USA > Indiana > LaPorte County > History of La Porte County, Indiana > Part 67
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J. W. Osborn, son of William and Charlotte Osborn, is a native of this county, and was born Aug. 10, 1853. His father was a native of this State, and his mother of " Old Virginia." He was reared on a farm, and educated in the Westville schools. He finished his course of study in the fall of 1870, and was married Sept. 5, 1873, to Eliza Trimingham, and their 3 children are George R., Jonathan W. and Edward M. Mr. Osborn owns a fine farm north of Hanna, on secs. 7 and S.
Chandler Palmer, one of the old settlers of the region surround- ing Hanna, who bore his share of pioneer life, was born Dec. 15, 1822, in Greene county, N. Y. He was taken by his parents, Mil- ton and Esther Palmer, to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1832, and in 1835 to Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1838 came with them to this county. They first settled on the portion of land known as " Door Prairie." Mr. Palmer was raised on a farm, and had access to the common schools of that day. In 1849 they went to Wisconsin, and in 1852 crossed the plains to California, with a horse team. He fol- lowed gold mining in that State for 15 months, and afterward built the Georgetown hotel, at Georgetown, Cal. In 1854 he returned home, via Panama and New York city. He crossed the historical road of Cortez. During the year 1863, while the war was going on, Mr. Palmer filled the office of Assistant Quartermaster-General, at Louisville, Ky. In the spring of 1872 he made a second trip to Cal- ifornia, arriving at Sacramento June 28; from there he went to San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Peach-tree Valley, Slack's Canyon, Risp's, and others. He then returned to Sacramento and soon directed his course homeward, where he arrived in a few days. June 1, 1879, he started with a team for Nebraska, for the improve- ment of his health; he arrived there the last day of June, having spent just 30 days on the road. He returned the following Sep- tember. He was married Oct. 20, 1842, to Miss Sarah Clark, and they have had 3 children: Orlando C., Lillie E. and Ella. Mr. Palmer has held some of the most prominent tp. offices with gen- eral satisfaction, and declined serving in some of them, even when elected. He owns 180 acres of land in Hanna tp., and 200 acres of
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pine timber land in Michigan, and 20 acres of cranberry land in Wisconsin.
Samuel Rowley was born in Ashtabula county, O., Jan. 12, 1833. His parents, Noah and Electa Rowley, were natives of New York. He came here with his parents in 1843, and first settled on Rolling Prairie. He remained with his parents till 1851, when he came to Hanna tp. and purchased a farm, and has since followed tilling the soil and raising stock. In May, 1859, he was married to Miss Hannah Lavona, and of their 9 children 3 are living: Mary E., Herbert and Marion. Mr. R. owns a farm of 80 acres on sec. 22.
E. D. Spahr, M. D., physician and surgeon, Hanna, Ind., was born in Greene county, O., Oct. 4, 1830. His father, Mathias, was a native of Virginia, and his mother, Delila, was born on the River Rhine. She came to this county about 1812. The Doctor was reared on a farm in Ohio. Heattended school at Springfield, Ohio, and also graduated at Yale College. After taking a course in the medical branches, he attended the lectures, and received a diploma at both the Columbus Starling and Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Colleges. In 1852 he began practicing medicine in Xenia, Ohio; remained there till 1855; then came to Randolph county, Ind. He remained there till 1862, when he enlisted as Surgeon in the 40th Regt. Ohio Infantry; he served two years, then returned home and resumed his medical labors in Randolph county. In 1865 he came to Knox, Starke county, and in 1874 came to Hanna, where he still resides, fol- lowing his profession. In 1852 he was married to Nancy J. Blakely, by whom he has had 6 children ; 4 of them are living, viz .: Athera Z., Mary Isadora, Ira F. and Charles M.
Charles Wills, first son of John Wills, who was one of the first settlers in the region of country now Cass and Hanna tp., came to this county from Warren county, Ohio, with his parents in March, 1830. He was born Feb. 6, 1819. Here he grew to manhood, amidst the wilds and hardships of early pioneer life. He attended the common schools while in Ohio. His father started to go and enlist in the Black Hawk war, but before arriving at the place he received the news of their surrender to the whites, and he returned ·home. He first settled in that part of La Porte county which is now Wills tp., bearing his name. He afterward came to Hanna tp. Charles was married in 1840 to Susan Cross, 6 children being the fruit of this union; 4 of these are living, viz .: George, Mary M. (now Mrs. Johnson), Elsie G. (now Mrs. Curtis), and Ellen (now Mrs. Felt). Mrs. Wills departed this life some years since. Mr. W. has been County Commissioner for seven years, and is at present filling that office.
