USA > Indiana > Grant County > Fairmount > The making of a township, being an account of the early settlement and subsequent development of Fairmount Township, Grant County, Indiana, 1829 to 1917, based upon data secured by personal interviews, from numerous communications > Part 31
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JOHN J. BULL.
I read with much interest the article written by E. L. Goldthwait and very much appreciated his kind words in regard to the life and character of my uncle, John J. Bull.
Yes, E. L. Goldthwait, my uncle had a large orchard, and there are two pear trees and two or three apple trees still standing. His paralyzed arm gave him a great deal of trouble for many years and finally affected
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his whole body. Eight and one-half years of entire helplessness were spent at my father's, where he died, in the spring of 1873.
ELIZABETH PEACOCK.
Fairmount, Indiana, February 17, 1917.
(Editor's Note .- Mrs. Peacock is a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Bull) Radley, English Friends who came to Fairmount Township when Mrs. Peacock was a child. Mrs. Peacock is familiar with the development of this Township since the early days when the first pio- neers were making the way for others who followed.)
MARY ANN TAYLOR MORROW.
I do not want Mary Ann Taylor's name left out of the list, because she was my first teacher, and although she made me stand on the stove with a girl one time, and another time I had to stand on the floor with a "dunce-cap" on my head, as a punishment for misdemeanors, I re- member her with a degree of affection and respect that do not attach to the name of any other of my early teachers.
She "boarded around" a week at a place, and we children all liked her so well that we were all glad when it came her time to "stay at our house," and we were very jealous of each other, for fear she would spend more time at some other home than at ours.
Of course this sounds odd for this day and time, but at that time the public school terms were short, sometimes only three or four months, and the summers were filled in by subscription terms, attended mostly by small boys and girls, as the older ones had to stay at home and work.
This teacher was a young, sixteen-year-old girl, very pretty, as I remember her. and very efficient as a teacher for primary grades.
Mary Ann Taylor married Joseph Morrow, a lawyer, in Marion, and is now living there. E. J. Cox.
Maitland, Florida, February 8, 1917.
BRINGS BACK OLD TIMES.
Allow me to say "The Making of a Township" brings old times back to my mind as new as if it were today. I remember thirty-five years ago, when we lived in the woods and rolled big log-heaps. My grandfather, George Mason, entered land in Fairmount Township. He had a log house hewed out of logs two feet wide.
H. J. DICKERSON.
Litchville, North Dakota, March 29. 1917.
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Communications and Comment.
BACK IN THE FIFTIES.
In looking over an expense account kept by my father (Jesse E. Wilson) from 1856 to 1864. I find the following names of persons doing business in or near Fairmount in 1856-Joshua Mercer, Henry Mercer and Samuel Heavenridge.
In 1857-Micajah Frances. Josiah Bradway, James Johnson, Jesse Reece, Daniel Hollingsworth, Ira Kendall, Levi Pierce, James Quinn, Dr. Philip Patterson, Seaberry Lines. Austin Williams, Elijah Her- rold, Jack Reel. Hopkins Richardson, Joseph Bennett and Alfred Waldron.
In 1858-Solomon Parsons. James Turner, Henry Harvey, John Crowell. George Doyle, John Scarry. Hugh Findley, William Wright, Robert Hannah and Frances Lytle.
In 1859-Dr. White, Caleb Neal, Mincher Cox, Alexander Jordan, John Mathers and Ward McNeir. In this same year Micajah Wilson went into business in partnership with Henry Harvey and were still in business in 1864.
The name of Jonathan P. Winslow was mentioned for the first time in 1860. Other names of persons who lived in or near Fairmount from 1860 to 1864 are: Henry Long, Enoch Thomas, George Eckfelt, Dr. David S. Elliott, Joseph Brandon, Dr. John T. Horne, Harmon Pemberton, Thomas Moon, Joseph Rush, Joseph Hollingsworth, Skid Horne and Joseph Milliner.
I think my grandfather, John Wilson, died some time in the early sixties in a house located on the northwest corner of the lot now owned by Dr. D. A. Holliday. About all I remember about my grandfather was the red flannel back to the vest he wore.
Another name not before mentioned is "Toddy" (Solomon) Thomas, the first toll gate keeper I ever saw. He, too, left a lasting impression on my mind by the knit cap he wore and the smooth way he had cutting pennies into half pennies to make change. He lived about where the I. O. O. F. Building now stands. The toll gate was located about where the W. A. Beasely house now stands on South Main Street.
