USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Vol. I > Part 30
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263
PLATTING FORT WAYNE-COUNTY ORGANIZED
1820 1823
BARR AND M'CORKLE.
John T. Barr, a merchant, of Baltimore, Maryland, and John McCorkle, an active citizen of Piqua, Ohio, combined their resources and purchased the tract which since has been known as the Original Plat.
Neither of these original proprietors of Fort Wayne chose to make his home here. Nothing is known of the activities of John T. Barr, in Baltimore, beyond the showing of the Baltimore city direct- ories of his period, which refer to him as a merchant. Much is known, however, of John McCorkle. His first connection with Fort Wayne came through his association with John P. Hedges, when the two men were engaged, in 1819, to furnish supplies of beef and bread to the Indians while waiting for their annuities. From an article written by the late E. F. Colerick, quoting Benjamin F. Blosser, former postmaster of Decatur, Indiana, we learn that Barr and McCorkle came to the land sale together, in a bateau which they propelled down the St. Mary's river. Mr. Blosser assisted them in transferring their luggage, including their specie, around Captain James Riley's dam at Willshire. Mr. McCorkle was born at Piqua, in 1791. As the owner of a carding mill, gristmill and oil mill, he laid the foundation for a prosperous future. He became Piqua's leading merchant. In 1821, with two other enterprising citizens, he founded St. Mary's, Ohio. He was an orator of power, a state repre- sentative, and a leader in many local enterprises at Piqua. He died in 1829. at the age of thirty-eight years.
For the original tract, Barr and McCorkle paid the minimum price of $1.25 per acre, and they took immediate steps to plat the property and to offer it for sale in the form of business and residence lots. Robert Young,3 a Piqua surveyor, was employed to lay out the property which was described as "the north fraction of the southeast quarter of section two, township thirty north, range twelve east."
Alexander Ewing secured eighty acres of ground immediately west of the Barr and McCorkle tract, at $1.25 per acre, which later became Ewing's addition to Fort Wayne.
The plat of the Barr and McCorkle land consisted originally of 110 lots. There were four north-and-south streets (Calhoun, Court, Clinton and Barr), and five east-and-west streets (Water, Columbia, Main, Berry and Wayne). Water street was later renamed Superior. The streets of this original plat, as well as all which adjoin it, do not conform to the points of the compass, but rather, are based on lines north and south on a variation of three degrees and thirty minutes west of magnetic north.
"The reason the lines of the lots were not run with the land lines according to the cardinal points of the compass, consists in this, that the trading and other houses, built before that time, were ranged along two common roads, now Columbia and Barr streets, so that to save them in their location, the town was laid off to conform to these roads and save the houses from removal." (John W. Daw- son's Charcoal Sketches"). The first man to conform his surveys to the true points of the compass was Major Samuel Lewis, who, in later years, laid out his addition south from Lewis street.
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264
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
While the proprietors of the new town of Fort Wayne were busy preparing for the sale of lots, the state on the 17th of December, 1823, took an important step in the formation of the county of Allen, with jurisdiction over what is now Wells, Adams, DeKalb and Steuben and portions of Noble, LaGrange, Huntington and Whitley counties. The name of Allen was suggested by General John Tipton, who was an admirer of Colonel John Allen, the gallant Kentuckian. who, after the relief of Fort Wayne in 1812, lost his life at the battle of the River Raisin, in Michigan, south of Detroit.
NOTES ON CHAPTER XXI.
(1) Dr. William Turner died at his residence in the old apple orchard in Spy Run (Fort Wayne) in 1821, and his remains were buried there. He was the son-in-law of Captain, William Wells, having married his eldest daugh- ter, Ann Wells (Ah-pez-zah-quah), who survived him until July 26, 1834.
