USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 94
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Southeast of Memphis a private yard was begun about 1840 by Mr. Wier. It soon took the nature of a public institution, since which time it has assumed that character.
Alongside of the Wier yard the colored peo- ple have a burial-place of about one-half acre. It is handsomely situated and neatly fenced.
VILLAGES.
Memphis is the only village regularly laid out in the township. It was platted by Thompson McDeitz in 1852. The lots are at right angles with Main street. There have been several ad -. ditions made, the most important of which is J. F. Willey's, of very awkward shape, made so because of the location of the land. Generally the town is shaped ungainly. The railroad passes through the principal street, while the business houses are on either side. Memphis is wholly in tract number two hundred and three of the Illinois Grant. Neither of the founders of the village ever lived here permanently. Mc- Deitz was a resident of Blue Lick, and Colonel Willey of Utica township.
Tract number two hundred and three was originally owned by heirs in Virginia. David
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Gray, who came from Pennsylvania about 1816, bought the tract of an agent in Louisville, moved immediately and began the work of clearing. Mr. Gray resided here until 1840, when he re- moved to Morgan county, Indiana, where he died in 1872 or 1873. He was the father of a large and influential family of children, many of whom still reside in this community.
Basil Bowel came here from Pennsylvania in 1811 and settled east of Memphis in the bottom of Silver creek, where he lived until his death in April, 1871. He married Catharine Pounstone in Pennsylvania, which was also her native State. This union produced four sons and three daugh- ters. Mr. and Mrs Bowel were people of more than ordinary ability. They lived and died sur- rounded by a large and admiring circle of rela- tives and friends. Along with several others Mr. Bowel carried on distilling in this neighbor- hood.
Somebody says: "When this township was first cleared up the soil was very productive, being especially adapted to the growing of corn. And as there was no turnpike or railroad, nor any means of rapid transportation, the crops had to be consumed as much as possible at home, consequently much of their corn was manufact- ured into whiskey. At that day, on account of its purity, it was a common beverage; so in order to do the work (the writer no doubt means man- ual labor) many distilleries were required, Union township having a full quota."
Robert Wier came to this neighborhood from Virginia in March, 1810, settling one mile south- east of Memphis. His wife was Sarah Mc- Campbell, a cousin of James McCampbell, one of the founders of Charlestown. Mr. Wier farmed all his life.
George Barnes took up his residence in 1809 on the Charlestown and Salem road, one mile southeast of Memphis. He owned one of the first horse-mills in the south side of the county. The site of the mill gave the name to the hill, which is now known as "Barnes hill" through- out the country.
Ex-Governor Jonathan Jennings resided two miles southeast of Memphis, where he had a large mill and still-house on the Sinking fork of Silver creek. Very soon thereafter a number of others came : William Coombs, from Pennsyl- vania; James Drummond, from Virginia; Thomas
Carr, from Pennsylvania, who was afterwards a member of the first constitutional convention which sat at Corydon, Harrison county; Colonel John Carr from Pennsylvania, who settled about one mile west of Memphis, and John Williams.
John G. Wier, one of the oldest men in this township, was born in 1814 in sight of Memphis, residing in the county ever since. He was raised a farmer, but has followed coopering for many years. In 1849 he was elected a justice of the peace, which office he held continuously till 1862. At different times he has also filled the office of township assessor.
George W. Bowel was born in 1817, near the township village. By trade Mr. Bowel is a painter, but since 1862 has been engaged in the manufacture of · shingles. Of the various small township offices he has filled several.
George Coons came from Pennsylvania among the later settlers. He died in 1881.
William and George Reed, though not in any way related, were here tolerably early. The former was from Pennsylvania, the latter from Kentucky.
William Harrod came here from Virginia among the early settlers. He died several years ago in Owen county, this State. Mr. Harrod was well educated, and in all the educational questions of the township and county took a leading and consistent part.
Before Memphis was laid out an old school- house stood south of the station, on Main street. When the village began to assume moderate proportions, the house was virtually abandoned, and as a result the present building took its place. There are two schools in the village, one colored. The graded school, where some of the higher branches are taught, was erected about 1870 by a special tax. In both schools there are one hundred scholars, divided in the ratio of one to four in favor of the whites. Among the teachers have been James Taylor, Zachariah Young, William C. Coombs, Allen Carmon, and others. The teachers for the year of 1881-82 are W. C. Coombs and Frederick Whitesides.
