USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc. > Part 85
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6.48
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
ber 20, 1844, daughter of Dr. William and Harriet Gramm, with whom she immigrated in IS52, to Evansville. While in Evans- ville her father practiced medicine. In IS63 they removed to Union township. Mr. and Mrs. Kamp have had ten children: William L., Lena I., Annette, Albert, Nettie, Otto, Walter, Romeo (deceased), Julia and Robert. The family are members of the German Lu- theran church. He is a member of the D. O. H., the F. & A. M., the A. O. U. W., and the Iron Hall lodges. He was elected trustee in ISSo, and was re-elected in 1882.
RICHARD W. KING, trustee of Union township, was born in that township near where he now resides, October 31, 1846, and is the son of John F. and Judith B. (Neal) King, both natives of West Virginia. In early manhood he took up the vocation of a farmer. He was married January 16, IS73, to Frances V. Rutter, born in Union township January 30, 1850, daughter of Edmond and Priscilla (Long) Rutter, the former of whom was a native of Pennsyl- vania. She died March 2, ISSo, leaving one child, Dora N. April 9, ISS2, Mr. King was married to Mary Martin, born in Posey county, January S, 1859, daughter of Henry and Lucinda (Schisenhall) Martin. Mr. King and his present wife have had four children: Noah H. (deceased), Essie, and Barney and Birdie (twins). Mr. King is a member of the Masonic order of the rank of Knight Templar. In politics he is a re- publican. He was elected trustee in 1886, and was re-elected in ISSS. He received a majority of twenty-six at the former, and a majority of fifty-two at the latter, election, though his party in Union township is in the minority.
when his mother died. At sixteen years of age he immigrated and came directly to Evansville. He was employed on a farm in Union township for five years, and then crossed to Henderson county, Ky., and be- gan farming for himself. He continued there seventeen years. On January 9, 1873, he was married to Amelia Deusner. She was born in Evansville August 23, 1853, daughter of Philip and Mary (Schaeffer) Deusner, natives of Germany. February 17, 1886, Mr. and Mrs. Kolb removed from Henderson county to Union township, and they have since occupied their present home. Mr. Kolb owns 142 acres, about 130 of which are in cultivation. He and wife have had ten children: Philip W., Emma M., Ida .L., Michael C., William A., Katie (de- ceased), Frederick G., Elizabeth M., Annie C., and Mary L. Mr. and Mrs. Kolb are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is an Odd Fellow.
JOHN A. NEALE, a citizen of Union town- ship, was born on the farm he now occupies, July 1, 1854. He is the son of Shapleigh R. and Martha (King) Neale, both of whom were natives of Virginia. His father was born December 31, 1819, and was the son of James P. Neale. He was married to Martha King in 1844. Both the father and mother of our subject died in Union town- ship, the latter on the 29th of August, 1865, and the former on the 17th of September, 187S. John A. has thus far spent his life on a farm. When he was fourteen years old his father removed to Posey county, this state. Two years later he returned to his farm in Union township, and a part of which is now owned by our subject, who gives his whole attention to farming, in which pursuit he is successful. He is a member of the Masonic lodge. He was elected trustee of his township in the spring of 1884, and served
MICHAEL KOLB was born in Germany, January 3, 1848, son of John and Anna Bar- bara Kolb. His father died when Michael was four years old, and he was but fourteen in a satisfactory manner one term.
Same Barker
649
UNION TOWNSHIP.
JOHN ROBERTSON was born in Union township, November 21, 1826, son of An- thony and Sarah (Kazy) Robertson. His boyhood and youth were spent in Union and Perry townships. April, 1846, he became a soldier in the Mexican war, in Company K, Second Indiana volunteer infantry, com- manded by Capt. Walker, who was killed in the battle of Buena Vista. He was discharged at New Orleans, in July, 1847. October, 1853, he was married to Willie Isabel Miller. She was born in Union township, and was the daughter of John and Willie Miller. She died March II, 1857. On the 14th of February, 1860, Mr. Robertson was married to Elizabeth Gerard. She was born near Lawrenceburg, this state, and was the daughter of William and Lo- vina (Reneau) Gerard. Mrs. Elizabeth Robertson died August 13, 1880. By his first wife, Mr. Robertson became the father of two children: John P. and James A., of whom the former is deceased. By his sec- ond wife he had four children: Willie, Olive, Rit, and Thomas, all deceased. Mr. Robertson is an honorable, upright man and one of the county's most worthy pioneers.
garet, Henrietta, Adam, Wilhelmina and Anna. Mrs. Roth is a member of the Ger- man Lutheran church, in which all her chil- dren have a membership.
