USA > Indiana > Morgan County > The people's guide, a business, political and religious directory of Morgan Co., Ind. : also, a historical sketch of Morgan County and a brief history of each township > Part 11
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For Distemper in Horses .- Ground ginger, two ounces; flour of sulphur, two ounces; copperas, two ounces; Spanish brown, two ounces; saltpeter, one-half ounce; mix thoroughly. Give a tablespoonful once a day in bran mash. Keep the ani- mal warm and dry, with light exercise.
Whitewash for Out Doors .- Take good white unslacked lime, one peck; salt, one quart; two pounds Spanish whiting; one gallon good flour paste ; first slack the lime in hot water ; be sure to put enough on to keep the lime from burning; then add while warm the salt and Spanish white, and then the paste; let stand over night. It is better to have it warm while applying it.
For Removing Paint From Glass .- Baking soda and warm water.
Antidote for Poison .- Give sweet oil in large doses.
For Worms in Children .- Santenine, nine grains; calomel, six grains; white sugur, eighteen grains; mix well; make in six powders for a child two years old, and give one before each meal for two days ; work off with oil.
For Removing Grease Spots From Cloth .- Soda, two drachms; borax, one drachm; dissolve it together in one ounce of hot water, then add one ounce of alcohol. Shake it well and apply with woolen rag or brush, rubbing briskly.
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VALUABLE RECIPES.
To Get Rid of Little Ants .- Use salt and water freely where they infest.
Washing Fluid .- Borax, one pound; soda, one pound ; dis- solve in two gallons of hot water. Put the clothes in the tub, cover them with water containing a half gallon of the fluid, and let stand over night.
For Toothache, Headache, Neuralgia, and Rheumatic Pains .- Make a liniment of the following preparations : One ounce of tincture of Amonia, one ounce tincture of cam- phor, one ounce oil of organum, one-half ounce oil of cedar, one ounce oil of hemlock, and one quart linseed oil ; mix all together, put it in a bottle and shake well. Directions for using. Apply the liniment freely to the affected parts, and rub and bathe it as often as three or four times daily. For the toothache, put a little on a piece of cotton, and put it in the tooth, and rub it on the jaw of the patient. I have found this to be one of the best liniments in use.
For Cuts and Bruises on Man or Beast .- Take two ounces tincture of camphor, two ounces linseed oil, one ounce of tur- pentine ; mix all together, and apply to the affected parts.
For Pickling Beef .- To 100 pounds of beef take one gal- lon of salt, three-fourths of a pound of sugar, three ounces black pepper ground; add together, put all in a kettle con- taining three gallons of water; boil slowly, and skim occa- sionally. Pack the beef in tight tubs, and cover with the brine.
DIRECTORY
:
OF
MORGAN COUNTY
FOR 1874.
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9
PREFACE.
The subscribers for this work will remember that the agents who solic- ited for their subscription promised that it should contain a historical sketch of Morgan county. Therefore, we pen the following pages after a careful examination of the records and a personal interview with the pioneer settlers of the county ; and we hope that our patrons will be satisfied with our efforts to fulfill our promise.
The facts that we have collected in reference to the early history and growth of this county are somewhat limited, yet we feel that they are of sufficient worth for presentation, as such information is constantly be coming more difficult to obtain, as the old pioneers of the county are swiftly passing away, and in a few more years they will have all passed away to an unknown world, and it is to be hoped that our efforts in col- lecting statistics and historical information in reference to the county may have the effect to stimulate some one who is more competent to write a more complete and better history of Morgan county, and preserve the memory of those who first settled this county, who withstood the hardships and privations of a pioneer life, and through whose patient endurance and hardships the present citizens enjoy the fruits of their labor and so many of the blessings of life.
For the items of information and statistics that will be found recorded in this historical sketch, I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to the present gentlemanly county officials who so kindly assisted me to obtain the needed information. Also, I take pleasure in thanking the old pioneer settlers of the county for the information that I have re- ceived from them, hoping that when they are called to leave this mundane sphere, these homes and beautiful fields, that they may receive the pleasures of a new world, minus the privations and toils that it has been their lot to endure here.
