USA > Indiana > Bartholomew County > History of Bartholomew County, Indiana : From the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc. : Together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 40
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One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, Company I. Elston, David R., died at Indianapolis, November 26, 1864.
One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment, Company A. 1 Bailey, Mahlon, killed February 18, 1865.
Crossland, Samuel, died at Dalton, Georgia, June 4, 1865. Frost, William, died at Cuthbert, Georgia, October 13, 1865. Mitchum, John, died at Dalton, Georgia, March 20, 1865. Tilton, William B., died at Dalton, Georgia, April 2, 1865.
Bounty and Relief .- In order to stimulate volunteering, the United States Government authorized the payment of bounties early in the war to those who should enlist for the term of three years. In the first year of the war this amount was fixed at $100. Orders from the war department at various times authorized the payment of additional sums ranging as high as $400, according to the nature and term of service. The inequalities of bounties created great dissatisfaction, but it was claimed by the authorities that the exigencies of the times demanded it and could not be avoided. An additionel inducement was offered in the way of a land warrant for forty-acres of public land to each soldier receiving an honorable discharge. This, taken with the amount of the bounty,
.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
which was considered about the value of a mule, brought about that famous and popular phrase, "forty acres and a mule," and doubtless had much to do with the successful volunteering which characterized the war. Besides the National bounties, large and often extravagant sums were paid by many of the counties. These had the effect to lighten the drafts, but at the same time increased the taxes. The latter, however, cut but little figure in the question. People would not put a price on the Union, and no matter what was required to preserve it, that requirement was always met. In Bartholomew County this spirit was fully maintained, and the Board of Commissioners at different times met the popular demand by offerin, bounties.
Another important item came under the head of Relief. This included whatever sums were paid to support the families of those who had enlisted and were absent in the field of battle, and also the supplies forwarded to the soldiers themselves. A few months' experience showed how much the Government lacked of being prepared for supplying an army with the necessary comforts re- quired by a soldier. Immediately after the opening of the war there was a Soldiers' Aid Society formed in Columbus by the lead- ing ladies of the town. The work which those noble-hearted women did went far toward relieving the wants of the soldiers. Scarcely a week passed without a shipment to the front of mittens, socks, blankets and such other articles as a soldier would likely need to withstand the extremities of the seasons. These contribu- tions were purely personal, and the women of the whole county were requested to bring in whatever could be properly spared. In this way many dollars were spent in the soldiers' behalf which are not included in the following amount of Bounty and Relief paid by the county and townships.
Bounty. $172,300
Relief. $2,940
Bartholomew County
Haw Creek Township
14,000
750
Flat Rock Township.
9,000
550
German Township.
10,200
850
Nineveh Township
6,600
1,000
Union Township.
5,700
1,127
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BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.
Clifty Township.
$6,900
$1,700
Clay Township ..
6,600
II2
Columbus Township
34,500
3,200
Harrison Township.
6,600
Soo
Rock Creek Township.
8,400
2,200
Sand Creek Township.
S,400
250
Wayne Township
11,400
900
Ohio Township
3,000
225
Jackson Township
3,300
185
City of Columbus
1,500
3,158
Total.
$308,400
$19,947
In addition to this there is an item charged to miscellaneous of $4,350, which makes a grand total of $332,697, furnished by the county.
Men Furnished for the War .- The various calls made by the. President for troops during the Rebellion were as follows:
First call, 75,000 men, three months' service, April 15, 1861.
Second call, 42,034 men, three years' service, May 3, 1861.
Third call, 300,000 men, nine months' service, August 4, 1862. Fourth call, 100,000 men, six months' service, June 15, 1863.
Fifth call, 300,000 men, three years' service, October 17, 1863. Sixth call, 500,000 men, three years' service, February 1, 1864. Seventh call, 200,000 men, three years' service, March 15, 1864. Eighth call, 500,000 men, one, two or three years' service, July 18, 1864.
Ninth call, 300,000 men, one, two or three years' service, De- cember 19, 1864.
These calls aggregate more than 2,300,000 men and give some idea of the magnitude of the Civil War in the United States. It will be interesting to know what part of this immense army was furnished by Bartholomew County. The first enrollment of the militia in Indiana after the commencement of the war was made September 19, 1862. The total militia force of the county was 2,753, of which 335 were exempt from bearing arms, leaving 2,418 sub- ject to draft. The county was at that date credited with having furnished 1,592 volunteers, all of which were then in the service.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
It was under this enrollment that the first draft in Indiana occurred October 6, 1862, to supply the number required by the call of Aug- ust 4th. " The quota of Bartholomew County under that draft was twenty-four men, apportioned among these townships: Union II, Clay 2, Harrison 10, Rock Creek I. The Draft Officers were: Simeon Stansifer, Commissioner; Isham Keith, Marshal; John H. Ford, Surgeon.
