USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Richmond > Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County, Volume I Pt. 1 > Part 9
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The township lies in the southern tier and is the central one, it being seven miles to the western line of the county and six
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miles to the eastern line. It is bounded on the north by Center township and a corner of Boston; on the east by Boston town- ship; on the south by Union county and one mile of Fayette, and on the west by Washington township. It has an area of 14,080 acres.
Among the early industries established was a carding ma- chine. erected at the mouth of the Elkhorn by Richard Sedgwick and Smith Hunt. A carding and fulling mill was erected by John Brower, about 1824, and the first grist mill was erected on the east fork of White Water, a little below the mouth of the Elkhorn, in 1808.
One of the earliest villages of the county, Bethlehem, was lo- cated on the southwest corner of section 24, but it ceased to exist long ago.
Abington. on the west bank of the east fork of the White Water river, was laid out, in 1817. by John and Joseph Cox. It was platted Dec. 5. and the certificate of the survey was recorded Nov. 5. 1818. The first merchant in Abington was Moses Cox. A saw mill was built by Thomas Manning. The first wagon maker was John Gilbert; the first resident physician that practiced in the township was W. J. Matchett, in 1828. The first church to be established was the Methodist Episcopal, which was organized at an early date; the United Brethren was organized about 1818.
BOSTON TOWNSHIP.
Boston township lies in the southeast corner of the county and was formed from Wayne township in 1835. It was very early settled. Peter Weaver settled in the northwest part of the town- ship in 1807; John Collins also settled in the limits of the town- ship in the same year. Among other early settlers were James Lamb (a native of Scotland), Aaron Martin, Jackson Rambo. Abraham Gaar. Lazarus Whitehead. Hugh Cull, Isaac Beeson, Robert Grimes, Wright Lancaster, Fielding Gaar, William Wil- liams, Daniel Hart, Jesse Davenport, William Jones, Jacob Kees- ling, Joshua Benton, James Ilolman, John Jordan, Daniel Shaf- fer, William Ilolman, Thomas Wyatt, John Miller, Isaac Esteb, Joel Moore, and Samuel Jobe. The first grist mill was built by Charles Hunt, in 1807, about a mile above the mouth of the Elk- horn. A Baptist church was formed in 1806 or 1807, and the first preacher was Lazarus Whitehead. The Friends formed a society soon after the Baptists and built a log meeting house about two
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and one-fourth miles north of Boston. A Methodist Episcopal church was established about 1807 or 1808, and Hugh Cull, men- tioned above, was a Methodist minister.
The town of Boston was laid out and the plat and survey re- corded in 1832.
The township is bounded on the north by Wayne township, on the east by the Ohio State line, on the south by Union county and on the west by Abington and a portion of Center township. The southeast part of the township is nearly level. On each side of the Elkhorn for two miles it is hilly.
CENTER TOWNSHIP.
Center township was formed in August. 1817. One of the first settlers in the limits of the township was Daniel Noland, for whom Noland's Fork was named. He settled about four miles southwest of Centerville. The township is watered principally by Noland's Fork and its-tributaries. Other early settlers were Isaac Julian, Nathan Overman, Thomas McCoy, Joseph W. Jackson, Robert Commons, Caleb Jackson, Greenbury Cornelius, Axium Elliott. Joseph Holman, Walter Roberts, Joseph Overman, Jacob Griffin, John Maxwell, Jolm King, Henry Bryan, Isaac Wilson, John Smith, John C. Kibbey, Jacob Brooks, Benjamin Maudlin, and James Thompson. It is impossible to enumerate all the names of the early settlers of the township, but comprehensive lists may be obtained from the earlier histories of the county.
The first saw mill in the township was built about 1817, three miles north of Centerville, and Noland's Fork served as a favorable place for the location of a number of mills. The oldest existing town in the county is Centerville, mention of which is made in other parts of this history. The town was laid out in 1814 and early became a center of activity in the eastern part of Indiana.
The Friends' church at West Grove in this township was organized in 1815. This meeting was situated about three miles northwest of Centerville. Not many years later a Baptist church and a Methodist Episcopal church were organized.
CLAY TOWNSHIP.