The second daughter of Captain Wells, Rebekah (Pe-me-sah-quah), be- came the wife of Captain James Hack- ley, of the United States army, who was a charter member of Wayne lodge of Masons. Hackley committed suicide in the early twenties; Mrs. Hackley died June 14, 1835. Their children were Ann and Jack W. Hackley. Ann Hackley married Nathan Ferrand In 1835; later she married Peter Bly- stone. With her husband and her son, Jack, she removed to Kansas, and there her death occurred in 1858.
The third daughter of Captain Wells, Mary, or Mollie ( Ah-ma-quah-zah- quuah, Sweet Breeze), born at Fort Wayne in 1800, married Judge James Wolcott, who came from Torrington, Connecticut, in March, 1821. In 1826, the Wolcotts removed to Maumee City (now South Toledo), Ohio, where the death of the wife occurred February 17, 1843. Judge Wolcott died in 1873. A son of Judge Wolcott, Frederick Al- len Wolcott, was killed before Atlanta, Georgia, July 22, 1864.
Jane T. Wells, fourth daughter of Captain William Wells, married John H. Griggs at Fort Wayne about 1830. Mr. Griggs came from the vicinity of Piqua, Ohio. Their children, born at Fort Wayne and Peru, were Warren, Charles F., Anthony Wayne, Lydia, Martha, Mabia and Oliver. The present Warren Griggs, of Peru, is a son of Charles F. Griggs.
Juliana Wells, fifth daughter of Cap- tain Wells, died at Fort Wayne.
William Wayne Wells (Wa-pe-mong- gah), first son of Captain Wells, spent his young boyhood at Fort Wayne, but, like his sisters, Ann and Rebekah, he was given the advantage of an educa- tion in the schools of Kentucky, where the relatives of their father lived. From Kentucky, William Wayne Wells enrolled as a cadet at West Point Mili-
tary Academy. He graduated with honors in 1821, but his death occurred soon after his appointment as a lieu- tenant in the United States army.
Samuel G. Wells, second son of Cap- tain Wells, born at Fort Wayne, died childless.
Yelberton P. Wells, third son of Cap- tain Wells, died at St. Louis, Missouri, leaving one child.
"All of those having Indian names claimed that these names had been given them by their grandfather, Little Turtle," says the late John Wentworth, of Chicago.
From present available information, it appears that Yelberton P. Wells and Juliana Wells were the children of his third wife, the daughter of Colonel Guiger, of Kentucky. (See Chapter XV). Authorities agree that Wells' first wife was the daughter of Little Turtle, although some writers refer to her as a sister of the chief. From "Early Chicago," published by the Fer- gus Printing Company, comes the state- ment that Wells's second wife was a member of the Wea tribe.
(2) When Barr and McCorkle, the original proprietors of the town of Fort Wayne, were naming the streets, they specified one as Kercheval street. "Not so," responded Benjamin Berry Ker- cheval. "But if you insist upon naming one of the streets for me, you may use my middle name." And thus did Berry street receive its name. (Statement of G. K. Michaelis, of New York, a great- grandson).
(3) A score of years later, Robert Young, addressing the committee in charge of the ceremonies of the open- ing of the Wabash and Erie canal, wrote: "When I- surveyed Fort Wayne for Messrs. Barr and McCorkle, about twenty years ago, with the aid of Mr. [Anthony L.] Davis and other gentle- men, I made a survey and level from the waters of the Wabash to the St. Mary's, near Fort Wayne, with refer- ence to a canal. Convinced of the prac- ticability and importance of the work, both in public and private life, I have since used all the influence so humble an individual could use in favor of this great public improvement." (Original letter owned by Mrs. Clark Fairbank).
L
1
CHAPTER XXVII-1824.
Pioneer County Government-The First Lot Buyers.
Settlers pour into the village of Fort Wayne-Arrival of the commissioners to establish the government of Allen county-Ewing's Washington Hall and Suttenfield's tavern-The first officials of Allen county-The first tavern rates-The original tax schedule-Paying taxes in wolf scalps- The first circuit court judges indicted for law infraction-Grand jury activities-The first attorney's license, trespass suit, divorce case, nat- uralization grant, tavern license and marriage license-Barr and McCor- kle's plat of the town is accepted-Valuable gifts to the county-The original lot buyers-The county, library-Fate of the institution-Wells's Pre-emption is opened-The first brick building-A near-war between the Miamis and the Ottawas assists in the foundation of two fortunes.
