History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 50

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

USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 50

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

CORN PONE.

Mr. Shirts tells the following story : About the year 1830 Robert Stitt, who resided in the vicinity of the Connor mill, two miles southwest of Nobles- ville, after having spent the day in town, started south from the public square on Eighth street for his home. At the south line of the old town he was accosted by a stranger on horseback, who said to him, "My friend, can you tell me where I can find the woman who makes good corn pone?" "Well," replied Stitt, "if it is the woman that stays at the tavern you are after, you are on the right track. Keep straight ahead until you come to the sign board. There you will get corn pone. venison and plenty to drink, so that you will not go hungry or dry." The stranger had started on, when Stitt called to him, "Say, mister, which way may you be going tomorrow? If you are looking

Digitized by Google

507

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

for land I will be a good hand to show you around," but the stranger did not care to publish his movements, so he rode on without replying.

It was seldom that wheat bread was found on the table, so the woman who could make good corn pone was in demand by the traveling public. There was no such thing as baking powder or soda, and cooking vessels were scarce. Corn pone was baked in a pot holding from two to four gal- lons. Corn bread, as a rule, was baked on a board placed before an open fire. This was called johnny cake, and the board was the johnny cake board. The meal for the johnny cake was mixed with water and often without salt. When properly mixed it was spread out evenly on the board and placed before the fire. A substitute for soda was sometimes found by burning a dry elm tree. Such a tree usually had a thin, hard crust on the inside. This tree was fired at the bottom while standing and the inside would burn out first. When it was entirely consumed and the ashes removed a large amount of cinders were left. A small quantity of these were then placed in a bottle and dissolved with water. After the cinders were thor- oughly dissolved the contents of the bottle were used in bread and had the same effect as soda. The difficulty attending the making of good corn pone in those days was so great that one having acquired the art was sought out by travelers. This woman the stranger was seeking was my mother.

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

Digitized by

Google

Ira. C . Christian

Digitized by Google

GRAPHICAL ... ...

. ..

of this sketch ..

tive of the family. Whether ci-headed, adli poised, plain-

a clear vision,

.Per ill itrred

Soft. com ..

c. his

den are : .

creed but :. :

honoring it wasley

time is most generous to his pali .. . can woman should share with the p are by nature the two halves of 1 . together side by side. hand in in . equal borden: he, the father. a . ..

to the ligger business in care that sametions its sale by be. T'en Hit. He believes that !..

Digitized by

Google

Irate, Christian

(

tì

Digitized by Google

BIOGRAPHICAL

HON. IRA W. CHRISTIAN.

The Christians of old Virginia, of Georgia and Indiana always have been a generous, high-spirited, struggle-conquering, home-loving, country-serv- ing, God-fearing, stalwart people. The subject of this sketch is a true scion of the old stock and a very worthy representative of the family. Wherever you meet him he is always the same cheery, level-headed, well-poised, plain- spoken, generous-minded, open-hearted, enthusiastic man, with clear vision, seeing through the social, civil and political pretenses, yet never ill-natured in doing so.

A man who loves the silent road, the pathless woods, the flowers of the fields, the lifting hills, the open sky, and the storm-bearing ocean, and who from his boyhood has known the blue-bird to be the emblem of happiness, and yet, with deeper ardor, loves his fellowmen, the people, the honest, com- mon people, for he is one of them.

His greatest delight is found in his own home, with his good wife, his children and his children's children. Is a lover of a good horse and has always owned one. His few books, his flowers, his farm and his little gar- den are things that contribute much to his enjoyment.

Judge Christian is a member of the Christian church, and holds to no creed but the Bible. He is a Republican in politics, honored by his party and honoring it with a fealty that has in it no shadow of turning, but at the same time is most generous to his political opponents. He believes that the Ameri- can woman should share with the men all civil and political rights ; that they are by nature the two halves of the human race, appointed by God to walk together side by side, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, bearing each its equal burden : he, the father, and she the mother of the race. He is opposed to the liquor business in every shape and form, holding that the government that sanctions its sale by license or otherwise is guilty along with the men that sell it. He believes that honest toil should have an honest wage, that the

Digitized by

Google

510

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

humblest man or woman in America should stand level with the highest in the law.

