USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 32
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west side of section 19, near the Big Branch; near the center of section 21, about a mile southwest of Elwood; and in the southeast corner of section 30, about three-fourths of a mile north of Frankton.
The Elwood Cemetery Association was incorporated in April, 1895, by Daniel King, Thomas Dehority, L. M. Good, Lewis Hefner and Dr. Daniel Sigler. On the bank of Duck creek, south of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad and extending from Tenth to Thirteenth streets, was an old graveyard that had been established soon after the town of Quincy was laid out in 1853. No one was responsible for its care except the persons whose relatives and friends were there interred and this voluntary service was not sufficient to prevent the place from becoming unsightly by being overrun with weeds and shrubbery. Moreover, the growth of Elwood from a small town to a city of con- siderable portions, after the discovery of natural gas, made it essential that a cemetery association be incorporated, with power to assume the management of the burial place. The old graveyard was therefore turned over to the association and in a short time presented a different appearance.
The site of this cemetery is naturally pretty, and since the improve- ments made by the association it has become one of the handsomest "cities of the dead" in Madison county. In this cemetery is the vault or mausoleum erected hy Dr. Stanley W. Edwins, which is considered to be the finest in the county. It is built of dressed Indiana oolitic lime- stone, is elevated above the adjacent driveway and is approached by a flight of six stone steps. Inside the structure are marble sarcophagi, stone vases and urns for flowers, etc. This tomb was erected by Doctor Edwins in memory of his daughter, Mrs. Flora M. Howe, whose remains are therein deposited. The cost of the vault was about $4,000. There are also a number of fine monuments in the Elwood Cemetery, most of which have been erected since the organization of the association.
In 1891 Bishop M. E. Campion, of the Fort Wayne diocese, con- secrated a tract of five acres of ground one and a half miles southwest of Elwood for a cemetery for St. Joseph's parish of the Catholic church. Since the establishment of this cemetery about four hundred and fifty bodies have been there interred. According to the custom of the Cath- olie church it is under the care of a sexton, who keeps it in order, and it is one of the really pretty burial places of the county.
The plat books of Richland township show three graveyards, all of which were established years ago. The first is in section 5, near the northern boundary; the second is at the cross-roads on the southern line of section 11, and less than a mile west of the Delaware county line; and the third is in the northwest quarter of section 19, a short distance southeast of the old village of Prosperity.
Two miles northeast of Fishersburg, on the road running to Ander- son, is an old graveyard, where a number of the pioneers of Stony Creek township are buried. Near the southern line of section 28, a short distance south of the town of Lapel and on the banks of Stony creek, is another cemetery, which is used by the people of Lapel and Fishersburg.
On the county poor farm in section 10, Union township, is the "Pot-
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ter's Field," where the inmates of the county infirmary who die while in that institution are buried. Other cemeteries in this township are located in the southeast quarter of section 23 and near the center of section 35. There is also a family burying ground on the old Clem farm near the west side of section 34.
Only two cemeteries are shown on the plat of Van Buren township. One of these is located in the northwest quarter of section 17, a short distance west of the Michigan division of the Big Four Railroad and less than half a mile south of Zion church. The other is at the old Christian church about a mile south of Summitville. The ground for the latter was donated for a graveyard by Thomas Cartwright soon after the township was settled.
About half a mile southwest of the old Moss Island Mills, on the north side of the Perkinsville pike, is a small graveyard, which is one of the oldest in Anderson township. In the extreme southeast corner of section 22, near the line of the Union Traction Company and the road leading to Pendleton. is another old-time graveyard, and three miles south of Anderson, on the New Columbus pike, is the Whetstone cemetery. This burial place aquired considerable notoriety in the early part of 1876, through the robbery of one of its graves. Mrs. Abner Brothers, a young and popular woman, who had been married but a short time, died early in the year and was buried here. On the night of January 14, 1876, John Stewart and Tunis Whetstone, returning home from a dance, upon approaching the cemetery noticed a team hitched to the fence, with two men not far from the buggy, and in the moonlight saw the nude corpse of a woman that had just been taken from the grave. They hurried to the residence of Dr. Railsback, a short distance north of the graveyard, and after arousing him started to alarm other persons living in the neighborhood. While they were thus en- gaged the two grave-robbers took the body and drove toward Anderson as fast as the horses could go.
