USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of DeKalb County, Indiana : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns and biographies of representative citizens : Also a condensed history of Indiana > Part 44
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The first Justice of the Peace, elected in April, 1838, was William Day, and George Ensley was the next. In 1841 the first church built in this county was erected on the farm of Robert Work, and that relic of a former generation yet stands on the hill. It was built by the Methodist Episcopal denomi- nation,-which is the pioneer religious organization in almost every locality. A log church building was erected near the same site at an early day by the Lutherans. The first Sabbath- school was organized by O. C. Clark, then a young man.
The Justices of the Peace of Butler Township prior to 1860 were William Day, Silas Hand, George Monroe, George En- sley, Wm. McAnnally, Job C. Smith, G. R. Hoffman, O. C. Clark, E. S. Hanson.
Early Constables were Stephen Clark, Abram Brown, Wil- liam Young, Peter Simons, Uriah Wigent, David Trussell, James Forbes, Jehu Bricker, James McAnnally, R. B. Showers, John Noel, Martin Bilger.
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The Trustees for the first few years were Jacob Shull, C. Probst, Henry Clark, I. N. Young, P. Simons, John Grube, J. V. Keran, George Monroe, George Ensley, Uriah Wigent, S. Hutchins, J. Clark, G. R. Hoffman, Daniel Hoffman, George Gordon, James Goetschius.
" Pioneer Sketches " contains some reminiscences in regard to Butler Township, from which we extract:
"Abraham Fair (one of the eight first settlers who came in Oc- tober, 1834) is our informant. 'Our plan,' says he, ' was to come out, build cabins, make a little beginning, and then return to our old homes in Montgomery County, Ohio, to winter, and bring on the family in the spring. We brought provisions enough with us to last until our return, excepting meat-calcu- lating to kill deer enough to supply that. In this, however, we were mistaken. We found deer quite scarce in those woods that fall. One day, Andrew Surface found a hollow tree (on Black Creek, where Peter Simons' ashery now stands) filled with honey, into which a bear had gnawed a hole and helped himself to as much as he wanted. On cutting the tree we found what was left of Bruin's dinner, six gallons of honey. The first fair day after this, we found two bee trees, cut them, and took the honey. We eight had all the honey we wanted for twenty days (and had little to eat except bread and honey), and on returning to Montgomery County we had twenty-one gallons of strained honey left.'
" We will interrupt ' Uncle Abraham ' in his narrative to re- mark that when it is remembered that it was in Butler Township that Wesley Park and Joseph Miller lay out in the woods on a rainy night with ' new milk fresh from the cow' for their entire bill of fare, surely it might be said that Butler was 'a land flow- ing with milk and honey.
" But let us hear Uncle Abraham's 'coon story'-wish I could tell it on paper as he did orally-with his expressive jovial countenance and an occasional interlude in the form of a hearty laugh-wish I could, but I can't. 'After finding the bee trees,' says he, ' Andrew Surface found a hollow tree with two " coons" in, and cutting them out, he brought them to our shanty. We took the hides off and hung the meat out in the frost over night, and in the morning, Charley Crouse, who was our cook, prepared them for our breakfast. Being rather meat hungry, we all ate heartily of them, except John Surface, who
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declared he would starve first-though he ate some of the gravy. After breakfast we all went at cutting and hewing logs and making clapboards for William Surface's cabin. John and I went to sawing a large oak for clapboards. John didn't pull the saw very strongly. " Ah," said I to him, "you didn't eat coon, or you could have sawed better."
" ' Presently he thought the saw went too hard and that he must have the iron wedge from the shanty to drive in the kerf. My father, Peter Fair, was lying in the shanty, and John sup- posed he was asleep. So he went to the skillet where there was a quarter of a coon left from breakfast, and taking off the lid, he took up the meat; and after smelling it awhile, applied his teeth and stripped the bone in short meter. All this time my father lay pretending to be asleep, but struggling to keep from laughing. When John returned and took hold of the saw again, I remarked to him that he must have either been eating coon or smelling of it, he pulled so much stronger. When Crouse went in to cook dinner my father told the joke; and it was some time before John heard the last of the coon story.'
