USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > History of Fort Wayne, from the earliest known accounts of this point, to the present period. Embracing an extended view of the aboriginal tribes of the Northwest, including, more especially, the Miamies with a sketch of the life of General Anthony Wyane; including also a lengthy biography of pioneer settlers of Fort Wayne. Also an account of the manufacturing, mercantile, and railroad interests of Fort Wayne and vicinity > Part 39
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The next term of this court, February 12th, 1826, was opened at the residence of Alexander Ewing, and closed at that of Wm Sut- tenfield. The third term, August 13th, 1826, was presided over by Judge Hanna and W. N. Hood, A. L. Davis, Esq., acting as clerk. At the term of 1828, May 5th, Samuel Hanna, executor of A. Bur- nett, received the first order for the sale of land made to him. This sale consisted of two sections reserved to Burnett at the Indian trea- ty of 1826-one lying at Winnemac prairie, on the northwest side of the Wabash, and the other just opposite the mouth of Deep Creek, or what is now Delphi, in Carroll county, Ind. At the next term, Nov. 1828, " letters of administration " were issued to Joseph Hol- man, upon the estate of the then late principal war chief of the Miamies, known as La Gross,* who had previously been poisoned and died at the fort here, near which he was buried. La Gross had exercised a very conspicious part among the Indians here as ear- ly as 1794, and was esteemed as a very good man.
At the next term of the Probate Court, May 3d, 1830, W. G. Ew- ing presided as Judge, having previously been commissioned to serve in this capacity for seven years, from September 10th, 1829, the duties of which office he is said to have discharged with marked ability, till 1833, when he resigned in favor of Hugh B. McCulloch, who became his successor, also to hold the office for seven years, from June 7th, 1834; but Mr. McCulloch resigned the position after one session, in 1835, to take charge of the Branch of the State Bink of Indiana ; after which, Governor Noble appointed Thomas Johnson to fill the vacancy of Mr. McCulloch. Nr. John- son presided as Probate Judge until Angust, 1836, when, by gener- al election, Lucien P. Ferry i was commissioned to discharge the duties of the office for seven years, from 5th of October, 1836, but, having resigned, he was superseded, February 10th, 1840, by
* It was after this chief that the town of La Gross, in Wabash county, in this State, was named.
+ During September, 1843, Mr. Ferry, accompanied by Thomas Johnson, Fsq., said to have been a very estimable man and a good citizen, returning late one evening, from Bluffton, Wells county, in this State, whither they had been on court business. the night overtook them, and a heavy rain coming up, they mistook their way, and got very wet, from the effects of which Mr. Johnson died two days after. Mr. Ferry, who also bore the reputation of a most intelligent and worthy citizen, died in August of the following year, 1844, at the age of thirty-three. Judge George Johnson, esteemed as a
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
Reuben J. Dawson. Mr. Dawson continued but a few months, and was followed by Samuel Stophlet, November 9th, 1840, who held the position till 1844, when, resigning, he was followed by George Johnson, appointed by Governor Whitcomb, who held the position till the period of election, in August, 1844, when he was elected to the office, and held the judgeship till 1847, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Nelson McLain, April 12th, 1847, who was appointed to this position, but in the following August was elected to the office, and held the position until this court was abolished by provisions of the new constitution of 1853, when Hon. James W. Borden was elected Judge of what is now the District Court of Common Pleas, embracing Allen, Adams, Wells and Huntington counties, with probate jurisdiction, whose first term began Novem- ber 3d, 1853. Since this period, the Courts have undergone no special change. In the early part of 1867, a Criminal Court was created here, to preside over which, in the month of April, of this year, Governor Baker appointed Hon. James H. Fay, Judge, R. S. Taylor, Prosecuting Attorney ; and in the month of October following, by election, Hon. J. W. Borden assumed the judgeship of this court.
Of marriage records, previous to October, 1834, there had been no record of marriage licenses presented here, nor any return made of the solemnization thereof in the county of Allen. Up to 1824, while what is now Allen county still formed a part of Randolph, all such licenses had to be procured at the Clerk's office in Win- chester, the county-seat of Randolph.