JAMES F. SAUNDERS, a citizen of Union township, was born in Perry township, this county, April 15, 1839. He was the son of William C. and Lydia E. (Fauquher) Saun- ders, the former of whom was a native of Vanderburgh county, and the latter of Ken- tucky. His father was born September 22, 1815, and was the son of Ezekiel and Isabel ( Willis) Saunders, who were among the first settlers of Vanderburgh county. Will- iam C. Saunders was married to Lydia E. Fauquher September 10, 1834. She was born March 12, 1814, and was the daughter of James F. and Margaret Fauquher, who were early settlers of German township, this county. James F. Saunders spent his boy- hood and youth on a farm in his native town- ship. At twenty years of age he went to Union township, where he has resided since and engaged in agriculture for himself, and he has since given his undivided attention to farming. He began life for himself with- out means, and nearly all of his property is the product of hard work and good manage- ment. He owns 300 acres of excellent land, all in Union township. He was married March 9, 1870, to Haidee Upfield. She was born in Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, January 22, 1850, and is the daughter of William and Martha (Wilson) Upfield. Mrs. and Mrs. Saunders have had four chil- dren: Ida M., George, Ruth, and one that died in infancy unnamed. In politics, Mr. Saunders is a democrat, and has served his township as assessor, and two terms as trustee, and was county commissioner three years, in all of which he was a faithful and judicious public servant.
MRS. ANNA B. ROTH was born in Ger- many, March 10, 1837, the daughter of Heinrich and Eve Elizabeth (Bonner) Maenshaen. She was married to John Roth, March 6, 1858. He was a native of Germany, born February 19, 1834, and was the son of Adam Roth. In June, 1860, Mr. and Mrs. Roth emigrated to America. They took up their residence in Union township, in which Mr. Roth pursued the vocation of a farmer until his death, on the 9th day of December, 1884. Mr. Roth was successful as a farmer, and when he died he owned 267 acres of land. He was a mem- ber of the German Lutheran church. Mrs. Roth has had a family of nine children: ANDREW J. SIRKLE was born in the Elizabeth, Caroline, John B., Anna, Mar- township in which he resides, February 12,
38
650
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
1835, and is the son of Andrew and Nancy (Long) Sirkle, both of whom were natives of Virginia. His father and mother were among the earliest settlers of Union town- ship, in which both spent the last years of their lives. The subject of this sketch grew to manhood on the old Sirkle homestead, of a part of which he is now in possession. From 1875 to 1880, he was a resident of Posey county. His life occupation is farm- ing, and his efforts have been liberally re- warded. He owns 444 acres of land. Mr. Sirkle was married June 8, 1865, to Kate E. Deusner. She was born in the city of Evansville, April 4, 1847, and was the daughter of Philip and Amelia Deusner, both of whom were natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Sirkle have had ten children, as follows: Philip (deceased) and Amelia, twins, Andrew J., Lula A., William, Luke (deceased) and Lois E., twins, Joseph (de- ceased) and Fred, twins, and Walter. The wife of Mr. Sirkle is a member of the Pres- byterian church. He is a prosperous farmer and a man in whom the public has full con- fidence.
28, 1852, to Emeline Cox. Mrs. Stroud died October 15, 1855, leaving one child, Mary F., who was born September 11, 1853. On the 12th day of April, 1860, Mr. Stroud was married to Miss Helen M. Kelsey. She was born in Knight township, this county, January 20, 1839, and is the daughter of Loren A. and Mary M. (Williams) Kelsey, the former of whom was born in Genesee county, N. Y., March 31, 1816. Her pater- nal grandparents were Ambrose and Maria (Marsh) Kelsey, both of whom died in this county. Loren A. Kelsey was married to Mary M. Williams, February 4, 1838. She was born in Knight township, March 2, 1817, and was the daughter of Oliver H. and Delight (Cumstock) Williams. Mrs. Mary M. Kelsey died July 31, 1843. Mr. Kelsey died July 9, 1870. The second marriage of Mr. Stroud resulted in the birth of six children: Robert J., born June 14, 1861; Emeline, born September 20, IS63; two daughters that died unnamed; Helen A., born June 18, 1883, died February 28, 1883; and Mary, born June 12, 1875. Mr. Stroud died May 7, 1884. His widow and three children who survive him, still occupy the old homestead. Mrs. Stroud owns 105 Stroud, owns in all, 295 acres of land.
