USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County Indiana (Volume 1) > Part 31
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where a lot had been donated by James Hazlett. This building is now owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The present Presby- terian church, at the northeast corner of Ninth and Chase streets, was erected in 1904. It is a handsome brick building, with tile roof and art glass windows, and is one of the most imposing buildings of its kind in the city of Anderson.
A United Presbyterian church was organized at Alexandria on May 4, 1893, and on the 1st of July following Rev. A. K. Straw was installed as pastor. Not long after that a regular Presbyterian church was established in that city and now has a cozy frame house of worship at the corner of Harrison and Broadway streets. The First Presbyterian church of Elwood was organized about the time that natural gas was discovered there, or soon afterward, and is now in a prosperous condition. Its house of worship is a good frame building located at the corner of South A and Eighteenth streets.
THE UNIVERSALIST
There are but two congregations of this denomination in the county- one at Pendleton and the other in Anderson. The Pendleton society was organized in February, 1859. The first meeting was held in Pendle- ton on the 6th, but the organization was effected at Huntsville on the 20th of that month. Among the early members were Joshua Crawford, John Tillson, James Cassiday, Lewis Cassiday, John Wert, John Houston, Isaac Busby and T. G. Mitchell. John Houston, John Tillson and David Bousman constituted the first board of trustees. Meetings were at first held in the second story of the seminary, the school house, or in residences, but before the close of the year a frame house with a seating capacity of about 400 was erected, at the cost of $2,500, on the corner of Main and Water streets. In 1895 the present building of brick, on the same site, was erected. It occupies the site of the old log court-house, where the Indian murderers were tried in 1824. A minister named Gibson was the first regular pastor, though the first Universalist sermon ever preached in Pendleton was delivered by Rev. R. B. Foster, of Indianapolis.
The Anderson Universalist church is a comparatively new institution and as yet has not become strong enough to erect a fine house of worship. The meeting place of this congregation is at 710 Jackson street.
THE EPISCOPALIANS
This denomination has churches at Anderson, Elwood and Alexandria. Trinity Episcopal church, of Anderson, was organized by Rev. J. H. McGlone, who began the work in 1890 and was the first rector after the church was established. Meetings were at first held in the Doxey Opera House until it was destroyed by fire, when a meeting place was found in the Olympic Theater. In time a lot was purchased at the corner of Thirteenth and School streets and in June, 1891, the corner-stone of the first Trinity church was laid. The building was completed in September of that year and meetings were held there until the erection of the present handsome stone edifice on Delaware street, which was completed in 1910.
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St. Paul's Episcopal church, at Alexandria, was organized in Decem- ber, 1895, by Rev. Francis C. Woodard. Meetings were held in halls, or other convenient places for awhile, but as the congregation gained in strength steps were taken to erect a church. The result is the cozy frame house of worship at the corner of East Monroe and Harrison streets, where the meetings are now held regularly.
St. Stephen's Protestant Episcopal church, of Elwood, was organized about the same time as the one at Alexandria. This congregation now occupies a comfortable frame church edifice at the corner of North A and Eighteenth streets.
MISCELLANEOUS
Mrs. Maria Woodworth, a trance evangelist, came to Anderson in the summer of 1886 and held meetings in a tent at the fair grounds. She made a number of converts and at the close of her meetings 106 persons were baptized into an organization called the "Church of God." Soon after that a lot was purchased by the congregation, at the northeast corner of Fourteenth and Brown streets, where a house of worship was erected. It was dedicated in 1887 and the meetings of this peculiar sect are still held there.
Another church of the same faith was organized at Markleville in 1887. A church was built and regular services were held for a time, but the interest waned and after about ten years the congregation was without a pastor. Some of the members of this society united with the church at Anderson.
The Congregationalists have never been very strong in Madison county. Hope Congregational church, at Anderson, was organized on November 22, 1891, with eighteen members, and Rev. W. C. Gordon was the first pastor. For about a year meetings were held in the Olympic Theater and later in a building on Chase street. On August 16, 1894, the corner-stone of the brick edifice at the southeast corner of Tenth and Chase streets was laid and the building was completed in September, 1895. For some reason the congregation did not prosper and in 1913 the house of worship was sold to the Friends.
