USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 13
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Sec. 5 .- The senators shall be chosen for three years, on the first Monday in August. by the qualified votes of representatives, and
on this being convened, in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided by lot, from their respective counties or districts. as near as can be, into three classes: the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year ; and the second class, at the expiration of the second year ; and the third class, at the expiration of the third year: so that one third thereof, as near as possible, may be annually chosen forever thereafter.
Sec. 6 .- The number of senators shall. at the several periods of making the enu- meration before mentioned, be fixed by the. general assembly, and apportioned among the several counties or districts to be estab- lished by law, according to the number of white male inhabitants of the age of twenty- one years in each, and shall never be less than one third, nor more than one half the number of representatives.
NEW CONSTITUTION ADOPTED FEBRUARY IO. 1851.
Jacob Wunderlich was delegate fronr Whitley county to the convention that framed said constitution.
ARTICLE IV.
Sec. 2 .- The senate shall not exceed fifty, nor the house of representatives one hundred members ; and they shall be chosen by the electors of the respective counties or districts into which the state may, from time to time, be divided.
Sec. 3 .- Senators shall be elected for the term of four years and representatives for the term of two years from the day after
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WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
their general election. One-half, as nearly as possible, shall be chosen biennially.
At the first session, convened November 4, 1816, there were ten senators and thirty representatives. The senate remained with ten members until 1821, when it in- creased to twelve. In 1822, it rose to 16 and by 1838, when Whitley county was or- ganized, it had risen to forty-seven and by 1841 it has risen to the constitutional limit of fifty. The number of representatives in- creased steadily at almost every session, so that by 1836 it had reached its limitation of one hundred.
In 1835, Ezra S. Trask was elected state senator for the term of three years for the district composed of Wabash, Jay, Grant. Huntington and the territory attached there- to for judicial purposes (meaning Whitley county) and was our senator at date of organization, but at the fall election of 1838 James Trimble was elected senator. From that date to the present we have had the following senators :
William B. Mitchell (W.) .. 1841 to 1844 Matthew Rippey (W.) ..... 1844 " 1845 (District - Elkhart, Kosciusko and
Whitley.)
A. Cuppy (D.), Whitley
1845 to 1847
Elias Murray (W.)
1847 “ 1848
Henry Day (D.).
1848 “ 1851
(District - Huntington
Kosciusko
and
Whitley.)
T. Washburn (D.), Whitley .. 1851 to 1853 (District-Noble, Kosciusko and Whitley.)
UNDER NEW CONSTITUTION.
S. D. Hall (D.). 1853 to 1855 John Weston (D.) . 1855 " 1858 ( District-Noble, Kosciusko and Whitley. )
James R. Slack (D.) . . . . 1858 to 1863 A. J. Douglas (D.), Whitley. 1863 " 1869 (District-Huntington and Whitley.)
A. Y. Hooper (R.) Whitley. 1869 to 1872 Charles W. Chapman (R.) .. 1872 " 1877 Walter Olds (R.), Whitley .. 1877 " 1881 ( District-Kosciusko and Whitley.)
Robert C. Bell (D.) . . . . . . . 1881 to 1885 E. W. Brown (D.), Whitley. 1885 " 1887 I. B. McDonald (D.), Whitley 1887 " 1889 Fred J. Hayden (D.) . 1889 " 1893 Ochmig Bird (D.). 1893 " 1897 Louis J. Bobilya (D.). 1897 " 1899 (District-Whitley and Allen.)
F. J. Heller (D.), Whitley .. 1899 to 1903 H. M. Purviance (R.) .. 1903 " 1907 John W. Orndorf (R.) Whit- ley . 1906 “ (District-Whitley and Huntington.)
REPRESENTATIVES.
At the organization of the county in 1838 William Vance was representative and was re-elected in August, 1838.
( District-Huntington, Jay, Wells, Black ford and Whitley.)
Lewis W. Purviance.
1839 to 1840
Morrison Rulon
1840 " 1841
( District-Huntington,
Adams,
Wells,
Whitley. Blackford and Jay.)
108
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
Peter L. Runyon. 1841 to 1842
Abraham Cuppy 1842 " 1844
Stephen H. Colms 1844 " 1845
David Rippey 1845 " 1846
( District-Kosciusko and Whitley. )
James Gilleece. 1846 to 1847
Henry Swihart. 1847 " 1848
Samuel Jones. 1848 “ 1849
John S. Cotton 1849 " 1850
Henry Swihart.