T HE EYES of the entire middle west were now centered upon the village at the head of the Maumee, and the settlers ap- peared in increasing numbers over the convenient streams which approach the spot from widely separated regions. Many of these travelers came to purchase a place on which to estab- lish homes. Pending the sale of lots, Barr and McCorkle awaited the organization of the county government, and then they proceeded in due form with the work of securing the returns on their investment in the faith of the pioneers.
At this time there were no streets beyond the beaten paths and the driveways which had, by chance, come into accepted use when- ever one man chose to walk or drive over a route taken by another before him. However, with the laying out of the streets of the future town and city, the site assumed an air of order, industry and enterprise. There was work for all.
The legislative act creating Allen county took effect April 1, 1824. Six days previous to this date, the arrival of four horsemen was hailed with delight. They were the commissioners appointed by the legislature to determine upon the seat of government for the new county-Lot Bloomfield, of Wayne county ; Abiathar Hathaway, of Fayette county ; William Conner, of Hamilton county, and James M. Ray, of Marion county.
These commissioners, in accordance with instructions of the legislature, held their session at the tavern of Alexander Ewing, known as Washington Hall, and soon completed the formalities of their mission. The Ewing building, constructed of logs, stood at the southwest corner of Barr and Columbia streets.
Ewing's Washington Hall was the first tavern to be established in Fort Wayne, although the rival place of entertainment, estab- lished by William Suttenfield on the corner diagonally opposite, was built in the same year, 1823. The Ewing house became the first meeting place of the circuit court judges, and the Suttenfield tavern was likewise employed during the earlier years of the county's history. The Ewing tavern, which was considered the best in north- ern Indiana, passed through a succession of ownerships.
265
266
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
The first election of county officers occurred on the 22d of May. Previous to this, Governor William Hendricks had named Allen Hamilton, the young clerk in the land office, as sheriff of Allen county, "to serve until the next election, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified-should he so long behave well." . Cyrus Taber and Joseph Holman signed the sheriff's bond of $5,000.
The election of county officers was held in accordance with the sheriff's proclamation. The race was characterized by a lively spirit (although partisan politics did not figure in the contests), as is indicated by the attempt of defeated candidates to wrest the honors from some of the victors. The choice of the voters fell upon Samuel Hanna and Benjamin Cushman, associate circuit court judges; Anthony L. Davis, clerk and recorder (succeeded by Joseph Holman) ; William Rockhill, commissioner for three years; James Wyman, commissioner for two years; Francis Comparet, commissioner for one year. Alexander Ewing, a rival of Samuel Hanna, and Marshall K. Taylor, who opposed the election of Wyman and Comparet, filed notices of contest of election, but they failed to prove their right to political honors.
On Wednesday, May 26, the newly-elected board of county com- missioners met at the house of Alexander Ewing for a six-day ses- sion. Their first official act was the selection of Joseph Holman to be the treasurer of the county ; he was required to "give bond, with two good, sufficient freehold securities, in the penal sum of $1,000." In 1825, W. G. Ewing was appointed to succeed Mr. Holman as treasurer. Thomas Forsythe was elected to the office in 1826. At this time Mr. Ewing reported that during the year 1825, $283.311/4 had been received by the county, and that $22.41 had been expended, leaving a balance of $260.9014. Moses Thorp succeeded Mr. Forysthe in 1827.