Clay township is bounded on the north by Perry and Green townships, on the east by Green and Center townships, on the south by Center and Harrison townships, and on the west by Har-
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rison and Jefferson townships. The township was first organized in 1831, and few settlers located within its limits before the war of 1812. James Martindale, of North Carolina, is said to have been the first settler. Other early settlers were Jonas Hatfield (of Ken- tucky), Abel Jenny, Jesse Albertson, William Fox, Miles Murphy, John Baldwin, James Porter, William Ball, and Jonathan Cloud.
A large number of the settlers came from North Carolina. The first grist mill was built about the year 1815, and during the war of 1812 a block house was built north of the present town of Green's Fork. A Friends' meeting house was built within the limits of the township as early as 1813 or 1814, and the Methodist Episcopal church was organized about ISIS. The town of Wash- ington was laid out in 1818.
DALTON TOWNSIIIP.
Dalton township is located in the northwestern portion of the county. It is next to the smallest township in the county, with an area of sixteen square miles. It was formed from Perry town- ship in 1847. The land was nearly all west of the Twelve Mile Purchase and consequently was not ready for sale to settlers be- fore 1822. Among the earliest settlers was Aquilla West. Soon after came James Lindley, Seth Mills, Joseph Davis, Isaac Beeson, Isaac Reynolds, Charles Burroughs, Henry Thornburgh, and others. Most of the settlers came from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, and many of them were Quakers. The town of Dalton was laid out in 1827 or 1828. The first store in the town- ship was kept by Aaron Mills, and the first grist mill was built near Lindley's farm, in 1824 or 1825, by Charles Stout.
The town of Franklin was laid out about 1830. The first church in the township was the Friends,' which was established in 1825 or 1826. It was followed by the United Brethren, Methodists and Baptists.
FRANKLIN TOWNSIIIP.
Franklin township is in the northeastern corner of Wayne county ; it is bounded on the east by the State of Ohio, on the north by Randolph county. It was formed from New Garden township, in May, 1834 Isaac Commons, of North Carolina, is believed to have been the first settler. He was soon followed by Robert Mor- risson, John Nicholson, Barnabus Boswell, and Isaac Hiatt. The settlers were somewhat exposed during the war of 1812, but after
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the war the progress of settlement was more rapid. The first mill in the township was a saw mill, built about 1817 by William Star- buck, and the first church in the township was the Friends'.
The town of White Water was first called Hillsborough and was platted about 1828.
GREEN TOWNSHIP'.
Green township is the middle one, east and west, in the north tier of townships. It was formed in August, 1821, and contains about thirty square miles. It was named for an Indian, John Green, and the principal stream in the township is called Green's Fork. John Lewis, from North Carolina, settled here in 1810 and is recognized as the first settler. Other early settlers were John Green, Daniel Charles, Henry Study, Charles Spencer, Henry Catey, and Anthony Chamness.
The first grist mill was built about 1818. The Baptists prob- ably formed the first church in the township, which was organized in 1818. At least two forts anad block houses were built in the township during the war of 1812. The town of Williamsburg was platted in 1830.
HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
Harrison township was organized in 1843. It is bounded on the north by Jefferson and Clay townships, on the east by Clay and Center, on the south by Center and Jackson, and on the west by Jackson and Jefferson. It was first settled, in the spring of 1811, by Samuel Boyd, of Tennessee. During the winter and spring of 1812 several other settlers came, but on the outbreak of the war of 1812 a number of them left. Among the early settlers were Jesse Beard, Thomas Ray, William Irving, John McKee, Robert Leavell, Joseph Worl, James Dougherty, Thomas J. War- man, Joseph Shanks, and John Ilolliday.
The first grist mill is said to have been built as early as 1812, and the town of Jacksonburg was platted in 1814.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
Jackson township was one of the original townships which was organized after Indiana became a State and was formed in February, 1817. The township lies on the west side of the coun- ty, and within its limits are located Cambridge City, Dublin, and
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Germantown. The earliest settlement within the limits of the township was made, probably about 1800, by John Shortridge. from Kentucky. William G. Reynolds, from Ohio, and Isaiah Drury came in 1811. In the west part of the township many of the settlers came from North Carolina. Germantown was originally platted in 1827 and was then named Georgetown. Vandalia, a town not now in existence, was laid out in 1824. Dublin was laid out by Harmon Davis in 1830. A female seminary was started in 1835 and the Dublin Academy was established in 1837.
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
Jefferson township lies on the west line of the county and was formed in March, 1834, from the townships of Jackson on the south and Perry on the north. Some of the best lands in the coun- ty lie in this township, the west branch of the White Water nearly dividing it in equal parts.
