USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 43
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Jefferson township has always been known as a close township with the odds generally in favor of the Democrats, which
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accounts for the fact that that party has had a majority of the township officers.
When the township was first organized, in 1845, the law provided for a board of three trustees and from that date to 1859 a number of citizens of the township served in that capacity, among whom may be men- tioned : Latham Blee, Leonard S. Maring, Chancy Hadley, Thomas Neal, Samuel Braden. William M. Gillespie, Abram J. Gillespie, William Callison, etc. When the new law, providing for one trustee, became operative in 1859, David Allen Quick was elected trustee on the first Monday in April of that year and served one year. He was succeeded by Chancy Hadley, who was elected in 1860 and re-elected in 1861, but he resigned in March, 1862, and Abbott Green was appointed to fill the vacancy. Mr. Green was elected in April, 1862, and served one year. Thomas Kemp was elected trus- tee in 1863 and re-elected in 1864, 1865 and 1866, serving in all four years. George Jeffries was elected in 1867 and served one year and was succeeded by Otho Clark. who was selected at the April election in 1868, but the law was changed, fixing the term of the township trustee at two years and providing that the election of township officers should be at the regular state election in October. At the election of the second Tuesday in October, 1870, William Bell was elected trustee, defeating Otho Clark, who was a candidate for re-election, by a majority of one vote. Mr. Bell served two years and was succeeded by Frederick Brock, who was re-elected in 1874 and served four years. Henry Vogely was selected trustee in Octo- ber. 1876, but the law was again changed and provided for the election of township
officers on the first Monday in April. Mr. Vogely was re-elected in April. 1878, and served four years lacking six months. At the April election in 1880, James Jeffries was elected trustee and served about one year when he resigned and John L. Mc- Laughlin was appointed and after serving about one year was succeeded by Levi Eber- sole. Mr. Ebersole served two years and was succeeded by Joseph B. Plummer, who held the office two years when he turned it over to James W. Burwell. Mr. Burwell was succeeded by Albert Bush, who held the office two years and four months. Harvey Beard was elected trustee on the first Monday in April. 1890, but there had been another change in the law which pro- vided that the township trustee should hold his office four years, beginning on the first Monday in August following his election in April. Mr. Beard held the office until the spring of 1894, when he resigned and Wil- liam Schoenauer was appointed to fill the vacancy. At this time the law was changed again and provided for the election of town- ship officers at the regular state election in November. William G. Bowman was elected trustee on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 1894, and took charge of the township business on the first Monday in August, 1895. Mr. Bowman re- signed his office in 1899, and Thomas J. Smith was appointed as his successor. About this time another change in the law provided that the township trustees and as- sessors should hold over until the general election in November, 1900. Owing to ill health, Mr. Smith resigned as trustee early in 1900 and Oliver J. Crowel was appointed as his successor. At the regular election
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in November, 1900, Louis W. Dunfee was elected trustee and held the office four years and was succeeded by Oliver J. Crowel, who was elected in November, 1904, and is the trustee of the township at this writing and is the twenty-first trustee of Jefferson township since the spring of 1859. when the law providing for one trustee for each town- ship was adopted.
It may be interesting to note the major- ities of some of the trustees that have been elected in Jefferson township since 1870. when William Bell was elected by one vote : 1872, Frederick Brock 6; 1874, Brock no opposition ; 1876. Vogely 19: 1880, Jeffries 21 : 1882, Ebersole 32: 1884, Plummer 39; 1886, Burwell 19: 1888, Bush 2; 1890, Beard 51 ; 1894, Bowman 23; 1900, Dunfee 20; 1904, Crowell 3.
Of the assessors that have served the township during the past forty years. the following is believed to be a correct list : William McLaughlin, Daniel German, Levi W. Bell, Thomas Kemp, Joseph Clark, John Mclaughlin, Samuel Kaufman, Henry Vogely. Arthur Gillespie, James L. B. Ferrell. Jacob H. Ihrig. James M. Shroyer and W. S. Howenstine.
Of the persons who have held the office of justice of the peace of Jefferson township may be mentioned: Leonard S. Maring. Octavius Phelps, William Bell, James Brox- on, Isaac C. Dickerson, Robert L. Pence, Israel Biers, Jacob H. Ihrig, Jacob Bowman, Harvey F. Connor. Roland P. Jackson. Thomas D. Watson and Anderson L. Hasty. The township is entitled to two justices of the peace, but for several years there has only been one as it is difficult to get any one to serve the people in that capacity. A num-
ber of persons have been elected justice of the peace for the township but have failed to qualify.
