USA > Indiana > Knox County > Vincennes > History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
*Mr. Jeremiah Donovan, then a young man, who for many years afterward served as marshal of the town, was sparking a girl the same time Mr. Davis was courting Miss Taylor. He says that while the quartette were indulging in court- ship, he and his girl frequently met Mr. Davis and Miss Taylor on jaunts through the country which led to an inviting woods containing an enormous boulder, on which the couple were wont to sit-a romantic trysting place. Mr. Donovan, who had in the meantime made his sweetheart his wife, bought property at the corner of Sixth and Broadway streets, and many years before his death, as a reminder of the youthful dreams of love he had himself experienced, and in memory of the joy- ous greetings he and his wife had been accorded by Davis and his affianced bride, had the boulder removed and placed in his front yard. After his death the prop- erty was purchased by the late Dr. John H. Rabb, President of the First National Bank, who suffered the boulder to remain where Mr. Donovan had put it, on ac- count of the romantic associations it recalled; and it occupies to-day the identical spot it did when the property changed hands.
320
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
which was accomplished after a long siege of stubborn fighting in which losses to both whites and Indians were very heavy. As a reward for valor- ous deeds in these conflicts Colonel Taylor was elevated by brevet to the rank of major-general; and in 1838 was appointed commander-in-chief of United States troops in Florida, where for a long time the Indians kept the settlements in a state of alarm and uneasiness. At the expiration of two years of the most exacting and perilous military service in the everglades of the peninsula, at his own solicitation, he was transferred to Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, which gave him command of the department of the southwest, embracing the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. When Texas was annexed, 1845. he went to Corpus Christi and established his corps of observation, having fifteen hundred soldiers, which number was increased by reinforcements to four thousand. In 1846 he advanced to the Rio Grande and blocked Brazos Santiago, the port of Matamoras; but on learning that the Mexicans had crossed the river with six thousand men and that Fort Brown was surrounded and in great peril, retraced his steps in haste. The first encounter with the Mexicans was on the field of Palo Alto, where Taylor routed about 3,000 of the enemy. The fleeing enemy halted at Resaca de la Palma, about three miles distant, where they were badly worsted in a second engagement, and the safety of Fort Brown, whose soldiers could hear plainly the cannonading, was secured. Taylor's next victory was Monterey, where he forced the Mexican General Ampudia to capitulate after administering to him a severe drubbing. General Scott soon after became commander of the American forces in Mexico, which left Taylor at Monterey with about only 5,000 troops, which number, how- ever, was subsequently increased to 6,220, and he began a forward move- ment. When about fifty miles south of Monterey he learned from a Mexi- can messenger who came with a flag of truce and a sunrmons for him to surrender, that Santa Anna was advancing with 20,000 men. After telling liis men that if they were twice that number it would make no difference to him, he sent back to Santa Anna the curt reply that "General Taylor never surrenders ;" and riding down the ranks he informed his men that "he in- tended to stand here not only so long as a man remains, but so long as a piece of a man is left." The battle was fought on the 22d of February, 1847, and lasted ten hours; and in the midst of the terrible carnage Taylor rode up to a battery that was belching forth volumes of death-dealing fire into the columns of the enemy and with an air of serenity said, "A little more grape, Capt. Bragg." It was feared in the American camp that the next day would call for a renewal of the battle, but in the morning the Mexicans had fled. At Buena Vista Taylor and his troops exhibited the greatest bravery and the victory was attributed to his valor and skill. Gen. Taylor died in 1850, after he had occupied the presidential chair little more than a year. and his last words were "I'm not afraid to die ; I'm ready ; I've endeavored to do my duty."
321
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
General Robert Morgan Evans, who laid out the city of Evansville in 1814, was a resident of Vincennes in 1805, coming here in that year from Princeton, where he bought a tract of land and soon after formed a settle- ment. He was born in Frederick County, Va., in the year 1783, removing to Paris, Kentucky, and later coming to Indiana territory. He was an active participant in the battle of Tippecanoe, being one of the aids of General Harrison, who had commissioned him a brigadier-general of militia, a posi- tion he filled with great credit during the wars of 1812-15. During the In- dian attack on Fort Harrison in 1812 he marched at the head of a company of militia in defense of that fortification, and rendered General Taylor, in command of the fort, much valuable assistance. General Evans during his residence in Vincennes was a tavern keeper. Though closely identified with the town bearing his name he maintained his residence at Vincennes and Princeton until 1824. when he moved to Evansville. The socialistic senti- ment which Robert Dale Owen had made prevalent at New Harmony ap- pealed to him, and he went there to live, dividing his time between farming and conducting a hotel. After four years thus spent he returned in the year of 1828 to Evansville, where he terminated his early career in the year 1844.
