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 9
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Whew! Just think of lying down and having a leg taken off with- out an anasthetic. I think that machine was not moved out of its tracks for some time. I saw it standing in the field later.
Thomas Hill and Daniel Frazier were among the early arrivals, and located east of Aaron Hill and Matthew Winslow. Frazier's land joined Samuel C. Wilson's farm on the north and Hill's land lay north of Fra- zier's. It later was occupied by Lindsey Baldwin and family. Baldwin died there and his family are scattered.
Thomas Hill was a brother of Aaron Hill and was a first-class car- penter and joiner. As has been said, he was one of the builders of the old brick church at Back Creek. What became of Thomas Hill and family I do not know.
Daniel Frazier had a wife and family of three sons and two dangh- ters that I can recollect, who attended church at the old brick house in an early day. One son and one daughter were grown, two were in their teens and one boy eight or ten years old. This little fellow, in some way I do not now recollect, got lost in the forest. If anything will arouse sympathy and energy in a people it is for a child to get lost in the wilderness. As soon as the word was circulated that the Frazier child was lost, the whole settlement was out looking for him. The clearings around the settlers' cabins were small, then, with a heavy forest all round and wild animals prowling about looking for something to devour. Night came on, with no tidings of the lost boy. The nights were dark. Anxiously, they waited for the light of another day, when they could renew the hunt. A little way north of the cemetery grounds and half- way between the creek and public road stood a large, hollow sycamore
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The Making of a Township.
tree, with an opening near the ground. When dark came on the lad chanced to come across that tree, and, looking in, saw it was very dark in the hollow, and decided it was so dark that no animal could see him in there. So he went in, laid down, and slept until day, when he was soon sighted by some one on the search for him. At no time was he far from a cabin, but made no noise, and hence was not sooner found. The fam- ily emigrated to Iowa and passed out of our knowledge.
Lewis Moorman, who married Sarah Thomas, of Wayne County, Indiana, a sister of the wife of Thomas Baldwin, Sr., came to join the new colony in 1835, and took land a mile cast of Charles Baldwin. The land between was very wet. Lewis was a stout-built, heavy man, with a coarse voice, and somewhat eccentric, but made a good, loyal citizen. He had two sons and two daughters. I do not know who now owns the original home place. I think his sons are dead. The daughters moved to the West years ago. The Moormans lived the farthest east of any family of Friends, but were regular in attendance at meetings.
The same year, 1835, came Jabez H. Moore, and took land joining Moorman on the south. Moore was an educated man, and put on a lit- tle more style than many others. He always went dressed well when away from home, wearing a tall, silk hat and cravat. He had two sons and two daughters, namely, Isaac, John, Lacy Ann and Martha. Jabez and his wife have been dead some years. One son and one daughter were living in Kokomo a few years ago. Jabez made a good citizen and was active in the organization of the Township and County, rarely ever missing an election.
Directly south of Charles Baldwin, on the east side of the public road, Lancaster Bell, who married Mary Baldwin, a daughter of Charles Baldwin, took up eighty acres, in 1836. Bell sold, or traded, to Thomas Baldwin. Later, Jesse Dillon bought the place and established a gun- making shop there, where he and his boys changed all the flintlock guns for miles around into caplocks. The place is now owned, I think, by some of the Winslow family. Lancaster Bell and wife moved to Iowa many years ago, where they died. Jesse Dillon and wife died there.
The eighty acres just east of the Bell place was taken by Jesse, Sr .. and Lydia Harvey, in 1832. He was a brother of Thomas Harvey and Solomon Parsons' wife. Jesse died early in the '40's. His wife lived there alone for many years and passed from there to the Great Beyond. They were two very quiet, kind-hearted bodies, liked by all who knew them. They left no children.
In 1835, Solomon Parsons and wife, Rachel, took the land joining Harvey on the south. Rachel was a sister of Thomas and Jesse Har-
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Characteristics of First Settlers.
vey, Sr., and Keziah Osborn. Solomon was a valuable man in the new country, as he was an excellent workman with leather and made a nice boot or shoe. He was a fast workman. They reared a family of five children, namely, Keziah, Elizabeth, William, Anna and Henry. Keziah married Henry Wilson. He died. Later she married Reece Haisley, and they moved to Jewell County, Kansas. Elizabeth married Gonner Knight, an Englishman, and lived for some years on what is now the north end of John Peacock's farm. They are both dead, leaving two sons and two daughters. Dr. John C. Knight, of Jonesboro, is one of the family. William married and moved to Iowa many years ago. Anna married Dr. White, a young physician who practiced in Fairmount a short time in an early day. He emigrated West and we lost track of him. Henry fought for the Union in the Civil War, was badly wounded, but recovered sufficiently to live until a short time ago. He settled in Iowa after the war, reared a family, and was an honored citizen. Par- sons sold to John Beck. The writer went to school with all the chil- dren many a day.
