USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 39
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
elected wardens and C. E. Rutherford, vestryman. Rev. W. N. Dunham was called as rector on July 1, 1870, and meetings were held regularly in a room over Shirk & Miller's store, where the First National bank is now located. Before the close of the year a lot at the northeast corner of Main and Miami streets was purchased and on September 19, 1871, the corner-stone of the first Episcopal church in Miami county was laid under the direction of Bishop Talbott, Rev. Mr. Roberts, of Indianapolis, delivering the sermon.
The church erected then served as the home of the congregation for more than forty years. On June 3, 1913, the corner-stone-of the new church was laid according to the Episcopal ritual, Bishop John Hazen White, of South Bend, officiating. An incident that occurred in con- nection with this ceremony was something out of the ordinary. When Bishop White visited Gary, some time before, for the purpose of laying the corner-stone of an Episcopal church, the stone masons objected to his using the trowel because he was not a member of their union. The bishop begged to be permitted to proceed, saying that he would make it all right for the next time. Consequently, he joined the stone masons' union and when he came to Peru he carried his membership card, but no objection was offered to his officiating or using the trowel. The con- tract cost of the new building was $20,000. It was not completed at the beginning of the year 1914. The walls are of oriental velour brick, laid with black cement, and when completed the church will be an ornament to the city.
During the pastorate of Rev. Edward W. Averill, the guild hall was erected in the rear of the church. It is a substantial brick structure and is still standing.
THE LUTHERANS
Rev. C. Stuerken, a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran church, came to Peru in 1849 and held services in a little frame school house on West Second street. The only members of the denomination in the town at that time were Paul Kleemann, Thomas Hetzner, L. Kolk, Charles Koederer, John Bazner and Adam Waltz, and a few members of their families. Owing to the fact that the congregation was small, Mr. Steurken visited it only at irregular intervals and after a time the meet- ings were discontinued entirely for about a year. He then began his visits again and a church was regularly organized in 1858, with Rev. H. Horst as pastor. He remained but a short time, when Mr. Steurken returned to the congregation and in a little while a small brick building was erected on West Second street, near Hood. In 1861 a number of
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members were added to the congregation and during the next decade the growth of the church was steady, though somewhat slow. Early in the '70s a movement was started for a new house of worship. The lots at the southeast corner of Main and Fremont streets was purchased, the corner- stone of the new building was laid on May 22, 1875, and the church was formally dedicated on April 2, 1876. It is a brick structure, 40 by 75 feet, with a tall spire, and still serves the congregation as a home. Where the old church stood on West Second street a handsome two-story brick school house was erected in 1905.
In the year 1855 two ministers named Geisel and Uphouse, members of the Fulton circuit of the Indiana conference of the Evangelical Lutheran church, began holding services in the vicinity of Bunker Hill. Four years later Mr. Geisel conducted a series of revival meetings that resulted in the organization of a class or society, of which Peter Walters was the leader. From 1861 to 1863 Rev. R. J. Trometer had charge of the work in that part of the county. During the next two years Rev. HI. Fisher was the pastor of the little flock. Then came Rev. J. Kaufman, who in turn was succeeded by Mr. Uphouse in 1867. For a time meet- ings were held in the homes of the members; then the school house west of the town was secured and services were held there until 1874. In that year a brick house of worship was erected on Elm street, in the south part of the town, where the congregation still has its home.
EVANGELICAL
A society of the German Evangelical Association was formed in Perry township, a short distance east of Gilead, and in 1858 a frame house of worship was erected near the village, at a cost of $700. Among the early members were the Ault, Smith and Barnheisel families, Cor- nelius Barnheisel donating the land for the church site.
At the Buffalo school house, in the northern part of Perry township, a society of the Reformed Lutheran church was organized in 1880, by Rev. E. Hershey. About a year later a small frame house of worship was erected on land donated by Samuel King. Prior to that time a Lutheran society had been organized at the Greenland school house and held meetings there for some time. It was finally disbanded and most of the members united with the Buffalo congregation.
The Evangelical church at the corner of Fifth and Water streets, in the city of Peru, was dedicated on January 19, 1902, Bishop Thomas Bowman officiating. At that meeting $1,500 were contributed and the new building was cleared of debt. This society was organized on Novem- ber 26, 1898, at the home of George Vanblaricum, with seven members.
