USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 23
USA > Indiana > Parke County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 23
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"Saturday, November 2 .- A fine day. Captain Spencer, with ten men, went out on a scout. Our company not parading as usual, the Governor
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threatened to break the officers. I staid in camp. The army staid here to build a block house on the bank of the Wabash three miles below Vermillion, in a small prairie. The house twenty-five feet square, and a breastwork from each corner next the river down to the water. Took horses and drew brush over the prairie to break down the weeds. This evening a man came from the garrison ; said last night his boat was fired upon. One man, who was asleep, was killed. Three boats came up, unloaded; went back, taking a sick man with them. One of Captain Bobb's men died tonight."
"Sunday, the 3d .- A cloudy day. We moved early. Our company marched on the right wing today. Crossed the big Vermillion, through a prairie six miles, through timber, then through a wet prairie with groves of timber in it," etc.
Thus has been quoted all of General Tipton's journal that pertains to the march through Vermillion county. Under date of November 7, 1811, he gives an account of the battle of Tippecanoe, in a paragraph scarcely longer than the average of his journal, as if unaware that this action was of any greater importance than an insignificant skirmish. Tipton was promoted from rank to rank until he was finally made general. His orthography, punctuation, etc., were so bad we conclude not to follow it in the above extracts, save in a few cases, like spelling "staid."
Nearly every entry in his daily journal not quoted opens with the state- ment that the weather is very cold. He also makes occasional reference to the soldiers drawing their rations of whisky, from one to four quarts at a time.
In Harrison's march to Tippecanoe his boats (pirogues) could not pass Coal Creek bar, spoken of above, under date of October 31st, and for their protection he built a stockade fort at the head of Porter's eddy, the precise location being the northeast quarter of section 9. township 17. range 9 west. Here he left the sergeant and ten men to guard them. The remains of the heavy timbers were still to be plainly observed in 1839. Corduroy or pole bridges, buried in mud, might have been seen in 1890, on the spring branches on the farms of Hon. John Collett, S. S. Collett and the Head family, sec- tions 9 and 15, township 17, range 9 west. General Harrison also had caches ( places for the safe keeping and hiding of food) in this county along the Wabash.
According to the treaties, General Harrison made a purchase for the government. the northern line of which, west of the Wabash, extended from a point directly opposite the mouth of the big Raccoon creek northwesterly. This tract was opened for white settlement long before the southern portion of the county was, which remained in the possession of the Kickapoos and Pottawatomies for a few years longer.
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CHAPTER III.
THE FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT.
The date of the first settlement by white men in Vermillion county was 1816. The location was the southeast corner of section 9, township 14, range 9 west, where John Vannest and a man named Hunter, who was by occupa- tion also a hunter, had ventured west of the Wabash to select land for making a permanent home. This point was about a mile north of where now stands the thriving city of Clinton. Here they halted first for the night. Hunter soon secured a deer, which he killed, and thus they were provided with a fine sup- per. In the morning, after gazing about for a few minutes only, Mr. Vannest decided that that would be'as good a location as he would probably find. Then he returned to his temporary home at Fort Harrison, four miles north of present Terre Haute, and waited a short time for the day of the government land sales to arrive at Vincennes. He then entered three-quarters of section 9, and later purchased the other quarter of the same section of William Bales. This land is on the second bottom, very high and beautifully undulating, but was originally heavily covered with excellent timber. Had he gone a little further to the north he would have discovered a beautiful little prairie, which would be land already cleared for him; but this point was either unknown to him, or else it was too near, or even over, the line between the government land and that of the Indians. Again, at that day it was a question in the minds of settlers as to whether the prairie lands could be profitably culti- vated and dwelt upon with safety and comfort the year about on account of the cold winds.
On these finely situated lands of timber Mr. Vannest settled, bringing with him his wife and several children. Erecting first a log cabin on the west side of his land, he occupied it for a long period, when he built a large brick residence, from bricks he had made near by. This was Vermillion county's first brick structure. The brick-mason employed was a Mr. Jones from near Newport. Years afterward this residence was considered unsafe and was torn down.
