USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 51
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Dr. William W. Tucker was born in New Phil- adelphia in 1831. He studied medicine in his native town and graduated in the Commercial college of Indianapolis, Indiana, and in the Louisville Medical college in 1853. In the year 1861 he and Miss Elizabeth Tresenwriter, of New Albany, were united in inarriage. Her father, Mr. John Tresenwriter, was one of the first settlers of Floyd county, Indiana. The doctor's family consists of three children. In justice to energy, pluck, and ability, we must say the doctor commenced the practice of medicine in Georgetown in the fall of 1861 without a dol- lar in his pocket and is now a wealthy man. His father was one of Washington county's pio- neers.
Mr. Francis R. Nelson was born in Dutchess county, New York, in 1818. His father, Harvey Nelson, came to Clarke county, Indiana, in 1821, and settled in Jeffersonville and remained until his death, which. occurred in 1840. His wife and mother died in Marietta, Ohio, while on their way to this county. Francis was reared
by his uncle, Reuben W. Nelson, a lawyer of Jeffersonville. Mr. Francis Nelson has been married three times. His first wife was Miss Mary. J. McClintock; the second, Miss Rachel Morgan; the third, Miss Mary Walker, of Har- rison county, Indiana. By his first wife he has one child living, and by his last wife he has four living children.
Mr. David Hanger was born in Augusta coun- ty, Virginia, in 1815. His father, Frederick Hanger, came to Floyd county in 1820, and died in 1871 in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Mr. David Hanger was married in 1840 to Miss Nancy Tyler, of Georgetown. Their family con- sists of ten children. Two sons, Thomas and William, reside in Floyd county; and Hamilton C. and Jesse B. reside in Clarke county; Fred- erick still resides at home with his father. Mrs. Hanger's father, David Tyler, is one of the pio- neers of this county.
Mr. George Waltz was born in Floyd county, Indiana, in 1816. His father was Mr. Henry Waltz, a farmer and tavern-keeper at George- town. The grandfather, George, came from Pennsylvania and settled in Floyd county with its first settlers. He laid out part of the town of Georgetown, and gave it its name. George Waltz was twice married-in 1837 to Miss Susana Harmon, of Harrison county. She died in 1850, leaving a family of six children. Again in 1851 to Miss Evaline Kepley, of Harrison county. By this marriage Mr. Waltz has two children. This family, more than any other of our acquaintance, has cause for remembering the trying times of 1861-65, when so much of our best young blood was spilled to teach men that "this was a Nation." In that terrible struggle Mr. Waltz lost a brother, three sons, a son-in-law, and two brothers-in-law. Jesse H. was a corpo- ral in the Eighty-first regiment, Indiana volunteer infantry, and died at Nashville, Tennessee; James H., Fifty-third regiment, and died of wounds received at Atlanta, Georgia; George W., Eighty-first regiment, died at home of disease contracted while in service; Jesse D. Teaford (son-in-law), Eighty-first regiment, killed at Chickamauga; Harbin H. (brother) was mortally wounded at Thompson's Hill; Isaac Kepley, Eighty-first regiment, died at Nashville, Ten- nessee; Mennefee Kepley, Eighty-first regiment, died at Murfreesborough, Tennessee.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
CHAPTER XVI. GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP.
ORGANIZATION.
This was one of the three original townships of which the county was composed when first formed, and was at that time part of the territory embraced in Clarke county. It occupies the northwestern part of the county, and originally contained much more territory than at present, as the following from the record of the county commissioners makes apparent. This record is dated February 8, 1819, and is part of the pro- ceedings of the first meeting of the commission- ers, which body then consisted of Clement Nance and Jacob Piersol :
Ordered, That all that part of Floyd county lying above the road and north of the knobs, leading from New Albany to Vincennes, until it strikes or intersects the county line, form one township, to be known and designated as Greenville township ; and that the elections for said township be held at the house of John R.
