USA > Indiana > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, Indiana : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 9
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Ordered, By the board that all that part of the County of Carroll ly- ing on the southwest side of the Wabash River and south of the line divid- ing Townships 26 and 27, shall constitute one township, to be known and designated by the name of Tippecanoe township, and that the elections in said township be holden at the house of Thomas Hamilton.
Ordered. That all that part of the County of Carroll southeast of the Wabash River, lying south of the north line of Section 16. Township 25 north. constitute one township, to he known and designated by the name of Deer Creek Township, and that the elections in said towuship to be holden at the house of Daniel MeCain.
Ordered, That all the territory included in the following boundaries, to wit: Commencing where the north line of Section 16 crosses the Wa- bash River; thence cast with said section line to the eastern boundary of the Great Miami Reservation; thence north with said reservation line to the center of Township 26: thence west eight miles to the southeast corner of Section 16. Range 1 west; thence north, until said line strikes the River Wabash: thence down said river to the place of beginning-constitute one township, to be known and designated by the name of Rock Creek Town- ship, and that the elections in said township be holden at the house of Aaron Merriman.
These three townships embraced the whole of the territory of Carroll County proper; but. the territory embraced in what is now Cass County, being then under the jurisdiction of Carroll County, the board designated it by boundary and name, as fol- lows, to wit:
Ordered. That the territory included in the following bounds, to wit: Commencing at the southeast corner of Section 36, Township 26, Range 1 west; thenee east with said section line to the eastern boundary of the Great Miami Reservation; thence north with said boundary line, and a line in continuation of the same to a point where such line will intersect the Indian boundary : thence sonthwesterly with the said boundary line to the center of Range 3 west: thence south with the center line, to the north boundary of Carroll County: thence with the boundary of said county to the place of beginning-constitute one township. to be known and desig- nated by the name of the Township of Eel. and that the elections in said township be hell at the house of Alexander Chamberlain.
As proceedings additional thereto, the following persons were appointed Inspectors of Elections in the several townships. the boundaries of which have just been defined: In Tippecanoe Township, Nathaniel Hamilton; in Deer Creek Township, Will- iam G. Bishop: in Rock Creek Township, Isam Atkinson, and in Eel Township, Daniel Bell. It was also
Ordered, That an election be hoklen in the several townships in said County of Carroll, at the places appointed for holding elections in the sev- eral townships, on Saturday. the ith day of June next, for the purpose of electing one Justice of the Peace within and for such township.
Daniel Batum was, at the same time. appointed Treasurer of Carroll County, and he filed bond in the penalty of $1.000. with Jacob Banun and William G. Bishop, as sureties, who were ap- proved by the board.
The following other appointments were made, to wit :. Aaron Dewey, to be Assessor of the revenue of Carroll County, for the present year: Henry B. Milroy. Collector of the revenue of Car- roll County, for the present year, and he filed bond with Samuel Milroy and Aaron Dewey, as sureties, who were approved by the board; Thomas Robb was appointed Constable for the township of Eel: Andrew McCoy, Constable for Tippecanoe Township; David McCombs, Constable for Rock Creek Township; Joseph McCain. Constable for Deer Creek Township; Daniel Bell and John Hall were appointed Overseers of the Poor. and Alexander Chamberlain, William Scott and Lemuel Marsh, were appointed Fence Viewers, for the township of Eel.
David Hamilton and Nathan Rose were appointed Overseers of the Poor, and James Hamilton. Benjamin Baxter and John E. Metcalf, Fence Viewers, for Tippecanoe Township.
Samuel Wells and James Odell were appointed Overseers of the Poor, and William McCord, John Givens and Thomas Stirlen Fence Viewers, for Deer Creek Township.
James McDowell and John Crook were appointed Overseers of the Poor, and William Cummins, Henry Bingerman and David Lucas, Fence Viewers. for Rock Creek Township.
63 Moses Aldridge.
26 John Mitchell.
56 William Cummins,
11 Joseph Jackson,
44 James McDowell,
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
" Isaac Griffith, having satisfied the board that his stock of merchandise does not exceed $1.000: and. having produced the Treasurer's receipt for $10, he is permitted to vend foreign mer- chandise for twelve months from this date."
This. in substance, comprised the business of the Board for the first day. On the day following. " Daniel F. Vandeventer & Co., having satisfied the board that his stock of merchandise does not exceed 81,000; and, having produced the Treasurer's receipt for $10, he is permitted to vend foreign merchandise for twelve months from this date." Then "the board adjourned until to- morrow morning at 11 o'clock."
