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 7
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During the years 1821 and 1822 William Williams, Palmer Patrick, Thomas and William Silver, Adam Winchell, the Richmond family and a few others settled in Fall Creek township; Jacob Hiday, Samnel Hol- liday, who was one of the first associate judges of the county, and some others in Green; the Kinser and Dewey families, Daniel Wise, George Cunningham, Robert Blair, David, William and John Montgomery, in Jackson ; William Diltz, David Croan, Daniel Noland, William Woods, John Martin, Joseph Carpenter and a few others in Union; Jonathan Davis, Abel Jenney, William Nelson, Andrew Young and his three sons-William, Christopher and Isaac-and a number of others in the vicinity of Anderson. A more complete account of the local settle- ments will be found in the chapters on Township History.
PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS
The young people of the present generation can hardly understand or appreciate the toil and hardships of these pioneers who boldly
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marched into the wilderness, robbed it of its terrors, and paved the way for the comforts and luxuries of modern civilization. One of the first necessities of the frontier settler was to provide a shelter for himself and family. This shelter was nearly always a log cabin, rarely more than sixteen by twenty feet in size, and usually consisting of but one room, which was living room, dining room, bed room and kitchen. Where several settlers came into a new country at the same time, one cabin would be built, in which all would live together until others could be erected. Money was scarce on the frontier and hired labor was prac- tically unknown. To overcome this condition the settlers in a neighbor- hood would "swap" work by helping each other to do things that one man could not well do by himself. Hence, when a settler wanted to build a cabin, he would cut his logs, drag them to the site, and then call upon his neighbors to assist in placing them in position. When the com- pany was assembled four men skilled in the use of the ax were selected to "carry up the corners." These men took their places at the four corners of the cabin and as the logs were pushed up to them on poles or "skids," would shape a "saddle" upon the top of each and then cut a notch in the under side of the next to fit upon the saddle. The man who could "carry up a corner," keeping the walls fairly plumb by lis eye alone, was considered an artist.
The "house-raising" was an event of social as well as industrial importance. While the men were engaged in raising the cabin, the "women folks" would get together and prepare dinner, each one bring- ing from her own store such articles of food as she thought the others might not be able to supply. If the weather was warm enough, the dinner would be served out of doors upon an improvised table under the shade of the trees; but if too cold for that, it would be served in the cabin of the nearest settler. And that dinner! While it boasted no terrapin nor canvas-back duck, it was made up of wholesome, nutritious food, with appetite as the chief sauce, and was always accompanied by jest and good-natured badinage.
The roof of the cabin was made of oak clapboards, split or rived with an instrument called a frow, and were generally three or four feet long. Nails and hardware of all kinds were scarce and not infrequently the cabin would be finished without a single piece of iron being used in its construction. The clapboards would be held in place by poles running lengthwise of the roof and fastened to the logs at either end with wooden pins; the door would be made of boards fastened to the battens with wooden pins, provided with wooden hinges and a wooden latch, which could be lifted from the outside by pulling a string. At night the string was drawn inside and the door was locked. This custom gave rise to the expression "The latch-string is always out," signifying a welcome when- ever the visitor might choose to call.
Oftentimes the cabin had no floor except "mother earth." At others a puncheon floor was provided. The puncheons were slabs of timber, split as nearly the same thickness as possible, and after the floor was laid the surface would be smoothed with an adz. Lumber was scarce and hard to obtain. In many frontier settlements the first boards were made with a whip-saw. By this method of manufacturing lumber the
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log, generally lewed on two sides with a broad-ax, would be placed upon a scaffold high enough for a man to stand upright under it. The upper surface of the log was marked with lines showing the thickness of the boards. One man would stand upon the top of the log to guide the saw and another would stand below to pull the saw down, giving it the cut- ting stroke. This was a slow and tedious process, but it was the one in use until some enterprising settler would build a sawmill in the neigh- borhood.