The first record of marriage here, occurring in 1834, was that of George Withmer to Eleanor Troutner. For some years prior to the issue of this first license here, it was a custom for officers of the army to solemnize marriage without license; some were also married upon license issued from the Clerk's office in Miami coun- ty, Ohio; while others were procured at Vincennes, - in Knox county, Indiana ; and many came together and lived very agree- able without any license at all.
most worthy and intelligent young man, while attending a'course of theological studies at Gambier Ohio, in December, 1850, lost his life by the accidental discharge of a gun.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Still moving forward-onward ever ! * * * * * *
" The four first aets already past, The fifth shall close the drama with the day ; Time's noblest offspring is her last."
The first court-house-Treasurer's, Auditor's, Clerk's, and Recorder's offices-The old jail -- The present court-house-Post office and post-masters-Mails -- The old pond -Shawanoe run-An incident-Sketch of Chief Riehardville-The old sand-hill -Exhumation of Indian bones and relics-Steady improvement of the place- Population at different periods-Recollections of an early resident -- Commanding position of the place-Roads-Buildings -- General business-Manufacturing inter- ests-The World's future great commercial city-Railroad interests-Arrival of the first locomotive-First printing office-Names and number of papers now published in Fort Wayne -- Churches and educational relations-The Future.
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HE FIRST edifice erected for court and general public pur- poses, was a two-story brick building, built by S. Edsall, in 1847. This edifice stood upon the site of the present substantial court building. The original court building was of slender build, and after a few years use, it became evident that its longer occupancy would be attended with danger, and a one-story building was subsequently erected on the south-east corner of court-square, with a side-room for jury and other purposes fronting on Berry street, which was also torn down a few years after its erection. At the time of the occupancy and use of this build- ing, the Treasurer's and Auditor's offices were in a small edifice on the northeast corner of court-square; the Clerk's office on the northwest corner; and the Recorder's office on the south- west corner of the same.
At the time of the erection and during the occupancy and use of the first court house, built by Mr. Edsall, the old county jail still stood on the southwest corner of the square. This old building was destroyed by fire in 1847.
During the period intervening between the destruction of the one-story brick court-house, on the southeast corner of the square, and the erection of the present substantial and commanding edifice
1
312
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
in 1861, court was held in Colerick's Hall, on Columbia street. Tho cost of the present edifice was over $80.000. Its corner-stone was laid with Masonic honors, in 1861, and bears the following inscrip- tion on the northeast corner of the building :
" CORNER STONE, laid with Masonic ceremonies, May 1, A. D. 1861, A. L. 5861, by Sol. D. Bayless, P. G. M. Michael Crow, Jolin Shafer, and Isaac Hall, County Commissioners. Contractors : S. Edsall and V. M. Kimball. Designed by Edwin May. Superin- tendent, Samuel McElfatrick. Builder, D. J. Silver."
Its architecture is a combination of Doric, Corinthian, etc. On the north side ofthe building appears the figure of General Wayne, on the west side, the figure of Washington, both in colonial uni- form. In the general court-room, on either side of the judge's stand, are the figures of Columbus and the goddess of Liberty, in fresco.
As the postoffice is always an institution of interest and import- ance in every place, a little account of the establishment of postal relations in Fort Wayne will not be out of place here.
The first post master of the place, was the late Judge Hanna. He kept the office in his store, on Columbia street, near where Cole- rick's Hall now stands. The next postmaster was Henry Rudisill, father of the present County Auditor, H. J. Rudisill, Esq., who kept the office in a frame building, on the north side of Columbia street, between Calhoun and Clinton, near the place now occupied by Ash & McCulloch's hardware store. Mr. Rudisill was followed by Oliver Fairfield, (brother of Captain Asa Fairfield,) and Small- wood Noel, who kept the office in the same place till the appoint- ment of Wm. Stewart, Esq., in 1845, when Mr. Stewart took it to his own lot, on Calhoun street, where his present building stands, in place of which was then a frame building, about 25 feet square. In 1849, Samuel Stophlet, Esq., succeeded Mr. Stewart, and took the office further down Calhoun street, to a frame building, near where Kline & Marsh's shoe store now stands, where he kept it till the burning of the Phoenix Block, on the opposite side of the street, when it was removed to the site now occupied by the drug store of Gratigny & Bro., corner of Main and Calhoun streets. Jno. G. Maier, Esq., followed Mr. Stophlet, in 1853, and held the office during the administrations of Presidents Pierce and Buchan- an, keeping it first on the south side of Columbia near Clinton, and afterwards on Clinton street, near where the Mayor's office now is. In 1861, M. Drake, Esq., the present incumbent, received the appoint- ment, still keeping the office for a time on Clinton street; then removing it to Robinson's block, on Harrison street, and subse- quently to its present locality, on Court street, opposite the court- house, which is considered one of the best arranged post offices in the western country.