Mr. Comparet was absent from the initial session of the board, but he appeared the next day. The board appointed General John Tipton to be the county agent-a position of importance-and authorized him to pay, at the rate of $3 per day, the allowance due the five commissioners sent to select the county seat. The board then made the following appointments: Hugh B. McKeen, lister of taxables; Lambert Cushovis, constable; Robert Hars, inspector of elections; William N. Hood, inspector of flour, beef and pork for the township of Wayne; Samuel Hanna, road supervisor for Wayne township; W. T. Davis and Alexis Coquillard, overseers of the poor in Wayne township; Israel Taylor, Joseph Troutner and Moses Scott, fence viewers. At this time Wayne township included the entire county of Allen. John Tipton, the county agent, was ordered to construct a "pound" of suitable size, on the site of the present court house, in which to house stray animals. This appears to have been the first building ordered to be placed on the public square, but the order was rescinded at a later time. The board ordered the county agent to advertise an election, "to be held at the house of Alexander Ewing, if permitted; if not, at some suitable place in the township of Wayne, for the election of three justices of the peace." The commissioners also selected thirty-six names from which to choose a petit jury for the circuit court.
The commissioners fixed the following figures to regulate the
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1824
PIONEER COUNTY GOVERNMENT
267
rates to be charged by tavernkeepers, who were required to pay an annual license of $12.50 to conduct their business: Dinner, break- fast and supper, 25 cents; keeping horse, night and day, 50 cents ; lodging, per night, 121/2 cents; whisky, per half pint, 121/2 cents ; brandy, per half pint, 50 cents ; gin, per half pint, 371/2 cents ; porter, per bottle, 371/2 cents; cider, per quart, 183/4 cents.
The board also decided upon the following rates for assessment on personal property, for county purposes, for the year 1824: Male person, over the age of 21 years, 50 cents; horse, gelding, mare or mule, three years old and upward, 371/2 cents; work oxen, three years old and upward, 183/4 cents; gold watch, $1; silver watch, 25 cents ; pinchbeck watch, 25 cents; pleasure carriage, four wheels, $1.50; pleasure carriage, two wheels, $1.
Treasurer Holman reported that in 1824 the county was entitled to $112.62 from taxes, "embracing delinquents, errors, etc." The state at this time and for a long period to follow paid a bounty on
ORIGINAL PLAT OF FORT WAYNE' RECORDED AUG.
16, 1833
EM
68
69
70
16/15 14
13 12 11
10 98
765
43 2
-
WATER (NOW SUPERIOR)
ST.
WATER (NOW SUPERIOR) ST.
17 18 19
20 21 22
23 24 25
16 27 28
29 30 31
32
48 47 46
45 44 43
42 41 40
39 38 37
36 35 34
10
11 |12|13
14
15 16
17 18
- COLUMBIA
ST.
COLUMBIA
ST.
49 50 51
52 53 54
55 56 57
58 59 60
61 62 63
0 64
וק 78 79
76 75 74
73 72 7/
10 69 58
67 66 65
MAI
N
ST.
80
83
B
ST.
86 87 86
89, 90 91
MAIN
ST.
103
100
BERRY
ST.
48 47
46 45 44
42
41
40
104 195 100
107 108 109 1110 1H 12
113 114|015
116 117 118
133 0 32 7 34
130 129 128) 1127/126/123
24 123 122
12/ 120 119
COUNTY ADDITION RECORDED AUG. 16. 1833
WAYNE
ST.
BERRY
ST.
167 16878
170 171 172
73 174 175
$26 177 /19
67 66 05
44
63 62
19
160 561
190
184 183 182
18: 180 179
ANTHONY L. DAVIS SURVEYOR
82
57
PUBLIC
85
101
SQUARE
102
99
97 96 195.
94 93 92
ST.
49
50 5/
52 |53|54
55
56 57
21
|20
29
28 27 26
24
23 22
30 31
32 33 34
35 36 31
38
19
33
BARR
9 87
LAFAYETTE
6 5 4 3 21
MAUMEE
CALHOUN
CLINTON
BARR
ST JOSEPH
THE ORIGINAL PLAT OF FORT WAYNE AND THE COUNTY ADDITION The tracings show the original plat of Fort Wayne as presented by John T. Barr and John McCorkle, together with the county addition, which was opened for sale at a later period. The original plat was first recorded in Randolph county.
all wolf scalps taken; the certificates thus issued were receivable for tax payments. Nearly all of the taxes of Allen county "were paid off in these certificates, which were usually sent up to Indian- apolis by the representatives."
