History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc., Part 75

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: [Madison, Wis.] : Brant & Fuller
Number of Pages: 714

USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc. > Part 75

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union, lands rose rapidly in price so that vast quantities were purchased of the gov- ernment by paying only the entrance money, or fifty cents per acre. The scarcity of money and the wildness of the county ren- dered it impossible for buyers to meet their obligations. About 1818 congress com- menced passing laws to relieve against for- feitures by extending the time of payment, requiring interest, however, for the delay. Similar laws were enacted in 1819 and 1820. By the next year, 1821, the debt to the United States for public lands was altogether beyond the control of legislation, because of its large amount, the numbers from whom it was due, and the impossibility of paying it. Congress then released all interest (then about one-third of the whole debt), allowed lands entered to be relin- quished and part payments thereon to be applied to pay in full for other lands, required all lands thereafter to be sold for cash in hand and fixed the price at $1.25 per acre. The immediate effect of this legislation was to reduce the value of lands already pur- chased and paid for in about the same pro- portion. The large amount of lands thrown into market by the government would have done this alone without a reduction of price, but the results to land owners was still more disastrous when only three-fifths of former prices were demanded.

On May 19, 1807, Gen. W. Johnston en- tered all of fractional section 25, township 6 south, range II west, being that part of the present city of Evansville which lies about and below the mouth of Pigeon creek. On the same day William Anthony entered fractional sections I and 12, township 8 south, range II west, in the township of Union opposite to the city of Henderson. These were the first entries made within the present limits of the county of Vander- burgh. Gen. Johnston, a native of Virginia, thony, David Brumfield, James Johnson,

located in Vincennes in the year 1793, and remained there continuously in the active practice of the law until his death, which occurred October 26, 1833. He was one of the most prominent members of the bar during his day, was called by his fellow cit- izens to fill many offices of trust and profit under the territorial government, was presi- dent judge of the circuit court, was fre- quently a member of the legislature from his county, and made the first compilation of the laws of the territory. He never became a resident of Vanderburgh county. William Anthony was a sturdy pioneer of the rougher sort known in the early days of the new west, yet with those pure ringing qual- ties of genuine manhood which made his influence felt in molding the events of his day. He was the progenitor of the well- known Anthony family in Union township, and for many years lived on the land en- tered in 1807, farming and operating the widely-known Anthony ferry.

The First Election .- As soon as the new county of Vanderburgh had been established by the legislature, an election for the purpose of choosing county officers was held on Monday, February 16, 1818. After the lapse of seventy years the original tally sheets and poll books of that election, though yellow with age, are well preserved. There were three polling places in the county, one at the house of Hugh McGary, in Evans- ville, another at " the forks of Big creek," at the house of Zadoc McNew, in what is now Armstrong township, and the third at the house of James Johnson, in " Wagnon township," in the southwestern part of the county. At this election Hugh McGary was the only candidate for clerk and re- corder, John McCrary, William Wagnon, and Elisha Harrison were candidates for associate judge, and George Sirkle, J. An-

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FIRST ELECTION.

J. Robertson, and H. Bugg, were candidates for county commissioner. Messrs McGary, McCrary, Wagnon, Sirkle, Anthony, and Brumfield were elected.

Those whose ballots were taken at the polls in Evansville were: Benjamin Grindel, George Edmore, J. Anthony, Edward Hill, Alexander Warren, Evans Vaughn, Isaac Allen, George Linxweiler, jr., Berry An- thony, John Johnson, John Harrison, Bayless Harrison, John Burket, Peter Linxweiler, Henry Bugg, George Linxweiler, James Asa, William Blevans, sr., James Russell, Parker Aydelott, Matthias Whetstone, David Whetstone, Nathan Young, Henry Whetstone, John Withrow, James Robinson, Jonathan Robinson, Samuel Scott, John McCann, Richard Carlisle, Matthew War- ren, David Henson, Hugh McGary, Isaac Knight, Joseph Robinson, Jesse Holloway, Lewis Jackett, James Slover, Jesse Henson, Jesse McCallister, William Fitzgerald, Ar- chibald McCallister, Clark McCallister, Joseph McCallister, William Wagnon, Edward Allen, Green B. Smith, Laban Hol- loway, John Stoner, John Neil, William Johnson, Julius Gibson, William Blevans and Zephaniah Harrison. The voters at James Johnson's were: Randolph Rogers, John Melton, George Sirkle, Benjamin Davis, Henry Mills, James J. Saunders, William Carson, Lewis Sirkle, Andrew Sirkle, Isaac Farmer, Lewis F. Ragar, Reuben Long, John Swango, John Patterson, Nicholas Long, William Great- house, John Marrs, James Johnson, Thomas Hooker, Robert Gibbs, Jonathan Jones, Daniel Miller, Thomas Litton, Ezekiel Saunders and Jeffrey Saunders. The voters at the forks of Big creek were: William Houchens, James Martin, David Brumfield, James Patten, Thomas Martin, Charles Martin, Elisha Harrison, Major Selser, Ben- jamin McNew, John McCrary, Moses Pru-