One of the earliest settlers was Samuel Baldridge. from Ken- tucky, who came to the township in 1814. Jonathan Platts, from New Jersey, early settled here also. Among other early settlers were David and Aaron Miller, Benjamin Parsons, Joseph Bowen, Samuel Reprogle, Isaac Stonebreaker, David Burkett, Jacob, Jolin and Henry Crull. Hugh Allen, William Felton, Samuel Gibson, and John McCullough.
The first grist mill was built on Nettle creek by Daniel Bur- kett. Hagerstown was first laid off in 1830 and was called Eliza- bethtown. In 1832 it was replatted and renamed Ilagerstown. The Dunkard or German Baptist church was organized about 1824 and still maintains a large congregation.
NEW GARDEN TOWNSHIP.
New Garden township was organized in 1817 and is one of the six original townships of the county. It is bounded on the east by Franklin township, on the south by Wayne and Center town- ships, on the west by Green township and on the north by Ran- dolph county. A large proportion of the early settlers were Friends and were from North Carolina. The township received its name from the New Garden Meeting in Guilford county. North Carolina.
John Turner and Jonathan Marine were among the first -et- there and came from North Carolina about 1800 or 1810 Among
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the early settlers who followed them were Jonathan Ilough. George Shugart, James and Joseph Dwiggins, Benjamin. John, Stephen and Isaac Thomas, Edward and Thomas Baldwin. Jo- seph Bond. William and Isaac Jessup. Andrew, Abraham and Jacob Hampton, Daniel Crampton. John Baldwin. Isaac Williams, Obediah Harris. Francis Thomas, Cader and Josiah Woodard, James Moorman, William and John Lacey, and Thomas, Jedediah and Edward Price. Among the early settlers of old Newport, now Fountain City, were Dr. Henry II. Way, Levi Coffin. Samuel Nixon, Joel Parker, Harvey Davis, Caleb Cowgill, and Jonathan Elam and Pleasant Unthank. The early settlers of Newport were mainly a positive, determined class of people, standing for modern reform.
The township has a great deal of very excellent land. Foun- tain City was laid out in 1818 and was first called New Garden ; it was renamed Newport in 1834 and Fountain City in 1878. The first church in the township was the Friends' church, organized in 1813, and named New Garden Meeting.
PERRY TOWNSHIP.
Perry township was also one of the original six townships into which the county was divided after the adoption of the State Constitution. Most of the early settlers came from Tennessee and North Carolina and were Friends. It is bounded on the north by Randolph county, on the east by Green township, on the south by Clay and Jefferson townships and on the west by Dalton and Jefferson townships. The land is well situated for agricultural purposes. It was first settled about 1814, and among the early families were those of James Warren, Richard Williams, John Bailey. William Blount, and Thomas Lamb.
A saw mill was built in the township as early as 1819 and a tannery was established about 1825. Charles Osborn removed from Tennessee to Ohio in 1816, and in 1819 settled in this town- ship. He laid out the town of Economy in 1825. It is located al- most in the center of Perry township, as now formed.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Washington township lies in the southwestern corner of Wayne county and was established in 1817. The surface is variable, being broken by the White Water and its tributaries. Thomas Symonds was probably the first settler. He arrived in the limits of the township in December. 1811. It is said that he
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and his wife were much annoyed by Indian beggars and wild animals that approached their cabin by night and by day. Ben- jamin Beeson, from North Carolina, settled south of the present town of Milton in 1814, and in 1811 Thomas Beard, from North Carolina, settled southeast of the present town of Milton.
Milton was laid out by John Bell in 1824, and in 1825 the town contained eight families. In the early history of the county it was one of the enterprising business centers and was an important point on the old White Water canal. The Methodist Episcopal church probably formed the first religious organization, as early as 1818, but about 1819 the Friends established a church and named it Milford Meeting.
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
Wayne township was one of the two townships into which Wayne county was divided when it was organized into a county, in 1810. At that time Wayne county covered all of Union and a part of Fayette, Henry and Randolph counties, in addition to the present Wayne county. The township is now the largest in the county.
As the first settlement of Wayne county was within the limits of this township, and as Richmond is located in the township, the reader is referred to the chapter on the carly history of Wayne county and of Richmond.
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.