The following citizens of Jefferson town- ship have been elected to a county office : County commissioner, Thomas Neal; county recorder, David A. Quick, 1866; R. Frank Raber, 1898; John Richards, coroner, 1874; Joseph Clark, treasurer, 1878; Manford D. Yontz. auditor. 1882; John W. McNabb, sheriff. 1890: Richard H. Maring, clerk of the court, 1894: Morton A. Gillespie, sur- veyor, 1896; Oscar T. Shinbecker, surveyor. 1900: Newton F. Watson, joint representa- tive. 1904. and Robert Connor, member of the county advisory board, 1906.
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES.
Sixty years ago, when the people of Whitley county were struggling to clear up their farms and at the same time keep the wolf from the door, the educational advan- tages enjoyed by the children were few and meager. The education they did secure was principally acquired during a two or three months' winter term of school in a house that corresponded in every way to the order of things in that early day, and in the case of the stronger minded youth was often dug out at home by the light of hickory bark or tallow candle. Yet these disadvan- tages were largely balanced by the strength of mind and self-reliance that they tended to impart, and it was under such circum- stances that a large number of eminent men of the country acquired their early education.
The first schoolhouses in Jefferson town- ship were rude log affairs with puncheon floors, stick chimneys, etc., and were erected
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as the settlements demanded, the work being done largely by the settlers without com- pensation. Very little public money was to be had and usually the teachers were em- ployed by subscription. After the township became more generally settled, it became necessary to rearrange the location of the schoolhouses, and finally the township was divided into ten school districts and a school- house located about every two miles. This caused a great deal of opposition and strife, as it sometimes became necessary to aban- don a schoolhouse and some families who were used to having a schoolhouse near them were obliged to send their children from one to two miles to school.
On the first Saturday night in October, each year, the school patrons were expected to elect a director to look after the wants of the school and receive applications from teachers who were desirous of a position, and usually, after a number of applications were received a "school meeting" would be called and the patrons would vote by ballot for their choice for teacher, and the one having the largest number of votes would be declared elected and would be recom- mended to the trustee as the choice of the district for teacher and accordingly would be hired by the trustee at the lowest possible figure.
Some hard electioneering was done by the candidates and their friends before the school meetings, and it was said that on one occasion at a school meeting where there were several candidates present, some one suggested that the applicants write their names on the blackboard and each voter mark for his choice and the one receiving the most marks be declared the winner.
This was done and after the names had been placed on the board, it was some time before any one had courage to cast the first vote. Finally an old man marched forward, took the chalk and marked for his favorite, and every other patron present followed suit and marked for the same applicant, much to the embarrassment of the other appli- cants present.
On another occasion. a young man was so anxious to secure the position as teacher of a certain school in the township that he offered to teach two weeks free if he was given the school. Always ready to receive something for nothing, the patrons elected him as their teacher for the winter and he made his word good, teaching two weeks longer than his contract called for. But the young man was perhaps well repaid for his extra labor, as during his term of school at that place he became acquainted with a young lady in the community who afterward became his wife.
In the fall of 1845 the first school- house in Jefferson township was erected on the banks of Big Indian creek, on the Lib- erty Mills road, about one quarter of a mile east of the Broxon corners. It was a rude log affair, about eighteen by twenty feet, with a large fire-place and stick chim- ney, and, like all of the country school- houses of that day, had slab benches with 110 backs. One large horizontal window on each side admitted the light and here, the following winter, James T. Bayless taught the first school in the building. He was fol- lowed by Mary Phelps, Frederick Fulk, George W. Lawrence, Frederick Young, Orrin Rogers, etc. The Indian Creek schoolhouse was used for about eleven years,
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when it was abandoned for school purposes and a frame schoolhouse was erected at the Broxon corners, on the southwest corner of section 24, on the land of William Jeffries, and was known as the "Red School- house." It was built in 1856, by James T. Bayless, contractor, and Octavius Phelps was the first teacher and held forth in the new building during the winter of 1856-57. In the spring of 1857, a subscription school of three months was taught there by Miss Mary Bowman. Henry C. Crowel was em- ployed to teach the school during the winter term of 1857-58, but after a trial of five or six weeks, he resigned.
