USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 3
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"Captain Warrick settled on the northwest quarter of section II, east of the village. Purty Old Tom Montgomery, Captain Warrick's father-in- law, settled on the southwest quarter of section 12, Robert Anderson and sons settled northeast of Owensville and others were living in the vicinity of Owensville ten years before the town was laid out. The men who assisted Captain Warrick in driving the Indians away and destroying their town were men who had settled west and southwest of Anderson's creek, now Marsh creek, in the neighborhood of Owensville and probably others from the neighborhood of Princeton, seven years before Princeton was laid out. The village belonged to the Piankeshaws, and the Indians who got away crossed the Wabash river into southern Illinois, which was then Indiana Ter- ritory.
"The destruction of the village made the Indians hostile and it came near bringing on war, and no doubt would, had it not been for the second raid across the Wabash river.
"After the destruction of the village, the settlers found the Indians were coming back and prowling around in the neighborhood of nights. They also found that they were going back along the old Indian trace from the bluff to the island, their crossing.
"The settlers, becoming very uneasy for fear they would be attacked and massacred, hastily organized a company about the first of October, 1807, all well inounted and armed. They took the old Indian trace early one morning for Coffee Island ford on the Wabash river. They rode across the ford to the west bank of the river and there held a council and laid plans for advancing. Captain Warrick was to follow the Indian trace and the others to deploy on each side of him within hearing distance. The old Indian fighters were placed on the extreme right and left flanks. Robert Anderson and his son, Watt, were on the right and Purty Old Tom Montgomery was on the left of the line and the younger men were between Montgomery and Warrick and Anderson and Warrick. The orders were for Warrick to ride down the trace slowly and cautiously. Young Sam Anderson, with Warrick, was carrying a large cow's horn instead of a bugle. The signal to retreat, if too many Indians were found, was to be two long blasts on the horn and a shot from a rifle. The objective point was the Piankeshaw In- dian village located on a small stream running in a westerly direction into Bumpas.
"They followed the trace to the east end of a small prairie. Captain Warrick and others rode into the edge of the prairie and discovered fifty or
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sixty Indian warriors advancing east to meet them, but out of reach of their guns. They rode back into the timber. Captain Warrick ordered Anderson to give the retreat signal on the horn, and they retreated to the ford as rapidly as possible, all reaching there about the same time except Purty Old Tom Montgomery. Captain Warrick ordered them to cross the ford in haste, but four or five old Indian fighters-Old Bob Anderson, his- son Watt and a few others-stayed with Warrick to wait for Montgomery. They waited as long as they dared, and then crossed the river to the rest of the com- pany. They hadn't been across long when twenty-five or thirty Indians came up on the other side of the river. Then Bob Anderson said to Captain Warrick, 'Tom's gone this time,' but he was wrong; a man who had fought Indians over half of old Virginia, all of Kentucky and southern Indiana could not be captured by Piankeshaw Indians. In advancing, Montgomery had got too far to the left and away in advance of the line. When he heard the signal to retreat he turned his horse and rode into the south edge of the prairie. When he saw that the Indians were going into the forest from the east end of the prairie and that he was cut off from the others, he rode back into the timber and rode for the river as fast as his horse would carry him. When he reached the river he swam his horse to the Indiana side and rode up on the bank where he could see over the brush at the point where he crossed the river, knowing the Indians would come on the trail of his horse.
"Eight or ten Indians had followed him to the edge of the water, and he shot at them across the river. When the company at the island heard the shot, old Robert Anderson said, 'Boys, that's Tom's gun,' and they answered him. They did not have to wait long until Purty Old Tom came riding up to the company as unconcernedly as if he had been on a deer hunt.
"The little creek that the Piankeshaw village was on drained a low, wet prairie, that since that time was named Village creek, and the prairie named Compton prairie.
"The Montgomery referred to in this story was the first of the family to locate in southwestern Indiana. From him has descended the large in- fluential family of Montgomerys and their descendants in southwestern In- diana and Illinois."
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THE APPEARANCE OF WHITE MEN.
