USA > Indiana > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, together with historic notes on the Wabash Valley; gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic sources > Part 71
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
that money can procure for her restoration, having her treated by emi- nent physicians, both here and in Indianapolis. Mr. Frame's parents were Mr. George W. and Betsey (Lafollett) Frame, the former dying January 26, 1863, and the latter is still living. Mr. Frame has a fine farm of 160 acres and a very nice residence.
Michael W. Lane, farmer and stock raiser, Ladoga, was born in Kerry county, Ireland, August 20, 1840, and is a son of Timothy and Julia (Hanifan) Lane. He received a common English school educa- tion and was reared a farmer. At the age of twelve years he emi- grated to America, and late in the fall of 1852, after a perilous voyage of nine weeks, arrived in New York city. The following February he went by the way of Indianapolis to Bainbridge, Putnam county, Indiana, in search of his mother and two brothers who had preceded him. On finding his brothers he then, to his sorrow, learned that his mother had been dead six months ; this was truly sad news to a young boy hunting for his mother in a strange land. After coming to Indiana he engaged in working out at $12 per month, then in ditching with a spade, which he followed till the age of seventeen, through the fall and winter months, farming on shares in the summer. In his eighteenth year he gathered up his earnings which, besides a horse and saddle, amounted to $842, and on July 4 started on a trip through the southern states as far as Texas, and from there turned his face home- ward, and arrived in Carpentersville, Indiana, on Christmas night of the same year. In February, 1857, he bought a renter's crop, stock and outfit and engaged in farming in Scott township, but one year later left and went to Putnam county, and there rented a large stock farm for a term of years, of Stephen Burk, where he invested $1,800 in stock, etc., and here engaged in farming and stock raising, and in a fair way for making money, but through the dishonesty and trickery of his landlord and others he lost all he owned. He then returned to Scott township and rented a piece of land ; this he farmed with one horse, which he bought on credit from a friend, and for a cow his wife traded her glassware and best dishes, which she had bought and re- ceived as presents at the time of her marriage. Soon after, through the recommendation of Mr. Robert Lockridge, he became stock pur- chaser for a firin near La Fayette, which he followed about three years, and then began buying and selling stock on his own aeconnt. He next sold his personal property and engaged in the liquor traffic, at the same time running a tannery, but for the sake of humanity and his family's future benefit he abandoned the former and returned to farm- ing. In the next seven or eight years he bought and sold some three farms, trading the last for his present home, a farm of 175 acres, lo-
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SCOTT TOWNSHIP.
cated on Sec. 34, T. 17, R. 4 W., where he permanently located. June 1, 1859, he married Miss Ellen, daughter of Thomas and Han- orah (Fitzgerald) Welsh. She was born in the county of Kerry, Ire- land, but was principally reared in London. They have seven chil- dren : Julia J., Thomas W., Henry M., Charles T., Margaret H., Michael A. and Mary E. His fine farm and stock, with the aid of a most faithful and industrious wife, is all earned by hard labor and close attention to business.
William H. Grider, farmer and stock raiser, New Market, is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Button) Grider, and was born in Putnam county, Indiana, February 1, 1829. He was reared a farmer, and his advantages of school being limited he received only an education such. as the pioneer log schools of his boyhood days afforded ; but being a man of reading and observation he has become quite well posted in the business pertaining to intelligent farming. After staying with his father till the age of twenty-two years he began farming for himself on forty acres of land given him by his father. April 3, 1851, he married Miss Frances, daughter of Dennis and Susan Pottinger. She was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, on September 10, 1831, and died November 10, 1863. For his second wife he married Mrs. Emily A. Maddox, daughter of Mr. Michael Wilson, Esq. She was born in Putnam county, Indiana, March .29, 1835. They have eight children : Oliver B., Emily J., Elizabeth C., Amanda M., by his first wife; and Barton S., Jesse H., John, and Charlie M., by his last wife. In 1856 he sold his farm in Putnam county and removed to Brown township, Montgomery county, Indiana, and there bought a farm of 139 acres, but in 1860 sold that and moved into Scott township, and bought his present farm of 288 acres near the center of the north side of the town- ship. This farm he has highly improved, and it is one of the best in the township. His father is dead, and his mother is still living on the old farm in Putnam county, where she has lived the last fifty years.