His favorites among the gems of literature are the Book of Job, the Psalms of David, the Four Gospels, the letters of St. Paul, Homer's Illiad, Milton's Paradise Lost, the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and the plays of Shakespeare, the world's greatest poet. History holds charms for him no less than poetry; these are the things that keep his world renewed and sweet and ever young.

His motto ever has been : "Push and smile," and that, with his favorite quotation from Shakespeare, contains the gist of his philosophy :

Love all, trust a few, Do wrong to none; be able for thine adversary Rather in power than use; and keep thy friend Under thine own life's key; be checked for silence, But never tax'd for speech.

History and biography for the most part record the lives of only those who have attained military, political or literary distinction, or who in any other career have passed through extraordinary vicissitudes of fortune. The unostentations routine of private life, although in the aggregate more im- portant to the welfare of the community, cannot, from its very nature, figure in the public annals. But the names of men who have distinguished them- selves in their day and generation for the possession, in an eminent degree, of those qualities of character which mainly contribute to the success of private life and to public stability -- of men who, without dazzling talents, have been exemplary in all their personal and social relations, and who have enjoyed the esteem, confidence and respect of those around them-ought not to be allowed to perish. Few can draw rules for their own guidance from the pages of Plutarch, but all are benefited by the delineation of those traits of character which find scope and exercise in the common walks of life. Among the individuals of this class is Ira W. Christian. His record is the account of a life which is, in the main, uneventful, as far as stirring inci- dents or startling adventure is concerned. yet is distinguished by the most substantial qualities of character. His life history exhibits a career of un- swerving integrity, indefatigable private industry and wholesome home and social relations-a most commendable career crowned with success. It is the record of a well-balanced mental and moral constitution strongly marked by those traits of character which are of special value in such a state of society as exists in this country.

Digitized by Google

5II

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

The Christian family was descended from Thomas Christian, who came from England to America in 1656 and settled in Charles City county, Vir- ginia, on the James river. While the family did not assume in the eighteenth century the important position it has enjoyed in the nineteenth century and which it enjoys today, the term "Mr.," accorded Thomas Christian, the im- migrant, is indicative of his social standing. Going back to England, we find the ancestor of the family on record was a member of the House of Keys, in the Isle of Man. at Tyndwall Court, held in the island in 1422. The first to settle at Ewanrigg was Ewan Christian, Esq., barrister-at-law, eldest son of Edward Christian, Esq., of Minton, judge of the Isle of Man.

Below is a cut of the coat of arms of the Christian family, with the family motto: Azure; a chevron humettee between three covored cups, gold. Crest-unicorn's head erased, silver, collared and armed. gold.

The following description of the crest is from Fairbain's Crests of Eng- land and Ireland, page 108:

Christian, John, Esq., M. A., of Ewanrigg Hall, Cumb., and Milntown, Isle of Man, a unicorn's head. erased, ar. armed and gorged with a collar, in- vecked, or. Salus per Christum.

As this matter will be of interest to many persons who are unacquainted with the terms used in heraldry, it is thought to be not inappropriate to add an explanation of those terms. Erased means having uneven or jagged edges, as if torn from the body by violence. Ar. (argent) means that the head is of the color of silver. Armed means that the horn is of different color from the head, and or., indicates that it (the horn) is of gold. Gorged with a collar, invecked, or., means that the neck is encircled with a collar whose edges do not lie flat against the neck, but are arched or rolled outwards

Digitized by Google

512

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and over, and that the color of the collar is gold. The field of the shield is blue, the chevron and the cups gold ; the head and neck silver, the horn and collar gold.

Elijah L. Christian, the father of Daniel I .. Christian, was born in Westover Parish, Virginia. July 28. 1794, the son of Jesse Christian, who was the son of Charles Christian. Father and son were Whigs and soldiers in the Revolutionary War from Virginia. Jesse Christian and his two brothers, George and Turner, moved into Georgia. when they were grown and settled in the vicinity of Atlanta, on the Chattahoochee river, and Tur- ner's Ferry, north of Atlanta, was named after Turner Christian. Elijah L. Christian married in Georgia in 1820 and died in 1848. He had three sons, Daniel R. Christian, born November 19. 1821, died in prison March 4, 1865: Jesse T. Christian, born November 15. 1823, died in 1843: John Willis Christian, born December 7. 1825, was an architect of great promise at Atlanta when the Civil War divided the two brothers-there is no record of his death. The descendants of the Christian family who served in the Fed- eral and Confederate armies in the Civil War are almost innumerable. It has been said that no one of the name ever failed to bear himself with credit, while many of them were conspicuous for gallantry and devotion to duty.

