History of Hancock county, Indiana; its people, industries and institutions, Part 11

Author: Richman, George J
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Indianapolis, Federal publishing co., inc.
Number of Pages: 1272

USA > Indiana > Hancock County > History of Hancock county, Indiana; its people, industries and institutions > Part 11

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National Road. Grocery

Jared Chapman 1832

Greenfield, Grocery

Thomas Lackey 1832

Charlottesville, Grocery

Eli Gapen & Son 1832

Greenfield, Grocery

Maxwell & Johnson 1832

Charlottesville, Grocery

Dimbar & Clark 1832

Greenfield, Merchandise

William Curry 1833

Greenfield, Grocery

William Curry

1833

Greenfield. Grocery

J. M. Clark

1833

Greenfield, Merchandise

123

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.

Name. Date.

A. T. Hart

1833

John Delana 1833

Sugar Creek, Grocery

Greenfield. Grocery

Greenfield, Grocery

George Tague 1834

Henry A. Milroy 1834

Crawford & Meck 1833

Greenfield. Merchandise

David Templeton 1834

E. B. and C. B. Chittenden 1834

Samuel Etter

1834

Charles Bouge 1835

John M. Talbott & Co. 1835

Greenfield. Foreign Merchandise

Greenfield. Grocery

Greenfield, Grocery

Charlottesville, Grocery

Greenfield, Grocery

Greenfield. Grocery

Lewisburg. Foreign and Domestic Merchandise

Charlottesville, Foreign and Domes- Merchandise

Greenfield. Foreign and Domestic Merchandise

Greenfield, Foreign and Domestic Merchandise Charlottesville. Foreign and Domes- tic Merchandise *Portland, Domestic Merchandise

Baxter & Clark 1836

Hiram Burch 1836 *Portland, Grocery

Jesse Atkison 1836 *Portland. Grocery

Barzilla Rozell 1837

Brown Township, Grocery and Liquor

Greenfield, Grocery Greenfield. Grocery

Charlottesville. Grocery and Liquor

Atherton & Avery 1838

Asa Gooding

1838

Jacob Schrammı 1838

Location. Business.

Greenfield. Grocery

John White 1833

John and William Justice 1834

Greenfield, Grocery

Greenfield. Store

Charlottesville. Grocery

Greenfield, Grocery Greenfield. Grocery

Sugar Creek, Store

Jacob Boyse 1835

Harder & McLellen 1835

Robert Sanford 1836

James Robbins

1836

George Kingery 1836

Noah Perry

1836

George Henry

1836

Hill & Overman 1836

Cornwell Meek 1836

Nicholas MeCarty 1836

John Hare 1836

Goodwin & Foley 1837

William Bentley 1837 Taylor Willett 1838

Sugar Creek, Grocery

Greenfield. Grocery and Liquor

Sugar Creek. Grocery and Liquor

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ILANCOCK COUNTY, INDIANA.

Name. Date.

Meridith Gosney 1838

Crawford & Hart 1838

Thornburgh & White 1838

C. & I. Lewis 1838

Jonathan Evans 1838

Robert Eakin

1838

James P. Foley 1838

Peter F. Newland 1838

Joseph Lewis

1838

Jacob Slifer 1838

Joshua Stone

1838

William Johnson 1838

John Delaney

1839

John Dye 1839

Solomon Hull 1839

Asa Cooper 1839

H. Worster & Templin 1839

Gavice Richardson 1839

J. C. & R. F. Ramsey 1839

Jacob Huntington

1839

MI. Goldberg 1839

C. I. Morrison 1839

Thornburgh & Co. 1839

Cranforce & Hart 1839

William Garrison

1839

Jefferson Bcaucham

1839

William Bentley 1839

William Griffin 1839

Isaac Stevens

1839

Cornwell Meek & Co. 1839

P. P. & J. F. Oaks 1839

Joseph Ingles 1839

Jolın Martin

1839

Henry Lehman, Daniel Graft .1840 John Wilkinson 1840

A. T. Hart and Lewis Burk. . 1840

Location. Business.