Vanderburg County, of which Evansville is the seat, was named after a citizen of Vincennes, as were Dubois, Vigo and Parke Counties, respec- tively ; and so was Harrison County. Princeton was named in honor of another distinguished citizen of the Old Post-William Prince. Judge Prince was an Irishman by birth and emigrated to America in 1794, while quite young, settling at Vincennes. He was an energetic and talented man, thoroughly imbued with that proud spirit of Americanism which came to us with the establishment of liberty and independence. His independent air and his talents were not long in securing for him deserved recognition. By profession a lawyer, he soon became the recipient of judicial honors and a lucrative practice. Soon after his citizenship was established he was com- missioned Indian agent for Indiana territory, and in 1802 served as a dele- gate with Governor Harrison, Col. Francis Vigo and Luke Decker, to the convention called by the governor to consider the advisability of permitting the practice of slave holding in the territory. He fought with Harrison at the battle of Tippecanoe, as a member of the General's staff, and rendered Harrison valuable aid in concluding many treaties of peace with the Indians. Vincennes at this time, being the seat of government, was also the center of social life in the territory, and Judge Prince's commanding presence, courtli- ness and affability made him an attractive person at all functions. He had not been long a resident of the Old Post until Miss Theresa Fromble, a strik- ingly beautiful French girl of fourteen summers, completely captivated him with her unaffected charms, and he sought her hand in marriage. Her stern father, who was a man of wealth and affluence, resented the advances of the young Irishman as presumptuous, but the black-eyed maiden reciprocated all the tender and sentimental stories of love whispered into her ear by the dashing wooer. Prince, therefore, determined to press his suit, and putting
322
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
on bold front sought pater familias in the hope that the latter would relent. But not so. The haughty Frenchman summoned to his aid a goodly number of his minions, and thrust the undesirable suitor into a barn, and placed him under lock and key. The idea of inflicting imprisonment as a punish- ment without due process of law, appealed irresistibly and irritatingly to the populace, who were just beginning to realize the beneficence of the spirit of liberty then prevalent throughout the land, and looked upon the procedure as outrageous to all senses of justice. The natives-friends of Prince's- grew highly indignant over his incarceration, and talked threateningly of adopting retaliatory measures. Monsieur Fromble, no longer able to with- stand the feeling of resentment displayed, consented to release the prisoner, but the young man, whose indignation had outgrown his mortification, spurned the proffered liberty. He held up courageously and refused for some time to leave the prison whose portals had been thrown wide for him to pass through to freedom. Fromble was beside himself with rage, and in his anxiety to get his precursory prisoner out of sight and mind, as well as off of his premises, demanded wrathfully to know what he wanted and why he did not vacate. The youthful lover replied that he intended to remain until he had secured that for which he came. Meantime the gossips were busy. The affair became town talk. Neither the old or the young man would concede an inch of ground in the stubborn stand both had taken, until rumors of a suit for false imprisonment were circulated by the friends of the injured party. The prospect of having to pay heavy damages, aided 110 doubt by the pleadings of the beautiful Theresa, brought Monsieur Fromble to terms and forced him to give his consent reluctantly to his daughter's hand, making the way perfectly clear for the youthful Prince to lead the beautiful maiden to the hymenial altar as his blushing bride.
It is not definitely known at what date Judge Prince left Vincennes to take up his home in Gibson County, at which place the fame he had already acquired in public and private life brought him additional honors. He be- came the first prosecuting attorney of that county; in 1816 was appointed resident judge, and in 1824 was elected to congress, but died before filling out his term of office. Judge Prince spent the latter days of his life on his farm, near the town of Princeton, "and to the last," says the Evansville Pocket, 1898, "was a striking figure in public life, always clad in knee breeches and silver buckles. He was very fond and proud of his wife, the prize he had so hard a fight to win, and which he valued more than all others. Four children were born to them. Two sons, George and Harry, died without perpetuating the name. Of the daughters, the eldest, Eliza- beth, married Judge Samuel Hall, who held a distinguished place in the his- tory of Indiana. Their children are Mrs. Kidd, wife of Dr. W. G. Kidd. Mrs. W. D. Downey and Mr. John B. Hall, all of Princeton. Nancy, the second daughter of Judge Prince, married Dr. Wm. Stockwell. Their chil- dren are Mrs. Wm. E. French and Messrs. George and Nathan Stockwell of Evansville, and Mrs. Minerva Bingham, of Patoka.