Martin A. Servies, brick and tile manufacturer, New Market, is a son of William A. and Mary A. (Points) Servies, and was born in Brown township August 7, 1845. He, like his father, was reared a farmer, and received a common school education in the country schools of his boyhood days, at the same time working on the farm. April 6, 1865, he married Miss Rebecca, daughter of Mr. John and Phoebe (Foster) Jones, who came from Kentucky to this county far back in its early history. After his marriage Mr. Servies engaged in farming in Brown township, but in the fall of the same year removed to Scott township, where he farmed some time, and then went to Boone county, Indiana, and followed the same occupation till he returned to Scott township in
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
1876, where he engaged in the manufacture of brick and tile, a product very much needed in this part of the county, and finds a ready market for all he can produce. He has now in use in his tile department one of Mr. J. W. Penfield's best four-horse tile mills. His yards, sheds, and kilns are all complete, and is the first business of the kind ever started in Scott township. He has two children : Clarra M. and Eva A. His mother is still living in Brown township, and is the wife of Mr. Thomas Doyle. She came to this county when quite young, and is therefore, like his father (who died in 1846), one of the early pioneers of this county.
Kent K. Straughan, physician and surgeon, Parkersburg, is a son of Dr. J. W. and Sarah J. (Harrison) Straughan. He was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, March 6, 1857, and his early youth was spent farming and attending school till about the age of fifteen years. He then entered a graded school at Russellville, where he re- mained abont four years, and then went to Indianapolis and became a student in the medical college of that city, from which he graduated in the spring of 1878. March 6, 1878, he married Miss Lucy Bell, daughter of Allen and Mary (Drennon) Bridges, early settlers of this county. He at once settled in Parkersburg and began the practice of his pro- fession in the same locality where his father successfully practiced medi- cine for twenty-eight years. In the way of success, his most sanguine hopes are more than realized. He has one child, Walter Lee, born February 4, 1879.
Robert C. Gott, farmer and stock raiser, Ladoga, is a son of Will- iam and Rhoda A. (Swindler) Gott, and one of a family of nine chil- dren, five of whom are living, as follows: Letitia, Mary, America, William T. and Robert C., the subject of this sketch. He was born in Scott township, April 24, 1841, and, like his father, was reared a farmer, attending the common country schools till the age of twenty- one. His father then gave him a horse and saddle; this he sold, worked out a year, and then entered the Ladoga Academy, where he remained one year. He then taught school one winter and again went to Ladoga school a year, after which he went to college at In- dianapolis, and there completed a commercial course. After that he engaged in teaching in Parke and Montgomery counties. On October 30, 1865, he married Miss Emily J., daughter of Thomas H. Messick. She was born in Ohio in 1837. He then rented the old farm of which he now, through good management and economy, owns eighty acres, an illustration of what pluck and perseverance will do. He has three children : Charles C., Queen A. and Catharine E. He is now en- gaged in farming and stock raising. His father died in 1877, and his
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mother is still living, and is now in Crawfordsville with her youngest son, Dr. Wmn. Gott.
George Gott, farmer and stock raiser, Ladoga. As early in the history of this county as 1828 Mr. Robert Gott, with his wife Re- becca (Hughs), came from Kentucky to Brown township, and in the new and wild country entered 160 acres of land. He reared a family of nine children, three of whom are living: Eliza, Preston S. and George, the subject of this sketch, who was born in Kentucky, October 20, 1827. His educational advantages were only such as were afforded in the subscription pioneer log cabin schools of those days. His em- ployment during his early youth and subsequent life was farm labor. On September 7, 1848, he married Miss Mary A. Pottinger, who was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, September 24, 1829, and died October 25, 1854. On November 6, 1855, he married his second wife, Miss Mary Johnson, who was born in Montgomery county, In- diana, and died August 25, 1860. For his third wife he married Mrs. Mary E. Furguson, daughter of Samuel Chism. She was born in Kentucky, June 23, 1829. He has three children living: William H. and Dennis R. by his first wife, and Isaac N. by his second wife. He now owns, as a reward for his hard work and good management, 120 acres of good and well improved land, on which he has recently built a very neat and comfortable residence.
MADISON TOWNSHIP.
