USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 44
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In the summer of 1871, a frame school- house was built one mile north of the Huff- man schoolhouse, on the southwest corner of section 27, by William Bell, trustee, and William Truax, contractor. This school be- came district number eight, and the building was christened "Fair Oak," presumably be- cause it was located in a forest of magnifi- cent oak trees. Miss Emma Corkins taught the first term of school in the new building during the winter of 1871-72, and she was followed by Theodore Aker, Levi Bridge, William McKinley. A. I. Montz, W. E. Cal- lison and others. In 1887, the old frame schoolhouse was abandoned for school pur- poses, was moved some distance north and is used as a dwelling-house. The same year the present brick schoolhouse in the district was built by James W. Burwell, trustee, and J. C. Cheney, contractor, since which time a large number of teachers have held forth in the building, Fred Dunfee being the efficient and popular instructor there at the present writing.
Some time during the latter '50s, a log
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building was erected about thirty rods south of the cross roads where the schoolhouse in district number three, in Jefferson township, . now stands. The building stood on the west side of the public road on Henry C. Crowel's land and was intended for a schoolhouse but for some reason was never so used, the few children in the vicinity going either to the Brandenburg school, about one and one-half miles south, or one and three-fourths miles east to the Kiser school. A few years after the building of the log house, a frame school- house was erected on the southeast corner of section 6 and was known as "Crowel's Schoolhouse," Henry C. Crowel being the first teacher. During the summer and fall of 1877, the present brick schoolhouse in the district was built by Henry Vogely, trustee. The old schoolhouse was sold to Henry C. Crowel and is still in use as a dwelling-house.
The first schoolhouse at Jefferson Center, in district number five, was a small frame building erected about 1858. This building was known as the "Town House," and here the elections for the township were held. In 1874, this old house was abandoned for school purposes and was sold to Jacob Berry, who moved it across the road and for many years it was used as a dwelling-house. It is still in existence and is used by Eston Gilliam for a shop, summer kitchen, etc. The same year, 1874, a frame schoolhouse was erected by Frederick Brock, trustee. It was a large and substantial building, the best school-building in the township at that time. During the winter of 1888-89, this house was destroyed by fire, and during the summer of 1889, a substantial brick school- house was built for the district by Albert Bush, trustee, which served its purpose until
it was torn down to give place to the present high-school building, which was erected in the summer and fall of 1901, by Lewis W. Dunfee, trustee.
Elections were held at Jefferson Center schoolhouse until 1882, when the township was divided into two election precincts, which are known as East and West Jeffer- son precincts. Elections in the east precinct have always been held at the schoolhouse in district number six, and in the west precinct they were held at the schoolhouse in the village of Forest until 1890, after which they were held at the schoolhouse in dis- trict number four until 1898. since which time they have been held at the schoolhouse in the village again.
In the year 1862, the people living in the vicinity of what is now school district num- ber nine, petitioned the township trustees to erect a schoolhouse for their accommodation. Accordingly, the trustee put up a frame building on the southeast corner of section 29, on the land of Jacob Y. Goodyear. one mile east of the location of the present schoolhouse in the district. After a few years some of the patrons of the school liv- ing in the vicinity of the cross-roads, one mile west of the schoolhouse, circulated a pe- tition asking that the house be moved to the said cross-roads. These patrons by quietly and secretly presenting their petition to per- sons only who favored the move, succeeded in getting the desired order and proceeded to move the building before those who were opposed to the house being moved knew "where they were at." Henry Swan was teaching there at the time and the house was placed on rollers and started on its journey westward while the school was in
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session. The cunningness with which the movers proceeded and the further fact that the work of moving the house was com- menced on the 2d day of February, gave the school a name that has clung to it to the present day and it has ever since been known as "Ground Hog Schoolhouse." The schoolhouse remained in the new location, serving its purpose until 1878, when it was replaced by the present brick building. The old house was sold to James Tumbleson, who moved it some rods north of the cross- roads and used it for a dwelling-house in which capacity it is used to-day by Charles White.
The beginning of the history of the school in district number seven. in Jefferson township, was the erection of a hewed-log building for school purposes, on the north- east corner of the Hine farm in section 34, in the year 1856. The building was about twenty-four by twenty-six covered with hand-made shingles and furnished with the proverbial slab benches with no backs. The house was known as the "Swamp School- honse," so named because there were so many swamps in the vicinity.