"' I was twenty-two years of age,' continued Uncle Abraham, ' when I moved into the township, twenty-four years ago. I then weighed 160 pounds, and my wife 140. Now (1859) I weigh 210, and my wife 200. We have had eleven children born in the township, and nine are still living. In the twenty- four years I have not lost as many hours by sickness. I am now six feet four and a half inches high, and there never has been cleared land enough in De Kalb County to throw me down on. I still live on the farm where I first settled, and have never moved but once-from one part of my farm to another.' "
Butler has a population by the last census (1880) of 778, or 32.4 to the square mile. In 1870 it had 1,209, but it was then fifty per cent. larger territorially. The rate of taxation for 1884 is $1.51 ; the poll tax, $1.25 ; number of acres of land assessed, 15,279.18; value of lands, $306,670; value of improvements, $50,395 ; value of lands and improvements, $357,065 ; value of lots, $482 ; value of improvements, $2,260; value of lots and improvements, $2,742; value of personal property, $70,840; total value of taxables, $430,647 ; number of polls, 143; total amount of taxes levied, $6,753.29. The valuation per capita is $521.79. The number of children of school age is 234.
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In 1881 it had 2,711 acres in wheat, producing 27,1 10 bushels, or 10 bushels to the acre; 1,438 acres in corn, producing 57,360 bushels, an average of 40 bushels to the acre on upland, and 50 bushels on bottom land; 430 acres in oats, producing 10,- 750 bushels, or 25 bushels to the acre ; 417 acres of meadow, producing, at the rate of a ton an acre, approximately, 417 tons ; 92 acres of potatoes, producing 2,576 bushels, or 28 bushels to the acre.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
William Cornell, deceased, was born in Carroll County, 'Md., Jan. 14, 1813, a son of Smith and Mary Cornell. The former died in Maryland, and the latter in Nebraska. He was reared in his native State and there married. In 1850 he came with his wife and five children to Indiana, making the trip with wagons. He bought eighty acres of land in Butler Township, DeKalb County, a part of which was cleared, and four years later bought eighty acres more. Of this land he made a good farm, residing on it till his death. When he came to Indiana he had $300 in money, and his team, wagon and household goods. He and his wife went bravely to work, and the farm is now one of the best in the county. He was a man of firm, upright principles, and won the confidence and respect of all who knew him. He was an exemplary member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Cornell died Feb. 16, 1882. Mrs. Cornell resides on the old homestead. Of the seven children born to them, five are living-W. H. H., Benjamin F., Sebastian H., Winfield S. and Ellen V., wife of Stephen Surfis. Two sons were soldiers in the war of the Rebellion-W. H. H. and Benjamin F. Both enlisted in Com- pany K, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry. At Shiloh Benjamin received a slight wound, and at Mission Ridge a severe one. He veteranized and served till the close of the war.
W. H. H. Cornell, son of William and Mary M. Cornell, was born in Maryland in 1840, and was ten years of age when his parents moved to Indiana, and has helped to bring Butler Township to its present state of cultivated farms from a state of timber and wild land. He now owns a good farm of forty acres, all well improved. In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, and was soon sent to the front. He participated in the battles of Shiloh and siege of Corinth, Perryville, Stone River, and others of less note. He served three years, receiving an honorable discharge. Mr. Cornell
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was married in 1870 to Eliza Timberlain, daughter of Isaac Timberlain, an old settler of Butler Township. They have two children-Perry B. and Jesse O. In his political views Mr. Cornell adheres to the faith of his father, and is a staunch Re- publican. He has served as Constable of his township a year and a half. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
D. W. Fair, the eldest son and second child of Abraham and Christena (DeLong) Fair, was born in Butler Township, De Kalb County, Ind., Aug. 9, 1838. His boyhood was passed on the farm, where he early learned the practical part of agriculture. He obtained a good education in the district school, and after leaving school assisted his father till twenty-three years of age, when Nov. 20, 1861, he was married to Irene Perry, who was born in Noble County, Ind., Oct. 6, 1841, a daughter of Oliver and Mary (Francis) Perry. After his marriage he settled on the farm where he has since resided, which contains ninety-two acres of choice land, the greater part of which he has cleared and improved. He has been successful, and has won the con- fidence of his fellow-townsmen, and by them has been elected to several offices of trust. Mr. and Mrs. Fair have eight chil- dren-Perry W., Carlton G., Aldrainie, Caroline, Vinnie M., Wells, Mary and Fay. Politically Mr. Fair is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the United Brethren church, and are earnest workers in all departments of their church.
