USA > Indiana > Johnson County > History of Johnston County, Indiana. From the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 56
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572
JOHNSON COUNTY.
Far West, now extinct, was the nucleus of a very early set- tlement in the western part of White River Township, and at one time was favorably mentioned as a suitable location for the state capital. In fact, the commissioners appointed to locate the capital, visited the " bluffs," as the place was originally called, and it is stated that in the final test, it fell behind Indianapolis, only one or two votes. The village was laid out November, 1833, by William H. II. Pinney, and is described as being on the " north end of the southwest quarter of Section IS," Township 13 north, Range 3 east, the plat consisting of fifty-eight lots and four streets. The place became a local trading point a few years before the sur- vey was made, but who the first merchant was, is now a matter of conjecture. One of the first business men, however, was a Mr. Davis, who sold goods with fair success for a few years, exchanging his commodities for such produce as the country at that time afforded.
Major Pinney began merchandising a little later, and was per- haps the first postmaster of the village. He was a shrewd busi- ness man a local politician of considerable note, and is favorably re- membered for his eminent social qualities. He was a very popular citizen, and did a thriving trade for a number of years, moving afterward to Indianapolis. Samuel Deitch was an early merchant also, and a very successful one. He sold goods in the village for a period of eight of ten years, and then moved his business to Frank- lin, where he subsequently accummulated a large fortune. It is stated that he first began business as a peddler, making his regular rounds on foot, and after acquiring sufficient money to buy a horse visited his customers on horse back. Mr. Deitch was one of the last, if not the last, merchant to do business in the town of Far West. The springing up of the town of Waverly, a short distance below, on White River, had a depressing effect upon Far West, and this, with other causes, among which were the building of mills elsewhere and the construction of railroads through the country finally caused the village to be abandoned and the plat vacated.
Samaria is situated a short distance southeast of Trafalgar, on the Martinsville & Fairland Railroad, in Hensley Township, and dates its history from the year 1852. The original plat surveyed and recorded December of the above year, for Singleton Hunter, proprietor, occupies a part of the east half of southwest quarter of Section 10, Township II north, Range 3 east, and consists of thir- teen lots of various sizes traversed by three streets: Illinois and Odd. running east and west, and Michigan, north and south, the latter being forty feet wide. April 14, 1854, Abraham Massey
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TOWNS.
platted an addition of thirteen lots, nine of which lie west and four south of the original town. The original name of the village was Newburg, and, as such, it appears upon the county record of town plats. Upon petition of the citizens the name was subsequently changed to Samaria.
. Samaria is essentially a railroad town, and owes its origin to the completion of the Martinsville & Fairland Railroad. Prior to that time, however, one Henry Mussulman, sold goods in the vicinity, and is remembered as the first merchant in the southern part of the county, having embarked in the mercantile business as long ago as IS34. In many respects Mr. Mussulman was a peculiar man. It is said that he could neither read nor write, and yet he possessed a well-balanced mind, which enabled him to carry on business suc- cessfully for a number of years. A goodly number of his custom- ers being among the poorer class of the country, he was obliged to allow them time on their accounts, which he kept in his own peculiar way. Ile knew and could make figures with tolerable accuracy, but carried on mentally the ordinary process of addition, substraction, multiplication and division, and accounts involving small fractional numbers. His accounts he kept by marking upon the walls of his store with a nail or pencil. Every customer had his own place allotted to him, and so well trained was Mr. Mussulman's memory that he never forgot the right place, nor the meaning of his marks, nor was any man ever known to question the correctness of his figures. It is re- lated that when he was purchasing goods upon one occasioni in the city of Madison, a merchant with whom he was deal- ing, asked him how he managed to know what per cent. he put on his stock, seeing he could neither read nor write. His explanation was promptly given in the following language: "Well, I don't know anything about your per cents., but I do know that when I buy an article for $1 and take it out to my place and sell it for $2, that I am not going to lose anything by the operation." He could, and did, mark his goods, however, but no one, save himself, under- stood the peculiar hieroglyphics, representing cost and selling price. "After his son, George, grew up he procured books, and had George keep his accounts, but so retentive was his memory, that he could, and often did, sell goods all day, and at night report the exact quantity disposed of, to whom sold, and at what price." Mr. Mussulman sold goods at different times for several years, but eventually closed out his business, and was followed by other parties. The Russells became identified with the mercantile inter- ests of the village in an early day, as did also Charles Tyler, but their business appears to have been conducted upon quite a limited
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JOHNSON COUNTY.