As a result of the election in August, a board of three justices of the peace was elected-Alexander Ewing, William N. Hood and William Rockhill. One of the first acts of this board, which sup- planted the board of county commissioners, was the receipt and acceptance of the report of Benjamin B. Kercheval and Samuel Hanna, commissioners for Allen county, to survey and locate the Winchester road, "from Vernon, in Jennings county, by way of
ST
268
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
Greensburg, Rushville and Newcastle, to Fort Wayne." It was Allen county's first established rural highway; it ran nearly south from the town, and was the beginning of a great network of roads which centered at the settlement. The road was surveyed by Chauncey Carter, under the direction of Kercheval and Hanna.
Under the provisions of the constitution of 1816, "the circuit courts shall consist of a president and two associate judges." In all counties of the state, the circuit court had common law and chancery jurisdiction, as, also, criminal jurisdiction, subject to certain limitations. The president judge, whose duties carried him on the circuit of several counties, was chosen by joint ballot of the legislature for a term of seven years; the associates, or "side" judges, served for the county only, and were chosen by the voters of the county. Membership in the legal profession was not a re- quirement of qualification for the associate judgeship. Allen county was a part of the Third judicial circuit, with the counties of Wayne, Franklin, Dearborn, Randolph, Union, Switzerland, Fayette and Ripley, over which William W. Wick was, in 1824, president judge.
The first session of the Allen circuit court was held beginning Monday, August 9, 1824, at Ewing's Washington Hall. Judge Wick was absent-indeed, he was unable to attend any of the court ses- sions in Fort Wayne-and the "side" judges, Samuel Hanna and Benjamin Cushman, recently elected, found themselves confronted by a vast amount of business. The records of the opening years of the county's judicial history reveal the fact that very few of the leading citizens escaped indictment on charges of selling liquor illegally, larceny, assault and battery, gambling, defamation of character, "affrays," and like misdemeanors, while the civil and chancery cases were numerous from the beginning. At the opening session, Anthony L. Davis, an appointee of Governor Hendricks, officiated as clerk of the court; he filed a bond for $2,500, with General Tipton and Benjamin B. Kercheval as sureties. The court appointed Charles W. Ewing as prosecuting attorney.
The report of the first grand jury, which was received, no doubt, with complacency by the community, would if duplicated at the present time, precipitate official investigations and consequent loss of reputation. But it reflects merely the spirit of the times and cannot be paralleled with the standard of the demands of the Amer- ican people of today. Both of the associate judges were indicted for wrong-doing, and a member of the grand jury was found guilty of a misdemeanor which brought a three-dollar fine. The indictments against the judges were continued to the next session, and the record contains the notation that "he [the prosecuting attorney] will no further prosecute the said indictments." Of the nine de- fendants charged with the illegal sale of liquors, the larger part were men whose names are synonymous with the great accomplish- ments of early Fort Wayne. Six of those accused of the illegal sale of liquor paid fines of three dollars; another seems to have sinned a little in excess of his brothers, for he was required to pay four dollars. Two, charged with "playing at a game," demanded a jury trial, and were assessed a fine of $10 each. One woman, charged with lewdness, was acquitted by a jury, while another was found guilty and sentenced to serve fifteen days in jail, a fate from which
267
PIONEER COUNTY GOVERNMENT
1824
she was saved on the securing of bail to the amount of $100. This first grand jury was composed of General Tipton (foreman), Paul Taber, William Suttenfield, Alexander Ewing, James Hackley, Charles Weeks, John Davis, William Probst, Horace Taylor, James Wyman, James Cannon and Peter Felix. The latter, employed as a baker, was excused, and two men, Cyrus Taber and William N. Hood, were named to take his place. The jurors were allowed $1.50 each for their services.