In the expense book before mentioned my father refers to a house and lot as "my house in the log yard," or "my house south of the grist- mill." Among the names of tenants who occupied the house from 1859 to 1864 are Joseph Brandon, William Dove, Ward McNeir, Joseph Milliner, Henley Winslow and William Hollingsworth, as a cabinet shop.
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The Making of a Township.
Some of the persons whose names I mention were in business for a number of years. I remember my father speaking of almost every man.
This record was discontinued in 1864, but as I "settled" there my- self October 5, 1858, the record was taken up again.
C. M. WILSON.
Alexandria, Indiana, February 25, 1917.
FIRST COPY OF TIIE NEWS.
I have a copy of the first graduating exercises. of the Fairmount schools, given in the spring of 1884. If you cannot find it in your files I will copy it and send to you later in the game. I also have the orig- inal petition filed with the School Board asking for a Thanksgiving vacation so that the boys might go "rabbit hunting," about 1880.
It is with much pride that I look back to the time when Joel Reece pulled the first copy of The News off the old Washington hand press. and know that I was present at its birth.
Salem, Oregon, February 8, 1917.
N. D. ELLIOTT.
DID THEIR PART.
In the account book referred to in my previous letter I find the date of death of two hundred and ninety-two persons who had lived in or near Fairmount and had done well their part in "The Making of a Township."
After looking over the list of names I find to my surprise I knew the most of them, and many whom I had a long time ago forgotten.
This record began with the name of Daniel Hollingsworth, who died on the lot adjoining the Traction Station on the north, in Fairmount, June 8, 1866. This record ended with the name of Margaret Pucket. who died March 24. 1883, and the mother of Cyrus Puckett, who was drowned with Calvin Bookout in June, 1873.
I knew both Bookout and Puckett, and I attended the funeral of Puckett, which was held on Sunday.
Among the long list of names referred to are three or four others whose lives had a tragic ending. C. M. WILSON.
Alexandria, Indiana, March 7, 1917.
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Communications and Comment.
RE-ROOFING OF BACK CREEK MEETING HOUSE.
In order that the list of teachers who have taught school in Fair- mount Township may be as complete as possible I will send in the names of a few who taught at old Back Creek from 1854 to 1864. They are Asa T. Baldwin, Quincy Baldwin, Melissa Pierce, Miriam Henley, Sarah Hockett, Levi Coppock, Joel Davis, Mary Ann Cop- pock, Daniel Lawrence, Jane Pruitt and George Winslow.
In the year of 1859 or 1860 the old Back Creek church needed a new roof on it, and Jack Winslow took the contract to re-roof it for $40, and he bought a large ash tree of my father, Henry Winslow, and my twin brother and I sawed the blocks. We were so small that we had to have blocks to stand on so we could reach the top of the log. He hired a colored man by the name of Pleas Weaver to make the shingles, which, after being riven were dressed with a drawing knife.
Well do I remember when my father kept a slave two weeks who was trying to make escape from his master, and he was so afraid of being re-captured that whenever the door was opened he would hide. He made brooms for my father, and after the war was over he became a citizen of Mill Township and died near Jonesboro.
In those days it was not very satisfactory among the Friends for their children to have fiddles, as they were called then, but my brother Levi had one, and in order that it might not be confiscated by his father he kept it hid in the cheat box of the fanning mill.
JOSIAH WINSLOW.
Fairmount, Indiana, February 20, 1917.
(Editor's Note .- Mr. Winslow here refers to the objections of Friends as a denomination to musical instruments either in the home or in connection with church services. Today instruments are found in homes of the modern Quaker who can afford them, as well as being generally used in connection with religious services. Mr. Winslow is a grandson of Joseph Winslow, who settled in 1829 on Back Creek.)
THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE.
I have not been in Fairmount for many years, but the room in my heart marked "Fairmount" is still as "warm as toast." When I think of the old school house, where the steps went up and down over the fence (where I fell and cracked my arm), I can just see the children
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The Making of a Township.
come trooping in. To me, they look just as they did then. I am afraid I would not know them now.
Just think, I had an enrollment of ninety-two the first year, ninety- four the second year, and ninety-six the third, and my hair is not very gray, even now. PEARLIE CHAMP MILES.
Dublin, Indiana, February 20, 1917.
ISAAC MEEK.