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In December, the little society secured the hall over the express office on East Third street. On April 14, 1899, Rev. Edward Oliver took charge as pastor and from that time the society grew until it was strong enough to erect its own sanctuary at the corner of Fifth and Water streets, as above stated.
THE CONGREGATIONALISTS
So far as can be learned there has never been but one society of this faith in Miami county. In April, 1876, Rev. J. B. Parmelee, then pastor of the Presbyterian church in Peru, resigned his position and procured a letter of dismission from the presbytery. At the same time some of the members of the Presbyterian church withdrew and, under the leadership of Mr. Parmelee, organized a Congregational church. The old church edifice that had been used by one of the Methodist societies, located at southwest corner of Main and Miami streets, was secured by the new denomination and for a time the Congregationalists were fairly pros- perous. Then some of the members returned to the Presbyterian church, and after the departure of Mr. Parmelee for other fields of labor Rev. Mr. Cooper took charge, but the society soon went down. The Christian church afterward purchased the church building.
THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS
A society of this denomination was organized at Bunker Hill in 1879, by Rev. S. G. Lane. Among the first members were Allen James, H. G. Curtis, Alexander Baxter, Granville Hedrick, John Turner and their wives, Mary Crowder and Mary Clouse. Services were held at the homes of the members until 1882, when a frame house of worship was built in Duckwall's addition, on Elm street. The congregation was never very strong in numbers and some time in the early '90s meetings were discontinued. The Dunkards then obtained the privilege of using the building and hold services there about once a month.
In 1883 a Seventh Day Adventist church was organized at Denver by two ministers named Reese and Covert. The original membership was about twenty. For about two years services were held in the old college building, but in 1885 a frame church was built in the south- eastern part of town at a cost of $800. A Sunday school was soon after- ward organized with Jesse Woods as superintendent. Services were held for several years, when both church and Sunday school passed out of existence, though there are still a few people of that faith living at Denver and in the immediate vicinity.
The only society of Seventh Day Adventists now in Miami county is in the city of Peru. It numbers but a few members and has been in
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existence for the past ten or twelve years. Recently meetings have been held at the dwelling of Thomas McCarty at the extreme end of West Third street.
THE CHURCH OF GOD
A short distance south of the village of Peoria was once a congrega- tion of this faith, which has a peculiar history. One of the early settlers in Butler township-a Mr. Hahn-had saved $500, with which he intended to purchase land in Iowa. Just as he was about to start for that state became converted by a minister of the Church of God and his conversion was so sincere that the $500 went toward building a church on his farm. The house was finished about 1856 and for some years Mr. Hahn had camp meetings on his farm near the church. He even went to the expense of erecting sheds for the horses of the visitors and every year provided food for a large number of those who attended the meet- ings. About 1860 the church began to decline and finally the old house was abandoned. Hahn's farm was sold to E. H. Shirk, who sold it to a man named Crull. When Mr. Crull announced his intention of tearing down the old church the people of the neighborhood raised a fund and bought it and a small tract of land. Here the Methodists and Christians . have since held meetings, but the Church of God that once, worshiped there is only a memory.
There was another Church of God in the county at one time and the old church edifice is still standing in Perry township, a mile or two in a southeasterly direction from the Enterprise Dunkard church. Almost directly across the road from it once stood a Methodist church, which, after it was abandoned, became known as the "old shell." It disappeared probably fifty years ago.
THE UNIVERSALISTS
Salem Universalist church, four miles south of Peru in Washington township, had its beginning as early as 1858, when Rev. J. Brooks visited that part of the county and held a few meetings at the residence of some of the settlers who believed in the doctrine of the "Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and the final destruction of all sin and wrong." Eben Mosely and his wife, A. B. Edwards and wife, and a family by the name of Clymer were the original members of Salem church. During the thirty-five years following the first visit of Mr. Brooks, no formal organization of a society was attempted, though several Universalist ministers came into the neighborhood and held meetings, either at the home of some believer or in the school house. In February, 1893, the church was organized and the same year a frame
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church building 32 by 48 feet was erected. Rev. M. L. Pope was installed as pastor and under his ministrations a number of new members were added to the congregation. The church property is valued at $2,000.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS
A society of this faith was organized in Peru in 1902, with Miss Sadie Nordyke as first reader and Mrs. C. W. Fultz as second reader. The society holds its meetings in a brick building on the north side of East Fifth street, between Court and Wabash streets. At the close of the year 1913 Mrs. Laura V. Harter held the position of first reader and A. E. Fisher that of second reader.