Abraham Fair, second son of Peter Fair, was born in Fred- erick County, Md., in 1815. In 1827 his parents moved to Mont- gomery County, Ohio, and there he grew to manhood and was married in the winter of 1835 to Christena De Long. Immedi- ately after his marriage he came to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled on Section 33, Butler Township, where he had previous- ly entered 160 acres of land. He built a small cabin, and cleared and improved his land, adding to his first entry till he owned 313 acres. He was an energetic and successful business man. When he first came to the county his nearest neighbor was . three miles distant. He helped to build the first house in Au- burn, a dwelling for Wesley Park, in which the first court was afterward held. Politically he was a Whig till the organiza- tion of the Republican party, with which he afterward affiliated. He and his wife joined the Methodist church in their young days, and have been among the most earnest workers in its
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ranks. Mr. Fair died in February, 1867. Mrs. Fair is living at Auburn, aged sixty-eight years. To them were born twelve children, nine of whom are living-Barbara, E. W., Matilda, William, James, Calvin, Mary, Alice and Laura. The deceased are-Charles Irwin, (twin brother of D.W.), Henrietta and Jane. Mr. Fair's father came with his family to De Kalb County in 1835, and met with the first Board of County Commis- sioners July 28, 1837. He was widely known and was recog- nized as a man of good judgment and executive ability. He was a successful farmer and accumulated a large property. He and his wife were members of the German Reformed church.
William A. Feagler was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, Feb. 13, 1840, a son of Henry and Rebecca (Wyrick) Feagler, natives of Ohio, his father of Warren County and his mother of Montgomery County. In the spring of 1837, Henry Feagler, then a single man, came with his brother Joshua and his brother-in-law, Jacob Wyrick, to De Kalb County, Ind., and entered land in Richland Township. Soon after entering his land he returned to Ohio, where he was married and remained till the fall of 1847, when he returned to Indiana and settled in Jackson Township. He was a man of fair education and pos- sessed those strong forces of mind and character that made him prominent among his fellow citizens. In 1860 he was elected to the Legislature on the Republican ticket, serving one term, and also an extra session during the war. He took considera- ble interest in local affairs, and wrote an account of his recollec- tions of the early settlement of De Kalb County. To him and his wife were born eight children-William A., Susanna, John, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Lorena, Henry and Joshua. Mr. Feagler died June 14, 1881, aged about sixty-five years. His wife died April 13, 1882, aged sixty-seven years. William A. Feagler re- mained on the farm with his parents till manhood; receiving his education in the district schools. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth Indiana Infantry, and was appointed leader of the Regimental Band. They were soon sent to the front, and assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. He par- ticipated in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River and Chicka- mauga. At the latter place, Sept. 21, 1863, he was captured, and was confined in Libby Prison, Danville, Va., Andersonville, and Florence, S. C., till Dec. 8, 1864. Before his capture he weighed 180 pounds, and when released, 100 pounds.
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He was discharged at Indianapolis, Jan. 26, 1865, and returned to Indiana, and located on the home farm, remaining there till 1871, when he moved to his present farm in Butler Township, which contains sixty-three acres of good land, well cultivated, and with good improvements. Mr. Feagler was married June 27, 1867, to Eliza Whetsel. They have five children-Ella, James C., Le Roy, Orvie, and Ted. Politically, Mr. Feagler is a Republican.
Rev. William Finney, pastor of the German Baptist church, Butler Township, was born in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1847. His parents died when he was a child, and he has no knowledge or remembrance of them. His early life till fifteen years of age was spent with kind friends in Fort Wayne, and he obtained a good education in the public schools. In 1863 he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry, and was actively engaged till the close of the war. He partici- pated in the engagements at Kenesaw Mountain, Resaca, Buz- zard's Roost, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Pulaski, Columbia, Franklin, Nashville, Kingston, and others less noted. He was discharged at Charlotte, N. C., in 1865. Returning to Fort Wayne, he at- tended school part of the next winter, and then went West, vis- iting Kansas, Colorado, Dakota, Wyoming and Utah; was en- gaged in the survey of the Union Pacific Railroad a portion of the time. In 1869 he returned to Indiana and followed agricult- ural pursuits near Hunterstown till 1875, when he was or- dained a minister in the German Baptist church, and has since devoted his time to the churches of Allen and De Kalb coun- ties. Mr. Finney was married July 4, 1869, to Almira E., daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah Gump. They have seven children-Lawrence, Delbert, Francis M., Jeremiah C., Henry, Sarah and Mary (twins).
Jared F. Housel was born in Farmington, Trumbull Co., Ohio, Sept. 6, 1836, a son of Absalom and Rhoda (Allen) Housel. When he was eleven years of age his parents moved to Wells County, Ind., where he grew to manhood. In 1857 he removed to De Kalb County, where he followed farming till after the breaking out of the Rebellion. Sept. 25, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, and the following December was sent to the front and assigned to the Army of the Tennessee. At the battle of Shiloh he was wounded in the right thigh, and lay in the hospital at Evansville, Ind., till Nov.