P. S. Mr. John Lesley, who made the canvass of a portion of this county, requests of me to return his thanks to the citizens whom he vis- ted for their gentlemanly treatment and liberal patronage.
PREFACE.
The subscribers for this work will remember that the agents who solic- ited for their subscription promised that it should contain a historical sketch of Morgan county. Therefore, we pen the following pages after a careful examination of the records and a personal interview with the pioneer settlers of the county ; and we hope that our patrons will be satisfied with our efforts to fulfill our promise.
The facts that we have collected in reference to the early history and growth of this county are somewhat limited, yet we feel that they are of sufficient worth for presentation, as such information is constantly be coming more difficult to obtain, as the old pioneers of the county are swiftly passing away, and in a few more years they will have all passed away to an unknown world, and it is to be hoped that our efforts in col- lecting statistics and historical information in reference to the county may have the effect to stimulate some one who is more competent to write a more complete and better history of Morgan county, and preserve the memory of those who first settled this county, who withstood the hardships and privations of a pioneer life, and through whose patient endurance and hardships the present citizens enjoy the fruits of their labor and so many of the blessings of life.
For the items of information and statistics that will be found recorded in this historical sketch, I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to the present gentlemanly county officials who so kindly assisted me to obtain the needed information. Also, I take pleasure in thanking the old pioneer settlers of the county for the information that I have re- ceived from them, hoping that when they are called to leave this mundane sphere, these homes and beautiful fields, that they may receive the pleasures of a new world, minus the privations and toils that it has been their lot to endure here.
P. S. Mr. John Lesley, who made the canvass of a portion of this county, requests of me to return his thanks to the citizens whom he vis- ted for their gentlemanly treatment and liberal patronage.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF
MORGAN COUNTY.
MORGAN COUNTY, Indiana, is centrally located in the State, and is bounded on the north by Hendricks and Marion coun- ties, on the east by Johnson, on the south by Brown and Mon- roe, and on the west by Owen and Putnam, and contains an area of about 450 square miles, or 291,800 acres of land ; and is watered by White River, White Lick Creek, Mud Creek, Big Indian Creek, Stotts's Creek, Clear Creek, Burnett's Creek, Rhodes's Creek, Mill Creek, and their tributaries.
There is a considerable portion of this county that is rough and broken, especially the bluffs of White River, which is not very profitable for grain growing, but can be made the most profitable part of the county for the production of fruits, such as apples, peaches, pears; and, in fact, all kinds of fruits grown in this climate do well here, and the horticulturist is sure to receive a profitable return for his labor. There is about one- third of this county that is bottom lands; the soil of this por- tion of the county is a sandy loam, and very rich and produc- tive. Grain and vegetables of all kinds can be profitably culti- vated here, and especially Indian corn, which is grown in great quantities, and is the principal product of the county.
The timber of the county is hardly surpassed in the State, both for quantity and quality, consisting of poplar, walnut,
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MORGAN COUNTY.
white oak, hickory, beech, sugar-tree, and other varieties. There is also to be found in this county some mineral wealth. The amount is yet untold, but those monstrous hills are not rolled up there for nothing, but surely contain a mint of wealth. Already some of them have been visited by exploring parties prospecting for gold, and some explorers have been bountifully paid for their labor by washing the dirt along the streams.
ORGANIZATION.
By an act of the Legislature in 1823, the boundaries of the county were established, and the county was organized and named in honor of Gen. Daniel Morgan. The regular county officials being duly installed, she commenced business as an in- dependent county, subject only to the State of Indiana. Her 1 first County Commissioners were Benjamin Huffman, Jonathan Williams, and Larken Reynolds.
The first county election that was held in the county was held in a log house that was built by Mr. Stotts. The house was built in the year 1819, and still stands, one and one-half miles west of Waverly, on the gravel road running from Brooklyn to Indianapolis. This house is claimed by some to be the first house built in the county.
The first Clerk of the county was George H. Beeler, suc- ceeded by George A. Phelps, H. R. Stevens, James Jackson, O. R. Dougherty, J. K. Scott, J. J. Wright, J. J. Johnson, John Hardwick, J. H. Piercy by appointment, and Willis Rec- ord, the present incumbent of the office.
