USA > Indiana > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Indiana > Part 40
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Their rising spirits proved without warrant. When some 200 yards beyond the fatal tree there arose, as if from the ground, a crowd of men numbering at least 200, all wearing masks. The wagon was promptly surrounded and halted. The guards were ordered out and placed under guard of a detachment of the Vig- ilance Committee; the driver was ordered to "right about face" with his team and load, and was again brought to a halt under the hangman's tree. Here Jerrell, Sparks and Moore met a sim- ilar fate to their three companions in crime, with no witness to their awful fate save those who were sworn to secrecy.
THE NEW ALBANY TRAGEDY.
Thus far the Renos had escaped the vengeance of the mob. Simon and William Reno were under arrest and in New Albany jail, charged with participating in the Marshfield robbery. (It is proper here to state that many believe William Reno, who was not more than twenty years of age at the time of his death, inno- cent of the charge which cost him his life.) Frank Reno and Charles Anderson, accused of the same crime, were at Windsor, Canada, well out of the law's reach. Under a solemn pledge of Mr. Seward, then Secretary of State, backed by promises of the express company which had been the sufferer, that Reno and An- derson would be granted a fair trial, a writ of extradition was secured, and the two prisoners were brought to New Albany jail to await the action of the court in Scott County, where the crime was committed. Here on the early morning of December 12, 1868, Charles Anderson, Frank, Simeon and William Reno were taken from their cells, presumably by a band of men from Jack- son County, and hung until dead from the stairway of the jail. The details of this tragedy are too well known to need repetition. Let it suffice that the sheriff and turnkey, Mr. Fullenlove, now dead, made every resistance in his power. He was severely wounded in one arm by a shot from one of the band, and his life
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was threatened in vain, that he might be induced to give up his keys. His wife, at last, to save him, imparted the desired in- formation, when the mob found ready access to the cells.
Thus was ended the career of the chief outlaw, his companion, Anderson, and his two younger brothers. Clinton Reno, who, as before stated, was never accused of wrong-doing, was a farmer by occupation, residing near Rockford when the tragedy occurred. He is now a prosperous merchant of a Western town, and through- out all he has maintained a reputation for honor and integrity among his fellowmen.
John Reno, who was next in age to Frank, was found guilty of burglarizing a county treasurer's safe in a town in Missouri, and sentenced to the penitentiary for twenty-five years. He began his term about one year previous to the hanging of his brothers. He served ten years and ten months when he was par- doned by Hon. B. Gratz Brown, then governor of Missouri. He was rearrested at the threshold of the prison on the charge of par- ticipating in the second mentioned express robbery. On reaching home he readily procured bail of $20,000 through the instrumen- tality of well-disposed persons, who believed that himself and family had been sufficiently punished for their misdeeds. Soon after this the case against him was dismissed, and he was once more a free man. He engaged in farming, which he followed with indifferent success for about five years. But the old liking for crime returned, and in the winter of 1885 he was arrested on the charge of passing counterfeit money. Some months later he en- tered a plea of guilty, and was sentenced to the northern Indiana penitentiary for a term of three years and three months.
A correspondent of one of the leading daily papers, writing soon after the New Albany tragedy, summed up the other crimes happening in and about Seymour, during the four preceding years, about as follows: Moore Woodmansee, a merchant of Me- dora, twenty miles west, while on his way to Cincinnati, having
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on his person $2,800, took lodging at the Rader House, then the leading hotel in Seymour. After retiring to his room he was never again seen. Some decomposed remains, supposed to be his, were afterward found in White River, but were not fully identified.
Grant Wilson, a colored man, who was known to be an impor- tant witness against some of the gang, was shot dead, in daylight, while walking from his home to Seymour. A Mr. McKinny, who was also a witness, was called to his door one night and shot dead. William Mower was murdered in a saloon row, but his mur- derers were never arrested. Pages could be filled with accounts of burglaries, robberies and thefts of all kinds, but more than enough has already been told. Let the reader judge if the good citizens of Seymour were or were not justified in adopting the summary means they did to check this deluge of crime which they had tried in vain to check in any other way.
BROWNSTOWN.
