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 77
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SCHOOLS.
The first school-house probably built in the region was erected about two and a half miles south of where Pleasant Hill now is. There Father Bingham, then a man of many snows, taught the very few who attended that pioneer temple of education. There Catha- rine Beever, now Mrs. Chesnut, of Pleasant Hill, was taught to read. In about 1831 a log school-house was built a short distance southwest of Pleasant Hill, where James L. Mckinney became the first in- structor. As candidates for education became more numerons, more ample accommodations were supplied. A frame house was erected just prior to the war, but immediately after its completion it was burned by incendiaries. " The lovers of knowledge and progress were not to be daunted in their efforts to transmit to their children the most princely of fortunes, an education, though it were limited. The ruins were immediately obliterated by a new building, and there the youth received instruction. Desirous of a more thorough system of education the patrons, prominent among whom were Mathias, Alex- ander, John and Hamilton McClure, M. Beever, John McJimsey, John Ashenhurst, and others, decided to establish a graded school. In 1860 the present building was erected at a cost of about $1, 800, having two departments. C. H. Pease, the first principal in the graded school, taught one year, and began a second, but from polit- ical reasons resigned. A Mr. Spilman next wielded the birch, fol- lowed by John Ellis, each having an assistant. From 1865 to 1868 W. C. and D. W. Gerard had charge, under whose management the
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school became very efficient. In after years the school has not been what it used to be. During the past six years Charles A. McClure has had charge as principal, whose long term of service but indicates his success. Daniel Murphy is his present assistant. Similar has been the progress of education in other parts of the township. In the Kirkpatrick district the education of the children was early looked to. The house of logs gave way to the present comfortable frame buildings, supplied with apparatus and competent teachers.
Pleasant Hill has also a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and one of the oldest in the county. It is No. 63, and was known as Pleasant Hill Lodge. It was organized about 1850. Prominent among the early members were John M. Thomas, W.M .; W. W. Tif- fany, S. W .; A. J. Royalty, J. W .; John Koon, Treas. The lodge met with some reverses which rent it, but finally was reorganized on a sure and permanent basis, and is in good condition.
CHURCHES.
The Methodist church is certainly the first to have been planted in Coal Creek township. As early as 1830 a class was organized at the house of Absalom Kirkpatrick. The members were Absalom Kirkpatrick, wife and children (John and Rachel), also William Forbes, wife and children, Jeremiah Sherwood and wife, Alexan- der May and wife, James and Samuel Kendall and wives. William Forbes was either a local preacher or exhorter, and was the early class-leader. Jere Sherwood was also class-leader. Prayer and class meetings were generally well attended, and were often seasons of great spiritual power. Mr. Kirkpatrick's house was 18x26 feet, with a fire-place in one end, at which the cooking was done. After meeting closed the rude benches were carried out and dinner was pre- pared, a goodly number of the congregation generally remaining to partake of the hospitalities always extended them by host and host- ess. The term "style" was foreign to their language, but " welcome" they had understood since childhood. The first church built in the neighborhood occupied a spot of Absalom Kirkpatrick's land. It was erected about 1835, and was about 26×40 feet. The walls were brick. The pulpit was an old-fashioned box pulpit, and three steps were necessary to reach it. The minister when seated could not be seen by those in front. All was plain, and cost about $900; a large sum for that day. William Davis was the contractor. The church was dedicated by Rev. Thomas Brown, then the presiding elder. This church, known as the "Old Brick Church," was used until about 1853, when the present frame was erected at New Richmond.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Besides Mr. Kirkpatrick, Alexander May and Eli Elrod were promi- nent in the erection of the "Brick Church." The early ministers were James Armstrong, John Strange, Stephen R. Beggs, Hackaliah Vredenburgh, Nehemiah Griffith, Samuel Brenton, Samuel C. Cooper and Richard Hargrave. Cyrus Q. Kirkpatrick, in speaking of Rich- ard Hargrave says, "he delivered the first temperance lecture in a log barn belonging to his (Kirkpatrick's) father, that there the first temperance pledge was circulated and signed, and that there was strong opposition to temperance at that day. Besides the class men- tioned there was a Methodist class that met at Christian Beever's in a very early day. The ministers mentioned above also worked here. Prominent in the Beever organization were William Cosaboom and wife, John Clements and wife, Elija Walden and wife, several families of Canes from Fountain county, John Tatman and wife, George Sly and Christian Beever. Mr. Cosaboom was class-leader for many years. Christian Beever and John Tatman were stewards. "Meetings were held around " there in the brick school-house. A church was built about 1853 and dedicated by Richard Hargrave. John Koon and Levi Curtis were prominent in the preparations for building, and William Brunsley, Alexander McClure and John McJimsey were trustees. The house cost about $1,600. The church is about 45 x 55, two stories high, the second story being used by the Masons and temperance societies, and owned by them. The church is now in good condition, under the charge of Rev. E. R. Johnson. The Methodist denomination have also a church at Boston Store, another at Round Hill, and is the strongest denomination in the township.