At the time a cabin was raised no openings were left for doors and windows, these being sawed out after the walls were up. An opening would also be made at one end for a fireplace, which was usually wide enough to take in sticks of wood four or five feet in length. If stone was convenient, a stone chimney would be built outside the cabin, but in a
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PIONEER CABIN
majority of instances the chimney would be constructed of sticks and clay. The meals for the household were cooked at the fireplace, a long- handled skillet, with an iron lid, and an iron kettle being the principal cooking utensils. The former was used for frying meats and baking bread and the latter in the preparation of the "boiled dinner."
Matches were practically unknown and the fire in the fireplace was not permitted to become extinguished. If such an unfortunate event should happen one of the family would be sent to the nearest neighbor's for a burning brand or a shovelful of coals to replenish the supply. On fall and winter evenings the light thrown out by the open fire was often the only light in the cabin. In warm weather, when a fire would be uncomfortable, light was supplied by partially filling a shallow dish with lard or bear's grease, in which was immersed a loosely-twisted strip of cotton cloth, one end of which was allowed to project beyond the edge of the dish. The projecting end was then lighted and, while this rude lamp emitted both smoke and the odor of burning grease, it afforded
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
light enough for the housewife to attend to her duties. Later came the tallow cardle, which was considered the acme of perfection in artificial lighting. These candles were made in moulds of tin, usually consisting of six or eight tubes soldered together. Through the center of each tube would be drawn a cotton wick, then molten tallow would be poured in until the moulds were filled, when the whole would be set in a cool place for the tallow to harden, after which the candles were withdrawn and kept in a cool place until wanted for use.
To transport real furniture for many miles through the woods to a frontier settlement was out of the question, so the pioneer supplied his cabin with furniture of his own make. A few clapboards, smoothed with a draw-knife and supported on pins driven into the walls, served as a place to keep the dishes. Sometimes this primitive "china closet" would be covered by a curtain of cotton cloth, though the curtain in many cases was lacking. Tables were formed by nailing or pinning clapboards or whipsawed boards to battens and the table top thus formed would be supported on trestles. When not in use, the top could be stood on edge against the wall and the trestles stacked in one corner, in order to make more room. Chairs were a luxury that few could afford. To provide a substitute benches or stools were made of puncheons, supported on pins driven into holes bored with a large anger. These holes were bored at an angle that would permit the legs to flare outward, thus giving the bench or stool greater stability.
After the "house-raising" came the "house-warming." In every neighborhood there was at least one fiddler, as the pioneer violinist was called, whose services would be called into requisition upon the completion of the cabin, and the neighbors would gather to dedicate the new dwelling with a dance. The waltz and the two-step were un- known, but their places were well supplied with the minuet and the old Virginia reel, or even the "break-down," in which main strength and physical endurance took the place of the "poetry of motion."
Other instances where "swapping" work was customary were in the log-rollings and at harvest time. When a settler undertook to clear a piece of ground for cultivation, he felled the trees and cut or burned the logs into such lengths that they could be handled, after which he invited his neighbors to aid him in piling them in heaps suitable for burning. These log-rollings were tests of physical strength. The men were divided into pairs, according to their muscular ability, and each pair provided with a piece of tough wood called a "hand-spike." The two strongest men were selected to "make daylight"-that is, to place their hand-spike under one end of the log and raise it high enough for the others to get their spikes in position. When all was ready they came up together, and woe to the unfortunate individual who allowed his fingers "to take mud" by his inability to lift his share of the load, for the laugh would be on him for the balance of the day, unless he could redeem himself by causing his partner "to take mud."
In early days the wheat in harvest time was cut with the old-fash- ioned reaping hook, a crooked steel knife, with a serrated edge and a handle at one end. As more land was brought under cultivation and the number of acres sown to wheat each year increased, progress
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
demanded a better method of harvesting the grain and the cradle was invented. This implement consisted of four fingers of tough wood, bent to conform to the curvature of the scythe, over which they were mounted on a light framework. A good eradler could ent from four to five acres a day. It was no unusual sight to see a half dozen or more eradlers in a field, each followed by a boy with a rake to buneh the wheat into sheaves and a man to bind them. These were followed by a shocking party, which stacked the sheaves in shocks. When one man's grain was harvested the party would move on to the next ripest field until the wheat of the entire neighborhood was taken care of and made ready for the flail, which was the primitive threshing machine.
