West Eighth street. His little companions did all in their power to rescue him, but to no purpose, as they were all small and could be of but little help to him. After making a heroic effort to save himself, he went down for the third and last time and sank from sight. The little fellows who were in his company were terror stricken and for a time did not know what to do. After gathering their wits, they gave the alarm, and the citi- zens turned out and made search for his body which was found, after some effort, not far from where he went down. This was a very sad affair for his widowed mother, as he was her only son, and she was very poor and worked out to main- tain him and herself.
CHAPTER LVIII.
THE FAILURE OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF ANDERSON AND THE SAD TRAGEDY FOLLOWING IT.
Prior to the organization of the First National Bank of Anderson in the year 1865, the banking facilities of Madison county were very limited. N. C. Mccullough had, in 1865, established a small banking institution, which was afterward discontinued, and for awhile Anderson was without a bank. Afterward J. G. Stilwell and his son, Thomas N. Stilwell, came here from Oxford, Ohio, in the early '50s, and en- gaged in merchandising and other lines of business, under the firm name of J. G. & T. N. Stilwell ; T. N. Stilwell being also a part of the time engaged in the practice of law, and for a time associate editor of the Anderson Gazette. They also did a small banking business in a private way, until in the year 1865, after the passage of the national banking law, when they, in company with other citizens of Anderson, organized the First National Bank, with a capital of $50,000. The bank was very popular with the people and soon had a handsome business, being favored with the deposits of merchants, busi- ness men, corporations and public officials to such an extent that the deposits at one time reached the sum of $300,000. During the panic of 1878 the house of Jay Cooke & Co., of New York, failed unexpectedly, and threw the whole country into a state of financial excitement. The First National Bank of Anderson was a patron of Jay Cooke & Co., which fact was generally known to its depositors, and consequently they became frightened and many withdrawals were made in a quiet way, which depleted the cash resources of the bank to such an extent that it was compelled to close its doors on the 15th of November, 1873, although no regular " run " had been made on the institution. Colonel T. N. Stilwell was very popular with all classes, and under ordinary circumstances would have been able to have stemmed the tide and brought the bank through; but owing to the universal distrust and the
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shaken state of public confidence, the bank had to succumb to the inevitable.
At the time of the failure the bank had on hand as a part of its assets Venezuelan bonds to the amount of $100,000, which Colonel Stilwell had acquired while he was minister to that government.
The payment of these securities was afterwards contested by the authorities of Venezuela, and a large amount of them was declared null and void by a commission appointed jointly by the United States and Venezuela, which had the effect to greatly diminish the cash resources of the bank.
When the bank failed Thomas Mccullough, of Oxford, was made receiver, but only served a short time, when he resigned and Walter S. Johnson, of Washington, D. C., was put in charge and wound up its business.
When the receiver took charge a statement of the condi- tion of the bank was given out, which showed the following resources and liabilities :
Cash --- Bills receivable, accounts and other items. $164,563 Due to depositors, individuals and corporations. 187,717 Leaving assets over liabilities 25,846
Included in the assets were the Venezuelan bonds, which, being to a large extent invalid, reduced the available resources far below the liabilities, whereby the depositors were forced to sustain considerable of a loss. The bonds are yet in the · hands of the Comptroller of the Currency at Washington, and should they eventually be paid the First National Bank would pay out in full. There has been paid to the depositors forty cents on the dollar. Among the large depositors was Weems Heagey, Treasurer of Madison county, who had in the vaults of the bank at the time of its suspension $21,000. The failure had the effect to tie up a large amount of money and caused much distress and a closeness of financial affairs, until the peo- ple had time to rally from its consequences.
At the time of the failure Colonel T. N. Stilwell was President, and A. B. Kline was Cashier.
This is the only bank failure that has ever occurred in Madison county.
