History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 47

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE.

No word reached the friends of Terry in Indiana as to his whereabouts for several years. What had become of him was a mystery. At last after eight years in some manner, they learned that Terry was in .Texas held in slavery. An appeal was made for donations to head an expedition which would go to Texas to the rescue of the unfortunate man. The Friends of Hamilton county, especially those of Washington township, ever ready to help the weak and down trodden, responded liberally. At last the plans were made for the expedition, Thomas W. Council heading the party. Mr. Council selected Paris Harrison of Hamilton county and Mr. Ryman of Lawrence- burg as witnesses to prove the identity of Terry. Mr. Harrison was espe- cially fitted for the expedition which might prove a dangerous one, as he was a man of great courage and fighting qualities; though he was small in stature he was mighty in valor. On the ninth of December, 1849, Mr. Council and Mr. Harrison left on their perilous trip. Proceeding over the Madison & Indianapolis railroad, they were joined by Mr. Ryman at Lawrenceburg. At Lawrenceburg, where a stop was made, a discussion came up as to how the rescuing party had better arm themselves. Several citizens joined in the discussion and it was the general opinion that bowie knives and revolvers would be the proper weapons of defense, but Mr. Council was more level

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headed than his advisors and he decided the party would go unarmed. Per- haps the fact that the Quakers met most of the expenses of the expedition had some influence on his decision. The journey was a toilsome, weary one. They proceeded by boat to Cincinnati, where they took passage for New Orleans. Their first object was to procure passage up Red river. The party secured passage on a boat bound for Shrevesport. When they arrived at Shrevesport, they learned that it was five hundred miles to Clarksville. Finally they secured passage on a small boat to a town called Jefferson. Here the party hired horses and went to Sulphur Fork. Crossing Sulphur Fork, the party pushed on in the direction of Clarksville. About two miles from Clarksville they halted at a convenient house where they remained over night and the next morning arrived at their destination. The party suc- ceeded in making friends of two of the best citizens of Clarksville from whom they learned that Terry was in the vicinity. West had just recently sold the negro to Chatfield who was to start with Terry to New Orleans in a day or two. The rescuing party came just in time. It was Sunday when Council and his party arrived, so they lost no time. The following morning they got out a writ for the release of Terry and put it into the hands of the sheriff who in a short time had Terry in his charge. This was all done on the quiet but when Terry was taken in charge by the sheriff, the news spread like wild fire. It was arranged that the sheriff should take Terry to the office of lawyer Morrell, but the news of their coming preceded them and upon their arrival, the house was filled with a motley throng of men and boys and perhaps a few women, who had often before bid defiance to law and order and executed vengeance as pleased themselves. It was a trying and danger- ous moment for the little party of rescuers. The law was on their side and if it prevailed all was well, but if not all was lost. The judge on that oc- casion is described as a "man of great.determination and his appearance gave him the ferocity of a beast, with no well defined marks of humanity." But for all that he seemed to be a man of high honor. He himself questioned the negro. "Is there anyone in this room with whom you were acquainted in Indiana?" he asked of Terry. The negro glanced wildly around the room till his eyes fell on Mr. Harrison, then he quickly cried, "There is Mr. Har- rison, he knows I am a free man." The judge continued his interrogations concerning the things back in Indiana all of which Terry answered satisfac- torily, while the enemies of the party looked on with vengeance and hatred in their faces. A shrewd lawyer undertook to defend the case for West who was away on a journey, and with fierce threats and insinuations made the matter look very uncertain for the negro and his friends from Indiana. The

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judge at this juncture postponed further hearing until West should return. The negro was taken in charge by the sheriff for safe keeping. It was nine days before West returned and during that time, Council and his party were unmolested except for attempts at intimidation, such as pointing out a certain tree to the Hoosiers upon which the mob had already hanged six men, but the Indiana party were brave men and not easily frightened. When West returned the judge again took up the case. Again the mob gathered. The witnesses were examined and cross-examined. The lawyers made long speeches, and then the judge promptly decided Terry was a free man. At this unpopular decision the opposing mob was very angry and swore they would appeal the case. Council was prepared for such a move and promptly informed them if an appeal was made that they should pay for every day's work the negro had done and for every stripe he had been given, but if they would let the case stand as it then was, Terry would sign a paper releasing them from all action or cause of action against them. The opposing party wisely accepted the proposition and the negro was given into the hands of his friends. The party immediately set out for the north for they were in constant danger of attack while on Texas soil. But the journey home was made without further mishap and Council and his party returned the negro to his family and friends once more a free man.

THE BRIDEGROOM WHO NEVER CAME.