Ira W. Christian, ex-judge of the Hamilton circuit court, was born in Clay township, in this county, October 25, 1855. He is the son of Daniel R. and Eliza (Click) Christian, natives of Georgia and Indiana, respectively.

Daniel R. Christian had a most remarkable career in many ways. He was born on November 19. 1821, on a plantation near Marietta, Georgia, his father. Elijah T .. Christian, being a Georgia planter and a large slave owner. In 1839. in company with his father, Daniel R. Christian came north as far as Louisville, Kentucky, in search of runaway slaves. He and his father were en route to Missouri, where he expected to buy land and establish his son. Daniel R. At Louisville Elijah I .. Christian was called back to Georgia on business matters and left his son. Daniel R., at the Gault House in Louis- ville, until he could return. A chance acquaintance with one of the guests at the hotel changed the whole career of Daniel R. Christian. Staying at the same hotel was a Mr. Filbert Wright, a very brilliant man and a native of Tennessee, who lived near Salem in Washington county, Indiana. They be- came acquainted and their acquaintance soon ripened into friendship; in fact, they became so intimate that when Mr. Wright left Louisville for his home near Salem he had no difficulty in inducing young Christian to accompany him and be his guest until his father returned from Georgia. Mr. Christian had a fine saddle horse and he and Mr. Wright set out on horse back for the

Digitized by Google

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA. 513

Wright home in Washington county, Indiana, twenty-five miles away. Soon after reaching the home of Mr. Wright, Daniel Christian received a message from his father to the effect that he would not be able to return north and directing his son to return home at once. The young man had grown to like Indiana and it is to be inferred that there was something else besides the climate with which he was in love. Another consideration which induced young Christian to remain in the north was the fact that he hated slavery. Upon due consideration, therefore, young Christian sent word to his father that he had decided to remain in the north. He sold his fine saddle horse and sent the proceeds to his father in Georgia and settled in Washington county, Indiana, to make his home. He remained with Mr. Wright and, since he was a man of education, Mr. Wright induced him to teach the school in his neighborhood during the coming winter. Mr. Wright was the school direc- tor and he had no difficulty in securing the place for young Christian. He proved to be a splendid teacher and continued in the school room during the winter time for several years, not only in Washington county, but after he removed to Hamilton county, Indiana.

It is necessary at this point to leave the history of young Daniel R. Christian to tell something of the Click family who had come to Washington county from North Carolina, having originally come from Prussia to this country in 1770. They settled in North Carolina, where they remained until about 1810, when they came to Indiana and made their home in Washington county, near Salem. Eliza A. Click's mother was a Rhetts, her grandfather Rhetts coming from Alsace, France, in 1740, and settling in Virginia and later moved to North Carolina. Representatives of the Click and Rhetts families were soldiers in the Revolutionary War from North Carolina. It is not on record that Eliza A. Click was a pupil of the young teacher, Daniel R. Chris- tian, but it is enough to say that they became acquainted, their acquaintance ripening into love and this was consummated by their marriage at Salem, In- diana, August 27, 1843. After their marriage Daniel R. Christian and his young wife continued to reside in Washington county for a time, teaching and attending the famous May's Seminary. In 1847 he decided to move north to Kokomo, Indiana, and in accordance with the custom of those days the family put all of their possessions into a large wagon and started to drive from Washington county to Howard county, Indiana. Again it seems that fate was destined to take a stand in the career of Mr. Christian and his family. Before the family reached Howard county one of the horses failed him and he found himself with his wife and family stranded in Hamilton

(33)