An investigation the next morning diselosed the fact that the body of Mrs. Brothers was missing from the grave. Henry McDaniel, a brother-in-law of Mr. Brothers, and some of his friends hurried to Indianapolis, where they found the body in the dissecting room of one of the medical colleges. Suspicion pointed to a medical student that had been reading under Dr. Zimri Hoekett, of Anderson, and it devel- oped in the investigation that the team and buggy used in carrying away the body belonged to Dr. Hockett. Marshal Daugherty went to Indian- apolis to arrest the student, who was then attending the college, but some of his friends warned him in time for him to make his escape. It was afterward learned that the intention was to take the body of a pauper named Taylor, who had recently been buried in the cemetery by the township trustee, and that the resurrectionists made a mistake in the grave. The student remained away from Madison county until the excitement died away, when he returned to Anderson. While the excite- ment was at its height some people were inclined to think that Dr. Hockett was connected with the robbery, but it was afterward made plain that he was blameless, the body snatchers taking his team and buggy without his knowledge or consent.
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At the March session in 1832 the county board "Ordered, that Wil- liam Curtis, agent of Madison county, for Andersontown, the seat of justice of said county, do make and execute to John Berry, in consider- ation of a certain lot of ground, by said Berry transferred, for the purpose of a burying ground, a deed for lots No. 15 and 16, in the south- east square of Andersontown."
Two years later, in January, 1834, the board again took action upon the subject of a burial place, the records of that session showing that it was "Ordered, That Joseph Shannon be, and he is hereby, appointed agent for the seat of justice of Madison county, and that he is hereby instructed to receive a good deed of John Berry for a burying ground, agreeably to said Berry's undertaking, and also to collect the. amount of the donation subscribed thereon."
The records do not show that a deed was ever executed by Berry, nor can the "amount of the donation subscribed thereon" be learned. This was the first cemetery at Anderson. It was located at the east end of Bolivar (now Tenthi) street. In 1839 Collins Tharp donated a small traet of land situated on the west side of Delaware street, between Elev- enth and Twelfth streets, as a site for a Methodist church and burial place. Most of the bodies buried in the first cemetery were removed to the new one, but a few years after the Civil war the knoll upon which the old cemetery had been situated was removed by the Pan Handle Railroad Company and a number of human bones were found. These were loaded on the cars and hauled away, with the gravel which was being used as ballast along the line of the road.
In 1863 the Anderson Cemetery Association was formed and a tract of ground north of the river was purchased as a site for a new place of sepulture. By this time the old Tharp graveyard was practically sur- rounded by residences and those buried there were removed to the new cemetery across the river. Some of the coziest residences in Anderson now occupy the ground that was formerly the Tharp graveyard.
St. Mary's cemetery was established by the Catholic church m 1867, when a tract of ground, a litle south of Twentieth street and extending from Brown to Lincoln streets, was purchased as the parish burial ground. A little later it was consecrated according to the ritual of the church and the first one to be buried here was Michael, the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Carmody. This cemetery is directly opposite St. Mary's hospital.
Last but not least is the beautiful Maplewood cemetery, which lies just across the highway from the Anderson cemetery established in 1863. Maplewood Cemetery Association was incorporated on February 17. 1902 The original trustees were George Lilly, John H. Terhune, William H. H. Quick, James J. Netterville, Thomas N. Stilwell, Albert A. Small, James A. Van Osdol, John L. Forkner, James Wellington, Willis S. Ellis, John P. Sears, George E. Nichol, Charles L. Ifenry, Dale J. Crit- tenberger and William H. Stanton. With the exception of Messrs. Terhune, Wellington, Small and Sears, the original members still serve on the board. Terhune and Wellington are deceased. In 1913 the officers of the board were: George Lilly, president; Will Surbaugh, sec- retary; George N. Nichol, treasurer.
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Soon after the association was incorporated a tract of about 216 acres of ground, situated immediately east of the old Anderson cemetery, was purchased and R. Ulrich, a landscape architect, of Brooklyn, New York, was engaged to lay out and plat a cemetery according to the most approved designs of modern times. Upon the grounds is a natural grove of about thirty-five acres and in the open places some 800 trees have been planted. The work of improvement is still going on, the drive- ways are being macadamized, etc., and to this work lot owners are not asked to contribute, the entire cost being paid by the association.