The boundaries thus established formed the second township in the county, New Albany being the first. At the same meeting it was
Ordered, That Mr. James McCutchan, Sr., be appointed Inspector of Election in the township of Greenville for the term of one year,
He thus became the first officer in the town- ship. It was also ordered at the same meeting that the sheriff issue writs of election for two justices of the peace for Greenville, the election to be held on the 22d of February, 1819.
A second meeting of the commissioners was held February 9, 1819, at which the following business was transacted:
Ordered, That Isaac Stewart, of Greenville, be appointed Lister for the County of Floyd for the year 1819.
Ordered, That Samuel Kendall and Frederick Leatherman be appointed Overseers of the Poor in the County of Floyd, for the Township of Greenville, for the term of one year.
Ordered, That John Irvin, David Edwards, and Isaac Woods be appointed Fence Viewers for the township of Greenville in said County of Floyd, for the term specified by law.
Samuel Kendall, of Greenville, was at the same meeting appointed supervisor for all the roads in Floyd county. . These were few and far apart, however, at that time.
At a meeting of the commissioners, held March 4, 1819, at the house of Seth Woodruff, in New Albany, the boundaries of Greenville township were changed, and the territory reduced, as follows:
Ordered, That all that part of Floyd county beginning at the corners of sections numbered fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one, and twenty-two, in township No. 2, south of range Fifth east, on the line dividing Harrison and Floyd; thence east with the section line to the corners of sections numbered seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, and twenty, in township No. 2, south of range Sixth east; thence south with the section line to the corners of sections numbered nineteen, twenty, twenty-nine, and thirty in said township; thence east with the section line to the corners of sections numbered twenty. twenty-one, twenty-eight, and twenty-nine in said township; thence north with the section line to the corners of sections numbered seventeen, sixteen, twenty, and twenty-one, in said township, thence east with the section line to the corners of sections numbered fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one, and twenty-two, in said township; thence north to the corners of sections numbered nine, ten, fifteen, and sixteen, in said township; thence east to the corners of sections numbered ten, eleven, fourteen, and fifteen, in said town- ship; thence north to the corners of sections numbered two, three, thirty-four, and thirty-five, in said township; thence east to the Grant line; thence up with said line to the line which divides the counties of Floyd and Clarke; thence with the county line of Floyd to the place of beginning, to form one township, to be designated by the name of Greenville township.
And it is further ordered, that the bounds of said township, called by the name of Greenville township, which was made an order at the session in February last, be and the same is hereby made void and of none effect.
The above is an exact copy of the record which established the boundaries of this town- ship, though they have since been somewhat changed.
TOPOGRAPHY.
In its wilderness state this township was gen- erally covered with a rank growth of hard-wood timber of nearly every variety, although oak was perhaps the prevailing timber, as the larger por- tion of the township was considered upland. The lower lands along the streams were occupied by sugar, hickory, beech, black walnut, and in · places covered with a dense undergrowth of paw-paw, spicewood, and other varieties of underbrush, while the ground was for the most part literally covered with wild pea-vines, thus making the forest impenetrable to the white set- tler until he had hewed his way with his axe. Grape-vines also grew rankly, climbing to the tops of the highest trees, and in places shutting out the sun-light, making the woods a perpetual gloom. Wild animals of every description known to the American forest, and creeping things, filled these woods and met the hardy pioneer at every turn.
Wolves, bears, deer, and turkeys were not to be numbered; but the buffalo and elk had pro-
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
bably entirely disappeared when the first white man planted his wigwam. Elk-horns were fre- quently discovered in the woods, showing that this noble animal had been an inhabitant of this forest; and it is known that the buffalo roamed through these woods prior to the beginning of this century, as it is occasionally mentioned in the history of those times.
An occasional patch of cleared ground was found by the first white settlers along the streams where the Indians had planted corn, and an opening in the forest sometimes appeared where there was a swamp or swail (the settlers called it a "ma'sh") covering sometimes several acres. These swails were generally covered with water the whole year, and produced a rank growth of wild grasses, making excellent feeding- grounds for deer and elk, and also · for great numbers of wild geese and ducks.
The township is abundantly watered by num- erous creeks, running brooks, and springs; the latter are especially abundant, and furnish excel- lent water.
