USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 49
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
in March, 1860. During his entire life he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. A part of his attention, however, has been given to the stock business. January 8, 1854, he was married to Ann Elizabeth Cover, a native of Frederick County, Maryland, born, of German descent, August 4, 1833. She was the eldest child born to William and Lucinda (Hina) Cover, both natives of Maryland. This marriage has resulted in the birth of seven children: Their names are Charles W., William I., Charlotte L., Rosa M., Elmer H., Noah W. and James G. Of these William I. died when eighteen months old. In politics Mr. Savage is an ardent Republican. He owns a handsome little farm of ninety- two acres nearly all of which is in cultivation. . His farm is fitted up with good fences and buildings and is a very desirable loca- tion. Mr. Savage is an enterprising and influential farmer and one of the honored and, worthy citizens of the township.
LYMAN J. SAVAGE, one of the enterprising young busi- ness men of Macy, was born in Allen Township, this county, June 30, 1858. ' Our subject spent his boyhood and youth upon his father's farm and attending the district school. He received in this an ordinary common school education. In the fall of 1880, he engaged in the furniture business in Macy, in partnership with his father, the name of the firm being L. J. Savage & Co. They have a commodious little business room well stocked with furniture, and are doing a good profitable business. Emma F. Farrar, daughter of Charles and Rebecca (Rammer) Farrar, of Macy, became his wife November 1, 1879. Their marriage has resulted in the birth of three children, all of whom are living. Their names are William R., Edith, and Charles T. Mr. and Mrs. Savage are members of the Christian Church. The former is a member of the F. & A. M. Lodge and a Republican in politics.
ISAIAH SEIDNER, one of the prominent citizens of Allen Township, was born in Columbiana County (now Mahoning County), Ohio, December 20, 1838. He was the youngest son in a family of eleven children born to Jacob and Elizabeth (Rummel) Seidner, with whom he came to this county in 1856. They located on the farm where Isaiah now resides. There the father and mother spent the rest of their lives, their respective deaths occurring May 18, 1858, and in 1859. Our subject spent his boy- hood and youth working on his father's farm. During winter he attended the district school, in which he received a common school education. At the age of twenty-one he took up the vocation of a teacher, and this has been his winter's employment ever since. He is now teaching his twenty-seventh winter term, having missed but one since he began. In this capacity he has had marked success, as is shown by the fact that all of his teaching has been confined to a comparatively few school districts. Though many improvements
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.
have been made in the system of education since he entered upon the teachers' career, he has studied privately and thus kept fully abreast of the tide of advancement, and he now ranks among the best teachers in the county. His vacations have been spent chiefly superintending his farm, though he has given some attention to the carpenter's trade. October 21, 1860, he was married to Julia Ann Landis, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Messinger) Landis, both natives of Pennsylvania. She was born in Wayne County, Ohio, August 7, 1838. Their marriage has been blessed by the birth of but one child, Mary A., born February 7, 1862. Mr. Seidner and daughter are members of the M. E. Church. The wife and mother is a member of the Church of God. Politically Mr. Seidner is a Republican. He has a beautiful home and a handsome little farm, fitted up with good fences and buildings, making it a very desirable location. He is an industrious farmer, an energetic and successful teacher, and a worthy and honorable citizen.
ABNER C. WAITE, member of the firm of Clendenning & Waite, of Macy, is a native of Union (now Allen) Township and was born November 15, 1840. He was the second son born to Sullivan and Margaret A. (Woods) Waite, natives of New York and Ohio respectively, Our subject spent his early life working upon a farm. He received in the district school a good common school education. In September, 1861, he entered the service of the Union Army in Company A, 26th Indiana Regiment, from which he received an honorable discharge in March, 1864. He participated in the Siege of Vicksburg, and the battle of Prairie Grove, Ark. His premature discharge was occasioned by an injury received while in active service. He returned to the farm in this county, where he worked upon the same in summer and taught school in winter, until 1871. He then quit teaching, but continued farming until 1879. At that time he removed to a farm in Washington Township. In the fall of ISS2 he located at Macy and engaged in the dry goods and grocery business. This has received his attention ever since. April 5, 1866, he was married to Rebecca E. Edwards, a native of Montgomery County, Ohio, and daughter of Elias and Maria (Duevelbyss) Edwards, natives of Virginia and Maryland respectively. Their marriage has resulted in the birth of six children. They are Laura L., Charles E., Mary B., Lewis E., Thomas E. and Margaret M., of whom Charles E. and Lewis E. died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Waite are mem- bers of the M. E. Church. Mr. Waite is a member of the F. & A. M. and G. A. R. Lodges and a Republican in politics. He has held the office of township Trustee in Allen Township one term. He also was honored with the office of President of the first board of Trustees ever in the town of Macy. Mr. Waite is one of the lead-
A. C. Wevite
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ing and reliable business men of the town of Macy and one of her most influential citizens.