itt, Joseph Cater, William Briant, David Rhoads, John Bowling, Thomas Saulsbury, John Armstrong, sr., John Livingston, John Kitchens, John Boyer, Zadok McNew, Patrick Calvert and John Armstrong, jr. The three last named in each of the forego- ing lists were the officers of the election.

Native Animals and Their Hunters .- Among the wild animals found in the county by the early settlers were the deer, wolf, bear, panther, wild-cat, fox, otter, rac- coon, ground-hog, skunk, mink, weasel, muskrat, opossum, rabbit, squirrel and per- haps others. Many of these animals, some because of their fierce natures, and some because of their destructive foraging upon growing crops, were a source of great an- noyance to the pioneers. Others of them supplied meat for his family, the deer being used most abundantly. Wild turkeys were as plentiful as the deer, and the two were the game mostly sought after by the hunter. All of the settlers had guns as a necessary part of their equipment for the life which their circumstances forced them to lead, and most of the old settlers were good hunters. Their guns were generally home made, every village having its gunsmith. The implements were made to snit the par- ticular wishes of each patron -to run so many bullets to the pound of lead, that is to say, of a certain calibre; some were especially adapted for the hunting of squirrel, others for deer, turkeys, shoot- ing matches, etc. Shot-guns were con- sidered an abomination, and derisively called "scatter guns," fit only for the amusement of small boys and old do- tards whose defective vision prevented them from taking aim through the "sights" of a rifle. Flint locks prevailed until the introduction of percussion caps, and many a deer was allowed to escape and roam the woods because of a

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EARLY SETTLEMENT.

"flash in the pan," and while the hunter was "picking his flint" before trying it again. The breech of the old fashioned rifle contained a small cavity closed with a brass or iron lid on a hinge, for a bit of tal- low -- to grease the " patching," which was a thin piece of cloth about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, usually for convenience in carrying strung in quantities on a string and attached to the shot-pouch strap. The powder, guaged in a primer or buck-horn charger holding the proper quantity, was emptied into the barrel of the gun, then the greased piece of patching was placed over the bore, the bullet laid thereon and rammed home, the greased cloth pre- venting the ball from sticking on the way or fouling in the rifle groove. A shot-pouch made of dressed buck-skin, with the hair on, contained bullets, flints, wipers, etc., which, with powder- horn, completed the outfit. A man usually knew just about what he could do with his gun, and if the implement was reliable and accurate, it was petted as affectionately as a favorite child, and often given a pet name. Off-hand aim was the general rule; to shoot with a rest was boyish, and beneath the dig- nity of a hunter.

Wolves were at first probably the most troublesome brutes, making frequent attacks upon the settler's domestic animals, and, with most incessant and terrifying howls, rendering the nights hideous. The woods seemed to be full of them. Bears and pan- thers were not numerous, but were- occa- sionally encountered by the early pioneers. Later, squirrels became most destructive pests, and their slaughter became a matter of business.

Later, at times, the country swarmed with pigeons. Great numbers of them were killed by hunters, and " pigeon pie " became a very common dish. In some places the I of linsey striped and beautiful.

farmers turned out and waged a war of destruction against them, for the reason that they consumed great quantities of the mast they were counting on as food for their hogs. The wild bees that swarmed in the woods gave to the early settlers a rich sup- ply of honey. Andrew Sirkle was one of the most famous bee-hunters. It is said that he found as many as sixty or eighty trees in a single season.

