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 91
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8
HISTORY OF FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
convention, and by each of the delegates thereto, and Indiana took her place as a state of the Union.
It is hoped that reference to the history of the territory prior to the organization of the state will not be thought uninteresting or out of place, since it is to the transactions of this period that we not only trace back our political rights, but our property rights also. Every land title runs back in its history to the legislation and grants which we have been considering, and we find here the foundation of many of our most valued institutions.
On the 30th of December, 1825, the act of creating Fountain county was approved. It is in the following language :
AN ACT FOR THE FORMATION OF A NEW COUNTY OUT OF THE COUNTIES OF MONTGOMERY AND WABASH.
(Approved December 30, 1825.)
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana: That from and after the first day of April next, all that tract of country included within the following boundaries shall form and constitute a new county, to be known and desig- nated by the name of the county of Fountain, to-wit: beginning where the line dividing townships seventeen and eighteen crosses the channel of the Wabash river; thence east to the line running through the center of range six, west of the second principal meridian; thence north to where the said line strikes the main channel of the Wabash river; thence running down with the meanderings of said river to the place of begin- ning.
SEC. 2. The said new county of Fountain shall from and after the said first day of April next enjoy all the rights, privileges and jurisdictions which to separate and inde- pendent counties do or may properly belong or appertain.
SEC. 3. That Lucius H. Scott, of Parke county, William Clark, of Vigo county, Daniel C. Hults, of Hendricks county, Daniel Sigler, of Putnam county, and John Porter, of Vermilion county, be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners, agree- ably to the act entitled " An Act for fixing the seats of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off." The said commissioners shall meet at the house of William White, in the said county of Fountain, on the first Monday in May next, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Parke county to notify said commissioners, either in person or in writing, of their appointment, on or before the third Monday in April next; and for such service he shall receive such compensation out of the county of Fountain as the board of justices thereof may deem just and reasonable, to be allowed and paid as other county claims are paid.
SEC. 4. The board of justices of said new county shall, within twelve months after the location of the permanent seat of justice therein, proceed to erect the necessary public buildings.
SEC. 5. That all suits, pleas, plaints, actions, prosecutions and proceedings, here- tofore commenced and pending within the limits of the said county of Fountain, shall be prosecuted to final issue, in the same manner, and the state and county taxes which may be due on the first day of April next, within the bounds of said county of Foun- tain, shall be collected and paid, in the same manner, and by the same officers, as if this act had not been passed.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT.
SEC. 6. At the time and place of electing the county officers for the county of Fountain, under the writ of election from the executive department, the electors of said county shall elect five justices of the peace in and for said county, who shall meet, as a board, at the house of Robert Hatfield, in said county, on the first Monday in May next, or as soon thereafter as they may be enabled to do after being commissioned, and then and there proceed to transact all the business, and discharge the duties, here- tofore devolving on county commissioners at the organization of a new county, as well as all the duties required of boards of justices at such session.
The circuit and other courts of the said county of Fountain shall meet and be holden at the house of the said Robert Hatfield until more suitable accommodations can be had at some other place in said county.
SEC. 7. All that part of the county of Wabash lying north and west of the said county of Fountain shall be, and is hereby, attached to the said county for the pur- pose of civil and criminal jurisdiction.
This Act to take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the "Indi- ana Journal."
These boundaries have never been changed. Our view must here- after be confined to the limits fixed by that far away legislature of 1825 ; far away, because the world has traveled rapidly in the years that have come and gone since then.
With the brief résumé of the facts connected with the organization of the territory and of the State of Indiana, prior to the birth of the county, which has been given, we will now proceed with the history of that particular territory known as Fountain county.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The limits to which the writer is confined, as well as the press of other affairs, are such as to make it possible only to give a brief out- line of the settlement and growth of Fountain county. It has for some years been the design of the author of this sketch to gather up the threads of personal history of the pioneer men and women of this county and weave them into a memorial that would do justice to their sterling worth, and perpetuate the story of their toils, their perils and their virtues. This design cannot be carried out now, if ever it can be done. The hardships endured by the men and women who made the first openings in the forest, and the courage and fortitude displayed in meeting them, deserve to be permanently recorded.