Four hundred years ago this vast region known as the "Territory of the United States Northwest of the Ohio River," washed by more than three thousand miles of navigable waters, was unknown to the white race. This region contained an area of almost two hundred and sixty-seven thousand square miles and had within its boundaries what are now known as the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and that portion of Minnesota east of the Mississippi river. It was thinly settled by numerous tribes of Indians who had for unknown centuries roamed at will over its beautiful prairies and rich valleys, with forests and glens as charming hunt- ing and fishing grounds, where all was as the hand of the Creator had fash- ioned it. The fertile soil found in this great domain furnished these tribes with corn and tobacco. The buffalo, bear, the nimble-footed deer and elk provided them with ample supply of meat and clothing. The lakes and swift-running streams all abounded in many fine fishes.
Nearly a hundred and fifty years had passed after the discovery of America before any part of the region just named had been visited by Euro- peans, and then only by some few daring explorers and adventurers.
In 1607 the English effected a settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and a year later French adventurers founded the city of Quebec, and from that date on, for a century and a half, France and Great Britain were animated rivals to secure the trade and commerce of North America. The French settlers were nearly all adventurers, traders and religious teachers of the Roman Catholic faith. The English people were of the home-seeking class, with a goodly number of adventurers and traders. During this period the chief characters known now in history were the French adventurers, Joliette, Marquette, LaSalle and their associates.
CHAPTER III.
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF GIBSON COUNTY.
To the present inhabitants, whose ancestors were pioneers in Gibson county, this chapter will be of unusual interest. The mere mention of names and families will bring to mind some story often related by father, mother or grandparents concerning the hardships endured by pioneers. Yet not all was hard work and trials, for the pioneer had a cheerful heart and his family growing up around him looked into the future with a hope that made life worth living every day. The simple life, simple diet and the easy-going customs of our forefathers made health and strength, and character as well.
GIBSON COUNTY'S FIRST SETTLER.
From the pen of J. R. Strickland, in the centennial number of the Princeton Clarion-News, March, 1913, appeared the following graphic ac- count of the county's first actual settler, John Severns, and, with the per- mission of the publishers, we here quote the same :
The wholesouled honesty and manly honor of John Severns are the two principal things that enabled him to lay claim to the proud distinction of being the first white settler to tread the soil now comprised of Gibson county. These two characteristics were demanded of him by the Indians and John Severns was equal to the occasion. It was a test that taxed the power of human endurance. However, in the confidence game of Indian versus White Man this fellow Severns was a close rival to the great William Penn.
The coming of the first white settler to Gibson county was preceded by a thrilling and tragic incident, the scene of which was enacted in Virginia. A natives of Wales, Severns came with his parents to America several years before the Revolutionary war. When the war for independence was declared, John Severns answered the trumpet's call for volunteers. On the occasion of the first visit home with his parents, some months later, a band of blood- thirsty Indians swooped down on the family one evening and took them prisoners. The father, mother, sister and younger brother were killed, while John and an elder brother were kept as prisoners.
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John Severns remained a prisoner seven long years. At divers times he sought to escape, but his captors were too cunning for him, and under threats of death Severns was compelled to adjust himself to the new life and its environments. In adopting the garb and manners of the Indians, John Severns undoubtedly presented an amusing spectacle. He was a short, heavy-set man. of powerful build, and the feathers and paint furnished him by the Indians did not help his appearance as a red man !
The years rolled on, but Severns was none the less watchful for the favorable moment of escape and one day, at the close of his seventh year in the captivity of the Indians, he made the use of an opportunity to break for liberty. It was several hours before the chief of the tribe discovered the absence of Severns. The old chief dispatched a number of his fleet-footed warriors along the route supposed to have been taken by the escaped pris- oner. However, they failed to strike the trail. Severns knew the value of time. He made for the borders of civilization with all possible haste. He arrived in Pennsylvania some months later. His brother continued to live with the Indians and finally wooed and married one of the squaws and reared a family of children.