To the regret of the numerous descendants of the adventur- ous pioneers and to the perplexity of the writer many facts of universal public value and private utility have never passed be- yond the circle of their own age, or, if they have, were let perish and disappear long before the compiler began his task. No- where have the discrepancies been more numerous, or the opin- ions of the best informed at greater variance than was developed in the numerous interviews with regard to the early inhabitants of Brownstown. So we have in all cases given credence to that which to us seemed the most plausible, at all times taking into consideration the credibility of those from whom we sought the information.
The Territorial Legislature, which was in session at Corydon in 1815, passed an act which was to take effect the 1st of Jan- uary of the following year, which provided for the organization of Jackson County out of the territory of Washington and Jef-
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ferson Counties, and to that end appointed commissioners to lo- cate the county seat, and appoint a county agent for the sale of lots. The rivals in the county seat contest were Vallonia and a place somewhere between the present site of Brownstown and Seymour, which for the time was called Natchez, but the com- missioners wishing to locate as near the geographical center as possible, selected the present site. The land was owned by John Ketcham, from whom it was bought, and the sale of lots adver- tised by John Milroy, who was the first county agent. Milroy, after acting in that capacity for a short time resigned, and was succeeded by John McCormick. The land on which the town is located was purchased from the United States by entry in the year 1816, by John Ketcham.
LOCATION.
Brownstown is located near the geographical center of the county, in Sections 11 and 14, Township 5 north, and Range 4 east, about one mile and a half from Driftwood Fork of White River, and on either side of the old Indian boundary line. It is surrounded on all sides, but at some distance away, by a range of high hills, the average altitude of which is from 150 to 200 feet. The land on which it now stands was, at the time of its se- lection as the location of the county seat, a wilderness, covered with a dense growth of forest trees, peculiar to this climate and soil. The deed conveying the land to the county agent bears date of February 27, 1817. The original purchase, was about 153 acres, for which the county paid $1,230.80. The following is the description of the land purchased: Beginning at the south- east corner of the northeast quarter of Section 14; thence 140 poles to stake; thence north 146 poles to a post in a field, 12 feet north of a dead bule ash tree, and on the boundary line be- tween the old and the new purchases; thence with said boundary line 143 poles to the corner of fractional Section 11; thence south
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seven degrees, east 237 poles to the place of beginning, contain- ing 153 acres, three-quarters and sixteen poles. The town plat was made and acknowledged April 8, 1816, which, ac- cording to the records, was several months before the land was purchased. It consisted of 168 lots and the public square, which was 310 feet square. The streets running north and south were Main, Poplar, Sugar, and Water, and those running east and west, or at right angles with Main, were Cross, Tanners, Com- merce, Walnut, Spring and Bridge. The first addition made to the original plat was made by John Milroy, county agent, July 7, 1817, and consisted of sixty lots.
SALES OF LOTS.
The first sale of lots was ordered advertised for the 5th of March, 1817, and on said day lots were bought by John White, George Paul, William Holeman, Samuel Young, William Cough- lan, John Kutch, Nathan B. Derrow, Thomas Ewing and others. After the first sale lots were purchased June 10 by Thomas Ewing; August 18, by John Milroy (who had been succeeded as county agent by John McCormick ) and William Naylor; Novem- ber 11, R. C. Ford; January 14, 1818, John Prather; May 20, 1818, by Zachariah Bell; July 7, 1818, by Jonaathan Lyon; September 19, 1818, by William K. Denny; February 20, 1819, by Rufus Hammon; January, 1819, by Thomas Swan, John Jacobs, William Booen, Jacob Crane, Robert Burge and Alexander Craig. Perhaps the largest number of the purchasers above named never lived in Brownstown, or at least not at an early day.
EARLY RESIDENTS OF BROWNSTOWN.
When, where or by whom the first residence was built within the present limits of Brownstown is unknown, and will ever re- main so. It is remembered by Mr. John R. Hamilton that in 1816, the year in which he with his father, James Hamilton,
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came to this county, that there were a few log-cabins standing in various parts of the town, but it is quite probable that but few houses of any kind were built until after March, 1817. Among the early residents who lived here prior to 1820 were William Congleton, William Crenshaw, Alexander Craig, John Craig, Samuel Stanley, David Burr, G. Clarke, Walter Benton, William Benton, David Benton, Mary Benton, Dr. Ruggles, Dr. Throcmorton, a man by the name of McTagart, and doubtless others whose names are not remembered.
EARLY BUSINESS INTERESTS.