Pioneer Dress .- Any information as to the dress of a people throws light upon their conditions and limitations. The head dress of the pioneer for the male sex was either a coonskin cap or a home-made wool hat. The feet were covered with moccasins made of deer skins and shoe packs of tanned leather, but shoes were worn by most of the pioneers of this county, except in summer, when old and young, male and female, went barefooted. The blue linsey hunting shirt was almost universally worn by men and boys. Pantaloons were made at a very early day of deer skin and linsey, but to the settlers of this county cotton and jeans early became most common. Women's dresses were simple, substantial and well-made. As a rule settlers raised their own flax, cotton and wool, and made their own garments. Good weavers were then the accomplished young ladies, and the spinning-wheel filled the little cabin with sweet music as it sang its song of thrift and industry. They raised their cotton, picked it, carded it, wove it, and then wore it. At the proper season the flax brake was brought into use, and the product was "hackled " and spun into skein; the wool card was then pre- pared for the filling; and with different kinds of bark various colors were given to the raw material, and made it ready for the loom, which, with its shuttle flying noisily back and forth soon brought out its yards

577

AMUSEMENTS.

The head dress of the women was a sim- ple cotton handkerchief or sun bonnet; and they were not ashamed to walk a mile or two to church on, Sunday, carrying their shoes and stockings in their hands until · within a few yards of the place of worship, when they would put them on their feet. Indeed, at early meetings, it was quite com- mon for nine-tenths of the people, male and female, to be barefooted. These modes of dress long prevailed in the country settle- ments, varied, of course, and improved by those who came from beyond the seas, but in the town of Evansville the merchants who carried rather large and complete stocks of goods, encouraged the cultivation of what they considered higher tastes in the matter of dress.

Amusements .- Pioneer social gatherings usually had in view two objects -- work and sport. The log rollings, house and barn raisings, wood choppings, corn huskings, bean pickings, wool pickings, quiltings, and apple parings, while attended with much labor were replete with enjoyment. During the early settlement of this county occasions of amusement were preceded by work -- every good time was earned. No man undertook alone to roll his logs; all joined together and went from place to place, rolling. All houses were raised by neighborly hands. When the crops were gathered the corn was put in a long pile and neighbors were invited in to husk it, usually after night. Log rollings and huskings were followed by a dance, from which the young folks got their great- est enjoyment. In the huskings both sexes took part, the workers being divided into two parties, each with a leader. The lucky finder of a red ear reaped a rich harvest of kisses from those of the other sex, the rules governing the quantity of such rewards varying in different sections.

Besides the more violent sports in which the men sought diversion, it might be inter- esting and instructive to mention others of a different character among them, the quilting party where the good women of the neigh- borhood came together with kind hearts and willing hands to enjoy some hours of work and conversation, and departing leave per- manent and valuable results of their toil. There were few distinctions of birth or wealth or circumstance. All alike were simple in their dress and habits, and no ex- acting demands were made by social forms. At the quilting nimble fingers plied indus- triously until the work was done, when songs were sung, games played and dancing indulged in; indeed, the merriment was co- extensive with the jovial natures of the young folks assembled. Spelling matches and debating societies furnished amusement which some considered of a higher sort. Here the training of the intellect was the paramount ostensible object, but boys and girls not belonging to the same family often came riding one horse. The young folks were generally paired, and to bring about this natural selection was perhaps as worthy an object as these intellectual entertainments could have had.

In the main early days in Vanderburgh county were not unlike those about which the pens of Eggleston and Riley, with felic- ity and beauty, have told the world. A few have lived to note the principal changes and improvements made since the early settlers, men of iron hearts and iron nerves, pitched their tents on these fertile lands now over eighty years ago. More in detail the set- tlement of the various townships is referred to in subsequent chapters. The limits of Pigeon township as originally laid out have been much contracted. In its southern part a village was early located and commenced a career, elsewhere described in the history

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EARLY SETTLEMENT.

of the city of Evansville. Able and courage- ous'men who were instrumental in developing the country's interests are named as fully as possible in other connections.

