USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County Indiana (Volume 1) > Part 10
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This petition was signed by James Gray, Fielding Sampson, James Casteel and fifteen others, residents within the proposed new township. No action was taken on the petition at that session, but at the following term the subject again came up for consideration and the minutes for March 6, 1851, contain the following entry :
"And now, at this time, after due deliberation has been had thereon, the board now in session accept said petition and order and direct that. a new township be laid out and organized as follows: All of Con- gressional Township No. 22 north of Range 6 east that lies within the limits of Madison county, and Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Township No. 21 north of Range 6 east, in said county (being four miles wide and six miles long), shall compose said township, and all that part which now lies in Pipe Creek township, is hereby stricken from and curtailed from said Pipe Creek township and made a part of Duck Creek township, as above set forth, for all township purposes. And it is hereby ordered by the board that on the first Monday in April next (1851) there shall be an election held in said township of Duck Creek at the Bethel meeting house for the necessary township officers, to-wit : Two justices of the peace, two constables, one supervisor to each road district, a township clerk and township treasurer, and any other town- ship officers authorized by law."
At the same time David Waymire was appointed inspector of the election and the new township was divided into four road districts. The boundaries as established in 1851 have not been changed and the township remains as originally erected. It occupies the northwest corner of the county, has an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres, and is bounded on the north by Grant county ; on the east by the townships of Boone and Pipe Creek; on the south by Pipe Creek town- ship, and on the west by Tipton county. Duck creek, from which the township takes its name, flows in a southerly direction through the southern part and is the only stream of any consequence in the township.
The settlement of Duck Creek township began in the fall of 1838, when Henry Cochran came from Butler county, Ohio, and selected a tract of land on Section 35, about three miles northeast of the present city of Elwood. Upon this tract he built a log cabin and then went back to Ohio, where he remained for a year, at the end of which time he returned to Indiana with his father and took up his residence on the Vol. 1-5
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land. Later in the year 1836 Thomas Casteel and Elijah Berryman settled on Section 3, a short distance southwest of Cochran. During the next ten years there were few additions to the population. In the summer of 1848 A. C. Ritter, a native of Ohio, made the first entry of land on the Miami reserve in Duck Creek township and from that time . the settlement of the region was more rapid. Among those who came prior to the organization of the township were Fielding Sampson, James Gray, Anthony Minnick, Azel Stanberry, David and Elliott Waymire, Thomas W. Harmon, Mahlon Hosier, James French and Isaac Dough- erty. Stephen Williamson, a veteran of the Mexican war, was also one of the early settlers.
Previous to 1846, the only dwellings to be seen in the township were the log cabins usually found in frontier settlements. In 1846 Thomas Casteel built a frame house and his example was soon followed by sev- eral of his neighbors. The first brick house was built by Jonathan Noble in 1872, near the northeast corner of the township. In the spring of 1843, Thomas Casteel and Henry Cochran both planted orchards, the first in the township. The first white child born in the township was James, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Casteel, who was born on Novem- ber 9, 1842. The first wedding was on December 26, 1844, when Henry Cochran and Miss Rebecca Casteel were united in marriage, and the first death was that of Samuel Cochran on September 11, 1844. He was the father of Henry Cochran and was quite old at the time of his death. James Shofer and Anthony Minnick were the first progressive, up-to- date farmers in the township. The Minnick farm was a model in all respects and stood alone in its appointments in the forests that sur- rounded it.
Among the early industries was a steam saw-mill, erected near Henry Cochran's place about 1850 by Jacob E. Waymire, who con- ducted it successfully for over fifteen years. In 1866 the mill was pur- chased by Henry Cochran, who carried on the business at the old place until 1873, when his son Samuel was admitted to a partnership and the machinery was taken to Elwood and installed in a new mill there. In 1875 a steam saw-mill was established in the northwestern part of the township by G. & V. Worley, who later sold out to William & J. B. Hollingsworth and the mill was removed to the Hollingsworth farm, about half a mile farther south. William Hedrick also owned and operated a large saw-mill at one time on his farm, about two miles east of the Hollingsworths.
