USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana, from 1820 to 1874 : giving a general review of principal events, statistical and historical items, derived from official sources > Part 7
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MADISON COUNTY.
LETTER FROM J. R. HOLSTON.
Having been solicited to contribute whatever of interest from this part of the county, to to the forthcoming history, I now proceed to comply with the request. I deem the subject of great importance, not only to the present, but to all future generations of the county. In this communi- cation I desire to approximate and combine brevity and accuracy, so far as facts of history are concerned. As to an accurate and reliable history of our county there is not the least doubt ; but of course we can not expect every particu- lar in detail.
We fondly hope to be able in some, though faint, degree to refer to some of the facts and incidents connected with our county, and point out with pride some of its past and present developments.
Madison county is bounded on the north by Grant, on the east by Delaware and Henry, on the west by Hamilton and Tipton, and on the south by Hancock. The county was surveyed in townships in 1821, and in 1822 it was divided in sections. It is twenty-nine and three fourths miles in length and fifteen miles in breadth, containing an area of four hundred and forty-six and a fourth square miles. It originally had but twelve townships, but at pres- ent contains fourteen, with a population of twenty-five thousand, nearly five thousand three hundred of whom are voters.
Early in the spring of 1820 a company of some six or eight left Springfield, Ohio, and came out and pitched their tents on Fall creek, some three miles southwest of where Pendleton now stands, forming a kind of pioneer colony. The names of those " braves" were Elias Hollingsworth and William Curtis, his brother-in-law. The rest of the company I have forgotten. They were joined by Mr. Lin- sey and Mr. Richmond, of Indianapolis.
They cultivated a little corn, and in May Mr. Hollings- worth went back and brought out his wife. She was the
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first white woman ever in Madison county, and E. P. Hol- lingsworth, now of Iowa, was the first white child born in the county. Suffice it to say that this country was a vast dreary wilderness where naught was scen or heard save the hideous yells of the Indians, the scream of the panther, the insidious wolf, the wild deer, etc. Such were some of the incidents connected with the carly history of the county. For a series of years subject to the innovations of the Indians, incident to a new country, they had trials and hardships of which we know nothing.
I hope the reader will indulge me while I relate an inci- dent showing the genuineness of friendship and kindness which characterized the early pioneers. Mrs. Hollings- worth was taken quite sick, and after she became con- valescent she thought if she could get some "store" tea she would soon get well and be able to attend to her domestic affairs. Upon this being made known to Mr. Coonrod Crossly, one of their colony, he started upon horseback for Newcastle for this much coveted article. When he arrived at that place he found that there was none to be had, but nothing daunted, he pushed on to Richmond, where he met with no better success. The next morning he mounted his horse for Eaton, Ohio, where he obtained the desired object. So he faced about for his sick woman's log cabin, where a cup of the wholesome beverage was administered with eminent success.
Mrs. Hollingsworth lived to raise a large family, all members of the M. E. Church; she, with her kind hus- band, moved to Missouri in 1849, where they both crossed over to " that better land." Mr. Crossly died a few years since not far from where he first settled.
The first sermon preached in Madison connty was by the Rev. Elias Hollingsworth, in the winter of 1820 and '21, in his own log cabin, to this pioneer colony. In 1821 the Rev. M. Taylor, of Brookville, Ind., was sent out by Bishop Asbury as a missionary to collect the almost " lost sheep of the House of Israel," and to organize them into some kind of society, which he did with success. These pioneer mis -
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sionaries were regarded and received as a kind of " angels' visits" or "heavenly messengers ;" such was their eagerness for the gospel.
Pendleton was for some years the place where the civil and criminal courts were held, but at some subsequent period they were removed to Anderson, and Anderson became permanently the county seat. The courts were held in an old rickety frame building until about the year 1835, when the present Court House was built. We fondly hope the day is not far distant when our city will be honored with a first-class Court House.
Madison county for its fertility of soil, good timber and water privileges can not be surpassed in any locality in cen- tral Indiana ; hence the great surplus of products which is annually shipped to northern and eastern cities. We ship annually some five hundred thousand bushels of wheat, a large amount of corn and twenty-five or thirty thousand head of fat hogs.