Vol 1 . 24
CHAPTER XVIII
CHARITIES AND CEMETERIES
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR IN EARLY DAYS-CUSTOM OF FARMING OUT PAUPERS-ITS DISADVANTAGES-MIAMI COUNTY'S FIRST POOR HOUSE -PRESENT COUNTY ASYLUM-OLD FOLKS' AND ORPHAN CHILDREN'S HOME-DUKES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL-WABASH RAILWAY HOSPITAL -COUNTRY GRAVEYARDS BY TOWNSHIPS-ODD FELLOWS' CEMETERY AT MACY-MOUNT HOPE CEMETERY AT PERU.
In the early days of Indiana's history the poor were taken care of by the townships, each township having one or more overseers of the poor. It was customary for these overseers to "farm out" the adult paupers and "bind out" the children. The results obtained by this method were not always satisfactory. The person who was the high- est bidder for the services of some unfortunate poor man or woman was frequently more interested in "getting his money's worth" than in the welfare of his bond servant, and the treatment of paupers under this system was not always humane. At the first term of the county commissioners' court William N. Hood and William M. Reyburn were appointed overseers of the poor of Peru township, but the records do not show what they did in caring for the unfortunate under their charge.
To the credit of Miami county it can be said that the practice of "farming out" paupers did not last long after the county was organ- ized, if it were ever inaugurated at all. In May, 1835, the board of commissioners issued an order directing William N. Hood to purchase a tract of land in the northeast quarter of section 3, township 27, range 4, as a site for a county poor asylum. This tract is in the east- ern part of Jefferson township, near the northern boundary of Peru township and about a mile south of the little hamlet of Courter. The price paid by the county was $20.80. Experience had taught other counties that the poor could be more cheaply kept in an institution of this kind than by the old methods of the township overseers, and at the same time the unfortunates were more likely to receive proper treatment on account of the responsibility being centered in the man -.
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agement of the county asylum instead of being distributed among the township overseers and those who had bought the services of paupers by being the highest bidders.
Although the preliminary steps for the establishment of an asylum were taken in the purchase of this land, several years passed before anything further was done. There was no pressing need for such an institution, as there was plenty of work for all who were able to perform it, and the county revenues were not equal to the demand in the first few years of its history. About 1845 the commissioners appointed I. M. DeFrees and Samuel Glass to contract for and superintend the erection of two houses "to be constructed of hewn logs 12 by 8 inches, the buildings to be two stories high. The first story to be 8 feet 6 inches in the clear, and the second to be 7 feet 6 inches in the clear. One house to be 26 by 18 feet and the other 18 feet square, to be placed 8 feet apart, and in the center of the land previously bought by said county."
The contract for the erection of the two log houses was awarded to George W. Meeks for $365. They were completed in due time and in March, 1846, were accepted by the commissioners. These two log houses constituted Miami county's first asylum for the poor. O. E. Noland was appointed, superintendent and at the close of his first year reported that not a single inmate had been sent to the asylum.
In the course of time the provisions were found to be inadequate to the demand, owing to the growth of population and the consequent increase in the number of indigent inhabitants. The old farm in Jef- ferson township was therefore sold to Charles Pefferman for $1,000 and the southwest quarter of section 3, township 26, range 4, was pur- chased for $6,400 as a site for a new county asylum. This tract is located in Washington township, on the old Strawtown road and about a mile south of the city of Peru. On April 2, 1864, the board of com- missioners entered into a contract with John Clifton to erect a poor house on the premises and ordered that $350 be paid the said Clifton as part of the contract price of the building. On July 12, 1864, the board accepted the poor house as complete and ordered the payment of $310 as the balance due the contractor.
