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 24
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 24
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At a point two miles north of Newport, John Gardner was authorized to operate a ferry across the Wabash.
During the first year of the county's history the board of county com- missioners placed a license of ten dollars as a license to vend foreign merchan- dise for the remaining portion of the year 1824. This was the first "protective tariff" heard of in Vermillion county.
With the machinery set in motion, the newly organized county soon began to build for the future. Public buildings had to be constructed and roads and bridges made. Taxes had to be levied and collected, all of which kept the commissioners quite busily engaged for a number of years.
COURT HOUSES AND JAILS.
Vermillion county has had the following public buildings erected for its use :
At the June, 1824, session the county commissioners ordered a contract to be let for the building of a court house of the following description : Thirty-six feet in length and twenty-four feet in depth; containing two jury rooms, to be furnished with a window of fifteen lights and a door opening from each into the court room; the latter to have eight feet for a passage be- tween it and the jury room; balance of sixteen feet to be finished, laid off and worked in a semi-circular form, in a workmanlike manner: with seats for the judges, bar and jury : with banisters to separate the said court and jury rooms, eight feet one from the other across said court house, at the distance of eight
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
feet from said jury rooms, except so much as may be necessary for the ad- mission of persons in and to the bar and court, which said space is not to exceed three feet ; and the said court room is to be furnished with three win- dows of fifteen lights each, and two good doors. ' Said building is to be erected on the southeast corner of the public square, of good substantial frame of a ten-foot story covered with joint shingles; and said frame to be settled on a sufficient number of eighteen inch blocks two feet long."
June 24, 1824, the board of commissioners met and awarded the contract for building the above described court house, for three hundred and forty-five dollars, the structure to be completed by the first of the following November.
Although the commissioners refused to accept the building when said by the contractor to be completed, it was used for courts and other public meet- ings of all kinds until another was erected of brick. The contractor was John Justice, to whom the county paid a part of the contract price, and he sued the county for the balance, and finally recovered the full amount, the supreme court ordering the county to pay in full, with the costs in the pro- ceedings.
In the month of February, 1831, the county commissioners obtained plans for another court house, and advertised for proposals for furnishing the material with which to build it. James Skinner, being the lowest responsible bidder, was awarded the contract for furnishing the brick at three dollars and fifty cents per thousand, and Stephen B. Gardner was promised two dollars and fifty cents a perch for the stone. Other material was contracted for, and the court house was completed under the immediate supervision of the county commissioners, and was occupied until January 29, 1844, when, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, it was partly destroyed by fire. The board met im- mediately and ordered the necessary repairs made. With the re-building and repairs thus made the structure served the county until 1868, when another court house was found necessary for the protection of the records and the transaction of the county's increasing business. Its cost was thirty thousand dollars. To this was added a wing on the west, in 1903, costing the county twenty-eight thousand dollars more ,and this re-built structure is the present court house, which is a good brick building, of handsome proportions.
In July, 1910, the belfry of the court house was struck by lightning, causing a loss of fifty dollars, which was made good by the insurance carried by the county.
Worth ington Ena Co-
THE OLD COUNTY SEMINARY, NEWPORT.
VERMILLION COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
COUNTY JAILS.
In June, 1828, four years after the organization of the county, the com- missioners let the contract for the erection of the first jail in Vermillion county, the same being sixteen by eighteen feet in size, two stories high, of hewed timbers, with a partition of twelve feet for "debtors and criminals" room, lower story eight and a half feet in the clear, upper story eight feet, with partition as below, to be built of double timbers, eight by ten inches thick, or wider if convenient; roof to be of joint shingles, etc., etc. Samuel Hedges was the contractor, and the contract price was three hundred and sixty-nine dollars.
In connection with the same building was to be a clerk's room, fourteen by sixteen feet, one story high, nine feet in the clear, two fifteen-light win- dows, one door, etc. For this room, Mr. Hedges was to be paid one hundred and sixteen dollars. Both structures were completed on time and no difficulty arose between contractor and commissioners.