At Alexandria the efforts of the Congregationalists to establish a church met with a similar fate, the building they erected there being now owned and occupied by the Baptists. There are two congregations of this denomination now in the county-one on Pendleton avenue, in Anderson, and the other a Welsh Congregational church, which has a neat frame house of worship at the corner of South P and Twenty-second streets, in the city of Elwood.
On January 15, 1892, a Spiritualist society was organized in Anderson. After holding meetings in dwellings for some time prior to that date, under the leadership of Dr. John Westerfield, the organization was given an impetus at the beginning that resulted in the erection of a Spiritualist temple at northwest corner of Thirteenth street and Madison avenue before the close of the year 1892.
Two years before this society was organized the State Spiritualist Association purchased thirty acres of land just north of and adjoining Chesterfield for a camp ground. A large auditorium, with a seating
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capacity of about 500, was built, the grounds were cleared of rubbish and undergrowth, several cottages were erected for the use of mediums or others who desire to sojourn on the grounds during the annual meeting, which is usually held in August. At these meetings Spiritualists come from all parts of the United States to consult with others of their belief and strengthen themselves in the faith and doctrines of Spiritualism.
In the foregoing, an effort has been made to give a true and faithful account of the various religious organizations of the county since its organization. There are and have been some religious societies that are not mentioned, perhaps, because authentic information concerning them is not available. In closing this chapter it is deemed advisable to include a list of the church organizations in the three cities-Anderson, Elwood and Alexandria-as given in the last city directories.
In Anderson. Allen Chapel, A. M. E., Sixteenth and Sheridan streets; Arrow Avenue Christian, Eighteenth and Arrow avenue; Central Christian, Tenth and Jackson; East Lynn Christian, 2207 George street; Christian Congregational, Pendleton avenue; Church of God, Fourteenth and Brown; First Baptist, Fourteenth and Lincoln; First Methodist Episcopal, Twelfth and Jackson; First Methodist Protestant, Fifth and Locust; First Presbyterian, Ninth and Chase; First United Brethren, Ninth and Madison avenue; Friends, Tenth and Chase; German Baptists, McKinley, between Twenty-first and Twenty-second; German Lutheran, Main, between Twenty and Twenty-first; Grace M. E., Fourteenth, between Cedar and Madison avenue; Holiness Christian, Twenty-fourth and Delaware; Mission Alliance, Thirteenth and Main; Noble Street M. E., 2332 Noble street; Park Place M. E., Seventh street, between Park and Central avenues; Second A. M. E., 1125 Delaware street; Second Baptist (colored ) Eleventh and Sherman; Seventh Day Adventists, Thirteenth near Hendricks; Spiritual Temple, Thirteenth and Madison ; St. John's Lutheran, Fourteenth and Chase; St. Mary's Roman Catholic, Eleventh and Fletcher; Trinity Episcopal, Eleventh and Delaware; Universalist, 710 Jackson; Wesleyan M. E., 1209 West Ninth street.
In Elwood. First Baptist, South D and Anderson; St. Joseph's Roman Catholic, South A street; Main Street Christian, Main and Eighteenth ; Holiness Christian, 2209 Main street; Welsh Congregational, South P and Twenty-second; St. John's Lutheran, North F and Four- teenth ; First Methodist Episcopal, North A and Anderson; First Metho- dist Protestant, South D near Anderson; First Presbyterian, South A and Eighteenth, United Brethren, North H and Fourteenth; St. Stephen's Episcopal, North A and Eighteenth; Church of Christ, North B and Twentieth.
In Alexandria. First Baptist, West Church and Canal; Christian Science Society, Odd Fellows' hall; St. Paul's Episcopal, Monroe and Harrison ; Evangelical Lutheran, Washington and Black; First Christian, Berry and West; First Methodist Episcopal, Canal and Broadway ; German Lutheran, Central avenue and Broadway; Joyce M. E. Chapel, Park avenue and Fifth street: Colored Methodist Episcopal, Berry and Black : Mission church, Harrison and Polk; New Light, Scott addition; I'nited Brethren, Innisdale addition; St. Mary's Roman Catholic, Madi- son and Belmont; First Presbyterian, Harrison and Broadway.