The first school house, a round log affair of the customary frontier type, was built in 1841 on the Knott farm, in the southern part of the township. A few years later it was moved about a mile farther north, where the school house in District No. 2 is now located. The second school house was erected in 1853 on Isaac Wann's farm, on or near the present site of school No. 1. In 1912 there were seven public school houses in the township, five of which were brick and two were frame, the value of the buildings being $14,000. Eight teachers were employed during the school year of 1912-13 and the amount paid in salaries was $3,500.
The first church in the township was built by the United Brethren
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about the time the society of that denomination was organized in 1852. A little later the New Light Christians united with the United Brethren in the erection of a better house of worship on the farm of W. F. Hol- lingsworth. Subsequently congregations of the Christian and Methodist Episcopal faith were organized in the township.
With the exception of Independence, which has been mentioned in the preceding history of Boone township, there are no villages in Duck Creek township. A portion of this village is situated in the extreme northeast corner. The inhabitants of the southern part of the town- ship find it convenient to "do their trading" at Elwood, the northern line of which touches the southern border of Duck Creek township.
It may be interesting to the reader to know that the last entry of land in Madison county was that of a forty-acre tract in Duck Creek township. This tract is described as the southeast quarter of the north- west quarter of section 21, township 22, range 6 east, and is situated three miles due north of Elwood. It was purchased from the state of Indiana by David Braden, of Indianapolis, for $50. His patent, dated October 22, 1875, states that the sale was made "under the act of May 29, 1852, entitled 'An act to regulate the sale of the swamp lands donated by the United States to the State of Indiana, and to provide for the draining and reclaiming thereof,' " etc.
The first time this tract of land appears in the public records was on October 28, 1872, when it was sold by David K. Carver, sheriff of Madison county, to satisfy an assessment of $175.50, with costs of $30.33, for the construction of the Wild Cat ditch. On this occasion the land was taken as the property of Joseph Sigler, but the records do not show how Sigler came into possession, or by what right he claimed the ownership of the land. At the sheriff's sale above mentioned the land was bought by Howell D. Thompson, of Anderson, for $100. At the time the tract was purchased by Braden from the state it was in the possession of William A. Sheward. There was some kind of litigation over the land, but owing to the destruction of the court records by the courthouse fire of December 10, 1880, the exact nature of the case can- not be learned. It is certain, however, that Braden's title was sus- tained, for on February 1, 1879, he transferred the land to Howell D. Thompson, who on the same day conveyed it back to Mr. Sheward.
FALL CREEK TOWNSHIP
Soon after Madison county was organized the local authorities erected five townships, one of which was named Fall Creek, from the principal stream flowing through it and the natural falls on that stream at Pen- dleton. Fall Creek is the third largest township in the county, being exceeded in size only by Monroe and Pipe Creek. In extent it is six miles from east to west and seven miles from north to south, contain- ing an area of forty-two square miles. On the north it is bounded by Anderson and Stony Creek townships; on the east by Adams; on the south by Hancock county, and on the west by the townships of Green and Stony Creek. Fall creek flows in a southwesterly direction through the central part and the southern portion is watered by Lick creek.
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The surface is genrally slightly undulating. or rolling and the soil compares favorably with that of the adjoining townships.
To Fall Creek belongs the distinction of being the first in Madison county to be settled by white men. In a previous chapter mention has been made of John Rogers as the first white man to locate in the county. An old diary left by him is authority for the statement that he settled in what is now Fall Creek township on December 29, 1818, about two miles east of the present town of Pendleton. More than likely the vicinity of the falls had been visited by white men before that time, but none of them attempted to form a permanent settlement. A year or so after Mr. Rogers came, Judge Stanfield and a man named Burras settled upon the prairie north of Pendleton. In 1820 came the colony from Clarke county, Ohio, consisting of William Curtis, Israel Cox, Moses Corwin, Thomas and William McCartney, Saul Shaul, Manly Richards and Elias Hollingsworth. Mrs. Hollingsworth accompanied her husband and was the first white woman in that settlement, if not in
FALLS AT PENDLETON
Madison county. Moses Corwin was the only unmarried man in the colony. After selecting lands the married men returned to Ohio and brought out their families, traveling with four pack horses and a wagon drawn by a team of oxen. That wagon was doubtless the first ever brought to the county. Manly Richards evidently settled in what is now Adams township, or soon afterward removed there, as the records show that some of the early elections in Adams township were held at his residence.