Digitized by Google

514

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

county, not far from where the Hill church stands on the Marion county line, and thus the Christian family became identified with Hamilton county and not Howard county. Fortunately Mr. Christian and his family found shelter with Joshua Wright, a kinsman of Filbert Wright, of Washington county, the early friend of Mr. Christian. Finding it impossible to proceed to How- ard county, the family settled in an old log cabin in the wild woods. A few years later Mr. Christian purchased a farm over on Williams creek, a mile away, in Clay township, where Ira W. Christian, whose history is subse- quently related in this connection, was born. Daniel R. Christian became a school teacher in the schools of Clay township and continued to instruct the youths of this county for about twelve years. He also served as trustee of Clay township and while holding this office was instrumental in establishing a good school system in not only his own township but throughout Hamilton county. In 1859 the Christian family moved to Noblesville and lived for a year on the lot at the oak tree where Aaron Spanneth now lives, Mr. Christian contemplating the practice of law. However, he had a large fam- ily and he had to do something which would yield an income sufficient ade- quately to care for his family. Within a year he saw that the law would not pay, so he purchased a farm two and one-half miles southeast of Nobles- ville and removed his family upon it in March, 1860. Here he was living when the Civil War broke out in 1861. During the summer of '62 he helped organize the Fifth Indiana Cavalry, Ninetieth Indiana Volunteers, becoming a member of Company A, and was its quartermaster-sergeant during the war. The Fifth Cavalry was mustered into service August 22, 1862, at In- dianapolis, Indiana. In September, 1862, the regiment was sent to the front and was actively engaged in Kentucky during the fall and winter of 1862-63. Early in 1863 they campaigned against Gen. John H. Morgan from Bucks- ville, on the Cumberland river, through Kentucky to Indiana, through Ohio to Buffington Island, capturing Morgan on July 19, 1863. . On the return march to Kentucky the regiment was remounted. after which it marched over the Cumberland mountains, reaching Knoxville, Tennessee, September I, 1863. Then ensued the campaign of East Tennessee and West Virginia, known in history as the Burnside campaign and siege of Knoxville; then followed the battles of Salina, Rheatown, Strawberry Plains, Blountsville, Bristol, Zollacoffer, Henderson's Mill, Bean Station, Walker's Ford, Dan- dridge and others; then the return march via. Cumberland Gap to Nichols- ville, Kentucky, in March, 1864. As soon as the regiment had a runout and equipment it set out over the Cumberland mountains to join Gen. W. T. Sherman at Ringgold, Georgia, and actively engaged on the left of the lines

Digitized by Google

515

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

of Sherman's army to Atlanta, beginning at Ringgold Gap; fought in the Battle of Dalton on May seventh, at Resaca on the fifteenth, Adairsville on the seventeenth, Cassville the eighteenth, Altoona Pass, June first; New Hope Church, June fourth; Big Shanty, June ninth; then followed Pine Mountain, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, and Marietta July third. On July 5 Johnston's army was forced across the Chattahoochee river and on the tenth was compelled to abandon the river and retreat towards Atlanta, seven miles away. At this time Johnston was relieved of his command and Gen. J. B. Hood took command of the Confederate army. On July 22 the Confederates abandoned the heights along Peach Tree crcek, Sherman pushed vigorously forward towards Atlanta but was checked by Harden in a terrible battle. It was here that General McPherson fell. Sherman was finally victorious. At this time Sherman dispatched cavalry to make raids on the railways in the rear of his antagonist. Generals Stoneman and McCook were sent out on this business, on different routes, but with the intention of co-operating. The Fifth Cavalry-three hundred strong-was under command of Col. Thomas .H. Butler, attached to Stoneman's cavalry. Stoneman passed west around Atlanta and south towards Macon, destroying railroads. In the vicinity of Macon, Stoneman's cavalry was met by Gen. Joe Wheeler and the battle of Macon was fought July 27, 1864, in which the Fifth Cavalry was literally shot to pieces. McCook, failing to connect with Stoneman, the Fifth Cav- alry was selected to hold Wheeler in abeyance until the other regiments should make good their escape, and for four hours this regiment fought Wheeler's entire army. When overpowered and captured they were marched without delay to Andersonville prison in southern Georgia. On this raid Daniel R. Christian passed within a few miles of his old Georgia home, whence he had set out with his father twenty-four years before.