SULLIVAN T. WAITE, one of the prominent farmers of Allen Township, is a native of the township in which he now resides and was born August 14, 1850. He was the youngest son born to Sullivan and Margaret A. (Woods) Waite, who emigrated to this county from Champaign County, Ohio, in the fall of 1838. He located upon a farm in Allen Township upon which our subject was born. He attended the district school in which he received a good common school education. At the age of nineteen he took up the vocation of a teacher and was thus successfully engaged for eleven years. His vacations were generally spent working upon the farm. His success in the school room is evidenced by the fact that, during his whole career as a teacher, he taught in about four school houses. He located where he now resides November 14, 1876. September 28, 1876, he was married to Maria Baker, a native of Perry Township, this county; born February 28, 1855. She was the daughter of Timothy and Susan A. (Messinger) Baker, who were among the most highly respected citizens of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Waite have four children. Their names are Lillie M., Timothy B., Deborah E. and Charles F., all of whom are living. Our subject and his wife are both members of the M. E. Church. Politically, Mr. Waite is a Republican. They own a handsome farm of 240 acres, over half of which is in cultiva- tion. Mr. Waite is an industrious and successful farmer and a first- class citizen.
ANDERSON WILKINSON, one of the old pioneers of the county, and one among the first settlers of Union Township, was born in Ross County, Ohio, Jan. 21, 1813. He was the second son born to John and Delilah (Stinson) Wilkinson, both natives of North Carolina. Our subject spent his boyhood and youth in his native county working upon a farm. He, in com -- pany with his wife, father, mother, three brothers and two sisters, came to this county in 1836, and located in that part of Union Township that has since been changed to Allen Town- ship. He was then a married man, so, on arriving here, he immediately set up for himself. He located upon a tract of fifty-six acres just north of the present site of Macy. Here: he has resided ever since. During his entire life his occupation has been that of a farmer. He has since added to his farma eighty acres more, making in all one hundred and thirty-six acres. He has since, however, sold from his farm some town lots, so- that his farm, at present, consists of but one hundred and twelve acres. When he came to the county he located in the woods, and to develop a farm out of the wilderness naturally devolved upon him a great deal of hard work. He chopped,
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.
grubbed, burned brush, rolled logs, plowed and, in fact, did all kinds of hard work which the development of a new country necessitates. He had erected a log cabin in the summer of 1837, and the structure, with additions, though nearly fifty years old, still stands to shelter its occupants. Sept. I, 1836, he was married to Hannah Rains, who died April 24, 1854. Dec. 14, 1854, he was married to Mrs. Martha Sutton. She died March I, 1876, and, on the 25th of January following, he was married to Mrs. Hannah Baker. In all, Mr. Wilkinson is the father of ten children: George, John D., Andrew J., Charles A., William F., Allen S., Margaret J., Benjamin F .; the next was an infant son that died in infancy unnamed; then Azro H. and Mary C. The first eight were by his first wife and the last two by his second wife. Of those named, Charles A. and Benjamin F. are deceased. Mr. Wilkinson is a member of the Church of God and a Democrat in politics. He has held the office of Town- ship Trustee three terms: As such, he discharged his duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. On the 24th of March, 1886, he had the misfortune to lose his left hand-the result of an amputation caused by a cancer that had afflicted him three years. He is now in the 74th year of his age and is enjoying good health. He has been a. resident of Miami County over fifty years, and is one of her most highly respected citizens.