1850 " 1851
( District-Huntington and Whitley. )
UNDER NEW CONSTITUTION.
Whitley now becomes entitled to a rep- resentative of her own.
David Litchfield. 1851 to 1853
Adams Y. Hooper 1853 " 1855
John S. Cotton 1855 " 1857
Lewis Adams. 1857 " 1859
(District-Whitley.)
John B. Firestone 1859 to 1861
James S. Collins 1861 “ 1863
Samuel McGauhey 1863 " 1865
John R. Coffroth 1865 " 1867
A. J. Douglas. 1867 " 1869
(District-Huntington and Whitley.)
Whitley county a district alone. John S. Cotton. 1869 to 1871 I. B. McDonald. 1871 " 1873 Cyrus B. Tulley 1873 " 1875 Thomas Washburn 1875 " 1877 William E. Merriman 1877 ..
1879 Cyrus B. Tulley 1879 1881
William Carr 1881 1885
Martin D. Garrison 1885 " 1889
Andrew A. Adams 1889 " 1893
Jacob S. Schrader 1893 to 1895
Edwin L. Barber 1895 " 1897
Solomon Wiener 1897 " 1899 (District-Whitley.)
John W. Baker 1899 to 1901 Levi R. Stookey
1901 " 1905
Newton F. Watson. 1905 " 1907 ( District-Kosciusko and Whitley.)
The legislature in 1905 made the district Kosciusko, Huntington and Whitley, and Newton F. Watson was re-elected in 1906.
CLERKS OF COURT.
The clerk of courts was ex-officio clerk of the board of county commissioners from the organization of the county to 1841, when that duty was transferred to the county auditor.
Abraham Cuppy 1838 to 1842
Richard Collins
1842 " 1855
1. B. McDonald.
1855 " 1859
William E. Merriman 1859 " 1863
James B. Edwards 1863 " 1871
Eli W. Brown 1871 " 1875
James Reider
1875 "
1879
James M. Harrison
1879 "
1887
Samuel P. Kaler 1887 " 1891
William H. Magley 1891 " 1895
Richard H. Maring
1895 "
1899
Walter J. Tyree,*
1899 " 1904
Jesse A. Glassley
1904 " 1908
Hugo Logan.
1908 "
COUNTY AUDITORS.
Abraham Cuppy
1841 to 1842
Richard Collins.
1842 " 1844
*Office extended from November to
January Ist.
109
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
Charles W. Hughes 1844 to 1844
Thomas Washburn
1844 " 1855
James B. Simcoke
1840 " 1844
Jacob Thomson. 1844 " 1846
1859 " 1863 Jacob Wunderlich. . 1846 " 1850
Simon H. Wunderlich 1863 " 1869
James B. Edwards.
1850 " 1854
Theodore Reed. 1869 " 1874
Robert A. Jellison 1874 " 1877
William H. Rutter
1877." 1881
William E. Merriman 1881 " 1882
Manford D. Yontz 1882 " 1886
Chauncey B. Mattoon 1886 ** 1890
Christopher Souder 1890 "
1894
Daniel W. Sanders 1894 "
1898
W. H. Carter,*
1898 " 1903
Charles E. Lancaster
1903 " 1907
Samuel F. Trembley
1907 “
COUNTY RECORDERS.
Abraham Cuppy. 1838 to 1842
Richard Collins 1842 " 1855
Charles W. Hughes
1855 " 1859
Henry Swihart. 1859 " 1863
Casper W. Lamb. 1863 ** 1867
David A. Quick. 1867 " 1871
Jeremiah S. Hartsock 1871 1875
John C. Wigent. 1875 " 1879
Wright Lancaster. 1879 " 1883
Casper W. Lamb. 1883 " 1887
John H. Shilts. 1887 " 1891
John W. Golden 1891 "
1895
Henry Souder 1895 1899 James T. Long. 1854 " 1856
Frank Raber 1899 " 1904
· Levi M. Meiser
1904 " 1908
George W. Hildebrand. 1908 “
SHERIFFS.
Richard Baughan. 1838 to 1838
*Office extended from November 22d, to January Ist.
Richard Collins.
1838 to 1840
William H. Dunfee.
John Brenneman.
Adam Avey ..