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29, 1862, when he was discharged and returned home. After his recovery he resumed agricultural pursuits, and has since lived in Butler Township. He has been Postmaster of De Kalb since 1882, and has held several minor offices of trust in the township. In 1864 he was married to Drucilla C., daughter of Michael and Rebecca (Ott) Reever. They have one son, Elzie E. Mr. and Mrs. Housel are members of the United Brethren church. Politically, he is a Republican.
Jesse Jackson, deceased, was among the first setlers of Butler Township. He was born in Monmouth, N. J., in 1795, a son of Benjamin Jackson, of English descent. He was reared on a farm, receiving a limited education in the common schools. When a young man he went to New York, and was there mar- ried about 1815 to Edith Smith. In 1833 he moved to Hillsdale County, Mich., and in 1837 to DeKalb County, Ind., and settled in the southwest corner of Butler Township, entering 120 acres of land from the Government. He built a small cabin, and began clearing his farm, which he made his home the rest of his life. He and his wife were members of the Society of Hicksite Friends, and devout adherents to the faith. He was successful in his business enterprises, and was widely known, and had many friends who appreciated his manly character and sterling integrity. To him and his wife were born eleven children-Hiram S., Sallie G., Mercy, Mary, Harriet, Amos, Levi, Drusilla, Hannah, Walter and Myron W., the latter two born in DeKalb County. Mrs. Jackson died in 1857, aged fifty- eight years. Mr. Jackson died Aug. 25, 1868.
Levi Jackson, third son and seventh child of Jesse and Edith (Smith) Jackson, was born in New York, Sept. 13, 1829. Before he was eight years old his parents moved to the wilds of Indiana, and his education was limited to the primitive schools of the early pioneer times, and he did not have free access to even these, as his services were required on the farm. He re- mained with his parents till his majority, and then began to work for himself, and for eleven years ran a threshing machine . in connection with farming. He now has a fine farm of 144 acres, which is well improved, and has a good residence and farm buildings. He was married July 3, 1851, to Johanna M., daughter of Robert Knott, who was born March 16, 1828. She died Nov. 13, 1872, leaving three children-Juliette, Gill, and Levi M. Dec. 14, 1873, Mr. Jackson married Martha L.,
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daughter of Jacob S. and Hannah S. (Weldon) Thomas. They have one son, Delbert D. A twin brother of Delbert died in infancy. In religious belief Mr. Jackson is a Universalist. Politically he is a Democrat. He has served two years as As- sessor of Butler Township.
Robert Knott, deceased, one of the old and well-known citi- zens of DeKalb County, was born in Pennsylvania June 22, 1801. He was married in Crawford County, Ohio, to Eliza- beth Gill. In the spring of 1845 he came to Indiana and bought 348 acres of land on section 23, Butler Township, DeKalb County ; built a cabin, and the following fall moved his family, at that time consisting of his wife and six children, to his frontier home. He was an energetic, enterprising man, and accumulated considerable property. Public-spirited and liberal, he was often called on to contribute to objects of public interest and charity, and every worthy enterprise received his patronage. He and his wife were exemplary members of the Protestant Methodist church, and liberal supporters of all its interests. Mrs. Knott died May 26, 1877, aged seventy years, and Mr. Knott Dec. 8, 1879. They had a family of eleven children-Joannah, Mary, Henry H., Adams, Martha, Catherine, S. M,, Joseph, Sarah E., Cordelia W., and Francelia. Catherine and Joseph died in Ohio. Politically Mr. Knott was a Republican.
S. M. Knott, son of Robert and Elizabeth (Gill) Knott, was born in Crawford County, Ohio, in 1841. He received his ele- mentary education in the district schools and later attended the higher institutions of learning. He was reared on a farm in DeKalb County, and since arriving at man's estate has given his attention to agricultural pursuits. He owns a good farm of 1571/2 acres in Butler Township, which is under a good state of cultivation, and his buildings are commodious and in good re- pair. Mr. Knott was married in 1872 to Miss Roxanna Parker. They have five children-Robert D., Fred. W., Flint D., Lena M. and an infant. Mr. Knott is a member of DeKalb Lodge No. 214, F. and A. M. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is an influential man in his township, and is serving his second year as Trustee.