The present fine county jail, situated two squares to the east of the court house, is a combination of brick and stone. The brick portion, on the south, was a part of the jail built many years ago, and is now the sheriff's residence, while the main structure is of the finest grade of stone, cut and laid in an ex- cellent manner. The jail proper was erected in the nineties at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. On the site of this building was the old jail in which was hanged the only man ever legally executed within Vermillion county. This was in 1879 and is mentioned elsewhere.
THE COUNTY ASYLUM FOR THE POOR.
Vermillion county has always been mindful of its unfortunate poor and at a very early date in its history provided a poor farm, which is still the com- fortable home of this class. The land comprising this farm-a quarter sec- tion, two miles south of Newport-was first entered by Wilbur and Davis from the government and comprises the southwest quarter of section 3, town- ship 16, range 9. Later Peter Smith became the owner, and upon it as secur- ity he borrowed a certain sum of money from the county; failing to pay, the land reverted to the county, and after a short time the authorities converted it into a poor farm upon which rude buildings were erected. These buildings on land worth thirty-five dollars per acre in 1886, became worthless, and in 1887 Vermillion county erected a splendid, up-to-date county infirmary, cost-
(17)
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
ing almost sixteen thousand dollars. It included a department for the insane. The structure was erected two stories high, with a basement under the whole area, which was forty by one hundred and eight feet. The original building, as completed in 1887-88, had thirty-two rooms for inmates, six of which were planned for the insane subjects; five rooms were set apart for the use of the superintendent and his family. This building was constructed by Moore & McCoy of Danville, Illinois. In 1887 the reports show that the average num- ber of inmates was about twenty. Joseph Conrad, who was made superin- tendent in the spring of 1881, at a salary of six hundred dollars per year, served for many years.
Since then many additions and improvements have been made on the premises. The superintendent's report to the county authorities in 1912 show that there were then twenty-six males and fourteen females at this humane institution. The superintendent was Grant Knight.
COUNTY TREASURY ROBBED IN 1870.
Vermillion county was the victim of a bold robbery on Monday night, April 18, 1870, and the Hoosier State, published at Newport, had the follow- ing account of the affair, at the time :
Over thirty-five thousand dollars was stolen from the county treasury vault, which had been faithfully closed and locked by Treasurer S. B. Davis, who later became famous as the editor of the paper above named.
The doors were forced open by steel wedges, which were driven by a sledge. Neighbors heard the noise, but not distinctly enough to have their suspicions aroused.
The next day Orville White, who had just learned of the burglary, saw two men carrying a satchel across the farms about three miles north of Clinton. Calling two railroad hands to his assistance, they gave chase, calling upon the suspected fugitives to halt. They struck for the river, and leaving a portion of their clothing up the bank, began to swim across. Mr. White and his companions arriving, saw a farmer on the opposite side whom they knew, and hallowed to him to kill the rascals. Getting into shallow water, they drew their revolvers and fired at him. Mr. White then requested his assistant to watch the thieves until he could raise a posse to take them. Discovering a wallet in the river, Mr. White waded in and obtained it, and found it con- tained $16,354. He then went home, mounted a horse and started for Clinton to raise a posse; but in the meantime the scoundrels reached the opposite shore, a mile below where they entered the stream, soon found two railroad
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
hands, and drew their revolvers upon them, commanding them to give up their clothing in great haste, as they "had got into a row and had to swim the river to save their lives." Returning to the river, they got into a skiff and floated down past Clinton under cover of the night, and thus succeeded in getting away.
It is thought that very skillful burglars must have pulled off this job. The following day, Mr. White learned that one of the assistants, whom he had hastily picked up from out a company of railroad men, near by, was the receiver of a large amount of money at that time, but was not present at the robbery.
On May 13th, $5,210 more of the county's money was found in a satchel lodged on the roots of a cottonwood a mile and a half below where the thieves commenced to swim the river. $15.320 was never found.