1860 " 1862
John Wynkoop. 1862 “ 1866
Oliver P. Koontz 1866 " 1870
Jacob W. Miller
1870 " 1874
William H. Liggett
1874 " 1878
Adam T. McGinley
1878 " 1880
Franklin P. Allwein
1880 " 1884
Leander Lower 1884 " 1888
William W. Hollipeter 1888 " 1890
John W. McNabb.
1890 " 1894
Thomas N. Hughes
1894 " 1896
Benjamin F. Hull
1896 " 1900
Edward L. Gallagher
1900 " 1905
Logan Staples.
1905 " 1909
COUNTY TREASURERS.
John Collins. 1838 to 1840
Benjamin Grable.
1840 " 1848
Joseph H. Pratt. 1848 " 1848
Charles W. Hughes 1848 " 1851
Jacob Wunderlich. 1851 " 1852
Charles W. Hughes 1852 " 1854
Robert Reed. 1856 " 1858
Jacob Wunderlich. 1858 " 1860
Henry Gregg 1860 " 1862
John S. Cotton 1862 “ 1864
William Reed 1864 " 1866
John Q. Adams 1866 " 1870
Henry McLallen 1870 " 1874
Jacob A. Baker 1874 " 1878
Joseph Clark.
1878 " 1882
1854 " 1858
1858 " 1860
Adams Y. Hooper 1855 “ 1859
John S. Cotton
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WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
Oliver P. Stewart. . 1882 to 1886
Joshua P. Chamberlin 1886 “ 1890
Jacob A. Ruch
1890 " 1890
John Gross. 1890 " 1894
William A. Geiger 1894 " 1896
William E. Myers 1896 " 1901
Melvin Blain
1901 " 1905
John W. Brand. I905 “ 1907
Clinton Wilcox 1907 "
CORONERS.
Seth A. Lucas 1838 to 1841
Asa Shoemaker 1841 " 1847
David Richmond. 1847 “ 1849
William Guy. 1849 " 1851
William M. Swayzee 1851 " 1853
Adam Avey. 1853 " 1855
Benjamin F. Beeson 1855 " 1863
William Walter. 1863 " 1865
Henry H. Hackett.
1865 " 1867
Abraham Y. Swigart
1867 " 1870
John B. Firestone
1870 " 1874
John Richards 1874 “ 1878
William Yontz. 1878 “ 1882 Charles S. Williams 1882 " 1894
Nathan I. Kithcart. 1894 " 1896
Charles S. Williams
1896 " 1905
John F. Brenneman . 1905 " 1907
Jesse H. Briggs. 1907 "
SURVEYORS.
John H. Alexander . 1839 to 1842
Stephen Martin. 1842 " 1846
George Arnold. 1846 " 1848
John H. Alexander 1848 “ 1850
Jonathan Miller 1850 " 1851
Richard Knisely 1851 " 1854
Alpha A. Bainbridge. 1854 " 1854
Levi Adams. 1854 to 1856
Amasa \V. Reed. 1856 “ 1858
Eli W. Brown 1858 “ 1864
John H. Tucker 1864 “ 1864
Thomas B. Hathaway 1864 “ 1865
D. A. Quick 1865 " I865
Edward A. Mossman 1865 “ 1867
Cyrus B. Tulley 1867 “ 1870
Charles D. Moe
1870 “ 1872
James E. Dorland. 1872 " 1874
Herman Thiele.
1874 “ 1876
Levi Adams. 1876 “ 1880
R. A. Kaufman. 1880 " 1882
Herman A. Hartsock. 1882 “ 1888
Edward W. Lilly 1888 " 1892
Arvillus N. Miller
1892 " 1894
Henry Lahm. 1894
1896
Morton A. Gillispie. 1896 " 1900
Oscar T. Schinbeckler 1900 " 1903
Alpheas C. More 1903 " 1905
David A. Walter
1905 " 1909
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
First District --
Joseph Parrett, Jr.
Lorin Loomis.
James L. Henderson.
John S. Cotton.
Henry H. Smith.
Price Goodrich.
Christian H. Creager.
Alfred J. Koontz.
William Dunlap.
John Snodgrass.
William Dunlap.
Benjamin F. Thompson.
Henry Snyder.
Samuel B. Albright.
III
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
John Trier. Henry Norris. Stephen A. Martin. George A. Bowers. Thomas H. Irwin.
.Second District-
Nathaniel B. Gradeless. John G. Braddock. Adam Creager. Henry Knight.