JOHN S. WILSON, M. D., at Macy, is a native of West Virginia, and was born January 12, 1852. He was the third son born to Peter and Louisia (Hurd) Wilson, both natives of West Virginia, of English descent. When our subject was eight years old he accompanied his parents to Clark County, Ohio, where his youth was spent, working on his father's farm. During this time he attended the district school in which he received a good common school education. This was supplemented by a course in a commercial school at Springfield, Ohio. He graduated from that at the age of eighteen. After he had attained his majority he took up the vocation of a teacher, and was thus successfully engaged for seven years. His vacations were generally spent attending normal schools. In 1878 he came to this State and located in Fulton County. During the winter which followed he taught school. In the fall of '79 he began the study of medi- cine with Dr. C. Hector, of Rochester. He entered upon the practice of medicine at Millark, Fulton County, in the fall of 1880. He came to this county in the fall of 1882, and located at Macy, where he continues to practice his profession. In the meantime in December, 1882, he entered the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, where he attended two courses of lectures. June 13, 1882, he was married to Mary E., daughter of Israel
535
BUTLER TOWNSHIP.
and Maria (Hoover) Johnson. She was born in Fulton County, this State, May 29, 1862. To them two children have been born-Beatrice and Ulysses Scudder-born respectively May 1, 1883, and January 10, 1886. In politics Dr. Wilson is a Republi- can. Though young in his profession, he is a very successful practitioner. He has already built up quite an extensive practice at Macy, and he promises to become one of the leading physi- cians of Miami County. His portrait appears in this volume.
CHAPTER IX.
BUTLER TOWNSHIP-NATURAL FEATURES-EARLY OCCUPANTS-
FIRST WHITE SETTLERS-EARLY MILLS-RELIGIOUS HIS- TORY-FIRST OCCURRENCES-PEORIA-SANTA FE.
B UTLER Township is bounded on the north by the Wabash River; on the east by Wabash County, on the South by Harrison Township; on the west by Washington Town- ship, and includes a superficial area, equivalent to about thirty- two square miles. Wabash and Mississinewa Rivers afford ample drainage for the northern part of the Township while Pipe Creek and its tributaries water and drain the southern portion. The Mississinewa flows in a northwesterly direction and in its course passes through one of the most fertile and well developed agricultural districts of Miami County. The sur- face of the township is agreeably varied; that portion bordering an the water courses being level while a short distance back the country presents a series of rolling but fertile hills. The south- ern half may be described as quite level with undulations at irregular intervals. The soil presented by the surface of the country varies with each locality. Along the river bottoms it is very fertile and produces immense crops of corn, while the broken portions, though not so rich in vegetable matter are very productive and well adapted to wheat and the other cereals. The southern part of the Township is characterized by a black loam soil which responds generously to proper cultivation. Before disturbed, this region was heavily timbered and some gigantic trees still exist as silent monuments of the past grandeur of these forests. While much valuable timber was ruthlessly destroyed by the early settlers in clearing their lands; and later immense quantities were lavishly sacrificed to the demands of
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.
trade, there still remains a sufficiency for all practical purposes for years to come. The leading varieties of native trees are walnut, hickory, sugar tree, beech, ash, basswood, several kinds of oak, elm and sassafras, among which originally grew a dense undergrowth of spice brush, pawpaw, grapevine, &c., &c. These woods, when first seen by white men, were infested with all kinds of game, the pursuit of which afforded many of the early adventurers a means of profit as well as amusement. Deer roamed the country in vast herds and it required no extraordinary skill on the part of the huntsman to kill eight or ten of these animals without changing his position. Mr. Sullivan states that deer would frequently come up to his yard fence and upon one occasion immediately after the completion of his first residence, three or four very large ones deliberately walked up and looked through the back window. Wolves were also numerous and gave the early settlers considerable annoyance by frequently raiding the pig, pens and barn yards. By far the most trouble- some animals however, were a species of the wild hog; long, gaunt and savage creatures, which had run wild in course of nature. They would frequently attack the domestic hogs and literally cut them to pieces with their sharp tusks. Dogs learned by sad experience to let these monsters of the woods alone, and they were only gotten rid of by the rifles of the settlers. The other game of this part of the country were turkeys, raccoons, squirrels, foxes, an occasional bear, wild geese and duck on the water courses and an abundance of the finny tribe in the streams. This was indeed a veritable hunter's paradise, and upon the abundance of game thus afforded, the early pioneer mainly sub- sisted until they could clear and bring their lands into cultiva- tion.