The call of October 17, 1863, demanded of Bartholomew County 214 men, which number was furnished without resorting to a draft. Under the calls of February Ist, March 15th and July ISth, 1864, the total quota for the county was 1,055 men, to offset which it was cred- ited with S91 new recruits, 21 I veterans and II by draft, making 1, 11 3, or 58 more than were required. The President's last call for troops, December 19, 1864, asked this county for 319 men. Against this number the county was credited with 304 new recruits, 3 vet- erans and 13 by draft, making in all 320. This was the condition of the account with Bartholomew County on the 14th of April, IS65, at which time all efforts to raise troops were abandoned. It shows a balance in favor of the county. The draft under this last call was made upon the basis of the third enrollment of the State, or second under the Enrollment Act of Congress. That enrollment showed the county to have had a militia force of 2,626. These figures show that the county furnished 3,263 men for the war, or 510 more than the number first reported as its total militia force. This need not imply that there were that number of separate men from this county in the war, for there were not. A considerable number of the men enlisted twice, and some three times, and they were counted for each enlistment. It is probable that 500 will include the number of those who were thus recounted. Thus it will be seen that Bartholomew County alone furnished enough men to make more than two full regiments, a considerable army in itself.
470
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.
CHAPTER VII.
RIMGIOUS HISTORY -- THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH- ITS CLASSES AT ST. LOUIS, HOPE, NEWBERN, HARTSVILLE, CARTER'S CHAPEL, BETHEL CHURCH, ST. LOUIS CROSSING, CLIFFORD, PETERSVILLE, BURNSVILLE, TRINITY, AZALLA, WALESBORO, ELIZABETHTOWN, NEW ZION, SOUTH BETHANY, MOUNT HEALTHY, MOUNT OLIVE, NINEVEH AND MOUNT PLEASANT-THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH -- BAPTIST CHURCH-ITS CLASSES AT SHARON, HAW CREEK, LITTLE SAND CREEK, COLUMBUS, SOUTH BETHANY-SECOND BAPTIST (COLORED) CHURCH -THE CATHOLIC CHURCHI- UNITED BRETHREN - SOCIETY OF FRIENDS-NEW LIGHT CHRISTIANS - SEPARATE BAPTISTS IN CHRIST -ST. PAUL EPISCOPAL MISSION -- GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCHI - ENGLISHI EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH - CHRISTIAN UNION CHURCH -- THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH -JEWISH SYN GOGUE - CHRISTIAN CHURCH -THE MORAVIAN CHURCH OF HOPE.
TTEMPT has been made elsewhere to depict the state of society, as moulded by the rougher in- fluences of pioneer life into conditions that encouraged lawlessness with its necessarily accompanying evils, and cultivated a contempt for the plainest principles of mor- ality. In the history of the churches may be found a statement of facts more pleasing in its aspect, to him who delights in the moral and religious advancement of his race. The early work was prosecuted with commendable zeal and vigor, and with means best suited to the times and manners of the people, though such as might not be used successfully. to-day. Continual controversy existed between the sects; all except the Quakers en- gaged in the war of dogmas; the bitterness and animosity engen- dered swayed and excited entire settlements and communities. A pen picture of the times as made by General Terrell is here ex- hibited: "On what may be termed the main points touching the
471
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
Divine existence, a perpetual heavenly state for the blessed, an eternity of damnation and woe for the wicked, and the necessity of living a Iffe of pure morality, loving the Lord through the Saviour of the world, with steadfast fervor and devotion, in order to gain the inefable joys and escape the torments of the inevitable, ever- lasting and never-ending hell, all religionists and sects were mainly agreed. But on doctrinal points, the different forms of worship, church discipline, the administration of religious ordinances, and other abstractions, the different opinions were as wide apart as the poles. The spirit displayed in attacking and defending was in- tensely partisan, even to the points of vindictiveness and intolerance. It assumed for itself the baneful form of human infallibility to seek and find the time and only means of salvation, and claimed for itself the whole right and credit of the discovery. It denounced in terms of reproach and abhorence all dissenters from its teachings and convictions, without according to its adversaries or opponents the least latitude for freedom of thought or honest difference of opinion. Each of its self-sufficient and imperious votaries assumed to thank God for not being like other men. It grew wroth and could not brook the denial of its assumptions. It planted itself, as if upon a rock, upon its own superciliousness and sought controversy by a succession of flaunting charges and counter-charges that deprived themselves of the power to teach or convince, and only served to deepen, intensify, and influence the passions of those who held dif- ferent views. Grevious words took the place of soft answers; the aim and scope of the argument, if such it may be likened to, being to force the opposition or contrary minded to come to the moun- tain regardless of the different s of vision and thought sincerely entertained and inseparable from the human intellect. Such was the state of doctrinal, not religious feeling.