The land directly east of Parsons, to the prairie, was taken up by Eastern speculators, held for some years, and for this reason was not improved for some time.
In 1835 we find John Lee and wife a mile and a half east of Par- sons' south line. The cabin stood a little east of the old Wayne trail, west of the slough. Amaziah Beeson located a little way across the slough, to the southeast of Lee. John Lee's wife was a sister of Nathan Morris and a twin sister of Solomon Thomas' wife. The Lees and Beesons were members of the Friends church and attended Back Creek meeting. Lee and Thomas emigrated to Iowa, in 1850. Lee died out there.
Beeson remained on his prairie farm and brought up a family there. Beeson and the Lees were related in some way. Amaziah was a chemist, to some extent, and had a small distillery, where he manufactured sassa- fras and peppermint oil, which he sold at a profit. He built the first brick residence in Fairmount Township, I think, which certainly indi- cated energy and perseverance. I think he and his wife died on the farm. Charles Beeson was their son.
In 1835 Timothy Kelley settled on the Lake Galatia land. He and his wife, Avis, had five children, namely, Jane, Mary Ann, Alfred, Sam- uel and Anna. They were from Pennsylvania, I think, members of the Friends Church, and a degree more aristocratic than most of the early settlers. A portion of their land was covered by a cranberry marsh before the country was drained. This was a source of considerable reve-
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The Making of a Township.
nue to them. They were good, honest, Christian people, and have all passed away.
Between the John Lee place and the Kelley farm Otho Selby settled, in 1836, on the north side of the prairie, where he reared a family cf three children. Otho was an industrious man, uncompromising in prin - ciple, and an educator and promoter of the best interests of the country. His children are all living, and retain the old farm, which but few descendants of the original pioneer stock can truthfully say.
A half mile southeast, across a branch of the prairie, Henry Winslow, Sr., and Jesse, his son, settled in 1836. They were Friends, and their location was a long way back in the woods, with bad roads, yet they were regular attenders of Back Creek meeting. They were compelled to go on horseback. Aunt Penny made a fine appearance in the saddle. Old Henry, as we always called this one, because there were four of that name-Joseph's Henry, or Big Henry, Ryer's Henry and John's Henry. Old Henry, the father of Thomas, Jesse, John, Henry. Polly Wilson, Elizabeth Powell-Dillon and Susie Crowell, died on the prairie farm. Jesse sold out over there and bought the Elijah Harrold place, where Foster Davis now lives, east of Fairmount. Jesse and his wife, Peninah. were excellent people. I would that we had more like them today. Their influence will roll on until it reaches the golden shore.
The farm now owned by Nate Wilson was taken in 1835 by Charles Hinshaw and wife. Charles was a strong, hard worker and had the only whipsaw in the country. He cut out floor-plank for people. It was a slow, expensive process, and was not resorted to very much. While Hinshaw lived at that place, a son, a young man about seventeen. I think, was drowned in the river north of Jonesboro, a little southeast of Jesse Jay's place, where the road makes a turn to the northwest. He had been, or was on his way, to the Deer Creek mill, had reached that point, and decided to have a bath, not knowing that it was a deep hole of water. He hitched his horse, left his clothes on the river bank and plunged in where the water was deep, but could not swim. Some time later a man was passing, and, seeing the horse tied and clothes lying near by, surmised what was wrong, got help and fished the body out. Not long after this, Charles sold out and moved to Iowa. In 1858 I met Charles in Kansas. He was wearing the same hat he wore the first time I ever met him, at Back Creek meeting. He was a Friend. It was a round-crowned, broad-brimmed beaver hat and would last one hundred years.
The Clint Winslow place was taken by a man named Ratliff. The house was on the north side, near where the old original road ran.
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Characteristics of First Settlers.
Ratliff, I think, sold to Hopkins Richardson, and Hopkins gave it to his son, Jonathan.