Are these men and women forgotten ? Of all the busy throng which people Fountain county to day, how many can tell anything of the first settlers ? How many can speak the names of half-a-dozen of them ? A truthful answer would be "but very few, and they the old men and women who personally knew them." Is it right that we should so soon forget those who preceded us and made the paths. straight and the ways smooth ? If we forget them even while we enjoy the fruits of their labors, shall we not ourselves be as soon forgotten ?
10
HISTORY OF FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
If the magic of a word would bring them back before us just as they were the day they selected the spot for their cabin in the forest, who is it that would not like to see them, and talk to them, and hear from their own lips the story of their lives? Who would not like to see the man who first penetrated the wilds of Fountain county to make his home in the midst of her forests, and his wife who came with him, bringing her little ones where tidings of kindred would seldom or never come, and where hope of seeing them could scarcely exist ? How interesting it would be to hear her tell of her hopes and her fears, and how she bore the trials and hardships of her situation, and what her feelings were when she fully realized that she was alone with her husband and children, with a dense forest, extending miles on every hand, shutting her out from kindred and friends, and no outlook save toward the blue sky overhead ?
When this man and woman first came to their home in this region " there was not a hearth-stone planted; no fenced fields; no roads; not a sign of civilization though one journeyed from morn to dewy eve. If the way led over the prairie, on the right hand and the left a waste, in the summer rich with flowers, in the winter fields of snow swept by merciless winds; if the trail were through the woods, the thicket was about like a wall, and the wanderer, his soul thrilling with a sense of awe, caught the blue sky in briefest patches through the trees above him-all was shade and solitude as became the inheritance of savages." When the sun went down, and the shadows of evening began to fade in the deeper gloom of night, what a sense of loneli- ness and helplessness must have come to this family, who knew there was not a friendly human being within thirty miles of them, and whose ears were startled with the growl of the wolf and the human- like cry of the panther. No ordinary courage and nerve was theirs who thus, with a quiet determination and heroism worthy of remem- brance, set themselves to the work of conquering nature and winning a living and an inheritance for their children in the midst of a prime- val forest.
If we could begin with the earliest settlement of the county and trace its history until the present time, marking, as we progressed, the influence of individual lives ; if we could colleet and present all the reminiscences of the life of the first settlers, which yet remain in the memory of old people, we should have a story of thrilling interest.
It is unfortunate that this has not been done; and it will be still more unfortunate if it is not done before the " few who are left to tell " the story shall pass away.
In the last ten years many of the first settlers of the county have
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EARLY SETTLEMENT.
gone out from among us to return no more, and with them have gone many things of intense interest connected with the history of this county, never to be recovered. These early pioneer fathers and mothers are with us yet, but we do not recognize their presence. We say they are dead. But to die is not the end. They continue to live in the forces and influences which in life were set in motion by them. No human being was ever born into the world who does not thus continue to live. The identity of individual force and influence is lost in the changes and complications of the future, but the influence and force of each individual life will continue to the end of time, and only the hand of Omnipotence ean unravel the web and point ont the work of each individual of the myriads who helped to weave it.
The present prosperity of the people of this county, their fertile and well improved farms, their comfortable homes, their religious and edu- cational advantages, and all they enjoy which serves to make life happy and existence desirable, are largely due to the labors and the courage of the men and women who sought homes in the wilderness that they might increase the heritage and better the condition of their children. This was the strong motive which turned the face of the man and woman to the setting sun in most instances. But there were others who came impelled by that insatiable desire to penetrate the unknown which prompts man to attempt even the rending of the veil of the future. The desire to look into the beyond,-to uplift the horizon and see what is on the other side,- this is the most powerful incentive to discovery existing in man's nature. It was this that turned the prow of the Santa Maria toward the Unknown, and held her to her course through trackless seas for weeks, until, first a slight breeze from the west, then a few small birds singing morning songs, and weeds and pieces of wood floating in the water, began to revive hope and strengthen expectation, until the ery of "Land ! Land !" announced the fact that a new world had been discovered, and a new name added to the roll of those who deserve to be remembered throughout all time. Ah! that moment was worth an ordinary lifetime.