Having thus far given a very brief synopsis and ostensi- ble summary view of the early settling of this county, I now propose giving a brief, though somewhat imperfect sketch of our towns and villages, which may be of some im- portance to the readers of our County History :
Anderson is the largest town in the county, situated on a high bluff on the south side of White river, and contains at present some five thousand inhabitants. It is one of the most flourishing and business like cities of its size in the State. When I first saw Anderson in 1833 it was but a small town. The people were void of any spirit of enter- prise or ambition. There was nothing at all flattering- nothing but an element of idleness and dissipation ; but since or about the close of the late rebellion it has sprung up as if by magic. It has three first-class edifices, the M. E. church, the Presbyterian and the Christian church, one Baptist church of fair dimensions and one Catholic church, all having fine congregations and good Sabbath schools. There are published two weekly newspapers, the Anderson Herald and the Anderson Democrat, both of which have a
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respectable circulation. It has seven dry goods stores, sell- ing annually $270,000 worth of goods; has seventeen gro- ceries, one wholesale, Skehan & Co., sell alone some $50,000 worth annually ; three drug stores selling about $75,000 worth; three hardware stores selling $70,000 worth ; two tin and stove shops selling $60,000 worth ; five boot and shoe stores-am not advised as to the amount they sell ; two carriage shops turning out very fine work; five smith shops, two planing mills, two chair manufactories, one foundry, one spoke and hub factory, two grist mills, two banks, three harness shops, three graded schools, four warehouses, three agricultural warehouses, two mar- ble shops, one stone cutting, two tanneries, two daguer- reotype galleries, a number of tailors, three dentists, one first-class hotel and two second-class, four livery stables, two railroad depots, one book store, one grain cradle manu- factory, two cabinet shops and furniture stores, two pump manufactories, several boot and shoe shops, and a large sup+ ply of ministers, doctors and lawyers-"enough and to spare." We have two first-class railroads, Cleveland, Colum- bus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis and the Cincinnati & Chicago, both doing a very large business ; also two more prospective roads, the Anderson, Lebanon & Bloomington, Ill., and the White Pigeon & Anderson, all centering at the latter place. We also have the Lafayette & Muneie Railroad, which is about ready for the iron. It runs through the north part of the county via Alexandria and Elwood, cross- ing the Cincinnati & Chieago at the latter place. The aggregate length of all the roads, when completed, will be about ninety-two miles within the county.
Pendleton is eight miles southwest of Anderson, located at the falls of Fall creek. It is quite a business town, in a very rich part of the county, and is proverbial for its morals ; has fine lime stone for building purposes and the best water power in the county.
Elwood is eighteen miles northwest of Anderson, on the Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad, and is quite a flourishing and business little village.
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MADISON COUNTY.
Alexandria is twelve miles north of Anderson, located on Pipe creek, in a fine part of the county. It contains some fine business rooms, a brick church, school house and an excellent grist mill.
Perkinsville is eleven miles west of Anderson and located at the junction of Pipe creek with White river, and near the Hamilton county line. It is a town of some note, in a fine agricultural district.
Chesterfield is six miles east of Anderson and is an old town situated near the Indian mounds, and was the home of the late Allen Makepeace.
Markleville is eleven miles southeast of Anderson, located on the Pendleton and Newcastle turnpike, and is rather a lively little village. It contains a neat church and a brick school house.
New Columbus is six miles south of Anderson, on the south bank of Fall creek, and contains rather a good Lutheran church ; is an old town on the " down hill grade."
Alfont is fourteen miles southwest of Anderson, on the bank of Lick creek.
Huntsville is seven miles south of Anderson and one mile northeast of Pendleton.
Fishersburg is nine miles west of Anderson, located on Stony creek.
Frankton is nine miles northwest of Anderson, located on Pike creek, and is quite a business place. It has two good churches, Methodist and Christian. A two story brick school house and some fine business houses and residences.
Summitville is nineteen miles north of Anderson, on the road to Marion, in Grant county, and is a new town of some importance.
Independence is twenty-five miles northwest of Ander- son, located on the line between Boone and Duck Creek townships, and also on the line dividing Madison and Grant counties.