The building erected at this time served as the county asylum for the pcor until July 28, 1877, when a contract was made with Wampler & Clifton to furnish all material (except the brick and stone founda- tion walls) and erected a poor asylum for the sum of $6,472.78. A barn had been built in 1873 at a cost of $700, and some additions have since been made to the main building, which is a brick structure two stories in height, with a basement, and containing in all forty-eight rooms.
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Besides the barn, the principal out buildings are the washhouse, bakery, milkhouse, carpenter and butcher shops. The kitchen is in the base- ment of the main building and the dining rooms-one for the.men and another for the women-are on the first floor. Recently a small hos- pital was built for the treatment of certain contagious and infectious diseases. Altogether the county has expended over $20,000 in the establishment of this institution. While this sum is much less than that expended by some of the Indiana counties for a similar purpose, Miami county has a poor asylum that is ample for all demands under normal conditions.
About 1889 Levi P. Miller, one of the early settlers of Jefferson township and a devout member of the German Baptist church, donated a site and erected a building near Mexico for an "Old Folks' and Orphan Children's Home," on condition that the churches of his denomination in what is known as the Middle District of Indiana sup- port the institution. When the home was first opened the old folks and children were kept together, but it was soon discovered that the playfulness of the young ones was sometimes annoying to the elder inmates, or that the sedateness of the old served to check the natural tendency of the children to amuse themselves. Other buildings were therefore erected so that the homes are kept separate, though under the same management. Orphans are received from a number of counties in central and northern Indiana and are well cared for at the home, at a charge of twenty-five cents per day for each child, until suitable homes can be found for them. The institution is under the control of a board of five directors, selected by the German Baptist church, and for a number of years Rev. Frank Fisher has held the position of superintendent. Mr. Fisher publishes a paper called The Orphan, which has a large circulation in Indiana and adjoining states. Although the home is not, strictly speaking, a charitable institution in the sense that it dispenses alms or aid in a general way, it has done a great work in finding homes for orphan children and in caring for old people, who might otherwise have become a charge upon the county.
The Peru Associated Charities was organized on October 16, 1891, when Charles H. Brownell was elected president; J. H. Fetter, first vice- president ; Dr. J. O. Ward, second vice-president; Mrs. Moses Puter- baugh, secretary ; W. A. Woodring, treasurer. About two weeks later Mr. Brownell resigned the presidency and R. P. Effinger was elected to the vacancy. The objects of the organization are to extend relief to, and find employment for, the worthy poor. After a few years the "men folks" turned the society over to the women. Mrs. Milton Shirk, who first proposed the organization of the associated charities, was then elected
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president. She was succeeded by Mrs. Hazen Pomeroy, who in turn was succeeded by Mrs. E. W. Shirk, the present incumbent. The other officers at the beginning of the year 1914 were: Mrs. Samuel Porter, vice-president; Mrs. Moses Puterbaugh, secretary; Mrs. R. H. Cole, treasurer. It is worthy of note that Mrs. Puterbaugh has been secretary of the organization from the beginning, and the only person who has ever served in that position. Mrs. Hattie Hale and Mrs. M. S. Robinson were active workers during the early years of the organization.
In addition to the above officers there is a corps of "friendly visitors," whose duty it is to investigate the character of all persons asking for aid, and who constitute the active membership. These visitors at the
BREAD LINE, SHOWING WORK OF THE ASSOCIATED CHARITIES AT TIME OF GREAT FLOOD IN MARCH, 1913
beginning of the year 1914 were as follows: First ward, Mrs. N. W. Van Osdol and Mrs. C. W. Myers; Second ward, Mrs. G. W. Kenny and Mrs. Will Koontz; Third ward, Miss Harriet Hackley and Mrs. William Charters; Fourth ward, Mrs. Harry Miller and Mrs. George C. Miller ; South Peru, Mrs. Frank Dunn; Ridgeview, Mrs. John Crume and Mrs. Mills Hathaway.
Funds for the relief work of the association are raised by soliciting contributions, by giving charity balls, and by donations from the various fraternal societies. Fortunately there are but few people in Peru and its environs who are not self-sustaining and there have been compara- tively few calls for assistance. In such cases the associated charities. have always been ready to grant relief, where the applicants were. deserving.