Scott Township was organized August 13, 1821, comprising its present territory and three tiers of sections off the north side of Center. Previously it had formed a part of Armstrong township. It was reduced to its present size by the organization of Center township, September 6, 1843. Ly- ing in the northeast corner of the county, it is bounded on the north by Gibson county, on the east by Warrick county, on the south by Center township, and on the west by German and Armstrong townships. Its sur- face is generally hilly, and while the soil does not equal in richness that found in other parts of the county, yet by proper care and cultivation abundant harvests are secured. Originally the township was densely tim- bered. The memory of the oldest inhabit- ant does not go back to that time when there were no cabins of the white man in the forests of Scott township. Long before Indiana assumed the dignity of statehood, pioneers had pushed their way into the vast wilderness, and had planted here the seeds of civilization.

Well known in later years as being among the first of these in Scott township were Jesse McGary and John Withrow. Their cabins were in the northwest part of the township, near the Gibson county line. Jesse McGary was a brother of Hugh McGary, whose name is closely woven into the early history of Evansville. He was a fair representative of the rough, uncouth, drinking, rowdying set, and yet withal pos- sessing some traits of character worthy of admiration. He was the author of one of the earliest tragedies in the annals of the county. Domestic trouble of some sort had invaded his cabin, and one day as his wife

came into the door, he sent a ball from his rifle through her heart. His trial engaged public attention for some time, but he was finally acquitted, on the ground that the death was the result of an accident, it being claimed that he shot at a dog, not'knowing that the woman was about to enter the door. John Withrow represented a different sort of roughness. In his dress, his speech and his manners, he was always a genuine back- woodsman, but his heart was certainly in the right place. Always honorable, he dealt fairly with his fellow-men, and when his life was drawing to its close, he had the delightful consciousness that all who knew him gave him their respect. Another rough but industrious pioneer in this same neigh- borhood was Kenneth Compton. He raised a family that did him honor.

The township was named in honor of a hardy pioneer who settled and lived for some time about one mile south of the site of Inglefield, Samuel Scott. All of the early settlers, those who came prior to ISI8, were, so far as known, emigrants from Ken- tucky, who had previously drifted into that state from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Ten- nessee. The names of some of them are forever lost. Throughout the entire eastern part of the township there was " not a stick amiss" as late as ISII, and along the Princeton road there were but four cabins between the Ohio river and the present site of Princeton, in Gibson county. Nor was there any considerable increase in immigra- tion for several years after this time.

About the time the new county of Van- derburgh was organized, Scott township began to attract a class of immigrants differ- ing essentially from any who had previously located within its borders. The sturdy in- dependence and industry which led the English farmers to leave their homes across the sea, to undertake a long and trying

579

SCOTT TOWNSHIP.

journey to the interior of the American con- tinent, and then to cast their lots in life in the wildernesses of Indiana, were the quali- ties which animated these people. In the summer of 1818, one of the earliest of this . class, John Ingle, a native of Huntingdon- shire, England, then thirty years of age, came to Evansville, and very soon thereafter settled permanently in Scott township, near the present Inglefield. He was a farmer of sterling character, quiet habits and winning ways. His popularity was such that it may be said that he was without an enemy.

Mr. Ingle was soon followed by his countrymen, Edward and Spencer Maidlow, who settled in the same neighborhood. These were intelligent men, who wielded an influence for good in shaping the events of their day. They were model farmers, neat and thrifty, and in every respect good citi- zens. Edward Maidlow attained local prominence as a man of affairs and was called by his fellow citizens to serve them in places of trust and profit. The Maidlows became freeholders soon after their arrival, and passed their holdings to their descend- ants, who, as honorable people and valuable citizens, hold a high place in popular esteem.

About the same time came Saunders Hornbrook, much like the Maidlows in character and worth, and a valuable acqui- sition to the little settlement in the woods. He had been a woolen manufacturer in Devonshire, England, was an educated gen- tleman, and did much to advance the develop- ment of the new country. His wife was a lady of character and superior mental attain- ments, and thus well equipped to bring about a betterment in the social condi- tions of the earlier and rougher pio- neers. Their sons, Saunders, John, Thomas and William, each achieved for himself an honorable place in the com-

munity, one rising to the bench, and all be- ing prominent citizens. The daughters of the household contracted fortunate mar- riages with gentlemen of their own station. The family was enterprising and pro- gressive, and from the first was well known. Mr. Hornbrook built the first cotton gin in this part of the country, and had in satisfactory operation a carding machine. In a very short time this industrious farmer and me- chanic had enough buildings erected in the yard about the gin-house to give it the ap- pearance of a little village. Here settlers came with their cotton from all directions within a radius of ten or fifteen miles. He established a country store, to supply the wants of the people, and accumulated much property, at one time owning over two thou- sand acres of land in Scott township. Soon after his death, in 1839, these early enter- prises were abandoned by his sons, who saw and acted on the greater opportunities of- fered in the neighboring city.