Wednesday, the third day. the board made the following rec- ord. to wit:
Ordered, That the Clerk be allowed for paper furnished for the use of the county. $2.
Ordered, That Graham Roberts be allowed, for three days' services, as Commissioner of Carroll County, $3.35.
Ordered, That Aaron Hicks be allowed, for three days' services as County Commissioner, $3.35.
Ordered, That Jaenb Bioum be allowed. for two days' services. as Com- missioner of Carroll County, $2.50. Aud the Board adjourned until the 14th day of June next.
This finished the business of the regular session .* However, on the loth of May, the day following the close of the first regn- lar session, the board met, in special session, for the purpose of receiving the report of the Commissioners appointed hy the Leg. islature, to fix the county seat of Carroll County. Accordingly, on Thursday, which was the 15th day of May, 1828, Enos Lowe, Frederick Moore, Asa B. Strong, Samuel Jessup and Josiah Briant, the Commissioners appointed by the Legislature. for the pur- pose designated, submitted to said board the following report of their action in the premises:
To THE HONORABLE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF CARROLL-Gentlemen: The undersigned Commissioners an- pointed by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, to fix the seat of jastice of the County of Carroll. having met at the time and place desig- nated by the art establishing the county aforesaid. and after being daly qualified, and having discharged the duties assigned agreeable to the pro- visions of an Net to establish the seats of justice in new counties, and the act amendatory thereto-do make this report, as required by the act afere. said, to the Board of County Commissioners of the county aforesaid.
That we have established the seat of justice of the County of Carroll on a tract of land of 100 acres, being a part of the northwest quarter of Sec- tion 29 north, of 2 west, of the Second Principal Meridian, Towuship 25 north-the said 100 acres living been received by us as a donation from William Wilson, of said county, as will more fully appear by his bond for a title, payable to County Commissioners of said county, hy which boud hereafter submitted, it will appear that sail tract of land of 100 acres is bonded on, and to be taken parallel to the western line of the sec. tion aforesaid. The length, north and south, of said quarter-section, and to extend cast for quantity, upon which tract of 100 acres we, the under- signed Commissioners, have and do hereby establish the seat of justice of said County of Carroll, to be kuown aud designated by the game of Car- rolltau.
In testimony of the premises herein set forth, we have set our signa. tures this, the 15th day of May. A. D. 1828.
FREDERICK MOORE. ASA B. STRONG, SAMUEL JESSUP, JOSIAH BRIANT. Exos LOWE.
Know all men by these presents that I, William Wilson, of the Coun- ty of Carroll and State of Indiana, together with executors, administrators. heirs and assigns, are held and firmly bound unto the Board of County
Anterior to the organization of the county, after The passage und approval of the Enabling Act, and, subsequently, the xelling theme of conversation and spernlation, was the location of the county sent. Several siles were proposed; one by William Wilson, another by Henry Robin- son, on the binff s .nth of the creek; a third by Samuel Wells, allerward The site of West Det- phi, and a fourth by MeCombs and Bozarth, being the tract upon which Tiploosport was tain oul : jrssibly others.
Commissioners of the county and State aforesaid, and their successors in office, in the penal sum of $2,000, for the payment of which I bind myself. my executors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Sealed with my seal, and dated this 15th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight Indred and twenty eight.
The condition of the above obligation is as follows: The above bound William Wilson has this day donated to the County Commissioners of Carroll County for the permanent seat of justice thereof. 100 acres of laud. being part of the northwest quarter of Section 29 north, of Range 2 west, of the Second Principal Meridian, Township 25, the donation to be situated as follows: Beginning at the southwest corner of said quarter section: thewee cast 100 rods; theure north, etc., so as to include 100 acres, except what shall be found south of the ereck: to which lot of ground the said William Wilson is to make a good and sufficient deed in fee simple-then the above obligation to be unll and void-otherwise remain in full force and virtue in equity and law.
The above donation, the aforesaid William Wilson makes without any reservation whatever, except the crops of the present season, now growing on said lot of ground. The rails also excepted.
[SEAL. ] WnaJAM WILSON. Signed in presence of Isaac Griffith and Samuel Milroy.
And the board adjourned until Saturday, the 24th instant.
CHAPTER II.
ORGANIZATION-CONTINUED.
DISSATISFACTION WITH THE NAME OF THE SEAT OF JUSTICE MANI- FESTED-STEPS TAKEN TO CHANGE THE NAME-SOME DISCU'S- SION ON THE SUBJECT BY CITIZENS-ACTION OF THE BOARD ANNULLING THE NAME OF CARROLLTON AND SUBSTITUTING THAT OF DELPHI-BEMARKS CONCERNING THE NEW NAME- SOME SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD, ETC.
