History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 34

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918

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 34

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Banner Lodge, No. 416, located at Anderson, was instituted on April 17, 1895, with eighty charter members, many of whom had withdrawn from Anderson Lodge for the purpose of organizing a new one. In 1912 the lodge reported 231 members and is constantly adding new ones to the list. Its regular meeting night is Thursday. J. C. Shuman was chancellor commander and A. L. Jacobs was keeper of the records and seal when the last grand lodge report was issued.

Orestes Lodge, No. 471, and Markleville Lodge, No. 479, are the two youngest lodges in the county. The former was instituted on May 29, 1899, and the latter on February 16, 1900. Orestes Lodge owns real estate valued at $1,800 and has about eighty members. It meets every Thursday evening. Markleville Lodge has over fifty members and owns real estate worth $500. Friday evening of each week is the time for holding regular meetings.

The lodges at Pendleton, Anderson and Elwood have companies of the Uniform Rank, and in connection with all the principal lodges are temples of the Pythian Sisters, the ladies' degree of the order. The oldest and strongest of these temples are the ones at Anderson, Elwood and Alexandria.

IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN

This order claims an unbroken suceession from the Sons of Liberty, a patriotic order at the time of the American Revolution. It was mem- Vol. 1-18

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MAJOR MAY POST NO. 244, G. A. R.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

bers of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Indians, who destroyed the tea rather than pay the unjust tax, and this incident was made use of when the Improved Order of Red Men was reorganized at Baltimore in 1835. The local lodges or societies are called tribes and the principal officers of the tribe bear Indian titles, such as sachem, prophet and sagamore. There are three degrees-Adoption, Warrior and Chief-for the men, and a degree called the Daughters of Pocahontas for the wives, daugh- ters and sisters of the male members. There are also a uniformed rank and a subordinate degree called the IIaymakers. During the decade ending in 1910 the order paid out in the United States over $6,000,000 for relief, burial expenses and the support of widows and orphans.

The first society of this order to be organized in Madison county was Ononga Tribe, No. 50, which was instituted at Anderson in 1874. For about three years its growth was slow and then a large number of members came in. Two other tribes were later organized from Ononga, viz .: Mingo and Kamala. The former was instituted on October 19, 1892, but has been discontinued, the members uniting with the other tribes. Kamala Tribe, No. 157, was instituted on October 18, 1893. Both Ononga and Kamala tribes are in flourishing condition and are two of the strongest fraternal societies in Anderson. Each has an organization of Haymakers.

After the organization of Ononga Tribe at Anderson, the next to be established was Mashingomisha Tribe, No. 110, at Alexandria. This tribe meets every Friday evening and the Mashingomisha Haymakers on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.

Seneca Tribe, No. 113, located at Elwood, was the next organization of Red Men in the county. This tribe owns a handsome building and is one of the strongest tribes financially in Madison county. Regular meetings are held on Tuesday evenings and the Seneca Haymakers hold meetings on Friday evenings.

Oconee Tribe, No. 159, was instituted at Pendleton on November 26, 1892. Meetings are held every Wednesday evening. Subsequently the Oconee Haymakers were organized and they hold meetings on alternate Monday evenings.

Neoskaleta Tribe, No. 149, was organized at Summitville in the sum- mer of 1892, and Onaway Tribe, located at Lapel, was instituted about the same time. Both these tribes are in prosperous condition.

The councils of the Daughters of Pocahontas in the county are as follows: Wyoming, No. 49, at Elwood; Oconee, No. 78, at Pendleton ; Tahoma, No. 82, at Anderson; Kamala, No. 124, at Anderson; and Winona, No. 143, at Alexandria.

