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 67
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ant. hopes, looking forward to the time when the dense woods should be cleared away, and when fine farms should appear in their stead." He lived to see all these changes take place, but, contrary to his expectations, instead of accumulating a compe- tency and living to enjoy the same, was compelled to pass his declining years in the county poor house, where he died a com- mon pauper. The next man who sought a home in the new country was William Akright, who located in the southeast corner of the township, where Ananias Harmon now lives, some time in the year 1834. Mr. Akright was in the true sense of the word a pioneer, and, like his predecessor, was doomed to bitter disappointment, so far as the accumulation of property was concerned, dying in indigent circumstances in the year 1884. His son, John Akright, came the same time, figured as an early school teacher of the township, and later sold goods for a number of years in the village of Gilead. The same year Mat- thias Moyer settled near the eastern boundary of the township, where he cleared a good farm and set out one of the first nurseries in the county. "Benjamin Musulman and Jacob Gill were early settlers in the same locality, but did not purchase land at that time, both of them leasing a part of Mr. Moyer's place."
During the year 1835, a number of substantial men were added to the population of the little colony, conspicuous among whom was John Rhodes, who entered a large tract of land near the central part of the township, upon which he lived the remainder of his life. Unlike the majority of settlers in a new country, Mr. Rhodes was a man of considerable wealth, by means of which he was enabled to secure a valuable property and live in comparative ease. His son, Adam E. Rhodes, accompanied him to this country and settled upon the present site of Gilead, of which village he was proprietor. He was a man of great energy and superior business qualifications, and ranked as one of the leading citizens of the county for a number of years. Another prominent settler of 1835 was Ira Mitchell, who located a short distance east of Gilead, on what is now the John Baker farm. John Close came the latter part of the same year and made an improvement near the eastern boundary of the township, and James Waddle is reputed to have been living on the Samuel Seidner place not far from Niconza, prior to 1836. Among others of 1835, were Peter Onstatt, two and a half miles southeast of Gil- ead; James Fiers, on the Tombaugh farm in the southeast corner of the township; Rev. Wesley Borders, a Methodist preacher and early Justice of the Peace, in the same locality; Joseph Wildman and his son Joseph, near the Keesling farm, southwest of Gilead; Alfred Doud, a half mile west of the village; Charles Cleland, in the vicin- ity of Dowd's place; James Cleland, brother of Charles, and an early
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trader, about four miles southwest of Gilead; James Biggs, north- west of Gilead; Benjamin and David Marquis, on the Sickafoos farm; Willis Hill, on the Graft farm, in the southwest part of the township; Jacob Richard, son-in-law of Alfred, near the central part of the township; John Walters, on the Joseph Grogg farm; John Anderson and Matthias Bird, near Gilead; and James Bunton, who purchased land owned at the present time by Jacob Kessling and Fred Kircher, where he died within a short time after coming to the county.
Prominent among the arrivals of 1836 was Peter Kessling, who, the previous fall, purchased the land where Willis Hill had settled, to which he moved his family the following spring. He was a prominent citizen of the township until his death in 1860, and can be appropriately classed with the early representative men of Miami County. His sons, Jacob, Titus, Peter, James and Jackson, came the same year, and Samuel a little later. They were all sub- stantial citizens and left the impress of their characters upon the communities in which they resided. Jacob Kessling, the only one of the brothers here at the present time, is one of the oldest and wealthiest citizens of the township.