Paul Lung, retired farmer, is the oldest living resident of But- ler Township. He was born in Champaign County, Ohio, in December, 1810, a son of John and Susanna (Pence) Lung, na- tives of Shenandoah County, Va. When he was about ten
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years of age his father died, and he was bound out to serve till he was twenty-one. Having to toil early and late for a hard taskmaster, he had no educational advantages. He was mar- ried Jan. 12, 1832. In 1841 he came with his wife and four chil- dren to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled where he now lives in Butler Township. He bought 160 acres of wild land, pay- ing $4.33 an acre, on which he built a small cabin, and after getting his family settled, went to work to improve his land, which took years of patient toil. He now has a pleasant home where he has lived forty-four years, and from a wilderness has seen the country develop into farms and villages. He added to his first purchase till he owned 230 acres, but has reduced his farm to 150 acres. He is purely a self-made man, and has made the greater part of his money in De Kalb County, having but about $200 when he first came to Indiana. He was a natural mechanic, and worked at the carpenter's trade a por- tion of the time after coming to the county. Deer and other wild animals were plenty, and he was one of the best marks- men in the county. He has always been a Democrat, casting his first vote for Andrew Jackson. He has held the office of Supervisor several years, always discharging his duties in a conscientious and impartial manner. His wife died June 20, 1884, aged seventy-three years, three months and thirteen days. They had a family of seven children ; but four are living- Serena, wife of O. C. Clark; Elizabeth, Henry A., and George WV. Barbara, wife of George Ott, Anna, wife of Peter Fair, and John, are deceased. Mr. Lung has been a member of the Lutheran church forty years. His wife was a member from her girlhood.
Philip Lung, farmer, was born in Champaign County, Ohio, Aug. 15, 1819, a son of John and Susanna Lung, of Shenandoah County, Va., who settled in Ohio in an early day. He was the youngest of six children, four of whom are living-Paul, Noah, David and Philip. The boyhood of our subject was spent in his native county, where he attended school eighteen months, which was the extent of his educational advantages. Before he was eight years of age he was bound out to serve till of age. He came to De Kalb County in 1840, and entered 160 acres of wild land in Butler Township ; returning to Ohio he remained there ten years, and then came again to De Kalb County, sold his land and entered the farm where he now lives, which he has
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cleared and improved. He has disposed of a part of his land, but still own's eighty acres. Mr. Lung was married in Penn- sylvania, Nov. 3, 1859, to Margaret S. Ott, who died March I, 1872, aged thirty-four years. To them were born four children ; two are living-Nicholas and Daniel. Mr. Lung, as was his wife, is a member of the Lutheran church. He has always affiliated with the Democratic party, casting his first vote for Van Buren in 1840. He is one of the representative citizens of De Kalb County, having by his integrity and honorable dealing won the esteem of his fellow citizens.
John Noel, deceased, was one of the pioneers of DeKalb County. He was born in Adams County, Pa., April 6, 1813, a son of John Noel, who settled in Seneca County, Ohio, in an early day, and there died in 1863. He was reared on a farm, receiving a limited education, and after reaching manhood de- voted his attention to agricultural pursuits. He was married Nov. 3, 1836, to Elizabeth Endsley, a native of Wayne County, Ohio, born Nov. 20, 1816, a daughter of Michael Endsley, a pioneer of DeKalb County. In 1839 they left their Ohio home and emigrated to Indiana, locating on a farm on section 33, Butler Township, DeKalb County, Oct. 27, which had been bought by Mr. Noel in 1837, and on which was built a small log cabin. He lived there till 1850, when he sold the farm and bought 160 acres on section 15, seventeen acres of which had been chopped, part of the brush burned, and a few rails made. Here he lived the rest of his life, and by industry and judicious management, assisted by his wife and children, was successful, and at the time of his death had one of the best farms in the township. In his political views he was first a Whig and then a Republican. Although a strong supporter of his party he had no aspirations for official honors. He was a member of no church, but in faith was a Universalist. To Mr. and Mrs. Noel were born eleven children, all but the eldest in DeKalb County -Philip, born Feb. 25, 1838 ; Sarah E., April 27, 1840; George, deceased, June 30, 1842; Mary S., deceased, Feb. 18, 1844; Eliza L., April 2, 1846; Lucy J., April 2, 1846; William, de- ceased, Nov. 18, 1848 ; Solomon, Nov. 8, 1850; Silas, Jan. 14, 1853; Perry, May 21, 1855; Samuel, June 5, 1858. Mr. Noel died Oct. 27, 1858. Mrs. Noel subsequently married Henry Bricker, and now resides in Auburn, DeKalb County, Ind.
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