USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 35
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Oh! tell me a tale of the airly days- Of the times as they us to be.
"Piller of Fi-er" and "Shakespeare's Plays" Is a'most too deep fer me!
I want plane facts, and I want plane words. Of the good old-fashioned ways, When speech runs free as the songs of birds 'Way back in the airly days.
Tell me a tale of the timber-lands- Of the old-time pioneers : Somepin' a poor man understands With his feelins's well as ears. Tell of the old log house,-about
The loft, and the puncheon flore- The old fi-er-place, with the crane swung out,
And the latch-string thrugh the door.
Tell of the things jest as they was- They don't need no excuse !- Don't tetch'em up like the poets does, Tel theyr all too fine fere use !- Say they was 'leven in the fambily- Two beds, and the chist, below,
And the trundle-beds that each helt three. And the clock and the old bureau.
Then blow the horn at the old back-door Tel the echoes all halloo.
And the children gethers home onc't more, Jest as they ust to do; Blow fer Pap tel he hears and comes, With Tomps and Elias, too,
A-marchin' home, with the fife and drums And the old Red, White and Blue!
Blow and blow tel the sound draps low As the moan of the whipperwill. And wake up Mother, and Ruth and Jo, All sleepin' at Bethel Hill: Blow and call tel the faces all Shine out in the back-log's blaze,
And the shadders dance on the old hewed wall As they did in the airly days. -Riley.
The 15th day of September. 1834, was a joyous day for Mr. and Mrs. Francis Tully. On that day a little cherub in the person of Rosana first saw the light of day as the first white child born in Smith township and
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probably the first in Whitley county. Ros- ready made suit. the thoroughbred horse or ana afterwards married John Krider and is the rubber tired buggy. His homespun and his home made suit was good enough for him to stand up in before the minister and declare his intentions. now living in Columbia City. The first in the township to mourn a loss by death was Wyatt Jeffries and wife over the death of a child in 1834. The first potatoes that came Corn, being one of the staples of food. was often gotten up in different styles, one of which was hominy, but not store hominy, as we buy it today. The hominy block was one of the necessities of every house, or at least every neighborhood. A block about three feet long was cut from a suitable log. sycamore or gum preferred, and set on one end. On the upper end a fire was built and attentively looked after until a bowl shaped receptacle was burned sufficient to hold three or four gallons. into the possession of George C. Pence were procured at Beach Chapel in Thomcreek township, which he and his two sons, Henry and Abe, carried home on their backs a dis- tance of six miles. Henry Pence and Rich- ard Bowhan as traveling companions made a trip to Elkhart to procure corn meal and other necessaries of life and all went well with them until they returned as far as the Indian camp on section No. 7. near where the old bridge was. Here their wagons broke through the ice and they were com- It was then thoroughly cleaned of the adhering charcoal by a chisel or gouge. pelled to stay over night with the Indians. Next morning, after many strenuous efforts, assisted by the Indians, they got their wag- ons across the river and proceeded home- ward rejoicing.
The young men who contemplated en- tering the state of matrimony had many dif- ficulties to face. However, there were no barriers that could frustrate his plans. And for the lack of lumber the little cherub. when he made his appearance, was not rocked in the fine cribs and rubber tired baby cabs of today. A convenient poplar tree furnished the material for a sugar trough in which his babyship was rocked and put to sleep by the sweet lullaby of his fond mother.
When Henry Pence convinced himself that marriage was not a failure and resolved to try it he walked to Huntington to pro- cure the necessary license. Henry, no doubt. had not heard of the laundered shirt, the
Sometimes the man who had time and was esthetic formed them with their crude tools into the shape of an hour glass. Into the receptacle or hopper the corn was poured (generally the eight rowed or flint was pre- ferred), upon which warm water was poured and covered closely so as to soften and loosen the husk. After a certain time the corn was beaten with a pestle until the husk was well off the grain. The pestle consisted of a stick split at one end and surrounded by an iron ring and into the split end an iron wedge was inserted. The product was fin- ished by winnowing in the open air or by a fanning mill. The hominy was put into a large iron kettle, properly seasoned with salt, early in the morning and hung on a "crane" in the fireplace and cooked until evening.
This was generally a solicitous day for the mother lest her hominy should burn.
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The finished product when cold was cut in slices and fried or otherwise warmed and made a dish that would surely satisfy the taste of the epicure.