" The sects struggled for the mastery under the mistaken no- tion that religious dogmas, forms, and ordinances were destined to convert the world. Traveling preachers representing every sect swarmed, through the country, despite the dreary wilderness and privations of the new settlements, and scattered their seed far and wide. The Presbyterians stood by infant baptisms (sprinkling) ; the Baptists claimed for immersion as the true mode and attributed
472
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.
absolute efficacy to water as a means and seal of pardon; the Methodists held fast to the mourners' bench and special providences " in the conversion of sinners, and by fearfully illustrating the horrors of a literal hell of fire and brimstone, made conquests rather by the fear of the devil than from the love of God; the Reformers follow- ing the teachings of Alexander Campbell, pointed out the way through faith, repentance and baptism by inynersion, discarding all creeds except the 'Bible alone'; the other sects were of slow growth and did not figure largely in the awakening. So great were the clashings and so fearfully virulent, earnest, and unrelent- ingly partisan, did the strifes between these sects become that per- sonal and family friendships were broken up, and social intercourse was disrupted and often entirely ceased between the irascible and excited disputants. A revival, or the prospect of one, in favor of one of the churches was the signal for an opposition or counter-act- ing effort by one or more of the others, and the struggle ostensibly in favor of the cause of the Master, was in reality a fight over forms, customs and ordinances, in which heated, boastful passion, took the place of persuasive, simple piety; and sarcastic ridicule held sway instead of Bible truth and cogent reason. No good could come out of this Nazareth; the charity that seeketh to discover and to kindly recognize the good and the true wherever found, whether based upon the doctrines entertained by the seeker or not, was wanting. The disposition was plainly and emphatically shown, to keep those erring souls who could not embrace the sprinkling, mourners' bench, immersion, or other features of doctrinal belief, out of the pale of salvation entirely. No hand of congratulation was held out to the warring worker, who struggled to overthrow the evil one by means which were anathematized, ridiculed and ig- nored by his religious enemies. Each faction claimed pre-emption to work the field exclusively and damned all interference with vehement enthusiasm. A convert made through a change of views as to a doctrinal point or symbolic form from another church caused more rejoicing than if ninety and nine wholly unregenerated souls were brought to accept the truth as it is in the Son of God. A blast from the pulpit to-day was met by a counter-blast from another pulpit to-morrow; one blow at a pet rule of church discipline was
473
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
returned with a dozen lusty knocks at immersion; a spark quickly kindled a conflagration and the clangor of keenly whetted blades dedicated to the living God alone for his service, rang clear and loud as the fight went on."
As a result of this antagonistic spirit, but not until it had be- come sufficiently softened to permit of a friendly and harmonious intercourse, there were many memorable debates between the prominent representatives of the sects, sometimes lasting for days, and into which intellectual re-inforcement from abroad was fre- quently drawn. Notable among these was a joint discussion on baptism between William M. Brown, of Kentucky, a well-educated, vigorous, and rather brillinnt young preacher of the Campbell school, and Rev. Joseph G. Monfort (afterward a D. D.), an able Presbyterian, held in the old brick court house, about 1838, and largely attended by the people of the village and surrounding country. Another debate was held at the Christian Church, in Columbus, in 1843, between Elder Jacob T. Wright, of that de- nomination, and Rev. Erasmus Manford, Universalist, on the ques- tion, " Do the Scriptures teach the final holiness and happiness of all mankind ?" The latter affirmed; the former denied. John B. New opened the exercises by calling on the audience to sing, " Before Jehovah's awful throne," and following it with a fervent prayer. Joseph Fassett, Abraham Hammond and William Herod acted as moderators. The debate lasted three days and was ably and courteously conducted. In the Christian Church, in 1854, Will- iam W. Curry and Henry R. Pritchard vigorously discussed be- fore a large audience, the subject of hell. Alexander Campbell discussed infidelity with Robert Dale Owen, Roman Catholicism with Father Purcell, and infant baptism with Rev. Rice. The re- Iigious excitement of the times was kept alive by various factions. The Millerites predicting the end of the world precipitated various controversies about the judgment day and many were greatly alarmed. The introduction of mesmerism and the mesmeric shows of Dr. Isaac Keely, turned out a host of pupils that swarmed through the country, filled the columns of the papers with excit- ing accounts of their wonderful doings, and brought on a spiritual- istic excitement which was slow to subside. A Mormon missionary,
474
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.