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC

The Grand Army of the Republic is an organization of volunteer soldiers who served in the war of 1861-65. It was founded soon after the close of the war, but for the first fifteen years of its existence was of rather slow growth. About 1880 there came a revival and during the next decade the order spread to every state in the union. The pur- poses of the order are to collect and preserve war relics and records,

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maintain fraternal relations, and assist needy comrades. The local organizations are called posts. The strongest post in Madison county, though not the oldest, is Major May Post, No. 244, at Anderson. It was organized on September 18, 1883, with seventy-one charter members. For several years it met in various halls about the city, but in 1895 arrangements were made with Major Charles T. Doxey to provide a permanent home in a building at the northwest corner of Ninth street and Central avenue. This hall was completed in May, 1896, and the post met there for some time. It now has quarters in a room in the courthouse basement. The present membership is about 150. A few years ago an Anderson photographer (Mr. Clark) made pictures of nearly all the members of this post and arranged them in a group, which is here presented that the reader may see the type of men Madison county furnished to the country's defenders in 1861.

Beginning at the upper left hand corner and reading from left to right, the members of this post are as follows:

Top Row-William A. Kindle, John Madison, Cornelius Moore, J. A. Mahan, A. H. Workman, William L. Jones, John F. W. Meyers, C. C. Johnson, Slavin Graham, Adam Fath, John Cather, George T. Pen- niston, Henry Clark, H. J. Stein, Vincent Carroll, C. P. G. Austin.

Second Row-D. P. Maynard, M. L. Patton, A. J. Applegate, W. H. H. Quick, M. G. Watkins, Jacob Harter, John S. Handy, William F. Branson, John H. Harrison, John W. Cherington, John B. Swart, Joshua Kirk, Noah H. Randall, Alfred Brown, James Murphey.

Third Row-John S. Steel, Dempsy Waggy, George Nichol, Jacob Koehler, John H. Terhune, George Mathes, James L. Webb, James Clark, Enoch Alexander, E. L. Pickering, Theodore Zion, D. F. Mus- tard, William Hubbard, John W. Goff, H. E. Jones, James W. Streets.

Fourth Row-D. A. Taylor, William A. Craven, Robert P. Brickley, George W. Hackleman, Isaac Foland, Jacob Ellis, John Reynolds, Elias Falknor, William Mahoney, James Redd, Stephen Metcalf, Samuel Mc- Nutt, William B. Miller, E. W. Clifford, Henry Kessler.

Fifth Row-William Keiser, Samuel Hicks, John C. Knight, Joseph Poor, Jonas Stewart, William Callahan, Jesse Forkner, Alansing Lamaster, Henry T. Denius, Moses C. White, Melville B. Cox, Peter B. Millspaugh, Samuel Todd, Jacob Mays, Samuel Longnecker, Daniel Stewart.

Sixth Row-Samuel Van Pelt, Thomas L. Brooks, William Layton, C. S. Fifer, John Baker, Robert Dorste, William W. Clifford, Robert B. Mason, B. B. Campbell, Henry Mitchell, Hiram H. Palmer, George W. Shreeve, Joseph Brown, William Venemon, John A. Cook.

Seventh Row-Thomas Foland, James Gwinn, Jolın Umensetter, Stephen Price, James Kenroy, W. T. Durbin, Henry C. Durbin, H. H. Durbin, Ezra Iler, John P. Parson, John Hoover, George E. Springer, John A. Gains, Samuel C. Miller, Abner G. Clark, John Titherington.

Eighth Row-O. L. Shaul, John McCurley, D. B. Davis, John Run- yan, James T. Knowland, A. I. Makepeace, Isaac Wood, L. D. Crawley, B. H. Perse, Joseph R. Cravens, Thomas Talmage, James G. Jeffers, W. B. Carroll, Henry Vinyard, E. R. Cheney.

Ninth Row-A. L. Ethel, Daniels Rhoads, John W. Lovett, John

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Besom, Warren L. Coots, F. M. Van Pelt, S. G. Bevelheimer, Edmund Johnson, Jerome J. Musser, Gambrel Little, John F. Wilson, George F. Ethel, Thomas Paxton, George W. Lawson, William L. Lundy, W. R. Myers.