Soon after Severns arrived in Pennsylvania he married. Prior to his capture by the Indians he had been carefully instructed in mathematics by his father and, following his escape, Severns acquired a knowledge of sur- veying and assisted the government surveyors in Maryland and Kentucky. In 1789 he penetrated the wilderness of the Northwest territory with his family and settled on the south bank of the Patoka river, at a place now known as Severns Bridge. The family resorted to the caverns of the rocks for protection against inclement weather and bands of savage Indians. The family lived as cave dwellers for several months, before the Indians per- mitted Severns to construct a rude hut of boughs, skins and other materials.
By his knowledge of dialects and their customs and habits, Severns was enabled to make friends of the Indians inhabiting that region. On the op- posite bank of the Patoka river was an Indian village, the remnants of a Shawnee tribe. Old Trackwell, chief of this tribe, was morose, cruel and . vindictive in nature. His imperial residence consisted of a number of wig- wams. He studiously avoided the formality of an introduction to Severns and had not the first white settler possessed a great address and an honor- able bearing, as well as a commendable degree of the spirit of forgiveness, old Trackwell would have succeeded in routing Severns and his family. But the first white settler was a post-graduate in the confidence-winning
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game and so successful was he in applying the arts of peace and harmony that old Trackwell descended from his high perch and sought an understand- ing with his pale-faced stranger.
Severns was allowed to continue his residence in that region and to establish a ferry upon the conditions that he keep "fire water" for the Indians ,and allow them the free use of his ferry. Severns readily and willingly agreed to the conditions imposed upon him by the Indians. He had no desire to violate the obligation with his neighbor. It was his nature to be upright and honorable in all his dealings with his fellow men. The whole-souled honesty and manly honor of John Severns deeply impressed the Indians upon more than one occasion. He smoked a council pipe with them fre- quently and his influence with the different tribes was largely instrumental in preserving peace after the arrival of other white settlers.
Severns was often called upon to act as interpreter for the tribe and negotiate with the Indian agent. In due time he became an indispensible quantity with all the tribes that roamed and hunted over the vales of Gibson county. He rarely refused an opportunity to join the different chiefs and their warriors on fishing and hunting expeditions. Severns took an active part in Indian sports and, according to traditions, he and old Trackwell engaged in a friendly sprint one day and when Severns was declared the winner old Trackwell was enraged and danced about Severns, giving several terrifying war whoops. Another race was run and old Trackwell, through the kindness of Severns, won easily. The envious old chief was pacified.
The Miamis claimed ownership to part of the land in the community where the first white settler established his home. They had a fort on the south side of the river, a short distance from the present site of the Patoka bridge. Old Never-Sleep. the grand sachem of the Miamis, allowed the coming of the white man to disturb him but little and while he was friendly to Severns. the old chief did not go out of his way to increase his acquaint- ance with the settlers.
When Severns came to Gibson county he brought apple and peach seeds from Kentucky and cultivated a few trees and prior to 1802 he had apple and peach trees in bearing.
Severns was made a Mason in Williamsburgh, Virginia, in 1776. One of his descendants has a certificate of Lodge No. 457. issued to Severns by that lodge, June 20, 1776, and it is signed by William Waddell, worshipful master ; John Rowsay, senior warden; John Dixon, junior warden. Severns
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died about the year 1829 and, in compliance with his request, was buried near where he settled.
A son of Severns acquired a knowledge of the Indian tongue and acted as one of the interpreters for General Harrison during the Indian troubles and at the battle of Tippecanoe. For this service a small tract of land was afterward awarded his children by the general government.
Following John Severns, the next settlers in Gibson county were Gervas and Daniel Hazelton and their families. Gervas Hazelton kept a ferry on White river and was a well known pioneer. The town of Hazelton is named in his honor.