The wool was clipped from the backs of the sheep, generally by the wife, and well washed and hung on poles and fences or spread upon the green grass if such a spot was obtainable. to thoroughly dry. It was then put into blankets and folded up, using large thorns for pinning up closely, and taken to the "carding mill" run by water power.
The most coonvenient "carding mill" for the pioneer of the township was in Thorn- creek township at Beach chapel. The wool was formed into rolls and spun into yarn on the "big wheel" and woven into all wool goods or with cotton chain into linsey, which was afterwards taken back to the carding mill and "fulled," the product of which was called "fulled linsey." Anxious and busy days were then spent by the family in antici- pation of the new clothes that were cut out and sewed by the slow process of the needle and thimble. The gray stocking yarn made from the wool off the old black ewe was knit into stockings by the light of tallow dip or old iron lamp supplied with rag wick and fat.
WVe little know of the long and weary hours our mothers spent in securing com- forts for their children while they lay sleep- ing sweetly in their trundle bed.
On Sunday mornings in well regulated families the members took a thorough bath with soft soap and water, after which they were attired in their cleanest and best and started to Sunday school and frequently (as Uncle Joe Pence tells us) with the motherly admonition "to not get your feet dirty."
Many amusing incidents happened that may not be devoid of interest. One Joseph Fellows, who taught the first term of school in the second school house in the township. was a Sunday school teacher. Every one had a sheepskin in lieu of a saddle for horse- back riding. Mr. Fellows, unfortunately. lost his sheepskin for several months. One day Joseph thought he saw a huge snake coiled up in a clump of bushes and hurriedly procured his rifle and shot at it several times, but his snakeship refused to budge or exhibit signs of distress. Joseph's father armed himself with a heavy club and cau- tiously advanced towards the snake to re- connoiter, and to his great surprise he found the object to be his long lost sheepskin and exclaimed with delight, "Joseph, it's our sheepskin," which from exposure to rain and sun had curled up into a firm roll.
For many months Joseph underwent jibes and jeers of the neighborhood. One Sunday, while instructing his Sunday school class and the story of Joseph being clad in various colors and sold in bondage was un- der discussion, he asked his class the ques- tion, "What did Joseph do?" when a little fellow rose up with great pride and answered "He shot his father's sheepskin." Joseph Fellows afterwards became a doctor and was killed in Ohio.
Although the pioneers were greatly in- terested in clearing up their farms and the preservation of themselves and families. many of them were not negligent in their re- ligious duties. Samuel Smith's name must be transmitted and honored as the first to or- ganize a religious congregation. He and a few other early settlers met at Samuel Nickey's cabin and organized the first church in the township. The spiritual wel-
19
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fare of the organization was looked after by Samuel Smith, Otho Gandy and an occa- sional itinerant minister until 1840. The first meeting house in the township and also the first in the county was erected at Con- cord. it being a log building which served the purpose of religious meetings until about 1851 or 1852. A frame building was at this time erected under the guidance and en- ergy of David F. Striker.
In 1848 the United Brethren erected a church house on the southwest corner of Concord. Both of the houses of worship at Concord were used for the purpose for which they were built for many years, but they were finally abandoned.
Schoolhouses becoming more numerous were frequently used as places of worship, at which many exciting religious revivals were held, to which many of the families of early settlers are indebted for the good qual- ities transmitted to their posterity.
The women of those days were not im- bued with the eagerness of the present day to exhibit their fine and costly costumes. The generation to use the plumes of the os- trich and skinned birds, costly ribbons and shirtwaists with wide, flowing and rustling skirts was unborn.
The maiden who went to "meeting" had about sufficient expansion in her skirts to enable her to make a decent step in walk- ing. The ten or fifteen yards of material for a skirt of the present day was unheard of and an abomination. The young man laid by his sickle or ax and went to "meet- ing" clad in his shirt sleeves and "every day clothes." The worn out cow hide shoes were zealously preserved. from which were made buttons which his mother sewed on his
trousers. Saturday was the busy day of the good mother, who occupied her time in do- ing her "Saturday's work." This consisted of baking bread and pies in the "out oven," scrubbing the floors with sand and water, brightening tinware and pewter plates with bulrushes gathered from the nearby stream, patching and darning the worn and thread- bare clothing of the family. The clothing store or the boot and shoe store were not established. No doubt it is difficult for the present generation to imagine the condition our country would be in without clothing stores and shoe stores, but such was the con- dition of the pioneers. Here the reminis- cences of Joseph J. Pence will illustrate the life of pioneers as it is almost a counterpart of every settler. It is given below in his own language.