Tenth Row-John W. Riley, Samuel Wolf, J. B. Howard, J. C. Mathews, John Turner, John F. Thompson, Samuel A. Towell, Pennell M. Keepers, Henry Ray, Carl Bronnenberg, Joseph A. Studebaker, John J. Muldown, Lafe J. Burr, John Featherstone, Amos McGuire.

This post was named in honor of Isaae M. May, who was mustered into the volunteer service of the United States on July 29, 1861, as captain of Company A, Nineteenth Indiana Infantry, was promoted to major of the regiment and was killed at the battle of Gainesville, Vir-

LIVING FLAG

ginia, August 28, 1862. In connection with the post is the Women's Relief Corps, No. 70, which was organized in 1887, and which meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

Elwood Post, No. 61, was one of the first to be organized in this section of the state. It was at one time also one of the strongest, but the scythe of time has cut down many of the old veterans comprising its membership. Meetings of this post are held on alternate Saturday afternoons. Elwood Women's Relief Corps, No. 117, meets on alternate Monday afternoons.

Major IIenry Post, No. 230, located at Pendleton, was organized on August 28, 1883, and was named in honor of Major Samuel Henry, who entered the service as captain of Company B, Eighty-ninth Indiana

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

Infantry, in August, 1862, and was murdered in cold blood by guer- rillas near Greenton, Missouri, November 1, 1864.

Lew Taylor Post, No. 243, at Alexandria, was established in the summer of 1883. Its meetings are held on the second and fourth Tues- days of each month, in the afternoon, and the Alexandria Women's Relief Corps, No. 200, meets on alternate Thursdays.

Hiram G. Fisher Post, located at Lapel, was named in honor of a Madison county boy who was commissioned captain of the Fishersburg Union Guards in the summer of 1861 and later entered the volunteer service as first lieutenant of Company E, Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry.

One of the most notable events in the history of Anderson was the entertainment of the state encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic in May, 1903, when the citizens of the city expended over $7,000 in caring for members of this patriotic order. A feature of the encampment was a living flag, composed of Anderson school children, placed upon an inclined scaffolding reaching from the sidewalk to the roof of the courthouse and facing on Eighth street. The idea originated with Captain Jerome J. Musser, of Major May Post, who had charge of the erection of the scaffolding, and the children who participated in forming the national colors were under the guidance of Prof. John W. Carr, then superintendent of the Anderson public schools. No other city in Indiana has ever attempted to rival this demonstration and at each subsequent state encampment the "living flag of Anderson" has been a topic for conversation.

The order known as the Sons of Veterans is represented in Madison county by R. L. Leeson Camp, No. 305, at Elwood, and J. P. Condo Camp, No. 364, at Alexandria. Major Doxey Camp was organized at Anderson some years ago, but it has lapsed into a state of inactivity.

LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE

This order was first established at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1888, and for a few years enjoyed a fair growth, reaching a total of thirty lodges and a membership of five thousand. Then came a decline and in 1907 there were but three lodges and less than three hundred members. About that time James J. Davis, of Anderson, undertook the work of reorganizing and building up the order. He associated with him Rod- ney H. Brandon, then the presiding officer of Anderson Lodge, No. 1, the first to be instituted under the new regime. In 1908 Mr. Brandon was elected supreme secretary and the offices of the supreme lodge were removed to Anderson. On September 30, 1913, the order showed a total of 1,425 subordinate lodges, with a total membership of over five hundred thousand. Recently the supreme lodge has purchased one thousand acres of fine land near Aurora, Illinois, where the order is erecting a vocational school for the children of members and a home for dependents, both young and old. The two Moose lodges in Madison county are located at Anderson and Elwood.