In 1907, when those having friends buried in the old cemetery across the road saw what the Maplewood Association was doing, a movement was started to have the old graveyard placed under the association's care. A fund of $10,000 was raised by subscription and paid to the asso- ciation in consideration of its assuming the perpetual care and control of the old cemetery, and a contract to this effect was consummated. The association then assumed control of the old cemetery, which is now known as West Maplewood, and began the work of clearing away the weeds and briers with which it was overrun. In the six years that have elapsed since that time the old cemetery has put on a new appearance.
The Maplewood Association was not organized for profit. It was projected and maintained by men whose chief desire was to give to the people of Anderson and vicinity a burial ground of which they need not feel ashamed. It is the plan that, when the debts of the association are paid and the current operating expenses are provided for, the entire income shall be used in further improving and beautifying the grounds. The capital stock of the association is $75,000, of which $25,000 is com- mon and $50,000 preferred stock. Article III of the articles of incor- poration provides that "All funds of the corporation raised by the issu- ance of capital stock shall be used in the purchase and improvement of real estate acquired for cemetery purposes; and all funds arising from the sale of burial lots or burial permits shall be used to retire the capital stock as herein before provided, and in the improvement of the property of the corporation and in the acquisition of additional property and improvement thereof, all of which shall be used for cemetery purposes. It is specifically understood and agreed upon that and provided that all funds received by the corporation from the sale of burial lots and burial permits not required for the care and improvement of the cemetery property, the payment of necessary and proper expenses and the retire- ment of capital stock, as herein provided, shall be kept and used as a sacred fund for all time for the improving, ornamenting and caring for the cemetery property."
Further on in the articles it is stipulated that the "provision regard- ing the funds of this corporation shall never be changed or modified, it being a fundamental principle upon which this corporation is organized that no profits shall inure therefrom to any person or persons, either by virtue of their being stockholders or owners of lots or burial per- mits under this corporation, save and except the dividends herein before specified to be paid on the preferred capital stock."
Organized on this basis, if the plan is adhered to, there is no reason why the Maplewood cemetery at Anderson should not become one of the
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most beautiful in the state. The natural features are well adapted to the purpose and the work so far done justifies the prediction that the Maplewood Cemetery of the future will be still more attractive than it is at present.
Much credit is due to William H. Stanton, the first president of the association, for the beautiful appointments of Maplewood cemetery. He visited a number of cities and studied their cemeteries, and with the knowledge thus gained he was able to pursue his work intelligently until he succeeded in laying the foundation of a plan that has made Maple- wood one of the beauty spots of Madison county.
CHAPTER XVI SOCIETIES AND FRATERNITIES
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES-FAIR ASSOCIATIONS AND FAIRS-ANDERSON LYCEUM-OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION-THE PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY -HORSE THIEF DETECTIVE ASSOCIATION-THE MASONIC FRATERNITY -INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS-KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS-IM- PROVED ORDER OF RED MEN-GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC-A LIV- ING FLAG-BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS-LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE-MISCELLANEOUS LODGES AND SOCIETIES-TRADES UNIONS-DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
One of the first societies to be organized in Madison county was an agricultural society. In May, 1835, the county commissioners ordered "That notice be given by posting up manuscript advertisements at Pendleton, Andersontown and New Columbus, that a meeting for the purpose of organizing an agricultural society in Madison county will be held at Andersontown on the last Saturday of May, instant, and that the sheriff be required to give said notice."
No record of what was done at that meeting can be found, but it is quite probable that a society of some sort was organized, as the com- missioners records for March 7, 1837, contain the following entry : "Ordered by the board, that the sum of twenty-five dollars of the county funds of Madison county be, and the same is hereby, appropriated to the agricultural society of said county, which sum shall be audited by the clerk and paid by the county treasurer to the president of said society."
The first fair in the county, so far as can be learned, was a private enterprise, projected by Archibald Parker and Joseph Barnes, and was given upon the public square in 1837. No admission fee was charged and no premiums were awarded except the red and blue ribbons. The next fair was at Huntsville in 1839, but little can be ascertained con- cerning it, further than that William Roach, Isaac Busby, John H. Cook, Conrad Crossley and John J. Lewis were the active promoters of the fair.
