USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 4
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Until Governor Harrison appeared at Vincennes. his secretary, John Gibson, acted as governor. The first territorial court met March 3, ISO1,
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47
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
the first meeting of the governor and judges having begun on the 12th of the preceding January. The governor and judges, in accordance with the pro- visions of the Ordinance of 1787, continued to perform all legislative and judicial functions of the territory until it was advanced to the representative stage of government in 1805. The governor had sole executive power and appointed all officials, territorial and county.
CHANGES IN BOUNDARY LIMITS OF INDIANA.
During this period from 1800 to 1805, the territory of Indiana was con- siderably augmented as result of the organization of the state of Ohio in 1803. At that date Ohio was given its present territorial limits, and all of the rest of the Northwest Territory was included within Indiana Territory from this date until 1805. During this interim Louisiana was divided and the northern part was attached to Indiana Territory for purposes of civil and criminal jurisdiction. This was, however, only a temporary arrangement, which lasted only about a year after the purchase of Louisiana from France. The next change in the limits of Indiana Territory occurred in 1805. in which year the territory of Michigan was set off. The southern line of Michigan was made tangent to the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, and it so remained until Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816. From 1805 to 1809 Indiana included all of the present states of Indiana, Illinois, Wiscon- sin and about one-third of Minnesota. In the latter year Illinois was set off as a territory and Indiana was left with its present limits with the exception of a ten-mile strip along the northern boundary. This strip was detached from Michigan and this subsequently led to friction between the two states, which was not settled until the United States government gave Michigan a large tract of land west of Lake Michigan. Thus it is seen how Indiana has received its present boundary limits as the result of the successive changes in 1803, 1805, 1809 and 1816.
SECOND STAGE OF TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT (1805-1816.)
The Ordinance of 1787 provided that whenever the population of the territory reached five thousand free male inhabitants it should pass upon the question of advancing to the second or representative stage. Governor Har- rison issued a proclamation August 4, 1804, directing an election to be held in the various counties of Indiana territory on the 11th of the following month. In the entire territory, then comprehending six counties, there were
18
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
only three hundred and ninety-one votes cast. The following table gives the result of this election :
County.
For Advance. Against Advance.
Total.
Clark
35
13
48
Dearborn
1 1
O
26
26
Knox
163
12
175
Randolph 1
I
1
1
40
2!
61
St. Clair
1
22
59
81
Wayne
O
O
O
1
1
1 I
1
Total
260
13I
391
1
I
It will be noticed that there is no vote returned from Wayne and this is accounted for by the fact that the proclamation notifying the sheriff was not received in time to give it the proper advertisement. Wayne county at that time included practically all of the present state of Michigan and is not to be confused with the Wayne county later formed within the present limits of Indiana. As result of this election and its majority of one hundred and twenty-nine in favor of advancing to the second stage of government, the governor issued a proclamation calling for an election on January 3, 1805, of nine representatives, the same being proportioned to the counties as follows : Wayne, three; Knox, two; Dearborn, Clark, Randolph and St. Clair, one each. The members of the first territorial legislature of Indiana convened at Vincennes on July 29, 1805. The members of the house were as follows : Dr. George Fisher, of Randolph; William Biggs and Shadrach Bond, of St. Clair ; Benjamin Parke and John Johnson, of Knox: Davis Floyd, of Clark, and Jesse B. Thomas, of Dearborn. This gives, however, only seven repre- sentatives, Wayne county having been set off as the territory of Michigan in the spring of this same year. A re-apportionment was made by the governor in order to bring the quota of representatives up to the required number.
The Legislative Council consisted of five men as provided by the Ordin- ance of 1787, namely : Benjamin Chambers, of Dearborn ; Samuel Gwath- mey, of Clark; Jolin Rice Jones, of Knox; Pierre Menard, of Randolph, and John Hay, of St. Clair. It is not possible in this connection to give a detailed history of the territory of Indiana from 1805 until its admission to the Union in 1816. Readers who wish to make a study of our state's history can find volumes which will treat the history of the state in a much better manner
49
DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
than is possible in a volume of this character. It may be noted that there were five general assemblies of the Territorial Legislature during this period of eleven years. Each one of the five general assemblies was divided into two sessions, which, with the dates, are given in the appended table :
First General Assembly-First session, July 29, 1805 ; second session, November 3, 1806.