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The Aaron N. Dukes Memorial Hospital, at Peru, is the gift of one of Miami county's well known citizens. For several years prior to his death Captain Aaron N. Dukes had under contemplation the estab- lishment of some kind of an institution that would be of benefit to the people of Miami county and the city of Peru. About 1908 he secured the site at the corner of Twelfth and Grant streets and erected thereon a building for a hospital, at a cost of some $35,000. This building was placed in charge of a board of nine trustees, viz .: Rev. Harry Nyce, James Fetter, George C. Miller, Sr., John J. Kreutzer, Henry Mein- hardt, Felix Levy, N. N. Antrim, R. H. Bouslog and John Unger.
Unfortunately no provision was made for an equipment or for cur- rent expenses, so that the building was allowed to stand idle for some time after it was completed. During this period Mr. Antrim and Mr .. Bouslog resigned from the board of trustees. The hospital was first used as a place of refuge at the time of the great flood in March, 1913. The flood relief committee sent to the hospital such furniture and other materials as they could command as a temporary equipment, in order to care for the flood sufferers who became ill from exposure. That com- mittee, composed of R. A. Edwards, F. D. Butler and Rev. Ambrose Bailey, supplied food and paid the expenses of maintaining the hospital as long as the flood victims remained ill, expending in all about $1,300. At the instigation of the relief committee, and executive committee- Dr. E. H. Andrews, James Fetter and John Unger-took charge of the actual hospital work, all supplies being furnished upon the requisition of this committee.
After the flood the seven trustees elected Dr. E. H. Griswold and Dr. E. H. Andrews to the vacancies on the board caused by the resig- nations of Antrim and Bouslog. The executive committee during the flood was made a permanent executive board, with Dr. Andrews as chairman, and preparations were commenced to equip the hospital and make it a permanent institution. The work of soliciting contribu- tions for this purpose began and resulted as follows: The operating room was furnished by the doctors, dentists and lawyers of Peru, who raised the money by baseball games with themselves as the players; the sterilizing room was furnished by the Peru high school class of 1913 and the county officials, part of the necessary funds having been raised by a game of baseball; Mrs. C. V. Brooke gave a dressing cabinet in memory of her mother; the ladies of the Christian and Baptist churches each furnished a room; the Martha and Mary class of the Methodist Episcopal church furnished a room; rooms were also fur- nished by the lodges of Elks, Eagles, Owls and Modern Woodmen, the Jewish ladies, the Peru Drama League and the Carpenters' union ;
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the Independent Order of Odd Fellows furnished the dormitory for the nurses ; the Masonic fraternity equipped the superintendent's room, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers furnished the office. Early in the summer of 1913 a ladies' auxiliary to the hospital associa- tion was organized with Mrs. Max Gunsberger, president; Mrs. J. P. Spooner, secretary, and Mrs. Grant, treasurer. The objects of this auxiliary were to provide the necessary table-ware, linen, etc., and to furnish the third floor for the reception of charity patients. These good women did their work so well that a goodly supply of both table and bed linen was accumulated and each of the two rooms on the third floor was equipped with ten beds, the total value of the auxiliary's supplies amounting to about $2,500.
The hospital has thirty-five beds and at the close of the year 1913 possessed an equipment worth about $5,000, without a dollar of indebt- edness. The county commissioners of Miami county appropriated $1,500 annually for the treatment of persons who are unable to pay for hospital services, and the other expenses are taken care of by the hospital association.
Captain Dukes, who built this hospital as a gift to the community, was a prince among men. He was a man of excellent business quali- fications, of upright Christian character and philanthropic disposition. He came by the rank of captain by virtue of service in the war with the Sioux Indians in Minnesota. At that time he had large landed inter- ests at Mankato, Minnesota, not far from the seat of war, and subse- quently laid out several additions to that city. After coming to Peru he was for years the receiver for the old Howe sewing machine factory, and after bringing it out of its financial straits became manager of it under the new name of the Indiana Manufacturing Company, serving in that capacity until his death in 1912. The handsome hospital he donated and intended to endow, had he lived to complete his work, is generally known as the Dukes Hospital, though the association which operates it is known as the Miami County Hospital Association, as it ·is dependent upon the public of the county for its support, for all of whose citizens it has an open door.
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