John E. Wills was born in Warren county, O., March 29, 1830, and was brought to this county by his parents, John and Susanna Wills, the same year. Here he grew to the years of maturity, and was educated in the common schools of the day, which were not noted for their excellence. Aug.26, 1869, he was married to Hattie C. Phelps, and they have had 3 children; of these, one is living,
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Susan Belle. Mrs. Wills died April 7, 1875. Mr. W. followed farming till his wife died, and since has been clerking in the store of Mr. Denison, of Hanna.
William Wilson, one of the early settlers of IIanna tp., was born in Genesee county, New York, August 3, 1829. He went with his parents, Peter and Phebe Wilson, to Erie county, Ohio, when he was fifteen years of age, and in 1847 he came to Hanna tp., this county. The 3d day of August, 1862, he enlisted in the army in Co. I, 87th Reg't Ind. Inf., and was discharged in December, 1863, on account of his disability. He re-enlisted in February, 1864, in Co. A, 151st Reg't; he served in that regiment to the close of the war. He says that he shot the last " nigger " in the Cum- berland river, at Nashville, Tenn.
Mr. Wilson has one son, Miland H., who fought through the entire war, and has served in the regular army on the frontier for 10 years. He was promoted Major-General in that army, and has re-enlisted for 10 years more. William, our subject, was married Aug. 4, 1858, to Marietta Wanzer, by whom has had 8 children; 6 of these are living, viz. : Hiram N., Jared W., Winfield S., Julia, Minnie A. and Miland H.
HUDSON TOWNSHIP.
The township of Hudson was included within the limits of the original township of Kankakee, and on the organization of Wills was a part of that township, and so remained until the 11th day of May, 1836, on which day, at the May term of the Commissioners' Court, the following order was made:
" Ordered by the Board, that all that part of country formerly belonging to Wills township, that lies in township 38 north, of range one and two west, in La Porte county, constitute a township for judicial purposes, to be known by the name of Hudson town- ship; that the elections for said township be held at the house of James F. Smith; that John L. Ross be and is hereby appointed Inspector of Elections; and that John Baker be and is hereby appointed Constable of said township until the next annual election of township officers."
Hudson is the smallest township in the county, containing only twelve sections and three half sections, adjoining Michigan on the north and St. Joseph county on the east, the six northern sec- tions of Congressional township 38, range one and one half. The next tier of sections are in the State of Michigan and the eastern half of the Congressional township is in St. Joseph county. Thus, Hudson township contains considerably less than one half the Con- gressional township in which it lies.
In sections 38, 29 and 30 is Hudson or Du Chemin lake, a beautiful sheet of water not far from one and one half miles in length, and averaging one half mile in width. In the western center is a beautiful island. One viewing it from the eastern shore would suppose it to be a peninsula extending from the western shore. This island has never been given a name, and we might here give it the name of "Spry's island," after George M. Spry, who has so beautifully described it. Viewing it from the east and then passing around to the middle on the south side of the lake one will see that it is a beautiful island, with a luxurious growth of timber. The shores of the lake are of white sand. Its borders are sur- rounded by mighty forests, luxuriant with vegetation; its waters are pure and clear, and filled with the finest fish.
The western side of Terre Coupee Prairie extends into Hudson township on the east, but the larger part of it consists of land formerly well timbered, but with the progress of settlement a great deal of the finest timber has been cut off.