Do you remember Rev. Isaac Meek, who used to live in the south- cast corner of the square opposite Flanagan's store, or one block east and one block south of said store? He was a circuit rider for the Wes- levan Methodist Church. He was an old man there when I knew him, but I don't know if he was among Fairmount's pioneers. He used to preach at Hodson's Chapel and Howell's school house, both places northwest of Fairmount.
H. H. MILLER.
Fargo. North Dakota, February 20, 1917.
(Editor's Note .- The writer recollects Isaac Meck very distinctly. He was a preacher who preached with much fervor. He was regarded as a man of absolute sincerity and was respected by all who knew him. In his day and generation he did a great work for the Wesleyan Metho- (list Church, and there are many members of this denomination still living who will recall his memory with gratitude and veneration.
INTERESTED IN STORY.
These little histories afford the club women many interesting facts in hunting material for club papers, and stories illustrating the sturdy characters from which we sprung. I am studying the early churches of Indiana, the mission, circuit riders, and your story will be gladly received. ETTA CHARLES.
Alexandria, Indiana, January 13, 1917.
( Editor's Note .- Dr. Charles is a daughter of the late Dr. Henry Charles, who for many years was a successful physician here. He was also a recorded minister in the Society of Friends. Dr. Etta Charles is one of the first woman physicians in this section of the State. She has built up a large and lucrative practice at Alexandria and throughout Madison County. She is much in demand as a speaker by different
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Communications and Comment.
County. District and State Medical Societies. The perseverance and determination to succeed in the practice of her profession, which has earned for her both the confidence and respect of a wide circle of ac- quaintances and friends in central Indiana mark her as a woman of strong character and unsual ability.)
DESERVED TRIBUTE.
As one of the few who now remain that were schoolmates of your grand old man, Dr. Alpheus Henley, I want to congratulate you upon your happy characterization of this good and worthy man.
In every community there is found some one who towers above his fellows and commands the universal love and respect of all who know him. This commanding place in society is sometimes the result of natural endowments which exalt their possessor above less fortunate associates, or it may be due to educational and social advantages not open to others. While these things may and often do give their pos- sessor a place in public esteem which he could never have obtained by his own exertion, it should never be forgotten that a life of unselfish service and devotion to humanity is more to be admired and respected than one, however successful, over which its possessor had only such control as the forces of nature or the power of inherited wealth had given him.
The writer knew your grand old man when he was a country boy in the common schools of your Township and was acquainted with his father, Phineas Henley, who was one of your early Quaker pioneers, and himself a grand old man. I shall not attempt to trace the course of Dr. Henley through his struggle for a professional education, but suffice it to say that his energy and indomitable courage enabled him to overcome obstacles which surrounded him in his pioneer environ- ment and to establish himself in his chosen profession.
He chose as the field of his life work the home of his boyhood and the scenes of his early struggles, in which he, no doubt, received a justly merited material reward for his services. His most lasting and enduring recompense can truly be said to consist of the esteem, love and confidence in which he is held by every man, woman and child who knew him.
No man ever lived in your town who rendered so much faithful and unselfish service to his fellow man as he did, and many times this ser- vice was rendered without recompense or hope of reward other than
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The Making of a Township.
a consciousness of duty well done. I have no powers of description which will enable me to portray the hardship and labor he endured as he rode on horseback or traveled on foot through mud, rain and the intense cold of winter as he ministered to his afflicted and suffering neighbors. No question was ever asked as to the payment of fees and no one was ever refused medical aid because he chanced to be poor.
I venture to say that his gratuitous services rendered the suffering poor of your Township amounted to thousands of dollars. Dr. Hen- ley, as we knew him, had traits of character which endeared him to all who knew him well. He was ever frank and outspoken. There was no guile in his heart. He was honest in his actions. He was pure in his life. He was tender, sympathetic and obliging, slow, perhaps, to make friends, but his unselfishness bound those he made to him with hooks of steel.
President Lincoln once said. "So long as I have been here I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man's bosom." I think it may be truly said that Dr. Henley never carelessly or willingly wounded the feelings of a human being.
I am conscious of the fact that both Dr. Henley and myself are on the western slope, and fast descending toward life's setting sun and, therefore, believing as I do, that life would be much sweeter, I cannot refrain from adding my tribute of love, kind appreciation and respect for your grand old man, Dr. Alpheus Henley.