Among the next settlers to come into the township were Isaac Jones, Conrad Crossley, Adam Dobson, William, Isaac and Henry Seybert, William Neal, Jacob Shaul, Thomas and William Silver, Palmer Pat- rick, Kilbourn Morley, John Gunse, Nathaniel Richmond and Adam Winsell, the last named becoming one of the first associate judges when the county was organized in 1823. About that time there was a large influx of immigration to Fall Creek township, and F. M. Richmond, Moses Whitecotton, Thomas and James Scott, Enos Adamson, Thomas Snyder, Joseph Carter, George Nicholson, Martin Chapman, Isaac and
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Thomas Busby, James Irish, Dr. Lewis Bordwell, Thomas Bell, Dr. Henry Wyman and Thomas M. Pendleton, for whom the town of Pen- dleton was named, and a number of others located at various points along the Fall creek valley.
One of these pioneers-Moses Whitecotton-was an eccentric char- acter who preferred poetry to prose. He was one of the first justices of the peace in Fall Creek and it is said kept his court docket in rhyme. Unfortunately his old records have disappeared. Once, when his stock of provisions ran low, he addressed the following pathetic appeal to his neighbor, John Rogers:
"My family is sick, with nothing to eat, I pray you the loan of two bushels of wheat; This favor, if granted, shall ne'er be forgotten, As long as my name is Moses Whitecotton."
Mr. Rogers responded to the plea, as any good neighbor would have done in those pioneer days, and in acknowledgment of his obligation Mr. Whitecotton executed a note in the following strain :
"One day after date I promise to pay To old John Rogers, without delay, One hundred weight of hemp when I make it and break it, One dollar I shall not deny ; Witness my name this 4th of July.
Moses Whitecotton."
One of the first land entries was made by Saul Shaul, who took up a part of section 30, about two miles southwest of Pendleton, where he developed a farm and planted what was probably the first orchard in the county. Nathaniel Richmond, Adam Winsell, John Gunse and John Rogers had all planted orchards by 1824, their trees having been brought from Henry county. Early in the '30s William Williams established a nursery on his farm about three miles east of Pendleton, the first nursery in Madison county.
The first white child born in the township, and also the first in Madison county, was E. P. Hollingsworth, a son of Elias Hollings- worth and his wife, the date of his birth having been November 7, 1820. Electa Shaul, daughter of Jacob Shaul, born the same night, was the first white female child born in the county.
Stephen Corwin and Miss Hannah Ellsworth were united in mar- riage in 1821, which was the first wedding in the township. As Madi- son county had not yet been organized, Mr. Corwin made the journey on horseback to Connersville to procure a marriage license. Furniture was scarce at that time in frontier settlements like the one on Fall creek and it is said that a door was lifted from its hinges and converted into a table, upon which the wedding banquet was served.
The first deaths were those of a man named Martin and his wife, both of whom were stricken with fever in the fall of 1821 and it is sup- posed died about the same time, but as they were alone in their home at
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the time it is not known which one died first. Their neighbors knew nothing of their illness and they had been dead for several days before the fact was discovered. Their bodies were buried in the same grave, immediately west of the present town of Pendleton. This first visit of the Grim Destroyer, and the fact that his victims died unattended, cast a gloom over the little settlement, where it was part of each man's religion to minister to the wants of his neighbor in times of sickness and distress.
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A corn mill was built by Thomas McCartney on the south side of Fall creek at the falls in 1821, the first in the township. It was a crude affair, as Mr. McCartney dressed the stone and constructed most of the machinery himself, but primitive as it was it proved a great boon to the settlers, who were thus given an opportunity to have their corn ground at home, but for wheat flour they were still compelled to go some distance to the mills in the older settlements. Mr. McCartney also kept a small stock of goods, consisting of a few staple articles in demand among the pioneers, and a line of trinkets-beads, cheap jew- elry, small looking glasses, etc .- adapted to trade with the Indians. He likewise started a tannery in 1827.