At the log-rollings and harvesting bees a little whisky was always provided for the men, yet it was an uncommon thing for anyone to drink enough to become intoxicated. On these oceasions the women would assist in preparing the meals for the log-rollers or harvest hands, and, as in the case of a house-warming, the frolie would frequently wind up with a dance. After awhile the flail gave way to the old "ground-hog" threshing machine, which separated the grain from the straw, but did not clean it from the chaff. Then the fanning mill was invented and many a boy who wanted to spend an afternoon along some stream fishing for "shiners" has been compelled to turn the erank of the fanning mill, furnishing the motive power while his father fed the wheat and chaff into the machine.
Game was plentiful when the first settlers eame, and as nearly every pioneer was an expert in the use of the rifle the forest was depended upon to furnish the family a supply of meat. It is related of Caleb Williams, a son of William Williams, who was one of the early settlers in Fall Creek township, that he stood in one place and killed fifty-one squirrels as they were preying upon his eorn-field, missing his fifty-second shot. But in the early days there was much larger game than squirrels, and roast venison, or a feast of bear meat, was fre- quently to be found upon the settler's table.
Clothing was usually of the homespun variety. The man who wore "store clothes" was regarded much as the people of the present gen- eration regard a multimillionaire. Nearly every settler kept a few sheep, and in every neighborhood there were one or more sets of hand eards-a sort of brush with short wire teeth, all bent slightly in one direction-which were used for converting the wool into rolls. Then the rolls were spun into yarn on the old-fashioned spinning wheel, which was turned with a stick having a small knob at one end, the housewife walking baek and forth as the rapidly revolving spindle made the roll into woolen thread. An industrious spinner could "do her six ents" a day, but how many of the young women who graduated in the state's high schools in 1913 know what "six ents" means? After the yarn was spun it was colored with indigo or the hark of some tree-most fre- quently the walnut-and then woven into flannel, jeans or linsey on the old hand loom.
Flax was raised by almost every settler. When the plant was ripe it was pulled up by the roots and spread out to dry, or "rot," and when the straw was made brittle by this process the flax was ready for
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
the "break," an implement which broke the straw into short pieces. Next, to separate the straw from the bark or fiber, the flax was thrown over the rounded end of a board set upright and beaten with the "scuteli- ing knife," a piece of hard wood with moderately sharp edges. Pieces of straw too small to be caught by the scutching process were removed by the "hackle," which was made by sharpening a number of nails or pieces of wire of equal length and driving them closely through a board. Combing the flax through the hackle also split the fiber into fine threads and thus made it ready for the spinning wheel. Flax was
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INTERIOR PIONEER CABIN
generally spun on a small wheel operated by foot power. After the linen was woven, it was spread out upon a grass plot to bleach, after which it was used for table cloths, sheets for the bed and numerous articles of clothing.
But times have changed. The log cabin has given way to the modern residence and the tallow candle to the electric light. Meals are no longer prepared upon the hearth, where the cook was compelled to wear a deep bonnet to shield her face from the fierce heat of the blazing fire. The reaping hook and the cradle have been supplanted by the twine
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
binder, and where the weary farmer once toiled with his flail to thrash his few bushels of wheat is now heard the hum of the steam thresher, which daily turns out hundreds of bushels ready for the market. The great packing companies, with their refrigerating cars, supply the denizens of the cities with fresh meats. The spinning wheel and the hand loom are looked upon as relics of a primitive civilization and now everybody wears "store clothes." Yes, great progress has been made since the first white men came to Madison county, but are the people any happier or more unselfish than the pioneers who "swapped" work while they brought the wilderness under subjection ?