May the consciousness of a life well spent and the knowledge that there lives and blooms in the hearts of his hosts of friends in your town and Township sincere sentiments of gratitude and appreciation be to him a solace in his declining years, as sweet as the orange blossoms which blow and as beautiful as the roses which bloom in his Southern home is the prayer of his friend, comrade and schoolmate.
J. M. HUNDLEY.
Summitville, Indiana, March 12, 1917.
CHAPTER XXXII.
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS.
T HE ORIGINAL settlers of that productive spot were different from others -- unique, clannish if you please, and set in their ways, and firm in their religious leanings. All were Quakers, opposed to slavery, which made them, naturally, Abolitionists, or Republicans. I never knew a Quaker Democrat-nor a black one.
Under our statute law a license to sell liquor was always turned down by a Quaker County Commissioner, for the simple reason that no applicant was ever considered "fit" to sell booze, and two out of the three on the Board made the county "dry," and it continued so for a genera- tion, distinguishing Grant as about the only dry county in Indiana.
It was only when our party got cold feet on the Prohibition ques- tion, as defined by that club-footed Friend, Baxter, from Wayne County, and a Republican Representative in the State Legislature, that a division in the old party became ominous, but we pretended to make light of it. Our program was to ignore the issue. I was editor of the Republican organ here in those days and found the temperance road a hard one to travel, so, like the others, I kept as still as I could, notwithstanding these alleged reformers shot it into me on every occasion.
I remember my neighbor and friend, Dora Wright,* a good speaker, went up to Fairmount to open the campaign, about 1884. He had a fine audience that night and a good speech committed to memory, and you may be sure it was orthodox. The audience seemed unduly aroused and every applause came in just at the right time, until Jonathan P. Wins- low arose to a point of order.
"Dora!" he exclaimed, raising himself to his full height (six and a half feet). "we've had enough of this bloody-shirt politics! What we want to know," he cried out with vigor, "is thy attitude on the temper- ance question. Now, will thee tell us?"
Dora wasn't used to hectoring, but in as dignified and parliamentary way as he could command he begged the gentleman's indulgence until he was through with the matter in hand, when he would take up that part of his speech and discuss it fully.
"Hon. A. T. Wright, better known among his personal and political friends as "Dora," was an excellent orator. In 18So he was elected to rep- resent Grant County in the State Legislature, being re-elected in 1883. In his second term he was the nominee of the Republicans for Speaker of the House.
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The Making of a Township.
But he didn't want to talk about the temperance question, and didn't intend to. He looked benignantly around at the audience and began to drink water, and wandered, and dismissed the audience, finally real- izing, he said, that he had kept them up too long.
EDGAR L. GOLDTHWAIT
After that speech Dora's ac- quaintances down here in Marion would stop him now and then and ask him about his attitude on the temperance question, whereupon Dora would explode and say un- kind things of Jonathan.
You knew Mahlon Neal, a very thrifty old Quaker who lived about four miles northwest of Fairmount, on a big farm. Mah- lon had much money, and the reputation of having stowed away about the house still more. One night, while Mahlon and his daughter were sitting in front of the open fire, a half-dozen sons of Belial, all masked and holding re- volvers in their hands, rushed in on him and demanded his money. It wasn't the old man's nature to be disturbed. He never moved off his chair, but turned his head to the armed robbers and looked them
Whose kindly criticism and friendly interest in the writer's efforts is large- over seriously.
ly responsible for this volume, is a member of one of Grant County's old- "Won't thee sit down ?" he said. . est families. Mr. Goldthwait was born The robbers became disconcert- in Marion, August 7, 1850. At the age of twelve years he began to learn the ed ; the daughter slipped out with- printer's trade. For forty years he was actively identified with the pub- out being noticed and made a bee- lishing business and a part of that time engaged in editorial work. For sixteen years he was editor of The Marion Chronicle, which became a power in Indiana Republican politics under Mr. Goldthwait's management. line for the dinner-bell hanging from a tall pole, to a rope within her reach, and such a disturbance followed in all the farm houses nearby that every rogue "flew the coop" and the incident ended for- ever then and there, and no harm done.
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Personal Recollections.
One of my old friends up there was Milton Winslow,* the poet. I published a volume of his rhymes one time. They were real entertain- ing. He was strong on temperance and religion and his contribution was a faithful reflection of his opinions.