After Mr. Crowel resigned Henry Zents came into the neighborhood and held what he called a geography school, holding night sessions, teaching geography by singing the names of states, cities, rivers, etc., as loca- tions would be pointed out on wall maps. Mr. Zents was employed to teach the re- mainder of the winter term and has as successors Mr. Brown, of Roanoke, Amos Shoaff, Octavius Phelps, George Jeffries, Lucinda Christy, John McCampbell, Ruth Jeffries and Nancy Jeffries.
In the summer of 1866, a schoolhouse was built one mile south, and the next sum- mer another was built one mile north of the Red Schoolhouse, and about the same time another was erected one mile east, just across the line in Allen county, which was known as the "College Hill Schoolhouse." These three schoolhouses so divided the former school district that the Red Schoolhouse was vacated for school purposes.
The schoolhouse at "Brimstone Corner," district number six, one mile north of the old Red Schoolhouse, was built by George
Jeffries, trustee, John Hiler being the con- tractor. William Rickey taught the first term of school in the building during the winter of 1867-68, and the house was used for school purposes until the night of De- cember 3, 1873, when it was destroyed by fire. An old log house that stood on the farm of William M. Gillespie was fitted up and the term of school was completed in this primitive building.
During the summer of 1874, a frame schoolhouse was built at Brimstone Cor- ners by Frederick Brock, trustee, and the house is still standing on the original loca- tion and is used by the Free Methodist con- gregation for a house of worship. James E. McDonald taught the first term of school in the new schoolhouse during the winter of 1874-75, and was followed by John A. Price, John P. Hornaday, Alonzo B. Goble, Bar- bara E. Howenstine, R. H. Maring, Arthur M. Gillespie, Althea M. Dunfee, J. Monroe Baker, Horace S. Kaufman and others.
In 1890, the present brick schoolhouse in the district was built by Albert Bush, trustee, John Bennet being the contractor.
I am told that while the old Red School- house was in use by the district, one mile south of the present location, the pupils of that school were never defeated in the spell- ing contests that were so popular in those days, and the good work was continued in the new location, the school seldom, if ever, being "spelled down" by pupils from other districts.
In the fall of 1847, a log schoolhouse, similar to the one on Indian creek, was built in the Maring's settlement, in the western part of the township on the northwest cor- ner of section 30, and William Bell was in-
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stalled as the first teacher and taught a Jennie Raber, J. J. Kyler, Charles O. Brox- school of twenty-five pupils the mysteries of on, O. E. Grant. H. L. Plummer, J. E. North, Miss Allie Cass, Clarence Ihrig, Or- ton L. Dunfee, M. A. Grimes, etc. The school district is known as number ten. the three R's, having but one scholar who advanced to the study of geography and grammar. Mr. Bell was followed by Jane Miller, John Alexander, Milton B. Emerson, etc. After serving its purpose for about ten years, the old log schoolhouse was torn down and replaced by a neat frame build- ing which was used for school purposes for about twenty-five years. William Andrews was the contractor. Some of the teachers who held forth in this building may be men- tioned: Lewis Deems, Mr. Searls, Reuben Houser, Mr. Trembly, Joseph F. McNear, Thomas Austin, Miss Sadie Cobaugh, James C. Knisely, D. V. White, John A. Metzler. Miss Nora Jackson, Joseph Bowers, John W. Brock, Hattie Holt. Solon A. Howen- stine. John Barsh, etc. The building was abandoned for school purposes in 1881.
In the fall of 1881 a two-story brick schoolhouse was erected in the village of Forest, about one mile north of the location of the old schoolhouse. John L. McLaugh- lin was trustee of the township at that time and Benjamin Haurand was the contractor. The first term of school in the new building began on Monday, January 16, 1882, with R. H. Maring, principal, and Miss Mary Raber, primary. The school was conducted as a graded school until the new graded school building was erected at Jefferson Cen- ter in 1901, when the upper room was abandoned and since which time school has been conducted in the lower room only. Among the teachers who have taught in this building may be named: D. V. White, W. E. Murray, Miss Huldah Hatfield. Louis W. Dunfee, Miss Minnie Howenstine, Miss
Some time in the early '50s, a school- house was built about one-half mile north of the present schoolhouse in district num- ber four, in Jefferson township. The build- ing stood on the land of Jonathan Dunfee, in section 17, on the east side of the public highway, was a frame structure and stood with the side to the public road with the door in the south end. Three windows were placed in each side and two in the north end, with a blackboard between the, two end windows. It was a frame structure about twenty by thirty. and the room was furnished with rude desks made of pop- lar lumber. The building was erected by William Andrews, contractor, who also taught the first term of school. He was fol- lowed by William Bell, Rufus King. Re- becca Swain, Reuben Priest. Philander Ginger. Mary S. Truman, Henry C. Crowel, Zephaniah Hadley, Levi W. Bell. Elizabeth Shriner, Nancy Crissinger, Francis M. Ihrig. Elisha Swan, Miss Allie Austin and Miss Sarah Brown.