It is this in man's nature that has laid bare the secrets of earth and sea ; that has explored the heavens, and mapped them out; that has penetrated the bowels of the earth and the depths of the sea; that has attempted converse with the spirits of the dead ; and that penetrated the forest and mapped out the way to civilization in the land of the savage.
All honor to these brave, unselfish and devoted men and women! Would that their names and personal histories could be collected and written here! If much of personal history and reminiscence is omitted
12
HISTORY OF FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
from these pages, it is not from desire, but of necessity. Many things of importance must be omitted from want of space, and many from want of accurate information. But little space can be given to the early history of the county ; and for the material of what is given the author is, in great part, indebted to manuscripts prepared by Hon. Joseph Ristine and John M. McBroom, Esq. The earliest settlement in the county was probably made in 1823. The first entry of real estate was made in 1820 by Edmond Wade, and was the W. }, N.E. }, Sec. 28, T. 21, R. 6. In 1821, Eber Jeune entered land in T. 18, R. 9. In 1822, entries were made by David Strain, Leonard Loyd. James Beggs, Daniel Tarney, Benjamin Hodges, John Shewy, William White, Robert Hetfield, John Bartlett, Jonathan Birch, Abner Crane, Win. Cochran, James Button, William W. Thomas, James Thomas, Elijah Funk, Moses Jewett, Abner Rush, John Simpson, Jeremiah Hartman, James Graham, Martin Harrold, Thomas Patton, William Cloud, Alexander Logan, John Rusing, John Nugent, George Johnson, Enoch D. Woodbridge, Jesse Osborn, Andrew Lopp, Daniel Richard- son, Isaac Colman, Isaac Shelby, Rezin Shelby, and Jonathan Crane, and Isaac Romine as "Trustees for the church of God." There is a romantic history connected with more than one of these names, that it would be a pleasure to give, did time, space and the materials at hand permit. It is difficult now to say who was the first white inhabitant of the county. Certain it is that Jonathan Birch and John Colvert were settled upon the north fork of Cool creek, in what is now Van Buren township, in the spring of 1823, and that farther down the creek William Cochran and Thomas Patten had made "clearings" and raised a "crop" during the same season.
On what is now known as Graham's creek, in Wabash township, there were the Forbes and Graham families, who had come into the county in the spring of 1823. Messrs. Forbes and Graham each raised a "crop " in the summer of 1823. Mr. Forbes was probably the first settler in the county. On what are yet known as Osborn's and Lopp's prairies there were settlements made during this year. The families of Col. Osborn and Mr. Lopp came into the county in the spring or summer of 1823, and William Cade came in the same year. The gen- . tlemen named are the first who erected cabins and raised crops in the county. In the fall of 1823 John McBroom, Edward McBroom, John Cain and John Walker came to the county, bringing with them on horseback the outfit that must serve them in the preparation of homes for their families. This consisted chicfly of an axe, with which to fell and hew timber for their cabins, and to clear the land for the next year's crop, and a gun, upon the use of which much of their sustenance
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TERRITORIAL AND STATE ORGANIZATION.