Samuel Shoemaker settled in the southeast corner of the township in 1836, and before the close of that year the popula- tion had been increased by the following comers: Samuel Essick, on the Timothy Baker farm; Peter Sager, a short distance south of Gilead; Jacob Huffman, in the northeastern part of the town- ship; William J. Keever, who purchased part of the Marquis land, and John Clifton, about three miles north of Gilead. Dur- ing the interval from 1837 to 1839, the following settlers, with others, sought homes within the present limits of the township: John Grogg, where he is still living; George and Joseph Grogg, the former in the northern part of the township and the latter where his sons are still living; Hiram Butler, an early Trustee and County Commissioner, near the southern border; John D. Haken, father-in-law of Jacob Kessling, in Section 16, eastern part of the township; John Tombaugh, on land now owned by Noah Miller; John Bowers, where Michael Thomas lives; John Meyers, eastern part of the township, Section sixteen; Larkin Norman, southeast corner; John Chambers and sons, Pleasant and Elijah, in same locality; William Hester, first Justice of the Peace, near the center part of the township; Zera Sutherland, near Gilead; Henry and John Daggy, on land owned at this time by Andrew Yarian; Jesse Butler, on the road leading from Gilead to Peru; Robert Meek and John Tracy, in southern part of the township; Peter Shrig, a transient settler who lived in various places; Alexander Jameson, where Daniel Carns now lives; Allen Jameson, on same place; John Olds, Prior Wright,
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and Joshua Murphy, in southern part; Amos Ellison, central part; Caleb B. Ash, one of the first school teachers, ten miles north of Gilead, and James Chapen, northeastern part. Among others who came in from time to time, were the following: Charles S. Low, Thomas Carpenter, Daniel Keim, George Keim, Ben- jamin Keim, Calvin Tracy, Hezekiah Tracy, John Gilliland, Joseph Oldfather, Samuel Thompson, Vinal Thurston, Samuel Rank, Reeder Drake, William A. Sower, Barnes Dowd, James S. Love, Hiram Daines, Peter Mowry, Adam Daines, Jacob Barnheisel, John Gaerte, Jacob Myers, John Myers, Dennis 'Garber, Jacob Miller, Joseph Miller, Johi: Fiers, Thomas Goudy, Henry Bidd- ing, James Goudy, John Goudy, Henry Koffle and John Slagle, the majority of whom became residents as early as 1840. The following are the names of a few who came in after that date: Hugh Miller, James Tracy, Michael Smith, Philip Smith, William Garber, George King, Jacob Seidner, Samuel Seidner, Jacob Harmon, Robert Love, John Cregg, David Love, T. L. Hurl- burt, Isaac Hester, Cyrus Kreig, William Smith and Fleming Smith.
Early Land Entries .- Quite a number of the settlers enum- erated purchased their lands directly from the Goverment, and obtained patents for the same within a short time after coming to the county. The following is a list of those who entered land dur- ing the year 1835, several of whom became residents of the town- ship: Nathan Seavay and Andrew Onstatt, Section 13, Township 29, North, Range 4, East: Jos. Cox, John McCrea and Chas. S. Lowe, Section 22; Nathan Seavay, Section 24; John R. Wright, Section 27; Jerome Hoover, Section 3, Township 29, Range 5, East; Samuel Wallace, Section 4; Noah Webb, John Wiseman and Adam Weaver, Section 6; Ira Mitchell and W. H. Dubois, Sec- tion 7; James Adams and A. E. Rhodes, Section 9; William Akright, Philip M. Tabb, James Waddell and John Mowry, Sec- tion 15; Orion Taylor and Ann Huff, Section 17; John Rhodes, Section 18; Jonathan Science, Section 19; John Close, Jacob Flora and John Bailey, Section 21; Nathan Moyer, William M. Duff and Peter Onstatt, Section 22; Daniel Hawkins, Section 27; William Butler, Elihu Plummer and Thomas Plummer, Section 28; David Hiatt, Section 29; Hiram Butler and William Butler, Section 30; James Malcolm, William Clark and Samuel Essick, Section 33.
The following is a full list of those who purchased lands from the government in 1836, in Township 29, North, Range 4, East : Noah Noble, James Biggs and Chas. Cleland, Section 1; Daniel Gilchrist and Chas. Smith, Section 2; Samuel A. Manon and Sam- uel Hoover, Section 3; William Bake and Miles Craig, Section 10; E. Dowd, Section II; W. H. Dubois, A. Dowd and W. H. Stub- blefield, Section 12; Wm. Robbins, Section 13; W. Hill and A.
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Weaver, Section 14; Jos. Wildman, Sullivan Wait ind Enos Wildman, Section 15; Luther Wait, Section 16; Cyrus Taylor, Wm. Bain, and P. Smith, Section 23; L. W. Sale and Jos. Tarkington, Section 24; David W. Murray, Section 25: Township 29, Range 5, East; Isaac Smalley, Section 3; James Adams, Section 4; John Webb, Townsend Hoover, T. Summerton, A. E. Rhodes and T. Evans, Section 5; Daniel Stimel, D. Cambell and Chas. W. Catheast, Sec- tion 8; Henry Worst and John Mowry, Section 9; Jacob Flora, R. M. Buck, Moses Bunton, L. Newton and S. Newton, Section 20; John Webb and John Bailey, Section 22; D. Clark, Section 27; Wm. Hester, H. Daggy, James Fiers, B. F. Town and D. B. Forman, Section 29; John Daggy and David Marquis, Section 30; B. Hill, Jos. Beckner, W. Brown and David Mowlsby, Section 30.
