USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 5
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One of the distinguished and early settlers and Indian fighters was Capt. Jacob Warrick. He raised a company of rangers during the Indian troubles of 18II and, at the request of Governor Harrison, joined the main army at Vincennes and marched against the Indians, and while gallantly leading a charge at the battle of Tippecanoe was killed, being buried on the field. General Harrison, in his official report of that battle, took occasion to com- mend in the highest terms the bravery of Captain Warrick. He was a Ken- tuckian by birth, and removed here with his family in 1807, settling in the northwest quarter of section II, township 3, range 12, about two miles west of Owensville. For that period he was regarded as a man of considerable wealth. He brought with him several slaves, and was probably the first to introduce well-bred horses in this section of Indiana. After his death, his family continued to reside there. One of his sons, John C., began merchan- dising in Owensville in 1835, where he carried on an extensive business. besides being a large land owner. He also did a large business in shipping by flat boats to New Orleans market, large quantities of corn, pork and other products. He also had a grist mill. He was a man of energy and good judgment and amassed considerable wealth. He died in January, 1847, leaving no children.
John Benson was born in Pennsylvania and in 1788 removed to Ken- tucky, where he married. In 1807 he emigrated to the northwest quarter of section 35, township 2, range 12, known as the Sylvester Benson place, where he raised the usual humble log cabin. He was a soldier in the war of 1812.
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He took part in the battle of Tippecanoe. He lived in the county until 1820, when he removed to Illinois. His brother, William, was born in Kentucky, March 31, 1783, and came to this county in 1816, married, and subsequently bought his brother's place. He was a wheelwright by trade, at which he worked in connection with farming. His children were Martha Smith, Ellen Wilson, Louisa Robinson, Sarah Miller, Lemira Montgomery, and Sylvester Benson, who was born in 1823 and lived on the old place. He was a promi- nent citizen of the county and served for some time as one of the commis- sioners.
Jesse and Asa Music, brothers-in-law of John Benson, came with their families the same year and settled about a mile west of Benson. Jesse was mortally wounded in the battle of Tippecanoe, and when the army was march- ing back, died at Vincennes. About 1845 Asa Music removed with his family to Illinois. The brothers were from Kentucky.
Elisha, William, John and Jesse Barker, brothers, and James Stewart, a half brother, all natives of Kentucky, moved here in 1807, and settled in the Montgomery neighborhood near Owensville. They all had families when they came but Jesse. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Key, who was one of the early residents of Gibson county. Jesse settled on the south- west quarter of section I, township 3, range II, a little north of Owensville, where he lived until his death in 1863.
Another of the early settlers from Virginia was Thomas Waters, who, when a young man, went to North Carolina, where he married, then moved to Kentucky, where his wife died. He again married in 1807, and came with his family and settled on the banks of Maumee creek. in the northeast quarter of section 4, township 3, range 12, where he built a small log cabin and then proceeded to farm. He died about 1825. He had a family of six children on his removal hither, and their names were William W., James R., Thomas, Pathena, Sarah, Nancy. William W. was married and had two children on his arrival in this county with his father. Several were born to him after- wards and many of his descendants are now residents of the county.
The Mounts family in this county are descendants of John and Provi- dence Mounts, natives of Switzerland. They were among the early residents of Philadelphia, and subsequently went to Virginia, and from there to Ken- tucky, where they became noted Indian fighters. Matthias and Smith, sons of John, became residents of this county in 1807. Smith settled on section 24, township 3, range 12, where he lived until his death. He, as well as his father, was a celebrated Indian fighter, and formed a part of General Wayne's
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command during the Indian war. He was fond of hunting and devoted much time to the pleasures of the chase. He also fought in the battle of Tippecanoe. He had a family of eleven children. Matthias Mounts entered a farm later known as the John Hudelson place, and lived there until his death. None of the descendants live in the county at present.
About this time, 1807, came Thomas Sharp, Luke and William Wiley, with their families, and settled in the timber a short distance south of Owens- ville. A few years later the Wiley brothers moved to Posey county, where one of them was lost in the storm and froze to death. Thomas Sharp cleared a farm where he settled and he lived on it until his death. William Sharp brought his family with him and located in 1808 in the timber southwest of the town of Owensville, and the same year George Sharp, son of Thomas, with his wife and children, erected a cabin two miles southwest of Owens- ville. He was the first clerk of the Salem Baptist church. His children married and settled in the neighborhood. His son, William, was captain in the militia, also a deacon in the church, and a man of considerable promi- nence in his neighborhood.