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THE ELKS

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks had its foundation in a club organized in New York soon after the close of the Civil war, when a number of "good fellows" were in the habit of meeting at some suitable place to beguile the evening with singing songs, telling stories, ete. At first the club, the plan of which was originated by a young Englishman named Charles S. Vivian, was known as the "Jolly Corks." By 1868 the membership had increased to such proportions that it was decided to establish a secret order. A committee was appointed to select a name. Upon visiting Barnum's museum the committee saw an elk and learned something of the animal's habits, which inspired them to select the name of Elks for the new society. The motto of the order is: "The faults of our brethren we write upon the sands; their virtues upon the

ELKS' HOME, ANDERSON

tablets of love and memory." As there is no state grand lodge, the work of obtaining information concerning the individual lodges is some- what difficult.

Anderson Lodge, No. 209, was instituted on June 30, 1891, with thirty-one charter members, in the Odd Fellows' hall, and the ceremony of institution was followed by a banquet at the Doxey Music hall. The lodge now owns an equity in the building at the northwest corner of Main and Eleventh streets, where the members have well appointed club and lodge rooms on the third floor. From the membership of Anderson Lodge have been formed Elwood Lodge, No. 368, and Alex- andria Lodge, No. 478. The former has club rooms in the second story of the building formerly occupied by the First National Bank, and the latter has its headquarters in the Alexandria Opera House building. All three of the Madison county lodges are in prosperous condition.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

MISCELLANEOUS

There are in the county several orders represented in the principal cities and towns, of which it was impossible to get detailed information. So far as possible a list of these lodges is given below, together with any historical information that could be procured.

Pendleton Grove, No. 20, United Ancient Order of Druids, was organized on April 5, 1895. A grove or lodge of this order was organ- ized at Anderson on July 22, 1896, but after a short existence it sur- rendered its charter. Subsequently it was revived as Progress Grove, No. 27, and is now in fairly prosperous shape.

The Woodmen of the World are represented by White Oak Camp, No. 29, at Lapel; Hemlock Camp, No. 18, at Anderson, the regular meetings of which are held on Tuesday evenings; Hemlock Grove, No. 5, Woodmen's Circle, which meets on alternate Friday afternoons; Elwood Camp, No. 95, and Woodmen's Circle, No. 51, at Elwood, the former of which holds meetings on Wednesday and the latter on Friday evenings.

The Modern Woodmen of America camps are as follows: Oak Leaf, No. 3690, at Anderson; Elwood, No. 4416; Alexandria, No. 5976; Pen- dleton, No. 14,374. The Anderson camp holds meetings on Monday evenings, the Elwood camp on Wednesday evenings, the Alexandria camp on Tuesday evenings, and the Pendleton camp on Friday even- ings. Allied to this order are the Royal Neighbors of America. The camps and times of regular meetings are as follows: Anderson, No. 2607, Fridays; Elwood, No. 3812, first and third Tuesdays of each month; Jewel Camp, No. 5976, Alexandria, Mondays.

In the Knights of the Maccabees the lodges of the men are called tents and the Ladies of the Maccabees meet in hives. This order is represented by Tent No. 39, and Hive No. 62, at Anderson; Elwood Tent, No. 60, and Hive No. 66, at Elwood; Alexandria Tent, No. 112, and Hive No. 61, at Alexandria.

Anderson Aerie, No. 174, Fraternal Order of Eagles, meets every Thursday evening; Elwood Aerie, No. 201, on Wednesdays, and Invinc- ible Aerie, No. 1771, of Alexandria, on Wednesday evenings.

Hazelwood Court, Ancient Order of Foresters, was instituted in the early '90s and holds its meetings at Kirkham's hall, Hazelwood. The Improved Order of Foresters is represented by Court Quincy, No. 62, Court Elwood, No. 1097, and Court Madison, No. 4968, all at Elwood ; Court Anderson, No. 3110, and White River Court, No. 1094, at Ander- son.

The Tribe of Ben Hur is represented by three courts or lodges in the city of Anderson, viz. : Isis Court, No. 32, which meets on Tuesday evenings, and Iderned Court, No. 26, and Amrah Court, No. 30, which meet on call of the officers.