In the year 1866, this old house was abandoned for school purposes and the same year a neat frame schoolhouse was erected on the southeast corner of section 26, one mile south of the Saturn postoffice and one mile east and one and one-half miles north of the old log schoolhouse. William Mc- Laughlin taught the first term of school in the new building and it is said that he named the house the "Fenian Schoolhouse," on ac- count of its being located in an Irish settle- ment and many of the patrons took a deep interest in the "Fenian" movement at that time.
During the summer of 1885. Joseph B. Plummer, trustee, built the present brick schoolhouse for the district.
In 1862. a frame schoolhouse was built at the southwest corner of Jefferson town- ship, just across the line in Huntington coun- ty. This school was established for the ac- commodation of a number of families living in the vicinity ; four townships were repre- sented and it was known as the "County Line School." Among the families repre- sented were those of John Lyons, upon whose land the building stood. John Rich- ert, Christian Shepper, Baltzer Koontz, Jacob Van Dorsen and others.
The school became one of the most ad- vanced of the country schools of that day, having a number of pupils in studies not then included in common school work, in- cluding algebra, physiology, United States history, etc. About fifteen years ago the house was abandoned for school purposes. was sold to Roscoe A. Kaufman and moved to his farm near by and is used for a dwell- ing-house.
Previous to the building of this school- house. Samuel Clark had taught a term of school in an old log house that stood on the northeast corner of the cross-roads at that place, in Jefferson township. Mr. Clark also taught a term of school in a log house that stood on the land of Otho Clark, about three-fourths of a mile south of the said cross-roads, in Huntington county.
Many years ago a schoolhouse was built on the west side of the county line road in Jefferson township, about two miles south of the present town of Dunfee, in the Kelsey neighborhood. The house was used for school purposes for a number of years and among the teachers who taught there was
+
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George Jeffries and Abbott Green, both of whom afterward served as township trustee. On the re-arrangement of the school dis- tricts in the township, this schoolhouse was vacated for school purposes, but the building . is still in existence as a dwelling-house.
EARLY PREACIIERS.
Following in the wake of the tide of em- igration came the early circuit riders and ministers of nearly every religious denomi- nation, who sought out and united in spirit the scattered members and friends of their churches wherever they could be found and held services at the settlers' cabins, in the log schoolhouses or often assembled their con- gregations in one of "God's first temples." Probably the first preaching in the township was in 1846, by Zachariah Garrison, who held services at Zephaniah Bell's in the Maring settlement and also at William Davenport's on the farm now owned by Wil- liam Yohe in section 5. Part of the time he was assisted in his labors by Rev. Mr. Worth. At that time Mr. Garrison was a Methodist minister, but he afterward sev- ered his connection with that church and became a minister of the Church of God. He was a very forcible speaker and when he warmed to his subject it was impossible for any of the congregation to go to sleep. Zephaniah Bell also preached some about this time. He was a minister of the Wesleyan Methodist church.
Milton Haun, a Methodist minister, com- menced preaching at the log schoolhouse on Indian creek in the spring of 1849. The following summer a class was organized, which was probably the first religious or-
ganization in the township. Daniel Berry, who is still living in the township, was the first class-leader, which position he retained for nearly fifty years. In the fall of 1849, Haun was succeeded in the work by James Elrod, who held services there monthly for one year. He also preached in the Maring settlement, where soon after a class was organized, but it disbanded after a few years.
For some reason, Elrod named the place "Sodom," and the name clung to the commu- nity for many years. The Methodists have had three or four organizations in the town- ship, but at the present time they have only one. For many years they held services at the Jefferson Center schoolhouse and in the summer of 1895 they erected a neat brick church at Sand Bank cemetery, one mile north of the center of the township. This church is known as "Jefferson Chapel" and was erected at a cost of abont one thou- sand five hundred dollars. Some of the ministers who have served the congregation since the building of the church, are Revs. Barton, Calkins, Hollipeter, Woodruff, etc.