To Joseph W. Lykins, a Welshman, is generally accorded the honor of being the first white settler in this township, though there is some doubt upon this point; for Joseph Bay was found to be a
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resident at the same time with Lykins by the first white inhabitants. Lykins was connected with the Cary mission, the headquarters of which were at Niles, Michigan. He came from that place, when the branch was established on Hudson or Du Chemin lake. The first heard of him, however, he was boarding with Joseph Bay, who was keeping house and had a squaw for his wife. Bay had come from the Wabash country with a drove of cattle and herded them in the vicinity. Lykins would under the circumstances be more likely to have obtained the reputation of being the first white set- tler than Bay, even were it the fact that the latter came first, for the reason that he was engaged in a more public business and had no alliance with the Indians, with whom Bay would be likely to be classed. Asa M. Warren states that he found the parties described in 1829, and that the mission house had already been erected of hewed logs, and was situated within 20 feet of where Andrew Avery's saw-mill now stands, and close to the lake. There is some doubt as to whether Warren is not mistaken in regard to the date of his coming, but none are found to dispute it with any tangible evidence, except an old gentleman named Brazilla Druli- ner, now deceased, who resided on the road between Hudson and Hamilton. He said that Warren came from Warren county, Ohio, in the fall of 1830, and he himself came from the same place in the spring of the same year. On the other hand, Warren does not claim to be the first white settler, an object of ambition which might be an inducement to antedate the time of his arrival; and further- more, he kept accounts of his blacksmithing with the Indians, for whom he made tomahawks and other implements. The dates reach as far back as 1829.
There is a mistake somewhere between these old gentlemen, both of whom were honest and intelligent. It is safe to state that Mr. Warren erected the first blacksmith shop in the county. To accept the statements of Asa Warren, during the fall of 1829 there were as residents of the territory now known as Hudson township, Joseph W. Lykins, Joseph Bay, Asa M. Warren and family, and the Indians, one of whom, Jack Jones, kept a small trading estab- lishment.
The buildings erected consisted of the branch mission house and Bay's cabin, both of which were upon the present site of the village of Hudson.
Asa M. Warren was also connected with the early settlement of Wills township. This is accounted for by the fact that Hudson was originally a part of that township, and also because Warren's farm is situated in both. He at first resided in what is now Hudson, then moved to the bank of a lake on the same farm in what is now Wills (this was done because he had struck no water in digging for a well), where he now resides. Upon this lake he put up his black- smith shop, and was known by the Indians as Wishtean Bish, that is, the blacksmith by the lake. When he had succeeded in getting
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water in Hudson, he moved back to his first home. It is thus that he becomes associated with the early settlement of both townships.
In 1830 Nathan Haines settled in the township, not far from the lake. The mission school was taught by Robert Simmerwell, an Indian, who was assisted by his wife, a white woman. Indian children and whites attended together, and among the latter were some of the children of Mr. Haines. The Indians who inhabited the country aronnd Hudson were composed of various tribes. They were prin- cipally Pottawatomies, Menominees, Chippewas and Ottawas. Topanebee, the head chief, lived on the St. Joseph river, where a great proportion of them wintered after the advent of the whites. This chiet died and was succeeded by his son, who bore the namne and title of his father. The Indians had many petty chiefs, among whom were Sogganee and Michsobbee, the latter of whom lived in woods on the south side of the lake. When the Indians were removed, Sogganee went to Southern Kansas with them, but soon returned, saying, that he could not live there; there was no sugar tree. He had been in the habit of making maple sugar. He was a strict Roman Catholic, and when given anything to eat, would never touch it until he had made the sign of the cross. In his latter days he was taken care of at the Catholic institution of Notre Dame, near South Bend. There the old chief died and was buried. Sogganee had been a great brave in his day. He was at the battle of Tippecanoe, and upon one occasion he became very angry at Benjamin Hicks, Esq., for alluding to the Indian defeat upon that occasion. The Indians were all very kind and seemingly well dis- posed toward the early settlers of Hudson.
In 1831 W. W. Cleghorn visited the vicinity of the lake. He did not come with the intention of settling, but buying furs. No change had taken place, and it is so related, that he during life described the state of things in the township as related above. He knew only the settlers named, and pronounced the appearance of the country extremely primitive. In 1832 many of the Indians were removed to the Osage river country, in Southern Kansas. Cleghorn accompanied them, having obtained a license from the general Government to trade with them. He did not return to this country with the intention of making his permanent home, until 1853, at which time he settled on land he formerly owned.