About a mile north of Inglefield on the Princeton road, was the clearing of James Cawson, now the Ritchey homestead. This Princeton road was a public highway estab- lished by authority of the state, but at the time these settlers came in it winded its way. about through the forest and had only the smaller trees and underbrush cut out. Huge forest trees stood in its centre along its en- tire course. Ingle's was said to be the first- place on the road where a traveler could get a breakfast or a dinner; Cawson's was the next, and then there was none till Gibson county was reached. Cawson was a man of some means and always of good repute. On his place was the Lockyear blacksmith shop, a few years later, which was about the earliest smithy in the township.

In those days when every man extended a helping hand to a brother in every time of need, people were neighbors though they

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EARLY SETTLEMENT.

lived widely apart. In the same neighbor- hood, giving the word its rich, broad meaning, lived Jerry Wyatt, a grand old man, very illiterate, but with sterling qualities of heart that endeared him to all. Much of his life was spent here and he was permitted to fill out four score years and ten before death took him away. There, too, lived Daniel Stinchfield, a good man, honest, God-fearing, and ready in every con- versation with apt words from Holy Writ; and William Peck - " Old Father Peck," as he was called - a sturdy character, up- right, honorable and much beloved, spend- ing a useful life, and rearing an honorable family, whose descendants are yet in the township, occupying a high position in the esteem of the community, and preserving in honor the ancestral name. A young man, for many years a farm laborer in this settle- ment, and always a welcome guest at every house, was William Warren, who afterward moved to Evansville and for years served as assessor of Pigeon township. He is remembered by a younger generation as a fine old man, with a gruff manner, but of good heart and generous impulses. His descendants have acted a conspicuous part in the later development of the county.

One of the earliest Germans in Scott township was Frederick Staser, who, upon reaching the county, worked among the Sirkles in Union township, in 1819, and soon thereafter moved to what afterward became the well-known Staser homestead. He was an interesting talker, could tell a story well, and soon became popular with the pioneers. Coming here early, he acquainted himself with the congress lands and the English tongue. When the great influx of Germans occurred in later years he was thrifty and sagacious enough to mold their settlement with great pecuniary benefit to himself. His sons, John C. and Conrad,

were very hospitable, and were men of more than ordinary business ability. Both grew to be wealthy, the estate of John C. being worth at least $150,000. Each gen- eration of the Staser family has been promi- nent in its day.

Probably the earliest settlement east of the Princeton road was that made by the Wheelers, Mark, Joseph and Richard, which was about two miles northeast of Inglefield. These were English people who became widely known as a worthy, respect- able family. Mark was a prosperous farmer, and his two brothers were best known by their devoted labors in spreading the gospel among the pioneers. They labored zeal- ously, accomplished much good, and forever fixed their names in the grateful remem- brance of the people. Their descendants have been eminently respectable always; as citizens there are none better. Among the industries engaged in by the farmers of early days with good profit was hog-raising: A well-known and successful farmer who grew wealthy chiefly through this means was David Powell. He com- menced with little capital, and by industry, economy and wise management, accumulated a valuable property. He had quite a large family, all of whom were good citizens, but attained no particular prominence. In very early days, probably about 1820, Hiram Nelson settled near the present site of Darm- stadt. He was a farmer, and later opened a small store. Afterward he moved to Evansville, and was engaged as an auction- eer. He died in Evansville, leaving a widow, who still survives.

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History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc., Part 75

Author: Publication date: 1889 Publisher: [Madison, Wis.] : Brant & Fuller Number of Pages: 714

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: [Madison, Wis.] : Brant & Fuller
Number of Pages: 714