Second General Assembly -- First session, August 12, 1807; second session, September 26, 1808.
Third General Assembly-First session, November 12, 1810; second session, November 12, 18II.
Fourth General Assembly-First session, February 1, 1813; second session, December 6, 1813.
Fifth General Assembly -- First session, August 15, 1814 ; second session, December 4, 1815.
CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATES OF INDIANA TERRITORY.
Indiana Territory was allowed a delegate in Congress from 1805 until the close of the territorial period. The first three delegates were elected by the Territorial Legislature, while the last four were elected by the qualified voters of the territory. The first delegate was Benjamin Parke, who was elected to succeed himself in 1807 over John Rice Jones, Waller Taylor and Shadrach Bond. Parke resigned March 1, 1808, to accept a seat on the supreme judiciary of Indiana Territory, and remained on the supreme bench of Indiana after it was admitted to the Union, holding the position until his death at Salem, Indiana, July 12, 1835. Jesse B. Thomas was elected Octo- ber 22, 1808, to succeed Parke as delegate to Congress. It is this same Thomas who came to Brookville in 1808 with Amos Butler. He was a tricky, shifty, and, so his enemies said, an unscrupulous politician. He was later elected to Congress in Illinois and became the author of the Missouri Compromise. In the spring of 1809 the inhabitants of the territory were permitted to cast their first vote for the delegate to Congress. Three candi- dates presented themselves for the consideration of the voters, Jonathan Jennings, Thomas Randolph and John Johnson. There were only four counties in the state at this time, Knox, Harrison, Clark and Dearborn. Two counties, St. Clair and Randolph, were a part of the new territory of Illinois, which was cut off from Indiana in the spring of 1809. The one newspaper of the territory waged a losing fight against Jennings, the latter appealing for
(4)
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
support on the ground of his anti-slavery views. The result of the election was as follows: Jennings, 428; Randolph, 402; Johnson, 81. Jonathan Jennings may be said to be the first successful politician produced in Indiana. His congressional career began in 1809 and he was elected to Congress four successive terms before 1816. He was president of the constitution conven- tion o'f 1816, first governor of the state and was elected a second time, but resigned to go to Congress, where he was sent for four more terms by the voters of his district.
EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH SLAVERY IN INDIANA.
The Ordinance of 1787 specifically provided that neither slavery nor any voluntary servitude should ever exist in the Northwest Territory. Notwith- standing this prohibition, slavery actually did exist, not only in the North- west Territory, but in the sixteen years while Indiana was a territory as well. The constitution of Indiana in 1816 expressly forbade slavery and yet the census of 1820 reported one hundred and ninety slaves in Indiana, which was only forty-seven less than there was in ISIO. Most of these slaves were held in the southwestern counties of the state, there being one hundred and eighteen in Knox, thirty in Gibson, eleven in Posey, ten in Vanderburg and the remainder widely scattered throughout the state. As late as 1817 Frank- lin county scheduled slaves for taxation, listing them at three dollars each. The tax schedule for 1813 says that the property tax on "horses, town lots, servants of color and free males of color shall be the same as in 1814." Franklin county did not return slaves at the census of 1810 or 1820, but the above extract from the commissioners' record of Franklin county proved con- clusively that slaves were held there. Congress was petitioned on more than one occasion during the territorial period to set aside the prohibition against slavery, but on each occasion refused to assent to the appeal of the slavery advocates. While the constitution convention of 1816 was in session, there was an attempt made to introduce slavery, but it failed to accomplish anything.
THE INDIAN LANDS.
The United States government bought from the Indians all of the land within the present state of Indiana with the exception of a small tract around Vincennes, which was given by the Indians to the inhabitants of the town about the middle of the eighteenth century. The first purchase of land was made in 1795, at which time a triangular strip in the southeastern part of the
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
state was secured by the treaty of Greenville. By the time Indiana was ad- mitted to the Union in 1816, the following tracts had been purchased : Vin- cennes tract, June 7, 1803: Vincennes treaty tract, August 18 and 27, 1804; Grouseland tract. August 21, 1805; Harrison's purchase, September 30, 1809; Twelve-mile purchase, September 30, 1809.