There is no record showing that the agricultural society of 1835 ever gave an exhibit of farm products. This society did not live long and in 1850 a second society was organized with Dr. Townsend Ryan as pres- ident. The first fairs held by this society were on grounds at the west end of Tenth street, on what is now known as the Sansberry homestead. In June, 1862, William Crim, one of the county commissioners, was ordered by the board to purchase twelve acres of the Michael Ryan.
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land, near Anderson, "for the use of the Madison County Agricultural Society (Fair Ground), said purchase not to exceed $33 per acre." At the September term following Mr. Crim reported the purchase of lots Nos. 13 and 14, Thomas Moore's addition to the town of Anderson, each containing six acres, for the sum of $406. The purchase was approved by the board and on the same day the lots were donated to the agricultural society, on condition that the society would fit up and properly maintain a fair ground upon the same. Failure to comply with the conditions imposed would cause the lots to revert to the county. In June, 1868, the society paid back to the county the purchase price of $406, with interest, and received a deed to the fair grounds. Lots 13 and 14 of Moore addition were immediately north of Eighth street and west of the Michigan division of the Big Four Railroad, extending north to the vicinity of the present Third street. They have since been subdivided and are now covered with comfortable homes.
Under the act of February 20, 1867, the Pendleton Agricultural Society was organized at a meeting held in Judge Hervey Craven's office on June 20, 1867, when a committee of ten was appointed to solicit stock subscriptions. On July 27, 1867, a second meeting was held and the articles of association were adopted. That same month the society purchased of W. V. Shanklin eighteen acres of ground for a fair ground. On February 8, 1868, J. If. Kinnard was elected president of the society ; E. Williams, secretary, and J. W. Bomgardner, treasurer. The first fair was held by this society in September, 1868, and annual exhibits were held thereafter until 1876, when the society was disbanded.
In the meantime the Madison County Joint-Stock Agricultural Society had been organized in May, 1868, with William Crim as pres- ident, Dr. Townsend Ryan, secretary, and John P. Barnes, treasurer. On the last day of that month a tract of ground a short distance of the old fair grounds was leased and the first fair was given by the society the following fall. A considerable sum of money was expended in mak- ing improvements upon the grounds and fairs were held annually until 1890. The last three fairs preceding that year had not been well at- tended and the society underwent some financial reverses. The land in the meantime had increased in value, proceedings had been instituted for opening streets through the grounds, and in 1890 they were sub- divided into residence lots and the old joint-stock agricultural society passed out of existence.
From 1892 to 1894 the North Anderson Driving Park Association held annual races on grounds in North Anderson. Of this association H. C. Ryan was president; C. K. Mccullough, secretary ; W. T. Durbin, treasurer ; N. A. Free, superintendent. Large stables and a mile track were provided, but the races were not patronized as liberally as the asso- ciation had anticipated, the stockholders refused to meet the assess- ments, and the grounds were sold by order of the circuit court in 1894.
The last fair ground established in the vicinity of Anderson was situated on the right bank of White river, at the east end of Ninth street. Fairs were held here for a few years, but they were not suc- cessful, owing to a general lack of interest, and the fair grounds were sold to the city of Anderson for a public park. This park was dedicated
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on July 4, 1913, and is known as "Foster Park," from the fact that the land was purchased during the administration of Hon. Frank P. Foster as mayor.
The Elwood Driving Park and Fair Association was organized on October 3, 1895, with C. C Dehority, P. T. O'Brien, D. G. Evans, M. J. Clancy, H. G. Harting and F. M. HIarbit as the first board of directors. Fairs have been held here annually since that time and have been fairly well attended. Horse, corn and poultry shows are given every year at Alexandria, Lapel and Pendleton.
A society known as the Anderson Lyceum was organized in 1855 for the purpose of discussing current topics and such questions as might come before it. One of the questions debated soon after the society was organized was the "Kansas Question," which just then was attracting universal attention. Among the debaters were such men as Dr. Townsend Ryan, Neal C. MeCullough, Thomas N. Stilwell, Milton S. Robinson, James M. Dickson, Thomas W. Cook and I. N. Terwilliger, all of whom were more or less prominent in public life in later years.