323
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
"It was men of Judge Prince's character and gifts that gave to the early history of Indiana its prestige, and maintained for it the position it was called upon to sustain as one of the oldest and leading states of the new west. All honor and praise be to his memory."
Nathaniel Ewing, the great grandfather of William L. Ewing, was one of Vincennes' most prominent citizens of territorial days. He first saw the Old Post in 1788, having come here with a pirogue load of apples, salt and furs when he was sixteen years old, following at that time the dual occupa- tion of farming and trading on the Wabash and Ohio rivers. He was de- scended of pure Irish stock, his grandfather, who was a native of Colerian County, Ireland, emigrated to this country in 1725 to escape the persecutions of the English. His father emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he died in 1785. Young Nathaniel was born in the last named state in 1772, and took up his permanent residence in Vincennes in 1807, having been previously ap- pointed receiver of the public land office, a position he filled with marked ability, through a series of presidential terms, until 1824. He was chosen as the first president of the first bank established in Vincennes, which was a private concern that finally merged into the State Bank of Indiana. He was rather active in politics, and at the time of the admission of Indiana into the union was a member of the territorial legislature. He was a strong anti-slavery advocate and espoused the cause of freedom both in and out of the legislative halls. In the civil and commercial activities of the Old Post Mr. Ewing was a dominant figure and amassed a handsome competence. After his retirement from public office in 1824 he took up his residence at his country home. Mount Clair, where he died a peaceful death August 6. 1846. In 1793 Nathaniel Ewing married Anna Breading, and to them were born eight children. The eldest daughter, Mary, married Dr. Wm. Carr Lane, St. Louis; Caroline married Dr. George W. Mears, Indianapolis; Rachael married Daniel Jencks, Terre Haute; Harriet married James Far- rington, Terre Haute, and Sarah married the Hon. John Law, one of the most prominent attorneys of the Old Post, and a member of congress from this district. The sons of Nathaniel and Anna Ewing were George WV., who became a prominent attorney and banker ; W. L., who removed to St. Louis and became prominent in commercial and financial circles of that city ; James, who resided at Mount Clair until his death. The late Wm. L. Ewing, Sr., ex-mayor of St. Louis, was a grandson of Nathaniel Ewing, and at the time of his death occupied Mt. Clair as a summer home. The property, which was a portion of a vast estate he left. has been in the Ewing family for nearly a hundred years. It is an attractive place, one of the most delightful suburban homes in the county, which has been the scene through all the years of scores of brilliant society fetes.
John Law will ever occupy a conspicuous place among the intellectual giants of territorial days, and his name will always be linked with the recital of all important events which treat of colonial times. He was a New Eng- lander by birth, having been born at New London, Connecticut, in 1796,
324
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
emigrating westward early in the nineteenth century, and locating at Vin- cennes in 1817, the same year he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Connecticut. When but eighteen years of age he was graduated with high honors from Yale College, New Haven. On his arrival at the Old Post he opened an office and began the practice of law, a profession for which he was eminently fitted. In a short while he was elected prosecuting attorney of this circuit, which then embraced nearly one-half of Indiana where settlements had been formed. His constituents in 1823 elected him by a pronounced majority a representative of Knox County to the Indiana legislature, where he won distinction through his activity and ability as a legislator. His inclination, however, to follow his chosen profession was stronger than his desire to enter upon a career of politics, and he declined to make the race for re-election. The legislature in 1830 elected him judge of the seventh judicial circuit, and he wore the judicial ermine with becom- ing grace and dignity. From 1838, to 1840 he was in charge of the office of receiver of public moneys, being an appointee of President Van Buren. Removing to Evansville in 1851, he formed a partnership for the practice of law with James B. McCall, Lucius H. Scott and his brother, William Law. With his associates he purchased a piece of land adjoining Evans- ville, platted it, and gave the new addition the name of Lamasco. Judge Law was appointed by President Pierce in 1855 judge of the court of land claims for Indiana and Illinois, and while confronted by many perplexing legal propositions in the discharge of his duties, acquitted himself with honor, justice and fairness, displaying signal ability. As a member of con- gress from the first district, in 1860, he was a member of the library com- mittee and committee on Revolutionary pensions, and was the author of the measure to pay the surviving soldiers of the Revolution an annual pension of $100. He died in Evansville on October 7. 1873, and, in compliance with an oft-repeated request, his remains were brought to Vincennes for inter- ment. Judge Law had a warm place in his heart for the people of Vincennes, who looked on him as a great man. And he was a great man-not alone in law, but in letters. His address, delivered before the Vincennes Histori- cal and Antiquarian Society, February 22, 1839, is a fine literary produc- tion, possessing more reliable information pertaining to colonial history, especially that part applicable to Vincennes, than is contained in many of the publications of more recent years.