No more purchases were made from the Indians until the fall of 1818, at which time a large tract of land in the central part of the state was pur- chased from the Indians. This tract included all of the land north of the Indian boundary lines of 1805 and 1809, and south of the Wabash river with the exception of what was known as the Miami reservation. This treaty, known as St. Mary's, was finally signed on October 6, 1818, and the next Legislature proceeded to divide it into two counties, Wabash and Delaware.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES.
As fast as the population would warrant, new counties were established in this New Purchase and Hamilton county was the tenth to be so organized. This county was created by the legislative act of January 8, 1823, and began its formal career as an independent county on the 7th of the following April. For purposes of reference, a list of the counties organized up until 1823, when Hamilton county was established, is here appended. The dates given represent the time when the organization of the county became effective, since in many instances it was from a few months to as much as seven years after the act establishing the county was passed before it became effective.
I. Knox June 20, 1790 15.
Orange
Feb. 1, 1816
2. Clark
Feb. 3, 180I
16. Sullivan
Jan. 15. 1817
3. Dearborn Mch. 7, 1803 17 Jennings Feb. 1, 1817
4. Harrison Dec. I, 1808 18. Pike
Feb. 1, 1817
5. Jefferson Feb. 1, 18II 19.
Daviess
Feb. 15, 1817
6. Franklin Feb. 1, 18II
20. Dubois
Feb.
1, 1818
7. Wayne
Feb.
I, ISII 21.
Spencer Feb. 1, 1818
8. Warrick Apr. 1, 1813 22. Vanderburgh .Feb. 1, 1818
9. Gibson .Apr. 1, 1813 23.
Vigo Feb.
15, 1818
IO. Washington Jan. 17, 1814 24.
Crawford
Mch.
1, 1818
II. Switzerland
Oct.
I, 1814 25.
Lawrence
Mch.
1, 1818
12. Posey Nov.
1, 1814 26. Monroe
Apr. 10, 1818
13. Perry
Nov. 1, 1814 27.
Ripley
Apr. 10, 1818
1.4. Jackson Jan. 1, 1816 28. Randolph
Aug. 10, 1818
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
29. Owen
Jan.
1, 1819 38.
Morgan
Feb. 15, 1822
30 Fayette
Jan.
1, 1819
39.
Decatur
Mch.
4, 1822
31 Floyd Feb. 2, 1819 40. Shelby
Apr. 1, 1822
32 Scott Feb. 1, 1820 41.
Rush
Apr. 1, 1822
33.
Martin
Feb.
1, 1820
42.
Marion
Apr.
1, 1822
34
Union
Feb.
I, 1821
43.
Putnam
Apr. 1, 1822
35.
Greene
Feb.
5, 1821
44. Henry
June
1, IS22
36. Bartholomew
Feb. 12, 1821 45.
Montgomery
Ach. 1, 1823
37.
Parke
Apr. 2, 1821
46.
Hamilton
Apr. 7, 1823
The first thirteen counties in the above list were all that were organized when the territory of Indiana petitioned Congress for an enabling act in 1815. They were in the southern part of the state and had a total population of sixty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven. At that time the total state tax was only about five thousand dollars, while the assessment of the whole state in 1816 amounted to only six thousand forty-three dollars and thirty-six cents.
CIIANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA.
The Constitution of 1816 was framed by forty-three delegates who met at Corydon from June 10 to June 29 of that year. It was provided in the Constitution of 1816 that a vote might be taken every twelve years on the question of amending, revising or writing a wholly new instrument of gov- ernment. Although several efforts were made to hold constitution conven- tions between 1816 and 1850, the vote failed each time until 1848. Elections were held in 1823, 1828, 1840 and 1846, but each time there was returned an adverse vote against the calling of a constitutional convention. There were no amendments to the 1816 Constitution, although the revision of 1824, by Benjamin Parke and others was so thorough that it was said that the revision committee had done as much as a constitution convention could have done.