scale. William Jeffrey came in a little later, and was followed by other merchants, among whom were J. T. Forsythe, Mr. Slatery, Jeffrey, and Coonfield, Mr. Stewart, Harvey Tully and McDonald, Watson.
A flouring-mill was erected about the year 1870, by Voris, Coonfield & Co., who operated it ,with fair success for several years. It afterward fell into the hands of a Mr. Hanshaw, who, about the year ISSo or ISSI, moved, with building and machinery, to Iowa. Saw-mills have been in operation at Samaria at different times, and for some years the place became noted as an important shipping point for lumber, staves, hoop-poles, railroad ties, etc., etc. As a commercial point, Samaria does not rank very high, being too near the thriving town of Trafalgar to command its full share of the current trade. It is surrounded by a good country, however, and at this time supports one general store and one grocery, kept by Uriah Wisby and J. Spicer, respectively.
Bargersville, a neat little village of about 200 inhabitants, situated six miles northwest of the county seat, in Sections I and 2, Union Township, was laid out in February, 1850, and named in compliment to Jefferson Barger, proprietor. A year or two pre- vious to that time, one Joshua Roe, began blacksmithing at the crossing of what is known as the "Three Notch Line," and Franklin and Mooresville roads, and a little later, Peter D. Jacobs, and P. D. Eccles, at the solicitation of the citizens of the community, erected a store building, and engaged in the general mercantile business. The nucleus of the village thus formed, it was not long until others were induced to move to the place, and as early as 1853 or 1854, there was in addition to the store, a dram shop in operation, which became the rendezvous of all the worthless char- acters of the neighborhood, and which for some time gained for the locality an unenviable reputation. Public sentiment soon be- gan to develop against the saloon, and after the lapse of a few years those who were engaged in the traffic were compelled to close out the business and move to other parts.
Messrs. Jacobs & Eccles continued as partners in the mercan- tile trade, until the death of the latter, when Mr. Johnson purchased the entire stock and conducted the business for about two or three years, selling out at the end of that time to William Isaacs. An- other early merchant was William Utterback, who sold goods for three or four years. He is remembered as a very successful busi- ness man, and during his stay in the village accumulated a com- fortable competence. Additional to the foregoing, the following men and firms have been indentified with the mercantile interests of the village in the order named: Mr. Herrell, Thomas Thornberry,
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TOWNS.
Vincent & Perry, T. C. M. Perry, Dr. Farris & Son, Bennett & Jackson, Jacobs, Jenkins & Covert, and the present merchants, Joel Clore and Joseph Glassburn. The following gentlemen practiced the healing art, in Bargersville, at different times: Drs. Moon, Jones, Turner and Bush. The physicians at this time are Drs. J. S. Farris and W. E. Tilford.