The first church building in Jefferson township was what was known as the "Al- bright Church," on the county line on the southeast corner of section 32. This church is a frame building, thirty-eight by fifty. and was built in 1867. The society had been organized a number of years before the building of the church by Rev. Fisher, an Evangelical or Albright minister, at the residence of Jacob Myers, in Huntington county. The following named persons were among the charter members: Jacob Myers and wife, William Cormany and wife, Ben- jamin Rupert and wife, Jonathan Dustman, Hiram Dustman, William Smith, etc., all
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of Huntington county. After being used by the Evangelical denomination for a num- ber of years, the church building passed into the hands of the United Brethren denomina- tion and is now used by the Radical wing of that church. Rev. Migrant was their last regular minister.
The first Catholic services in the town- ship were held at Mr. Hine's, in an early day, by Father Fowler, of Fort Wayne, and chapel exercises were held monthly for many years at Mr. Blee's in the southeastern part of the township. Of those who succeeded Father Fowler, were Fathers Fox, Shaffey and Harkman.
For a number of years before the organi- zation of the Church of God in the township, David Keplinger, of that denomination, preached irregularly at Maring settlement and other places in the township and in 1857 he organized a church of twenty members at Brandenburg's schoolhouse, in school dis- trict number four. He was followed by Revs. Komp, Slyter, Thomas, Andrews, Sands, Bryan, Shock, Garrison, Croy and others. In 1868, the organization, assisted by the community at large, completed the Evergreen Bethel church, at the cemetery on section 18, which is still standing and was the second church building erected in the township.
About the time of the organization of the Church of God at the Brandenburg schoolhouse, a church of that denomination was organized at the residence of William B. Callison, on section 32, by Elder Fred- erick Komp. Of the charter members of this society the following are remembered : William B. Callison and wife, William W. Callison and wife, Robert L. Pence and wife, Michael Roney and wife and John Callison.
Of the ministers who served the society in its infancy may be mentioned : David Kep- linger, George Thomas, Zachariah Garrison, Henry A. Croy and others. After the build- ing of what was known as the Callison schoolhouse on the southeast corner of sec- . tion 29; in 1862, the society held their meet- ings there. In the summer of 1874, the so- ciety erected a frame church building, twenty-eight by thirty-eight, three-fourths of a mile west of the location of the said school- house, at a cost of nine hundred dollars. The house was named "Sugar Grove Church." After being used by the Church of God for about thirty years, the society disbanded and sold the building to the Free Methodists, who repaired the house, erected a belfry and re-dedicated the church. Rev. Mathews is their minister at the present time.
The Free Methodists also have an or- ganization in the eastern part of the town- ship and in 1890 they purchased the old schoolhouse at district number six, which they have since used as a house of worship. Revs. Cottrell, Loring, Galloway and others have served the society.
The Christians, or Disciples, desiring to be known only as Churches of Christ, have two prosperous organizations in Jefferson township with good buildings. The first preaching by ministers of this church in the township was by G. B. Mullis, of Logan- sport, Indiana, on the first Sunday in June, 1855. August 2, 1858, an organization of twenty-two members was instituted at the "Red Schoolhouse," in the Broxon neigh- borhood by William Dowling. The first officers were, elders, Samuel Braden and James Broxon ; deacons, William Jeffries and Daniel Swisher. In 1874, the church
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building in the eastern part of the township was built at a cost of one thousand five hun- dred dollars. It has since been repaired and is known as the "Saturn Christian Church." Since its organization there have been at least two hundred and thirty mem- bers enrolled and at present there is an en- rollment of sixty members. Of those who have ministered to the congregation the fol- lowing is a partial list: George W. Chap- man. James Hadsel, William Dowling. Z. W. Shepherd, B. W. Hendryx, Aaron Walk- er, Charles B. Austin, T. H. McCormack. T. M. Barnau, P. Hasty, O. A. Newton, J. W. Hunt. H. M. Lambert, William Dunkle- berger, Daniel Dunkleberger, J. H. Lacy. S. C. Hummel, J. M. Pyle, John W. Hayes, John H. Clark and A. M. Gillespie.
In 1858 William Dowling began preach- ing at the Maring schoolhouse in the western part of the township and during the same year organized a church of twenty members at that place. Regular services were main- tained there until 1878, when the frame building in present use in the village of Forest was completed at a cost of three thou- sand dollars. The first officers of the church were, elders: John P. Alexander and Lewis Deems: deacons: John Ihrig and Nehe- miah Gaskill. At present the church has a membership of about sixty.