With her organization as a state Indiana began to undergo great physical changes. Before the advances of a newer and higher civilization the forests rapidly faded, miniature rivers converging at certain seasons and forming mighty lakes, disappeared. But the original beauty and grandeur portrayed in the giant bodies, limbs and foliage of the trees are yet visible in the forms of the mighty monarchs left proudly standing today along the banks of the Wabash, White and Embarrass rivers, or in the innumerable patches of woods which enhance the beauty of the landscape in all parts of Knox County. The inroads carved by the axe of the pioneer in forest fastnesses
325
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
drove many beasts and birds from their accustomed hiding-places to return no more. The introduction of ditches and tiling, and the destruction of trees, for the reclamation of lands inundated by large and small bodies of water obliterated these streams and put to flight many aquatic fowls, and caused large numbers of fur-bearing animals to migrate, and fishes to die and fossilize, and become component parts of the rich and fertile soil. The buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, bear, and even the wild turkey and pigeon, have long since departed; but geese and ducks annually trouble the waters of streams in unlimited numbers, while quite a few minks, otters, musk rats and beavers remain as survivors of the pioneer families of quadrupeds which made it possible early in the eighteenth century for fur merchants in Vincennes to do business in the markets of Enorpean countries. The "sur- vival of the fittest" among fish is seen in the large schools of black, stripped, rock, little and big-month bass, tin-mouths, blue gills, crappies, pike, sun and ring perch, which keep company with myriads of white perch. cat fish. jack salmon, sturgeon, buffalo and carp, and other members of the finny tribe, that are to be found in all the rivers and lakes of this region. Wabash lake, lying about seventeen miles southeast of Vincennes, controlled by the Wabash Fishing Club, but which is really the private preserve of Edward Watson, is an ideal fishing resort, from which anglers inveigle great quan- tities of game fish. The lake, which is probably a mile and a half in length by a half mile in width, was formerly the bed of the Wabash, is in close proximity to the latter stream, and its banks, hemmed with timbers of simi- lar growth, give it very much the appearance of the river. Bowman's lake, across the river, on the borders of which the Country Club (composed of Vincennes gentlemen to the number of one hundred) has erected a model chib house, is the home of game fish, from which bass of an unusual size are taken every season .* Since the establishment of the oil fields in Illi- nois, the surplus product from the wells, which finds its way into the Wa- bash through the Embarrass river, has had a tendency to materially lessen the indulgence in piscatorial pleasures both on the Wabash and Duchee, but it has not deterred the disciples of Izaak Walton from gratifying their de- sires in angling at Otter, Claypool, Long, Dan's pounds, White river, and the many other places (below the Embarrass, ) in Knox County which afford genuine sport to the true angler. The oil nuisance, however, will shortly be abated. through the agency of the federal government, and the streams now suffering more or less from pollution will ere long resume their pristine purity and lure both fish and fishermen to their classic precincts. The beautiful golden pheasant, the inoffensive quail, the gentle dove,
* Dr. C. W. Benham has taken from Bowman's Lake some fine specimens of black bass, one of his catches weighing eight pounds and two ounces. At Beaver Dam, two miles west, he caught a bass that weighed seven pounds and two ounces : From the waters of Otter, Swan and Dan's ponds, and River Duchee, he has fre- quently hooked bass weighing five and six pounds, always using a casting-rod and artificial bait.