NE of the motives which induced the Commissioners appoint ed to locate the seat of justice of Carroll County. to name the place Carrollton, appears to have been. that. inasmuch as the county had been named Carroll, in honor of Charles Carroll, a delegate from the State of Maryland, who signed the Declaration of Independence, and to fix. unmistakably. the identity of the signer, in case of being called to account for his temerity in at- taching his name to that instrument, wrote it. Charles Carroll, of Carrollton" -it would be eminently appropriate and significant to call the seat of justice of this county after the name of his place of residence. Whatever the motive may have been. there was a seeming propriety in it, and, in the course of time, would have been satisfactory. Notwithstanding these circumstances, how. ever, the result established the fact that men differ in their apin- ions, and those differences generally conduce to changes of base, though less generally in changes of name also. From the day when the Commissioners made their report, there was a general murmur of dissent among the officers and people of the county. and the dissatisfaction took form in cansing a special session of the Board of County Commissioners to be called for the purpose of taking into consideration and disposing of the question that seemed to agitate the public mind. Accordingly, pursuant to a call for that purpose, the board met. all the Commissioners being present, at the house of Daniel Baum, on Saturday, May 24. 1828. at which time it was "Ordered, that the seat of justice of the county of Carroll be known and designated by the name of Del- phi." and has since retained that name, so far as now appears, withont dissent. "The name Delphi." says Dr. Stewart, in his Recollections of Carroll County, "was suggested hy Gen. Milroy. One day when they were discussing what name should be given to the new county seat, he handed them a ship of paper on which --
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
several names were written, Delphi, among others, and that was the name selected." This information is somewhat indefinite, since the reference to the Commissioners, to whom the paper, with the name of Delphii written upon it, was handed, does not define whether it was the Commissioners appointed to locate the county seat, who, during the progress of examination of proposed sites. were, much of the time, guests of Gen. Milroy, and consulted free- ly with him on all the questions pertaining to the location and name of the site selected, or the Commissioners composing the County Board, who, after the selection had been made, and the designating title determined, suppressed the name of Carrollton, and called the place Delphi. It does not seem probable that the Commissioners referred to were the locating Commissioners. for they did not select Delphi, but Carrollton; nor is it now impor- tant. At the same session (May 24) the board
Ordered. That Samuel Milroy be and is hereby appointed Agent of the county of Carroll, and, that Isane Griffith and Daniel Baum are approved of as his sureties.
Ordered, Also, that three streets in Delphi, ou the south side, running east and west, and two streets, one on the cast, the other ou the west side of the public square, running north and south, be ninety feet in width, all other streets in said town eighty feet; alleys, twelve feet: cach Jot to con- tain one-fourth acre.
Ordered, That the sale of lots in Delphi be on the second Monday in Angust next, and that the Agent is authorized to give notice of the same in the Indiano Journal. Terre Haute Register and a paper at Dayton.
Ordered, That the conditions of the sale of lots in Delphi shall be as follows, to wit: One-fourth of the purchase money in hand, the residue in three equal annual installments. The Board authorizes the Agent to give mechanics, who will become actual settlers in the town of Delphi. and build a comfortable dwelling-house therein, not less than eighteen feet wide and twenty feet long. one and a half stories high, of hewed logs, frame or brick, with a brick or stone chimney and a shingled roof, within one year from the sale of lots in said town of Delphi, one lot in any part of the town they may choose, except on Front street, or around the public square.
At the special session. held on the 15th of May, the board made allowances to the Commissioners who fixed the seat of jus- tice for the county. as follows: To Samuel Jessup. for nine and a half days' services. $28.50; to Josiah Briant, for six days' serv- ices, $18; to Frederick Moore, for seven days' services. $21: to Asa B. Strong, for ten days' services. 830, and to Enos Lowe, for nine and a half days; services, in fixing the county-seat of Carroll Connty, the sum of $28.50; in all, the sum of $126.
On the 14th of June of the same year, a further special session of the board was held, at the house of Daniel Baum, for the pur- pose of receiving and making a tax list. At that session the rate of taxation was fixed as follows:
Ordered, That 50 cents be levied on each poll for county purposes.
Cyrus Taber [in the towoship of Eel], having satisfied the Board that his stock of foreign merchandise does not exceed $1,000, and, having pro- duced the Treasurer's receipt for $10, the board licenses the said Cyrus Taber to vend merchandise in this State for one year from the first day of June, A. D. 1828.