Adam Egolf.
Adam Creager.
Henry Swihart.
Andrew Adams.
George Eberhard.
George W. Hollinger.
Milton B. Emerson.
Jacob A. Ramsey.
William Tannehill.
Peter Creager.
Henry W. Miller.
Peter S. Hess.
Jacob Paulus.
Robert B. Boyd. Noah Mullendore.
Third District-
Otho WV. Gandy. Joseph Pierce. Daniel B. Rice. Thomas Neal.
Daniel B. Rice.
Jacob Nickey. Richard M. Paige.
James H. Shaw.
George W. Lawrence.
William S. Nickey.
William Walker.
Frederick Nei.
Edward Geiger.
John M. Mowrey.
Edward Geiger.
PROBATE JUDGES.
Christopher W. Long
1838 to 1846
Charles W. Hughes 1846 “ 1848
Price Goodrich, 1848 " 1852
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES.
Charles W. Ewing.
John W. Wright.
James W. Borden.
Elza A. McMahon.
Edward R. Wilson.
Robert Lowry.
Elisha V. Long.
Walter Olds.
Joseph W. Adair.
Common pleas judges were Stephen Wildman, James C. Bodley and William M. Clapp. Whitley and Noble counties con- stituted the nineteenth district.
*Office abolished by law and common pleas court established in 1852. Common pleas court abolished in 1872.
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WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
EARLY REMINISCENCES.
BY JOHN R. ANDERSON.
Told September 1, 1905. Interview by S. P. Kaler.
I was born in Muskingum county, Ohio. October 7. 1816, the son of Samuel and Rebecca Rose Anderson, natives of Ireland and New Jersey, respectively, and of Scotch and German extraction. I came to Rich- land township, Whitley county, Indiana. October 9. 1837, and have lived continui- ously on the same farm I entered, ever since. My name is on the tax duplicate for every year that one was made.
Charles W. Hayden, son of David and Alma Hayden, was born August 12, 1837, the first white child born in Richland township.
The second child born in the township was Evaline, daughter of Charles and Eva- line Ditton. October 14, 1837.
The third child born in the township was Jacob Kistler, now living at Larwill. the son of Jacob and Sophia Kistler, and he was born August 20, 1839.
The fourth child born in the township was Orilla, daughter of Edwin and Celina Cone, December 30, 1839
The first death in Richland township was Samuel Jones in February, 1837. He died about the place afterwards called Sum- mit. one mile west of Larwill. He was the father-in-law of Norman Andrews.
About the same time John Jones died at the home of Ezra Thompson. The fam- ily was moving through and the son became sick from exposure and Thompsons took them in, where he died.
The third death was Mrs. Evaline Dit- ton, who died October 17, 1837, and she was buried on the farm called the Henry Norris farm, now owned by George Miller. Her casket was made out of some old wagon box boards, by her father, Mr. Andrew Compton, and myself. There was no one to hold a funeral. The grave was not marked and is lost and plowed over, as well as the graves of others at the same place.
The next death was Mrs. Anna Ditton. wife of George Ditton, October 17. 1837. She was buried at the same place.
The next deaths were Zebulon Burch and Anna Burch, his wife, and some chil- dren, among whom was a son named Joel. The next was Mr. James Perkins. father of Mrs. John Graham. His body was re- moved some years after.
The next death was that of David Welch, the man who died at South Whitley, - about whom so much has been said and written, as being the first man to die in the county. An effort is now being made to find the body. I have recently been on the ground and am sure I know the exact spot. for I have always been familiar with the place.
He was not a stranger or sojourner, but lived with his family, consisting of a wife and four children, in a log cabin near Clear Creek, north of South Whitley. He was rather shiftless and worked at odd jobs and finally took his turn with the other settlers going after provisions and to mill on Tur- key Creek, near Elkhart.
II3
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
He came home on the seventh day and had been drinking heavily and to sober off, his wife told me he drank two large spoon- fuls of turpentine and that night he died. The next day the neighbors gathered in and as there was no lumber David Payne made a casket out of his (Payne's) wagon box. There was no funeral, but in the evening they located a place on the Goshen road near the south-east corner of John Edwards' town lot in the alley six or eight feet from the road.
The first cemetery was the one above described on the George Miller farm and it is all plowed over. Though I helped bury most of those interred there I cannot find the place.