The first regular mails began in 1822-3, which were brought here on horseback, from Maumee and Piqua, Ohio. Prior to that
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THE OLD POND-SHAWANOE RUN-AN INCIDENT.
period, the news reached here, only through private and special messengers. The mail carriers usually had to camp out one night on the road from Piqua and Maumee, and made the trips regularly, not unfrequently coming through, however, with empty mail bags. The mail matter of Chicago often came by way of Fort Wayne, and it is remembered, that, for one trip, it was carried afoot, by Mr. Bird, a farmer, still living a few miles from Fort Wayne. After the opening of canal navigation, the Maumee mail was transferred to the packets, other mails still being carried by horses, and subsequently by stages, until the completion of the railroad from Pittsburgh to this point; and notwithstanding the march in rail- roads, &c., a few stage lines still continue to reach Fort Wayne from interior points.
It may here be interesting for the reader to know that just cast of the court-house, about half a square, at a former period there was to be seen a large pond, extending from what is now the residence of Mr. Bowser, on Berry street, past the rear of Peter Kiser's store, to where now stands the store rooms of Messrs. Town- ley, DeWald, Bond & Co., corner of Calhoun and Columbia streets. Many of the early settlers frequently caught fish out of this pond. A little brook, the remains of which is still to be seen, just north of the canal, opposite the Robinson block, meandered to the west of this pond, and just north of the court house, extending- around the same and running through what is now the alley-way im- mediately west of and opposite the court-house, thence to about the rear of the Berry street M. E. Church, and across Harrison, thence towards the St. Mary's. At the point about where the Berry street M. E. Church is, it was some four or five feet deep, and was a favorite fishing place. This little stream was known as "Shaw- anoe Run," so called from an incident that occurred many years ago near its banks, at a point about half-way between what is now Harrison and Calhoun streets, the general surface of the locality, at that period being covered mainly with small trees, hazle-bushes, etc. ; and where the Indians were much accustomed to idle about. On one occasion, a Shawanoe was asked by a Mi- amie to take a drink at the point referred to, to which the former readily assented, and as he proceded to do so, the Miamie plunged a knife into his breast, killing him on the spot. The deed was a barbarous and most treacherous one, at best ; and it was not long before the Shawanoes-quite a large body of whom then resided a short distance to the southeast of Fort Wayne -- were made acquaint- ed with the revengeful procedure of the Miamie in killing their brother ; and each and all were alike maddened at the event. The spirit of the slain member of their tribe was to be revenged ere he conld be appeased, or presents sufficient to cover np the grave of the murdered warrior were to be proffered and accepted, before the living members of the clan could feel any sense of forgiveness towards the murderer and his tribe ; and two days after the event
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
came a considerable body of Shawanoes to the place, all painted and armed for a bloody conflict with the opposite tribe. And they are said to have presented a most ferocious and determined appear- ance, as they halted upon a little rise at what is now the corner of Washington and Clinton streets.
The matter had now become serious. The Shawanoes had come to settle the affair-to revenge the murder of their brother-and the Miamies knew at once that the case had to be met. Nothing short of "an eye for an eye," or an adjustment of some kind, would serve to quell or reconcile the determined will of the paint- ed Shawanoes. Accordingly, Chief Richardville,* of the Miamies,
* With the birth-place of this distinguished chief, as referred to on page 22, Chapter II, in connection with the " old apple-tree," the reader is already familiar. His father, Druet de Richardville, was a French trader here for some years before and after the fated expedition of La Balme, in 1780. Among the many thrilling and interesting incidents and narrations, as frequently recited by the chief to the late Allen Hamilton, he gave, some years ago, an account of his ascendency to the chieftainship of his tribe. The occasion was not only thrilling and heroic, but, on the part of his famous mother and himself, will ever stand in history as one of the noblest and most humane acts known to any people, and would serve as a theme, both grand and eloquent, for the most gifted poet or dramatist of any land.