By the latter part of the summer of 1822 there were a sufficient number of inhabitants within the county to arouse an interest in the question of a separate county organization. Meetings were held in the various settlements, at which the subject was discussed, and through these meetings was developed a sentiment almost unanimous in favor of a county organization. Accordingly, when the legislature assembled at Corydon on December 2, 1822, the following bill was introduced early in the session, and after passing both houses was approved by Governor William Hendricks on January 4, 1823 :
THE ORGANIC ACT
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That from and after the first day of July next, all that tract of land which is included within the following boundaries shall consti- tute and form a new county, to be known and designated by the name of the county of Madison, to wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of the county of IIenry, thence north with the line of the same and to the township line dividing 20 and 21 north; thence west to the north- east corner of Section 5, in Township 20 north, Range 6 east; thencc south twenty miles; thence west to the northeast corner of the county of Marion ; thence south to the northwest corner of Shelby county; thence east with the line of Shelby, until the same intersects Rush county ; thence north with Rush county to the northwest corner of the same; thence east to the place of beginning.
"Section 2. The said new county of Madison shall, from and after the first day of July next, enjoy all the rights, privileges and jurisdic- tions, which to separate and independent counties, do or may properly belong or appertain.
"Section 3. Abijah Bayless, of Harrison county ; William Williams, of Jackson county; Jesse Reddick, of Bartholomew county; Rollin C. Dewey, of Lawrence county, and James Dill, of Dearborn county, are hereby appointed Commissioners, agreeably to an act entitled 'An act for fixing the sets of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off.' The Commissioners above named shall meet at the house of William McCartney, in the said new county of Madison, on the first Monday in September next, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law. It is hereby made the duty of the Sheriff of Marion county to notify the said Commissioners, either in person or by written notification of their appointment, on or before the fifteenth
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day of August next, and the said Sheriff of Marion county shall be allowed therefor by the County Commissioners of the county of Madison such compensation as by them shall be deemed just and reasonable, to be paid out of the county treasury of the county of Madison in the same manner other allowances are paid.
"Section 4. The circuit and other courts of the county of Madison shall meet and be holden at the house of William McCartney, until suit- able accommodations can be had at the county seat of said county ; and so soon 'as the courts of said county are satisfied that suitable accom- modations are provided at the county seat of said county they shall adjourn thereto: after which time, all the courts of said county shall be held at the seat of justice thereof; provided, however, that the circuit court of said county shall have authority to remove from the house of said William McCartney to any more suitable place in said county previous to the completion of the public buildings if they should deem the same expedient.
"Section 5. The agent who shall be appointed for said county, to superintend the sales of lots at the county seat of said county or receive donations for said county, shall receive ten per cent of the proceeds of such sale and donations, which he shall pay over to such person or persons, as by law may be authorized to receive the same, for the use of a county library for said county, which he shall pay over at such time or times and manner as shall be directed by law.
"Section 6. The Board of County Commissioners of said county shall, within twelve months after the permanent seat of justice shall have been selected, proceed to erect the necessary public buildings thereon."
There were two other sections, Section 7 providing for the "organiza- tion, conduct and support of a county library, as provided by the act organizing Dubois county, approved January 23, 1818," and Section 8, which attached the new county of Madison to the Fifth judicial circuit of the state.