named Hinkle, came into the eastern part of the county, and drew heavily on the Baptist churches. Rev. Joseph Fassett engaged the apostle in a debate on Mormonisin. Jonathan Ford, John Eldridge and others, joined the Mormons and removed with them from the county. But after these turbulent times came peace, though there has ever been a friendly contest and struggle for the supremacy by the votaries of the various denominations. The trials and successes of each are recorded in the following pages.
Methodist Episcopal Church .*- There were no Methodist churches in the New Purchase, south of the Upper Wabash, until after the land surveys of 1819 and IS20. There may have been preaching along the Upper Wabash at the military posts at an car- lier time, as there was in the southern parts of the State. The station mentioned as " Blue River" by writers on early Methodism, was in Washington County, near Salem, and "Flat Rock " station was in Henry County. But the first settlers had hardly raised their rude log cabins within the present boundaries of Bartholomew County before the itinerant preachers began to push their way into the wilderness and preach the word of God wherever a handful of men and women could be brought together. The first circuit, or- ganized in IS21, by James Garner, a local preacher, was quite ex- tensive; it included all of Jennings and Bartholomew counties, to within three miles ( f Shelbyville, to Wolfe Creek in Morgan County, and to Brownstown in Jackson County. This was called the Flat Rock circuit and was in the Indiana District of the Mis- souri Conference. The first appointments, George K. Hester, preacher, and Samuel Hamilton, Presiding Elder, were made in October, 1821. The name of this first preacher became a house- hold word in the christian homes of the new country. Of German parentage, he was born near Shelbyville, Kentucky, in 1794. At the age of fifteen he united with the church and some time thereafter became converted, and realizing that he was called to the ministry, preached his first sermon in September, IS13. Ile was licensed in IS20, was admitted to the Missouri Conference and sent to the Mt. Sterling (Indiana) circuit, in Crawford County. Young and zeal-
* Some facts here used are obtained from material gathered by Rev. C. Tinsley in 1879.
475
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
ous he came to Bartholomew County, and by his good works be- came enshrined in the hearts of the people.
Perhaps the first society in the county was in the Hawpatch, formed in 1821; among those composing it, being Jesse and Cath- erine Ruddick, their daughters, Polly and Nancy, Joshua and Betsy McQueen, Elijah Sloan and wife, Robert and Kate Wilkinson, and Maria, their daughter. Joseph MeQueen was a local preacher in this neighborhood whose power and influence were great. After many years of faithful work for this sect, because of differences of opinion on doctrinal points, he left the Methodist Church and be- came a leader among the Separate Baptists in Christ.
In the fall of 1822, at a camp-meeting held in the Hawpatch, the people there agreed to build a union meeting house, free to all, John Young donating an acre of ground for the church and grave- yard. Soon thereafter a log house, 20x26 feet, was raised and was long known as the Liberty meeting and school house. Subse- quently John Young sold his farm to David Taylor, neglecting to reserve the acre promised to the church and the latter refused to allow any more to be interred in the grave-yard. Thus improve- ments there were effectually checked. At the fourth quarterly con- ference of Flat Rock circuit, held in August, IS22, in the Hawpatch, there were present: George K. Hester, preacher; Joseph Pownall, local Elder; Thomas Lowrey, local preacher; Joseph McQueen, Peleg Gifford, Nelson Monroe, Henry Bewell, John Parker, ex- horters; Hezekiah Davidson, John Farquar, stewards; Isaac Mar- shall, T. Dane, Nathan Carter, Elijah Sloan, Enoch Evans, James Striker, Lewis Blankenship, W. Conner, Dorman Bloss, class leaders. Thus it seems the organization of classes had been vigor- ously and successfully prosecuted. In the cabins of the settlers or in the open woods in all the settlements, preaching was held as frequently as possible and classes were organized wherever prac- ticable.