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CHAPTER XV CHARITIES AND CEMETERIES
EARLY METHODS OF CARING FOR THE POOR-MADISON COUNTY'S FIRST POORHOUSE-LATER POORHOUSES-THE COUNTY INFIRMARY-OR- PHANS' HOME-ASSOCIATED CHARITIES ST. JOHN'S HOSPITAL- SKETCH OF ITS FOUNDER-COUNTRY GRAVEYARDS BY TOWNSHIPS- GROVELAND CEMETERY AT PENDLETON-ODD FELLOWS' CEMETERY AT ALEXANDRIA-PARK VIEW-ELWOOD CEMETERY-GRAVE ROB- BERY-ANDERSON CEMETERIES-MAPLEWOOD ASSOCIATION.
In the early years of Indiana's history the unfortunate poor were taken care of by the townships, each township having one or more officers known as overseers of the poor. It was customary for these overseers to "farm out" the paupers under their charge. The results obtained by this method were not always humane, as the one who bought the services of a pauper was more frequently interested in "getting his money's worth" than in the welfare of his bond servant. To the credit of Madison county, it can be said that the practice never prevailed here to any great extent, though a few such cases are on record. The minutes of the county board for the January term in 1834 contain the following entry :
"Now comes John Berry, one of the overseers of the poor of Ander- son township, and reports that, after due notice, he did, on the 11th day of December, 1833, farm out to Nathaniel Chapman, Lydia Passons, a pauper, for the term of one year for $11.75, he being the lowest bidder."
About this time the first steps were taken to build a poorhouse for the county. At the May term in 1834 the commissioners received the report of Joseph Shannon, county agent, which was as follows: "To the honorable Board of Commissioners of Madison county, building of a house advertised on the 26th of February and sold on the 7th day of April, 1834, to the lowest bidder, to wit: Jacob Shaul, for $20.00, he giving bond and approved security to have the poorhouse finished on or before the 5th day of May, on Section 15, northeast quarter, town 19, N. R. 7 E. JOSEPH SHANNON, Agent."
The report was approved by the board and the county auditor was ordered to draw a warrant for $20 in favor of Jacob Shaul for build- ing a poorhouse. This poorhouse was located on the road later known as the Fishersburg pike, about two miles of the public square in Anderson. On December 7, 1847, William Sparks, James Bell and Bazaliel Thomas, county commissioner, sold to John Davis the east half of the northeast
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quarter of section 15, township 19, range 7, for $400, the order stating that the tract thus transferred was the poor farm.
Four years before that sale was made, the commissioners had pur- chased two acres of ground in what afterward became the South Park addition to the city of Anderson, the tract extending from Main to Pearl streets, between Nineteenth and Twenty-third. John Renshaw, county agent, awarded to John Jordan a contract for the erection of a "county poor house, 20 by 30 feet square, two stories high, with a stone chimney," for $100. This was an improvement over the $20 building erected in 1834, and with several additions and other improvements served the county as a home for the poor for over a quarter of a century.
At the March term of the commissioners' court in 1853, Neal Hardy, William Sparks and Evan Ellis were appointed a special committee to examine farms for sale, report upon the prices for which they could be purchased, the character of the buildings thereon, and whether living water was plentiful upon such farms, with a view to establishing the county poor farm in a new location. If this committee ever carried out the investigations for which it was appointed, the records do not show the fact, but it is probable that nothing was done, as the poorhouse in the south part of Anderson continued in use until 1868. In that year it was sold and the commissioners purchased a farm in Richland town- ship of John Nelson and the paupers were removed there. In purchas- ing this farm an agreement was made with Mr. Nelson to act as super- intendent of the farm and keeper of the poor and he continued to act in that capacity until the board decided to purchase another farm, in a more desirable location, and erect a permanent poorhouse. This farm was afterward conveyed back to Mr. Nelson.
At a special session of the commissioners, held on July 5, 1877, the board purchased of Berryman Shafer 212 acres of land in Union town- ship, about four miles east of Anderson, and there permanently estab- lished the county infirmary. At the time of purchase there was a large brick residence on the farm and this was converted into a residence for the superintendent. Plans and specifications were advertised for, and on July 18, 1877, those submitted by Edwin May, an Indianapolis architect, were accepted. On September 3, 1877, the contract for the erection of a building was awarded to William B. Wright, of Anderson, for $7,200. It was completed in January, 1878, when the paupers were removed to the new institution, which was placed under the charge of A. J. Ross as superintendent, his wife at the same time being appointed matron. Re- cent improvements have been made, which gives Madison county one of the best infirmaries in the State of Indiana.