The second cemetery was Otto Webb's. Six or seven were buried there. Some were taken up, and the spot is plowed over and lost. The next cemetery was started by George Clapp on section 24, Richland township. This is the present Oak Grove cemetery. This was the fall of 1839. Clapp deeded the ground, a quarter of an acre, to the county, but it was long kept up by the citizens, but of late years the county has cared for it, and it is well kept and has a number of fine monuments.
About IS38 an Indian was buried in sec- tion 18, near Boonville, and about the same time a squaw was buried near the door of Monroe Snyder's residence and two Indians on the Trembley farm.
In 1840 we built a schoolhouse at Oak Grove, in which were the first church serv- ices or preaching in Richland township.
About two years after, we built, at the same place, a church for all who wished to worship and it was called Union church. It 8
was dedicated by Rev. Anderson Parrett. The German Lutherans had an organization over about Eberhards, and their preacher had an appointment and it happened that the United Brethren had an appointment for the same day and hour and the Luther- ans got the start and would not let the United Brethren take a part. He said he did not want his services broke in two in the middle, so the United Brethren an- nounced he would preach in two weeks and retired, but in two weeks they came together again. The German started in to take full charge and after he had given out the first hymn the United Brethren announced that it was the first time he had ever seen a hand car get ahead of a locomotive. He retired but gave out an appointment for four weeks and told the Lutheran he would not again give way to him. In four weeks the United Brethren came and also a Universalist and there was a clash again. The Universalist said: "Let's hold services together; there is no difference between us." The United Brethren said: "No difference; there's as much difference as between a hawk and a buzzard. The hawk hunts for his meat and the buzzard steals his."
The Methodists finally secured the house and some years ago built the present brick church and it is a successful and thriv- ing congregation.
In the fall of 1837, William Rice went to Huntington and got a commission to or- ganize the township. The name Richland had been agreed upon at a meeting of set- tlers at Rice's house in October. In Decem- ber the first election was held at the home of Ezra Thompson in the north-west quarter of section 9, near the cross roads and adja -
II.4
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
cent to the old Thompson cemetery, which is yet to be seen.
The voters at that election were Ezra Thompson, J. R. Anderson, Edwin Cone, David Hayden, William Rice, Otto Webb, Zebulon Burch and Andrew Compton.
The Whitley County History, published some years ago, has the names differently. but this is correct. I was there and have always kept the list of the voters.
ECHO OF SEVENTY YEARS AGO.
Historical article by Rhua Compton Mosher, late wife of Eliakim Mosher. Com- ments by John R. Anderson.
Through the courtesy of S. P. Kaler, The Post is enabled to publish a valuable historical article written by the late Mrs. Eliakim Mosher, before her death, with comments upon the same by John R. Ander- son, who still resides in Richland township. The article describes their nineteen days' trip from Coshocton county, Ohio, through the wilderness to the chosen land, where both spent their long lives, Mrs. Mosher preced- ing him upon a journey he will yet take.
HIOW THE TRIP WAS MADE.
Andrew Compton and Mary Stafford Compton, his wife, with two men, John An- derson and Sam Holloway, started from Coshocton county, Ohio, September 27. 1837. They wandered through the for- ests, picking their way through western Ohio to Pickaway and Black Swamp and then on to Fort Wayne. As there was no road to Whitley county they took the tow- path from Fort Wayne to Huntington. It commenced to rain soon after leaving Fort Wayne and continued to rain during the whole afternoon. Near Fort Wayne the
first Indians were seen. They were still very barbarous, wearing the fetlock and rings in their noses. As night came on we camped in the woods. Here we made our- selves as comfortable as possible. A fire was the first thing needed. This we stic- ceeded in getting after shooting twice into a bunch of tow. The wind roared and the fire leaped high as the supper was being prepared. Supper being over, the horses were made fast so they could not get away. Then bed quilts were hung up as a protec- tion from the wind. All slept on the ground during the night.
By noon the next day we reached Hunt- ington. There we sought to provide our- selves with a few needful provisions. Fifty pounds of salt was secured for five dol- lars. Other articles purchased were also very costly. After leaving Huntington we drove four miles to Delvin Hill. Here we camped for the night, enjoying the same accommodations we had enjoyed before.