With the above summary view the kind reader will neces- sarily arrive at the conclusion, that with such facilities onr county will be one of the first in the State. Our educational
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and Sunday school causes are not surpassed ; they are what they never before have been-a " grand success."
With a well regulated system of education, and the Sun- day school cause properly developed, the state of society will be as a grand palladium of our country, and which will secure to us the perpetuity of civil and religious liberty, which will be transmitted through the annals of history, unimpaired to future posterity.
This (Richland) township was formed, or cut off from Anderson township, about the year 1831 or '32; it is only five and three-fourths miles long and five miles wide-it being a fractional township on the north side. Big Kill- huck runs diagonally through the township, on the east, and Little Killbuek on the west side, the former affording sufficient water for mill and machine purposes, all the year, and the latter, a good supply of stock water.
William Curtis was the first white man, with his family, that settled in what is now Richland township, in the spring of 1829, and his log cabin was on the spot where Mr. Rob- ert Adams' barn now stands. The first eighty aeres of land entered, was by him, in 1830, and is now owned by the above Mr. Adams. The next was John Shinkle and fam- ily, in the spring of 1830, on the land where Thos. Thorn- burg lives; the next a Mr. Barker, Joseph Barnes, Isaac Jones and Archibald Parker, in 1830, on Big Killbuck ; also, Joseph Brown and family, settled on the land now owned by Harrison Canady. A mile or so above there, Richard and Timothy Parsons and families, also settled in 1830, then all a dreary wilderness, inhabited only by the red man and wild animals. These pioneers had to get their bread, etc., from Wayne county, and other places, as best they could, until they could raise it themselves. They knew nothing about luxuries, but dined upon "corn dodgers," "Johnny cake," opossom, coon, wild turkey, venison, etc., without salt or molasses. Their drink consisted of "Adam's ale," pure and unadulterated, as it flowed from the fountain head, down the hill-side, or tinetured with a little sassafras or spice wood.
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The first school house or cabin erected was in 1831, on the ground where one of H. Canady's frame houses now stands, near the pike, and the first school was taught by an Irish- man, in the spring of 1832.
The land in this part of the county was offered for sale by Congress, and by 1836 or '37 was nearly all taken up, and preparations made for cultivating it.
When I first visited this township, in August, 1833, I found it very wild and dreary, but the few inhabitants were remarkably hospitable and kind in every way; yet they ·were not of the most refined and cultivated, for, although they had large, generous souls, they were very limited in educa- tion. "They were the right men in the right place "
My brother-in-law, Christian Lower, and myself, moved from Wayne county, Indiana, to where I now live. We had to cut out our road as we came, and arrived here Janu- ary 5th, 1839. I had hired a cellar dug and a hewed log house built, 18x22 feet, with a clapboard roof ; also, an acre of land, cleared and fenced, the latter costing $15. There were but four or five houses between here and Anderson, and no roads only as we cut them out, except the one from Anderson to Pipe creek, which is now a turnpike. Had no church edifices, but held religious services in private houses. " Log rollings and house raisings " were novel scenes to us, for we had not witnessed the like in Wayne county. We rolled logs thirty-one days, in the spring of 1839. The first thing was to divide the logs, or the ground, as nearly equally as possible, then each one take a dram of the "O. B. Joy- ful " and all " pitch in." We fancied ourselves as but boys, by the side of those stalwart Virginians and Kentuckians. How every thing has changed since then! Religion, the light of science, and the temperance cause, have dissipated the moral gloom, and banished the " little brown jug" from our public gatherings; and to-day we have good churches and school houses, nice houses and barns, fine farms, rail- roads, telegraphs, turnpikes, etc., enough to make any com- munity contented and happy.
Well, gentle reader, I must bring my article to a close, 7
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and it is already longer in detail than I expected or antici- pated when I began. May the blessing of civil and relig- ious liberty ever stand out as a beacon light to cheer us on to ultimate success.
J. R. HOLSTON.
COMMUNICATION FROM REV. J. W. FOREST.
FORESTVILLE, Aug. 20, 1874.