ASSESSED VALUATION BY PRECINCTS.
The subjoined was the assessed valuations in the various townships and corporations in Vermillion county in 1911 :
Highland township $2.465.030
Dana (corporation) $ 486.395
Eugene township 1,376.085
Fairview Park (corpora-
Vermillion township 1.940,000
tion ) IIO,140
Helt township 3,202,720
Clinton City 1.882,730
Clinton township
1.959.605
Cayuga (corporation)
363,820
Newport (corporation)
402.720
Total $14.189.645
COUNTY FINANCES, JANUARY, 1912.
From the county commissioners' report of the finances of Vermillion county for the period between January 1, 1911, and that of January 1, 1912, the following is extracted :
FUNDS.
Balances on hand January 1, 1911, and receipts from January 1, 19II. to January 1, 1912, $503,600. Balance on hand in net cash, January 1, 1912, $II3,260.
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS.
For the year ending January 1, 1912, the county officials made the fol- lowing exhibit (H. T. Payne, auditor) :
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
RECEIPTS.
Balance on hand Jan. 1, 19II
$18,644.68
Treas. percentage and mileage
686.89
Township poor
7,031.44
Proceeds-poor asylum
1,005.38
Pub. printing and adv.
26.80
Board miners' examiners
3,068.00
Change of venue
248.50
Special judges
165.00
Jury fees
3.37
Int. from depositories
2,434.29
County tax
52,894.24
Miscellaneous
2,281.57
Clerk's fees
2,136.36
Auditor's fees
437.25
Sheriff's fees
400.28
Recorder's fees
2,431.85
Total
$93,895.90
DISBURSEMENTS.
Expense Circuit Clerk's office $ 2,366.58
Exp. County Auditor's office
3,544.94
Exp. County Treasurer's office 4,039.08
Exp. County Recorder's office
1,719.33
Exp. County Sheriff's office.
3,036.00
Exp. County Surveyor's office. 356.80
1,892.99
County Assessor's office
789.86
Coroner's inquests
398.45
County Health Commissioner
614.98
County Commissioners' exp.
636.20
County Council, Pauper and County Attorneys
772.00
Board of Review
301.50
Board of Truancy
222.75
Assessing
2,616.00
Township poor
5,004.78
Court house
1,484.04
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Co. Supt. and Teacher's Inst.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
County jail
975-49
County poor asylum
4,918.58
Orphan poor
2,484.25
Benevolent institutions
407.19
Insanity inquests
820.69
Elections
5.45
Soldier burials
500.00
Public printing
812.85
Roads and highways
50.75
Returning fines
17.00
Bridge supt. and engineer
I 14.00
Deficiency in school funds
1,332.47
Expense of game warden
6.00
Board of miner's examiners
919.75
Taxes refunded
86.87
Examination of public records
1,338.30
Bridge repairs
8,768.71
Change of venue
1, 141.90
Special judges
165.00
Jurors-petit and grand
1.726.53
Official reporter
317.80
Bailiffs
451.5C
Board of children's guardians
59.75
Juvenile court
444.79
Expense of court room
147.75
Criminal expense
85.43
County bonds
2,800.00
Cash on hand
33,200.82
Total
$93,895.90
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CHAPTER V.
COUNTY AND OTHER OFFICIALS.
As far as can now be gleaned from the county records and state publica- tions, the following is a list of those who have served as county officials in Vermillion county from the date of its organization to and including 1912 (dates given show when they were elected to office) :
SHERIFFS.
February 1, 1824-William Fulton.
September 8, 1825-Caleb Bales.
August 14, 1828-Charles Trowbridge.
August 28, 1832-William Craig.
August 16, 1834-Allen Stroud.
August 13, 1838-William Bales.
August 8, 1842-Charles Trowbridge.
August 20, 1848-Owen Craig.
August 25, 1848 Eli Newlin.
August 12, 1852-Richard Potts.