The office of Recorder was not called into existence in the county as a separate office until about the year 1840; the busi- ness prior to this time was done by the Clerk of the county. The first Recorder that was elected to act as Recorder of the county, independent of the Clerk's office, was Stephen Mc-
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HISTORICAL SKETCH.
Cracken, who was succeeded by Hiram T. Craig, A. J. White- sett, Stephen McCracken, etc.
The first Sheriff of the county was Benjamin Cutberth.
The first school taught in the county was taught by Hiram T. Craig, in a small log school-house located in what is now called Harrison Township, one and one-half miles west of Waverly ; and as Uncle Hiram is still living in the county, we presume he has lived to see some wonderful changes in the public school property and the manner of teaching schools.
The first dry goods merchant in the county was Samuel Moore, the founder of the town of Mooresville. He came to the county in the year 1823, and laid out the town of Moores- ville, and has lived in the place ever since.
The first gristmill that was built in the county was located on White Lick Creek, near the town of Brooklyn, and was built and run by Benjamin Cutberth.
The first couple that were joined in marriage in the county were Reuben Claypool and Mattie Russel.
The first white child born in the county was a son of James A. Laughlen.
The first paper published in the county was the Mooresville Chronicle, owned and edited by Thomas J. Worth.
The first purchase of land in the county was made by Philip Hodges, in the year 1818, but said land was not surveyed until the year 1819.
The first woolen factory in the county was owned by Wm. C. Cline, and was run by a tread-wheel ; at that time there was not a steam engine in the State.
FIRST SETTLERS.
With rations short and home-spun dress, For many years in this wilderness They struggled with their lot.
They killed the beasts that there did roam,
And made a paradise of home
From many a rugged spot.
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MORGAN COUNTY.
The first settlers of which any reliable information has been obtained, came to this county between the years 1817 and 1819. Upon this point there seems to be some little difference of opin. ion. Mr. Philip Hodges claims to have purchased land in this county in the year 1818, and to have settled in the county the same year. Mrs. Rebecca Douglass claims to have come to the county in the year 1817, and settled among the Indians. Mr. Hiram T. Craig, one of the first settlers of the county, and an old citizen that is possessed of a great memory, is of the opinion that the first colony of emigrants to this county arrived here on the third day of March, 1819, and among whom were Robert C. Stotts, James A. Laughlen, James Stotts, Nathan Laughlen, W. M. Offield, and himself, and settled in what is now called Harrison Township. I would be pleased to have the space and information, so that I could give the names of all the first settlers of this county, especially those whose date of settlement is not given in the Directory part of this work; but as the names of almost all of the old settlers that are still living will be shown up in the Township sketches or Directory, I will only mention the names of a few that should be held in remem- brance by the rising generation. Among those are the six fam- ilies that have already been mentioned as forming the first col- ony, also the families of Hodges, Samuel Moore, Judge Hiram Mathews, Benjamin Huffman, Jonathan Williams, Larken Rey- nolds, George H. Beeler, G. A. Phelps, the family of Mc- Crackens, Benjamin Cutberth, Reuben Claypool, Alexander and Thomas J. Worth, Daniel Thornberg, Jack Record, John Bray, Madison Hadley, Richard Hadley, Benjamin Stafford, and Rebecca Blunk. She is now a citizen of Clay Township. She was one of the first settlers, and is the oldest person in the county, and perhaps the oldest lady in the State. She was born in Richmond, Va., in the year 1768, and is now one hundred and six years old. She was one of a party that emigrated to
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HISTORICAL SKETCH.
Kentucky, and was piloted to the State by Daniel Boone, as he, Boone, returned to the State of Kentucky after paying a visit to the State of Virginia, his old native State. She afterwards removed to Morgan county, Ind., in the year 1819. She is an old pioneer that has withstood the privations and labor that were necessary to be endured by the old settlers of the States of Kentucky and Indiana.
THE PAST AND PRESENT.