As is well known, Butler Township was formerly the hunt- ing ground and dwelling place of the Miami Tribe of Indians and is still the home of a scattered remnant of that once powerful people. It was here that their noted Chief, Francis Godfroy lived, and in an Indian graveyard, on the farm of his son, Gabriel Godfroy, near the Mississinewa River, his remains, with many other noted men of his tribe, lie buried. Near this spot is point- ed out a place, where, many years ago is said to have been fought a bloody battle between detachments of hostile tribes, but all information concerning the engagement, is purely legendary. Butler Township was organized as a separate jurisdiction on the first day of September, 1841. Under the order providing for the organization, an election was held a little later the same year at the cabin of Isaac Litzenbarger on the present site of Peoria for the purpose of choosing the necessary township officials.
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THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
The first Justice of the Peace was Samuel Robertson. Unfortu- nately the names of the other officers could not be learned.
The First Settlements within the limits of Butler were made by emigrants from Pennsylvania and Ohio. A large portion of the northern part of the township was included in the strip donated by the Government to the Wabash and Erie Canal, and was placed at the disposal of settlers several years before the south- ern half came into market, the latter at that time forming a part of the great Miami Reservation, which was not opened for set- tlement till late in the forties. The first sale of land took place in 1840, at which time a number of men, availing themselves of the opportunities thus offered of securing cheap homes, purchased tracts in various parts of the township, to which they moved their families soon after. The first actual settler, however, made his appearance the year prior to that date, and laid claim to a piece of land in the extreme eastern part of the township near the Wabash County line. He was a Pennsylvanian by the name of Wilhelm, and the site of his original settlement was on the land owned at this time by J. Long. After a short residence in that locality, he sold his claim to Isaac Litzenbarger and moved about two miles southwest of the present site of Peoria village, choosing for his home what is now the Johnson farm, when his death occurred over thirty years ago. James Clayton came a short time before the land sale also, and settled on the north bank of the Mississinewa river, opposite the village of Peoria, where he subsequently entered a tract of Government land, a part of which is owned at this time by J. L. Farrar, of Peru. Mr. Clayton was a man of many excellent qualities, and is remembered as a very civil and trustworthy citizen. His death, six years later, was one of the early events of the kind in the township. Another pioneer of 1839 was Benjamin Barnes, who settled first where Joseph Boyer now lives, a short distance west of Peoria. He sub- sequently disposed of his claim to Frederick Wilds, and bought land north of the Mississinewa, where he made a number of substan- tial improvements. He, with a brother and two other men, was accidentally drowned a number of years ago at the feeder dam in Peru, while rafting logs down the river. Hugh Banks made the first improvements on what is now the Boyer farm, the site of Barnes' original settlement, as early as 1839, but did little besides erecting a rude cabin for the reception of his family. Unlike many of the early settlers of a new county, he was possessed of consider- able means, which enabled him to purchase several valuable tracts of land in Wabash County, to which he removed after a brief resi- dence upon his original claim. Thomas Clayton, brother of James Clayton, and son-in-law of Benjamin Barnes, settled on land adjoining the latter's place prior to 1840, and was a resident of the
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.
township until his death, which occurred a number of years ago.
In the year 1840 Isaac and John Litzenbarger became resi- dents of the township, the former purchasing the Wilhelm claim north of Peoria, and the latter settling where he still lives on the present site of the village. They came to this county from Penn- sylvania, and were among the substantial citizens of Miami County. Isacc died about ten or twelve years ago, and John is the oldest resident of Butler at this time. In company with the Litz- enbargers came James Beard, who resided near Peoria, in the vicinity of which he purchased a fine tract of land. About that time, or perhaps a little earlier, Moses Falk came to this county and established a trading post, where Peoria now stands, and for a number of years carried on a successful traffic with the Indians, purchasing valuable tracts of land in the meantime, which he subsequently disposed of at good financial profits. He after- wards moved to Peru, in which city his death occurred several years ago.