REMINISCENCES BY JOSEPII J. PENCE.
"My father came to Whitley county, ar- riving November 18, 1836. We came from Fayette county, Ohio. He had bought sec- tion 19 in Smith township for $1.200. There were ten children, of which I was the youngest, being five years old. They were Henry, Abraham, John, Absalom, Willis and Joseph J. and three girls. My oldest sister married James H. Rousseau, who was on the first jury that ever sat in the county. They moved west and are both dead. Sister Elizabeth married John Vanhouten and she lies in Concord cemetery. My youngest sis- ter, Catharine, was the first wife of Michael K. Zorger.
All my brothers and myself had farms in section 19. Four of my brothers and one sister lie in Blue River cemetery.
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The only settlers in Smith township when we came were Francis Tulley, Richard Baughın, Jesse Long, Samuel Smith and John More. More came a few months be- fore we did. He was out hunting near Con- cord on November 18, 1836, and came across the tracks our horses had made and followed the tracks to see what new settler had come, blazing his way so he could find his way back. He found us at our land and said our horses were tied to bushes and our tent up and habitation established. The snow was nine inches deep.
Some months afterward Jerry Hart- sock's uncle came to our hut in search of flour: said he had hunted two days without success. We had eighteen pounds and could spare none. He went away with a very heavy heart and father called him back and divided with him.
It was in 1838 that Preacher E. Hold- stock started to get married and the Indians stole his pony and he had to go afoot or miss getting married. He went on foot and stayed over night at Uncle Nat Gradeless'. Some years ago he was stationed in Column- bia City as Methodist Episcopal minister.
The year after we came we had several hog's and one day we heard a great noise of dogs and hogs about eighty rods away. Father and a couple of my brothers hurried there and found the Indians had already killed one of our hogs and one Indian was just dragging the carcass onto his pony when father shot at him and he rode hur- riedly away with a great yell. They all got away very fast, but though they had killed one of our hogs they did not get the meat. Father followed them nearly to their village on the Silas Briggs farm and then gave up
the chase. After that we put a cowbell on the old sow so we could tell when lost or in trouble.
Father gave half an acre of land for a cemetery and Rousseau's child was the first burial and it went by the name of Rous- seau's graveyard. My brother Absalom is buried there. There were about thirty per- sons buried there, Benjamin Harter being the last, about twenty years ago. My nephew, John Pence, the butcher in Colum- bia City, now owns the land.
In those early days in the summer we cooked on a fire built side of a log out- doors and until it became so cold we could not do so, then by a fireplace in the cabin built of sticks and clay mortar. We had a tub made by a neighbor out of oak staves and bound by hickory hoops, but such a thing as a washboard was not to be had till brother John split out a piece of slab and with his knife cut irregular grooves in it. I often helped mother wash. She would wash the garments with her hands in the tub and I would then take them and facili- tate the work by pounding them with a flat paddle on a block. One day I got tired and turned my paddle edgeways, nearly spoiling a garment, when my mother proceeded to use the paddle on me.
Fortunate was the family who had an ox team to go to meeting when there was any and our girls would cut the wool from the sheep and with their own hands put it through every process necessary up to their clothing and I think they were better looking than the girls of to-day.
Our clothes lines were basswood poles dentided of the bark or ropes made of bass- wood bark, and if clothes pins were used at
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all they were thorns with which clothes were old log school house in Thorncreek town- pinned to the pole or line. Our clothes were ship near where Charles W. Hively now all made by hand and at home, from fibre to finish, and the scraps of all entirely worn out boots or shoes cut into buttons. lives. I was dressed in my linen pants and shirt. washed clean and gallowses properly sewed in place and my feet washed good and Our folks managed to have coffee of rye on Sunday mornings and later we had it once a day. All other hot drinks were of spice brush or sassafras, the latter indis- pensable for a month or two in the spring to get our blood in order. All the sugar we had was made from maple trees. clean. The last admonition mother gave me was to be careful not to get my feet dirty. At this same school house at a night "meetin' " ten boys made up to ask ten girls to see them safe home, and each agreed if he got the shake to hollow it right out. The girls found out what was going on and fixed up a job too. The boys lined up in front of the door and as each girl went out the usual question was propounded and in every case the response was "No." Every fellow bawled out, "Got the mitten." But when the girls found the predicament they were in they recanted. Every fellow got a girl, but perhaps not the one allotted to him in the deal.