As to who was the first to sell goods or engage in any kind of trade, we are, after numerous inquiries, still in doubt. Some say it was William Burr, who sold goods for a man by the name of Clarke, in a log building that stood on the west side of the public square, not far from where the large brick store-house of Wright Vermilya now stands; others claim that a man by the name of McTagart, who was afterward sheriff of the county, was the first to embark in the mercantile business. His store-house was a small frame building that stood near the present site of David Lubker's hardware store. William Congleton built a frame house a story and a half high on the spot where Charles Durland's provision store stands, in which he kept "tavern." This was one of the first houses built in the town and was the first hostelry. This being the county seat people from all parts of the county were com- pelled to come here to transact public business, which made tavern keeping profitable. This did not escape the notice of the enter- prising Alexander Craig, who at once began the erection of Ætna House, which was the first brick building. It was completed in the year 1819, and was considered a very fine building. Early in the twenties Walter Benton kept a small stock of goods in a log house that stood on the same lot that is now occupied by the blacksmith shop of George Knost. This was a general stock, 13
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consisting of dry goods, boots and shoes, hats and caps, groceries, hardware, and possibly a little whisky, as it was considered in those days a staple commodity. Samuel Stanley was also one of the early merchants. William Crenshaw, Samuel P. Mooney, a man by the name of Gelwick, John Mooney, Dr. Wort and Dan- iel Christ were prominent early residents.
MANUFACTORIES.
A tannery was built at Brownstown as early as 1817 by John Elliott, and was well patronized. It was built near where James Clarke now lives. There were probably a dozen vats, and its capacity for work was considerable. He tanned many deer, bear; wolf and coon skins, as well as those of wild and domestic animals. This tan- nery was a prominent feature of the early business enterprises of the town. It continued under the management of Elliott for several years, when it was sold to Gabriel Woodmansee, who sus- pended operations after seven or eight years. This was succeeded by William Tieford, who built a small tannery near the residence of Dr. Rodman, but soon sold to Morgan & Fifer, who did an extensive business for several years. John Staley commenced the erection of a foundry near Brownstown as early as 1816, and if ever completed it was not of sufficient importance to deserve special notice.
The Brownstown Manufacturing Company wasorganized by an act of the Legislature February 2, 1832. The purposes set forth in the act were to prosecute the agricultural, manufacturing, ex- porting and importing business within the State of Indiana. The principal movers were Andrew C. Griffith, Samuel Wort and Will- iam C. Crenshaw. The authorized capital stock was $300,000, with the provision that when $10,000 was subscribed directors were to be elected and operations begun. It was further provided that the company should engage in no species of banking nor Issue any bills of credit in the form of bank notes.
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The first flouring-mill that was ever built within the corporate limits of Brownstown, was a large frame building on the lot now owned by Lucy Benton. It was built by Balkman & Hamilton some time in the thirties. The last and only one now standing is that owned and operated by Frank Miller.
LATER BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
The following are among the most prominent who have done business here since 1840: George V. Benton, Wilber Benton, Wilson Wamsley, William H. Attkisson, Mathew Hamilton, W. W. Reynold, Lewis Heller, W. L. Benton, C. P. Tavey, M. Har- bart, A. J. Bond, P. Williamson, John Horstman, Mrs. Caston, A. M. Crabb, James Finley, Sarah Wort, James H. Scott, Oscar Allen, Jesse Farris, Hamlin Smith, Wright Vermilya, George Hamilton, Wacker & Ireland, Adam Heller, Charles Durland, Taylor Woodmansee, W. O. Lorimour, J. S. Clements, D. H. Lubker, F. Huber, J. B. Burrell, J. A. Stillwell, Charles Benton, Hamlin Smith, Frank Fassold, Conrad Broadbecker, William Taylor, J. H. Scott, Henry Elerman, William Fifer, Richard Wainscott, J. W. Morton, Frank Johnson, Henry Herman, Martin Kober, Martin Hackendorf.
In its early days Brownstown was the principal town of the county, and might have been the metropolis to-day (though not probable), had the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad passed within its borders. The failure may be attributed to three principal causes, viz .: the lack of public enterprise on the part of a few of the wealthiest citizens of Brownstown, the influence brought to bear by and in behalf of the proprietors of Ewing, and the impractica- bility of the route to the former. All these causes combined to locate the road and depot at the present site. Many regarded this as a death-blow to Brownstown, as will be seen in the fol- lowing verses that appeared in one of the principal county news- papers of that day:
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A FUNERAL ODE TO BROWNSTOWN.