November 18, 1856-James H. Weller. November 18, 1860-Isaac Porter.
November 18, 1864-Harvey D. Crane.
November 18, 1868-Jacob S. Stephens.
November 18, 1872-Lewis H. Beckman. November 18, 1876-Spencer H. Dallas.
November 18, 1880-William C. Myers.
November 18, 1884-John A. Darby.
November, 1888-William Rheuby.
November, 1890-Michael Maher.
November, 1892-Josephus C. Dillow.
November, 1894-John M. Roberts.
November, 1896-Jolın M. Roberts.
November, 1900-James A. Swayne.
November, 1904-J. H. Stephens.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
November, 1906-Robert J. Hasty.
November, 1908-Morton Hollingsworth. November, 1910-Steve McCown. November, 1912-Steve McCown.
COUNTY RECORDERS.
April, 1824-James Thompson (declined to serve).
September, 8, 1824-William Kennedy (died in office).
August 29, 1826-James T. Pendleton. August 27, 1827-Stephen B. Gardner.
June 8, 1833-John W. Rush.
April 22, 1838-Alexander B. Florer.
By the provisions of the new state law, the offices of recorder and clerk, which had, prior to 1852, been a combined office, were at that date changed, making two separate offices. After this change the recorders were:
April 22, 1852-Alexander B. Florer.
November 2, 1861-Andrew F. Adams.
November 2, 1865-Robert E. Stephens.
November 2, 1874-Jacob A. Souders. October 26, 1878-Cornelius S. Davis.
November 13, 1886-Melville B. Carter. November, 1890-John B. Groves.
November, 1894-George H. Fisher.
November, 1898-George H. Fisher. November, 1902-Albert K. Mahan.
November, 1906-J. S. Stephens.
November, 1910-Frank Johnson
COUNTY CLERKS.
The offices of county clerk and recorder were one and the same until 1852, after which they were separate offices-see above for the men who held the combined offices as far as is shown now by records.
April 22, 1852-James A. Bell. April 22, 1860-William E. Livengood. April 22, 1868-James A. Bell. April 22, 1872-William Gibson.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
April 22, 1880-James Roberts.
April 22, 1884-Alfred R. Hopkins.
November. 1886-Alfred R. Hopkins.
November, 1890-John T. Lowe.
November, 1894-James C. Crane.
November, 1898-William F. Wells.
November, 1902-William F. Wells.
November, 1906-John A. Hughes.
November, 1910-Manford C. Jones.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
The list is not complete from the first to 1852, hence will not be given down to that date.
November 23, 1852-William Utter.
November 23, 1854-George H. Sears.
November 23. 1856-George W. English.
November 23, 1860-James A. Foland. November 23, 1864-James A. Bell. November 23, 1865-Samuel B. Davis.
November 23, 1870-James A. Foland.
November 23, 1874-James Osborne.
November 23, 1876-John H. Bogart.
November 23. 1880-Henry O. Peters. November 23, 1884-William L. Porter. November, 1886 -- William L. Porter. November, 1888-William B. Hood. November, 1890-Peter Aikman. November, 1892-Peter Aikman.
November, 1894- Edward B. Brown.
November, 1896-Edward B. Brown.
November, 1898-M. G. Hosford.
November, 1900-M. G. Hosford. November, 1902-H. R. Southard.
November, 1904 -- H. R. Southard. November, 1906-Albert K. Mahan.
November, 1908-John A. Hughes.
November, 1910-Andrew J. Huxford.
November, 1912-Andrew J. Huxford.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
COUNTY AUDITORS.
August 30, 1854-David Shelby.
June 7, 1856-Henry D. Washburn.
November 18. 1860-George W. English.
November 18, 1864-James Tarrence.
November 18, 1872-Thomas Cushman.
November 18, 1880-Elias Pritchard.
November, 1884-Elias Pritchard.
November, 1888-William M. Hamilton.
November. 1892-William M. Hamilton.
November, 1896-William P. Bell.