One day father and myself were drop- ping corn and brother and two sisters were covering it and they sent me home for wa- ter and the sisters wanted something good to eat. Mother had nothing to send but a piece of dry corn bread about four inches square. The girls were not pleased, but one of them said philosophically: "I have three articles of food-upper crust, lower crust and crumbs."
Fort Wayne was a sort of market, but food was scarce there. We often went to the Elkhart Prairie for corn, sometimes pay- ing a dollar a bushel for it. Father once drove to Michigan City for supplies and was gone a long time.
The first mill we had was Hall's, in No- ble county, then Richard Baughn built one at the Barney place. I often went there with a sack of corn in the morning on a horse and waited all day without myself or horse having anything to eat. Once in the evening I was lying down and Baughn called: "Get up, Joey, the last grain of your corn is in the mill."
The first time I went to preaching was to reward me for some extra labor I had performed the week before. It was to an
Mrs. Lyman Robinson was superintend- ent and general teacher of the first Sunday school I attended at Nathaniel Gradeless' in 1841.
The first itinerant preacher who came to the neighborhood was Rev. Samuel Smith. father of William Smith, who was about Co- lumbia till a few years ago. He was sent by the Methodist Episcopal conference and preached at Uncle Nat Gradeless' house. He had a four weeks' circuit and preached every day or night at a different place, and I heard him say his Monday night audiences were generally the best. He preached also at South Whitley and Summit in Richland township in this county. Then came a man named Flammens, who preached several years.
U'ncle Zack Garrison came in 1836. He
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was a Methodist Protestant, and was a good man and powerful preacher and did much good. His church finally played out and he went to the Church of God. He died some twenty years ago and is buried at the Gar- rison cemetery near Collins."
In 1852 and 1853 religious revivals were in progress and "camp meetings" were held in those years in "God's first temples" a lit- tle north of Mrs. D. W. Nickey's residence. Otho Gandy, M. Eaton and. Zachariah Gar- rison and others were the local leaders in the dissemination of religious thought. These meetings, like many others of the kind, were the scenes of many affrays and disorder. Luther Nott and Christ. Long get- ting into a mixup, Long cut Nott with a knife. Abe Pence, acting as the good Samar- itan and peacemaker, bound up Nott's wounds and poured on him the oil of kindness and induced him to take supper with him. After supper Pence persuaded Nott to join with him in keeping order, which he did to the great delight of everybody. During the meeting that evening a drunken man came staggering down through the audience, and being unable to stop tumbled over the "bull pen," as it was then called, but is now de- nominated as the "mourners' bench" or al- tar. This was Nott's first opportunity to show his ability to keep order, and forth- with he took the drunken man under his pro- tection. However, Nott certainly relaxed his careful watch over his ward, whose name was Ben Madden, the Madden who was aft- erward hanged by the side of Keefer in Fort Wayne.
About the year 1850 Jacob Brumbaugh built a sawmill run by water power and turned out a great deal of lumber for the
neighbors during high water and freshets, and in three or four years after Alphus B. Gaff and his brother George built the second sawmill in the township. on the former's farm, also run by high water and freshets. Both mills discontinued business about 1863 or 1864.
In 1855 Joseph Brown erected a steam sawmill on the site which Val Brown's mill now occupies and has since been owned by Thomas H. Hughes and Tom Jones, Doc- tor Gandy and T. A. Rhodes, William H. Hughes and Thomas H. Hughes, S. G. Clark, Theodore F. Gilliland and Randolph & Brown, the latter of whom bought out the former in about 1884, since which Valo- rous Brown has operated the mill and made a large fortune. But Mr. Brown, like most other men, met with a misfortune in the to- tal destruction of his mill by fire on the morning of June 16, 1906. He is now (Jan- uary. 1907) building a large mill on the site of the old one.
Organization of Smith township, so named in honor of Samuel Smith. who came in 1834, originally included Union and Jef- ferson. Election for justice of the peace on the first day of November, 1837. by or- der of the Huntington county commission- ers. First county officers elected on the first Monday of April, 1838, who met in May and organized. In 1837 the population of Smith township, which at that time included the territory of what is now Union and Jeffer- son townships, had increased so much that some more convenient civil and judicial movement became a necessity.