In early days this building was used for religious meetings and the society known as the Evergreen Bethel Church of God was organized here in 1857, by Rev. David Kep- linger. The old schoolhouse served its pur- pose until in February, 1871, when it was destroyed by fire. William Worden had been unmercifully whipped by the teacher the previous winter for tearing up one of the desks, and for revenge he set the house on fire. As the fire occurred during the
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night, all the books and furniture were sent to other schools, and being further en- destroyed. Had he kept his own counsel, forced by the trustee. Frederick Brock, fa- voring the cross-roads location, made a strong fight and succeeded at an election held to decide the question by popular vote in carrying the day. Worden would perhaps never have been found out, but the joke was too good to keep and he told some of his boy friends which led to his being arrested and lodged in the old jail in Columbia City. He was indicted by the grand jury but managed to make his escape, and Sheriff Miller found him cutting corn for a farmer in the western part of Ohio and brought him back to Columbia City. Worden had his hearing before Judge Lowry at the next term of court and after a good lecture by the judge, he was given his liberty.
When a new schoolhouse to take the place of the one destroyed was to be built. some question was raised as to the location, but the majority prevailed and the trustee, Mr. William Bell, located the house upon the site of the old one and awarded the con- tract to D. C. and S. G. Robbins, who put up a substantial frame building quite similar to the old one except it was larger and stood with the end to the road. Mr. Lewis Bridge taught the first term in the new building during the winter of 1871-72, and Miss Sarah Maring taught the following summer. Miss Rilla Haley was employed to teach the term of the winter of 1872-73 but the school was destined to meet with another mis- fortune; on the evening of Monday, Decem- ber 23, 1872, the building was destroyed by fire.
As the trustee began to make prepara- tions to build another schoolhouse, the ques- tion of location was again raised and those favoring the location at the cross-roads gain- ing a number of recruits by parties being enumerated at this school who had formerly
But the other side would not give up so easily and appealed the case to the county su- perintendent, Prof. A. J. Douglas. Mr. Douglas called a meeting of the patrons of the school and after hearing the evidence and arguments of counsel, Col. I. B. McDon- ald, who had been employed by the parties favoring the cross-roads location, decided that the house should be built on the old location, which ended the matter for the time, but as a compromise it was agreed to build the house on the hill a few rods south of the old location. The contract was awarded to W. H. Jackson for four hundred and fifty dollars, and a frame structure simi- lar to the last one destroyed by fire was erected in the fall of 1873. By volunteer work by the parties favoring that location, a stone wall was placed under the building and some shade trees planted. The build- ing is still in existence and was afterward purchased by Jacob Tschantz and moved to his farm near by and is now used for a store house and shop.
Lewis Bridge again taught the first term of school in the new building and was fol- lowed by Mrs. Maggie Bolts, Pret Swan, Edwin Dickerson, Miss Lou Gregg. George Livenspargar, R. H. Maring. Barbara How- enstine. Mattie Dunfee. May VanU'rder, Levi Bridge, Althea Dunfee, Etta Chaney. Orange Ihrig. Anna Eversole, Jacob C. Raber, Jesse Kyler. Amanda Livenspargar and Clara Braden.
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The schoolhouse in the district was orig- inally known as the Brandenburg school- house, as Eliphalet Brandenburg lived near by, and was one of the principal patrons of the school. The district is number four in Jefferson township, and is now known as the Grace schoolhouse.