Several societies closely connected with the Catholic church have been organized at Anderson and Elwood. The principal ones are Ander- son Council, No. 563, Knights of Columbus, and the Elwood Council of the same order, both of which hold meetings on Tuesday evenings; Anderson Council, No. 646, Catholic Knights of America, which was

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

organized in 1893; Cardinal Manning Council, No. 376, of the Catholic Benevolent Legion, at Elwood; Court St. Joseph, No. 1120, Catholic Order of Foresters, at Elwood; the Federated Catholic Clubs of Elwood; and the Anderson and Elwood divisions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Anderson Castle, No. 4, Knights of the Golden Eagle, was organized on January 18, 1890, with sixty-eight charter members. Two years later was organized Hope Temple, No. 3, Ladies of the Golden Eagle, and still later were organized the Anderson Commandery, Uniform Rank, and the Supreme Order of Wise Guys, Anderson Retreat, No. 1, an organization intended to promote the welfare of the Knights of the Golden Eagle.

The Knights and Ladies of Honor have lodges at Anderson and Alexandria; the Yeoman at Anderson and Elwood; the Supreme Lodge, Camels of the World is located in Anderson; and the Junior Order American Mechanics at Anderson and Pendleton. Other lodges or societies are the Pathfinders, No. 7, at Anderson; the Daughters of Liberty, at Elwood; the Sons of St. George, at Anderson and Elwood; Post O, Travelers' Protective Association, which meets once a month at the Grand Hotel in Anderson; United Commercial Travelers, No. 182, at Anderson; the United Order of the Golden Cross, at Elwood; the Protected Home Circle, at Anderson; Nest No. 84, of the Orioles, at Anderson; Elwood Nest, No. 66, and Anderson Nest, No. 84, Order of Owls; the Knights and Ladies of Columbia, No. 115, at Elwood; the Equitable Aid Union and the National Union, of Anderson, and Eureka Court, No. 259, also of Anderson. The Order of Plowmen have but one organization in the county-Elwood Council, No. 14. Anderson Lodge, No. 5, Order of Lincoln, was organized on September 22, 1896, with thirty charter members. The only Knights of IIonor lodge in the county of which there is any record was organized at Anderson on May 18, 1875, and during the next twenty years paid out nearly $25,000 in benefits.

Among the labor organizations of Anderson, Elwood and Alexandria may be mentioned the unions of stationery engineers, typesetters, glass- workers, sheet metal workers, bricklayers, carpenters, painters and decorators, iron molders, electrical workers, stage employees, barbers, plumbers, musicians, electric railway employees, brewery workers, tai- lors, retail clerks, file workers, cigar makers, tin plate workers and a few others, most of which are associated with the Madison County Fed- eration of Labor. The trades union came with the discovery of natural gas and has remained after the supply of gas failed, but it is worthy of note that Anderson has never been disturbed by any serious strike, and the same is true of Alexandria and Elwood.

On January 30, 1909, Kikthawenund Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, was organized at Anderson with Mrs. John W. Lovett, regent; Mrs. H. C. Durbin, vice-regent; Mrs. Andrew Ellis, recording secretary; Miss Kate Chipman, corresponding secretary ; Mrs. S. E. Young, treasurer; Mrs. I. E. May, historian. This chapter was named for the old Delaware Indian chief whose wigwam once stood where the city of Anderson is now situated.

CHAPTER XVII MILITARY HISTORY

MADISON COUNTY IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO-THE CIVIL WAR-LOYAL SPIRIT OF THE CITIZENS-MEETING AT THE COURTHOUSE THE FIRST COMPANY FROM MADISON COUNTY-ROSTERS OF THE VARIOUS COM- PANIES-HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE REGIMENTS IN WHICH THEY SERVED-CAVALRY AND ARTILLERY ORGANIZATIONS-SPANISH-AMERI- CAN WAR-MADISON COUNTY REPRESENTED IN TWO REGIMENTS.