John F. Deitz was a store-keeper in what is now Memphis before the town had a lawful ex- istence. Quite soon after came U. S. Reynolds and William Davis, father of General Jefferson C. Davis of the late war. Guernsey and A. P. Jackson were here in 1865. The present store-
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
keepers are Madison and Daniel Coombs, Fran- cis J. Stutesman, and William Matthews. Mem- phis is a successful business point, from which are shipped large quantities of hoop-poles, staves, barrels, and sawed lumber.
Reuben Smith was the first tavern-keeper in the village after it was regularly platted. He was here in 1855 in a frame house on the north- east corner of Main street. Samuel Applegate was next in order ; his place of entertainment was in a frame building on Railroad street. George W. Bowel is here for the winter of 1881- 82, opposite the station. During early times there were no large tavern-stands in Memphis. This was true because the village was too near Charlestown to make it a stopping place, and because the road passed north of the town quite a goodly distance; also because Memphis did not come into existence until 1852.
Henry Berishaber was the first blacksmith in town; he was here in 1855. Jacob Miller was here second, but he left in a few months, to re- turn after a lapse of ten or twelve years. The present and only smith is Stephen Buchanan.
Memphis has been a place of physicians from its origin. Many years before the village was laid out Dr. F. M. Carr practiced in this neigh- borhood and throughout the country. Dr. Carr now lives at New Mark, Indiana. Dr. Hill was here thirty years ago. Dr. William E. Wisner, now of Henryville, and Dr. George Applegate, pacticed here among the first residents. Dr. J. M. Reynolds is the present physician. Dr. Rob- ert Tigart lived one and a half miles south of town and practiced in the adjoining townships. Dr. M. C. Ramsey lived near the village, and was called to all parts of the township and to Floyd and Washington counties. Dr. W. W. Ferris was a practitioner here at one time. He is now a farmer. Memphis has always been noted for its good health. The surrounding timber, the water, which is in nearly every in- stance tinctured with sulphur, the business, and general character of the town, all combine to make disease almost unknown. Dr. Reynolds is the only physician in the township, the only in- stance of the kind in the county.
The first and only church in Memphis was of the Baptist denomination, organized under the efforts of Rev. Reuben Smith. Among the first members were William McClelland, wife and
family, the Hoseas, and others. The conditions under which the building was erected were that non-members contribute of their money and labor, and that the house be open for all denomi- nations. After the church was built the prosper- ity of the Baptists was not so marked; they have since gone from this community altogether. This church at present belongs to two denomi- nations, the Methodist Episcopal and the Chris- tians, of which the Christian is by far the strongest.
The Missionary Baptist church, south of Mem- phis, was built in 1855, or thereabouts. This house is a frame building, capable of seating three hundred people. James Worrell and fam- ily, Mr. Perry and family, were among the orig- inal members. For five or six years this church has not been used, owing in part to the death and removal of many of the elder people. When the Grange came into existence, this organiza- tion used the house, agreeing to keep it in re- pair. The Grange is now a thing of the past, and the church stands idle.
The colored Methodists and Baptists hold services jointly in their school-house.
Religiously, Memphis is tolerably active; peo- ple are harmonious generally in their church rela- tions, and Sunday-schools are prosperous.
The Memphis or Eclipse hominy mill manu- factory was begun in 1869, by A. P. Jackson & Co. During the Indianapolis exposition of October, 1869, Mr. Jackson was killed by the explosion of a boiler, while there exhibiting his machinery. This accident dissolved the original partnership, and a new company was formed, with an improved mill, composed of Coombs, Gray & Coombs. After a few years the younger member of the firm, Eden Coombs, died, since which time the company has continued as Coombs & Gray, making on an average' about twenty mills every year. The mills are shipped mostly to the Western States; prices range from $100 to $150.
Formerly the hominy-mill manufactory was an old still-house, under the proprietorship of Coombs & Jackson. The capacity was large. The stoppage occurred on account of the exces- sive tax which the Government imposed.
Memphis possesses a barrel factory which turns out four or five hundred barrels per day. The work began several years ago, when the
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
cement mills of the county went into active op- eration in their line of business. The proprietors are Hall & Guernsey, and employ about twenty hands regularly.
In the way of tan-bark, Memphis formerly did a large and lucrative business. Since the coun- try has been cleared up and the timber has be- come scarcer, less shipments are made. This year there will be about five hundred cords delivered and shipped to the Louisville and In- dianapolis tanneries. Many railroad ties are also gathered here and sent to the various points along the great net-work of steam thoroughfares which span the country. Prices range from forty to fifteen cents apiece.