326
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
the cunning prairie chicken, and the elusive and toothsome jack snipe, as well as the gray and fox squirrels, continue to be familiar denizens of Feld and forest, for which the Nimrods lay down the rod, and take up the fowl- ing piece. Whether he goes in quest of fish or game, within the confines of Knox County, or on the adjacent prairies of Illinois, in a day's jaunt the legitimate sportsman can gratify his every whim.
As late as the year 1870 this immediate locality was infested by wild pigeons which gathered in such large flocks as to form clouds, in their migrations, of sufficient density to obscure the sun from one's vision. While they congregated at no particular spots, confining themselves to the woods generally, they have been known to assemble on Bunker Hill and along the plank road, on Allison prairie, in such enormous quantities as to break the limbs of the largest trees. The wild pigeons migrated several years before the deer and turkey, their final flight from this region, as well as from other sections of the western country, being rather of a spontaneous character. And today there is not a trace left of them in any section- seemingly, they have disappeared entirely from the face of the earth.
During the years 1874-5 deer, wild turkeys and quail were handled by all leading grocers and, not infrequently the iron pegs in front of the stores of John Vickery, John Burke and Chas. A. Weisert, were adored with from six to eight carcasses of deer and twice that number of turkeys. Mr. Burke during this period bought quails by the car load and shipped them to eastern markets. Mr. Weisert was also a big dealer in game and shipped principally to Louisville, many of his choicest consignments going direct to the famous Rufer café at the Falls City. In season it was no uncommon sight daily to sce car loads of deer, turkeys, quail, prairie chickens and rabbits piled up in front of his place of business, at the northwest corner First and Main streets.
The wild pigeons were arch enemies of growing erops, and for a while had a monopoly on roosting places ; hence, their departure occasioned no regrets, because it made more room for the song birds, which now awaken woodland and dell with sweetest melodies.
In very early times the pioneer placed his main reliance for a livelihood in his flint-lock musket; but, instead of pursuing the game at all times, it was not infrequently that some of the game pursued him. Bears, wolves and panthers were very plentiful in Knox County at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The pesky wolves, which frequently chased the deer through the forest, and, when driven by hunger, would attack cattle, were despised by the huntsman and abhored by the settler, as they snarled and barked around the lonely cabin in the wilderness. In following a wounded (leer, the hunter frequently encountered a pack of hungry wolves, which had gotten on the trail in front of him. Dogs were generally used for the purpose of aiding the hunter in fighting bears, panthers and wolves. The canines, however, were not of the hound variety-a later importation used for trailing deer-but were the commonest kind of curs, trained to slow-
327
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
track game, without making an outcry, and capable of giving a big bear a good fight.
The buffalo, that shaggy beast for the protection and propagation of which the federal government is interesting itself, which roamed the western plains in countless thousands fifty years ago, has become almost extinct, and there is no section of country in North America today where a single one runs at large. There were a great many of them ruminating in this locality in the early part of the nineteenth century, migrating from south to north in the summer season and from north to south in the winter season, without attracting any very great amount of attention. They differ from the domes- ticated bovines in that they are of a black, or dark brown color, longer of limb and shorter of body, and have a prominent hump on their backs. Their necks are short and thick, head and cyes small; while their general appear- ance is fierce, they are not at all ferocious ; have an acute ear and smell, and can detect danger from afar. The male is the least bit larger than the fe- male, varies in height from five to five and a half feet, has a heavy mane and longer growth of hair on his back and shoulders than the rest of his body. The tapering bodies of these animals-which are largest at the shoul- ders, and recede towards the hips-denote speed. * Except during the months of June and July, when the mating season is on, the males and females run in separate herds. During this period there is a great rivalry for supremacy among the males, and the fiercest battles, in which an entire herd would sometimes contend for mastery, is waged. The bellowing and roaring, deep and loud, occasioned by these conflicts, was harrowing, equaled only by the desperation with which the fight was conducted, which frequently resulted in many of the bulls being gored to death. The cows, which bore their young in March and April, were very much attached to their offsprings, and took extra precautions to prevent their calves from the attacks of savage beasts, by forming a circle at night with their horns outward, cor- raling the calves within the circle. The young cane and rich prairie grass on which the buffalo subsisted while in this section imparted a flavor to the meat far superior to stall-fed cattle. The choicest cut from a buffalo was considered the hump, which had a flavor akin to a combination of veni- son and bear meat, after it had been prepared by the French or Indians.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.