It was not until 1848 that a successful vote on the question of calling a constitution convention was carried. There were many reasons which in- duced the people of the state to favor a convention. Among these may be mentioned the following: The old Constitution provided that all the state officers except the governor and lieutenant-governor should be elected by the legislature. Many of the county and township officers were appointed by the county commissioners. Again, the old Constitution attempted to handle too many matters of local concern. All divorces from 1816 to 1851 were
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
granted by the Legislature. Special laws were passed which would apply to particular counties and even to particular townships in the county. If Nobles- ville wanted an alley vacated or a street closed, it had to appeal to the Legis- lature for permission to do so. If a man wanted to ferry people across a stream in Posey county, his representative presented a bill to the Legislature asking that the proposed ferryman be given permission to ferry people across the stream. The agitation for free schools attracted the support of the edu- cated people of the state, and most of the newspapers were outspoken in their advocacy of better educational privileges. The desire for better schools, for freer representation in the selection of officials, for less interference by the Legislature in local affairs, led to a desire on the part of majority of the people of the state for a new Constitution.
The second constitutional convention of Indiana met at Indianapolis, October 7, 1850, and continued in session for four months. The one hun- dred and fifty delegates labored faithfully to give the state a Constitution fully abreast of the times and in accordance with the best ideas of the day. More power was given the people by allowing them to select not only all of the state officials, but also their county officers as well. The convention of 1850 took a decided stand against the negro and proposed a referendum on the question of prohibiting the further emigration of negroes into the state of Indiana. The subsequent vote on this question showed that the people were not disposed to tolerate the colored race. As a matter of fact no negro or mulatto could legally come into Indiana from 1852 until 1881, when the restriction was removed by an amendment of the Constitution. Another important feature of the new Constitution was the provision for free schools. What we now know as a public school supported at the expense of the state, was unknown under the 1816 Constitution. The new Constitution estab- lished a system of free public schools, and subsequent statutory legislation strengthened the constitutional provision so that the state now ranks among the leaders in educational matters throughout the nation. The people of the state had voted on the question of free schools in 1848 and had decided that they should be established, but there was such a strong majority opposed to free schools that nothing was done. Orange county gave only an eight per cent vote in favor of free schools, while Putnam and Monroe, containing DePauw and Indiana Universities, respectively, voted adversely by large majorities. But, with the backing of the Constitution, the advocates of free schools began to push the fight for their establishment, and as a result of the legislative acts of 1855, 1857 and 1867, the public schools were placed upon a sound basis.
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
Such in brief were the most important features of the 1852 Constitution. It has remained substantially to this day as it was written sixty-five years ago. It is true there have been some amendments, but the changes of 1878 and 1881 did not alter the Constitution in any important particular. There was no concerted effort toward calling a constitutional convention until the Legislature of 1913 provided for a referendum on the question at the polls, November 4, 1914. Despite the fact that all the political parites had de- clared in favor of a constitutional convention in their platforms, the question was voted down by a large majority. An effort was made to have the ques- tion submitted by the Legislature of 1915, but the Legislature refused to submit the question to the voters of the state.
CAPITALS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY AND INDIANA.
The present state of Indiana was comprehended within the Northwest Territory from 1787 to 1800, and during that time the capital was located within the present state of Ohio. When the Ordinance of 1787 was put in operation on July 17, 1788, the capital was established at Marietta, the name being chosen by the directors of the Ohio Company on July 2, of the same year. The name Marietta was selected in honor of the French Queen, Marie Antoinette, compounded by curious combination of the first and last syllables of her name.
When Indiana was set off by the act of May 7, 1800, the same act located the capital at Vincennes where it remained for nearly thirteen years. The old building in which the Territorial Assembly first met in 1805 is still standing in Vincennes. In the spring of 1813 the capital of the territory was removed to Corydon and it was in that quaint little village that Indiana began its career as a state. It remained there until November, 1824, when Samuel Merrill loaded up all of the state's effects in three large wagons and hauled them overland to the new capital-Indianapolis. Indianapolis had been chosen as the seat of government by a committee of ten men, appointed in 1820 by the Legislature. It was not until 1824, however, that a building was erected in the new capital which would accommodate the state officials and the General Assembly. The first court house in Marion county was built on the site of the present building, and was erected with a view of utilizing it as a state house until a suitable capitol building could be erected. The state continued to use the Marion county court house until 1835, by which time an imposing state house had been erected. This building was in use until 1877, when it was razed to make way for the present beautiful building.