Colonel Stilwell was a politician as well as a banker, and held several political offices during his residence in this county. He was elected to the Legislature in 1856, and in 1864 he defeated the Hon. James McDowell, of Marion, for
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Congress, serving one term, during which time he received the appointment as Minister to Venezuela. He also assisted in the organization of the 34th Indiana Regiment of Volun- teers, and was made Quartermaster of that regiment. It was organized at Anderson and went into camp in 1861 on what is now known as the George Forrey farm, north of White river, then known as "Camp Stilwell." Ile only remained with this regiment a short time, when he was called home by Governor Morton and put in charge of the organization of the 130th and 131st Regiments at Kokomo, Indiana. He was commissioned as Colonel, but did not go to the front, as his private affairs would not admit of his absence, and upon his resignation of his commission in the army he at once took personal control of the bank and remained at the head of its affairs until the calamity overtook it that we have related. Colonel Stilwell was a man full of life and of a progressive nature, and used the means at his hands to improve Anderson and Madison county wherever he could in any way advance their interests. He built the Stilwell House, now known as the " Hotel Doxey," which was not only the pride of its founder, but of every citizen of Anderson. He was also the chief promoter of the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis Rail- road, now known as the C. & S. E., he being the " power be- hind the throne " in bringing about its organization, and saw it completed as far as Noblesville before his death.
Much litigation grew out of the failure relative to the se- tate of Allen Makepeace, one of the stockholders of the bank, which, as will be seen further on, resulted in a mortal combat between the litigants.
THE TRAGEDY.
It is not the purpose of the writers to tear open afresh old wounds, but we bring before the public the particulars of this sad tragedy only for the purpose of placing it where it belongs as a part of the history of events that have transpired in Mad- ison county. No better friend of the writers of these pages ever lived within the borders of Madison county than was Colonel Stilwell. This is also true of the central figure on the other side, Mr. John E. Corwin. Many favors have been extended to us by both of these men, which will be gratefully remembered while memory holds its seat and as long as we are possessed of a proper sense of gratitude. While it is our intention, only as a matter of history, to make a record of this
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sad event, we think the end can be best subserved by stating, without comment, the actual state of facts as they existed at the time.
The most authentic account given of the affair was pub- lished in the Herald on the 16th of January, 1874, following the tragedy, and for weeks thereafter it gave the full particu- lars of the shooting, the testimony taken before the coroner, and at the preliminary investigation before Asa Pratt, Justice of the Peace.
At the preliminary investigation, the ablest counsel in the State of Indiana was employed upon both sides of the case. The prosecution was conducted by Amzi W. Thomas, who was then deputy prosecuting attorney of the judicial dis- trict composed of Madison and Hamilton counties. Ile was assisted by Jonathan W. Gordon, of Indianapolis, acknowl- edged in those days to be the best criminal lawyer that the State of Indiana had ever produced ; Col. Milton S. Robinson, the Hon. John W. Lovett and the Hon. S. F. Cary, of Cincin- nati, Ohio.
The defence was represented by the Ion. Benjamin Har- rison, now ex-president of the United States, the Ion. James W. Sansberry and John A. Harrison, of Anderson.
From the account of the tragedy published in the Ander- son Herald, we quote as follows : "The usual quiet of our city was suddenly disturbed on Wednesday afternoon by the occurrence of one of the most tragic events that has ever taken place in our local annals. At the hour of 5 o'clock, P. M. Colonel Thomas N. Stilwell entered the office of Mr. John E. Corwin in the room lately occupied by the Citizens' Bank on the north side of the square, and drew his revolver on Mr. Corwin. The latter was occupied at his desk inside the counter, and on discovering the Colonel's motion, sprang over the counter and advanced toward his antagonist, whose right arm he seized and threw down when Stilwell's pistol was dis- charged. The ball struck Corwin in the left groin, but fortu-
. nately was checked in its course by striking a key and a silver dollar in his pocket. Corwin then seized Stilwell by the shoulder or coat collar, pushed him around and fired two shots, both of which took effect in the left side of the head, killing him instantly.