Sadly I view this faded town- The day is dawning fast When the old jail will tumble down And Brownstown breathe its last.
Its officers and cubs at law Even now seem worn and blank; Smith wears an elongated jaw, And Cummins looks so lank.
Poor George's time will soon be out, Wort certainly soon must die; And Dan will soon, without a doubt, See all his type in pi.
Poor Baughman, with his anxious phiz, Will soon be bound to close; As also Scott, since flour has riz, And pork and beer has rose.
Ewing must cease to bustle around, The railroad now is lost; Old Peter 'll not be always bound For curses and for cost.
Poor stricken town, with ruined wall, Waste lot and broken fence, Receive ye thus the funeral pall While I go weeping hence.
No doubt this was largely overdrawn, at least one would think so if the writer's judgment was as badly at fault as his verse.
INCORPORATION OF BROWNSTOWN.
The first* effort made to incorporate Brownstown was at the September term of commissioners court of 1833, at which time a petition was presented, and an election ordered to be held the last Saturday in September. This election must have resulted in favor of incorporation, from the fact that another, doubtless
*It is said that the town was incorporated about the beginning of the twenties, but of that there seems to be no evidence, at least no proof.
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for the purpose of electing officers, was ordered held November 4 of same year. Further than this the records show nothing, and the writer has been unable to find any one who remembers what the result was, though it is probable that it resulted in a failure to incorporate.
The next election for this purpose was held at the court house, May 20, 1837; Joseph B. Shoebridge was chosen temporary chair- man, E. H. Parsley clerk. The town was divided into five dis- tricts, as follows: First-all east of Main and north of Cross Street; Second-all west of Main and north of Walnut Street; Third-all between Main, Walnut and Cross Streets; Fourth, all west of Main and south of Cross Street; Fifth-all of Cross and east of Main Street. The election resulted as follows: The First Ward, A. C. Griffith received 28 votes, and George H. Murphy 6 votes; Second Ward, John A. Crabb 18 votes, and Walter Ben- ton 15 votes; Third Ward, John Hamilton 26 votes; Fourth Ward, William D. Crenshaw 33 votes; Fifth Ward, William H. Ewing 30 votes, and Nelson C. Durland 6 votes. This lapsed after a short time, but was incorporated the second time in 1847, and the following municipal officers elected: Walter Benton, First Ward; Harrison Durham, Second Ward; John P. Mooney, Third Ward; E. H. Parsley, Fourth Word, and Shiveral Garner, Fifth Ward. It is said that the first case tried under the ordi- nances of this board was for an act of public indecency, and the pressure was so great that the corporation "bursted."
The present corporation began its existence in the summer of 1870. A petition signed by W. C. Benton, Frank Fassold, Will- iam Frysinger, Hamlin Smith and sixty-eight others, was pre- sented at the June term of Commissioners' Court, and an election ordered held at Frank Fassold's office, June 28, 1870. The vote stood 67 for and 15 against incorporation. The following is a partial list of the officers, as correct as could be obtained, owing to the incompleteness of the records: Trustees, 1870, O. F.
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Lowell, S. S. Earley, H. Smith, Joseph England and Frank Miller. 1871, Daniel H. Long, B. H. Burrell, C. A. Robinson, Joseph England, and S. S. Earley. 1872, Daniel H. Long, B. H. Bur- rell, Hamlin Smith, Joseph England and G. N. Gallimore. 1873, D. H. Long, B. H. Burrell, H. Smith, D. H. Brown and Joseph England. 1874, William Duckworth, Martin Harbert, John B. Johnson, W. M. Clarke and D. H. Long. 1875, A. F. Lowell, William Duckworth, Martin Harbert, D. A. Kochenour and W. Clarke. 1876, A. M. Wood took the place of Martin Harbet, which was the only change. 1877, D. A. Kochenour, C. H. Dur- land, J. H. Finley and J. H. Clarke. 1878, Lewis Heller, Joseph England, R. M. J. Cox and F. M. Miller. 1879, R. J. Winscott, Lewis Heller, O. Campton, C. W. Ford and Andrew Vanover.
Clerks: William H. Hamilton, 1871; Samuel Gillispie, 1872; Joel Matlock, 1874-75; Frank Burrell, 1876-77; M. Owens, 1878; S. N. Earley, 1879; T. F. Milligan, 1880.