It was a wild, barbarous moment, now more than eighty years ago. Ke-ki-ong-a still occasionally echoed with the shrieks and groans of captive men; and the young warriors of the region still rejoiced in the barbaric custom of burning prisoners at the stake-a custom long in vogue with the Indians here. A white man had been captured and brought in by the warriors. A council had been convened, in which the question of his fate arose in debate and was soon settled. He was to be burned at the stake, and the braves and villagers generally were soon gathered about the scene of torture, making the very air to resound with their vociferations and triumph- ant shouts of pleasure and gratification at the prospect of soon enjoying another hour of fiendish merriment at the expense of a poor, miserable victim of torture. Already the man was lashed to the stake, and the torch that was to ignite the cum- bustible material placed about the same and the victim of torture, was in the hands of the brave appointed to create the flame that was so soon to consume the victim of their cruelty. But the spirit of rescue was at hand. The man was destined to be saved from the terrible fate that surrounded him !
Young Richardville had for some time been singledout as the future chief of the tribe, and his heroic mother saw in this a propitious and glorious mo- ment for the assertion of his chieftainship, by an act of great daring and bravery, in the rescue of the prisoner at the stake. All eyes were now fixed upon the captive. Young Richardville and his mother were some distance from the general scene, but sufficiently near to see the movements of the actors in the tragedy about to be enac- ted, and could plainly hear the coarse ejaculations and mingled shouts of triumph of the crowd. At that moment, just as the torch was about to be applied to the bark, as if touched by some angelic impulse of love and pity for the poor captive, the mother of young Richardville placed a knife in her son's hand, and bade him assert his chieftainship by the rescue of the prisoner. The magnetic force of the mother seemed instantly to have convulsed and inspired the young warrior, and he quickly bounded away to the scene, broke through the wild crowd, cut the cords that bound the man, and bid him be free! All was astonishment and surprise; and though by no means pleased at the loss of their prize, yet the young man, their favorite, for his heroic and daring conduct, was at once esteemed a god by the crowd, and then and thereafter became a chief of the first distinction and honor in the tribe !
The thoughtful and heroic mother of Richardville now took the man in charge, and soon quietly placing him in a canoe and covering him with hides and peltrics, in charge of some friendly Indians, he was soon gliding safely down the placid cur- rent of the Maumee, beyond the scene of the turbulent warriors and villagers of Ke ki-ong-a. The rescue was complete. ..
315
SKETCH OF CHIEF RICHARDVILLE.
was at once called upon by the members of his tribe to adjust and reconcile the matter, which was only accomplished after a lengthy council between the tribes, wherein the Shawanoes finally agreed to a reconciliation upon the proffer and gift of several head of horses, and a quantity of trinkets and goods of various kinds. And thus the matter ended-and it was out of this incident-fierce and
At a later period in the life of the chief, some years subsequent to this event, be- ing on his way to Washington City, he cameto a town in Ohio, where, stopping for a little while, a man came up to him, and suddenly recognizing in the stranger the countenance of his benefactor and deliverer of years before, threw his arms about the chief's neck, and embraced him with all the warmth of filial affection and gratitude ! He was indeed the rescued prisoner ; and the meeting between the chief and the man was one of mingled pleasure and surprise.
In stature, the chief was about five feet ten inches, with broad shoulders, and weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds. His personal appearance was attractive; grace- ful in carriage and manner; and bore all the marks of a " finished gentleman." Exempt from any expression of levity --- a simple child of nature --- he is said to have "preserved his dignity under all circumstances." His eyes were of a lightish blue, and slightly protruding --- " his upper lip firmly pressed upon his teeth, and the under one slightly projecting. His nose wasroman, and the whole contour of his face was classic and at- tractive."
From the recollections of David H. Colerick, Esq., long intimate with the chief, and who served as his attorney, transacting much of his business for many years here, Rieh- ardville was computed the wisest and most sagacious chief of all the Indians of the entire northwest; and "was the successful head and'ruler of the Miamie tribe for more than fifty years before and to the time of his death," in 1841.
His mother was a most remarkable woman. Her Indian name was Tau-cum-wa. Chief Richardville was an only son, and much beloved by her. Her reign as chiefess of the tribe, continued for a period of some thirty years, prior to the war of 1812, during which time, according to the traditions of the Indians, " she ruled the tribe with a sway, power, and success as woman never ruled before." After her reign, "she retired and passed the mace of power to her son," John B. Richardville, whose Indian name was Pe-she-wa (or Wild Cat,) by which he was always called by his people, and thus signed it at all the treaties he attended, to transact business for the tribe or tribes of which he was the representative or head. With a mind somewhat massive, a rather close observer, and apt in his business transactions, he was always extremely careful in what he undertook. A most patient listener, his reticense often almost assumed the form of extreme indifference; yet such was far from his rature, for he ever execised the warmest and most attentive regard for all of bis people and mankind in general; and " the needy never called in vain -- his kind and charitable hand was never withheld from the distressed of his own people or from the stranger ; and he was beloved and esteemed by all who knew him."