Before going into details regarding the various pioneer families, it will be best to state that in 1802 John Johnson and family moved to Gibson county from Kentucky on pack-horses and settled a mile west of the present city of Princeton. In 1803 William Hargrove and family came from Kentucky on pack-mules and took up a tract of land to the north of Princeton. In the same year Joseph Milburn, of Kentucky, settled in the northern portion of the county, between Patoka and White rivers. In 1805 came James Mc- Clure, with his mother and family; also the following year with their families : Thomas Montgomery, Judge Isaac Montgomery, Gen. Robert M. Evans, Joseph Neely, Jesse Kiniball, James Wheeler, and possibly a few more. Among those who located near Princeton in 1807 were William Harrington, John Woods, Thomas and William Archer, John Benson, Jesse and Asa Music, Mathias and Smith Mounts. Capt. Jacob Warrick settled near Owensville in the same year. In 1808 came in Rev. Stephen Strickland, William Clark, Rev. Alexander Devin, Cary and William Wilkinson, Major James Smith, John Braselton and others. Robert McGary and John Arm- strong came to the county in 1809. About this date settlers began to come in more rapidly. Some of those whose descendants are best known in Princeton at this time were Eli Strain, who settled in Gibson county in 1810, and Jesse Emerson, James Knowles, Elisha Embree and Andrew Gudgel, 18II. After this time the country was settled so rapidly it is hard to men- tion all of those who here sought a home.
In the summer of 1810 the people became alarmed on account of the conspiracy of old Tecumseh, the famous Indian chieftain who lived in the north part of the state. The Indians said the white people were taking all the land away from them and were trying to drive them out of the state and everyone was afraid the Indians would make a raid on the towns and settlements all over the state. In order to protect themselves, the people
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built forts or stockades, where they could all get together and defend them- selves against the savages. Three forts were built in Patoka township at that time, Fort Branch, Fort Hopkins, near the old Archer cemetery, north- west of the city of Princeton, and the stockade at William Harrington's, on the McCurdy place, a mile and a half west of Princeton. Although no fight- ing took place with the Indians in southern Indiana at that time, yet the fear of being killed by an Indian kept many people from settling here during 1810 and 1811.
Now, to give more in detail the circumstances under which the settle- ment was made in this county, it may be stated that David Robb was the pio- neer of the Robb family in Gibson county. In the year 1800 he settled with his family on a tract of land a half mile south of the present town of Hazel- ton. He began housekeeping in a camp: subsequently cleared a small piece of land, erected a log cabin and made a farm. He was a native of Ireland. His father, James, and mother, Margaret Robb (nee Barr), with their two small children, Thomas and James, took passage in a sailing vessel at a port in Ireland for America in the year 1773, and landed in Philadelphia. It was their intention to bring young David, then two years of age, with them, but his grandfather Barr, just at the moment when the stage-plank was being removed and the vessel spreading her canvas to sail, picked up his little grandson David and carried him ashore. He kept him at the old house until the year 1776, when, accompanied by his nurse, he sent him over to join his parents, who were then living in Philadelphia. During the Revolu- tionary struggle they lived in different places in Pennsylvania until the year 1786, when they removed to Kentucky. They settled about ten miles from the Falls of the Ohio, now the site of Louisville, at a place not far from Mann's Lick. Here David was employed a few years assisting to make salt, his father engaged in farming, and in 1800 he followed his son to Indiana Territory and settled near Severns' bridge, then Severns' ferry. The tract of land on which he settled was afterward known as Yellow spring, and it was there that the wife of James and mother of David Robb died in the year 1807. He lived there a number of years, then moved to Posey county, and finally returned to Jefferson county, Kentucky, where he died in the year of about 1825, at the residence of his son, Henry Robb. James Robb and wife were persons of education and refinement. David Robb was born in Ire- land, July 12, 1771 ; his early education was mostly attended to by his par- ents and after coming here he formed the acquaintance of General Harrison, then governor of the territory, whose residence was at Vincennes. The
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General frequently loaned him books from his library, and by this means he was able to improve his education. In later years he became on quite intimate terms with Harrison, who would occasionally call and spend a night at his residence. He was married March 20, 1800, in Jefferson county, Ken- tucky, to Nancy Eckley, the daughter of Joseph and Susan ( Rickerts) Eck- ley. The original home of the Eckleys was in Maryland in what is now the District of Columbia. Mr. Eckley was killed in a battle with the Indians prior to the Revolutionary war. His widow and family subsequently moved to. Kentucky. David Robb and wife, soon after marriage, started on horse- back for the then wilds of Indiana; they were accompanied by Samuel Means and wife, who settled north of Vincennes. They drove with them a few head of stock and, of course, camped out of nights. After arriving at their destination, they lived for the first two months in a camp which was con- structed by felling a large walnut tree, that served for the back of the camp, and by means of poles and bark they constructed a rude hut. It furnished shelter for them from the heat of the sun and the rain. The front was open and there the fires were made which served to cook their frugal meals and as warmth during the chilly nights in their humble home. Thus was the habitation of the hardy pioneer and his youthful and happy bride.