The lands Mr. Vannest obtained remain mostly (or did a few years since) in the name of his descendants, and it is a remarkable fact that from
P
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this land no less than forty-five men entered the service of their country dur- ing the great Civil war from 1861 to 1865-a loyal spot indeed, and its in- habitants all defenders of the "Stars and Stripes." '
John Vannest, Jr., son of the first settler Vannest, was the first white child born in Vermillion county, although it has been sometimes stated that the first was Hon. William Skidmore, of Helt township. John Vannest, Sr., (lied at the age of sixty-two years on September 28, 1842, and his wife Mary died August 29, 1824, aged forty-four years, both being buried in the Clinton cemetery, north of town. One of their daughters, Sarah, who became the widow of Scott Malone, was the oldest woman resident of Clinton county in 1889, and used to recall the time when the girls, as well as boys, had to "go to meeting" and to school barefooted, sometimes walking and other times going on horseback. The schools and religious services were held in the then popular log school house, with puncheon floor, mud-and-stick chimney, flat rails for benches, a slab pinned up for a writing desk, and greased paper for windows.
Mrs. Malone and her twin sister, born August 6, 1812, hence four years of age when the parents moved to Vermillion county, were remarkable from the fact that they so nearly resembled one another that even in womanhood one was mistaken for the other, even by their own children. The twin sister was Jane, who married Thomas Kibby, and died in March, 1880. Records left by these worthy women have materially aided the present historian.
Mrs. Vannest had two narrow escapes from death at the hands of the Indians. This came about as follows: Two white soldiers at Camp Harri- son became engaged in a quarrel one day, and one of them, in attempting to shoot the other, carelessly missed his aim and killed an Indian squaw beyond. Thereupon the red-skins vowed that they would kill the first "white squaw." they saw who should cross to the west side of the Wabash. Accordingly. they watched their opportunity, and made two attempts to take the life of Mrs. Vannest. In the first instance her life was saved by the timely inter- ference of a friendly Indian, and the other time by the violent interference of her relatives and friends. Soon after this her husband took her back to Fort Harrison, where she remained until the affair had been partially forgotten by the Indians.
The above will suffice on the first settlement of this county, and this brief description will be followed up in the histories of the various townships.
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GREAT SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALS.
At an early day there were several circular "hunts" or "drives." The largest competitive chase held in the county lasted three months. Two leaders were chosen, who picked their men and divided the neighborhood into two parties for a compass of ten miles; they were to bring in the scalps of the slain animals at the end of three months, and the leader who showed the most scalps could demand five gallons of the best whisky, as a treat from the beaten side. A wolf, fox, crow, coon, or mink scalp was to be considered equal to five other scalps in their value. A squirrel or chipmunk scalp counted one. On the appointed day the opposing forces assembled. The committees began to count the scalps, and the task took them until three o'clock in the afternoon, when it was announced that there were seventy thousand scalps. Thus by a general rivalry, the settlers enjoyed the execution of a plan which proved the means of safety and protection to their homes and their crops.
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CHAPTER IV.
ORGANIZATION AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
The territory comprising present Vermillion county is thirty-seven miles long from north to south and averages about seven miles in width from east to west. It is bounded on the north by Warren county, Indiana, on the east by the Wabash river (Fountain and Parke counties), on the south by Vigo county, and on the west by Edgar and Vermillion counties, in Illinois.
Vermillion was originally a part of Vigo county. In 1821 Vigo county was divided by the organization of Parke county, which comprised Vermillion as a part of it, and Roseville, on the Big Raccoon, was the county seat. In 1823, by act of the Indiana Legislature, Parke county was divided by the Wabash river, the part west of the river being organized as Vermillion county and named from the rivers. For many years the Big Vermillion river had been the boundary between the possessions of the Peaukeshaws on the south and the Kickapoos and Pottawatomies on the north, and during the period of ownership by France it was a part of the boundary between Canada and Louisiana.