Christian church .- Solomon and James Mckinney and wives, John and Mary Roll, Solomon Beedle and wife, Thomas Welch and wife, - Sargent and wife, were early settlers and believers in the faith of this church. An organization was formed at Solomon Mc- Kinney's house, one mile northeast of Pleasant Hill. John Roll was deacon, and the Mckinneys filled the pulpit; James McKinney was pastor for over ten years. These people soon occupied the school- house. They built a hewn-log church about 1837. All the neigh- bors for five or six miles around turned out to aid in the "raising." The house was about 24×36, the seats were sawed slabs, a plank served as a temporary pulpit, and light at night was furnished from candles in small pieces of board nailed to the wall. The church rapidly enlarged in numbers till they were able to build a frame house. This was burned about 1861 or 1862, after which they held services in the Methodist church for two years. About 1864 the present edifice was built at a cost of about $1,000. George Westfall,
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Henry Palin, Samuel Gregory, and Dr. John M. Thomas, were prime movers in the erection. The church has continued prosperous. General conference has occasionally convened here, the last time in the summer of 1880. John T. Phillips is at present minister in charge, and the church numbers about 150 members.
The Christian, or New Light, church was organized in 1866, and consummated early in 1867. A band of nine persons pledged them- selves to stand by the church through stormy weather and through sunshine. Bros. Bannon and Carney formed part of this band, and other earnest workers were Win. Utterback and wife, Benj. Roadhammel, James Morrow, Elisha Grennard, David Dazey, Gar- ner Bobo, John Bennett, James Wainscot, and a few others. Brother Lewis Bannon was the first preacher. Meetings were held in Center school-house. A meeting-house had been urged, but no definite steps taken to procure it. At a New Year's party given by A. L. Carney, in the winter of 1879-80, after supper the church question was sprung, whereupon up spake Wm. Utterback, stating that he would subscribe twice as much as any one else toward a house of worship. Mr. Roadhammel responded with the promise of $100, whereupon Mr. Utterback doubled that sum. The needed amount was soon raised. The contract for a building 35×45 was let to B. Merrill, of Waynetown, promising $1,000 for said building. The church was erected, furnished and finished at a cost of $1,200, and dedicated on the first Sunday in September 1880, by Bro. A. L. Carney, assisted by Thomas Quilben, Maxwell, and McCoy. Lin- sey McCoy was minister in charge. The church numbers about 105 members. Wmn. Utterback and James Morrow are deacons, and David Dazey is clerk. A Sunday-school has been supported, with David Dazy as superintendent. The church is located in Sec. 19, T. 20 N., R. 5 W. Politically Coal Creek township has always been democratic. In the early days no political lines were drawn. A man was proposed for any simple office and voted in. In 1836 there were fifty-six houses in the township. Josiah Hutchison, a strong and life-long democrat, decided that the people should be di- vided. Making a trip to Crawfordsville, he secured Mayor Bryce, a democratic attorney, to make a democratic speech for the Coal Creekers. The time for the speech was set, and Mr. Hutchison, in one day, carried the news to every house in the township. The speech was made, an election occurred for justice of the peace, Da- vid Clarkson was the democratic nominee, and Absalom Kirkpatrick the choice of the whigs. The democrats carried the day by one majority, and have continued the stronger party ever since. Clark-
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
son, for some reason, dropped out in a short time, when the whigs carefully, and by some means not known, put Absalom Kirkpatrick in the office, which he held for fourteen years, till lie resigned.
MEHARRY GROVE.