About sixty years ago, wedding invitations were issued announcing the approaching nuptials of two excellent young people. The bride, then resid- ing with her parents a few miles west of Noblesville, was, as the society column would say today. "one of the county's most popular and talented young ladies." The groom was not a native of Hamilton county although . he was a young man of irreproachable character and also a man of some wealth for that time. The wedding day drew near and the preparations for the grand occasion were almost completed. The bride was happy as all brides should be and the groom had arrived safely in Noblesville from his home in a distant part of the state. The great day arrived! At the ap- pointed hour the guests filled the rooms of the bride's home with laughter and gaiety and all were merry as a wedding bell. At last the minister who was to tie the nuptial knot arrived on the scene. But the groom, who had gone to Noblesville to make some necessary arrangements, had not yet arrived. But no uneasiness was felt, for the minister announced to the bride's rela- tives that he had seen and been speaking with the young man just previous

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to his leaving town to attend the wedding. The young man was to have come with the minister but as he still had a little matter of business to attend to before leaving town, he informed the preacher he would hire another means of conveyance as soon as the business was transacted and be at the side of his bride very shortly after the minister's arrival. Again the laughter and music went on, for a wedding in those days was an occasion of great social importance and of merry making. The minutes slipped by and the bridegroom did not come. Still no uneasiness was felt. He had been un- avoidably detained and would arrive presently. With the sound of every approaching footstep, every one looked expectantly toward the door but was doomed to disappointment. The hour set for the wedding came and passed and still no bridegroom appeared. Uneasiness became manifest. Again and again the minister was appealed to for reassurance. He had been the one who had last seen the young man. Again and again he repeated the conversation with the bridegroom whose parting words declared his inten- tion of being at the bride's house in a short time. At last the minister's words of comfort and assurance failed to have the desired effect. A sense of dread and fear came to the bride, dressed and waiting for the bridegroom who had not come 'to claim her. The gay chatter of the guests died away and in its place came a whisper, "Had the bridegroom deserted his bride or had some evil befallen him?" The wedding feast grew cold as the minutes grew into hours and still no word, no sign from the missing young man. The bride was almost prostrated with grief and fear for she never doubted her loved one's honor. The guests one by one silently left the home which had changed from a house of joy to one of weeping.

A search for the young man was begun immediately. His own people employed detectives who worked diligently for days. All clues were run to earth but still no trace of the missing man could be found. The last per- son known to have seen him was the minister, whose conversation with the missing man occurred on the south side of the public square. The young man had started west, the minister immediately starting for the bride's home saw no more of him and no one else had apparently seen him either alive or dead afterwards. It was as though the ground had opened and swallowed him so complete was his disappearance. His relatives and his bereaved bride believed he had met with foul play. As he carried considerable money on his person, they believed he had been attacked and robbed. There were no banks here then in which to deposit money. But no clue to establish their theory or any other could they find though detectives and friends searched for years afterwards.

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MURDER WILL OUT.

The years rolled around and the incident was forgotten by many. The little disappointed bride never forgot. She was true to her first love always, though, believing him dead, she finally several years afterwards married an- other and removed to another state where she lived to the time of her death. She never knew what became of her girlhood lover. What sorrow she suffered through all those years may well be imagined. Half a century rolled around, a half century crowded full of modern inventions, ideas and improvements. None of the later generation ever even heard of the missing bridegroom and almost all the older citizens had forgotten it, even if they had at one time heard the strange story.

About 191I some workmen were doing some excavating or destroying some old sheds not far from the river bank somewhere near the end of Con- ner street or Maple avenue, when they struck something hard. They dug deeper and found an old chest of some sort. Their curiosity was naturally aroused and finally by main force they pried off the lid which had become set and rusted with age. What was their horror and astonishment when they found a human skeleton doubled together to fit the capacity of the chest. 'The news spread and as there had been no reported murder of any one miss- ing for years, the wonder grew as to the solution of the mystery. Then some old citizen recalled the story of the bridegroom who never came and every one wondered if this skeleton could have been the remains of that man. A curiously carved ring was found in or near the chest which was the only clue to the identity of the murdered man, for murder it certainly was, but when or by whom committed was the mystery. It was difficult to get in communica- tion with any relatives or friends of the long-missing bridegroom. Many of his relatives and friends, among them his intended wife, were dead. Finally a brother was located and communication established. He was told of the curious ring and later identified the ring as belonging to his long lost brother. He said there had been but two such rings in existence as far as he knew. His father had had two rings made, one for each of his sons and he identified this newly-found ring as a twin to the one he owned. This seemed to prove conclusively the identity of the skeleton and cleared the mystery of years' standing. It was later recalled that some suspicious characters had resided in the section of town where the skeleton was unearthed and that suspicion of the crime had been attached to them at the time of the disappearance of the young man. but nothing could be proven against any of them and so the criminals, who or whatever they were, had long ago disappeared.

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A PIONEER ELOPEMENT.