Township Organization .- Perry Township was set apart as a separate jurisdiction on the 27th of February, 1837. "The same year an election to choose the necessary officers was held at the house of Peter Onstatt, near the present site of Gilead, Aleaxander. Jameson acting as inspector. William Hester, Hiram Butler and George Tombaugh were probably the first trustees of the township. The first Justice of the Peace was Wesley Borders, after whom served in an early day George Tombaugh and Jacob Richards."
Early Improvements, Industries, Etc .- The development of Perry Township during the early years of its history was not very rapid on account of the dense forests to be cleared away, the prevalence of malarial diseases and the absence of mills, market places and the facilities for communication. Corn and potatoes were the first crops raised, and with game afforded the early settlers their chief means of subsistence. The first articles of commercial importance were ginseng, "yellow root," wild honey, maple sugar, venison, deer and coon-skins, which were exchanged at the nearest market places for groceries, shoe leather, and what few dry goods the pioneers needed. The majority of the early families manufactured their own wearing apparel, and the spinning-wheel was a familiar object in almost every house- hold. The houses in which the pioneers made their first homes were of a similar kind to all early habitations in a new country. The most of them were rude structures of unhewn logs, covered with clapboards rived from some convenient oak, and containing but a single apartment. They were daubed with clay mortar, and afforded a tolerable shelter from the rain and cold. At one end of the room a very large fire-place was erected, from which arose a stick and mortar chimney. The unthinned wilderness supplied an abundance of fuel, and in that day with such splen- did facilities for destruction, quantity was an object of little impor- tance. The family food was cooked by the open fire, such arti-
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cles of luxury as cook stove being at that time unknown. The furniture for the interior was in keeping with the habitation, sim- ple and inexpensive, and provided without much difficulty, as there 'was then no neighborhood rivalry in the matter of orna- mentation or extravagant display. In the absence of a more convenient and sightly bedstead, one was often improvised by inserting the ends of two small poles between the logs at a proper distance apart, while the ends within the room were laid upon forked sticks driven into the ground through holes made in the puncheon floor. Upon these was laid the foundation of the bed proper. In many cases the furniture for the entire house was of this cheap and primitive character. Notwithstanding the rudeness and unalloyed simplicity of all these arrangements, not- withstanding the extreme toil and hardship of life in the wilder- dess, here were found home, happiness and personal liberty. No prince could have greater affection for his palace nor lord for his castle than these dauntless pioneers cherished for their cabins.
For a couple of years after the date of the first settlement the pioneers experienced some difficulty in obtaining breadstuffs, and various devices were resorted to in order to obtain the staff of life. A common way was to crush the corn in a mortar made by hollowing out the top of a hickory stump. The pestle was usually an iron wedge made fast to a handle, with which a coarse but wholsome article of meal could be manufactured. Families that had no such contrivances, frequently had recourse to the common tin grater, an article with which every house- hold was supplied. The first mill patronized by the early resi- dents of Perry was a primitive affair on Squirrel Creek, just across the line in Wabash County, erected early in the thirties by Benjamin Mussulman. It was a saw mill with a corn buhr attached, and for several years supplied nearly all the lumber and meal used by the settlers in the vicinity. The first mill in the township was put in operation by John Bowers about the year 1849 or '50. It was a saw mill and stood on a branch of Squirrel Creek, from which it received its motive power. Its last owner was a man by the name of Wise. A steam saw mill was built a short distance west of Gilead in 1854 or '55 by Alfred Dowd, who ran it quite extensively for some years. It passed into the hands of other parties and was finally moved from the township. Several other steam mills have been in the township from time to time, and the lumber business was formerly an important industry. A small distillery was started in the northeastern part of the township some time prior to the war by John Anglehart, who acquired the reputation of making a superior article of "apple jack," which found ready sale in the immediate neighborhood. Anglehart subsequently sold the estab-
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lishment to one George King, who was soon compelled to close it on account of a little misunderstanding with some of Uncle Sam's revenue agents.