Webster township is the youngest and the smallest township in the county. Joseph and Rachel Bond moved from North Caro- lina and settled near the present town of Webster, in 1811. Other early settlers were Willis Whitson, Isaac Jessup, Samuel Bond, Joseph Personette, and Thomas Culbertson. The town of Webster was laid out about 1850. The community had generally been known as Dover, because of the Friends' Meeting, called the Dover Meeting, which was organized in 1821. . A Friends' school was also established here about the same time.
OLD COURT HOUSE SITE AT SALISBURY
BIRTHPLACE OF OLIVER P MORTON
CRAPTER VII.
COUNTY SEAT HISTORY.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY-FIRST COURT-COUNTY SEAT ESTABLISHIED AT SALISBURY-REMOVAL TO CENTERVILLE-SEMINARY OF WAYNE COUNTY-BEMOVAAL OF COUNTY SEAT TO BICHMOND-RESUME.
Wayne county was organized in IS10. It was composed of that part of Dearborn county lying east of the Twelve Mile Pur- chase and between the north and south lines of the new county, together with that portion of the Purchase lying between those lines. Only that portion lying east of the Twelve Mile Purchase was then the property of the General Government and offered for sale to the settlers. The Twelve Mile Purchase was land pur- chased from the Indians, in ISog, and was not surveyed and ready for sale until 1811. The strip west of the Purchase was not ac- quired until about the year 1820, which completed the present area of the county.
By the act of the Territorial legislature which organized Wayne county, "John Cox, George Holman and John Addington, Gentlemen," were appointed commissioners to meet and locate the county seat, on or before "the first Monday of the following May," and until this was done and a court house completed, the act also provided, that the court was to meet at the house of Richard Rue.
Richard Rue, George Holman and Thomas McCoy were among the earliest settlers in Wayne county. They came from Kentucky, were inured to hardships of almost every kind, having been in captivity three years and a half among the Indians, and they established themselves in this county in 1805.
On Feb. 25, 1811, the first Circuit Court was held at the house of Richard Rue, three miles south of Richmond. The only busi- ness transacted at this session was that of dividing the county into civil divisions, and the court then adjourned. At the next session, held at Rue's home, in March, 1811, a grand jury for the first time was empaneled in Wayne county. A Seal of the Court
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was adopted and consisted of "a wafer and a piece of paper turned over, with the letters 'Wayne County' written thereon " These early sessions of the court were held in the woods adjoining Rue's house whenever the weather permitted. Family chairs were pro- vided the officers and the jury was furnished with logs as their seats and nature's leafy canopy as a protection from the burning rays of the sun.
Concerning the establishment of the county seat there seems to be a difference of opinion. Most authorities state that llolman and Addington, commissioners appointed by the act of the legis- lature in 1810 to locate the county seat, designated a quarter-sec- tion about three-fourths of a mile north of the present town of Centerville as being the nearest geographical center of the county. John Cox, the third member of the commission, dissented on the ground that this land had not yet been sold by the Government and therefore could not be legally used. However, in the language of John B. Still, a pioneer and a trustworthy gentleman, "at the June term of 1811 the Commissioners, appointed by an act of the legislature, having failed to discharge their duty, according to law, in selecting a county seat of justice for the county, the court de- clared their duties ended and appointed in their stead. Samuel Walker, Richard Maxwell and Benjamin Harris." These com- missioners were ordered to proceed immediately to the discharge of their duties. On the third day of the term the commissioners made a report, "that the permanent seat of justice is and shall be on the donation of Samuel Woods, of sixty-five acres in the 13th township, range 3d, with a small reserve." The Court, however, confessing the report, ordered it to be entered as received by the clerk, "That the town of Wayne, or the seat of Justice, shall be called Salisbury." Having obtained both a location and a name, the next thing was to build a town. Smith Hunt, Samuel Woods. and James Brown, were appointed trustees to lay off the lots, and Andrew Woods and John Meek, Sr .. to superintend the build- ing of a jail and estray pen, all, as a matter of course, under the direction of the Court.