Vermillion county was created by an act of the General Assembly, ap- proved January 2, 1824. In order that it may be referred to as the genera- tions come and go, and being assured that it is authentic, as copied from the minutes and journals of the General Assembly of the state, the full text of the bill is here given, and reads as follows :
"Section I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of In- diana, that from and after the first day of February next, all that part of the counties of Parke and Wabash included within the following bounds shall form a new county, that is to say: Beginning on the west bank of the Wabash river, where the township line dividing townships numbered 13 and 14 north, of range 9 west, of the second principal meridian, crosses the same; thence west to the state line; thence north to the line dividing townships num- bered 19 and 20 north; thence east to the Wabash river; thence south with the meanders of said river to the place of beginning.
"Section 2. The said new county shall, from and after the first day of February next, be known and designated by the name of the county of Ver-
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million, and it shall enjoy all the rights and privileges and jurisdictions which to a separate and independent county do or may properly belong or appertain ; provided always, that all suits, pleas, plaints, actions and proceedings which may before the first day of March next have been commenced, instituted and pending within the county of Parke, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and effect in the same manner as if this act had not been passed; providing also, that the state and county taxes which are now due within the bounds of the said new county shall be collected and paid in the same manner and by the same officers as they would have been if the creation of the said new county had not taken place.
"Section 3. Robert Sturgis and Samuel Caldwell, of the county of Vigo; Moses Robbins, of Parke county; William Pugh, of Sullivan county, and William McIntosh, of the county of Putnam, are hereby appointed com- missioners, agreeably to the act entitled 'An act for the fixing of the seats of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off.' The commissioners above named, or a majority of them, shall convene at the house of James Blair, in the said new county of Vermillion, on the first day of March next, and im- mediately 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 by written notice of their appointment, on or before the first day of February next; and the said sheriff of Parke county shall receive from said county of Vermillion such compensation therefor as the county commissioners of said new county of Vermillion shall deem just and reason- able; who are hereby authorized to allow the same out of moneys in the treasury of said county, not otherwise appropriated, in the same manner as other allowances are made.
"Section 4. The circuit court of the county of Vermillion shall meet at the house of James Blair, in the said new county of Vermillion, until suitable accommodations can be had at the county seat; they shall adjourn their courts thereto, after which time the courts of said county shall be holden at the seat of justice of said county established by law ; provided always, that the circuit court shall have authority to adjourn the court from the house of James Blair as aforesaid, to any other place, previous to the completion of the public buildings, should the said court or a majority of them deem it expedient.
"Section 5. The board of county commissioners of the said county of Vermillion shall within six months after the permanent seat of justice of said county has been selected, proceed to erect the necssary public buildings thereon.
"Section 6. The agent who shall be appointed for the sales of lots at the
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seat of justice of said new county shall reserve and receive ten per centum out of the proceeds of all donations made to said county, and also out of the proceeds of all sales made of lots at the county seat of said county, and pay the same over to such person or persons as may be appointed by law to re- ceive the same, for the use of the county library for the said county of Ver- million, which shall pay over at such time and place as may be directed by law.
"Section 7. The powers, privileges and authorities that are granted to the qualified voters of the county of Dubois and others named in the act en- titled 'An act incorporating a county library' in the counties therein named, approved January 28, 1818, to organize, support and conduct a county library, are hereby granted to the qualified voters of the county of Vermillion; and the same powers and authorities therein granted and the same duties therein required of the several officers and persons elected by the qualified voters of Dubois and other counties therein named, for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the act aforesaid, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, are hereby granted to and required to the officers, and other persons elected by the qualified voters of Vermillion county.
"Section 8. The said county of Vermillion shall have both civil and criminal jurisdiction over all the country north of said county, which is or may be included in ranges 9 and 10 west, to the northern boundary of the state.