November, 1900-William P. Bell.
November, 1904-H. T. Payne.
November, 1908-H. T. Payne.
November. 1912-Roy Slater.
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
March 6, 1824-Greenup Castleman. November 11, 1826-James Osborn.
August 30, 1854-John Collett.
November 18, 1856-Edward Griffin.
November 2, 1857-John Fleming.
November 2, 1859-David Shelby.
November 2, 1860-B. E. Rhoades.
November 2, 1861-Daniel Shelby.
November 7, 1862-James M. Lacy.
November 7, 1863-Buskin E. Rhoades.
November 7, 1864-John Davis.
October 28, 1865-Martin G. Rhoades.
October 26, 1870-William F. Henderson.
October 30, 1872-John Henderson.
October 30, 1874-Richard Henderson. October 30, 1876-John Henderson. October 30, 1878-Platt Z. Anderson.
November 13, 1884-Fred Rush.
November, 1886-Fred Rush.
November, 1888-R. A. Parrett.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
November, 1890-R. A. Parrett.
November, 1892-R. A. Parrett.
November, 1894-R. A. Parrett.
November, 1896- Fred Beard.
November, 1898-Fred Beard.
November, 1900-Robert Barnes.
November, 1902-Oscar T. Zell.
November, 1904-Carl H. Conley.
November, 1906-James W. Thomas.
November, 1908-Howard Zell.
November, 1912-John H. Boe.
CORONERS.
. September 8, 1824-Matthew Stokes. August 29, 1826-Carter Hollingsworth.
August 14, 1828-Matthew Stokes.
August 28, 1832-Edward Marlow. August 16, 1834-Matthew Stokes. August 18, 1835-Peter J. Vandever.
August 9, 1836-Alfred T. Duncan.
August 14, 1837-William Malone.
August 10, 1841-Leonard P. Coleman.
August 8, 1842-William Malone. August 23, 1844-Durham Hood.
August 25, 1848-Daniel C. Sanders.
August 23, 1850-Joseph E. Hepner. August 12, 1852-Andrew Dennis. August 30, 1854-John Vanduyn. November 18, 1856-Robert Elliott. November 2, 1857-David Smith. November 18, 1858-George Luellen. November 2, 1861-John L. Howard.
October 30, 1868-R. Harlow Washburn. October 30, 1870-Thomas Brindley. October 30, 1880-Hezekiah Casebeer.
October 30, 1882-Thomas Brindley.
November, 1884-Thomas Brindley. November, 1886-Thomas Brindley.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
November, 1888-Thomas Brindley.
November, 1890-Thomas Brindley.
November, 1892-Thomas Brindley. November, 1894-Robert J. Hasty. November, 1896-Robert J. Hasty. November, 1898-Robert J. Hasty.
November, 1900-Robert J. Hasty.
November, 1902-Robert J. Hasty.
November, 1904-Robert J. Hasty. November, 1906-Carl H. Conley. November, 1908 *- George W. Wells. November, 1910-Isaac D. White. November, 1912-Isaac D. White.
ASSOCIATE JUDGES.
This office was abolished by the code of 1852. The following were the associate judges down to the date of the doing away with the office : April 22, 1824-Jacob Andrick.
February 4, 1828-Christian Zabrisky.
August 14, 1828-Joseph Hain (resigned).
April 22, 1831-John Porter.
August 19, 1831-Alexander Morehead.
March 4, 1835-Matthew Stokes (resigned).
August 18, 1835-Robert G. Roberts.
July 11, 1836-Charles Johnston. August 9, 1836-Joseph Shaw. April 22, 1838-Alexander Morehead (resigned).
August 27, 1838-Joel Hume (resigned).
August 11, 1840-Ashley Harris.
August II, 1840-Eli Brown (removed from county).
October 17, 1842-James M. Morris.
PROBATE JUDGES.