CALVIN H. STROUD, late of Union town- ship, was born near Lawrenceburg, Dear- born county, Ind., September 28, 1822, and acres of land. Her only son, Robert J. was the son of Joshua and Mary (Gaw) Stroud. Joshua Stroud was born in South Perry township .- The daring exploit of Commodore Perry, by which he achieved one of the most brilliant victories known to the early history of the nation, caused this township to be named in his honor. The Carolina, January 5, 1780, and his wife, Mary Gaw, was born in North Carolina, April 23, 1784. They were married No- vember 5, 1801, and became the parents of fourteen children, of whom the subject of township was organized September 10, this sketch was the eleventh. Calvin H. 1840. Prior to this time it formed a part of the ancient township of Pigeon. The sur- face of the township is rolling, and in parts hilly; the soil is fairly productive; no streams of importance traverse it. It is bounded on the north by German township, on the east by Center and Pigeon townships and the Ohio river, on the south by Union town- Strond, who spent his youth on the old homestead which his father entered in Union township. He spent a considerable portion of his life on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. There was probably no flat-boatman on the river, better or more favorably known than Mr. Stroud. He was married September
651
PERRY TOWNSHIP.
ship and the Ohio river, and on the west by Posey county.
Early Settlers .- The settlement of Perry township began soon after the dawn of the nineteenth century. Concerning the name and character of him who first penetrated the wilderness then here nothing is known. As early as 1806 or 1807 a few pioneers had crossed, on rude rafts, from the Ken- tucky shore, and found their way into this township. At this date the Indians had not left the county, and regardless of the treat- ies made by the chiefs of the tribes, many of them were inclined to resist the invasion of the poorly protected pioneers. In view of the large German element in the population of the county to-day, it is a significant fact that the first who is positively known to have come here, not as a hunter, but as a settler, was a native of Germany. George Linxweiler, father of the late William Linx- weiler, both well known in their day, was one of the first German immigrants to this part of the great west. He landed opposite the mouth of Green river in March, 1806, and after looking around the vicinity, settled upon the tract of land afterward widely known as the resi- dence of the late J. B. Stinson. There he erected a log cabin, in which his son Will- iam was born on the 12th day of February, 1809. The best obtainable evidence indi. cates that this was the first white child born in the township. In the spring of 1811 Mr. Linxweiler, with his family, removed to the Whetstone farm, in what is now Center township. About the time this child first saw the light of day, another pioneer, who was afterward well-known in the township, was wending his way to its borders. This was George Miller, who came from Ken- tucky with his wife, Elizabeth, and settled about three miles west of Evansville, in sec- tion 33, in which neighborhood he lived until
his death, which occurred about 1820. The Millers crossed the river three times before permanently locating, each time being driven back by hostile Indians. They first landed near the present site of the city of Evansville, where they found a rude cabin, which had the appearance of having been but recently erected, and in the wild forests about it there was nothing to indicate that any other attempts at settle- ment had been made. They took possession of the cabin, lived in it a few months and then pushed on through the wilderness to the spot afterward chosen for their perma- nent home. Following the Millers, within a few months, came Elder John B. Stinson, then a young man, and his father, both of whom were coopers by trade, at which for for some time they were occupied. They settled on the banks of the river about two miles below Evansville. Here the young man rose to a lofty pinnacle in public esteem. He was commissioned the first sheriff of Vanderburgh county by Gov. Jennings, in 1818, served in the Indian wars as a cap- tain with distinction, was elected probate judge of the county, served satisfactorily, and was called by the public to serve it in various capacities of trust and honor. He was a consistent member and able preacher in the General Baptist church. Though not a eloquent talker, he was profound in thought, powerful in argument, and the best disci- plinarian the church ever had. In the later years of his life he built a home in the city, where the custom house now stands, but spent most of his time on the farm in Perry township. He was one of the most promi- nent men Perry township ever produced, and decidedly the most prominent up to the date of his death, which occurred in 1850. He married the eldest daughter of the pioneer Mrs. Elizabeth Miller -- Matilda Payne - and was the father of nine children.