Indian creek is the largest stream in the town- ship. Its two forks in this township are termed, respectively, the Big and the Little Indian. The headwaters of the Big Indian are in the north- eastern part of the township, its course being generally southwest across the township until it joins Little Indian near the southern boundary. It has several tributaries, one of which is termed the North fork of Big Indian, and in an early day was a stream of considerable magnitude; but since the clearing up of the country it has dwindled to a small brook. The Little Indian, with numerous tributaries, waters the southeast- ern part of the township.
In the western part of the township are Corn run and Richland creek; the former a small stream, rising in the northwestern part of the township, passes south more than half-way across the township, and, making a turn west, it enters the adjoining county. Richland creek has its source in a beautiful spring, known as Cave spring, near the northern line of the township. Its course is almost due south until it crosses the southern line of the township.
A little creek known as Bear creek enters the northwestern part of the township, and,. after passing a short distance through the township, re-enters the adjoining county on the north.
At the date of the first settlement of the county, the hills along this creek were noted for their numerous hiding-places for bear and other wild game; hence the name. The region was much frequented by hunters long after game had disappeared from other parts of the adjacent county. The last bear seen in Floyd county was near this creek about 1830, or perhaps a few years later, by Harrison Wilcoxen. It crossed the road ahead of him, but, as he was unarmed, he did not pursue. Probably the last deer killed in the township was by Joseph Lug- enbeel in 1845. Later, about 1852, a large buck was seen near Greenville village, and pursued by several hunters, but made its escape. It is be- lieved this was the last wild deer seen in the township. Turkeys were the last of the large wild game to disappear. The last known to have been killed in this township was by John Sap- penfield, in 1863, though they did not probably disappear entirely until some years later.
The land in this township is generally rolling, and in places even hilly; nearly all of it is culti- vated, and the larger proportion of it is under a high state of cultivation. Timber is yet abun- dant, occupying generally the most inaccessible and undesirable lands; though considerable heavy timber is yet found on the bottom lands along the streams.
There is a ridge north and northeast of Green- ville, whose general course is northwest and southeast, dividing the waters of Bear creek from the other streams mentioned. The soil is most- ly clay, and is of drift formation. Along the two Indian creeks considerable bottom land is found composed of black loam, and is very valu- able to the agriculturist. The cultivated land of the entire township is quite productive, especially of the smaller grains, such as wheat, oats, rye, etc.
The following remarks regarding the agricul- tural productions in this township, are taken from the Agricultural Report of 1880:
Acres of wheat, 2,042; bushels of wheat, 22,462; acres of corn, 1,936; bushels of corn, 37,648; acres of oats, 1,237; bushels of oats, 24,740; acres of meadow, 1,090; tons of hay, 1,362; acres of potatoes, --; bushels of potatoes, 2,960; acres of sweet potatoes, 5; bushels of sweet potatoes, 300.
Franklin is the only township in the county that averages more wheat to the acre than this. Oats, however, is the principal crop, the amount
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
of acreage in this township being more than five hundred in excess of any other in the county, and the bushels about ten thousand in excess of any other in Floyd.
The number of acres of land in the township is 20,960, of which about 13,000 are improved. The population by the census of 1880 was 1,589.
ARCHEOLOGY.
Evidences of the Mound Builders and archæe- ological remains are very meagre in this town- ship, and, indeed, in the county. If the "lost race " occupied this territory extensively, but little evidence of the fact remains. Three small mounds or hillocks having the usual appearance of mounds, appear near the village of Galena, on what is known as Knob run, a small tributary of the Little Indian creek. They are situated very near each other, have the usual oval form, and are overgrown with timber, which fact prob- ably accounts for their preservation. Two of them are, perhaps, five feet in height at the pres- ent time, and the third about ten feet. They have never been opened. It is a well known fact that the Mound Builders' works are gen- erally found on loamy, sandy ground,and as this is very scarce in Greenville township, it is not probable that they occupied this territory as a place of residence to a great extent. Nu- merous stone hatchets and other stone imple- ments have been found in various parts of the township, but, as these were in use by both Indians and Mound Builders, they may have been the production of the former.