If there is one spot in Montgomery county more celebrated than another (and there certainly is), that spot is Meharry Grove. Lo- cated on Coal creek, one and a half miles north of Pleasant Hill, a high and beautifully shaded place, it has been the favorite camp- ground over thirty years. The grounds contain about forty acres, a large number of seats are provided, and water is plentiful. Here it has not been an uncommon occurrence for thousands of happy faces to congregate. The eminent divines, Cyrus Nutt, Pres. Berry, Bishop Bowman, Dr. Brenton, have preached to immense audi- ences. Here was held a mammoth temperance rally about 1875, addressed by the "Broad Ax," or M. D. Chance. Here, too, have ex-Gov. Col. Robert Hawley, of Centennial fame, Gov. S. M. Cul- lom, of Illinois, Hon. G. S. Orth, Judge T. F. Davidson, and other renowned statesmen, proclaimed American principles to vast con- courses of people. In all these gatherings the prevailing character- istic has been good order and universal enjoyment. The present possessors of Coal Creek township are a successful and progressive people, and many of them deserve honorable mention in the follow- ing biographical pages.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
John Dewey, New Richmond, was a native of Maryland, his father having come from England to that state. John made a trip west and settled on what was called White Water creek, then on White river. In 1823 he entered land near Crawfordsville, and left word for his family to follow him. He prepared a round log cabin, 18×20. The family not arriving he started to meet them, and found the White river so high they could not cross. However he ferried the family and goods across in a canoe, and then swam the horses and cattle over. With wife and seven children, James, Richard, Job, Polly, Susan, Washington and John Jr., he arrived in due time at his frontier home. The first season, aided by his children, he cleared twelve acres, planted it, and raised a good crop of corn. His milling he carried to White Water, a distance of 100 miles. In 1849 he died, aged sixty-three years. His wife died about 1852. They were members of the Regular Baptist church. They left four chil- dren, born in Montgomery county : Betsy, Margaret, Nancy, and
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COAL CREEK TOWNSHIP.
Eliza, who died before her parents. Mr. Dewey left to his chil- dren 190 acres in the home farm and 280 acres in Coal Creek town- ship. John Dewey, son of John Dewey, was born October 6, 1822, near White river, in Indiana. He was six months old when his parents moved to Montgomery county. He was married in 1848 to Sarah Gannon, who died the following year. He next married, June 12, 1851, Catharine Gannon, sister to his first wife, who was born June 11, 1825, in North Carolina. After marriage Mr. Dewey lived with his parents, caring for the home farm. One year after his father's death he bought 160 acres in Coal Creek township, on which he lived fourteen years. He sold this and bought 125 acres in Sec. 4, and now owns 1152 acres. He had seven children, one dead and six living : James, William, Charles, Joseph, Scott, How- ard, and Ella. He has been a life-long democrat, and expects always to belong to the same old party. Mr. and Mrs. Dewey belong to the Christian church.
Charles Miller (deceased) was born in New Jersey, in 1794, and moved with his parents to Ohio. There he was married to Nancy Moore, who was born in Ohio in 1800. About 1824 Mr. and Mrs. Miller emigrated to Montgomery county, Indiana, conveying their few traps and one child, Eliza, now Mrs. Henry Stonebraker, of Wayne township, in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. Mr. Miller entered 160 acres of land in Wayne township, built the fashionable log cabin, cleared his farm, improved it, and became a thrifty farmer. He died in 1853, leaving wife and eight children : Eliza, Elias, Ellis, Philander, Jasper, Irvin, Martha, and Mary, five of whom are liv- ing. His wife died in 1878. Both were members of the Regular Baptist church. He was a life-long democrat. Jasper served three years in the civil war, returned, and died in 1866. Irvin Miller, son of Charles and Nancy Miller, was born in Wayne township, May 30, 1827. September 4, 1851, he was married to Sarah A. Gunendyke, daughter of Peter and Hannah Gunendyke, who came to Mont- gomery county about 1827 and settled about six miles north of Crawfordsville. Her father was a native of New Jersey, and died in 1854. Her mother was born in North Carolina and is now living at the age of seventy-seven years. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Miller settled in Union township, but in 1853 they bought eighty acres in Coal Creek township, where they live. They have added till they own 200 acres, besides having given some to one child. They are well supplied in their old days. They have six children : Dorothy E., Martha H., James G., Susan A. (a teacher), Minerva, Mary, Caroline (deceased). Mr. Miller has been a life-long democrat.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Isaac H. Montgomery, New Richmond, is a son of Alexander and Anna (Herrod) Montgomery. His parents were natives of Kentucky, and about 1808 or 1810 removed to Indiana, during the Indian troubles. Alexander Montgomery fought in the battle of Tippeca- noe, and was engaged in the ranging service for a time. In 1824 he moved his family to Crawfordsville, Montgomery county, Indiana. where, in 1826, he buried his wife Anna. He then opened a shoe- shop in Crawfordsville, which he continued four years, at which time he engaged in farming. In his old days he suffered a stroke of paralysis, and died about 1860, aged seventy-eight years. He was three times married. In his first family were seven children, and in his second family were three: Simpson, Archibald, and Isaac H. He was a Methodist and strong republican at his death. Isaac H. Montgomery was born March 24, 1814, in Jefferson county, Indiana. He early learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for twelve years. In 1835 he entered forty acres of land in Sec. 24, Coal Creek township, R. 5, the last piece for entry. He was mar- ried April 14, 1836, to Elizabeth Park, daughter of Elija and Evi- line Park, early settlers. She was born October 18, 1816, in Dear- born county, Indiana. They settled on the farm on which they now live. A log cabin was their first dwelling and which now stands near the gravel road, one and a half miles north of Linden. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery toiled and saved, tilled the farm, raised and dealt in stock, added to their farm till it comprises 2,000 acres of beauti- fully rolling land, with a very large dwelling. In politics he was a whig, but is now a republican. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their children are four dead and seven living. Those deceased are Adda, Mrs. J. J. Insley ; Elija A., Alice and an infant. Those living: William H., Eviline, Mrs. John Boyd ; Amanda, Mrs. Capt. T. W. Durham ; Samantha, Mrs. Col. R. Hallowell ; Mary, Mrs. Capt. T. P. Ander- son ; Wallace F., a graduate of Wabash College in class of 1879, and Dora F.