About the year 1856 or 1857, a large three-story steam flour- ing mill was erected in the village by John High. After operating it a short time he sold out to P. D. Jacobs. The latter subse- quently sold an interest to a man by the name of Hensley, and the firm thus formed continued a short time, after which the mill passed through the hands of various parties. Not proving a financial suc- cess, the building was eventually torn down and the material used in the construction of residences in the village and neighborhood. The manufacturing establishments at this time are a saw-mill and tile factory, the latter of which, conducted by Joseph List, is one of the largest and most successful enterprises of the kind in the county. The present merchants of the village are well patronized, and the mechanics who ply their vocations in the village report their business in flourishing condition. At this time there are blacksmith shops operated by W. T. Williams and John Haymaker, and a blacksmith and wagon-shop by Taylor Barger. The moral tone of Bargersville and vicinity will compare favorably with that of any other community in Johnson County, and the presence of a church (Christian) and school-house shows that the religious and educational interests of the place have not been neglected. As originally surveyed Bargersville consisted of thirteen lots of vari- ous sizes, but in June, 1850, an addition of five lots was made to the first plat by Peter D. Jacobs. Christian Kegley, in June, 1853, made an addition of nine lots, each 62×194 feet in size, the majority of which have been purchased and improved.
Brownstown is a small country village in White River Town- ship, a short distance from the old town of Far West, about four miles northwest of Bargersville. The town was never regularly platted, being merely the outgrowth of a neighborhood's demand for a trading point and postoffice, the latter of which was estab- lished early in the fifties under the name of Bluff Creek. The busi- ness career of the place began about 1855 or 1856, at which time a general store was opened by one John R. Surface, who appears to have sold goods quite successfully for several years. Parmenus Jacobs engaged in merchandising, a little later, and sometime after his departure, a large store was started by W. B. Tresslar, who moved his stock of goods from Franklin. His successor, Jacob Tresslar, subsequently sold an interest in the business to E.
576
JOHNSON COUNTY.
W. Wyrick. The latter afterward purchased the entire stock and continued in the enjoyment of a profitable trade about three years. Thomas Perry and Dr. Vincent, the latter a practicing phy- sician of the place, were the successors of Mr. Wyrick, and later came Charles Carper, J. N. Robbins, Charles Dunn, P. C. Jacobs and James Jacobs, all of whom did a fairly successful business. The business of the village at this time is represented by two gen- eral stores, kept by J. N. Robbins and Joseph Bell, respectively, one blanksmith shop by Charles Moody, and one wagon shop by Floyd Shufflebarger. Dr. O. B. Surface is the resident physician. Clarksburg .- The village of Clarksburg, situated in the north- ern part of Clark Township, has a history dating from about the year 1843, at which time an early settler by the name of Taylor, opened a small general store in his residence on the present site of the town. In connection with merchandising, Mr. Taylor operated a tannery, with which he did a fairly successful business for a short time. He subsequently disposed of his interest and left the place, and in the same building one Henry Byerly, a little later, offered for sale a small stock of general merchandise, which ap- pears to have been highly prized by the early settlers of the com- munity. Giles Holmes began selling goods in an early day, using for a store building his residence, for which an addition had been erected for the purpose. He was reasonably successful in his ; business, and continued the trade several years. The next mer- chant was George Ilughes, who erected the first business house, a story and a half frame structure, which is still standing. He carried on a successful trade about ten years, and then sold out to J. B. Myers, who remained some time longer. William II. Myers and W. S. Stevens were identified with the commercial in- terest of the village for some years. Then came Robert Banta, who is the leading merchant at the present time. A postoffice was established in an early day under the name of Yellow Spring, with Dr. Isaac Aylesberry as postmaster. The office was abandoned in a few years, but re-established in 1867 as Rock Lane, by which name it has since been known. The postmaster at this time is William Hardin. Dr. Isaac Aylesberry was the first man to prac- tice the medical profession in Clarksburg. Since his departure, a number of years ago, the profession has been represented in the village by the following medical gentlemen: James Brenton, James Beebe, J. M. Wishard, Dr. Dunham, Dr. McDonald, J. B. Grubbs, William II. Mitchell, Dr. Spicer, Dr. Davis. James Roberts, John Mercer and Dr. Hibbs. The first mechanics were George Creasy, blacksmith, and William Leper, both of whom opened shops in a very early day. S. A. Clark was an early cabinet-maker also, and
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TOWNS.
ran a shop for several years. Moses F. Clark operated a wagon shop for some time, and as early as IS47, a small saw-mill, run by horse power, was erected in the village by M. F. and S. A. Clark. The mill was afterward converted into a shingle machine factory, and as such, did a good business for several years, furnishing shingles for nearly all the buildings in the neighborhood.