During the summer and before the winter set in, Mr. Robb succeeded in constructing a fairly comfortable small log house, in which they spent the winter. When he and his wife came here in 1800 they found John Severn and Daniel Hazelton and their families. Mr. Robb and his wife had born to them a family of ten children, and as the children were born pioneers of the county we give their names in order of birth as follows :
Achilles, born Angust 13, 1801. The second child was Eleanor. born December 21, 1803, married Elishia Embree, and lived in Princeton. James, born May 'I, 1806, died at the age of twenty-two. Susan R., born May 18. 1808, married Rev. Hiram \. Hunter. Nancy, born June 8, 1810, married Joseph Devin. Elizabeth E., born September 12, 1812, married William McClure. Sally Ann, born November 22, 1814, died October 1. 1835. Franklin, born February 15, 1817, lived at Robinson, Illinois. Charity, born April 30, 1819. first wife of Dr. V. IF West, died August 31, 1841. Cordelia, born May 8, 1821, second wife of Dr. V: P. West.
David Robb was a brave and gallant soldier during the early Indian troubles. He was captain of a company at the battle of Tippecanoe, after- ward became a major of militia. He and his neighbors constructed a block house at his residence prior to the Indian war, to which the families of the
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settlers of the neighborhood could resort in the event of an attack from the savages, which attack was, however, fortunately not made. Mr. Robb was a man of considerable enterprise. In 1814 he established a saw and grist-mill on Robb's creek, propelled by water power. He also carried on a blacksmith and carpenter shop, and a small distillery. The three last business enter- prises were begun about nine or ten years after the building of the mill. In 1819 he built a brick residence, which was the second brick house built in that part of the county. He was also a surveyor and farmer, one of the justices of the peace, when the county formed part of Knox county, and after the organization of Gibson county he held at intervals offices for sev- eral years. He was also a member of the Territorial Legislature, and of the first Constitutional Convention, and subsequently a member of the State Legislature. Under the administration of Andrew Jackson he was registrar of the land office of this district, with headquarters at Laporte. He was one time a slaveholder. He died April 15, 1844. His widow survived him until July 29, 1855. Numerous descendants of the Robb family still reside in the county.
In the fall of 1802 members of the Johnson family became residents of this county. The family consisted of nine persons: John and his wife, Sarah, and their seven children, Rebecca, Betsey, Mary, Hannah, Jacob. David and John. The parents and several of the elder children were natives of Virginia. In 1798 they removed to Kentucky, and four years later crossed the Ohio at McGary's cabin, now the site of Evansville, and made their way north on pack horses to the tract of land since known as McCurdy's farm, a mile west of Princeton. Here they built a shanty and wintered. During the journey the horses got away and started for their old home in Kentucky. One of the boys, Jacob, started in pursuit, bareheaded, through the forest, keeping their trail and caught them near where they crossed the Ohio river in coming. The boy encountered no habitation nor person and, fearless and alone, pursued his way and accomplished his purpose. When spring opened they built a log cabin on the old place where their grandson, David, resided, a few miles northeast of Princeton. The male members of the family were quite celebrated as hunters and travelers. Jacob enlisted in 1813 in Har- grove's company of rangers. He also assisted in the survey of seminary lands as campkeeper. He first married a Stewart, and upon her death a Skelton, a daughter of John Skelton. Of the first union there were two chil- diren, James Johnson, of Mt. Carmel, and Mrs. McFetridge. By the second wife there were six children, John, Jackson, Mrs. Fairfield, Mrs. McCreary, Lydia and David.
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