depended. The experience of these men was in great part that of every other of the pioneer settlers, and it will not be without interest to quote from a manuscript account the manner in which they met and overcame what, to most men of this age, would appear insurmountable difficulties :
"They came by the way of Strawtown, on White river; thence by Thorntown, on Sugar creek; these being Indian towns, with an Indian trace from one to the other. From Thorntown they followed the Indian trace down Sugar creek to Crawfordsville, which was laid off in the spring of 1823. From Crawfordsville they followed the Indian trace to the head-waters of Coal creek, from whence, following the stream, they found the land of promise,-a land which, if it flowed not with milk and honey, flowed with beautiful streams of pure water. Neither was it destitute of honey, and game of all kinds abounded, while the creeks were filled with the finest of fish. Before choosing their locations they took a pretty wide survey of the territory which now is embraced within the limits of Fountain county. In their wan- derings they came across the Birch and Colvert families, who were settled on the north fork of Coal creek, while farther down at the forks of the creek they found the Cochran and Patten families. After some time spent in looking at the country, and being warned by the falling leaf and moaning winds that winter was approaching, they made their selections of lands and began the erection of their first rude cabins. And the reader can judge of their dimensions when he is told that four men, separated by an unbroken wilderness, extending for many miles in all directions, from their fellows, cut and carried the logs for these eabins, and raised them to their places. They were rude and small, yet they proved sufficient as a shelter for their little families until bet- ter could be provided."
With these, and the many others who came in the spring of 1824, the contest for existence was a hard one. "There were houses to build, roads to blaze, forests to clear, rails to make, fences to build," and every effort to make to win bread from the wilderness, "and to keep the wolf from the door during the coming winter. With the utmost exertion their crops must be light, as the forest was thick and green, and it was impossible to get rid of the shade of overhanging trees during the first year." All they had was a little clearing in the midst of a dense forest, with a cabin on one side and a patch of blue sky above. "The soil was rich and productive, however, and, blessed with rain and sun- shine, they raised some corn and beans and potatoes, on which, with the game that was plenty within easy reach, they lived through the winter without suffering or destitution."
14
HISTORY OF FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
At this time there was not a mill in the county, and the corn was taken across a trackless forest to a mill situated somewhere in tho sonthwestern portion of what is now Parke county. This mill was probably at the mouth of Raccoon creek.
In the fall of 1824 a mill for grinding corn-" a corn eracker "- was built on Coal creek, at the point where the town of Hillsboro is now located. This was built by two men named Kester and Mc- Laughlin. It is said to have been the first mill put in operation in the county. But this is not quite certain. The honor lies between this and Corse's mill, lower down on Coal creek. The mill was a rude affair : a little shed supported by round posts ; a brush dam across the stream ; a wheel attached to an upright shaft, and stones for grinding rudely shaped out of boulders. One whose recollection goes back to that day writes : " A day of rejoicing was this among the settlers, when they had not only eorn of their own but a mill to grind it. They felt that civilization had made a long stride in the direction of their homes." The "corn cracker," grinding its four or five bushels of corn a day, was an assurance of bread. It opened up a vista to its vis- itors and patrons adown which they saw farmns opened, wheat fields ripening, comfortable homes springing up, a dense population happy in the enjoyment of all that makes life worth living, with churches and schoolhouses in every neighborhood. Many of them lived to see all these things, and a few are yet among us who braved the dangers of the wilderness to make a home for their children, and who have seen all the wonderful changes which half a century has wrought in this spot of earth which we call Fountain county.
It is probable that settlements were made in other parts of the county in the year 1823, but no reliable information about them has been obtained by the author, although earnest inquiry has been made concerning them. The years 1824, 1825 and 1826 brought with them a great many families whom it would be pleasant to men- tion particularly, if the limits to which this sketch is prescribed would permit. Particular mention of those who came after the year 1823 is left to the histories of the several townships, with the hope that all de- serving of mention will appear there. The name of Absolem Men- denhall ought to appear among those who found a home in the county in 1823; he was a man of great infinenee and usefulness in the " set- tlement." He was the first justice of the peace in the territory which is now Fountain county ; he wrote all the deeds; settled all the dis- putes, married all the people, cried all the sales, and in short did all the publie business of the neighborhood for years. He was possessed of strong common sense, sterling integrity, an intuitive sense of justice,
15
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
and great good humor. His last public service was in representing his county in the state senate. It was in his garden that the writer first saw a tomato. This fruit was then called "Jerusalem Apples," and was believed to be deadly poison.