John, David and Benjamin Hahn, with another brother (name unknown), were reported to have settled south of Peoria early in the year 1840, and about the same time one Samuel Robertson, a son-in-law of Benjamin Beard, was living near the latter's place in the vicinity of the village.
Prominent among the arrivals of 1841 was Joseph Votaw, who settled the summer of that year on land which he had previously pur- chased in the northeastern part of the township. Mr. Votaw describes his first habitation as having been a hastily improvised structure, resembling in its make up, an Indian wigwam covered with a tent cloth, the construction of which required the united labors of him- self and wife for about two or three hours. In this rude shelter the pioneer family managed to live with a reasonable degree of comfort, until a better, but less picturesque building of logs, could be erected hard by. With the energy characteristic of the man, Mr. Votaw soon had a respectable area of land in cultivation, and in connection with his early efforts at farming started a blacksmith shop, the first in the township, which he carried on with encouraging success for many years. He bore a conspicuous part in the moral as well as material development of the county, and is still an honored resident of the township. The next settler deserving of special mention was Jonah Sullivan, who, while on a tour of inspection in 1836, selected a home site in section 3, township 26, north range 5, east, which he purchased at the land sale in 1840. Soon after securing his land Mr. Sullivan went back to his native State (Ohio), and the follow- ing year, accompanied by his wife, whom he had married in the meantime, returned to his new home in the wilderness of the Mis- sissinewa, where unfortunately no shelter of any kind awaited them. He states that over two weeks were required to make the trip, and
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THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
that all their household goods, provisions, farming implements, etc., were hauled in a single wagon, which at frequent intervals mired to the hubs in the muddy and almost impassible roads. Mr. Sullivan's brother accompanied him as assistant on the journey, and the two, after an immense amount of hard work cutting a way through the dense woods, prying the wagon out of the mire, etc., finally reached their destination, where a shelter, much after the fashion of the one described above, was hastily prepared. Quite a number of Indians passing and repassing while the goods were being unloaded, caused the younger brother no little uneasiness, and as soon as the tent was pitched he took his departure for what he considered safer quarters, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan alone in their wild forest home. The place of settlement being remote from a spring or stream of any kind, and water being an important item, Mr. Sullivan determined first of all to dig a well and after that to erect his dwelling. Accordingly an eligible site was fixed upon and in due course of time the hole was completed, but the months dragged by until the latter part of December before the family exchanged the original residence for a better one. Mr. Sullivan, against the advice of sev- eral of his neighbors, determined to erect a house more in conform- ity with his ideas of comfort than the conventional round pole shanty of the period, and accordingly took his time in preparing the neces- sary materials for the same. The building, although a log struc- ture, was a story and a half high, smoothed down both in side and out, and for many years was considered the best dwelling in the township. It was subsequently abandoned for a more modern dwel- ling, but is still standing in a remarkable state of preservation. Mr. Sullivan resided upon his original purchase until 1874, when he moved to Peru, of which city he is at this time an honored resident. Job Morris settled on land adjoining the Votaw farm in 1841 and is remembered as one of the substantial pioneers of the township. He purchased three eighty acre tracts in the vicinity, but subse- quently disposed of the same and moved to Illinois. Isaac Deeter came the later part of 1841 or early in 1842, and made a settlement south of the river near Peoria. William Parks located in the vicin- ity of Peoria in an early day, as did also Rev. Joseph Davis, a min- ister of the Baptist Church, who visited the county at intervals sev- eral years before making a permanent settlement. After 1841 and 1842 settlements began to multiply quite rapidly, and it is impossi- ble to name the pioneers in the order of their arrival or to give any- thing like a full and complete list of them. The following, however, with those already enumerated, constitute the majority of the pio- neers in northern Butler, to-wit: Edmund Wright, near the Wabash County line; Michael Bradley, near the Votaw farm; Jacob Heffley, one and a half miles south of Peoria; Adam Fansler, southeast of Peoria, where he is now living; John Davidson, near the central part
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