Probably the first old settlers' meeting in the county was held at Pendleton in 1856. Among those who participated were John Markle, John II. Cook, Thomas Silver, Isaac Busby, Conrad Crossley, Samuel D. Irish and Abel Johnson, all of whom have since passed to their reward. The next meeting of this character, of which there is any account, was held at Alexandria in July, 1873. It was attended by people from ali parts of the county and by some from adjoining counties, and a general interest was awakened in the importance of perpetuating the history and traditions of pioneer days. The following year the old settlers of Mad- ison and Hamilton connties held a meeting near Perkinsville. Other meetings were held at various places during the next twenty years, but it was not until July 16, 1894, that steps were taken to form a perma- nent Old Settlers' Association. On that date a meeting called by Sam- uel Harden, Rufus HI. Williams and others assembled for the purpose. John L. Forkner presided at the meeting and William P. Newman acted as secretary. In the organization of the association Francis Watkins was elected president and a vice-president was chosen from each township in the county. The first meeting held under the auspices of the associa- tion was in Ruddle's grove on August 30, 1894. It was largely attended and John II. Terhune, then major of Anderson, welcomed the visitors in an appropriate address. A number of speeches were made by old residents, among whom were J. M. Farlow, Dr. Ward Cook, James Hollingsworth, Charles Fisher, James W. Sansberry, Samuel Myers, and David S. Gooding. Since then meetings have been held every year and a record of the proceedings of the association has been kept. This record contains many interesting facts concerning the manners and enstoms of pioneer days and some day it will prove a veritable mine of information to the historian. The last meeting of the association was held at Mounds Park, near Anderson, Sunday, August 10, 1913.
In the early '70s an organization called the Patrons of Husbandry came into existence and in a short time spread over the entire country. It might be called a union of farmers, whose objects were to secure bet- ter prices for their products and better transportation rates on rail-
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roads. One of the cardinal principles was to do away with the middle- man as far as possible and buy directly from the manufacturer. To carry out this principle cooperative stores were established by the order in a number of towns and cities. Local societies were called granges, and the members of the organization soon came to be known as Grangers. The first grange in Madison county of which any definite account can be gathered, was Normal Grange, No. 218, which was organized on July 3, 1873, with F. M. Wood as master and A. E. Swain as secretary. Dageon Grange, No. 348, was organized on July 12, 1873, with thirty-three charter members; P. S. Baker, master; M. H. Hannon, secretary. On August 8, 1873, a grange was organized at Osceola, and on the 28th of the same month Manring Grange, No. 357, was organized at the Mant- ring schoolhouse in Monroe township, with thirty-five charter members. Jesse Hall was elected master and N. H. Manring, secretary. Richland Grange, No. 464, was organized at the College Corner schoolhouse in Richland township, with David Croan as master and Jonathan Dillon as secretary. Charity Grange, No. 588, was organized on October 6, 1873, with J. S. Guysinger as master and Lenox Gooding as secretary. Two days later Fishersburg Grange, No. 554, was organized with Harvey Gwinn as master and Harrison Quick as secretary. On the 9th Adams Grange, No. 590, so named from the township in which it was located, was organized with fifteen charter members, but the membership in- creased rapidly and before the close of the year was over fifty. Ander- son Grange, No. 520, received its charter on October 10, 1873, with twenty charter members, but the names of the first master and secretary cannot be learned. On October 12, 1873, Markleville Grange, No. 625, was organized by William G. Lewis, of Grant county, Indiana, who was one of the regular organizers of the order and assisted in the establish- ment of most of the Madison county granges. Pleasant Grove Grange, No. 495, was organized on October 21, 1874, with twenty-one charter members. Buttonwood Grange No. 891, was organized on November 6, 1873, with sixteen charter members. Boston Grange, No. 1122, was organized on December 23, 1873, with J. R. Boston as master and J. L. Fussell as secretary. Huntsville Grange, No. 1166, was organized on January 9, 1874, with thirteen charter members. Richmond Chapel Grange, No. 1167, was organized on January 13, 1874, and there were also granges organized in Union and Fall Creek townsbips about the same time, or a little before. They were known as Union Grange, No. 422, and Fall Creek Grange, No. 544, but nothing of their history can be ascertained.
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