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA.
MILITARY HISTORY.
Indiana has had some of its citizens in four wars in which United States has engaged since ISoo: The War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. One of the most important engage- ments ever fought against the Indians in the United States was that of the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 18II. For the two or three years pre- ceding, Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, had been getting the Indians ready for an insurrection. Tecumseh made a long trip throughout the west- ern and southern part of the United States for the purpose of getting the Indians all over the country to rise up and drive out the white man. While he was still in the South, Governor Harrison descended upon the Indians at Tippecanoe and dealt them a blow from which they never recovered. The British had been urging the Indians to rise up against the settlers along the frontier, and the repeated depredations of the savages but increased the hos- tility of the United States toward England. General Harrison liad about seven hundred fighting men, while the Indians numbered over a thousand. The Americans lost thirty-seven by death on the battlefield, twenty-five mor- tally wounded and one hundred and twenty-six more or less seriously wounded. The savages carried most of their dead away, but it is known that about forty were actually killed in the battle and a proportionately large num- ber wounded. In addition to the men who fought at Tippecanoe, the pio- neers of the territory sent their quota to the front during the War of 1812. Unfortunately, records are not available to show the enlistments by counties.
During the administration of Governor Whitcomb ( 1846-49) the United States was engaged in a war with Mexico. Indiana contributed five regi- ments to the government during this struggle, and her troops performed with a spirit of singular promptness and patriotism during all the time they were at the front.
No Northern state had a more patriotic governor during the Civil War than Indiana, and had every governor in the North done his duty as conscien- tiously as did Governor Morton that terrible struggle would undoubtedly have been materially shortened. When President Lincoln issued his call on April 15, 1861, for 75,000 volunteers, Indiana was asked to furnish 4,683 men as its quota. A week later there were no less than 12,000 volunteers at Camp Morton at Indianapolis. This loyal uprising was a tribute to the patriotism of the people, and accounts for the fact that Indiana sent more than 200,000 men to the front during the war. Indiana furnished prac- tically seventy-five per cent of its total population capable of bearing arms,
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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
and on this basis Delaware was the only state in the Union which exceeded Indiana. Of the troops sent from Indiana, 7,243 were killed or mortally wounded. and 19,429 died from other causes, making a total death loss of over thirteen per cent for all the troops furnished.
During the summer of 1863 Indiana was thrown into a frenzy of excite- ment when it was learned that General Morgan had crossed the Ohio with 2,000 cavalrymen under his command. Probably Indiana never experienced a more exciting month than July of that year. Morgan entered the state in Harrison county and advanced northward through Corydon to Salem in Washington county. As his men went along they robbed orchards, looted farm houses, stole all the horses which they could find and burned consider- able property. From Salem, Morgan turned with his men to the east, having been deterred from his threatened advance on Indianapolis by the knowledge that the local militia of the state would soon be too strong for him. He hur- ried with his men toward the Ohio line, stopping at Versailles long enough to loot the county treasury. Morgan passed through Dearborn county over into Ohio, near Harrison, and a few days later, Morgan and most of his band were captured.
During the latter part of the war there was considerable opposition to its prosecution on the part of the Democrats of this state. An organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle at first. and later as the Sons of Liberty, was instrumental in stirring up much trouble throughout the state. Probably historians will never be able to agree as to the degree of their culpability in thwarting the government authorities in the conduct of the war. That they did many overt acts cannot be questioned and that they collected fire arms for traitorous designs cannot be denied. Governor Morton and General Carrington, by a system of close espionage, were able to know at all times just what was transpiring in the councils of these orders. In the can- paign of 1864 there was an open denunciation through the Republican press of the Sons of Liberty. On October 8 of that year the Republican news- papers carried these startling headlines : "You can rebuke this treason. The traitors intend to bring war to your home. Meet them at the ballot box while Grant and Sherman meet them on the battle field." A number of the leaders were arrested. convicted in a military court and sentenced to be shot. However, they were later pardoned.
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