So well and wisely did he manage the affairs of his tribe --- with such wisdom and moderation did he adjust and settle all matters relating to his people-that he was not only held in the highest estimation by the Indians generally, throughout the north west, but " honored and trusted as their law-giver with the most unsuspecting confidence and implicit obedience" --- always adjusting affairs between his own people, as well as all inter-tribal relations, without resort to bloodshed. A patient and attentive listener --- prudent and deliberate in his action ---- when once his conclusions and determination were formed, " he rarely had occasion to change them." "Averse to bloodshed, except, against armed resistance, he was over the strong and consistent friend of peace and good-will.
Many were the vivid recollections he gave, years ago, to early settlers here. At the time of Harmar's movements and defeat at this point, he was a boy of some ten or twelve years of age. But his recollection of the way the Indians stole along the bank of the river, near to the point, long since known as " Harmar's ford," were most thril- ling. Not a man among the Indians, said he, was to fire a gun until the white warri- ors under Harmar had gained the stream, and were about to cross. 'Then the red men in the bushes, with rifles levelled and ready for action, just as the detachment of Har- mar began to near the centre of the Maumee, opened a sudden and deadly fire upon them; and horses and riders fell in the stream, one upon the other, until the river was literally strewn from bank to bank with the slain, both horses and men; and the water ran dark with the blood of the slain !
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE,
thrilling to those who remember* it-that grew the name of this little run.
In the extreme west end of the city there was formerly an exten- sive bluff, perhaps some fifteen or sixteen feet higher than any other point within the present limits of Fort Wayne, which covered originally some two squares. It was, indeed, an immense sand heap. When, and how long accumulating, the ages alone can determine. The sand is of a rather fine quality, and much of it has served well, doubtless, for mortar, in building and other pur- poses. It extended from Wayne street, fronting and within a few yards of the college, towards the river, a short distance below Berry street, and eastward perhaps about a square; somewhat sloping in its general character. Its highest point was at about the present terminus of Berry street. Over this knoll there extend- ed but little vegetative life ; a few indifferent bushes here and there over it and about its margin, formed, perhaps, the principal part of its productive growth, as is usually the case with sandy points. * Among whom is D. H. Coteriek, Esq., from whose recollections this account is given.
" There seemed, in the settling of this section of the country." says, Mr. Colerick " a rivalry between the settlers and the Indians. as to who should tender the chief the highest respect, for all admired who knew him."
At the treaty of St. Mary's, in 1818, a reserve of three sections of land was made to him, principally located some four or five miles from Fort Wayne, up the St. Mary's river. which, since his death, have been in the hands and keeping of his descendants, " and now owned and occupied by Archonge, (daughter of La Blonde, the first daugh - ter of the chief,) wife of James R. Godfri, whose interesting family, with some three or four other persons, relatives of the same, living near, now constitute the only remnants of the once powerful Miamie tribe in this part of their old strong hold, each and all of whom have long since assumed the garb of civilization, and not only cultivate the arts of peace, but live upon, and annually and successfully till one of the finest bodies of land to be found in the north west.
It was an ancient custom with the Indians never to council during cloudy weather. Open day, and a sun light nnobscured by the frowns of lowering clouds, were the only guarantees of a successful council among them. In 1832, at a treaty appointed to be held at the forks of the Wabash --- where it is said the Government, through its agents, not only spent vast sums of money, but fed the Indians most sumptuously for some days, (which latter was a great source of pleasure and pride to the red men then and there assembled, for they always liked the white man's fare, and ate most lavishly of it, whenever occasion offered) --- the principal agent of the treaty, through his interpreter, requested a council of the tribes on a certain day, and had assembled a number of the principal chiefs present, to make known the desire. Having coneluded his remarks, which were principally addressed to chief Richardville. as the main rep- resentative of the tribes present, the chief, in an unusually dignified and resolute man- mer, arose to respond. The red men, said he. never council when the great Spirit frowns. Already he has shut his face from view, and dark clouds are spread over our heads. When he shall smile again, and the sun begin to allumine the earth, then will we council
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