The next morning we started on our journey again. During the entire day we did not see a person and not even a house. From this we knew that we were getting into extremely new country. At night we again camped in the woods during a storm. The saplings were very thick and therefore afforded good protection. At this place the wolves were very thick and during the night they commenced howling and became very bold. The men cut trees and made pens for the hogs in order to keep them from the hungry wolves. The next day was Sunday, but nevertheless we broke camp and jour- neyed on until we came to a cabin in the woods. The woman in the cabin made us very welcome, as she seemed to be over- joyed to see people of her own race. She
115
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
. was especially pleased with the children of the party. Here we secured corn, which we kept for seed on our new farm. As we journeyed on we came to the river, which was deep and with no means of crossing. The problem of crossing was a serious one, but it was solved at last. John Anderson rode over on the one horse which we owned. He drove with him the cattle and hogs, but the current carried the hogs down the stream for some distance. The family was secured in the large wagon, to which were hitched two oxen. The oxen moved slowly down the bank and out into the stream. In a short time they were dragging the heavy wagon up the opposite bank. We were now across Eel river, about where the old mill dam is near South Whitley, but which was then called Springfield. Near sundown we reached Mr. Burch's ; this was only a few miles from the land which we were to occupy. October 16th found us on our chosen ground. We had completed our journey in nineteen days.
COMMENTS BY JOHN R. ANDERSON.
Sam Holloway went to Lafayette and died of milk sickness.
We began the Black Swamp at St. Mary's river and town sixty-two miles from Fort Wayne.
We did not see any Indians till we got to Vermilyae (now Roanoke), where we saw thirty or forty, as it was a little village.
We camped under a birch tree about forty rods from the canal and about four miles below Roanoke and got to Huntington about ten o'clock next day.
From Huntington we drove to Delvin Creek and camped on a little raise : not Del- vin Hill .:
Next night where we camped must have been about four miles below South Whit- ley.
We drove thirteen hogs ; one old Jersey Blue slab-sided and long-nosed sow, an ani- mal that would kill a dog or a wolf or a hare. Everything that came in her way she would grab with her big mouth and dispatch with one snap, and go on as if nothing happened. I told Compton that rail pen would not hold that sow a minute and it didn't. She slung it to pieces in an instant and the hogs all got out, but they stayed with us and the old sow protected the hogs and us, too. The next morning as we were starting for Eel river we ran over one hog with the wagon and killed it. Compton said we would take the carcass along for soap grease. Holloway and I knew we would have to dress and cut up the hog and we put up a job. When we heard wolves howling we said they smelled the carcass. That settled it, and the hog was thrown away.
At Eel river a council was held. The river looked bad. Compton could not swim and he was the head of the family. This is about the place of the grist mill at South Whitley. We only had one horse, an old tacky mare. Someone had to find the way across and the lot fell to me. I stripped to shirt and pants and straddled the old mare. I rode to near the middle, when the mare went down, but I got her up and got across. Then I went a few rods farther up and found a better place. We measured how high the water came up on the mare and found it would come above the second sideboard of the wagon and wet everything in it. So we cut poles and put on top the sideboards, and piled the goods on top. All the party got
116
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
on top and rode across. The old sow kept close to the wagon and led the others across all right. One of the cows went about eighty rods below and came near being lost and was got across with difficulty. I rode the mare across after the animals.
We got to Burch's, where Tom Jellison now lives, after night and in the rain. Burch's cabin was only 16x18. The family consisted of seven children and himself and wife. His son-in-law, Ditton, and wife were there. Mrs. Ditton was very sick and died next day. Into this distressed family, wet, cold and hungry, came Compton and wife and four children and myself and Holloway.
ANOTHER PIONEER'S STORY.
By Joe Pletcher, told August 5, 1905.
Mr. Joseph Pletcher, now living near Pierceton, was one of the early settlers of Whitley county, coming here from Ohio in 1843. Mr. Pletcher was in Columbia City last Thursday, and gave Mr. S. P. Kaler an interesting written account of his experi- ences. He also made a pleasant and all too short call at the News office, extending his subscription another year. Although over seventy years of age. he is still very active and seems to be nearer fifty. His story as given to Mr. Kaler follows :
I will give a little historical sketch of our settling in Whitley county. My father's name was John Pletcher. We moved to Whitley county from Wood county, Ohio, in 1843, June roth of that year being the first time I saw the little town of Colum- bia, now called Columbia City. Although father was a Dutchman, he had some Yan- kee traits, as he moved here with two yoke of oxen to a wagon.
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