652
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Elder Benoni Stinson, a brother of J. B. Stinson, came in 1821, and from that time until his death in 1870 lived on the farm adjoining that of his brother, and now the homestead of Maj. J. B. Cox. He was a Baptist preacher, blessed with great natural ability, but without a scholarly education. It was here in Perry township, on October 5, 1823, that he gathered about him thirty-three devout souls, whose faith was like his, and organized that afterward powerful denomination known as the General Baptists of the west.
' Though others may have " squatted " along the river the Millers were doubtless the first who pushed their way to the interior of the township. For some time after they came all about them was a pathless, wolf-infested wilderness. They at once commenced clearing a spot in the forest for cultivation, and soon had a small cornfield and truck- patch. Between their clearing and the cabin on the Stinson place there was a strip of woods, but a footpath was soon tramped through the underbrush between the places, and these pioneers were neighbors in the full- est sense of that word, so rich in meaning. Westward, near the Posey county line, and about three miles from the Millers, another settlement was made about 1825. There William Ragland and William Martin raised their cabins. Soon others drifted in to share with them the trials and hardships, the joys and triumphs of life on the frontier. Beyond this settlement there was no other until Posey county was reached.
James Robertson was an early settler in the Miller neighborhood; he was a prosper- ous farmer, and lived in the township until his death, about 1845. He married Nancy Stinson, now Mrs. Calloway, who was born in the J. B. Stinson farm in 1809, and lived continuously in the county until two years ago, when she went to reside with her
daughters in White county, Ill. It is gen- erally conceded that she was the first female white child born in Perry township. Among the first of these settlers was William Wag- non. Upon his arrival he settled near the Millers, but subsequently removed to the northwest corner of the township, and died there at about ninety years of age. He was one of the first associate judges of the new county, and wielded considerable in- fluence in his day. He was a rough char- acter, unscrupulous, and made himself obnoxious to many of the early settlers. About the time of the commencement of hos- tilities in the west consequent upon the war of 1812 with England, the Indians in this section of Indiana territory became more troublesome than usual, and the white settlers were obliged to exercise extreme caution for the protection of the lives of their families. The natural hostility of these savages was in- flamed by the conduct of Wagnon. He had a cabin on the banks of Wagnon creek, (which had been named for him) below Evansville, where he sold whiskey. Always ready to traffic with the Indians he supplied them with " firewater" in order the more readily to make sharp bargains, and thus deliberately placed the lives of the pioneers in danger. His popularity, however, was not sufficiently impaired to occasion his de- feat at the polls.
George and Susan Edmond were early settlers who subsequently migrated to Union township, where the former, in later years, was found dead by the roadside, the cause of the death being a mystery, and unknown to this day. These pioneers were the parents of Michael Edmond, now of Union township, who was born near Ingle's coal mines, in November, 1815, and is now probably the oldest resident native-born citizen of the county. James and Joseph Cox, brothers, came to the township in 1818.
653
PERRY TOWNSHIP.
For a time they worked at the potter's trade, and subsequently made considerable money in selling wood to steamers on the Ohio river. They were eminently respectable always. John M. Lockwood, now a prom- inent citizen of Posey county, and in early times a man of influence for good here, was one of the pioneers in the northwest part of the township. Patrick Lyons early became a freeholder and lived in the extreme south- east corner of the township. Reuben Long early came to Perry, but soon moved to Union township, where he lived until his death. Nicholas Long, not the German pioneer of that name, but an American, be- longed to that free-from-care, easy-going class who depended on the excitement of the chase for pleasure and on its achievements for food. He cleared a little "truck-patch " in the woods, and went out of the country when the game became scarce.