Rev. Stephen Strickland, minister of the Regular Baptist church, settled with his family five miles southeast of Princeton in 1808. He came from Kentucky, raised a family of five sons and four daughters. He was a very devont Christian man and was one of the first to preach the gospel to the few scattering settlers then living near. His death occurred on July 19. 1839. Elisha Strickland came in 1808, and participated in the battle of Tippecanoe.
Another early settler came in 1808, William Clark. He enlisted in the war of 1812, and was stationed in Alabama at the time of the battle of New Orleans.
The Skeltons were also an old pioneer family. Jacob Skelton, Sr., and his brother Robert, and Z. Skelton, came and located in what is now Gibson county a few years after their father came in 1810. The most prominent of the family was Jacob, a justice of the peace many years, who settled twelve miles southeast of Princeton. He raised a large family.
Rev. Alexander Devin, a native of Pittsylvania county, Virginia, mar- ried Susan Nowlin, of the same county and state. They were married in . 1793, and moved to Kentucky in 1798, and in the spring of 1808 came to Indiana territory. They settled on a tract of land half a mile north of Princeton, built a cabin and lived there until 1814. Then they moved to the northeast quarter of section 20, township 2 south, range 10. They had thir-
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teen children, twelve of whom grew up. The children were Elizabeth, Lucy, James, Susan, Sarah, Alexander, Jr., Virginia, Joseph, Robert, Peyton, Now- lin, Mary and Catherine. Mr. Devin belonged to the Regular Baptist church, and was one of the first preachers of that denomination in the county. He was an excellent man, and he reared a useful family of children. He died January 3, 1827, and his wife died November 8, 1840.
The Wilkinsons were among the early settlers of the south part of the county. Cary Wilkinson and family came from Barren county, Kentucky, in the fall of 1808 and settled southwest of Fort Branch. He married Sarah Mangrum, daughter of William, Sr. They had eleven children and four died young. Those who grew up were Mary, Betsey, Nancy, William, Rebecca, Delilah, Balaam, Isaiah and Martha. The trip was made from the home in Kentucky in an old-fashioned Conestoga wagon.
Cary Wilkinson lived only a few years after coming here, dying in the fall of 1815. He was survived forty-five years by his widow. In 1808 there were a few Indians in the county, and in the construction of the block- house at Fort Branch, William Wilkinson, then eleven years old, assisted in hauling together some of the logs of the fort. William was born December 18, 1800, and came here with his parents. The Wilkinson family are of English origin and the ancestors of Cary Wilkinson settled in North Caro- lina prior to the Revolutionary war. It was in that state that he was born, subsequently moving to Kentucky, then to this territory. William Wilkinson and wife had eleven children. About 1830 Mr. Wilkinson became a mem- ber of the Christian church, and he ever afterward remained a temperate man.
One of the early educators of Princeton was Major James Smith, a Virginian by birth, who removed with his father's family to Kentucky, and in 1808 to this county. Major Smith served on General Harrison's staff in the battle of Tippecanoe. When Capt. Jacob Warrick was mortally wounded and taken off the field, Smith, at the solicitation of the company, became its captain. Major Smith was one of the delegates from this county to the constitutional convention of the state in 1816. He was appointed the first commissioner of the seminary school township, and acted as such for twenty years. He also held the office of school commissioner for many years, also county surveyor. He married and reared a family, and died in Novem- ber, 1855, at the age of eighty-two.
Another old settler, and early justice of the peace, was John Braselton, a native of Georgia, who went to Pennsylvania, where he married Elizabetlı Brown. From there they removed to Kentucky, and in 1808 came to Gib-
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son county on pack horses and located in Pigeon Grove settlement, four miles northeast of Fort Branch. Braselton brought with him a wife and seven children, namely : David B., Jacob, Jane F. Foster, William, Hannah Treble, John, James. In 1810, when the Indians became troublesome, he removed his family to Fort Hopkins north of Princeton. He went to the war as a mmeber of Captain Hargrove's company. He was an early justice of the peace and performed many marriage ceremonies. After the war he settled south of Princeton.