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery Greenfield, Merchandise and Grocery Hancock. Merchandise and Grocery Sugar Creek, Merchandise, Grocery Sugar Creek, Merchandise, Grocery Brown Township, Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery Charlottesville, Grocery and Liquor Hancock. Grocery and Liquor

Hancock, Grocery and Liquor Greenfield, Grocery and Liquor Greenfield, Grocery and Liquor Sugar Creek. Grocery and Liquor Sugar Creek, Grocery and Liquor Hancock, Gracery and Liquor Hancock, Grocery and Liquor

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock, Grocery and Liquor

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery Hancock. Merchandise and Grocery Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock. Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock, Grocery and Liquor

Hancock, Merchandise and Grocery

Hancock. Grocery and Liquor

Greenfield, Grocery and Liquor

Greenfield. Merchandise and Grocery

Greenfield. Merchandise and Grocery Greenfield, Merchandise and Grocery Hancock, Merchandise

Hancock. Grocery and Liquor

Hancock, Grocery and Liquor

Greenfield, Grocery and Liquor

125

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.

These stores must not be pictured as large, commodious, well-lighted rooms. Some of the above applicants had but a few articles to sell at their residences. The real storerooms were small and, of course, lacked the variety that we observe in our groceries of this day. Though this is true, it is ap- parent that the necessities of life could be purchased at a number of places along the National road, which was the great highway of travel. The state- ment also shows that a few stores were located on the Brookville road in Sugar Creek township and at least one or two on the Knightstown-Pendleton state road. In this connection it is also interesting to observe the market prices of that time. The following are the Greenfield prices, taken from the Green- field Reveille, April, 1845 :

Wheat, per bushel $ .50

Coffee, per pound $ .10

Corn, per bushel .20

Tea. per pound .50

Oats, per bushel .16

Sugar, per pound .06

Flaxseed, per bushel

.70

Sugar ( Orleans) .07

Corn Meal, per bushel .25

Cotton Yarn, per pound .13

Flour, per cwt. 1.50

Nails, per pound .061/4

Hams, per pound .061/2

Iron, bar, per pound .05

Shoulders, per pound

.05

Molasses, gallon

.43

Sides, per pound .05

Salt, per bushel .44

Ginseng, per pound .25

Feathers, per pound .26

Beeswax, per pound .22

Lard, per pound .04

Butter, per pound

.08

Cheese, per pound .0612

Honey, per pound

.05

Rags, per pound .02

Eggs, per dozen

.03

Chickens, per dozen .50

Prices as quoted in the Greenfield Spectator, September. 1848, are about the same as the above with the following additions :

Cattle on foot, per pound $.021/2 Hogs, per 100 pounds $ 1.75

Calves 2.00

Cows 10.00

Sheep

1.00 Timothy Hay 5.00

Potatoes, per bushel .1834 Gunpowder Tea. per pound .So

Imperial Tea, per pound .80 Young Hyson, per pound .621/2

TAVERNS.

On May 7. 1833. Daniel Bohn ( father of our neighbor and fellow citi- zen, Daniel Bohn) left his home in Adams county, Pennsylvania, and started on horseback through the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, for the pur-

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HANCOCK COUNTY, INDIANA.

pose of finding a new home for himself and his family. On this journey he traveled over the old Centerville state road, which passed through Green- field. On June 30, 1833, he again arrived at his home in Pennsylvania. During the journey he kept a diary in which he noted, among other things, the taverns at which he stopped and the expenses of his lodging. None of the taverns were in Hancock county, yet the bills presented to him give a fair idea of what tavern prices were at that time. A few of the entries are taken from this diary :

"On May 27, 1833, we lodged at the house of Messrs. Vose & Griffin, Dublin,-Night Bill, $1.00.

"May 28, 1833, we lodged at the house of Mr. Wilson, three miles east of Indianapolis,-Night Bill. $1.00.