This is a north-central township, bounded on the north by Tippe- canoe county, on the east by Sugar Creek, south by Union, and west by Coal Creek townships. The surface is level, the greater part of which is prairie interspersed here and there with groves and clumps of trees, that have grown up since the first settlers located here, since the annual burnings ceased. Originally the township contained much swamp land ; this has been partially drained. The largest swamp was the one known as Lye Creek prairie, situated in the south-central part of the township, embracing several thousand acres which, during the winter and spring, presented the appearance of a lake; besides this, Nine-mile prairie in the north part of the township contained numer- ous smaller swamps and ponds, which made successful cultivation im- possible without systematic drainage, which has been partially accom- plished. On the east and northwest, each, is a small area of greater elevation than the remainder of the township, with less sloughs, and here it was that the first settlers located in 1829. Among those who
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
settled in Madison at that date are William Smith, one of the first settlers of the county, located on Sec. 29, and erected the first house in the township; Robert Williams and George Jones located on Sec. 8; Leonard Robertson on Sec. 17; William and David Vance each entered 160 acres on See. 18 (the latter was treasurer of the county for several years), and John Potts located on See. 17. C. W. White, formerly of Cold Creek, located where he now lives, at Lin- den, in 1830. The Indians came back each autumn, to hunt, till 1832.
The first justice elected was John McDowel; first constable, John Martin ; both elected in 1830. The first school in the township was taught by John Percy in a private house in the MeDowel settlement, abont 1829. The first house erected for school purposes was located on the present site of Linden, in 1838. It was a log building with a big fire-place. The furniture consisted of a few seats made of slabs, and rails set upon pins; they had no backs; the windows were of greased paper. This building, rude as it was, served the purpose of a church till 1854. W. L. Petro erected the first blacksmith shop in the township, in 1839, a short distance southwest of Linden. He now plies his craft in the village of Linden. The early settlers of this township underwent many severe hardships and great privations. Be- fore roads were laid out and worked the country was next to impassa- ble,-in the winter because of the ice, in the summer on account of the miry slonghs. There were no mills near, and it frequently ocenrred that families were for weeks without meal or flour, only as they pre- pared it by means of a mortar. Till 1834 it was a difficult thing to prevent the game from consuming all the grain raised in the country before it was fit to harvest. Often they were obliged to go to the Wea for corn, and then pay 75 cents per bushel for an inferior quality. So frequently did this occur, that the section about the Wea received from them the appellation, "Egypt," which it has since retained. They for several years necessarily depended largely upon the deer, wild turkey and wild hogs for their supply of meat; the latter, when there was a heavy mast, would get tolerably fat. In 1834 the settlers experienced a long, hard winter, accompanied by a deep snow ; from this time the game began to disappear; in 1840 it was thought to be scarce.
Clothing could be had at La Fayette and Terre Haute, but they had no money with which to buy, and if they had had plenty of wheat and corn to spare they would have been but little better off, because there was no market nearer than New Orleans beyond home consump- tion, and merchants' wares were beyond reason ; salt $5 per barrel,
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calico from 30 to 40 cents per yard. Then it was that the hum of the wheel, the noise of the loom and flax-break, made the family music of the evening, instead of the mellow, molten notes of the organ, in Mad- ison township. Then there were no carding mills to prepare the wool for the wheel; that work was done by means of hand-cards. All the progress made above a bare living till about 1840 was scarcely discern- able, other than that more of the land was being brought into cultiva- tion.
From 1840 to 1852 little can be said of Madison township, more than that it became more thickly settled, more land was brought into cultivation, and that road-making had progressed to some extent. In 1852 the Michigan City & New Albany railroad was built through the west side of the township one mile from the line. It occupies the line of the old Crawfordsville road, the first laid out in the township. This gave a new turn to affairs. Immediately upon the completion of the railroad, in 1852, Linden was laid out by Hiram Hughs, Joel Lee, and Nathan Harwood. The first named of these erected the first warehouse and opened the first store in the village. Dr. Henry Kee- ney built the first dwelling-house, his brother William the first black- smith shop. Hiram Hughs was first postmaster. Since the laying out of this village it has been the trading point for Madison and east Coal Creek townships. For the shipment of grain it is second to no place in the county except Crawfordsville. Its progress has been steady. In 1858 Galbreath erected here the first wagon shop, it being the only one in the township at that time. The first wagon made at this shop was bought by the widow Halstead. The other business houses of Linden are two grocery stores, one store of general merchandise, one drug store, a grist-mill, and a warehouse. It has a population of 300.
Linden has two secret societies, the I.O.O.F. and the Masons, and two churches, the New Light Christian and the Methodist Episcopal orders.
The Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, Lodge No. 393, was or- ganized in Linden in 1872 with J. W. Smock, J. W Patrick, Dr. Henry Keeney, J. M. Miller, and B. T. Tatman, as charter members. First officers installed were J. W. Smock, N.G .; B. T. Tatınan, V.G .; G. W. Patrick, Sec .; John M. Miller, Treas. The society now num- bers twenty-four members, is in good condition, owns its hall, 20×40, in the Stoddard block, and meets regularly on Saturday evening of each week. In the eight years since this society was organized not a single death has occurred within it. The present officers are F. M. Mason, N.G .; L. W. Petro, V.G .; T. C. Shanklin, Sec .; W. Blue, Treas.
Masonic lodge, through the influence of Dr. J. S. McMurry, more 28
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
than anyone else, the Ancient Order of Masons Lodge, No. 41, was established in Linden, in 1867, with Dr. J. S. McMurry, W. H. Mont- gomery, D. A. Kelsey, Dr. E. P. Washburn, J. M. Barkus, A. L. White, D. L. Rash, A. M. Stoddard, and J. W. Sutton, as charter members. First officers : J. S. McMurry, Master ; W. H. Montgomery, S.W .; E. A. Kelsey, J.W .; J. M. Stoddard, Treas .; J. M. Barcus, Sec. Present officers : W. L. Fraley, Master; W. H. Montgomery, Warden ; James Clark, J.W. ; W. G. McBce, Treas. ; E. P. Washburn, Sec .; W. H. Burns, S.D .; Thomas Wilson, J.D. The first death which occurred in this lodge was that of J. Spink, in the fall of 1874; W. S. Foster died in 1875, S. Simpson in 1876, J. C. Garrett in 1879. The lodge owns its hall and is out of debt. It numbers twenty-five members, active, and is in a flourishing condition.
There are three church societies in this township, two of which are located in the village of Linden, the third some two miles south of Linden at the line separating Madison and Coal Creek townships. The last named is of the New Light order of christians. It erected its first and present church house in 1875 at a cost of $1,300. The so- ciety numbers fifty active members, and is in a fair condition. It is known as the Mount Pleasant church society.
The history of the Methodist Episcopal church, now located in Linden, dates far back, almost with the first settlement. The people of this faith first held their meetings at the residences, rude log cabins, of the members, then for a time occupied the district school-houses. The first church house they built was erected between 1830 and 1840, near the old plank road, in Coal Creek township, where the society continued to meet for worship till 1867, when it was decided to move the church house to the town of Linden, which was consummated in 1868. The building is a frame with a seating capacity for 300 per- sons. Since its removal to Linden it has been repaired and looks quite well. Its progress since 1878 has been steadily forward ; the society now numbers seventy-two members. A Sabbath-school has kept in active operation in this church most of the time since the society was first organized in Coal Creek township. Many prominent families of · both Madison and Coal Creek townships are members of this church society.
The Christian Church society, located in the village of Linden, is of the New Light order. This sect made its appearance in this part of the country with the early pioneers. For several years following the early settlement, the adherents of this faith were united with those of the old Mount Pleasant church in Coal Creek township. In 1852 the membership had so increased in the vicinity of Linden that it was
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MADISON TOWNSHIP.
deemed necessary to divide the Coal Creek society and locate a society at Linden. This society occupied the school-house in Linden till 1854, when it built its present church house, 32× 40, at a cost of $1,200. At this date its active membership was eighty-one. The following are some of its prominent members : James and Sarah Piggot, Orren and Cath- erine Stoddard, Mosley and Eva Stoddard, Albert and Emma Kelsey, and James M. and Jane M. Stoddard. The first ministers who offici- ated in this society were Thomas Quillen, William Warbington, Thomas Allen, and A. L. Mckinney. The first elders were Samuel Piggot and Orren Stoddard. Fifteen years previous to the present date, this society from many causes decreased in membership, and had it not been for the energy and generosity of James M. Stoddard the church at this place would only be known in the history of the past. The last named gentleman at his death, which occurred in 1875, left a subsidy of $2,000, the proceeds of which is to be expended for the sup- port of the church. The society now numbers twenty-one active members, and its former prosperity is returning. Present minister is Rev. John S. Maxwell. The first death that occurred in the society at this place was that of Mosley Stoddard in 1854. The Sunday-school connected with this society has been prosperous only as the church has been prosperous.
The first schools and school-houses of Madison township were strict after the pioneer fashion. At the present there are nine commodious frame school-houses in the township, well supplied with the new and necessary apparatus to aid both teacher and pupil in their work. The school building in Linden is divided into two departments.