This denomination also has an organi- zation at Walnut Grove schoolhouse in Union township, which was organized in June. 1903, with twenty-five charter mem- bers. The first officers were, elders, Charles Shaw and Charles Beeching : dea- cons, Samuel Harshbarger and D. Spangle.
The United Brethren held services at Maring's schoolhouse at an early day and also organized a church there. Regular
services were maintained and in the summer of 1875 they built a substantial frame church a few rods north of the site of the old schoolhouse, in Washington township. Among the early ministers who served this church may be mentioned : Revs. Thomas. Seathman, Wood, Clark, Martin, Cummins, etc. Rev. Spitler is the pastor of the church at the present time.
The Christian (New Light) church at Dunfee in Jefferson township, was first or- ganized in a log schoolhouse on the land of Daniel W. Holt. in Union township, Oc- tober 29, 1854. The charter members were: Daniel W. Holt and wife, Samuel Whistler and wife, William C. Morse and wife, David S. Morse and wife, Polly Fos- ter, Eliza Lake and Nancy Tousley. Rev. Peter Winebrenner was the first pastor and was followed by James Atchison, Philip Ziegler, William Manville, C. V. Strickland and others. In 1872, this society erected a frame church one and one-half miles south of Coesse, in Union township, In 1892, this church was torn down and moved to the town of Dunfee and re-built on the west side of the county line road in Jefferson township. The church is in a prosperous condition and maintains regular preaching.
In early times, the strife between the different religious denominations was almost equal to their combined efforts against the bulwarks of sin. This opposition finally culminated in an oral debate on the subject of water baptism, between Rev. Hugh Wells, of the English Lutheran church, and Rev. Aaron Walker, of the Disciple church, which was held in Edward Beckley's barn. The exact date of the debate could not be learned but it was sometime in the '50s.
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THE BARKDALL MURDER.
One of the events that attracted the at- tention of the people of Whitley county a generation ago was the Barkdall murder, that occurred in Jefferson township in 1871. Henry Barkdall, Sr., was born in Wurtem- berg, Germany, October 15, 1805 ; was mar- ried there and in the year 1839. he emigrated to America. He first settled in Stark coun- ty, Ohio, three miles east of Canal Fulton, where he remained about ten years as a rent- er on a small farm. He then moved to In- diana and first settled in Marshall county. In 1865 he came to Whitley county and settled in the southeast part of Jefferson township, in section 26. At the time of the murder the family consisted of Mr. Bark- dall, his wife, who had been blind in both eyes for a number of years, a married son, Henry Barkdall, Jr., and his wife, Char- lotte; two married daughters resided in Ohio.
son had gone to a neighbor's, Mr. Price's, to get some cabbage plants and when he came home his father told him that his mother was dead and his wife had gone to inform the neighbors. It is said that when some of the neighbors arrived they found the old man reading his German Bible, some of whom he told that the old woman had ha:l one of her spells again and that it had taken her off this time. To others he said that she had fallen down stairs.
Dr. John B. Firestone, of Larwill, was county coroner at that time and a coroner's jury was impaneled and sat on the case. After investigating the case, the jury brought in a verdict finding that Catharine Barkdall had met her death by injuries re- ceived at the hands of the said Henry Bark- dall, Sr., and that the said Henry Barkdall was guilty of murder in the first degree. Dr. D. G. Linvill, of Columbia City, and Dr. F. M. Ihrig. of Coesse, a young physi- cian just beginning to practice, held a post mortem examination which clearly showed that the deceased had come to her death by violence.