"June 4, 1833. we lodged all night at the house of Mr. J. Wilson .- Bill, $1.00.

"June 5, we lodged all night at the house of Messrs. Vose & Griffin in Dublin,-Bill, $1.3712."

The bills included the cost of supper and breakfast. the night's lodging. and the care of his horse. Meals were ordinarily furnished at 15 cents. Board, including three meals daily. and bed. $1.25 per week.

The great amount of travel westward over the old Centerville state road and, later, over the National road. caused a great many taverns or eat- ing houses to be established along this line. The Brookville road. although it led from Cincinnati, was in bad condition for travel. People from that point ordinarily came to Richmond or Cambridge City, and then traveled westward over the National road. There were days in which fifty or more teams followed each other westward in one train. Many of the travelers camped along the road, while others drove into the large stable yards and slept in their wagons.

The taverns were among the largest and most commodious houses of that day. In connection with the tavern the keeper ordinarily had a stable with a large yard in which the wagons and horses were kept. In fact this was a legal requirement. For the protection of travelers, an act, approved February 12, 1825, provided that no license to keep a tavern should be granted to any person unless twenty-four citizens ( later the number was re- duced to twelve) should certify that the applicant was of good moral char- acter, that it would be to the benefit of travelers and conducive to the public good if such tavern should be opened. and that they believed it to be the bona fide intention of the applicant to keep a tavern for the accommodation of travelers. The applicant had to prove to the satisfaction of the board of

127

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.

county commissioners that he was a bona fide owner or tenant, for one year. or more years, of a good house with at least three apartments, and a stable convenient to said house, with at least four good stalls. The applicant had to show further that he was the owner of at least two beds and bedding over and above what was needed for his family, and that he had all other neces- sary furniture, etc. He also had to give security for his faithful observance of all requirements of the statute. Drovers also went along the road with droves of hogs, sheep, cattle, etc., for market at Indianapolis or Cincinnati. Many tavern keepers, and in fact others, were prepared to care for such droves and flocks by having pens and lots fenced near the tavern. . \ portion of the tract of land lying between the National road and the railroad just west of Philadelphia and east of Sugar creek was used for this purpose for many years by Charles Atherton, one of the very early pioneers of the county.

Taverns could always be identified by signs that were hung up. Or- dinarily the word "Tavern," painted on a large board, announced this fact. Others displayed a brightly polished brass plate with a design of some kind engraved upon it. Travelers ahvays understood that this signified a tavern. The location of the Guymon House in Greenfield, for instance, was adver- tised in the local papers for many years after the Civil War. ".At the Sign of the Eagle."

A few taverns were established along the Centerville road before the organization of the county. Among them were Samuel B. Jackson, whose house was located near the the present site of the terminal car barns at Green- field, and Jeremiah Meek, whose house stood on the north side of the old state road, about where the county jail now stands. There were, no doubt, others who made it a business to keep travelers, but of whom we have no record at this time.

.After the organization of the county a fee was collected from all tavern keepers. This license fee was $5.00 during the greater part of the time. The first license granted by the board of county commissioners of Hancock county was issued to John Branden at the .August term, 1829. The follow- ing is the record :

"On the application of John Branden. Esq., by a recommendation of twelve or more of his fellow citizens within the town of Greenfield and its vicinity for a license to open a public house within the town of Greenfield in said county of Hancock, Indiana.

"Therefore, it is ordered by the board that said John Branden be licensed as such for and during the term of one year from the date of said license .-

128

HANCOCK COUNTY, INDIANA.

And the said Branden now produces a certificate from under the hand of the treasurer of said county of him having paid $5.00-etc., as a tax on said license."

At the May term, 1831, the board made the following entry relative to the application of Samuel C. Duncan for a license to open a tavern :

"On the application of Samuel C. Duncan for a license to open a taveru. at his tavern in Brandywine Township and County of Hancock, therefore it is ordered and considered by the board that the said Samuel C. Duncan be licensed as such for and during the term of one year from the date thereof. by his paying a tax on the same of $5.co, and filing his bond with approved security according to law in such case made and provided. Whereupon he presents Nathan Crawford as his security which is approved by the court."