Madison township in the past few years has taxed herself severely for the purpose of drainage and the building of roads, the result of which is that a great part of her territory, hitherto worthless because of its swamps, is being brought into cultivation. Within the past three years they have built two pike roads across the township, one running east and west and the other north and south. Madison town- ship for many years has been strongly democratic. Among the curiosities of the township is the situation of four knolls, or mounds, in such a way as to form a diamond; these are each about forty feet in height ; the figure is longest from southeast to northwest. Those mounds contain a superior quality of gravel for road building.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
L. W. Petro, blacksmith, Linden, emigrated from his native state (Ohio) at the age of eleven years, with his parents, and settled in Foun- tain county, this state, in 1826, where they (his parents) both departed
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
this life. His early education is such as the pioneer schools of that time could furnish. He was married in 1840 to Minerva Grogan, who died in 1848, leaving five children : Margaret E., Mary E., Emiline J., Elizabeth, and Bird W. Mr. Petro was married a second time, in 1849, to Miss Margaret Paxton, by whom he has twelve children : Samuel H., Minerva H., Nancy H., Charles W., Harriet F., Leonard W., Mary E., Oliver P. M., John E. and Tamzon I. (twins), Effie A. and Thomas W. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Linden, and he is present treasurer of the I.O.O.F., of which society he has been a member for thirty years. In politics he is a re- publican of the first rank. During the war he was a member of the Montgomery county home guards, and was called out in the Morgan raid. He was the first blacksmith to locate in Madison township, and has successfully followed his trade here since 1829. He is known as a generous man and an honest workman.
Charles W. White, farmer, Linden, came to Montgomery county with his parents in 1828, and settled in the west part of Coal Creek town- ship, where they remained till 1833, when they moved to Madison town- ship. His father, Charles White, was a native of Maryland, and emi- grated to Ohio prior to the war of 1812, where he remained until his removal to Indiana, where he resided till his death, which occurred in 1855, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. His mother, Mary White, died in 1869, aged eighty-one years. Mr. White received no education outside the pioneer schools. He was married in 1841, at the age of twenty- three years, to Rachel Crame, daughter of Moses and Mary A. Crame. She died in 1846, aged twenty-four, leaving two children, Margaret and Louisa, to mourn her loss. In 1847 he was married a second time, to Letticia E. Manners, daughter of James and Letticia (Hight) Manners. By this union there are eight children : James H., Mary, Martha, Brin- son, Lillie, George, and Cara. Mr. White and wife are prominent mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church at Linden, and he served one term as township trustee. In politics he is a radical republican. He began life poor. His first tax-receipt shows his tax to amount to $1.25; now he owns a fine farm of 340 acres, situated at Linden, which is well 'stocked. Previous to this he dealt in cattle principally; now he is turning his attention to sheep, believing them to be the more paying stock. He is a member of the Masonic order, is sixty-two years of age, and appears much younger than many at the age of forty, a demonstra- tion that active life and temperate habits in all things will insure a long and happy life.
T. C. Shanklin, farmer, merchant and preacher, Linden, is one of Montgomery county's early native pioneers. His parents, Johnson
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MADISON TOWNSHIP.
and Elizabeth Shanklin, settled in Wayne township previous to 1830, where the subject of this memoir was born in 1831. His parents were natives of Kentucky, and prior to their settlement in this county they lived in Laurence county, this state. His maternal grandfather was killed in the Indian war of the Northwest. His paternal grandfather was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church at Crawfordsville. and took a very active part in behalf of the Wabash College while it was in its infancy. Mr. Shanklin was married, in 1854, to Mary Haves, daughter of Edgar and Unas Hayes, both of whom were natives of New York ; the former was the first to enter the land in Laurence county, this state. By this union he has one child, John A., now married, and lives on his father's farm of 117 acres and a fraction, located one mile west of Linden. Mr. Shanklin, like most boys reared in this country in the first half of the present century, enjoyed but few educational advantages, but being of a liter- ary turn of mind he prosecuted these advantages so far as circum- stances would permit, and as a result acquired a fair book education. He and his wife are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Linden, and since 185S he has been local preacher in the church. His political views are purely republican. During the war he was a member of the Home Guards, and did service in repelling Morgan from Indiana. He is at present secretary of the I.O.O.F. at Linden. Mr. Shanklin is a man who has risen by his own exertion-a citizen in whom all have explicit confidence. No one is more ready to give aid to that which will benefit present or future society by inculcating a more strict regard for the principles of morality and moral teaching.
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