INDIANS.
The red man held undisputed sway over this territory when the first settlers made their ap- pearance, though the evidences of their occupa- tion yet remaining are not numerous. They built no monuments, raised no temples, nor planted any imperishable thing to perpetuate their mem- ory here or elsewhere, as did the Mound Builders; and, had they passed away as a race without being actually seen by the eyes of intelligent beings, their existence might have remained for- ever a secret. In this township the stone imple- ments largely in use among them prior to the beginning of the present century, are found in considerable quantities ; and there are a few pioneers yet living in the township who can point out the locations of their camps along the
once wild and still pretty banks of Indian creek. Arrow-points, stone hatchets, chisels, wedges, and other evidences of the "stone age" have been turned up by the plow; and, though often cast away by those who do not appreciate their value, many of them are preserved and are being gathered into the cabinets of relic hunters. Without doubt a regular factory for making arrow-points, and perhaps all the other stone im- plements in use by the Indians, existed on Bear creek, near the northern line of this township, in Clarke county. A large bed of flint chips was found here, covering an acre or more of ground to a considerable depth.
Here the ancient arrow-maker Made his arrow-heads of quartz-rock. Arrow-heads of chalcedony, Arrow-heads of chert and jasper, Smooth and sharpened at the edges, Hard and polished, keen and costly.
Hither the red men resorted, perhaps from many miles around and perhaps for years, it may be centuries of time, to purchase of the "arrow- maker" the necessary "point;" and here, later, when the Indians were disappearing forever from the hunting grounds of their fathers, the roaming white man resorted for the necessary flint for his rifle.
No doubt the numerous Indian camps on the principal stream in this township led the first set- tlers to call it Indian creek. Half a dozen or more camps were situated in various places along this creek and within the limits of this township at the date of the first settlement. At that date this stream contained more water at all times than at present. Before the forest was cleared away, and when the wild pea-vines and other vegetation covered the ground, the water seeped slowly through these into the creek, which was thereby supplied more regularly than at present. The numerous swamps also assisted in keeping up the supply of water, and the Indians found along the stream good fishing and trapping. Beaver, muskrat, otter, mink, etc., were in great abundance. The clearing of the country and the draining of swamps has produced a great change in this stream, as in other streams. It is now an insignificant water, except immediately after a heavy rain-fall, when for a short time it is a raging, foaming torrent.
One of the Indian camps was located on land subsequently owned by Amos Davis, on Indian
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
creek, about one and one-half miles from the present village of Greenville. It was here that Sullivan, a white hunter, was killed by the In- dians. Near this camp was a deer-lick, and in- deed many licks were located at various places along the stream. These were so called because salt water continually oozed from the soft earth on the bank of the creek, and they were much frequented by deer. They were continually watched by the Indians, and the deer easily se- cured. The Indians probably looked upon the. deer-licks as their peculiar property, and when Sullivan and his party killed a deer at one of them, their indignation was naturally aroused. However this may be, a small party of them came upon Sullivan and his three or four com- panions while skinning their deer, shot Sullivan on the spot, and would have murdered the entire party, but his companions succeeded in making their escape; they were hotly pursued, however, and one of them, Frederick Smith, only saved his life by leaping from a high bank into the creek. Sullivan was buried upon the spot where he fell, and where his grave may yet be seen; and the salt water of the deer-lick yet oozes from the ground, as it did a century ago, when the stealthy savage, with his flint-pointed arrow, crept upon the unsuspecting deer or white man.
There was also, at the date of the. first settle- ment, quite a large camp on Big Indian, on land now owned by Franklin Collins; another at what is known as Raccoon spring, about half a mile southwest of the present village of Galena; and a third on Knob run, on land now the property of John Stewart. Near this latter camp were the mounds before mentioned.