About the year 1849, Giles Holmes began the manufacture of chairs - a business which returned him handsome financial profits for some time. Ilis shop was a fixture of the village for about ten years, and during that time gave employment to three or four workmen. W. H. Dungan manufactured and repaired wagons for several years, and, in 1857, Thomas M. Robison engaged in the same business, which he carried on successfully until 1870. A steam saw-mill was erected in the village in 1860, by Alexander Wilson & Son, which is still in operation, doing a fair business. The present proprietor is Thomas Trulock. Clarksburg has al- ways been a small village, the close proximity of other towns har- ing had a tendency to retard its growth. It has been a fair local trading point for about forty-five years, and at this time supports two general stores kept by Robert Banta and William Hardin, re- speetively.
Amity, a small village on the J., M. & I. Railroad, four and a half miles south of Franklin, was laid out in June, 1855, by John Adams. The original plat, surveyed by John S. Hougham, con- sists of thirty-six lots traversed by the following streets: Main, Sycamore, Main Cross and Walnut. Chamber's addition, adjoin- ing the original town on the south, was laid out August 18, 1856, and the same is recorded under the name of South Amity. The village is an outgrowth of the railroad, and as such came into prom- inence as a local trading point some time before the lots were sur- veyed, John Adams, the proprietor, having opened a general mercantile establishment where Mr. Cox's house now stands as early as the year 1853 or 1854. He was for some time associated in business with his son, Alvin Adams, and later disposed of the stock to Milton and James Vawter, who carried on a fairly suc- cessful trade for several years. In the mean time James Brown and James Canady erected a frame building in Chamber's addition, and did business as a firm about two years, selling out at the end of that time to Mart and John Powell. Additional to the above, the following merchants carried on the grocery business from time to time, viz .: Dryden & Thrailkill, Dunlap & Mears, Christ Lip- pard, David Riggs, Isaac Banta, Richard Burnett, Elijah Park- hurst, Henry Peters and William Losee. The early mechanics were Mr. Hoback and James Goldsborough, blacksmiths, and
578
JOHNSON COUNTY.
William Canady, wagon-maker and wood workman. From 1855 to 1860, Amity was quite a prosperous trading point, but the con- struction of turnpikes a little later interfered with its business to a considerable extent, and during the last twenty years it has not made any appreciable advance. It is still a good shipping point, and supports one good general store, kept by William Losee, and a shoe shop, operated by Joshua Henderson. James Adams, M. D., is the resident physician of the place.
Needham, a small village on the Martinsville and Fairland Rail- road, five miles northeast of Franklin, was laid out April, 1866, and named in honor of Noah Needham, proprietor. The town plat embraces an area of about ten acres, lying in the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 33. Township 13 north, Range 5 east, and consists of forty-seven lots and five streets. namely: Needham, Washington, Jefferson, Harrison and Franklin. The village is surrounded by one of the richest and best cultivated dis- tricts in the northern part of Johnson County, and though but a small place has the reputation of being one of the best shipping points for grain, live-stock, and lumber on the above road. Some time before locating the town, Mr. Needham began selling goods in the neighborhood, and is said to have carried on a very success- ful business. The first business house in the town was a frame structure erected a short time after the survey, by John Davis, who rented it to Messrs. Sloan & Willard. This firm handled a miscel- laneous assortment of merchandise for a period of three or four years and were reasonably successful, during their stay in the vil- lage. The stock was afterward purchased by Oliver Beard and James Anderson, who continued as partners a short time. They were followed by Messrs. Bentley & Cooper, a firm which lasted about three years.