Jonathan Plunkett was born, raised and married in Kentucky. About 1825 he moved to Indiana and settled in what is now Clark township, two miles south of where Ladoga stands. He brought wife and one child, William. He moved from Clark township to Mace, then to Pleasant Hill, and last near Covington, Fountain county, where he died August 14, 1854, aged fifty-eight years. He was a whig, also an elder in the Christian church. His father was in the revolution. His wife now resides at New Richmond. She is a native of Kentucky and a member of the Christian church. Mr.
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Plunkett left seven children : William, Josephus, Levi H., George W., John W., Phebe A. (deceased), Frances E. and Doctor M. John W., son of Jonathan Plunkett, was born May 1, 1842, near Ladoga, and lived with his parents till his father died. He then did farın work and attended school till twenty years of age. He en- listed July 5, 1862, in Co. E, 72d Ind., as a private, and was pro- moted second lieutenant. He served in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Farmington, Hoover's Gap, the campaign from Atlanta, also at Resaca, and Kenesaw Mountain. After the division of Sherman's army Mr. Plunkett served under Thomas, taking part at Rome, Nashville, etc., also on the raid to Okolona, Selma, Montgomery, and Macon. He was mustered out at Nashville and discharged at Indianapolis, July 1865. He was neither wounded nor captured. He then farmed for a while, and in 1867 he began merchandising. He carried on the business with a bankrupt stock in the interest of the creditors for some time, and is now managing the business for W. B. Walls & Co., of Crawfordsville. Politically Mr. Plunkett has been a republican, but of late years he has allied himself with the national greenback labor party. He was married March 28, 1867, to Mary E. Dilling, daughter of Joshua and Lu- cinda Dilling, of Coal Creek township. She was born in 1848 in Coal Creek township, Montgomery county, Indiana. They have five children : Elver, Adda, Gail E., Nora, and Dallas. Mr. and Mrs. Plunkett are members of the Christian church. He is a Ma- son and a member of the G. A.R.
Noah Insley, farmer, New Richland, was born March 13, 1807, in Highland county, Ohio. His father, Job Insley, was born near the eastern edge of Maryland. When sixteen years old he was cap- tured by the British, who attempted to force him to fight, but he resisted. To escape them he dressed in woman's clothes, and was engaged in watching over a sick woman, and was mistaken for a nurse by his seekers. He soon made his way to North Carolina, where he married Elizabeth Stafford, mother of Noah Insley. She was born near Guilford Court House, and was there when the battle of Guilford was fought. Her ancestry came from Staffordshire, England. Mr. and Mrs. Insley moved to Ohio, and there she died in 1832, and he came to Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1835, and died at his son's, in Fountain county, in 1836. He was steward and class-leader in the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. They had ten children, three of whom settled in Tippecanoe county, four in Fountain county, and one in Montgomery county, Indiana ; Elizabeth King, now of Attica, Indiana, and Noah. Noah Insley emi-
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
grated to Fountain county, Indiana, in 1826 ; is a cabinet-maker, cut- ting his material from the woods, and shaping it into furniture. He probably cut the first timber for a given purpose ever cut in Coal Creek township. He returned to Ohio, and while there bought his present farm of John Greathouse, in 1832. He was married in Ohio, April 9, 1833, to Sallie C. Terry, daughter of David and Eliza- beth (Anderson) Terry, who were raised and who died in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Insley moved in 1833 to their new home in the west. In a round log cabin, with home-made furniture, lived Mr. and Mrs. Insley. They toiled amid all the drawbacks and pri- vations of early settlement. They added to their property till they owned 304 acres of land, a part of which they have sold. Both are old and feeble, having given largely of their substance toward the development of the country. Politically Mr. Insley, since his first vote for Jackson, has been whig, and later a strong republican. Mr. and Mrs. Insley have been members of the Methodist Episcopal church for over forty years. She was raised a Quaker, but on account of marriage without the church she was dismissed. They have had seven children : Elizabeth A., now Mrs. James Stallard, and lives at home; Maria, now Mrs. William H. Neely ; David, died at Murfreesboro in the civil war; Mildred J. (Mrs. Utler), burned to death by the explosion of a bottle of alcohol in 1878. She left a family of four children : John, Mary E. and Harriet Q. (deceased). Mr. Insley is widely known, and a successful farmer. His settlement is further noticed in the township history.