Treasurers: F. M. Miller, 1871; John B. Burrell, 1872-74; Samuel Gillispie, 1875; Wright Vermilya, 1876-77; C. H. Dur- land, 1878-79.
Marshals: R. S. Barr; 1871; Frank Fassold, 1872-75; James S. Clements, 1876; James D. Thompson, 1877; Frank Fassold, 1878; John R. Burrell, 1879; Alexander Woodey, 1880.
CHURCHES OF BROWNSTOWN.
It is probable that the Baptist was the first denomination to hold services in Brownstown, yet opinions differ, and many claim this credit for the Methodist. About the time the town was laid out an old pioneer preacher by the name of Daniel Keath located near here, and, being the first resident minister, and a Baptist, we are led to the above conclusion; although it is quite probable that services were held at the houses of some of the families before the coming of Keath; but as to this no reliable informa- tion can be obtained. John Strange was also an early preacher
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at this point, who came some time after Keath. He was a good scholar and a man of great ability, far surpassing in scholarly attainments the average minister of that day. Previous to the year 1826, church services were held in the houses of the different families of each denomination, except during the summer season, when they would repair to the woods, where they would worship under the trees of the many beautiful groves which surrounded the settlement. At the date above mentioned, the first court house ever used for the courts of Jackson County being insufficient for county purposes, it was abandoned and sold. Mr. Walter Benton bought it and moved it to Lot No. 110, just east of the present site of the court house, and near where Dr. Hamlin Smith now lives, and converted it into a church house. It was a hewed-log building 20x30 feet, and two stories high, equipped with pulpit, seats, gallery, and the other conveniences common to the more modern structures. Mr. Benton, being a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, very naturally gave this denomi- nation the preference in the use of the building, although it was open to use by every denomination who desired to worship beneath its roof. Hypocrisy, selfishness and deceit were unknown to the Christian of sixty years ago, and when they met for worship within the walls of this old log church their eyes were turned heavenward and their thoughts upon God, rather than upon the fashionable dress of some of their neighbors. Many souls were saved, many sinners converted, and many happy hours spent in devotional exercises at that altar. The Brownstown Baptist Church was doubtless permanently organized by Daniel Keath, some time in the twenties, but not until about 1834 did they undertake the erection of a church edifice. This was a small frame building located on Sugar Street, a short distance from the Public Square, near the residence now owned by George W. Cummins. The building was used for probably thirty years; and prominent among some of the early members who ,worshiped
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there were John Weathers and wife, William Crenshaw and , wife, Mrs. Johnson, mother of Mrs. William Benton, and Abra- ham and Margaret Miller. After thirty years this organization practically died, and not until April 2, 1873, was it revived and reorganized. At the above date a council of elders and members from the following churches was held at Brownstown: Elders John Bell and George Bohall, Mount Pleasant, J. R. McCoy and James K. Matlock, of Clear Spring, Albert Ogle, of Seymour, William Gillaspy, Uniontown, Deacon J. H. Crane, of Drift- wood, and A. J. Essex, of Mitchell, with William Gillaspy as moderator, and A. J. Essex clerk. The constituent members were Rebecca Miller, Frances Woodmansee, Mary E. Woodmansee, Catharine Cawling, Ann Miller, Celistis Cox, Asher Woodmansee, Thomas Crawling, Margaret Miller, Uriah M. Blank, James F. Martin, John Allen and Richard M. J. Cox; Elders J. R. McCoy, Comfort T. Beebe, Washington Hogg, S. P. Smith and R. C. Childs. The church building was erected in 1874, and is a frame house 30x40 feet, which was donated by Driftwood Church, A parsonage is also owned by the congregation, and is located on the corner of Sycamore and Bridge Streets. The church property is valued at $1,000. The total membership is about ninety, the active membership being somewhat less. A prosper- ous Sunday-school has been maintained since 1873, with an average attendance of about twenty-eight pupils.
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METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
To Walter Benton is due the credit of being the procreator of the move to organize a Methodist denomination at this place. The old gentleman was a devout Christian, and a firm believer in the creed of the Methodist Church, and has since 1819 been an important factor in the church organization, contributing both time and money to sustain it. He bought and dedicated to all religious denominations, as a place of worship, the old hewed-log
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