Among the merchants of the place were the following: Fred- erick Wiles, Marshall White, John Parks, Judd & Watts. John D. McLean came to the town in 1874, and has been in the mercantile business ever since; his stock at this time consisting principally of groceries and notions. William and Charles Smith began merchan- dising in the village about the year ISS4, and are now rated among the most energetic and successful country merchants in Johnson County. They occupy a large two story frame building near the railroad, and carry a full and complete line of goods demanded by the general trade. The manufacturing enterprises of Needham have been confined to saw-mills, one of which which was brought to the place a numer of years ago by Jackson High. It was operated with good success under his management, and afterward passed into the hands of William Warlan, who ran it several years.
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FRANKLIN - CITY AND TOWNSHIP.
Messrs. Maley & Owens were the next proprietors, obtaining pos- session about the year 1879 or 1880. The mill was afterward burned, entailing upon the owners quite a serious loss. It was re- built in a short time and is now owned by William Summers, and operated by John Atchison, who manufactures and ships large quantities of lumber.
U'rmeyville, a small station on the Martinsville & Fairland Railroad a little over one mile southwest of Needham, was laid out March, 1866, by Henry Fisher. The plat occupies a part of the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 33, Township 13 north, Range 4 east, and embraces an area of about ten acres, divided into thirty- five lots, with the following streets: Mill, Cross and Johnson. This village has never achieved any prominence as a trading point, although small stores have been kept from time to time by differ- ent parties. There is now one small general store and a black- smith shop, which represents the business of the place. The pop- ulation is quite small, being considerably less than 100.
FRANKLIN-CITY AND TOWNSHIP.
LYSANDER ADAMS was born in Boston, Erie County, N. Y., twenty miles south of Buffalo, on December 28, 1812. He is the son of Aaron and Sylva (Cary) Adams. The father was a native of Vermont, and the mother of the State of New York. From New York the parents emigrated to Ohio, and thence to Indiana in about 1839, and located in Frarklin, Johnson County. The father died in about 1864, and the mother died in Boston, N. Y., in ISS3. To the parents, six children were born, of whom our subject is the second. One child, the eldest, is dead. Our subject was reared in the State of New York, and attended the common schools. His father being a farmer, he was raised on the same. He left New York when about nineteen years of age, and went to Ohio, where he learned the shoemaker's trade. He came to Johnson County about 1841, and located in Franklin, and engaged in the saw-mill business, and had the contract and sawed ties for the J., M. & I. R'v, from Franklin north for eight miles. He left Franklin in 1864, and moved on a farm one and one-half miles east from Frank- lin, where he resided until 1869, and then removed to his present farm, one-half mile north from Franklin. His farm comprises 160 acres, with two good residences, and also owns four acres of land and two good houses in Franklin. He was married on June 21, 1842, to Miss Mary A. Frady, who was born in North Carolina, on
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580
JOHNSON COUNTY.
June 20, 1824, and is the daughter of Charles and Nancy Frady, both natives of North Carolina, who emigrated to Johnson County, Ind., at an early date. To this union three children have been born, two of whom are dead: Asa A., born November 21, 1844, and died September, 1846: Liston A., born May 4, 1849, and Charles A., born April 3, 1853, and died in 1870. Mrs. Adams is a Presbyterian.