During the summer of 1888, the present brick structure in the district was erected by Albert Bush, trustee, and John Bennet, contractor, and the conditions of the district had so changed with the passing of the years that little opposition was met in locating the house at the cross-roads. Lewis W. Dunfee taught the first term of school in the building during the winter of 1888-89, and has been followed by a large number of com- petent and worthy teachers, Emmett Bridge holding the fort there at the present time.
tion 2, where the present school building in the district stands. Otho Clark was the trustee and the contract was let to George Hupp for six hundred and fifty dollars.
The next teacher to follow Mr. Rickey, during the winter of 1870-71, was Albert Smith, of Roanoke, who taught only three weeks, when he was taken sick and died. William Corey, of Allen county, was em- ployed to complete the term of school and owing to the delay caused by the sickness and death of Mr. Smith and securing a new teacher the term did not close until Satur- day, April 1, 1871. Some of the teachers to follow Mr. Corey in after years at that place were Frank P. Emerson, Edwin Dick- erson, James R. Simon, Minnie Howenstine, Estella Ihrig, etc.
In 1886, James W. Burwell, trustee, built the present brick schoolhouse in the district, Benjamin Haurand being the contractor. D. V. White taught the first term of school in the new building and was followed by Sherman Byall, M. L. Stephens, Mattie Ky- ler, Annie Kreig, etc. The old house was moved to the back part of the lot and for a number of years was used for a woodhouse for the school.
About the year 1856, the settlers living in the vicinity of what is now school dis- trict number one, in Jefferson township, de- siring that their children should have some opportunity to acquire an education, the proper steps were taken to secure a build- ing in which school could be kept. Accord- ingly a small frame building was erected about eighty rods west of the location of the present school building in the district, The history of the schoolhouse in district number two in Jefferson township begins with the erection of a log schoolhouse about seventy rods west of the present schoolhouse in the district, in 1855. The people of the community volunteered most of the work and Minerod Shinbeckler and Samuel Barger received thirty dollars for the car- penter work. Thomas Neal was trustee at that time and Henry C. Crowel taught the first term of school in the building during on the south side of the public road on the land of James Clark. The first teacher to hold forth in the new building was Margaret Rhodes, who was followed by Esther Oman, Mary Hartzel, Lucy Manning, James Bay- less, Miss White, Miss Bechtel, William Rickey, Caroline Oliver, Cynthia Allen, James M. Hatfield, etc. The old school- house served its purpose until 1869, when a new frame building was erected at the cross-roads on the southeast corner of sec- the winter of 1855-56. This primitive
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school building was used for school purposes for about seven years and besides Mr. Crow- el, Rebecca Swain, Margaret Lawrence and several others conducted terms of school there.
In 1861, a frame schoolhouse was erected at the cross-roads, on the southeast corner of section 4. Chancy Hadley was trustee at that time and also the contractor who erected the building, having had it bid off by a man by the name of Miller, over several competitors. Gerosha Page, Matilda Page, Ann Smith, Belle Steel, Joseph Clark, Philip Treichler, John Haley, Crawford L. Cotton, Arthur C. Fast, Charles McDonald and Al- bert Bush were among the teachers who wielded the birch over the youths in the said building from 1862 to 1879. Albert Bush taught the last term in the building during the winter of 1878-79. After the house was abandoned for school purposes, it was sold to Isaac Kime, who moved it to his farm and it is still in use as a dwelling- house.
In 1879, the present brick schoolhouse in the district was built by Messrs. Leitizer & Hildebrand, contractors, Leitizer doing the brick work and Hildebrand the carpenter work. Henry Vogeley was trustee. The patrons of the district hauled the brick gra- tuitously, and the building did not cost the township over one thousand dollars. Al- bert Bush taught the first term of school in the new building during the winter of 1879- 80, and was followed by Daniel Haley, Newton F. Watson, Jacob C. Raber, etc.
In writing the history of the school in district number eight, in Jefferson township, commonly known as the "Fair Oak School." it must be stated that the first effort to pro- vide for the education of the children in the
community was the erection of a frame building for school purposes, one mile south of the present location, just across the line in Huntington county, which was known as the Huffman schoolhouse. The building was erected in the summer of 1861, William Truax being the contractor and Sarah Jef- fries taught the first term of school in the building. After being used for school pur- poses for about ten years, it was vacated and is now used as a dwelling-house by John Hart, having been moved some distance west and north of the original location. Of the teachers who followed Miss Jeffries may be mentioned Julia Morrison, M. L. Ste- phens, Lewis Bridge, etc.
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