In course of time the McCartney mill gave way to a larger and bet- ter appointed one, built by Thomas Bell on the opposite side of the creek and equipped for grinding both corn and wheat. The falls are situated upon section 16, set apart by Congress for school purposes, but that portion of the section including the falls was bought by James M. Irish of the county treasurer at a sale of school lands, and later Mr. Irish became the owner of the mill erected by Mr. Bell. Sometime in the '30s he transferred the property to his son, Samuel D. Irish, and went to Texas. In 1848 he returned to Madison county, where he remained for about a year, when he again went to Texas and died there. He was a man of progressive ideas, very dark complexioned, on account of which he was called "Black Hawk" by his neighbors. This mill, known as the "Cataract Mills," was destroyed by fire on July 13, 1882.
About 1850 a movement was started to restore the falls property to the school fund, but the period .of twenty years peaceable possession had about expired and definite action in the matter was postponed until it was too late.
Most of the early settlers were of a religious turn of mind and soon after locating in the township they took the necessary steps for the establishment of church organizations. The first Methodist church had its beginning in 1823, though no house of worship was erected until 1839. Antioch Methodist church, at Menden, was organized in 1831; a Baptist church about 1830; the society of Friends or Quakers in 1834; the United Brethren in 1836, and the Universalists in 1859. An ac- count of these different congregations will be found in the chapter on Church History.
In a grove a short distance below the falls, Frederick Douglass, a negro of national reputation, in 1843 undertook to deliver a public address on the subject of slavery. He was at that time making a tour of the western states, stopping at places where there were a number of Friends, who were universally recognized as abolitionists. Unable to
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PIONEER SETTLEMENT
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secure a hall, a platform was erected in the grove, but Mr. Douglass had been speaking but a short time when a man named Rix walked up to the stand and called upon his associates-Duke Scott, Thomas Col- lins, Peter Runnels and some others-to "come and help clean him out." Douglass was alarmed and tried to escape by climbing over a fence immediately back of the platform, but before he could do so was struck by a stone and severely injured. His friends took him to the home of Neal Hardy, where he remained until he recovered and it was deemed safe for him to leave the neighborhood.
The incident caused considerable excitement. Some of the leaders of the mob were arrested, but while the sheriff was conducting them to Anderson he was met by a company of men who demanded the release of the prisoners. For a time it looked as though serious trouble was imminent. The release of Runnels was finally agreed to and the mob disbanded. The other prisoners were taken to Anderson and lodged in jail, but were subsequently released. Since that time public opinion has changed and a colored man is as free from assault or insult in Madison county as anywhere in the United States.
Just when and where the first schoolhouse in Fall Creek township was erected is largely a matter of conjecture. The early settlers be- lieved in education, however, and subscription schools were maintained until after the enactment of the school law of 1851. Then a number of frame school houses were built, one of which was still in use as late as 1880. In 1876 two brick school houses were erected-one in district No. 1 and the other in district No. 5. In 1912 there were eleven dis- tricts in the township outside of Pendleton, but as several of these had been consolidated there were but nine teachers employed in 1912-13, a number of the old houses standing vacant. The amount paid in teach- ers' salaries for the year was $5,188.78.
Pendleton, a little west of the center, and Huntsville, about a mile up Fall creek from Pendleton, are the only towns of importance in Fall Creek township. At the intersection of two public highways, three and a half miles south of Pendleton, was once the village of Men- den. A general store was established there by Thomas Jordan at an early day and the village grew up around the store. Jordan sold out to Morgan Drury and about that time a postoffice was established there with Mr. Drury as the first postmaster. The postoffice was discon- tinued in 1851, Jonathan Wiseman then being in charge of the office as postmaster. Public school No. 11, the United Brethren church, the cemetery and one dwelling constitute all that is left of the old village.