"Section 9. The said new county of Vermillion shall be attached to the counties of Parke and Vigo, for the purpose of electing representatives to Congress, and to the same senatorial and representative districts to which said counties now belong, for the purpose of electing senators and representa- tives to the General Assembly, and to the first return district for the purpose of returning votes for electors of President and Vice-President of the United States."
For in excess of one year Vermillion county thus had jurisdiction over more than a hundred miles of country north and south, extending to Lake Michigan, within a few miles from the modern city of Chicago.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
In 1824 the county seat was located at Newport, where it has always remained. It was then within little else than a wilderness. The locating commissioners were: Robert Sturgis, Samuel M. Caldwell, William Pugh and William McIntosh, of adjoining counties. It is likely that a fifth con- missioner was appointed, but did not serve for some unknown reason.
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It is likely that the county seat was located at Newport on account of its central location, and also on account of the immense spring that gushed forth from the earth at that point. Again, there was located a grist and saw-mill on Little Vermillion river, and the people donated more liberally than was the case in other parts of the county.
After securing a seat of justice, the earliest acts of the county commis- sioners were recorded in a home-made book, manufactured for the purpose by the county clerk. It was left where mice worked and, much of the records are not plainly made out. In March, 1882, as much of the mutilated book as was possible was carefully transcribed in a large well-bound book. This transcript begins with the minutes of the session of March, 1824, the year in which the county was organized, so really but very little of the original rec- ords have been lost. The first session was held at the house of James Blair, situated near the southeast corner of the northeast quarter of section 16, in township 16 north, of range 9 west. That was on the west side of the old wagon road leading from Eugene to Newport, about half way between the two towns.
The early records above referred to included the following paragraphs :
"At a special meeting of the board of commissioners of Vermillion county, begun and held at the house of James Blair, on Tuesday, March 23, 1824, and the commissioners, having their certificates of election and having taken the necessary oath, took their seats. Commissioners present, John Haines, Thomas Durham and Isaac Chambers.
"First. Ordered, that William W. Kennedy be and is hereby appointed · clerk of the board of commissioners of Vermillion county for this session.
"Third. Ordered, that all that part of the county of Vermillion con- tained in the following bounds, to-wit: Beginning at the Wabash river, where the line dividing townships 13 and 14 crosses the same, thence with said line to the line dividing the states of Indiana and Illinois, thence north to the line dividing townships 14 and 15, thence east with said line to the Wabash river, thence south with said river to the place of beginning, shall constitute the civil township of Clinton ; and that the election in said township be held in said township at the house of John Sargeant, in Clinton.
"Fourth. Ordered, that all that part of the county of Vermillion con- tained in the following bounds, to-wit: Beginning at the Wabash river where the line between townships 14 and 15 crosses the same, thence west with the said line to the center of township 16, thence east with said central line to the Wabash river, thence south with said river to the place of beginning, shall
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constitute the township of Helt, and that elections for said township be held at the house of John Van Camp.
"Fifth. Ordered, that all that part of Vermillion county, contained in the following bounds, to-wit : Beginning at the Wabash river at the center of township 16, thence west with said central line to the line dividing the states of Indiana and Illinois, thence north with said line until it strikes the Big Vermillion river, thence east with said river until it empties into the Wabash, thence south with said river to the place of beginning, shall constitute the township of Vermillion, and that elections in said township be held at the school house in section 16, in township 16.
"Sixth. Ordered, that all that part of Vermillion county contained in the following bounds, to-wit: Beginning at the Wabash river at the mouth of Big Vermillion river, thence west with said river to the line dividing the states of Indiana and Illinois, thence north with said line dividing townships 19 and 20, thence east with said line to the Wabash river to the place of begin- ning, shall constitute the township of Highland, and that elections be held in that township at the house of Jacob Andrick."
Among the early journal entries are those relating to the appointment of constables for the following townships: Charles Trowbridge, for Clinton township: John Harper, for Helt township; Jacob Custer, for Vermillion township: George Hansucker, for Highland township. All the above pro- ceedings were had on the first day of the first session of the board of com- missioners.