Paths or trails connected these various camps, and led off through the woods in different direc- tions to other Indian towns. The main trail- the trunk line as it were-from the Falls of the Ohio to Vincennes, passed through Greenville township. This trail entered what is now the eastern edge of the township, near the line of the old Vincennes road; indeed, when that road was established, it followed this well-niarked trail for some distance in the county, leaving it, how- ever, a short distance east of the present village of Greenville. The trail passed south of the present site of the town, but within about half a mile or less of it, through the land of George Collins, close to the end of his barn as it now
stands, continuing on west, through the lands of Phobe Keithley, Daniel Boston, and Mordecai Fresh, into Harrison county. It is said that this trail is yet plainly marked where it passes through the native forest. It was much traveled and deeply worn, being in places a foot in depth in the hard soil when the settlers first came. Many of the earliest settlers of the township and county followed this great trail to the end of their journey.
White men passed over the trail and through this territory long prior to the first settlement of this part of the State. It is quite impossible, at this late date, to tell when the first white man trod the soil of this township, or who he was ; but it seems probable that, whoever he was, he must have passed along this ancient Indian trail. As early as 1779, when General George Rogers Clarke took the post at Vincennes from the British, some white captives among the Indians are known to have passed over this trail to Vin- cennes, where they arrived just in time to be res- cued by Clarke. The circumstances of this capture and the result are quaintly detailed in the following extract, taken from Major Bow- man's journal. Bowman was then a captain in Clarke's command, and it was while the latter and Governor Hamilton were negotiating for the surrender of the fort that the Indians with their captives made their appearance. Major Bow- man says:
A party of Indians came down the hill behind the town, who had been sent by Governor Hamilton to gel some scalps and prisoners from the Falls of the Ohio. Our men having got news of it, pursued them, killed two on the spot, wound- ed three, took six prisoners, and brought them into town. Two of them proving to be white men thal they took prison- ers, we released them and brought the Indians lo the main street before the fort gate, there tomahawked them and threw them into the river, during which time Colonel Clarke and Governor Hamilton met at the church.
Here is another extract from the same journal: March 7. Captain Williams and Lieutenant Rogers with twenty-five men set off for the Falls of the Ohio to conduct the following prisoners, viz: Lieutenant-governor Hamilton, Major Hayes, Caplain Lamoth, Mons. DeJean, Grand Judge of Detroit, Lieutenant Shifffin, Doctor McBeth, Francis McVille, Mr. Bell Fenilb, with eighteen privates.
There is little doubt that these British prison- ers, captured by Clarke at Vincennes, passed over the great trail and through the present boundaries of Greenville township, on their way to the falls of the Ohio.
The Indians remained in this township until
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
during the war of 1812, when, a murder having been committed by some of them in one of the adjacent counties, they feared retaliation by the whites, and suddenly disappeared, never again re-appearing in this part of the county.
Several block-houses were erected during that war in this township as protection to settlers in case of an uprising of the Indians and British or an invasion by the combined Indians and British. One of these stood near the turnpike, where it crosses Little Indian creek ; another was erected on the Boston farm, not far from the site of the village of Greenville. They were built of rough logs, with port-holes for guns ; but the settlers never had occasion to use them, except to take shelter in them occasionally in times of appar- ent danger.
FIRST SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS.
In the search for the first settlements in any county it is natural to look along the lines of the only routes of ingress and exit in those days -the Indian trails and water courses. In the days of the pioneer these were the great high- ways of travel, and were generally followed by these advance guards of civilization, who con- tinually penetrated further and further into the wilderness, erecting their cabins and settling by the wayside. The trails generally followed the water-courses, branching off here and there to some beautiful spring that made a resting-place, or crossing from the head-waters of one stream to those of another, or crossing the country where the stream made a great bend to shorten the distance, or winding through the dense forest to the higher ground to avoid a swamp. They never seemed to be in error in locating their trails, and many of the public highways of to- day were thus located by the red men.
From the fact that no one in this township seems to have thought of the necessity of pre- serving the early records, and the further fact that nearly all the first settlers are either dead or have moved away, it is a difficult matter at this late day to get at the facts of the first settlement of the township. The only records of facts and sources of information lie in the imperfect mem- ories of the oldest of the present inhabitants. These are like ancient manuscripts with the dust of ages and the withering breath of time upon them-hard to decipher. The gray-haired and
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