Mr. Hester preached his first sermons in Columbus at the house of Aiken A. Wiles, a potter from Lebanon, Ohio, who came in 1822. His house was of hewed logs, and perhaps twenty feet square. Later in the same year Thomas Ilinkson came to Cohim- bus and built the first frame house in the village. Upon its com-
476
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.
pletion in 1823, he offered its use as a preaching place to all denominations. The Presbyterians and Methodists accepted the « offer, and here Dennis Willey, who had been appointed to the cir- cuit in the previous October, organized a class, of which James N. Love, a pure and powerful exhorter, was probably the first leader. On the roth of May in that year, Gen. John Tipton deeded a lot in Columbus, north of Lot 43 on Washington Street, to Joseph G. Williams, Aikin A. Wiles, Joseph Pownall, John Farquar and Eli- jah Sloan, Trustees, for the purpose of building a church thereon, but several years elapsed before the house was erected. This was Dennis Willey's last circuit. He had commenced his ministry far in the interior of Arkansas, and there preached his first sermon in the bar-room of a tavern, with the Territorial officers for an au- dience. IIe was kind-hearted, a good preacher, and made the truth of the Scriptures very plain. After him came Thomas Rice, with William Beauchamp as Presiding Elder, who, because of his effective natural eloquence, was often styled the Demosthenes of the West.
In 1824, the Illinois Conference held its first session at Charles- town; Thomas Hewson and James Garner were the pastors, and the gifted John Strange was Presiding Elder, remaining on the district four years. Mr. Strange spent much of his ministerial life in the State, and is remembered by all the oldest Methodists with affection. He drew large crowds to hear him, and was tender and pathetic, or grand and awful, as the subject required. He was a tall, slender man, with black hair and blue eyes; voice of remark- able compass and power, and always preached with true unction. In 1825, the preachers appointed were, James Jones and T. S. Hitt. Because of the latter's sickness he was replaced by Joel Havens, who was subsequently expelled for going to law with a brother. Abner H. Cheaver came next, and was succeeded in IS27 by Con- stant B. Jones, who preached in a stone house owned by Mrs. Hink- son. He re-organized the class and gave it an impetus which con- siderably increased its growth. The Columbus circuit was formed at the annual conference of IS27, and the first quarterly confer- ence was held at Edinburg. Constant B. Jones was preacher in charge. J. Pownall, J. Richey, J. McQueen and A. Phelps were
Faithfully yours, Geo Vlevoher,
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RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
local preachers; P. Gifford, Thomas Done, J. MeEwen and Elijah Carter, exhorters; George Barrett, Isaiah Livingstone and L Parrish, Headers. Quarterage raised amounted in all to $12.25. Of this amount John Strange received $2.SI.
The name of Williamson Terrell appears on the minutes of the fourth quarterly conference of Columbus circuit, in IS28, as an exhorter whose license was renewed. He was born in Clark County, Ky., June 12. 1805, and moved to Vernon with his parents in 1820. Here he united with the Baptist Church, when fifteen years old, and afterward, during a visit to Kentucky, united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He moved to Columbus in 1827, when twenty-two years old, and became actively identified with the church, and was soon appointed class leader. He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Roberts, in 1830, and was a local preacher until I841, when he entered the conference. His soul was filled with grace and power. Revivals followed his labors in all parts of the circuit, and he brought many souls into the King- dom. Full of years and full of honors, he died while in the active discharge of his duties as Presiding Elder on Easter diy, April 15, I873.
· In IS28, Asa Beck, as pastor, Lewis Blankenship, as assistant, and Allen Wiley, as Presiding Elder, were appointed to the Colum- bus circuit. At this time there were but thirty-five members of the church at Columbus, and about 500 in the entire circuit, which number, however, was increased to 700 before the conference of that year. For his year's work Mr. Beck received $70, "mostly," as he himself has written, " in the product of the farm and knitting needle." In the town, preaching was held at Terrell's cabinet shop, and quarterly meetings at the court house. During his ministry the people succeeded in building, by subscription, a union meeting house, open to all Christian denominations, the first mak- ing an appointment for a certain time, to have precedence over all others. April 7, 1829, a deed for the property, to be used for this purpose, was made by Hiram Smith and wife to W. Terrell, Ephraim Arnold and Samuel Crittenden, as Trustees of the "Colum- bus Liberty Meeting and School House." It stood opposite the residence of Dr. S. M. Linton, built many years later; was about
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