Another leader among his fellow men at a very early period in the history of the county was Joseph Glasscock, than whom no one man did more, perhaps, to develop the resources of the country, and to cultivate a law-abiding and peaceable spirit in its people.
While it is not possible, nor within the scope of this department of this work, to name each of the many pioneers who deserve mention, the writer cannot omit the mention of one known to him as a grand woman in her simple purity of manner and character and strength of mind and will; and who has so recently passed away that she seems to be with us still. Catherine Bever came to the county with her husband in 1825, and they built their cabin about a mile east of the present town of Hillsboro; and from that time until her death she lived upon the farm which she and her husband there selected. For forty years she lived a widow and in her eighty-eighth year she gave up the life that had been so honorable and useful, to the God who gave it. Her influence was always on the right side; she was con- siderate, kind and benevolent, but she made no compromises with wrong; and in a matter involving a question of duty she was as firm as adamant. She was a christian in the highest acceptation of the term ; her faith was a part of her being, and it entered into her daily life so that she not only professed christianity, but lived it. This per- sonal tribute is due to one who stood as a fitting type of a class of women fast passing away. Of women who were brave and self-re- liant, yet gentle and affectionate, firm in adherence to duty, yet com- passionate in dealing with the faults of others; who braved the perils of the wilderness and endured the discomforts of a frontier life that we might have homes surrounded by the advantages which their toil and self-denial made possible.
The life of the pioneer women is graphically described by Mrs. Rebecca Julian in a communication published in a Centreville, Wayne county, paper in 1854, and quoted by Judge Charles H. Test in his address before the Pioneer Association of Indiana at its first meeting, in 1878. The following is an extract from the communication :
" There were many serious trials in the beginning of this country with those who settled amid the heavy timber, having nothing to depend upon for a living but their own industry. Such was our situa- tion. However, we were blessed with health and strength, and were enabled to accomplish all that was necessary to be done. Our hus-
16
HISTORY OF FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
bands cleared the ground and assisted each other in rolling the logs. We often went with them on these occasions to assist in cooking for the hands. We had first-rate times - just such as hard laboring men and women can appreciate. We were not what would now be called fashionable cooks. We had no pound cakes, preserves or jellies, but the substantials prepared were in plain, honest, old-fashioned style. That is one reason why we were so blest in health. We had none of your dainties-nicknacks and many fixings that are worse than nothing. There are many diseases now that were not heard of thirty or forty years ago, such as dyspepsia, neuralgia, and others too tedious to men- tion. It was not fashionable at that time to be weakly. We could take our spinning-wheel and walk two miles to a spinning frolic, do our day's work, and, after a first-rate supper, join in some innocent amusement for the evening. We did not take very particular pains to keep our hands white. We knew they were made to use to our advantage, therefore we never thought of having hands just to look at. Each set- tler had to go and assist his neighbors ten or fifteen days, or there- abouts, in order to get help again in log-rolling time. This was the only way to get assistance in return." And Judge Test, himself sev- enty vears a resident of Indiana, thus speaks of the habits and customs of the women of the first settlements : "The women at that time, and for many years after, not only spun and wove the fabrics for their own garments, but for those of the whole family. They were their own man- tua-makers, and did the tailoring for the father and the sons. I have to-day a pleasing remembrance of their white and well-fitting dresses, with a stripe of blue or red woven in the fabric out of which they were made. As to the tailoring, I often thought the waist of the coat too short by six or eight inches, and the breeches rather scant in material. Twelve " cuts" was a good day's work, and if there was any surplus of the woven material, after supplying the wants of the family, it found a ready sale at the nearest store. It was a high commendation in those days that a young lady was an adept in spinning and weaving. When I was a young man, some fifty-five years ago, I occasionally visited the daughter of an old friend. The mother took me round the cabin and showed me the bundles of yarn her daughter had spun, and the beauti- fnl coverlids she had woven. Of course I was charmed, but I soon found my visits were far more agreeable to the mother than to the dangh- ter." It is scarcely necessary to say that the young lady married some other man.
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