In accordance with the provisions of this act, the county was for- mally organized on Monday, November 10, 1823, by John Roberts, sheriff of Marion county, who had been appointed for that purpose by the legislature. The organization was effected at the house of William McCartney, a log dwelling of two rooms, which stood upon the site afterward occupied by the Universalist church in the town of Pendleton. Commissions were presented by Samuel Holliday and Adam Winsell, as associate judges; Moses Cox, as clerk, and Samuel Cory, as sheriff. These commissions set forth that the holders thereof had been regularly appointed by William Hendricks, governor of the state, and each bore the indorsement of Sheriff Roberts, certifying that the person to whom it was issued had taken the prescribed oath of office and the oath against dueling. After the commissions had been received the sheriff of Marion county made proclamation that "the Madison circuit court is now open, according to law." An account of the proceedings of this first court will be found in the chapter relating to the Bench and Bar.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT
Some trouble was experienced in the matter of locating a permanent seat of justice. Sheriff Roberts, of Marion county, notified the commis- sioners named in Section 1 of the organic aet of their appointment, and on September 1, 1823, the same being the first Monday in the month, the commissioners met at the house of William McCartney and pro- ceeded to discharge the duties imposed upon them by law. Several proposed sites were visited and examined, but the commissioners finally decided to accept the proposition of John Berry, who was one of the first settlers at or near Chief Anderson's village on the White river. Owing to the fact that the records eoneerning this transaction cannot be fonnd, the details of Mr. Berry's proposition are not definitely known. It is certain, however, that the acceptance of this site was not concluded at the time, and it was not long until some dissatisfaction arose over the decision of the commissioners. Steps were accordingly taken to secure a relocation of the seat of justice. The question came before the legislature at the session of 1825-26 and on January 13, 1826, the governor approved an act, the principal provisions of which were as follows :
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That Benjamin Irwin, of Bartholomew county; George Hunt, of Wayne county; Lewis Hendricks, of Shelby county; Elisha Long, of Henry county, and Daniel Heaton, of Hamilton county, be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners, to relocate the seat of justice of Madison county. The commissioners above named, shall meet at the house of Moses Pearson, in said county, on the first Monday in June next, and shall proceed to locate the seat of justice of said county under the provisions of the laws regulating the fixing of the seat of justice in all new counties hercafter to be laid off.
"Section 2. The circuit and all courts of said county shall be held at the house of the said Moses Pearson, until suitable accommodations can be had at the county seat, when all the courts of said county shall be removed thereunto.
"Section 6. All proceedings had as to the donation made by John Berry and others to said county, at Andersontown, in said county, are hereby annulled and revoked, and the said donation is hereby returned to the respective original proprietor or proprietors, as if the same had never been granted; and all sales made by the agent of said county, of whatever nature or kind, in the disposal of lots or lands donated to the said county heretofore, shall be so far considered annulled that the purchase money paid and the obligations given by the respective pur- chasers, shall be returned to them or their legal representatives, with interest on the amount paid, on application; and thereupon, the respective bond or obligation which may have been given to said pur- chaser, relative to said sale, shall be returned to the said agent.
"Section 7. If any money, collected by said agent, arising from said donations to the county, has been so disposed of that it cannot be returned, the Board of Justices of said county shall direct the payment of the same to be made out of the treasury of the county."
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No record has been found to show that these commissioners ever made any effort to discharge their duties under the provisions of the act appointing them. It is probable that no action was taken, for on January 26, 1827, the governor approved an act, Section 1 of which provided :
"That William Shannon, Jeremiah K. Lemon and William C. Black- more, of Hamilton county ; Moses Prewitt, of Shelby county, and John Thompson, of Marion county, be, and they are hereby, appointed com- missioners to relocate the seat of justice of Madison county. The commis- sioners above named shall meet at the house of John Perry (Berry), in said county, on the third Monday in May next, and proceed to locate the seat of justice of said county, agreeably to the provisions of an act entitled 'An act to establish seats of justice in new counties,' approved January 14, 1824, and the act amendatory of the same, approved December 19, 1825."
On May 21, 1827, the time appointed by law, the commissioners met at the house of John Berry and entered upon the performance of their duties. There is no evidence to show that they considered any, propo- sition except the one submitted by John Berry, the terms of which were reported to be satisfactory and the proposition was accepted. Pursuant to this arrangement, John Berry and his wife, Sally Berry, on November 7, 1827, executed a deed to William Curtis, who had in the meantime been appointed county agent, for the following described tract of land : "Commencing at the southeast corner of Lot No. 16, in the southwest square in the town of Andersontown; thence north, with Meridian street, to the northeast corner of Lot No. 1 in the northwest square of said town; thence east to White river; thence up said river, at low- water mark, until a line running a due south course till it comes parallel with the south end of Meridian street, will contain thirty acres, being part of the southeast quarter of Section 12, Town 19 north, of Range 7 east," etc.
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