About 1808 came Daniel Putnam and Zachariah Taylor, with their fam- ilies. Putnam was at one time county commissioner. Among the old and respected pioneer families of the county are the McGarys. Robert McGary emigrated from Kentucky with his family in 1809, and settled in the timber, cleared a small tract of ground, erected a log cabin, in section 9, township 2, range II, and put out a small patch of corn. He did not raise much corn and had to depend that year on his hunting and bees. As the name would indicate, the McGarys were of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Robert married a Miss Davis. They reared a large family, among whom were Hugh, Har- rison D., Daniel, William H., Patsey Crow. The two first mentioned sons were quite noted in the early county. Harrison D., son of Hugh, was a soldier in the Indian war and fought in the battle of Tippecanoe. He was a farmer by occupation. He first married Hattie Gudgel, and second, Nancy Pritchett, daughter of John, an old settler By this latter union there were three sons, Hugh D., William H. and Joseph K. William H. was a member of Company A, Fifty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Stone's River December 31, 1862. Hugh D. enlisted in Company D, Sixteenth Illinois Infantry, Joseph K. in Company E, Forty- second Indiana Regiment. Harrison McGary's home was a half mile west of McGary's Station, where he died in 1847. His wife died in 1879. They were members of the Methodist church.
About the year 1809 to 1810 there was quite an influx of settlers, among whom was John Armstrong, who was descended from Irish parents born in North Carolina. His parents died when he was young and at the age of fourteen he went to sea, where he made his home until he grew to manhood. During his sailor days he was shipwrecked three times. He quit sea-faring and married Mary Swayne. Her parents emigrated at an early period from Scotland and settled on Nantucket island. After his marriage Mr. Arm- strong returned to North Carolina, subsequently moved to Kentucky and in 1809, with his family, came to Gibson county. He afterward moved to the
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north part of Vanderburg county, where he resided until his death. He had seven children, four sons and three daughters. One of his sons, Miles Arm- strong, was a noted hunted and killed a great number of deer and bears. He served as a private soldier at the battle of Tippecanoe and after that war he was made captain of militia. Elsberry, another brother, was also in the Tippecanoe battle. By the marriage of Nancy, the Waters and Armstrong families were united. Other settlers to the county about this time were William Forbes, Charles Cross, Fielding, Zachariah and Oliver Lucas, with their families. Capt. Henry Hopkins settled on the Sanford Howe place. William Latham was an early settler and left many descendants who are residents of Gibson county. Absalom Linn and family also came in 1810. In 1810 Morgan Leathers located with his family in the hamlet later styled Patoka. He had a wife and several children. He was a man of stalwart build and daring courage and was regarded as one of the strongest men of the county. Fist fights at that period were resorted to to settle most difficul- ties and on a warm August day, a few years after he came here, and at a gathering in Patoka, he had a dispute with John Robb. A ring, as was then the custom, was soon formed and seconds chosen and then the fight began. Both were very powerful men and equally matched. They fought for a long time in the intense heat until both were exhausted and quit. Leathers died a few minutes afterwards from the effects of the severe struggle. His son, William Leathers, who later resided near the old Severns place, was born in Kentucky in 1806 and came here with his parents in 1810 and after he grew up he married for his first wife Mary, the daughter of the pioneer, John Severns. Robert Slaven, with a large family, came in 1810, and car- ried on the first blacksmith shop at Patoka. His sons, John and Samuel, belonged to Hopkins' company and fought at Tippecanoe. Daniel McFet- ridge, a native of North Carolina, located in section 6, township 1, range 10, at an early date. He had a family of four children by his first wife and five by a second marriage. John Q. McFetridge is a son of his and Jemina, wife of W. A. Spain, is a daughter of his. Col. Smith Miller came to the county with the McFetridges, and grew to manhood here and married Susan Robb, daughter of James Robb. He was in the constitutional convention of 1851 ; was a representative in the state Legislature and in 1856 was elected to Con- gress from this district and re-elected in 1858. He was a Democrat. He died about 1872. Eli Strain, who settled in the county in 1810, was a native of North Carolina. He located a mile and a half west of Princeton. He was in the ranger service and participated in the battle of Tippecanoe. He had a
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family of seven children, only two of whom were living in 1884. Other early settlers were James Steward, John Roberts and William Leach witlı their families. The Overton and Vaughn families were also pioneers. One of the prominent settlers of 1811 was Jesse Emerson, who came from Ken- tucky and located about five miles southwest of Princeton on the northwest quarter of section 28, township 2, range II. He erected the usual log house of the day and began carving out of the wilderness a home for himself and family. Upon the organization of the county he was called upon to serve as associate judge of the court and afterward held other offices and places of trust. He was quite a conspicuous man among the early settlers. He died abou 1837. Reuben Emerson, brother of Jesse, came to Gibson county in 1813 and settled in section 32, township 3, range II, where he died in 1832. He reared a good sized family and left a large estate.