Ordered, Also. that all that part of Tippecanoe Township, lying. and being east of the section line dividing Sections 26 and 27, be attached to Rock Creek Township.
Ordered, That the elections for Rock Creek Township be hoklen at the house of Jacob sagar.
Pursuant to the notice ordered to be given for the sale of lots in the town of Delphi. on the 11th of August, 1828. the agent held the sale on that day. but the public interest, it seems. was not sufficiently aroused, and but few lots were sold-chiefly to persons who were actual settlers, or were intending to become such. In this instance, the prospects were not as flattering as might have been desired; it was determined. however, to have
other sales, from time to time. as the future outlook might encour- age. In the meantime, citizens were not idle, but induced by the promptings of self-preservation and a determination to succeed by individual effort: improvements, prompted by a desire to become comfortable in their own homes, were made by the purchasers of the lots in town at the recent sale. Thus, while the interest in the future of the new seat of justice, was not great externally, internally. the people, by their own efforts, kept in motion the wheels of progress, and the developments of the past half century are now visible.
CHAPTER HIL.
ORGANIZATION-CONTINUED.
FIRST SESSION OF THE CARROLL CIRCUIT COURT-OFFICERS AND ATTORNEYS-COMMISSIONS PRESENTED AND OFFICERS SWORN- RESUME OF THE BUSINESS AND PROCEEDINGS-PROBATE COURT OF CARROLL COUNTY-OFFICERS PRESENT AT FIRST SESSION- PROCEEDINGS OF THE SESSION-FIRST GRAND AND PETIT JURIES AND JURORS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT-INCIDENTS, ETC.
D URING the progress of events that led to the full and per- fect organization of the county, in its legislative and civil functions, judicial powers were necessary to the protection and well-being of the people. The organization of the Carroll Circuit Court was one of the first steps toward the completion of the or- ganic system of the county, and gave character to the proceedings subsequently had in the administration of county affairs. In ac- cordance with the provisions of the Enabling Act, all courts were directed to be held at the house of Daniel Baum, or at any other -place in the county. "to which the courts may adjourn until suitable accommodations can be had at the seat of justice thereof, when the courts shall adjourn to meet at said county seat." Pur- suant to that provision. the said Carroll Circuit Court was begun and held at the house of Daniel Baum, in said county, commene- ing on Thursday, the 8th day of May, 1828. Hon. Bethuei F. Morris, President Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Indiana, which embraced Carroll County, was present and pre- sided. acting under a commission from William Hendricks, Gov- ernor. bearing date. January 20. 1825. upon which was indorsed a certificate that he had subscribed and taken the oath required by law. The Associates, or County Judges, present, were Isaac Griffith and Christopher McCombs, who also produced their com- missions, dated May S. 1828. to whom the necessary oath was ad. ministered, by Judge Morris, and thereupon they entered upon the disch arge of their duties. At the same time, Henry B. Mil- roy produced his commission as Sheriff, issued by J. Brown Ray, Governor, on the 4th day of February, 1828, with the oath sub- scribed and taken by him before Renben Kelsey, a Justice of the Peace of Tippecanoe County, on the 6th of March of the same year. The Clerk, Daniel F. Vandeventer, presented his commis. sion, also. for a term of seven years from the 8th day of May, 1828, when the oath of office was administered to him, by Judge Morris, and he entered upon the discharge of duties appertaining to his office. having filed bond in the penalty of $2,500 with Dan- iel Baum and George J. Baum, as sureties, Aaron Dewey and William Wilson being witnesses. The bond had been accepted and approved according to law, at the time of its execution and filing.
James Rariden, Septimus Smith, William Quarles and An- drew Ingram appeared, and, on motion, were admitted, sworn and
C
John Hwould JUDGE 39!N JUDICIAL CIRCUIT.
HON. JOHN H. GOULD.
The subject of this biographical sketch was the second son of Daniel and Adaline Gould, and was born in Ballston Spa, Saratoga Co., N. Y., December 17, 1836. His parents were plain, hard-working people, pursuing the very honorable but laborious vocation of farming. In the spring of 1837, the family moved to the State of Ohio, and located near Richwood Post Office in Union County. The settlement was made in a section of the State where the ancient forests, then scarcely disturbed by the woodman's ax, necessitated a vast amount of arduous toil in de- veloping a home which might be deemed comfortable even in pioneer life. To the task of making a home, Daniel Gould and his sons, as they grew up, bent every energy.