Clinton and Helt townships remain unchanged to this day, but the other two townships have been made into three as follows: The line between Ver- million and Eugene townships is the line dividing sections 19 and 30 of sur- veyed township 17 north and 10 west, running east to the northeast corner of section 21, township 17 north and range 9 west. thence north a half mile, and thence east to the river; the line dividing Eugene and Highland townships is the line dividing sections 19 and 30 of township 18 north and 10 west, run- ning east to the river; and from the northern side of Highland township has been cut off one tier of sections of congressional township 19 north, 9 west, and thrown into Warren county.
The first grand jurors in Vermillion county were appointed as follows : David W. Arnold, Horace Luddington, Rezin Shelby, AAndrew Thompson, John Tipton, William Coffin, John Scott, Jesse Higgins. Morgan De Puy. William Hedges, John Vannest, William Boyles, James Andrews. James Harper, Sr., and James Davis.
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The first petit jury was composed of the following gentlemen: Joel Dicken, Robert Elliott, James Groenendyke, John Thompson, Simeon Dicken, Isaac Worth, Lewis Zebreskey, Benjamin Shaw, Alexander Bailey, William Rice, Harold Hayes, Amos Reeder, William Hamilton, John Clover, Ralph Wilson, John Wimsett, Abraham Moore, John Maxadon, Joseph Dillow, Thomas Matheny, John E. Anderson, Obed Blakesley, John Van Camp and Joshua Skidmore.
The board of. commissioners appointed "superintendents" of the school sections : Harold Hughes, for Clinton township: William Bales, for Helt township; James Davis, for Vermillion township; William Coffin, for that in 17 north, 9 west, in Highland township; Horace Luddington in 18 north, and Jacob Andrick in 19, also in Highland.
The first overseers of the poor in this county were: John Vannest, for Clinton township; James Andrews and Augusus Ford, for Helt; Zeno Worth and John Tipton, for Vermillion, and John Haines and William Gonger, for Highland.
John Collett was appointed "agent for laying out a county seat," and also for "selling such lots as were donated by John Justice and George Miner for the use of the county, such lands as were by them donated as more fully appears by their bonds."
Alexander Bailey was appointed the first collector in this county. "The County Library Fund" was in charge of James Blair, but such library, with all others in the commonwealth, was abandoned.
On the third day of this session the bills of the sheriff and commissioners appointed by the state government to locate the county seat were audited and ordered paid. William Fulton was allowed thirty-five dollars "as a sheriff in organizing the county of Vermillion," and also two dollars and fifty cents for obtaining a copy of the laws regulating the duties of the office of sheriff in new counties.
John Collett was authorized to receive a deed of the land for the county seat from John Justice, Josephus Collett and Stephen Collett, the land being "all that part of the west half of the southwest quarter of section 26, in town- ship 17 north, of range 9 west, which may be south of the Little Vermillion creek should the same contain more or less."
The May, 1824, session of the board of commissioners met at the house of James Blair, but at once adjourned to the house of Josephus Collett. at Vermillion Mills. At this place Mr. Haines did not appear. The other two commissioners decreed that ferry licenses be seven dollars: "that the clerk
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list all property liable to taxation for county purposes to the full amount allowed by law." The rate of tavern license was fixed at five dollars. The board entered an order that the seat of justice should be known as "the town of Newport." It was also ordered that the lots in said town be laid off ac- cording to the following form, viz: Lots, sixty-six feet in front and one hun- dred and eighty-one feet in depth.
The board divided the county into thirteen road districts, and the same were supplied by supervisors through appointment.
James Blair was permitted to operate a ferry at Perrysville, and the rate of crossing was fixed by the county board as follows: Wagon and five horses, seventy-five cents ; wagon and four horses, sixty-two and a half cents; wagon and three horses, fifty cents ; wagon and two horses, three shillings; man and one horse, one shilling; pedestrian, six and a fourth cents ; neat cattle, four cents a head ; hogs and sheep two cents a head.
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