Mr. Barkdall was a man of very violent temper and on the evening of Tuesday, May 16, 1871, he came in from milking the cows and in straining the milk, he spilled some on Mr. Barkdall was at once arrested and placed in the old jail in Columbia City to await the action of the grand jury. Jacob W. Miller was sheriff at that time. When the grand jury met in November, they promptly indicted Mr. Barkdall for the mur- der of his wife and he was tried at the No- vember. 1871, term of the Whitley circuit court, before Hon. Robert Lowry, judge. The jury was composed of the following named citizens of the county : Levi Adams. who was foreman, Jacob Nickey, John Ho- sack. Charles Ruch. Jacob Cramer, William the floor. Flying into a violent rage, he kicked the table over and broke some of the dishes. He then ordered his wife to pick up the pieces. Being blind, she got down on her knee and began feeling around on the floor, which seemed to increase the old man's rage and he began to kick and beat her in a most brutal manner, continuing un' she died from the effects. The daughter-in- law being present, was a witness to the at fair and Barkdall afterward told her that if she would not tell that he had abused his wife, he would get her something nice. The H. Widup, William A. Clark, Isaac Cox.
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Calvin T. Heaton, Benjamin Kiser, Frank Alwein and John Orr.
Hon. Joseph S. Daily, district attorney at that time, assisted by Hon. A. Y. Hooper and Hon. C. B. Tully, prosecuted the case, while Hon. John Colerick, Col. I. B. Mc- Donald and Louis Newberger defended Mr. Barkdall. The trial began on Saturday morning. November II, 1871, and lasted four days. The jury, after being out about one hour, returned a verdict finding Bark- dall guilty of murder in the second degree and fixing his punishment at imprisonment for life. It seemed that the coroner's jury believed him guilty of murder in the first degree while the petit jury could only make it second.
Mr. Barkdall was taken to Michigan City by Sheriff Miller on Friday, Novem- ber 17, 1871, where he lived only a few years. It is said that he was trusty while at prison, was let come and go at will and one morning he was found dead in his cell, lying on his back with his hands folded across his breast.
Mrs. Barkdall, the murdered woman, was buried in the Broxon cemetery, on the southeast corner of section 23, in Jefferson township.
TIIE SINGER MURDER.
One of the most sensational murders that ever occurred in northern Indiana was that of George M. Singer, who was found murdered on the morning of September 17, 1895, at his residence at Dunfee, Indiana, a little village on the line between Whitley and Allen counties, on the Nickel Plate Rail- road, ten miles west of Fort Wayne.
Mr. Singer came to Dunfee some time in 1882, soon after the completion of the railroad, and conducted a general store in which he also kept the postoffice. He was rather an eccentric character and at the time of the murder was living alone, sleeping in a room above his store. He had been mar- ried but was divorced from his wife. Two daughters, Mrs. Nora Northop and Lilllie Singer, lived in Paulding county, Ohio.
Mr. Singer was a very active member of the organization known as the "A. P. A.," and was very outspoken in the advocacy of the peculiar doctrines of that order. But notwithstanding his eccentricities, Mr. Sing- er was held in high esteem generally by the people of the community in which he lived and did business. At the time of his death he was about seventy-three years of age.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 17, 1895, A. D. Whitman, the night opera- tor at Dunfee, noticed a ladder leaning against the building below the window of the room in which Mr. Singer slept, and upon investigation, Mr. Singer was found dead, lying upon his bed, his hands and feet se- curely tied, and a strip which had been torn froma bed sheet was twisted around his neck. Indications were that he had been knocked senseless, as the murderers supposed, with a heavy hickory club, and had been tied so that he could not give the alarm when he revived. But the blow had been harder evidently than was intended and death had resulted. The club was found on the bed and was afterward exhibited at the trial. Evidently robbery had been the object, but no evidence was found that more than a small amount of money had been taken, though there were some who always believed
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that Mr. Singer had more money in his murderers of Mr. Singer, were arrested at possession than was at first supposed. The Fort Wayne, and on Saturday, October 19th, they were brought to Columbia City and had a hearing before Benjamin F. Menaugh, jus- tice of the peace, who bound them over to the circuit court. murderer or murderers had entered the old man's room through the window by means of the ladder above mentioned, and had descended to the room below by means of a stairway. The old ladder was a very rick- ety affair and had been brought from a slaughter-house nearly a mile away. It was afterward on exhibition at G. B. Widdi- field's jewelry store in Columbia City, and also figured in the trial. Witnesses who had seen the ladder on the morning of the discovery of the murder, swore that it had been cut off so that it would be of proper length to reach the window, but it had evi- dently been "doctored" as the ladder exhib- ited at the trial did not bear out the testimony.
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