By the year 1833 many settlers had sought homes in Hudson township, and a village, known at the time as Lakeport, but the name of which was afterward changed to Hudson, began to be rec- ognized in the surrounding country as a place of importance. There is not a town in the county more pleasantly located. It is situated on the east shore of Hudson lake, sloping gently toward the lake, and, under more favorable circumstances, might have become a town of considerable importance. This place was the rival of La Porte, and indeed a formidable one for the trade of the north part of the county. In 1833 its growth commenced. In that year the first school-house after the mission was built there. The school was
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taught by a man named Edwards. Charles Egbert opened a very respectable store in the same year; John D. Ross and a man named Jewett started a blacksmith shop. E. Sprague carried on the busi- ness of coopering, and James F. Smith commenced keeping a tavern, the first one in the township. In 1834 Garret Bias built the first steam saw-mill that had been put in operation in the town, and James F. Smith erected the first frame house. Bias ran his mill until 1838, when he traded it for seven acres of land inside the cor- porate limits of Chicago, which were sold for taxes. The machinery went to Rockford, Ill. During this time a postoffice was estab- lished, and A. L. Wheeler, who had become a merchant in the place, was the first postmaster. In 1835 the town was in the full tide of prosperity. It had two taverns, for Garret Bias had opened one; stages were arriving and leaving at all hours; the streets were filled with an eager and busy throng; farmers came to buy and dispose of their produce, and it seemed as though no town in the vicinity of Hudson could ever compete with it in its steps toward commercial prosperity and growth.
Among the settlers in the township at the time were Benjamin Hicks, William Conner, both now deceased, Evan Hobson, James Bailey, Mr. Shay, Mr. Gould, Elmore Emmons and Asher White; and to-day there is not one of the above-named persons living in the township. Mr. White is living in Olive township, St. Joseph county.
During the year 1836 A. L. Wheeler sold his store to Foster & Reynolds; Alexander Cassidy opened his blacksmith shop; Dr. Jared Chapman established himself as a physician, and preached for a number of years, then embarked in the dry-goods trade, after which he moved to some southern county in this State and died; a pottery was built by Samuel Rowe, and he too left the doomed city and went West; and one of those speculative bubbles, which at the time crazed the heads of the wisest men, culminated. It was the building of a canal from the city of Toledo, Ohio, to New Buffalo, on Lake Michigan. When the news came that this enterprise had been chartered and there was a probability of its success, Hudson was wild with excitement; the people from the surrounding country assembled in the town; all the musical instruments of which the county could boast were brought into requisition; tar barrels were burned and speeches made; but, alas for poor Hudson ! Even if such a canal had been practicable, the financial crash of that year put a quietus upon all their hopes and expectations. The excite- ment produced had caused property owners to charge the most un- reasonable prices for lots, and those who would otherwise have been earnest and industrions workers for the settlement were driven to other parts to establish themselves in business. During this year the postoffice was discontinued, to the great indignation of the citi- zens, who laid the matter to the trickery of their neighbors in the village of New Carlisle.
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In 1836 Andrew Avery made his appearance in this vicinity, and the following spring he began erecting a saw-mill. The power nsed by him was of rather a novel kind. On the east bank of Hudson lake the land is quite high for some 60 rods; it then sinks below the level of the lake. Through this mound it was proposed to dig a ditch. A large force of men were employed, and after an immense amount of work a canal was perfected, through which the water ran to the depth of four feet. With this power he contrived to run a wheel, and for awhile he succeeded very well; but like all the lakes in the country, it became smaller in volume as the land was cleared np, the timber cut off and sod broken, until two years afterward, when the project was entirely abandoned. The lake is now at least five feet below its former level.
During this year Robert Stanfield opened a tailoring establish- ment, and four large stores were in operation,-not little trading- posts but magnificent stores, well stocked with all kinds of goods,- and an immense trade was carried on. The momentary crash had impeded the growth of the town, but the people were not disheartened. They still had visionary dreams of the Michigan canal, and that its construction was only a matter of time, and the panic of temporary duration.
In 1838 Andrew Avery's saw-mill commenced operations, Wm. Sheridan embarked in the business of cabinet-making and Richard Smith had a shoe shop. Garret Bias organized a full independent military company, of which he was made Captain, and Andrew Avery, Lientenant. They carried Government muskets with flint locks.