Thomas and William Hooker were also pioneers who, viewed in comparison with the rush and hurry that characterize the present age, might be considered indo- lent and thriftless. They were poor but honest men, and were never weaned from the simple customs of the backwoodsmen. Thomas was one of the stoutest men of his day, and in those friendly contests of "main strength and awkwardness," so common at log rollings and barn raisings, always won the victory. Peter Miller, who came with his parents in 1809, lived in Perry town- ship, until about 1853, then in Union town- ship until about 1870, when he died, was a noted deer hunter and a story teller. He is known to have killed upward of fifty deer in a year, and occasionally brought down a bear. He was six feet high, very slender, a very fast walker and a good runner. He could walk farther in a day than any man in the settlement, and was the winner at all the early day foot-races. His stories were
always so graphic that they have not yet faded from the memories of
his listeners. Other pioneers were Oliver and Isaac Fairchild, who died in the township at an early date, John Stoner, who early removed to Union town- ship, Henry D. Smith, a well-known old time shoemaker, Ezekiel Saunders, grand- father of James D. Saunders, of Union town- ship, a prominent preacher in the regular Baptist church, who lived for thirty or forty years near the Posey county line on the lower Mt. Vernon road, exerting an influ- ence for good during all that time, and Jef- frey Saunders, Ezekiel's brother, who later was a well-known citizen of Posey county. Following these pioneers came others, singly and in groups, and gradually the wild beasts that so long had annoyed and endan- gered the life of the settlers, were driven out, and their homes became the dwelling places of civilized men. Slowly, but with never a backward step, the evolution went on. Progress became the watchword em- blazoned on the banner of the marching generations; the log cabin, chinked and daubed, gave way to the comfortable and even luxurious home; the clearing or the truck-patch grew into broad fields, fenced and farmed on scientific principles, with the best machinery that the inge- nuity of man could devise ; huge barns filled with plenty, and well-fed cattle, either in stalls or roaming in rich pastures, replaced the straw-shed and the poor cow that browsed so long on dry twigs that she be- came an easy prey to the hungry wolves that chased and killed her; school-houses and churches sprang into existence as if at the command of the magi, until now the best results of enlightenment and civilized effort seem to have been attained.
Perry township received a large propor- tion of those thrifty Germans who came in
65.4
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
upon this section of the country between 1830 and 1840, in numbers somewhat as the Goths and Huns of the north poured in upon the Romans of old. They and their descendants now compose a large part of the population, and yet many of the children of the pioneers possess the lands of their fathers.
A Tragedy .- In 1851 or 1852 a gang of counterfeiters carried on their operations in Perry township under the leadership of Milo Dolly. Three of the men, Grigsby, Skaggs and Spelts by name, broke into the house of an inoffensive German named Miller, killed him and his two sons, mutil- ated their bodies and then set fire to the house and destroyed all evidences of their crime. An inquest was held, and a verdict found which implicated none of the guilty parties. The public generally believed the dreadful calamity to be the result of an ac- cident. The criminals, however, had forged Miller's name to a bill of sale of his personal property, and to a deed or mortgage of his lands. In trying to enforce these false claims, the perpetrators of the crime ex- posed their guilt, and the details of the af- fair were fully discovered. Intense excite- ment followed. Grigsby was a well-appearing man, of good repute, aud associated with re- spectable people. His connection with the deed occasioned great astonishment. An interesting trial ensued, and the murderers were sent to the penitentiary, where two of them, Skaggs and Spelts, died. Nothing ever before so thoroughly aroused the people of Perry township as did this tragedy.
Churches .- Probably the first church organization in the township was that effected by the followers of Ezekiel Saunders, already mentioned as a powerful Baptist preacher of early days, known as the Regular Baptists. Prominent among his co- laborers were Elders Jacobs and Parker.
Their early meetings were held at the old Saunders homestead and the church flour- ished for several years, having in 1823 at least 100 devoted, active members. Subse- quently the society built a church in Posey county, and thus ended its history so far as connected with this township. Because of doctrinal differences thirty-three members of this congregation withdrew under the leader- ship of the gifted Benoni Stinson, and on October 5, 1823, formed a society which still prospers - the General Baptists of the avest. Elder Stinson was chosen pastor for the new church and continued in that relation almost continuously until his death, which occurred in 1870. He taught the doc- trines of free moral agency and a general atonement, abandoning those of predes- tination and a partial atonement. The new congregation soon after its for- mation built a small log church in what is now German township, near the Perry township line. Here they worshipped for two or three years and then moved to a point near the site of the present church. The second building was small and made of logs. It served the growing congregation only a few years, when the demands for a larger edifice became so great that a frame building, commodious and substantial, was provided. This church was erected in 1857, was dedicated by Elder Stinson and other preachers, and is still well preserved. It stands on the Henderson road, about one mile from the city limits. Others who have served as pastors to this congregation are: Elders Jesse Lane, Alvah Parker, J. B. Stin- son, James Enslee, J. W. Blackburn, Wilson Blackburn, T. M. Strain, Jacob Spear and W. W. Charles. For about fifteen years past the congregation has averaged about sixty members, and is now quite prosperous. The German Evangelical Lutheran Eman- uel's Church, of Perry township, was organ-
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