At the same term the following entry was made by the board of county commissioners on the application of John Branden :

"On the application of John Branden for a license to open a house of entertainment in the town of Greenfield for and during the term of one year from the date thereof. Therefore it is ordered by the Board that the said John Branden be licensed as such for and during the term of one year as aforesaid by his paying a tax on the same of $5.00 to the Treasurer of said County and filing his bond according to law. in such case made and pro- vided. Security approved of by Board-William Ryse."

For a decade or more, beginning with 1829, taverns were established and located as follows, as shown by the record of the county commissioners :

Keepers

Dates

Location

John Branden

1829

Greenfield

Samuel Duncan

1831

Brandywine township

James Parker

1834

Sugar Creek

Henry Woods

1836

Charlottesville

Peter F. Newland 1836

Sugar Creek

*A. G. Morris

I836

Portland

John Hare

1835

Charlottesville

*Asa Gooding

.1837

Greenfield

*James Parker 1837

Sugar. Creck

*Washington Landis 1837

Charlottesville

*David Richardson 1837

Sugar Creek

*Elijah Knight

.1838

Greenfield

*James Hamilton

1838 Greenfield

* Lewis Burk

1838

Greenfield

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GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.

Keepers

Dates Location

*Samuel Goble

1839

Portland

*Basil Meek 1839

Greenfield

*William I. Rush 1839

Hancock county

*William Mullins

1839 Hancock county

*Johnson Woods

1839 Hancock county

*John R. Burges

1841

New Palestine

*Also retailed spirituous liquor "by the small."

Taverns along the National road were advertised in the Greenfield papers. The following taken from the Greenfield Spectator, September, 1848, calls attention not only to the hotel, but to the wagon yard, accommo- dations for drovers, etc. :

"PENNSYLVANIA AND OHIO HOUSE. "SIX MILES WEST OF GREENFIELD.

"The undersigned would respectfully inform his friends and the travel- ing public that he has leased for a term of years the above house, formerly kept by J. Ross, six miles west of Greenfield, where he will at all times be prepared to accommodate those who may favor him with their custom in a style inferior to none.

"WAGON YARD.

"In connection with the above house, there is a large wagon yard; also. rooms for movers, drovers, etc. His bills will be in accordance with the times.

"HUGH J. KELLY."

TAX LEVIES.

The first tax levy was made by the board of county commissioners at their May term. 1828. It was not levied upon the value of the property. It was a specific tax, not an ad valorem tax. Thus a tax of thirty-seven and a half cents was levied on each horse, eighteen and three-fourths cents on each work ox. twenty-five cents on each silver or pinchbeck watch. The amount of the tax was fixed regardless of the value of the property. One horse might be worth as much as two others, but the tax was the same on all. Dur- ing the first years the assessors did not have to fix the valuation of prop- erty. Their only duty was to collect the number of items of a man's prop- erty and the tax was so much per. The following is the entry in the commis- sioners' record, which established the tax rate in the year 1828:

"It is ordered by the Board that the following rate of taxes be assessed (())

130

HANCOCK COUNTY. INDIANA.

for the year 1828, on the persons and property of Hancock County, for polls. fifty cents, for a horse, thirty-seven and a half cents, for a work ox, eighteen and three-fourths cents, for silver and pinchbeck watches, twenty-five cents. for gold watch, one dollar, and for land, half the rates of state taxes."

At the May meetings of the board in 1829. 1830 and 1831, the rate of 1828 was readopted. The following entry was made for 1832:

"It is ordered by the Board that there be assessed on Town Lots one half cent on each dollar, on work oxen, twenty-five cents on each ox, fifty cents on each horse over five years old, on each watch fifty cents, brass clocks each, one dollar, on every hundred acres of first rate land, forty cents, second rate, thirty cents, third rate, twenty cents, for road purposes equal to the county aforesaid."