In 1833, Hopkins Richardson and wife, Elizabeth, with two sons, Jonathan and Zimri, located directly west of Ratliff. Richardson was of medium size, dark skin, black hair, and full of energy. He was a great hunter and would find a deer where other people failed. Hopkins gave the most of his land to his two sons. His wife died at the old place and he sold what land he had left, married again, bought a place on top of the Deer Creek bluff, west side, and died there. He was quite a trader for that early day. He would buy a lot of good horses-he was a good judge of horse flesh-take them to Kentucky or Georgia, sell them to the wealthy planters at a good profit, return and invest in more land. Thus he became owner of a fine body of land. His sons are dead. Elmer Buller, I think, holds the old homestead.
Directly west of the Richardson homestead, William Winslow (black Bill, or Uriah's Bill, as he was always called to designate him from the other Bills) took land. He was a brother of Jesse, Thomas and John Winslow. He had quite a family of girls. He sold his land to Rich- ardson and moved to Iowa. The old road ran east and west, near the middle of his place, and near his cabin, some thirty rods west of the pub- lic road that passed by Richardson's house, and intersected the road that crossed the creek on the line of Third Street, or what is now Bogue's corner.
This brings us back to the center of Fairmount again.
CHAPTER XI.
HAVING TO DO WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF SUBJECTS.
(By T. B. McDonald.)
M Y FATHER, Bernard McDonald, moved to Grant County the fall of 1854. He bought what was known as the Martin Bates (now the John Davis) farm, three hundred and twenty acres, mostly heavy timber. Bates never received a dollar for this farmn.
About the year 1849, a railroad was projected to run from Cincinnati to Chicago. The land, as surveyed, ran east of Fairmount, through Galatia and Jonesboro. A part of the right-of-way was cut out. Im- mense piles of crossties and bridge timber were piled up along the right- of-way, were not paid for, and rotted where the material was piled.
A great many farmers subscribed for stock in this railroad and gave their farms in payment for the stock. Not a single subscriber ever received a penny for his farm or stock. The farms were sold to inno- cent purchasers and there was no recourse for the people who lost their farms. Martin Bates was one of those who lost a good farm. . There were many more.
Bates had planted an orchard of about twelve acres in apples, peaches and pears. This orchard was a great source of profit for my father. There were but few orchards west of us for many miles, and for several years we sold apples at Kokomo, Windfall and Elwood. Those were our nearest railroad towns, west of us, at that time.
The west half of Fairmount Township was settled by Friends, mostly from North Carolina. The east half of the Township was settled by good, sturdy people who were not Quakers.
We had not been in the country long until I became acquainted with Morris ( Mallegan) Payne's boys, and they were friends of the Lewis and Leach boys. In that way I met those of my own age.
I remember Esom Leach, a short, fat man, who once told me he had no use for an Irishman, as a rule. I soon learned that he was in fun.
William G. Lewis was a kind man-generous to a fault. The Os- borns, Paynes, Thorns, Harrisons and Fears were all names which I recollect as being early settlers.
Thus it was, in the first settlement of the Township, they were all sturdy men, able to cope with the hardships that were necessary to suc-
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Wide Variety of Subjects.
ceed. What was once a wilderness is now the finest farming commu- nity in the world. The entire Township cannot be excelled in this glo- rious country.
T. B. McDONALD
Has had an interesting career. He was born near Liberty, Union Coun- ty, Indiana, December 6, 1846. His father, Bernard McDonald, was born in County Carlow, Ireland, August 25. 1812. At the age of eight Ber- nard McDonald went to sea as a cabin boy on a ship with his uncle. He followed the sea for twenty-five years, when he came to America. T. B. McDonald's mother, Elizabeth McDonald, was the daughter of Sam- uel Heavenridge, of Rock Bridge County, Virginia. He settled at Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where Mr. McDonald's mother was born in 1824. Samuel Heavenridge was a Quaker of the old school. He was an elder in the church at Fairmount when he died Bernard McDonald moved to Henry County, Indiana, when the son was one year old, and to Grant County in 1854, where the latter spent his boyhood days on a farm. When he left the farm Bent went to Jones- boro and worked in a woollen mill owned by Pemberton & Baldwin. From there he went to work for Noah Harris, and assisted in building the first grain elevator at Harrisburg (now Gas City). It was while this ele- vator was being built that John Evans killed John Brinegar. T. B. was a witness to the killing. This unexpectedly changed his plans for life. He had intended to go to Kansas with John Rush, but was held as a witness to the tragedy, and could not go as he had planned. He then went to work on the Panhandle railroad as a brakeman on a gravel train, then on a local freight train for about ten months, when he went to Nebraska City with Dr. J. N. Converse, who was building the Midland Pacific railroad. He re- mained there, employed as a conductor, until the road was finished to Lin- coln, Nebraska. He was the first conductor to run a train into Lincoln. This was on April 24, 1871. He went to Iowa October 9, 1871, the day of the great Chicago fire. He was employed by the Burlington Railroad as a conductor for ten years. Since that time he has been engaged in farming. merchandising and banking, and is now President of the Lovilia Exchange Bank. He owns 965 acres of valuable coal lands, contented with his lot, never held a public office, has often been a member of the third house (lobby), has always taken an interest in politics, votes the Republican ticket. believes in prohibition and woman suffrage. He is proud of the fact that he is a native of Indiana and lived in Fairmount Township, "where," as he puts it, "more good people live and have lived than ou any other six miles square on earth."