Prettyman Marvel was born in Delaware in 1760, where he grew to manhood, married and had two children born to him and removed to Georgia. From there in 1807 lie came to Indiana territory, settling in the forest a short distance south of where Princeton was later located, where he resided until 1811. In that year he moved to the southern part of the county and two years later went to Illinois, where, in 1859, he died. His family num- bered nine children, one of whom was Patience, who lived to the old age of ninety years. Elisha Marvel, a cousin of Prettyman, brought his family here in 1809 and settled the Samuel Redman place in Johnson township. He had seven children, all deceased in 1884 except Sena Martin, near Ft. Branch. James Knowles, also from Delaware, came in 1811, settling on the south- west quarter of section 23, township 3, range 12. He had nine children.
Samuel Barr, Thomas Alcorn, the Lucases and several others settled in the southwestern part of this county about the date last mentioned.
Elisha Embree was a native of Lincoln county, Kentucky, born in 1801. and in November, 1811, came with his parents to Indiana territory; they settled on a tract of land about two and one-half miles southwest of Princeton. The name of his father was Joshua and his mother's name Elizabeth Embree (nee Edmonson). Joshua was by birth a Kentuckian; his wife of Virginia. It was a densely timbered district in which they settled and they erected a cabin and cleared a small farm. He was a member of the Baptist and his wife of the Christian church ; he lived only two years after coming here. His widow subsequently married a Mr. Spencer and lived here until her death, in June, 1829. Elisha Embree received such an education as the district schools of that period afforded, read law with Judge Samuel Hall and began practice
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in Princeton in 1826. On March 15, 1827, he was married to Eleanor Robb, daughter of Robert and Mary Robb. Judge Embree for many years was a prominent man of Gibson county. He and his wife had born to them six children : Maria Louisa, James T., Ophelia (died in infancy), Ophelia, Elizabeth (died in infancy ), David F. and Milton P. Judge Embree died in 1863. His widow lived to a ripe old age.
Andrew Gudgel, grandfather of the late Andrew Gudgel of Columbia township, was a man whose career is worthy of record in this connection. He was of German origin and settled in Pennsylvania. He was thrice married and was the father of seventeen children. The maiden name of his last wife was Elizabeth Kane. After the Revolutionary war had ended, he, like many of his day, concluded to emigrate to the "Far West," as this section was then styled. So in 1785 he set out with his family for Kentucky, a region then being wrested from the savages by Daniel Boone and his heroic companions. After a tedious trip they arrived at Silver creek, a strip of country between the present cities of Lexington and Frankfort, where he erected a cabin and subsequently built a grist-mill on Silver creek, which was run by water power. He operated this mill many years. Owing to a defective land title in Ken- tucky he lost a farm of six hundred acres on which this mill was located. He came to Indiana territory in 1811, settling in the big timber about two miles east of present Owensville. Here he cleared a small patch of ground, built a log cabin and subsequently built a better house in which he later died. While in Kentucky he, through exposure, lost the use of his legs, but, with his great energy, he would chop and clear up brush around his cabin for hours, while sitting in a chair. The following incident shows his pluck: During the Indian trouble of about that time his family all went to Fort Branch for protection, where there was then a strong block-house erected for the settlers. This plucky old pioneer would not go to the fort, but insisted on remaining or staying at home in his own cabin to take care of things. The Indians frequently came to his place and would stroll into his cabin and, while the old man was sitting in his chair, fearless of danger, the wild savages would walk around him, frequently patting him on the head and, in their rude fashion, complimented him on his bravery. It is one of the peculiarities of the Indian character to admire bravery in those whom they regard as their foes. His last and third wife survived him a few years By his last mar- riage he had three children, Nancy, who married Mr. Teel, and Hetty, who became the wife of Harrison McGary. Both Teel and McGary were old and prominent settlers in that part of the county and many of their descendants
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live here yet. The only son by the last marriage was William Gudgel, father of the late Andrew Gudgel of Columbia township.