Isaac N. Meharry, farmer and stock raiser, Pleasant Hill, is a son of Thomas and Emily (Patton) Meharry, among the earliest set- tlers of Montgomery county. Thomas Meharry was a native of Adams county, Ohio. He was born April 27, 1799. When he was thirteen years of age his father died, leaving the boy to fight his own life's battles. The battle proved victorious to his arms of industry. In 1827 he made a trip to Montgomery county, Indiana, and entered the S. W. ¿ Sec. 2, and the S. } of N. W. } Sec. 2, R. 6 W., Coal Creek township. Uninviting as were the surroundings, infrequent as would be the visits of neighbors and friends, Thomas Meharry and his wife, Emily, bravely set out for their new home. They landed in 1828 with $50 to expend in improvements, and forty yards . of jeans for wearing apparel. Toil and good management soon changed their circumstances. The acres began to grow broader until he became an extensive land-holder, owning land in Cham- paign, McLean, and Shelby counties, Illinois, and Tippecanoe county, Indiana, as well as at home. The slab shanty in two years
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COAL CREEK TOWNSHIP.
gave place to a frame dwelling, 16×26. In 1842 this was displaced by a brick two-story residence covering forty feet square. Finan- cially Mr. Meharry's life was a success. In politics he was intelli- gently a republican. He was a Jackson man until the "Bank " question drove him to the whig ranks. He and wife were members of the Methodist church. She was born August 16, 1802, and is now living with Isaac, their son. They had eight children : Jane, Mrs. Eli Dick, of Champaign county, Illinois ; William, of same county ; Ellen, Mrs. John Martin, of Fountain county, Indiana ; Jesse, of Champaign county, Illinois ; Polly A., Mrs. Calvin McCorkle, of Tippecanoe county, Indiana; Abraham, a twin brother to Isaac, now in Champaign county, Illinois ; and Isaac. Isaac Meharry was born February 16, 1842, on the old homestead in Montgomery county. His life has been that of a farmer and stock raiser. He has remodeled the house his father built. Everything on the farm has the appearance of toil well directed. He owns 440 acres in the home farm, and 120 acres of timber. In politics he is a republican. He was married September 17, 1863, to Mary E. Moore, daughter of Henry W. and Maria (Davidson) Moore, who came from Brown county, Ohio, and settled in Coal Creek township, about 1840. Mrs. Meharry was born in Brown county, Ohio, June 13, 1845. Mr. and Mrs. Meharry are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They have four children : Effie, Anna, Jennie, and John A.
William Utterback, Boston Store, was born November 5, 1817, in Culpepper county, Virginia, and is a son of Thomson and Eliza- beth (Von) Utterback, both natives of Virginia. The Utterbacks are of German descent, while the Vons are of Scotch extraction. William Utterback's parents moved to Kentucky in 1818, and in 1828 they emigrated to Montgomery county, Indiana, bringing eight children : Harmon, James, Martha, William, Vincent, Elizabeth, Mary, and Henry ; leaving Virinda in Kentucky. Their son Jackson was born after their settlement here. They settled near what is Wesley Chapel, in Wayne township, where they took a lease for two years, then moved to northern part of Wayne township, where she died in 1847. He sold and went to Iowa, where he died in May 1862. Both were members of the New Light church many years. William was married April 3, 1844, to Keziah Walton, daughter of John and Susan Walton, of Montgomery county. She was born in Ohio, November 5, 1826. They settled first in Wayne township, where Mr. Utterback bought fifty-three acres of land. That he sold, and bought eighty acres where he now lives, and now owns 157 acres. He received but $100 from his father's estate. The rest he
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