In the summer of 1839 a rather romantic attempt was made by Peter Beaver, who resided at Germantown, to elope with Susan Hudson. Peter was a widower, having been twice married. He had been paying his re- spects to Miss Susan for some time. When this became known to Miss Susan's parents, they objected to his advances. Clandestine meetings be- tween the pair followed, resulting in an agreement to run away. It was ar- ranged that on a certain day Peter was to procure a marriage license and at night Susan was to meet him at George Beaver's; from there they were to proceed to the residence of a justice of the peace to be married. Peter sup- posed that he could procure a license in Indianapolis. On the day appointed Peter went to the city and Susan prepared, as well as she could, to carry out her part of the arrangement. The dooryard was fenced in with paling fence and Susan, in order to get to George Beaver's unobserved, pulled off a paling remote from the doors and windows, so that she could the more readily escape from the yard. In the meantime the family became aware that something was wrong and set a sister of Susan's to watch her. It had been agreed that Susan should be notified when Peter returned. To get this information she was frequently out at the fence and her sister was invariably at her side. Finally the word came to Susan that Peter had returned and the time came for her to act. Susan made her way as quietly as possible to the hole in the fence, her sister still at her side; then Susan suddenly turned upon her sister and, like an animal at bay, struck her with her open hand on the head. Susan then darted through the fence and ran with all her might to George Beaver's, where Peter was already waiting for her. Her sister soon recovered from the blow and gave the alarm. Her father and two brothers responded to the call and at once pursued the fleeing Susan. Beaver saw that it would not do for her to stop at the house, so he told her to run on through to a cornfield beyond. This she accomplished unob- served by her father and brothers. In the meantime they surrounded the house and demanded the girl. George Beaver told them that Susan was not in the house and that they could come in and see, which they did. A search of the premises disclosed the fact that the girl was not there. By this time things began to look lively. The Hudsons went to the store of Baker & Finch and insisted that the girl had been concealed there. They demanded permission to search the place, which was given them, but they did not find her. Peter, in the meantime, put on innocent airs, dressed up in miller's clothes, procured a lantern and blanket and started for the mill with the

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avowed purpose of tending the mill that night. In the blanket, however, he had concealed his wedding suit. By this time the curiosity of all the people in and near the village had been fully aroused; all taking sides with one or the other party. Two persons, somewhat noted in the neighborhood, finally took a hand. Doctor Cunningham, one of them, took the Beaver side, and Mat Clifton the side of the Hudsons. Mat was not long in discovering that Cunningham intended to aid Beaver and Susan, and was just as fully de- termined to aid the Hudsons, so with all the cunning and ingenuity of an Indian, which he possessed, he set to work watching Cunningham.

FLOODS IN HAMILTON COUNTY.

In 1828 there was quite a flood in this section, but owing to the lack of improvements at that early date, no damage worthy of note took place. In January, 1847, occurred the second great flood. Mr. Shirts says of it: "All the bottom lands along the river were covered with water and driftwood, fences were washed away, grain that had remained in the bottom fields in cultivation was washed away by the water, shocks of corn and fodder, securely tied as it had been left in the fall before, were frequently seen floating down the river. I remember seeing a pig on one of these shocks floating past Noblesville. It was eating corn, apparently as unconcerned as it would have been in the barn lot at home. On another shock was a chicken floating quietly down stream. The mill dam across the river where Clare is now sit- uated was washed out. Also the mill which stood at that place was washed away. The part of the mill fixtures called 'hoppers' floated down the river. The water on this occasion came over the bank at the west end of Conner street in Noblesville and flowed south through the old canal. A part of the old cemetery was covered by water."

At different times after 1847 the river came up high after the spring or winter rains. At several times in recent years the residents of the south- west part of town, commonly called "Johnstown," have had to be rescued in boats from their partly submerged homes. Usually the rescuing had to be done in the dead of night, for the water always came up suddenly and un- expectedly. But no flood within the memory of man and probably for long ages previous has ever equaled the great floods that swept the entire river valleys of Ohio and Indiana in March, 1913. Just previous to Easter Sun- day heavy rains and thaws were the natural forerunner of the following high waters. On Sunday night and the following day and night the rain descended in veritable torrents. By Tuesday morning the region of White

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river was one great sea of rushing, muddy water. It continued to rise until Wednesday, when the, waters reached their height. The sight was one never to be forgotten by those who saw it. Viewing the river from the Noblesville side, where the Lake Erie & Western bridge spans the stream, it was an awe-inspiring spectacle. The water being about three feet higher than the lower iron span of the bridge, dashed and beat against the iron structure until it seemed it could not withstand the strain much longer. Heavy cars of coal were run on to the bridge to weight it down. As water, like murder, "will out," it washed a great mass of earth away between the pier and town and came rushing through the gap thus formed as though to tear at the very foundation of Noblesville. At this point a span of the track was entirely undermined and two cars loaded with coal hung sus- pended in mid-air above the madly rushing waters for at least twenty-four hours before the cars went crashing into the water below. The flood ex- tended from this point to the foot of the property owned by John Hare on Federal Hill, the fields and road included in that section being entirely sub- merged and the houses being in various stages of flood from a foot or two of water in some to the eaves in others. Where the wagon road passes under the railroad, just across the river, there was formed a natural water- way, through which the water rushed with terrific force. Telephone poles, trees, logs and all sort of debris caused added danger to bridges and houses in the path of the water.