GREEN TOWNSHIP
Green township occupies the southwest corner of the county, is four miles in width from east to west, six miles long from north to south, and contains an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres, nearly all of which is capable of being cultivated. It is bounded on the north by Stony Creek township; on the east by Fall Creek town- ship; on the south by Hancock county, and on the west by the county of Hamilton. The source of its name is uncertain. Many think it was
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named for Nathaniel Greene, one of the leading generals in the Con- tinental army during the Revolutionary war, but as the name of the township always appears in the records without the final "e," it is quite likely that it was derived from the verdure of the forests that practically covered the entire surface at the time the township was organized in 1826.
The first white man to settle within the present limits of the town- ship was Jacob Hiday, who in 1821 came from Ohio with his wife, four children-Catharine, Henry, Susan and Mary-and a grandson, Thomas Hiday. Mr. Hiday settled on the south side of Lick creek, on section 2, township 17, range 6, not far from where the village of Alfont was afterward laid out. He was a man of strong character and, though old enough to be a grandfather at the time he came to Madison county, took an active part in public affairs. He was one of the early justices of the peace and was a leader in securing many of the improvements in the township in early days.
Samuel Holliday, who was one of the first associate judges of the county, came from Kentucky in 1822 and located about half a mile north of Mr. Hiday. He was in all probability the second settler. Judge Holliday was a well educated man and as associate judge made a good record. His son, William A., became a Presbyterian minister of note, and Joseph, another son, served with distinction in the Mexican war and later represented Blackford county in the Indiana legislature. After serving as associate judge for several years, Samuel Holliday removed to Hamilton county and died there in 1835.
The settlement of the township was slow for a few years. In 1825 William Huston came from Virginia and Richard Kinnaman from South Carolina. The next year witnessed the arrival of Abraham Cottrell, a native of Ohio, and during the next five years there were a number of newcomers. Among them were Andrew Shanklin, Walter Kinnaman, John and Charles Doty, Peter Colerick, John Cottrell, John Huston, Thomas Scott, Elijah Bolinger, Samuel Gibson, William A. Williamson, William Nicholson, Robert Fausset, James Jones, William Alfont, George Keffer and Washington W. Pettigrew.
Most of these early settlers were from Virginia, South Carolina or Tennessee, though the Dotys came from Pennsylvania and William Nicholson from Ohio. Near the close of the Mexican war Mr. Nichol- son raised a company of volunteers, but the war closed before his com- pany could be accepted and mustered in. At the time of the Civil war he was captain of a company of home-guards and was one of the first militia officers in the state to tender the services of himself and his men to repel the invasion of the notorious Confederate guerrilla, General John H. Morgan.
One of the most prominent of these pioneers of Green township was Andrew Shanklin, who came from Virginia with his family in 1830 and located on section 13, in the northeastern part of the township. He soon became a leader in the little community; was elected justice of the peace in 1840; was a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1850, and two years later was elected to represent Madison county in the lower branch of the state legislature. Samuel Gibson, a Tennesseean,
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was also a prominent citizen of Green and served as justice of the peace for a number of years.
The first orchard was planted by Richard Kinnaman in 1826. Jacob Hiday, Samuel Holliday, George Keffer, Abraham Cottrell and James Scott all planted orchards a little later, obtaining their trees at Mal- lory's nursery in Hamilton county, not far from Noblesville.
The first distillery was established by Richard Kinnaman in 1840, and the first tan-yard by Captain William Nicholson four years later. Kinnaman's distillery was located on section 21, near the western boundary, and Nicholson's tan-yard was on the northeast quarter of the same section.
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The first school house was built in 1829, on the farm of James Jones, and a fund was raised by subscription to employ John Wilson, as the first teacher. He taught three months in the winter of 1829-30, which was the first school ever taught in the township. The second school house was built in 1837, on section 25, near the eastern boundary, and John Lewark taught the first school in this house the ensuing winter. A frame house was afterward built on the site. In 1912 there were seven brick school buildings valued at $14,000, and the nine teachers employed during the school year of 1912-13 received in salaries the sum of $4,936.
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