JAMES M. ALEXANDER, one of the venerable old settlers of this county, is a native of east Tennessee, born October 9, ISIS, and · is the eldest of seven children, born to the marriage of Thomas and Elizabeth (Parr) Alexander, and is of Scotch-English ancestry. His father was born in South Carolina in 1796, and died in John- son County, Ind., in 1878. He was one of the early local ministers in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The mother of Mr. Alexan- der was born in North Carolina in 1795, and died in this county in IS31. Her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and died in Johnson County at ninety-three years of age. The Alex- ander family came to Johnson County in 1827, and settled in Blue River Township, where they resided six years, and then removed to Hensley Township. Our subject was educated at the subscrip- tion school, and in 1834 began the scenes of life for himself, and for six years worked by the month on the farm, beginning at $5 per month, and never receiving more than $II for a month's service. In IS40, he commenced farming on his own account in the south- western portion of Franklin Township, and six years later removed to Union Township, and in the fall of 1854, settled on his present farm, located about two miles from the city of Franklin, in Frank- lin Township. Mr. Alexander was united in marriage September 12, 1839, to Miss Elizabeth Keneaster, who was born in Kentucky, February 21, 1819, and was a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Moreland) Keneaster, natives of Virginia. To the union of our subject and wife, were born seven children, the following of whom are living: James P., born in 1844; Newton W., born in I854, and George W., born in 1858. The death of the wife and mother oc- curred February 5, ISSS. In politics, Mr. Alexander has been a life-long democrat, and has been county commissioner of Johnson County. Mrs. Alexander was a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and Mr. Alexander is by faith a Universalist. He has been a resident of Johnson County for more than three score years.
ABRAM ATEN- The subject of this sketch is one of the repre- sentative citizens of Johnson County, Ind., and a resident of Frank- lin. He was born in Preble County, Ohio, on September 7, 1824. and is the fourth of ten children born to Aaron M. and Margaret (De Mott) Aten. The parents were natives of Henry County, Ky.,
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FRANKLIN - CITY AND TOWNSHIP.
the father having been born in 1795, and the mother in 1794. The grandfather on the father's side, was Adrian Aten, who emi- grated from Henry County, Ky., to Preble County, Ohio, where his death occurred. The grandfather on the mother's side, was Abram De Mott, who also removed from Henry County, Ky., to Preble County, Ohio, where he also died. The parents of our sub- ject were married in Ohio, and 1840, emigrated to Johnson County, Ind., and settled in Franklin Township, two miles south- west from the town of Franklin; the mother died in Johnson County in the fall of 1850. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church. The father removed to Cumberland County, Ill., in about 1869, where he died July 23, 1874, in his seventy-ninth year. He also was a member of the Presbyterian Church. He was united in marriage to Martha Banta, in IS51, who died in about 1861, and he was married the third time in about 1863, to Miss McKinley, in Illinois, who survived her husband and died in Illinois, in April, 1887. Our subject was reared on the farm and attended the schools of the neighborhood, and the county academy in Franklin, and secured more than an average education for those days. After leaving school, and when a young man, he conceived the idea of teaching school, and accordingly set out to find a school. In the township of White River he found a teacher holding school in the Wyric neighborhood (E. W. Wyric, now a merchant of Franklin, being a scholar), who was unable to teach arithmetic. A discussion arose among the patrons of the school as to whether "arithmetic to the single rule of three" should be taught or not, and our subject being an adept at ciphering, entered into the con- test and expressed his views so strongly, that when a vote was held he was chosen teacher, and at the expiration of that quarter, suc- ceeded the teacher who could not work in figures. Beginning with that school, our subject taught three months' schools for five win- ters, and then turned his attention to farming. He was united in marriage on December 9, IS52, to Eliza Jane Thompson, who was born in Johnson County, Ind., on August 1, 1832, and was the daughter of William and Susan Thompson, who were natives of North Carolina, and among the first pioneers of Johnson County. She died February 9, 1872, leaving three daughters and one son as follows: Susan M., born March 19, 1854, now the wife of Taylor Wheat, of Franklin; M. Alma, February 28, 1859, now the wife of Edward Jewett, of Shelbyville; Florence, December 22, 1862; Riley W., February 1, 1856, and died September 22, ISSI. Our subject was married a second time on November IS, 1874, to Jen- nie Epperson, who was born in Rockbridge County, Va., on De- cember 25, 1839, and is the daughter of Lyttleton and Elizabeth
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