Until sixteen years of age, Mr. Gould remained with his father on the farm aiding in clearing the land and improving the homestead. His early educational advantages were limited to the instructions of a private tutor, who was employed by the pioneers of the neighborhood. But later, as the settlement grew, he had the advantages of the common school and the academy. During vacations, he left the " groves of the academy " and aided his father among " the groves " of the farm. At the expiration of his academic course of instruction, he began the study of law in the office of the late Hon. Samuel Galloway, of Columbus, Ohio, under whose care he prepared himself for admission to the bar. During this preparation, his limited means compelled him to spend the winter months in teaching. In 1857, he came to Carroll County and taught the winter school in Camden. In the spring of 1858, he came to Delphi and at once engaged in the practice of law. At the break- ing-out of the war, his practice had become extensive and correspond- ingly lucrative, and there were visible gleams of the silver lining to the
clouds which thus far had shadowed his life. But the clouds of poverty were to be supplanted by the clouds of civil war. At the first call of the President for volunteers, he promptly responded by enlisting in Company A, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was elected and commissioned as First Lieutenant of the Company. He served with the regiment during the West Virginia campaign, participating in the engagements at Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford. Returning home, he raised a company for the Forty-sixth Indiana Infantry, and was in the organization commissioned as Captain of Company A. The regiment served first in Kentucky and Missouri, and participated in the engagements at Island No. 10, New Madrid, Riddle's Point, Fort Pil- low, and at the capture of Memphis June 6, 1862. As soon as the city was occupied by the Federal troops, his commanding General assigned him to special duty as Provost Marshal. He was promoted successively to the rank of Major and Lieutenant Colonel of his regiment. By rea- son of ill health, he resigned February 9, 1863, and returned to his home. After regaining his health, he re-entered the service as Lieuten- ant Colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, where he continued until the expiration of the service. He then returned to Delphi and resumed the practice of law, in which he was highly successful. In 1876, he was elected Judge of the Thirty-ninth Judicial Circuit, then composed of the counties of Carroll, White and Pulaski. On the bench, as at the bar, he has maintained an unim- peachable reputation for integrity, and, in his knowledge of the law, ranks with the foremost of the State.
November 12, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Robertson of this city. An interesting little daughter, Eva, is the only child now living. The venerable parents of Judge Gould are spending their declining years near Argos, Ind.
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
enrolled as attorneys at the bar of the Carroll Circuit Court. The process of organization having been completed, as the first steps in the order of business, Jacob Kuns, by his attorney. James Rari- den, tiled a petition, asking to be appointed guardian of Rosanna Heistand. The prayer of the petitioner was granted, and, having first filed bond with Samuel Milroy, William Wilson and Daniel Baum, as sureties, which was approved by the court. he took the vath preseribed by law in such cases.
court adjourned until the next regular term, all the business be- fore the court for its consideration having been disposed of.
Let the reader now turn. for a time, to examine what was being done in the judicial department of our county's history. during the period when the events before recited were in prog- ross. At the time when the settlers were employed-some in traveling over the country, seeking eligible homes, others were employed in erecting cabins, felling the forest trees, inclosing their narrow acres, cultivating the bosom of mother earth, that the sun's genial warmth might quicken the harvest time, or- ganizing churches, opening school and drawing around them the facilities which go far toward the promotion of the publie good. Within the past year, steps had been taken for the advancement of the civil and political well-being of the people of Carroll Coun- ty. The organization of the county had been consummated. the judiciary extended and privileges guaranteed with a view to the protection of the people and their diversified interests. The Cir- cuit Court had been established. as we have just seen, and all the functions of civil government iu this jurisdiction had been put in operation, and were doing their legitimate work. Then. as how, the Grand Jurors were selected by the Brant of County Comuni -- siouers, at their spring session, for the spring and fall terms of the Circuit Court. At the first term. however, the court being then just organized, a Grand Jury was not required. consequent- ly the Board of County Commissioners, not meeting until after the term of court had passed, the selection made at the spring session of the board, was of Grand Jurors to serve as such dur. ing the November term, 1529, and the May term. 1529. The per- sons selected to serve during the November terin. 1528. wore Ben- jamin Baster, Robert Cade. John Ballard. Moses Thompsou. Joseph MeCaiu, Thomas Stirien. Davil Harter. James Clarke. Jacob Baum, Christian Simons. Alexander Siers. William Cin- mins, John Mitchell. David Hamilton, John Scott. Richard Cha- bart, Jacob Sagar and William Siers.
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