The court admitted to the Allen county bar William G. Ewing, the first man to be thus honored, although his brother, Charles W. Ewing, was the first lawyer to locate in the county. The first case on the court docket was that of Richard Swain vs. Joseph Troutner for trespass; it was dismissed at the next session. A divorce suit, the first on record in the county, filed by A. Cannada against Na- thaniel Cannada, resulted in a decision for the plaintiff, who was required to pay the costs. The finding was rendered at a later session of the court, after the due legal publication in the Richmond (Indiana) Enquirer, such procedure being required because the defendant was a non-resident. Polly Robertson also sought a divorce
WILLIAM S. EDSALL.
Mr. Edsall was among the settlers of 1824, being one of nine children of Mrs. Peter Edsall, a widow, who came from Ohio. He became an attache of the sur- veying corps of Colonel Shriver, who was sent by the government to lay the lines for the Wabash and Erie canal and who died in Fort Wayne while in the midst of the work. William S. Edsall established a ferry, he became a clerk of the Ew- ings and lived for a period at Hunting- ton, where he became county clerk and recorder. Returning to Fort Wayne in 1836, he formed a partnership with his brother Samuel, and later became a part- ner with the Ewings in the firm of Ew- ing, Edsall and Company. He also served as register of the land office. The Ed- salls originated the Fort Wayne and Bluffton plank road, and were the con- tractors for forty-seven miles of the grading of the Wabash railroad. In 1868, after returning from a three-year resi- dence in Chicago, William S. Edsall was elected clerk of the courts. The portrait is from a photograph loaned by Mrs. George D. Crane.
SAMUEL EDSALL.
Mr. Edsall was a son of Peter Edsall. He came to Fort Wayne with his mother and eight brothers and sisters in 1824. He became a pioneer miller and was oth- erwise prominently identified with the development of the town. In 1842 he, with William Rockhill, established two band sawmills, operated with water power from the canal. In 1843 Mr. Ed- sall established the famous "stone mill," known also as Edsall's mill, and the Orff mill. Mr. Edsall was one of the builders of the first courthouse in 1831, and was given the contract for the construction of the new building in 1847. Associated with his brothers, William S. and Simon, Mr. Edsall was prominently connected with the construction of the Wabash railroad. Simon S. Edsall was a prom- inent farmer. John Edsall, another brother, was a pioneer tailor of Fort Wayne. Though the pioneer period, the family added substantially to the de- velopment of the community. The port- rait is from a photograph loaned by Mrs. DeGroff Nelson, his daughter.
270
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
from her husband, Thomas Robertson; the case was dismissed at a subsequent session of the court, and in this record the names appear as "Robinson" instead of "Robertson." James Aveline, a native of France, was made a naturalized citizen, the first to be thus honored in Allen county. The court granted Alexander Ewing a license to conduct a tavern. The first marriage license was issued August 8, 1824, to Samuel MeElwain and Zeruen Marian. The marriage service was performed by James Cannon, justice of the peace.
The court allowed Allen Hamilton, sheriff, $16.65 2-3 for four months' work, and Charles W. Ewing $5 for services during the session. Robert Hars, constable, received 75 cents per day. The clerk was authorized to make use of a "scrawl [scroll ?] including the letters A. C. C. [ Allen circuit court] for the seal of office until a proper seal can be provided." The first record of the "binding out" of a minor is that of the placing of James Peltier, jr., aged 10 years and 7 months, son of James Peltier, sr., in the charge of James Hackley, until the boy had reached the age of 21. Hackley agreed to supply "meat, drink, washing, lodging and apparel," and to teach the boy reading, writing and arithmetic "as far as the rule of three." James Peltier, sr., was a brother of Louis Peltier. The son, James, lived to an age beyond 90 years; his brother, Sal- vador Peltier, died in 1914.
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