The above rate was also readopted for 1833 and 1834. In 1835 the following levy was made:

"Ordered that the rates of taxation on property for the year 1835 shall be as follows to-wit :- On' land one half the amount of the State tax; on polls, fifty cents each ; horses over ten dollars in value, on pleasure carriages, watches, fifty cents each."

At the January term. 1836, the following entry was made relative to tax rates for that year :

"Ordered that the rates of taxation on property for the year 1836 shall be as follows to-wit :- On land one half the amount of the state tax, on polls fifty cents each : on horses over ten dollars in value, on pleasure carriages. and watches fifty cents each: on work oxen three years of age fifty cents per yoke : on each tavern license five dollars, on each grocery license in the town of Greenfield fifteen dollars on all such as are taken at this term, those taken out at subsequent terms in the town of Greenfield twenty-five dollars : in all other parts of the county ten dollars on such as are granted this term and such as are subsequently granted, fifteen dollars ; license to vend wooden clocks, ten dollars : license to vend foreign merchandise, ten dollars."

At a special meeting of the board on June 13, 1836, another levy was made, which was on an entirely different basis, being levied on the value of the property. Under this levy it became necessary not only to learn how many horses, oxen, wagons, etc., a man possessed, but to assess that prop- erty at a certain value and then determine the amount of taxes from the value of the property. The entry made by the board at this special session is as follows :

"Ordered that for the purpose of raising a county revenue there be a tax levying of twenty cents on each hundred dollars of valuation and one

131

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.

cent on each hundred dollars of valuation for road purposes, and seventy-five cents on each poll-for county purposes."

The method of taxation was hereby changed from a specific to an ad valorem basis and has remained upon that basis to the present. Similar en- tries were made for the years 1837 and 1838.

As the county grew, more money was required to transact its business, and it is interesting to observe how the levy became more inclusive from year to year. The levies made in 1839 and 1840 are very similar. The levy of 1840 is given because of its greater clearness. Following is the entry :

"Ordered that for the purpose of aiding in raising a revenue for county purposes, there shall be assessed on each license to retail spirituous liquors in Greenfield the sum of twenty-five dollars and in all other parts of the county the sum of fifteen dollars ; on each license to vend foreign merchan- dise and foreign domestic groceries five dollars for any amount not exceed- ing one thousand, and two dollars and fifty cents for each additional one thousand dollars; provided. however, that no license on merchandise shall exceed in all the sum of twenty dollars; on each license to vend wooden clocks the sum of fifty dollars ; on each traveling caravan, managerie, or other collection of animals, or show of wax figures, or circus exhibition to the people for money, thirty dollars for each day's exhibition ; on each one hin- dred dollars valuation of taxables fifteen cents for state reventie, and fifty cents on each poll for state revenue, on each one hundred dollars valuation of taxables thirty cents for county revenne, and seventy-five cents on each poll for county revenue, and on each one hundred dollars of valuation of taxables five cents for road purposes."

The license fee established in the entry above remained in force, and similar rates were maintained for a number of years. The county treasurer collected taxes. He did not, however, depend on people coming to his office to pay them, but published notices that he would be in the different town- ships at stated times to receive taxes. The following notice, taken from an issue of the Greenfield Spectator, September. 1848, is illustrative of this early custom :

"NOTICE

"Is hereby given that the undersigned will attend at the usual place of holding elections in each township in Hancock county on the following days for the purpose of receiving taxes for the year, 1848. to-wit:" ( Here follow dates and the notice is signed, "J. Huntington, T. H. C." )

There was also another officer, the "collector of reventie," whose spe-

132

HANCOCK COUNTY, INDIANA.

cial business it was to collect the taxes that had not been paid to the county treasurer. The report of Joseph Chapman, collector of revenue of the county for the year 1831, shows that he collected $328.78. There was a delinquent list of $24.38 that year. This left a balance of $304.40. The collector re- ceived a commission of six per cent. for making collection. His commission for the year 1831 amounted to $18.27. leaving a balance to pay to the county treasurer of $286.13.