During the year of 1839, Hon. John Reynolds went to Washing- ton and had the postoffice re-established. A grist-mill was attached to the Avery Mill, and a firm organized consisting of Andrew Avery, Salem Huntington, Richard Hicks and James F. Smith. Smith did not long continue connected with it, but retired, and the business was continued under the firm name of Huntington, Avery & Co. It was during this year that the water running from the lake into the canal became insufficient for propelling the machinery. In the same year a distillery was started by John Hobart. In 1841 Andrew Avery bought out the saw and grist mill and moved it near where it now stands. Ox power was used for running the mill. Thomas Wood started a tailor shop and continued in the business the next four years.
In December of the same year there occurred a murder at this town, which for a time created a great deal of excitement, not only in the town of Hudson, but in the county. Charles Egbert had formerly been a merchant in Hudson and an active business man. He had a tavern stand at one time on the road which runs along the south part of the township line.
This hotel had done a good business, but Smith had made efforts to get a direct road through to La Porte cutting off all travel from Egbert's place, and was successful. The parties had disputes at
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different times thereafter, and, on the evening of Dec. 5, Egbert went into Smith's bar-room. He had on the same day purchased a dirk knife at the store of John Reynolds. After sitting near the door for a time he arose and turned as if to go out, but really to open the knife, and then advanced toward Smith, who raised a chair to defend himself. Andrew Foster, who afterward said he did not see the knife, caught Smith's chair, while Egbert inflicted two stabs, one in the left arm, the other penetrating Smith's heart, who died in a few minutes. . Andrew Foster issued a warrant the same day, and Egbert was arrested by Constable Hale the next day, and brought before Justice R. Munday. His trial was continued from time to time until Dec. 10, 1841, at which time his preliminary trial was ended, and Egbert was placed under a $5,000 bond for his appearance on the first day on the next Cir- cnit Court. Messrs. Elisha Paul and Jacob Egbert went on his bond and he was released. Egbert never appeared. He fled to Texas, then not a part of the United States, where he lived until after the close of the Rebellion, deeply regretting his rash act. He became a religious man and a Methodist class-leader. This case ' was finally disposed of in 1853, at which time the judgment obtained upon the bondsmen was set aside.
In 1842 Andrew Avery's mill was burned. He went to work immediately and put up another, using ox-power, often as many as five yoke of oxen. From this time the course of Hudson has been downward. In 1845 Wm. Ferguson opened a boot and shoe store, and in 1851 Abel Whitlock bought a stock of goods and opened a very respectable store, and in 1852 Avery's ox-mill was turned into a steam-mill. The railroad came through Hudson and made its depot at New Carlisle, a mile and one-half distant, a town which Hudson a few years before ;had looked upon with sovereign con- tempt. This was the last blow that was needed to destroy this once thriving village.
In 1854 Early & Avery built a steam saw and grist mill, and opened a general store; soon afterward Early sold out to Solomon Stevens. This store successively passed into the hands of Perkins, Cassiday, Smith, and back again to Avery, who failed in 1857. It was during this year the postoffice was finally discontinued. In 1869 Ed. Perry started a shoe shop, and in 1870 Avery's mill was burned. Of course he built another immediately, where it now stands. In June, 1874, the school-house at Hudson was burned by an incendiary. Peter Harris was arrested for the crime, and after being tried in the September term of Circuit Court, was acquitted. A new brick building was erected at the north edge of the town limits of Hudson of the past.
There is nothing more to tell concerning the village of Hudson, which can now scarcely be called a village. Railroads having monopolized the great stage routes, that town which is not on a railroad is abandoned by the world and necessarily sinks to decay. Hudson has undergone this fate, and in an aggravated form.
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Daily many trains thunder past the deserted village, but none stop, and the few inhabitants who are left and who remember the great expectations of Hudson can only sigh over what might have been. There are two churches in Hudson township, both built about 1867, one being Methodist Episcopal and the other Methodist Protestant. The former is called the Maple Grove church.
Though the expectations Hudson village once had of becoming a large town have been disappointed, yet there are in the township elements of prosperity which still remain. Much of the soil is rich and productive, and there is still a great deal of very fine tim- ber. The people are generally prosperous, a high degree of intelligence prevails, and it cannot be doubted that the future has in store greater rewards for the industry of the inhabitants than those which have been yielded them in the past.
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