Among the early settlers there was not a single sluggard to be found -every man a Christian according to his belief. There were Solomon Thomas, the Winslows, Wilsons, Newbys. Harveys, Baldwins, Solo-
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The Making of a Township.
mon Parsons, the Jays, Peacocks, Joseph Rich, Spencer Reeder, Lind- sey Buller, the Scotts, John Ferree, the Wrights, Harvey Davis, Wil- liam Cox, David Smithson, Eli and William Neal, Carter Hasting. David Stanfield, William Hall, William Pierce, Joseph Hill, Nixon Rush, Phineas Henley, Iredell Rush, Mahlon Harvey, John and Wil- liam P. Seale, Samuel Radley and John Bull. Were there ever so many good, solid, well-meaning men in one neighborhood? We think not. It does me good to think of those sturdy men and their wives. God bless them! They, too, were the equals of their husbands.
Clothing the family was a problem in those days. It was difficult to raise sheep in the heavy timber, and for that reason wool was scarce. The wool was carded by hand and spun into yarn, reeled into skeins, and from the skeins it went to the large roller in the loom. Then the ends of the thread were placed through a reel, when it was ready for the shuttle. Sometimes the chain would be all cotton and the filling all wool.
This cloth was called linsey, and when both filling and chain were wool it was called flannel, or jeans, as the case might be.
Remember, the work was all done by hand, and a great deal of it by night with but little light, sometimes a tallow dip, sometimes a greasy rag placed in a pan and set on fire.
The first houses were built of logs, some hewed and some round. A big fireplace at one end of the building served for both heat and light. and a place to cook what they had to eat.
The manner of cooking was certainly crude. Those who could, had cranes in their fireplaces. There was a bar of iron fastened at one side of the fireplace, fixed so it would swing out or in as needed. This bar extended almost across the fireplace. Hooks were placed on this bar. on which the kettles would be hung while the food cooked. Then there were covered skillets, in which the baking was done, such as corn bread or wheat bread, as the case might be.
Those skillets were set on the hearth and live coals put on top and around the bottom, and kept there until the food was done. I don't believe the stove was ever made that would cook food to taste as good as those good old-fashioned pots and kettles.
Wheat bread was not within the reach of all the early settlers. Wheat bread was rather a luxury in 1850.
Stoves were few and far between. Everything that the pioneer had in the shape of clothing was made at home. Bed ticks and sheetings were made of linen, so were towels and grain bags.
The flax was sown with a view of getting as long a fiber as possi-
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Wide Variety of Subjects.
ble. When the flax had gotten ripe enough it was pulled up by the roots, the seed knocked off, then a nice, clean piece of meadow was selected, the flax spread out and left until the fiber had rotted suffi- ciently, then the rotted flax was tied up in bundles and placed in a dry place until spring.
When the flax was prepared for the loom first, it was broken, that is the wood part of the stem was separated from the fiber. An ugly piece of machinery called a flax brake was used to do the work. The machine consisted, first, of five pieces of wood about six feet long and six inches wide. The top edge of those bars was shaven to a sharp edge, then they were matriced into a heavy block of wood. Into those blocks were placed wooden legs about two feet long. Then there was another set of only three bars. These fitted between the first named bars. The top set was hinged at one end. The operator would raise the top set of bars and place the rotted flax on the bottom set of bars. When the top set of bars came down it would break the flax straw so that the woody parts would separate from the fiber. The next thing to be done was to scutch the fiber.