FRIEND HARDEN :- Your favor requesting a sketch of the early history of Boone township is received and in com- pliance with the same I now proceed to give a brief outline. In the fall of 1847 I first set foot in this township and in that part known as the Miami Reserve. There was nearly one-half of the above township in this reserve. This land was not at that time in the market, but could be secured by actual settlers by pre-emption. The greater portion of the township was one unbroken wilderness; no traces of civili- zation in the western part save hunters' camps, an abund- ance of wolves, deer, squirrels, etc. There was at that time a small settlement in the eastern part of the township.
The first election held there were but eighteen votes cast, and the tickets were deposited in the inspector's hat. All was satisfactory so far as I know. I will give the names of those who voted as they recur to my mind, most of whom, however, are dead : James and John Tomlinson, Wright Smith, John James, William and Thomas Brunt, William Bevis, Morgan McMahan, Robert Webster, Dud- ley and George Doyle, Jesse McMahan, Peter Eaton, Samuel Moore and David Jones-the names of the others I have forgotten. The first house raising I was at there were but two hands the first day, three the second, four the third, and the fourth day we finished. At the first log rolling there were but eight hands "all told."
The first school house erected was about the year 1846.
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The second one I helped raise was a rough log house, with one end open for a fire place and a log cut out instead of a window and a wide punchcon serving for a writing table- the teacher agreeing to teach only as far as the " single rule of three."
The first preaching was by Samuel Partee, of the United Brethren faith; the next was by Wm. Boyden, of the Methodist faith, and the third by Wm. Golden, a Baptist. These meetings were held, generally, in private houses. The first Sabbath school was organized in the year 1854, with J. W. Forrest superintendent.
The first settlers were men of limited means, their first object was to secure homes and then convert them from a wilderness to a state of cultivation. They were men of industrious habits and had due respect for morality. You would searcely hear an oath at the house raisings and log rollings of that day. I knew of no bottles of whisky being at any of the public gatherings the first few years after set- tling in the township. The Reserve was settled very fast ; the sound of the ax and maul were heard throughout the land. Enough land was soon cleared on which to raise our own provision, and then we felt as though we were at home. The principal part of the milling was done at Jackson's mill, near Anderson, which required two or three days to make the trip. Our trading was done at Enos Wright's, Anderson, and Nathan Tomlinson's, Alexandria.
With industry, strict economy and perseverance our improvements marched on rapidly. The people were neighborly and social in the extreme. Churches and school houses soon sprang up in proportion to other improve- ments. Our land was naturally productive and soon increased in valuation. We now have a good township and with more ditching will favorably compare with older parts of the county. Of course it has taken toil and sacrifices to accomplish this. Many have fallen by the way, but a few have been permitted to live to see what then looked impos- sible. We yet lack a railroad, which we hope soon to have, for it would be of great advantage to us in getting
.
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our surplus to market. We are also deficient in gravel with which to make good roads, for our land is low and of such a nature that it is impossible to make good roads without it.
Your humble writer is one of the last surviving pioneers who settled here as early as 1847, spared for some cause, I hardly know what. Although I have passed through the "flint mill," so to speak, I still enjoy good health, for which I am truly thankful. I came from Virginia when I was thirty-seven years of age, and have now lived in Indiana twenty-seven years ; have tried to preach the gospel in my poor stammering way for many years, laboring to build up Zion, not only in Boone, but in different parts of the country ; have served my township in the capacity of Justice of the Peace for twelve years; acted as Swamp Land Commissioner, and have of late been acting with the Grange movement, which I think will accomplish good, but of course I can not see what is in the future.
You are at liberty to use this imperfect sketch, which I would gladly extend, but I find my memory deficient of late in giving dates, names, etc., with many other incidents connected with our early history.
Yours fraternally, JOHN W. FORREST.
DUCK CREEK TOWNSHIP.
DUCK CREEK TOWNSHIP was organized in 1852, by Anthony Minnick, Henry Cochran and Fielding Sampson, who were then Trustees, or Directors, as they were called by law. The first election took place in Angust, 1852, in the little United Brethren log church, on the bank of the creek, at the present site of the Waymire grave yard. This continued to be the voting precinct until 1856, when a school house was erected two and one-half miles northeast,
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on Anthony Minnick's land, to which place it was removed. As the time of holding elections was changed, the first regular election was held in April, 1853.