"But few words passed between the men. Colonel Stil- well said something about settling up old business, as he en- tered the room, and that it was time that it was settled, and
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Mr. Corwin, after crossing the counter, told Stilwell to put up his revolver. Mr. Lafe Burr, of Anderson, and Mr. Geo. L. Rittenhouse, a commercial traveler, were in the room, and were excited spectators of the deadly encounter. The weapon which Colonel Stilwell had in his hand was a double-barrelled Derringer, and he also carried a single-barrelled pistol in his pocket.
" The report of the homicide spread with great rapidity throughout the city, and in a few minutes a large and excited crowd had gathered in the building and on the streets.
"Corwin walked out of his office and across the street to the court house, and placed himself in the custody of Albert J. Ross, then Sheriff of the county, who permitted him to re- main at his residence during the night under guard.
"As to the causes which led to this unhappy event, we may mention that a bitter and relentless feud had existed between the parties, they having quarreled at different times publicly and thus developing a feeling of deep animosity against each other. The difficulty had its origin in regard to some money which the late Allen Makepeace, Mr. Corwin's father-in-law, claimed to have deposited in the First National Bank, but which Stilwell denied ever having received. Mr. Corwin, as administrator of the Makepeace estate, had instituted suits for the recovery of the alleged deposit which were still pending in the court. After the unfortunate complication of affairs which compelled the suspension of the First National Bank in November preceding the tragedy, President Stilwell, being of a proud and sensitive nature, believed, from evidence real or fancied, that Mr. Corwin rejoiced in his humiliation. This, coupled with a terrible mental strain to which he had been sub- jected on account of his financial embarrassment, tended, as we believe, to precipitate a state of mind closely bordering upon insanity. We do not think Colonel Stilwell was responsible for his acts on the day on which he attempted the life of Mr. Corwin, and on which his own was ushered into eternity.
"A feeling of profound grief and gloom pervaded the city over this terrible drama. While the liveliest and most earnest sympathy was expressed in behalf of the bereaved family, pub- lic opinion so far as it found expression was generous towards Mr. Corwin, regarding his action as having been done in self- defence."
We have written this account plainly as we understand the facts without any attempt at embellishment or sensational-
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ism. We have sought to give the circumstances simply as they were.
The funeral of Colonel Stilwell took place from his resi- dence on Main street at 11 o'clock on the 16th of January, being one of the largest ever held in Madison county. The Colonel had enjoyed not only a local and state, but also a na- tional reputation. Prominent men from the adjoining, and also from distant states, came to pay their respects by attending his last sad rites. He was a man who was well beloved by the plain country people. Almost the entire population of Anderson, and a large assemblage of the people from the coun- ty attended the funeral. His remains laid in state in front of the spacious grounds surrounding his residence from early in the morning on the day of the funeral until the cortege had taken its march to the city of the dead for interment.
The preliminary trial of Mr. Corwin was begun at Wes- terfield's hall before Squire Pratt, as before stated, and a large and interested crowd of people, many from the country, were in constant attendance throughout the proceedings. The ut- most decorum prevailed, and the testimony was listened to with the closest attention. Occasionally Major Gordon would break the profound solemnity of the occasion by some sally of wit or remark of pleasantry, and thus kept himself on excellent terms with the audience. General Harrison confined himself very closely to the business before him. This gentleman mainly conducted the examination of witnesses. The aim of both · sides was so far as possible to get the facts in relation to the unfortunate affair from the best recollection of the witnesses examined. The Squire discharged bis duties in such a manner as to secure the approval of all parties. Ilis decisions upon points of law were prompt and were gracefully acquiesced in by the distinguished attorneys in the case. Reporters from the Cincinnati Commercial, Gazette, Cincinnati Enquirer, Indianapolis Journal and Indianapolis Sentinel were present and took notes in shorthand of all that was said and done by . the witnesses and attorneys in the case.
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