A log court house for temporary use and a rude jail of hewed logs were erected as soon as the town was laid out. William Com- mons, who came here in 1810, has the honor of building the log court house and jail at Salisbury and also the first court house and log jail at Centerville. In the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society is the paper with the signatures of citizens, sub- scribing in round numbers $2.400 towards the erection of the court
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house at Salisbury. Soon these wooden structures were sup- planted by brick buildings. It is interesting also to note that Wayne county's first seat of justice cost $229.99. Strange as it appears, no record is found on the minutes of the court of the build- ing of a court house at Salisbury, but at the October session of ISH the following singular entry is made: "At a County Court held at the house of Richard Rue, Esq., on the 28th of October, IS11, it opened and, etc., and the Court having been previously informed that the Court House was raised, the Court therefore adjourned to sit one hour in the Court House in the town of Salis- bury. Accordingly, the Court met at the Court House, in the town of Salisbury, in the County of Wayne, on the Aforesaid 28th day of October and proceeded, etc."
Such was the beginning of Salisbury, the first town laid out in Wayne county. "Salisbury having now become an incorporated town, the earliest in the county, and its citizens having secured permanently, as they supposed, the public buildings, they antici- pated a long and prosperous career." The high destiny anticipated for the new village may be inferred from the following inscrip- tion found on the back of the recorded plat of the town, in the handwriting of George Hunt, at that time clerk and recorder of the county : "The Town of Salisbury stands on a beautiful site, on the waters of Clear Creek, W. C. I. T. ( Indiana Territory), in a fine neighborhood, environed by rich land, etc. etc. No better water in the world, the air salubrious, and its elevated situation commands an extensive and beautiful prospect, and we flatter our- selves, that in a few years, Art, with her sister, Industry, will con- vert it from a forest to a flourishing inland town. Several gentle- men of property have purchased lots, both in the Mercantile and Mechanical line, which will greatly enhance its value."
Turning to the "Emigrants' Guide," by S. R. Brown, one finds the following pertaining to the year 1816: "Salisbury lies thirty miles north of Brookville, contains about thirty-five houses, two stores and two taverns. It is at present the seat of Justice for Wayne County, but Centerville, a near village, being more central, threatens to become its competitor for that privilege."
The growth of Salisbury was rapid, and it was at one time not only the most flourishing town in Wayne county, but in the State. Salisbury's career, however, was short. It attained only a few hundred inhabitants, when, in 1814, efforts were made to re- move the county seat to Centerville. In the midst of the bitter trife between the Salisbury and Centerville parties, the first ses-
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sion of the Indiana legislature, on Dec. 21, 1816, passed an Act, by which the removal was authorized, on the condition that the citizens of Centerville provide public buildings equal in convenience and value to those already in Salisbury, of the same dimensions, and as well finished, without any expense to the county. Failing to do this, the county seat remained where it was.
Section 3 of the same Act, names Aug. 1, 1817, as the day, on and after which all public business shall be transacted in Center- ville. Now commenced the downfall of Salisbury. Bitter strife ensued between Salisbury and Centerville parties, one trying to retain, the other trying to procure, the county seat. All that could be said on either side was brought to bear on the subject ; the sick- ness of the respective places, the population, the convenient and inconvenient location, future prospects, expenses incurred, etc., were among the points canvassed. It is recorded that it was the opinion of William Steele-a burly citizen of Salisbury, its chief politician, a legislator, a colonel, a "New Light" preacher, and a cabinet maker -- that Salisbury was destined to become another Moscow. This declaration was received with so much jeer by the opposite party that the term Moscow for awhile bid fair to sup- plant that of Salisbury.
Short as the time was, the buildings were all up in due sea- son, some of the citizens of Centerville subscribing $1,000 to $1,500. towards their erection.
In August, 1817, the Board of Commissioners met for the last time at Salisbury. It was ordered by James Odell and Thomas Beard that the Board adjourn to Centerville. Thomas J. Warman, the third member, dissented and refused to sit, on the ground that the papers accepted at their July meeting were invalid, and that the conditions of the law authorizing the removal of the site had not, in his opinion, been complied with. In the spring of 1818 the court was held at Centerville. The legislature, by an act of Jan. 28, 1818, had authorized the court to convene at Centerville and. provided that it should convene on the first Monday of March, June, and October, and should sit six days each term. Accord- ingly, on the first Monday in March, 1818, the court convened at Centerville, but not with the feeling that Salisbury had relinquished her claim to the county seat.
Only one year afterward the question was brought before the Court whether Salisbury or Centerville was the legal seat of justice. The presiding judge, John Watts, was absent. The associate judges-William McLane and Jesse Davenport-were of the op -.
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