It has been said that war brings an element of patriotism that can- not be developed by any other means. However that may be, the sons of Madison county have never been backward in responding to the coun- try's call for volunteers in time of need. The county had been organ- ized but twenty-three years when the nation became involved in a war with Mexico over the annexation of Texas to the United States. Formal declaration of war was made by the Congress on May 11, 1846, and almost immediately afterward came a call for troops. Under that call Indiana sent out two regiments-the First and Second Volunteer In- fantry-in each of which were a number of Madison county men, but in the absence of the muster rolls it is impossible to tell just how many or who they werc.

A second call was made by President Polk in May, 1847, when a com- pany was organized at Marion, Grant county, composed of volunteers from that county and Madison. John M. Wallace, of Marion, was commissioned captain of the company, which marched to Indianapolis, via Anderson, and reported to the state authorities that it was ready for service. From Indianapolis the company proceeded by rail to Madison, thence down the Ohio river by steamboat to Jeffersonville, where it went into camp. On the last day of May it was mustered into the United States service and assigned to the Fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry as Company A. This regiment, commanded by Colonel Willis A. Gorman, left Jeffersonville early in June by steamer bound for New Orleans and upon arriving there ordered to Brazos Santiago, near the mouth of the Rio Grande. It then marched about 160 miles up that river and remained there for nearly a month, when it returned to the mouth of the river. Soon after that it embarked on a vessel for Vera Cruz, where it was attached to the brigade commanded by General Joseph Lane. On September 19, 1847, General Lane left Vera Cruz to go to the relief of Colonel Childs at Puebla, where there was a hospital filled with sick and wounded American soldiers threatened by the Mexican General Santa Anna.

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At the battle of Huamantla, October 9, 1847, Colonel Gorman came up to the support of the United States cavalry just in time to turn defeat into victory, and after the capture of the city his regiment was stationed at the arsenal. A few days later the Fourth Indiana led the advance in the assault on Puebla, which resulted in another victory, and Colonel Childs' garrison of sick and disabled soldiers was rescued from a perilous position. From that time until the close of the war the Fourth was on duty and was engaged in a number of skirmishes with the enemy. On December 19, 1847, it joined the main body of the army under General Winfield Scott, in the city of Mexico, where it remained on guard duty until orders came on June 1, 1848, to return home. The regiment marched to Vera Cruz, sailed from that city for New Orleans, then proceeded by steamboat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Madison, Indiana, where it was mustered out on July 20, 1848.

The members of Captain Wallace's company who enlisted from Madison county were: Nineveh Berry, commissary of subsistence; Joseph Hunt, corporal; Reuben Stephenson, drummer; Levi Brewer, Jacob Booser, William Collis, John Dedman, Thomas Dillon, Alexander Greenlee, Solomon Harpold, John Hicks, Levi Knowlton, Benjamin Moore, James Moore, Samuel Moore, Isaac Rheubart, Jacob Spucher, David Vanasdell, privates. John Dedman died at Perote, Mexico, December 11, 1847, and Thomas Dillon died at Puebla on March 28, 1848. Jacob Spucher was discharged at New Orleans on June 15, 1848, for disability, and the other men were mustered out with the company at Madison.

During the quarter of a century that followed the war with Mex- ico, a number of veterans who had served in that conflict settled in Madison county. On November 14, 1874, a number of these veterans met at the auditor's office in the courthouse at Anderson and made preparations to attend the convention of the surviving soldiers of the Mexican war at Indianapolis on January 7 and 8, 1875, "and unite with them in an appeal to a generous country and patriotic Congress and executive, to add the names of the surviving soldiers in the Mexican war to the list of pensioners, to the end that the Nation's bounty may be extended to all, who, by their deeds of noble daring have contributed to maintain the rights and uphold the honor of our country either at home or abroad."

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History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 34

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926 Publication date: 1970 Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc. Number of Pages: 918

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918