Some feeble attempts were made to care for the orphans and friend- less children of the county prior to 1885, but it was not until March 6, 1885, that any official action was taken by the board of county com- missioners. The records for that date contain the following entry :
"It is ordered by the board that a home for the friendless and orphan children of Madison county, Indiana, be purchased and established at such place in said county as said board of commissioners may designate."
On December 4, 1885, it was "ordered by the board that in all appli- cations for admission to the orphans' home, the application must be
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accompanied by the recommendation of the township trustee where the child resides that such child is a proper subject for relief in the county asylum."
This was followed on December 8, 1885, by the appointment of a visiting committee, consisting of B. W. Scott, Mrs. Edward Roberts and Mrs. Leah M. Craven, though up to this time no home had been estab- lished. On March 17, 1886, Decatur Vandeventer and wife transferred to the county of Madison ten acres in the west half of the northwest quarter, section 19, township 19, range 8, for a consideration of $1,000, as a site for an orphans' home. This tract is located in the southeast part of the city of Anderson, fronting east on Columbus avenue and north on Twenty-fifth street. In September after the purchase of the property Thomas J. Lyst was paid $63 for building a cistern, the first improvement made by the county. The old residence was used as the "home," Mrs. Henry C. Brown, Mrs. Allen Richwine and H. J. Blacklidge were appointed a visiting committee, and Mrs. Celia Hockett was installed as matron. She resigned on December 18, 1886, and Mrs. Mary C. Robertson was appointed in her place. Mrs. Robertson remained as matron for several years.
At first, the plan for caring for the children was to pay the matron so much daily for each inmate. The contract made with Mrs. Robert- son, when she first entered upon her duties, shows that she was to receive twenty-five cents per day for each child under her charge, for which she was to supply them with wholesome food and the necessary clothing, and to send them to the most convenient public school, the commissioners to furnish the books and other necessary school supplies, and to pay the matron's salary quarterly. This system was continued until in 1901. Late in the year 1900 a movement was started to organize a Childrens' Home Association, the principal object of which should be the finding of permanent homes with good families for orphans, friendless or abandoned children. The organization was completed in January, 1901, when the county commissioners turned over the buildings and grounds of the orphans' home to the association, which assumed control of the institu- tion on February 1, 1901, and is still in charge.
The present officers of the association are : Mrs. Wallace B. Campbell, president ; Mrs. Isaac E. May, vice-president; Mrs. H. D. Webb, secre- tary ; Wallace B. Campbell, treasurer. W. A. Harris is the superintend- ent of the home and Mrs. W. A. Harris is matron. Since the association took charge of the home the commissioners have annually made an appropriation for its support. Several essential improvements have been made in the property and the institution has been placed upon a more substantial foundation than under the old regime. From forty to sixty children have annually been placed in good homes, where they will be cared for and educated. None of the officers or members of the Chil- drens' Home Association receives a salary, their labors being given for the good of humanity, and through their systematic and unselfish work the orphans' home of Madison county has been improved in character until it will compare favorably with such institutions elsewhere.
In the early part of 1903 there were a number of unemployed people in Anderson, many of whom were both able and willing to work, but were
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unable to find any remunerative employment. These conditions led to the organization of the Associated Charities, which began its labors on May 7, 1903, with the following officers : W. H. Stanton, president; Mrs. George J. Manning, vice-president; Mrs. C. W. Hooven, secretary ; W. S. Poling, treasurer; Miss Anna Doan, general secretary. The plan and purpose of the organization is similar to those of organized charity work everywhere-to assist the worthy poor by giving them opportunities to find employment where it is possible to do so, rather than by dispensing charity with a lavish and indiscriminate hand.