There has been so much written and said about Andersonville prison that it seems pertinent to make more than a passing mention of it in this connection. It was established in November, 1863, as one of the Confederate military prisons and continued to serve in that capacity until the close of the war. Sixteen and one-half acres were cleared off and a high stockade built around the land. The first prisoners arrived in February, 1864. and in May, of that year, there were thirteen thousand prisoners, this number by June in- creasing to such an extent that it was necessary to add ten more acres to the original sixteen and one-half acres. By August of 1864 there were more than thirty-two thousand prisoners within the twenty-six and one-half acres. These men were without any shelter other than that provided by rude tents which they themselves constructed. It is not possible to go into details here

Digitized by Google

516

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

and tell of the horrible sufferings which these men endured. It is sufficient to state that there were forty-nine thousand four hundred and eighty-five prisoners at this prison, of whom thirteen thousand seven hundred and four- teen died and were buried there, nine hundred and twenty-one of whom were unknown.

In this prison Daniel R. Christian was placed on August 1, 1864, and kept there until late in November of the same year. Immediately after the fall of Atlanta the Confederate authorities removed many prisoners from Andersonville in November. Christian was taken with the detachment which was sent to Camp Florence, South Carolina, where he spent the winter of 1864. After Sherman had retired from Georgia, the prisoners at Camp Flor- ence were taken to Willington, North Carolina, and in a few days were re- moved to Goldsboro, North Carolina, where Daniel R. Christian died a prisoner, March 4, 1865. After the war, in 1866 or 1867, the soldiers who died at Goldsboro were removed to the National Cemetery at Raleigh, North Carolina, and he occupies one of the three thousand five hundred "unknown" graves in that historic "bivouac of the dead." Thus ends a history of a man who was true to every duty and a man who was held in the highest esteem by everyone who knew him. He left a heritage to his children than which there is no greater, a pure and undying devotion for his home, his country and his God.

The historian must now revert to the family of Daniel R. Christian in Hamilton county. When he went to the front in 1862 Daniel R. Christian left his wife and seven children, five sons and two daughters. The wife and growing sons managed and cultivated the farm, the boys doing the work of men. His death found them with a farm of four hundred and ten acres, but which was encumbered with a heavy mortgage. The father's parting ad- monition to his young sons when he left for the front was "Take good care of mother," and the little fellows naturally measured up to the injunction of their father. An interesting sidelight upon the horrible struggle which ex- isted in the sixties is shown in the following incident. During the president- ial campaign in 1864, when Ira W. Christian, whose history is set forth.later on, was a boy of nine years, he was in a field next to the Cumberland road rolling the ground for wheat, riding the old family mare. It happened that on this particular day a company of people, men, women and children, went by the field in wagons and on horseback on their way to Noblesville to attend a Democratic campaign rally. George McClellan was the Democratic candi- date for President. As the crowd passed along the road they hurrahed for McClellan and young Christian, the nine-year-old patriot, returned their cry

Digitized by Google

517

HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

with a hurrah for Lincoln and Morton. Some one in the crowd along the road hurrahed for Jeff Davis, and young Christian responded with the reply "and a rope to hang him." At this reply on his part a half dozen young men left their horses, climbed over the fence into the field and made a rush for young Christian, yelling at the same time that they would make him hurrah for McClellan. It is not cause for wonder that he was terribly frightened. They caught hold of the bridles of his horse and said he had to hurrah for "little Mac," but he said "I will die first." At this juncture a good, motherly old woman in the company came to his rescue by calling out to the young men, "Boys, you ought to be ashamed; you know that his father is today a prisoner in a southern prison!" That did the work and the young men jumped back across the fence, mounted their horses and rode off.

After the death of the father the widow, whose courage never failed and whose devotion to her family never flagged, and her family kept dili- gently at work drowning their sorrow and grief in their daily labors. They determined to relieve the farm of the heavy mortgage and it must have been a happy day when they paid the last cent of the financial burden. The noble and heroic mother passed away April 29, 1884, leaving six children living and one deceased. The children of Daniel R. Christian and his wife are as fol- lows: James R., Greensburg, Indiana; Mary, who died January 1, 1866; Frank, who died in February, 1891 ; Ira W., with whom this narrative sub- sequently deals; William S., who became an eminent attorney and died November 8, 1909; Jennie (Christian) Young, died May 30, 1893, and George S., cashier of the American National Bank of Noblesville.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 50

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

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