The amounts collected annually were, of course, very small compared with the amounts collected now. The total tax realized on the levy for 1829. including poll tax. license fees, etc .. amounted to $703.17; for 1833. $787.881/2 : and for 1835, the last year under the old system $925.28. For the next year under the ad valorem system, $1.665.74 was collected : evidently the change from the specific to the ad valorem system was a wise one for the purpose of raising money.

The returns for 1832 showed 524 polls. 485 horses, 172 oxen. 27 watches and one clock. The report for 1835 showed 684 polls. 709 horses, 130 oxen. 15 silver watches, one gold watch, three pinchbeck watches, and two brass clocks.

SURVEY OF COUNTY IN 1840, ETC.

In 1840 the county had been organized twelve years. It had been twenty-two years since the first settlers made their homes within its borders. The magnitude of what had been accomplished by these early people can be appreciated, in a measure at least, by a reference to the United States census report of 1840, in which the statistics of the county are included. We had at that time, as shown by the report: Horses and mules, 2.743 : cattle. 5.745 : sheep. 5,789 ; swine, 28.306; wheat, 28.531 bushels ; dairy products, valued at $283.232 : oats, 66.392 bushels ; rye, 2,130 bushels ; buckwheat, 1.641 bushels ; coru. 86.095 bushels; potatoes, 11.090 bushels : hay, 1,612 tons.

Several crops were grown in the early history of the county that are no longer produced. Thus, in 1840, 1.614 bushels of buckwheat were reported : in 1860. 6.8.11 bushels, while in 1870 only 544 bushels were reported. The last report was made upon this crop in 1890, showing that 551 bushels were produced. After 1890 buckwheat disappeared from the reports from Han- cock county.

Maple sugar was reported for a number of years. In 1840. 39.080 pounds are reported : in 1850. 38,213 pounds : in 1860. 5,564 pounds. A decade later 557 pounds were produced, while in 1880 only 90 pounds were produced. In 1890 one-half of this amount was reported.

133

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.

Hemp and flax were important in the early crops of the county. Six and one-fourth tons were reported in 1840. In 1850, 4,926 pounds of flix straw were reported and 317 bushels of seed. The culture of flax declined for a time during and immediately after the Civil War. In the latter part of the seventies it increased again and in 1880 the United States census reports 2.067 tons of straw and 57,972 bushels of seed. It was so extensively grown in the county at that time that reference was frequently made to the crop by the local correspondents. Thus, on May 1, 1879, the correspondent from Woodbury wrote: "Farmers are about done sowing flax and there has been an immense crop sown in our township this year."

On May 15, 1879, the Warrington correspondent wrote: "The farmers are getting alarmed about their flax crop. They say if it does not rain pretty soon the flax will be a failure."

The culture of flax was encouraged by oil crushers who bought the seed and used it to make oil. The oil crushers furnished the seed to the farms and agreed to purchase the crop when made. During the later seventies and the early eighties independent firms sprung up over the country and a war was made on prices. Flax culture thereafter soon became a matter of his- tory in Hancock county.

It is interesting to observe also the importance of the tobacco crop in the earlier development of the county. In 1840, 10,304 pounds were reported. and 69.432 pounds in 1860. Since the Civil War the tobacco crop has been very light in the county. In 1880, 3,110 pounds were reported, but later re- ports show less than Soo pounds.

We have only one census report in which skins and furs are reported from Hancock county. That is from the report of 1840, in which their value is placed at $809.

In the census report of 1840 Hancock county is also credited with one distillery, which gave employment to three men and produced 10,000 gallons annually.

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History of Hancock county, Indiana; its people, industries and institutions, Part 11

Author: Richman, George J Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Indianapolis, Federal publishing co., inc. Number of Pages: 1272

Author: Richman, George J
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Indianapolis, Federal publishing co., inc.
Number of Pages: 1272