Headquarters are maintained at 425 Union building, where the gen- eral secretary is in attendance every afternoon, except Sunday. Most of the work devolves upon the general secretary and in the ten years that have passed since the Associated Charities was first organized, this office has been held by four persons, viz : Miss Anna Doan, Miss Maud Prier, Miss Gertrude McCleery and Miss Leafy M. Wharton. The last named has held the position since June, 1912. In September, 1913, the officers were : Mrs. C. W. Hooven, president ; A. W. Brady, vice-president ; Mrs. G. A. Lambert, secretary ; E. E. Luce, treasurer; Miss Leafy M. Whar- ton, general secretary ; Earle Young, chairman of the finance committee.
Anderson has one charitable institution of which her citizens may well be proud, and that is St. John's Hospital, situated between Brown and Jackson streets, the grounds extending from Nineteenth to Twenty- second street. This hospital was made possible by the generosity of "Uncle" John Hickey, who on March 31, 1894, deeded the old Hickey homestead, occupying the above mentioned tract of ground, to "the trustees of the corporation of St. Mary's Academy, for the use and benefit of the Sisters of the Holy Cross." The deed of conveyance also contains the provision that if it should ever become necessary, for any reason, to sell the property the trustees shall invest the proceeds of such sale in other property, within or adjacent to the city of Anderson. Immediately after the conveyance was made and the trustees came into possession of the property a hospital was opened in the old frame resi- dence. The next year a two-story brick building, 65 by 95 feet, was erected and equipped with every modern hospital appliance for the treat- ment of diseases or the performance of surgical operations. This build- ing was so designed that it could be added to, should the occasion ever require, and in 1900 it was improved and extended, making the hospital one of the best in the state of Indiana. Although the institution is the property of and under control of the Catholic Sisters of the Holy Cross, many public spirited citizens of Anderson contributed to the building fund, confident in the belief that the hospital would be impartially managed. And this has been the case. Its doors and bene- fits are open to the afflicted, without regard to race, social condition or religious affiliation.
John Hickey, the founder of this institution, was a native of County Wicklow, Ireland. He came to Anderson in 1853 and there accumu- lated enough of this world's goods to give him a competence. In giv- ing the old homestead for a hospital site he might have perpetuated his name by a stipulation that the institution should bear the name of "Hickey Memorial Hospital," or some similar appellation. But this
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he did not do. He gave the ground to an organization of the church in which he had been reared, confident that the benefits of the hospital would be administered in that broad catholic spirit which has always been a distinguishing trait of hospitals of this character. "Uncle John" Hickey, as he was affectionately called by his many friends, died a few years ago in Anderson. His familiar face is missed upon the streets of the city where he so long made his home, but the hospital he established is an enduring monument to his unselfishness and char- itable disposition.
In the settlement of a new country, one institution that must be established, yet one that the settlers are loath to see make its appear- ance among them, is a burial place for the dead. Scattered over the county of Madison are a number of country graveyards, most of which have no special history. When the first death in a community would
ST. JOHN'S HOSPITAL
occur some one would donate a piece of ground for a burial place and this would be the beginning of a cemetery. Frequently no deed of such a tract was made to trustees and entered upon the records. As the old settlers died or moved away these graveyards often fell into disuse, were neglected and in many instances only a trace of them remains. As far as possible a list of these country graveyards is given by town- ships, and where any one of them has a recorded history it is noted.
In Adams township there is a small burial ground on section 10, near the northeast corner of the township. The Gilmore cemetery, on section 17, was laid out in 1833, on ground donated for the purpose by Hugh Gilmore. IIis wife, Lucretia, died in February, 1833, and her remains were the first to be interred upon the tract set apart by her husband as consecrated ground for a neighborhood cemetery. On sec- tion 18 there are two cemeteries. One near the Lutheran church, near Ovid, and another a short distance further southwest, on the John S.
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Davis farm. On section 20, on the south bank of Lick creek and about half a mile west of the Big Four Railroad, is another graveyard, and the Collier cemetery is situated on section 35, on land donated by J. F. Collier in 1836 as a burial place in connection with the Baptist church. Mr. Collier's son Amos, who died on January 3, 1836, was the first one to be buried in this cemetery.
In Boone township the plat books show a cemetery on the old Dickey farm, near the center of section 10, and another on section 21, near the site of the old village of Forrestville, which was laid out in 1850. It is probable that this graveyard was established about the same time.
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