There lived, in an early day, near the southern boundary of the township, a quaint old woman who distilled whisky in a common tea kettle and obtained a livelihood by retailing the same to such customers as saw fit to patronize her bar. Her little cabin stood near one of the principal highways of the country, and many of the passers-by found it quite convenient to stop and "warm their toes" by the generous fire, which the old lady never let go out. It was equally convenient in summer time, also, the shadow of the house being reputed the " coolest" spot in the entire neighborhood.
One of the early mechanics of the township was Joseph Miller, a cabinet maker, who lived not far from the Wabash County line. He manufactured much of the furniture used by the first settlers, and also made the coffins in which a number of the pioneers were buried. The first blacksmith was Peter Onstatt, who opened a shop on his place, about two and a half miles southeast of Gilead, as early as 1836 or '37. He subsequently moved to the village and was the first workman in the place. Another early industry was a tannery operated by John Daggy, on the farm now owned by Andrew Yarian, as far back as the year 1840. Mr. Daggy made a good article of leather and carried on a small local business for a period of three or four years. About 1838 the clay of a certain portion of the township being found valuable for earthenware, an establishment for the manufacture of pottery was put in operation near Niconza by Elias Slagle. The enterprise, although not remun- erative, was fairly successful, and, during the time it was in opera- tion, a considerable quanity of earthenware was manufactured and sold in the neighborhood.
About the year 1836 a small store was started by James Waddle, at Niconza, his business house being a diminutive log cabin, 14x15 feet in size, about one mile distant from any habitation. His stock consisted of a few groceries and several pieces of dry goods, and his patrons were limited to the several families in the vicinity. The store was in operation about two years. The first brick in the township was manufactured a short distance west of Gilead by Alfred Dowd, and among the first frame houses were those erected by Ira Mitchell and Jacob Meyers. A valuable industry of the township in an early day was the nursery set out by Matthias Moyer, from which the trees for nearly all the orchards in the country were obtained. The nursery was kept up a number of years, and proved the source of a comfortable revenue to the energetic proprietor.
Deaths, Births and Marriages .- " The first death in the town- ship was that of James Bunton, in August, 1835. He came to the
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county in the spring of that year to make preparations for moving his family in the fall, but took sick and died at the date given above." "He was buried in the Niconza graveyard, one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. Another death the same year was that of Mrs. Matthias Moyer." "There being no saw-mills there to furnish lumber, a coffin was made from hewn puncheon." The death of Mrs. Peter Sager, in 1838, was perhaps the third event of the kind in the township. Her's was the first burial in the Gilead graveyard. Other early deaths were those of Adam Engle and a daughter of Richard Miller, both of which occurred as long ago as 1839.
Among the earliest marriages in the township, was that of Thomas Clemens to a daughter of Joseph Wildman, solemnized April, 1836; Peter Ihrig and Elizabeth, daughter of George and Susan Tombaugh, were united in marriage a little later, and in 1838 Jacob Richard and Mary J., daughter of Peter Kessling, were pro- nounced man and wife with appropriate ceremonies; Allen Jameson and Polly Wildman were among the early couples married, as were also George Harvey and Miranda Rhodes. It is impossible at this remote date to determine the name of the first child born within the present limits of the township, as births occurred in many of the families of the early settlers shortly after their arrival in the county. Among the earliest, however, was Richard Miller, son of Robert and Rebecca Miller, whose birth occurred in 1838.
Wolves .- In the early settlement of the township, the citizens were, for many years, greatly annoyed by the wolves carrying off sheep, pigs, etc. The barking of these troublesome animals was a familiar sound, but carried with it no alarm, save for the safety of the stock, which had to be penned in tight enclosures at night in order to protect it from the fangs of the hungry scourges. The wolves were generally very cowardly and would flee upon the approach of man, but when emboldened by hunger they have been known to try to get into houses, causing no little uneasiness to the inmates.