PEOPLE RESCUED IN BOATS.

In the southern part of town the damage was greatest. The entire section west of the Lake Erie & Western railroad and south of the Midland railroad was held in the grip of the flood. The houses farthest from the river had but a few inches of water in them, while a few in the low lands were so completely submerged as to be unable to withstand the floods and floated away. The people in that section were rescued in boats and in a few instances the rescue was just in time to save the occupants from going down with their ruined homes. Many pathetic incidents occurred at this time. One old man, it was said, had just finished paying for his little home, when the flood came and carried away all his earthly possessions. The homes which remained were in a terrible state when the waters went down. Many of the homes will show the "high water mark" in places for years to come. The old cemetery was almost entirely under water, the tops of the highest monuments being all that was visible. After the water receded the marble

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slabs leaned to the south very much and were thrown down in some instances and it was even said some human bones were washed from their long rest- ing places. For two days Noblesville was entirely cut off from the outside world. No train or traction car could travel, as the tracks were under water and many bridges washed away. The only news consisted of the meager messages which came over the few wires that remained intact. The first train out of Indianapolis was the Lake Erie & Western, which could come only as far as Noblesville. It was several weeks before the damage was sufficiently repaired to allow travel the entire length of this road and the trains made their daily trips between the capital city and Noblesville for some time without being able to go farther north.

But a common calamity always brings out a common sympathy. The more fortunate citizens of our town and county donated liberally of their means. Money, provisions, furniture and clothing were given to the un- fortunate flood victims until it was said some of them were better off after the flood than they had been before it. However, this was not true in many instances, for no amount of help could entirely repair the damage or replace the little personal belongings of home and family.

WILY PLAN OUTWITTED.

Germantown was then, and is now, on the north or west side of Fall creek; the dam in which the water was gathered for the mill was a short distance above. On this dam a good canoe was always kept. On .the opposite side of the creek resided a justice of the peace, and this was the objective point for Peter and Susan; here they were to be married, provided they could run the Hudson gauntlet. Doctor Cunningham had succeeded in · finding and secreting Susan ; then he formed his plan, which was to keep the Hudsons up all night. or nearly so, and when they returned home for re- freshments and sleep, Beaver and Susan were to be taken across the creek in the canoe by Cunningham. This plan was made known to Peter and Susan and they very readily entered into it. They now had nothing to do but wait for an opportunity to steal away.

In the meantime Mat Clifton was not idle; he had managed his cards well and had in some way become fully aware of the Cunningham plan and laid his accordingly. He kept up an appearance of searching until well into the after part of the night, when, knowing just where the canoe was to land, he posted the Hudsons, with a friend or two, and all became quiet. About daylight the next morning Peter and Susan, arrayed in what they supposed

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were their wedding garments, preceded by Cunningham, made their way to the canoe. All seemed to be peaceful and everything was surely quiet. Peter and Susan took their places in the canoe, the doctor shoved it out into the stream and Peter pulled for the opposite shore, feeling assured that they had outwitted the enemy. When the canoe struck the opposite shore, Susan, having been seated in that end, was immediately seized by the Hudsons. Her wrists were gently but firmly bound and the canoe shoved out in the stream. The Hudsons were for the time being masters of the situation. Susan was taken home and was for some time kept under surveillance. Her parents, to cure her, as they said, sent her to a married sister at or near Westfield. For quite a while nothing was heard of the affair. It is fair to assume, however, that Peter and Susan either saw or heard from each other occasionally. It appears, at least, that the matter was not fully disposed of.

At that time there lived in Noblesville a William Archer, engaged in peddling clocks, and to some extent a privileged character. To him Peter applied for aid, and not in vain. Archer was the kind of a man for the work and the job just suited him. He visited Susan's brother-in-law ostensibly for the purpose of selling him a clock and managed while there to speak to Susan in Peter's interest. The result was an agreement to call on a certain day when Susan would be ready. Archer called on the day agreed upon, and while he was making an effort to sell the brother-in-law a clock, Susan, unobserved, stole out of the house and secreted herself in the barn and near . the road where the black wagon was standing. When Archer returned to his wagon Susan jumped in. Archer quickly unfastened the horses and dashed away. They were in Noblesville before the astonished brother-in- law recovered from his surprise. Susan was met at Noblesville by her lover and they were married, thus outwitting the Hudsons at last.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 47

Author: John F. Haines Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051