This office was abolished with the incoming of the 1852 code in Indiana. Those who served while the office existed were : August 14, 1829-Asaph Hill. January 8, 1833 -- John W. Rush (resigned). May 6, 1833-Rezin Shelby. August 19, 1847-Francis Chenoweth.
CHAPTER VI.
MILITARY HISTORY OF VERMILLION COUNTY.
Vermillion county was not settled until after the war of 1812 with Great Britain, hence had no part in that last conflict with the mother country. It had a few soldiers in the war with Mexico from 1846 to 1848, but no regular organization from this county. The few who went from Vermillion county have long since been numbered with the dead. When the Spanish-American war came on in 1898, this county had no regular National Guard company, hence had no regular company in that decisive war with Spain. This leaves the military history of the county in that long-drawn-out struggle for the preservation of the Union-the Civil war,-and in this the county sent forth her full share of brave defenders. Many returned and many sleep beneath the Southern skies. Vermillion county may well be proud of its Civil war record, both as to the volunteers it sent to the front and the amount of money it fur- nished for the support of the families of soldiers, etc. To not have been loyal to the flag. here, was to be disgraced.
JUST BEFORE THE CONFLICT.
The days just before the civil conflict came on were thrilling times, and no better index can be given here than to quote from the article written in the Saturday Argus of Clinton, by L. O. Bishop, giving his own observations of those perilous days. He says :
Our home seemed to be the storm center of the then hated abolition move- ment. "Uncle Tom's Cabin," Helper's "Crisis," Horace Greeley's New York Tribune, William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator, stories of the Revolution and such literature made up much if not all of the inspiration of the family circle. My grandparents, Hiram and Sabrina Bishop, and father, Francis Marion, were of New Hampshire and Massachusetts birth, and we all had indoctrinated in us a radical belief in liberty and hatred of all forms of injustice, of wrong by the strong upon the weak, and of slavery especially.
On mother's side of the family origin began in Ireland, and all her tradi- tions and sympathies were against slavery and oppression. And right here I will relate an incident that occurred at the then thriving town of Perrysville.
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
My mother, who had come from Virginia before 1858, was making her home with the family of Ira Abdill. Now Mr. and Mrs. Abdill were ardent church members, and they were rigid in their adherence to church laws. If there was any one act that was unpardonable sin, an act that would eternally damn the human soul, it was novel reading. Some one tried to lead my mother away from the straight and narrow way by placing in her hands a copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." In the girlish innocence of her heart she saw no harm in reading that "Life Among the Lowly," and finally became so deeply inter- ested in the story that one Sunday she sat and read past the dinner hour, utterly oblivious of the flight of time. Finally the good old mistress of the house broke into the room with the exclamation: "Why, Lin, what are you reading that holds you so? Don't you know it is dinner time? Some trashy novel I swan!" Mother laid the book down on the bed and flew to her work.
Mrs. Abdill, thinking she would just exercise authority over the character of the literature that came into her house, picked up the book in a gingerly way and began to turn the pages as though it were a message from Belzebub himself. Then she opened it at the title page and gave it a disdainful glance. She turned to the opening chapter and out of her curiosity hegan to peruse the lines in order to get some excuse to condemn the work.
She came to the heart-breaking scene of Eliza stealing through the dark- ness to the humble cabin of Uncle Tom to inform him that they had been sold and she was going to run away with her little babe. That was too much for the good old mother in Israel. Then she read the second chapter, and man- aged to get through the third safely, and the worst thing that happened to her was an aching heart and moistened eyes. And somehow she just wanted to know what was in the fourth chapter. And she read on and on and on. She forgot all care, all household labors, all religious rites and evening found the face of that dear old soul fairly glued to the thrilling pages of a story told by a woman that was setting the heads of the nations athrill with an abhorrence of slavery. And then Mr. Abdill, stern and firm in his convictions of religious duty, unbent somewhat. He, too, began to read the story. Finally it got such a grip on him that he took "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to bed with him and just lay there and read and read and burned the midnight oil until the wee sma' hours.
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