" In the winter of 1847, Squire Richard and Jacob Kessling started home from Peru at a rather late hour in the evening. It was a beautiful moonlight night, the ground was covered with snow, and the 'jumper,' in which our friends rode, bounded lightly over the . crystal surface. About 10 o'clock, Mr. Kessling, looking behind, saw a large gray wolf pursuing them. The whip was applied to the horse, and for some time they had but little trouble in keeping a safe distance from their foe. Presently, however, both parties looking back, the horse was drawn from the road, and the 'jumper,' striking some obstacle, was overturned. Although one of the par- ties. declared that they were not frightened, yet assures us that a lively scene followed the overturning of the sleigh. The wolf,
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strange to say, to the surprise and pleasure of all, stopped as if in utter astonishment at the strange spectacle before it. It did not attempt to advance until the 'jumper' had been properly adjusted and the journey again continued, when pursuit was commenced as vigorously as ever. Meeting with no accidents, however, our friends reached home in safety." "Soon after this it was determined to get rid of the troublesome animals." "To do this they surrounded a large area of territory and closing in, drove the wolves to a swamp of about five acres on the Widow Akright's farm, where they were speedily killed by the hunters." " Many deer and other wild animals were killed at the same time."
Lawlessness in Perry .- In its early history a portion of this township acquired an unsavory reputation on account of the presence of a set of lawless characters, who made it a resort to evade pursuit from other quarters, thus gaining for the neighborhood the reputation of being a community of horse thieves. This class infested the northwest as early as 1838, and, while they scrupled at the commission of no form of crime, they were especially annoying in their principal business of horse stealing and counterfeiting. Their plan of operations was to take the lighter horses of Illinois to Indiana and sell them, making their return trip witn heavy draft horses, which were disposed of in the northern part of the State and Michigan. For a time these depredations were carried on with impunity. The early settlers did not submit to this state of affairs without some effort to bring these parties to justice, but, singly, the pioneers proved poor trappers of this game. The thieves were known to be desperate characters, adepts in the use of weapons, and it often happened when a party got close upon them, discretion seemed the better part of valor and the pursuit was given up. Their success emboldened these robbers, and the early land and stock buyers learned to seldom travel alone and never unarmed. Burglary soon followed success on the road, and farmers became very cautious and suspicious of all strangers. For several years these lawless operations were carried on almost in open day- light. 'Their perfect acquaintance with the country, their many sympathizers, who aided while not engaged in the business, enabled them to elude pursuit. Counterfeiting was an evil car- ried on to a considerable extent within the limits of the town- ship, and caused a great deal of indignation among the honest settlers. The two classes of outlaws were united, and found ready and willing abettors everywhere throughout the sparsely settled region of the country. As early as 1840 a gang of this description had their headquarters on the farm of one John Van Camp, a short distance west of Gilead, aud various means were resorted to to rid the country of their presence. Embold-
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ened by the success of their marauding exploits, they carried on their thieving with the greatest impunity, and at the least appear- ance of danger, which seemed to have been watched for and signaled from the tree tops, they hastily decamped with their stolen stock to some other of their numerous retreats. An inci- dent in connection with their presence in this part of the country is told by a certain man, who ingratiated himself into the graces of the ring leaders under the guise of becoming one of their number. He soon became a general favorite with the outlaws, and such was the confidence reposed in him that he was at one time intrusted with the carrying out of a daring robbery in Marshall County, to accomplish which the murder of an old man seemed almost a necessity. The whole arrangements for the robbery were skillfully planned, and after everything had been gotten in readiness for putting the same into effect, the spy, for such he proved to be, exposed every detail to the authorities at Rochester, who were not slow in putting the officers of justice on their tracks. The whole plot was so admirably arranged by the daring detective that the outlaws implicated were captured almost to a man, and, in the trial which followed, several of them were convicted and sent to the State prison. This served to check the further commission of crime for a few months, but, the spirit of lawlessness again manifesting itself, more determined means were resorted to by the citizens, and an anti-horse-thief and vigilance committee was organized for the purpose of ridding the country of the daring rascals. .It was composed of the best men in the settlements, and each member was constituted a detective to arrest or cause the arrest of any suspicious character. The effect of the com- pany's work was prompt and salutary, and before the organiza- tion was many weeks old the outlaws had quietly departed for other and safer retreats. While a spirit of law and order was thus restored, putting an end to the overt acts of crime for the time being, there still remained a vicious element that scrupled not at the commission of various acts of petty meanness, such as interrupting church services, stoning buildings and raising " sheol " generally, whenever an occasion would permit.
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