Do you remember Bishop Milton Wright, of the United Brethren Church? His sons (mere boys) invented one of the marvelous ma- chines of the age-the flying machine-now adopted by every warring nation on earth. Lord Kitchener spoke of it as the greatest addition in warfare known since the invention of gunpowder. These boys de- serve a big place in history.
The Quakers are the only American people who ever gave substan- tial recognition to the colored folk. When they settled here first, sixty- odd years ago, they found homes and protection, and here they thrived, on the whole, better than they have since. The Underground Railroad led through Quakerdom, while nine-tenths of the other counties of Indiana wouldn't allow a black man within their borders. History doesn't take account of this boycott.
I would be somewhat remiss if, on this occasion, I would forget my old friends, Walker Winslow and Henley Winslow, who conducted the Wild West stage between Marion and Anderson in War days. The trip was made daily-thirty miles-and by it we depended wholly for War news, and soldiers came and went to and fro on War errands. Some- times they were wounded, or ill, or paroled from Southern prisons.
*Milton Winslow, farmer and prominent minister of the Society of Friends, was born in Randolph County, North Carolina, May 21, 1821, and died at his home in Fairmount, November 15, 1893. His parents were Thomas and Nancy (Nixon) Winslow, who came to Fairmount Township in 1836, when Milton was fifteen years old. He was educated in the com- mon schools of North Carolina and Indiana. He helped his father during the summer season to clear the farm and take care of the crops. With the exception of three years he lived in Wayne County and two years spent in Michigan, his entire life, after he came with his parents in 1836, was passed in Fairmount Township. He cast his first Presidential vote in 1844 for Henry Clay, the Whig candidate. In 1856 he supported Gen. John C. Fre- mont, and continued to affiliate with the Republican party until 1884, when he identified himself with the Prohibitionists and remained loyal to this party until his death. He was a birthright member of the Society of Friends. On April 23, 1846, he was married at Dover, in Wayne County, Indiana, to Miss Mary (Johnson) Roberts. daughter of Walter and Han- nah (Johnson) Roberts, who had emigrated to Indiana from a Quaker set- tlement in South Carolina. Mary (Roberts) Winslow was born July 15, 1818, and died July 20, 1906, at her home in Fairmount. On August 2, 1847, Walter and Hannah Roberts deeded to their daughter eighty acres of land in Grant County. Milton Winslow was a man of superior attain- ments. Not only did he preach the Gospel with power and eloquence, but he possessed literary ability of high order. In 1892 he issued a volume of poems entitled, "Poems for Everybody," which had a large circulation and wide popularity.
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The stage was a daily tragedy. Sometimes a dead body was brought home, and almost always the driver of the four horses and the big lum- bering stage made his first stop at the postoffice, where Jim Nolan "received" in the midst of an anxious crowd, as many women as men, and it was midnight often before the mail was finally delivered.
Often I met the stage at Deer Creek Hill, where one of the broth- ers would deliver to me a bundle of The Indianapolis Daily Journals. When the news was extra exciting we'd hear the cannon firing at Wabash or Anderson, and the highway on both sides was wildly stirred, and the stage watched for. The papers I'd peddle out at ten cents up, according to the demand, were usually read aloud to the typ- ical audience of those days. God keep their memories green! We haven't seen the like of it in our country for half a century, and no American ever wishes to see it again.
It was worth while to know 'Cajah Wilson, a gardener. He ped- dled his products about and gave good measure always.
"I have no half-peck measure with me," he once said to a pros- pective customer, "so I'll pour the 'taters here on the floor and then thee take one and I'll take one, and divide alike," and so they did in the most satisfactory way ; and he knew all the news along the route from Fairmount to Marion, and his visits were always welcome. Besides, he was strong on religion and Prohibition, and wouldn't shut up.
Another one was John J. Bull, a large land owner of Fairmount. He must have had bully good orchards scattered around over his farms. His apples looked like they were made ready for the county fair. He would stop in front of a residence and announce his wares.
"Will thee buy some apples today?" Alongside where he sat in the wagon behind his fat team a stick was fastened, on top of which was a sample apple. He didn't need to ring his bell or cry his products ; people knew him and his purpose. They were acquainted with that fawn-colored hat, his shad-belly coat and homespun trousers, and even (in my time) his affliction-a paralytic, useless arm. He was, I am told, not a Carolina Quaker, but an English one. He was without guile-Fairmount had no better citizen, and that is saying a great deal.
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