This was done as follows: A board about eight inches wide was shaven to a sharp edge at the top, then fastened to a block. A piece of board two feet long and four inches wide was shaven so that both edges were sharp. This was called a scutching knife. A bunch of the fiber would be taken in the hand, laid across the top of the board, and used against and down the side of the board would soon prepare the fiber for the hackle.
This instrument of torture was made by driving a lot of sharp spikes in a solid board. These spikes were driven as close as possible. The tops of the spikes were as sharp as possible.
This machine was about six inches square. The fiber was drawn through those teeth until all the coarse fiber had been separated from the finer fiber.
Then came the spinning of the thread. This was done on what was called the little wheel, which was run by foot power. The thread passed through what was called flyers. The fiber was placed on what was called a distaff. The operator would take a small piece of the fiber in her hand and start it through the flyers, which twisted the thread. The operator regulated the size of the thread by the deft feel of her fingers. Some were more expert than others. When sufficient thread was pro- duced then the weaving was done.
We have no doubt that some pieces of linen made as above described can now be found in Fairmount. You who have it just take a look at
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The Making of a Township.
it, and think what toil it required to produce it. Yet it was done cheer- fully. It does not seem possible that such wonderful changes could take place in a space of sixty years.
The next step necessary to keep the family of the pioneer in good health was to provide shoes. If he be fortunate enough to have cattle, then one or more would be killed for meat. The hide would be taken to the tanner and made into leather. It took one year to complete the tanning. If the farmer had money enough he would pay the tanner the cost and take all the leather. If not, the tanner would take one half for his labor. Aaron Williams, where Summitville now stands, had the first tanvard that we recollect. There was one, we think, at Fair- mount, but we have forgotten who owned it. However, we do remen- ber Micah Baldwin and Rariden Smith as tanners, because we have driven the old horse in the bark mill many an hour. We also remember being thrown bodily into one of the vats filled with filthy ooze. A school house stood just east of the tanyard and we were going to school there at the time.
After the leather was procured, the itinerant shoemaker came and stayed until the entire family was shod for the winter. However, there were a great many men who made all the shoes for the family. One pair of shoes for each person was about the limit for each year.
The early settler had plenty to eat, such as it was. Game was plen- tiful. Not many years after the first settlers came wild hogs were numerous, and in the fall of the year those hogs were fat. They lived on mast, as it was called-nuts, such as beechnuts, acorns, hickory nuts. hazel nuts, walnuts. The ground would be literally covered with nuts- and hogs could live all winter on them.
The man who did not have hogs of his own would take his trusty flintlock rifle and soon have sufficient meat to last all winter. There was no excuse for killing more than he needed, as there was no market for cured meat and salt was scarce. Bear in mind, there were only a few persons who had to get their meat as we have described.
Wild turkey were plentiful, as were deer, squirrels, pheasants, opos- sums and raccoons. The pioneer had no difficulty in bringing home game when needed.
Powder and lead were scarce and were never wasted. There were none of the modern guns in use-no percussion caps. Such a thing as a shotgun was never seen, unless it was an old musket that had been used in the War of 1812, or earlier. The guns were fired by a spark made by a flint striking a piece of steel, which was a part of what was called the pan. A small portion of powder would be placed in the pan.
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Wide Variety of Subjects
When the trigger was pulled the hammer, which had a flint fastened in it, would make a spark which would ignite the powder in the pan. and cause the gun to go off. Sometimes the gun would fail to fire. Then it was called a flash in the pan, and it was then that the hunter said uncomplimentary things, especially if he missed getting the nice turkey he had expected to take home with him.
The hunter's outfit consisted of his gun, powder-horn, bullet pouch. bullet moulds, string of patchen, knife, powder measure and a bunch of flax tow.
The first store that we now recollect of being in was kept in Fair- mount by Henry Harvey. The building, we think. stood where the Citizens State Bank now stands, and his residence about where the News office is now located. This store was a small affair in comparison with the stores now in Fairmount. The principal stock was green cof- fee, brown sugar, rice, dried herring, salt crackers, a few cut nails, grain pepper, cloves, powder and lead, a few pieces of blue denim, some cotton thread, and possibly two or three pieces of wool cloth suitable for men's pants, three kinds of tobacco (home grown), a twist called dog-leg, and a plug black as night. If you asked Henry for tobacco, he would say :
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