The first Trustees elected were John Adair, John Hosier and Thomas W. Harmon. Hosier and Harmon were re-elected. The first Treasurer elected was David Way- mire; the first Secretary, Daniel B. Newkirk; the first Assessor, Anthony Minnick ; the first Justices of the Peace, Elliott Waymire and Massey Clymer, the latter serving acceptably for sixteen years.
The first Sunday school organized was at what then was, and still is, known as the Minnick school house, in the summer of 1857. Thomas W. Harmon was elected Super- intendent. The first and only resident minister was Samuel Purtee, of the U. B. Church. He was a man of considera- ble ability and great zeal, but lacked culture and refine- ment. Owing to the negligence of his person and the affairs of his family, his influence was not what it otherwise would have been. But he continued a zealous minister and labored in various parts of his country until his death, February 21st, 1872.
During the early history of the township wolves and other wild animals were in abundance, but the last trace of the wolf was seen in the western part, near Tipton county, where a den of them was killed by Aquilla and James Purtee, in the year 1859. Deer were numerous, but the last was killed a few years later.
The township, generally speaking, is flat and is inter- seeted from southwest to northeast by two branches of Duek creek. The soil is good and the country well timbered, occasionally there being a swamp. A mile and a half north of the center are the dividing waters of the White and Wabash rivers, the water flowing south into Duck creek and thence into White river, while on the other hand it flows north into Wild Cat creek, thence into Wabash river.
Yours, JOHN N. HARMON.
September 24th, 1874.
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When mankind wander in the realms of fancy, outside of the domain of demonstrative fact, the theories thus con- structed amount only to speculation. In the infancy of nations, it was the custom of their writers to attempt to give an account of the world, its cosmical development and his- tory, in a few pages of a book. Time sanctified these tradi- tions, and in process of time they became incorported with the sacred legends of the country; a part of its faith, that amounted to skepticism to doubt. In the decomposition. and recomposition of States, the most cherished of these traditions were carried into the new. The wreck of old ideas was the material out of which the new was to be con- structed. Every idea of the structure of earth or of the origin of man, has had its antecedent idea in opinions that have had their youth, their manhood, and their age and decay, in systems long since forgotten. In our day, two theories are occupying the attention of the learned world, that of Creation, and that of Development.
The Creation theory is the more orthodox, as it is older. Old opinions are sound, as long as they have the pupular sanction ; opinion may err in the present, as it has in the past, hence the necessity for investigation before we give ourselves away to any threadbare whim, because it is old, or mount the whirlwind of fancy, because it is new. It con- cerns man more to be in possession of fact, than it does to construct theories to prop up the traditions of by-gone ages. The six days of creation and the seventh of rest, is looked on by educated men more in the light of allegory than of literal, cosmical history. Geological har- solution, compared mony is attained by the following with the cosmology of Moses : The morning and evening of the first day constituted the Azoic epoch of indefinite time. The second day of Biblical creation was the age of the earliest appearance of animated existence ; the age of Molusks, or Silurian age. On the third day, the Devouian age, or fish epoch, was ushered in. The fourth day represents the carboniferous period of geology. The fifth day is the period of the great culmination of those
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huge reptiles, whose remains are found only in the rocks ; among which are found the Ichthyosaurians, whose frame was enormous, and length not less than thirty feet at maturity. The Plesiosaurias, with snake-like head and feet that were used in water as fins, and on dry land as organs of locomo- tion. Also, to this period belongs the Presodactyl, or bird- like reptile, in consequence of its ability to fly in the air by means of bat-like wings. In the latter part of this period, first appears mammals, or beasts who suckle their young. On the sixth day, or age of mammals, many of the lower order of living existents disappeared from the earth, and gave place to a higher order of animated nature. This is the quatemary period of geologists. The animals of note that belonged to this epoch, which have since disappeared from the earth, are the poloeatherium, the dinotherium, the mas- todon or American fossil elephant, the mammoth and the magatherion, the latter a gigantic sloth, exceeding in size anything now living, the elephant alone excepted.
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