In 1812 William French married Mary Breading in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, of which they were both residents. Immediately after their wedding they gathered together their worldly goods, loaded them on a flat- boat, floated out of the Monongahela into the Ohio, down to the site of Evansville, and then made an overland trip to Patoka, where they squatted on a tract of timber land, erected a cabin, and later built a good brick building. They reared a family of four sons, several of whom resided here a few years ago. Peter Simpson, with a wife and seven children, moved from Kentucky to this county in 1812 and one of his sons, Richard, became a well-known citizen. One of the early merchants of the county was Robert Stockwell, who came here 1815; he did a large business in Princeton for many years. The Kirkman family, from North Carolina, included James, who came in 1806 to Christian county, Kentucky, and in January, 1813, settled in Gibson county, Indiana, west of Owensville, and the next year came to Princeton. He had ten children, the most prominent of whom was Joseph J. Kirkman. He was popular with the masses and was many times elected sheriff of the county. He was a crack shot, which accomplishment was then regarded very highly. He was a great story teller. He died March 9, 1879, in his seventy- ninth year.
Mrs. Nancy Stormont, wife of David Stormont, who was born in Ire- land, and emigrated to America before the Revolution, came with a family of eight children and her mother. Mrs. Mary Boyd, to Indiana, in the spring of 1812. Mrs. Boyd was the first person buried in the Archer cemetery. She settled about three miles northwest of where Princeton now stands on the farm where later her son David lived and died. The names of the children were Martha, Mary, Robert. Esther, Samuel, Nancy, David and John. David was born August 7, 1802. Robert was a carpenter and died in Princeton. Nancy married Joseph Hartin of Princeton.
PIONEER CUSTOMS.
To the present generation the customs of the old days seem doubly attractive, and to these old people who are left the habits and modes of pres- ent-day life do not hold the beauty and fondness of the old-time manners. The generous spirit of hospitality that was inside every threshold in the days of our fathers is not here now. The traveler today, no matter how stormy
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the night, must seek his bed the best he can; every door is not open to him as it once was. The neighborly hospitality has disappeared. The pre- dominance of wealth is a new element in American civilization, and with the coming of it there have flown many of the old virtues which are fostered only where common poverty exists. The early settlers were not poor, for what they had was sufficient to make their lives comfortable, without useless luxuries. Their food was wholesome, their clothing warm, and there was nothing else to be desired in the simple routine of their lives. The rifle, the axe, the cabin, were the sole necessities, for with these in hand the forests yielded plentiful game, the streams an abundance of fish, and the strong arm of the pioneer supplied the rest.
The cabins were built by laying large logs down in position as bases. Sleepers were placed upon these, and on top of the sleepers were placed the rough puncheons which were to serve as floors. These were hewn by hand. The logs were then piled up the sides until the height for the eaves had been reached. Then poles were stretched across the tops, projecting about two feet beyond the wall line. On the projected ends were placed the "butting poles," which served to give the line for the first row of clap-boards. The clap-boards were split from logs and laid so as to lap a third over each other. After this was completed, the chinks and cracks were filled with sticks and clay. The fireplace at one end was, of course, indispensible, serving for both heating and cooking purposes. Skins of animals were hung on the interior of the cabin, and thus helped to hold the heat. The inner bark of bass wood was sometimes used for the same purpose. Square windows would be cut through the logs, and greased paper used as a covering. The furniture of the log house harmonized with the house itself, being made of logs, roughly shaped into chairs, benches, beds and tables. Butcher knives were often the only table ware, although knives and forks made of pewter were not uncommon.
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