The county commissioners of Hunting- ton county authorized an election for justice of the peace and constable on the first day
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of November. 1837. Election was held at J. W. More's house, which is now known as the John Jones farm. J. W. More was elected justice of the peace and Eli McClure constable.
John W. More was a man of more than ordinary muscular strength and many won- derful feats are told of him. If his horse fell through a bridge or in a bog he only had to take him by the tail and pull him out. He was also a man of honor and a lover of justice and peace and it was well for some of his neighbors that he was exceedingly slow to anger. And in the administration of his office he was compelled by his sense of jus- tice to render judgment against poor pio- neers that caused his heart to ache. As an instance we will cite one case in which he
entered upon his docket the following : "15th of January, A. D. 1840. Execution issued on the 27th to-wit: The plaintiff do agree that execution shall be stayed for one month from this date by the defendant delivering to the plaintiff twenty dollars' worth of property which the defendant doth agree to do, and delivered to the plaintiff the following property, to wit: One side saddle worth $12; three quilts and one coverlid worth $8.00, this 27th day of January, 1840. February 29. 1840, received my damages on the above judgment.' Plaintiff."
The 11th day of March, 1840, Justice Moore had a very rushing business, as we find that he disposed of five cases similar to the following except names of parties, which we give "verbatim et literatim," which shows a very interesting period in the history of Smith township. On page thirty is recorded as follows: "Be it remembered, that on the LIth day of March, A. D. 1840, personally
came before me John W. More, a justice of the peace in and for the county of Whitley, and state of Indiana, George C. Pence and Jacob Sine, overseers of the poor for Smith township, and made application for a sum- mons for Benjamin Jones and Winifred, his wife, to show cause why they don't comply with an act concerning free negroes and mu- lattoes, servants and slaves, and on the 12th of the present month a summons is issued directed to Eli McClure, constable, return- able on the 16th of March, 1840, at ten o'clock a. m., and the said Eli McClure made return thereof on the 12th instant., served on the 12th of March, 1840, at which time, to wit, on the 16th of the present month. came the parties, and the cause being fully heard it is adjudged that there has been no cause shown why Benjamin Jones and Win- ifred, his wife, don't comply with the pro- visions of an act concerning free negroes and mulattoes, servants and slaves. And on the TIth day of April. A. D. 1840, came Benjamin Jones and made application for an appeal on the above case, which was granted." On the same day at 12 o'clock a. m., "Wyatt Jeffries and Eliza, his wife, Lucinda Jones at 2 p. m., Brinton Jones at 3 p. m. and Claborn Pompy at 4 o'clock p. m., were required by the overseers of the poor to show cause why they did not com- ply with the provisions of the same act.
In explanation of the filing of the above suits it may be well to say that the legisla- ture passed a law requiring all "free ne- groes, mulattoes, servants and slaves" on en- tering the state to give bond for five hun- dred dollars to indemnify the state against their becoming public charges.
On the 22d day of March, 1841. the
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monotony of Justice More's court was in- terrupted by the filing of a complaint by James Vaughn. It appears that a couple of men in passing through the country took lodging with Jacob Sine on the Goshen road north of Churubusco, and in payment of which one of them proffered a five-dollar bill, which Sine suspected to be counterfeit. But by the persistent assertions of the men the bill was taken and the two companions went on their way. Sine was yet unsatis- fied and showed the bill to some of his neigh- bors who were at his house, among whom was James Vaughn, all of whom pronounced the bill a base counterfeit. Mr. Vaughn went to Justice More and filed complaint and a posse of men was sent on to keep in touch with the strangers, who had left the main road after traveling several miles, and went into camp for the night. With as much haste as possible James Vaughn had en- tered on Justice More's docket the follow- ing: "State of Indiana, Whitley county, Set : Before me, J. W. More, a justice of the peace of the county aforesaid, this day personally came James Vaughn, of the county aforesaid, who, being by me duly sworn, sayeth that on the 22d day of March, A. D. 1841. at the county aforesaid, Alex- ander Smith and John Adams, late of said county, did on the 22d day of March, 1841. pass spurious money to the amount of five dollars in one bill on the Ohio Life Insur- ance and Trust Company purporting the same to be good, and further deponent say- ethi not.
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