In the year 1799 Indiana Territory was not known as a sepa- rate territory, but was embraced in what was called the North- western Territory, comprising what is now the States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of the State of Min- nesota. In the year 1800 Indiana was carved out as a separate territory, with a population (according to the census report) of 5330 inhabitants, and was divided into three counties, namely, Knox, Dearborn and Clark. From 1800 to 1813 the seat of government was at Vincennes. In the year 1813 it was re- moved to Corydon. In the year 1816 Indiana was admitted into the Union as an independent State, and was divided into eighteen counties. At this time more than three-fourths of the State was in possession of the Indians. A law of Congress for- bade the private purchase of the Indian lands; but by a treaty with the Indians, which was negotiated at St. Mary's in the year 1818, by Gov. Jennings, Gov. Cass, and Judge Parke, Commis- sioners on the part of the United States, the Indians gave up all claim and title to the lands southeast of the Wabash River, ex- cept a few small reservations. By this treaty central Indiana was made accessible to the whites, and the settlement of this county began soon after. The survey of lands was not made until the years 1819 and 1820. Prior to the year 1818 no white man had ever settled on this soil, felled a tree or built a cabin in this county. In the year 1819 a few settlements were made, and gradually the tide of emigration to the county increased,
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MORGAN COUNTY.
until the year 1823, the county had increased to a sufficient population to form the county organization.
After the organization the increase in the population was more rapid. In 1830 she had increased in population to 5, 593 ; in 1840 to 10,741 ; in 1850 to 14,576; in 1860 to 16, 110, and in 1870 to 17,528, and since 1870 her population has been grad- ually on the increase. Here vote has increased at the same rate of her population, and now she has a voting population of over 4,000. The vote at the last State election was just 4,000. Her increase in wealth, improvement and enterprise have sur- passed her increase of numbers. She now has 14 civil town- ships, namely : Washington, Jackson, Green, Harrison, Madi- son, Brown, Clay, Monroe, Gregg, Adams, Ray, Jefferson, Baker and Ashland. The county, past and present, seems to have been very well supplied with towns and villages. At present she has 16, namely : Martinsville, the county seat, lo- cated near the center of the county in Washington township, has a population of about 1700 inhabitants, and is the most cen- tral trading point in the county. The citizens in this place are alive to business, clever and social. Hastings, a small town on the railroad, is also located in Washington township. Cross Roads, a small trading point located in Green township. Wa- verly is a nice little village, and perhaps the oldest town in the county, situated close to White River in Harrison township. Monrovia, a town of some four hundred inhabitants, is a nice enterprising business place, located near the north line of the county in Monroe township. Hall, Pine City and Lincoln are all villages of respectability, situated in Gregg township. Emi- nence, a town of three hundred citizens, is located near the west line of the county, in Adams township. Brooklyn and Centerton are places of considerable note in Clay township, and both are on the railroad. Centerton once received the vote of the county to make it the county seat, but for some cause
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HISTORICAL SKETCH.
the removal was not made. Hynd's Station is a small railroad village in Jefferson township. Morgantown, located in the southeast corner of the county in Jackson township, is a nice railroad trading point of considerable business. Maheleysville is also located in Jackson township. Alaska, the post-office of Ashland township, and Lewisville, one half mile east of Alaska, in the same township. Atlanta, a small village located in the southeast part of Green township. Paragon, located in Ray township, is a railroad village and quite a trading point for the southwestern portion of the county. Matthew's Station, a sta- tion on the railroad, three and one half miles south of Moores- ville, in Brown township. Last but not least is Mooresville, lo- cated in the northeast corner of the county in Brown township, and has a population of about 1600 inhabitants. In point of business enterprise and wealth, Mooresville is hardly surpassed in the county. The founder of this place, who is well known to the citizens of the county, is still one of its most influential citizens.
CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS.
The county is well supplied in most parts with good churches and schools. There have been in the last few years great im- provements made in the way of fine school houses and neat and costly churches. The old log school houses and churches are things of the past, and at almost every cross-road we now see beautiful frame or brick building supplying their places.
The public improvements of the county will compare favora- ble with other counties of the State, and the citizens of most parts of the county are favorable to the expenditures of money that are constantly being made by the present County Commis- sioners for public improvements, and if the same spirit of enter- prise continues to exist in the minds of the County Commis- sioners and the tax-payers, this county ere long will rank high in the scale of public improvement.
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MORGAN COUNTY.
Morality and education are likewise on the advance, both marching forward to greater perfection, and leaving behind su- perstition, ignorance and rowdyism, that existed in this county in former years.
MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.
For many years after the organization the only manufacturing establishment of the county was the old-fashioned horse mill for cracking corn, where every man furnished the horse power for grinding his own grist of corn, and now and then a small water or tread wheel for the same purpose. But gradually the spirit of improvement for manufacturing moved the people to attach machinery for carding wool, sawing lumber, threshing wheat, etc.
One by one different manufacturing establishments have been erected to supply the demands of the people, until now in this age of improvement the county has 164 manufacturing estab- lishments, consisting of woolen mills, grist mills, saw mills, planing mills, sash and door factories, stave factories, furniture and other establishments too tedious to mention. She has 43 steam engines and 9 water wheels. Said establishments con- sume about $500,000 worth of raw material annually, and give employment to near 700 hands, and produce annually near $1,000,000 worth of manufactured articles.
HER AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.
The agricultural resources of the county have been in propor- tion to the number of acres of improved land and the facility for cultivating the same; consequently for the first few years after the settlement of the county the agricultural products were very limited, and the old pioneer could not depend altogether on the proceeds of his lands for support, but had to resort to
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HISTORICAL SKETCH.
the rifle and the tomahawk to supply his clapboard table with the necessaries to feed his patient wife and hungry children.
Day after day his table was spread, His wife would call him to eat; Very often minus the bread, But never minus the meat.
But the clearing of the lands has given a gradual and steady · increase to the products of the county until she now has 133, - 615 acres of improved land, producing annually 330,000 bush- els of winter wheat, 6, 500 bushels of rye, I, 190,000 bushels of Indian corn, 65,000 bushels of oats, from 200 to 1500 bushels of barley, 50,000 bushels of potatoes, 229, 355 pounds of butter, near 10,000 tons of hay, and over 60,000 pounds of wool, besides thousands of dollars worth of vegetables. The value of the improved land in the county, according to the sta- tistics of 1872, was $8, 565, 565.
LIVE STOCK.
The domesticated animals of the county have been greatly improved, both in numbers and quality. Stock raising has be- come profitable, and now some of the best stock raisers of the State are citizens of Morgan county. The total estimated value of all her live stock for the year 1872 is $1,250,651. The number of horses in the county is 6142; mules and asses, 550; milch cows, 4375 ; work oxen, 184; sheep, 21,000, and about 35,000 head of swine.
ROADS AND MARKETS.
For several years the first settlers of this county kept track of the roads by blazing the timber as a guide for the direction they wished to travel. In that day the travel was generally done on foot, except the milling, and in this case the settler would take his horse, if he had any, because it was necessary that he should be used as the power for propelling the mill to grind his
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MORGAN COUNTY.
corn. Wheat bread was then out of the question. The only market they had much need of then was the fur trader, who bought their furs and gave them in exchange a few of the neces- saries of life. But gradually as their field expanded they be- gan to produce a surplus of wheat and Indian corn. Conse- quently better roads to a more distant market had to be made and put in condition to travel with wagons. Then for several years their markets were Madison, Lawrenceburg and Cincin- nati ; but the steady'growth of the State and the rapid increase of the population of Indianapolis, soon gave them a market closer to home; and now in this age of railroads and steam power, every farmer in the county has a market at home for his surplus.
The county now has some very fine turnpike and gravel roads, and near fifty miles of railroad ; the Indianapolis & Vin- cennes R. R. spanning the entire county from its northeast to its southwest corner, and the Martinsville & Cincinnati R. R. traversing the county from Martinsville to the southeast corner. Instead of the old-fashioned way of traveling by ox-teams in the mud at the rate of one or two miles per hour, we now travel by steam on the railroad at the rate of twenty or thirty miles per hour. Instead of waiting six or eight days to get an answer to a letter from Indianapolis, we now get an answer the same evening; and if we are in a hurry, we communicate by telegraph at lightning speed.
TAXATION.
The total assessed value of all real estate and personal prop- erty of the county, according to the statistics of 1872, is $8,320 400 ; the true value will reach at least $13,000,000. The true amount of all the taxes that were paid into the treasury the same year, the National tax not included, was $128,558; of this amount $36, 396 were for State purposes, $53,532 for county, and $38,630 for township purposes.
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