One of the noticeable features of the village is the station or waiting-room, an old, dilapidated structure, which seems to have taken unto itself the habiliments of age. Nothing appears to indicate taste or chivalry. Benches are whittled and besmeared with tobacco juice, the stove looks rusty and careworn, the windows grimy and unhealthy, and the platform loose and un- gainly. People grow careless in respect to ap- pearances in many instances, when in the hot pursuit of money. This appears to be the case with the ticket office and the waiting-room of the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad company at Memphis.
In the matter of public halls, taverns, stores, saloons, and so on, Union township is not in any way pre-eminent. Township elections are held in a little room scarcely large enough to accom- modate a decent municipality. Memphis is the only voting precinct in the township. The voters are three-fourths Republicans, and of course, have all the petty offices to themselves. Politic- ally, Union has always been Republican. Her citizens are intelligent, quiet, and orderly, indus- trious and frugal. The industrial resources of the township have r.ot yet been fully developed. In the southern part of her territory is found vast beds of hydraulic cement, which must nec- essarily, in time, add greatly to her wealth.
Memphis has at present four stores, two black- smith shops, several cooper shops, one shoe shop, and a union church building, where a Sun- day-school is held every Sabbath.
Blue Lick village, on the Charlestown and Salem, road about one mile and a half from Memphis, is a place of about fifty or sixty in-
habitants. The most striking fact connected with the village is the curative powers of the water found in this locality, described in the foregoing pages of Union and elsewhere. Blue Lick is also noted for the extensive cooper-shops carried on here under the management of J. J. Hawes. There is also a good country store found here. Many cases of scrofula have been known to be cured by drinking the water from these wells- the principal one of which is fifty feet deep, situated on a high hill, and owned by Mr. Samp- son King. Mr. Hosea has a well sixteen feet deep near by, but the reputation of the water is not so great as Mr. King's. Professor Cox pro- nounces the waters as having fine curative qualities.
GENERAL MATTERS.
Messrs. William Davis, George Townsend, and John T. Wier were the first township trustees; Daniel Guernsey was the first township treasurer ; John T. Wier was the first justice of the peace; T. T. Wier and Joel McRose are the present justices; the trustee is John S. Carr. The trustees of the township since 1859 have been Andrew P. Jackson, E. V. Erickson, Charles F. Scholl, John W. Slider, John D. Coombs, and William Hancock. Under these gentlemen the business of the township has been skilfully managed and prosperity is the result. This of course is a source of gratification to the citizens. E. V. Erickson, George Townsend, John Carter, Jesse Coombs, John T. Wier, and Isaac Hawes are believed to be the oldest citi- zens in the township. The resident ministers are Elder George W. Green (who furnished much material for this township history, in manuscript form), Adventist, and Elder Charles W. Bailey, Christian. William C. Coombs, James F. Whitesides, Charles M. Taylor, John Gates, Lillie Carr, Hettie Meloy, Walter Russell, Frank Park, Harry Park, Edwin O. Green, and John L. Beyl are the resident licensed school teachers. Citizens of Union township took a lively interest in the removal of the county-seat. Many of them preferred that the courts should be held at Charlestown, while others desired a change, so that while on business of another character at Louisville or Jeffersonville, taxes could be paid without any extra trouble. The result of the long and exciting controversy is generally ac- cepted by the people of Union in good faith, who
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
believe that while Charlestown has lost a valuable contributor to her wealth the city of Jeffersonville has been the gainer, and that time will rule all things well.
In 1812, an Indian who was-traveling on the trace east of Memphis, from the Falls to the headwaters of White river, camped one night on Cany fork of Silver creek. Here he professed to have found a lead mine, and while on his way to Memphis, or the neighborhood where the vil- lage now is, sold some bullets to a school- teacher, who at this time was teaching in this section. The Indian succeeded in making the sale of the mine for two horses, and immediately went off. When the gentleman went to look for his expected mine it could not be found, and after giving the ground a thorough going over, concluded that he had been swindled. The Indian escaped and was never seen in the neigh- borhood again.
Mr. Green says, "The wild animals of the for- est were by no means the worst foes of the early pioneers. The Indian war-whoop was no new thing, and the pioneers knew full well that it meant blood, and that they must constantly be on the watch to defend themselves. They knew that the war-whoop meant that they might be called upon to defend their homes against a midnight attack of the murderous savages, Little do we of to-day realize the perils of those days. Imagination falls far short of actual reality. Surely those pioneers were brave ; and where are they to-day? Numbered with the sleeping dead! 'And, alas, some of their names are for- gotten, but theis heroic deeds will ever mark a bright spot in the memories of a grateful and admiring posterity."
William and Celia Green, the parents of Rev. George W. Green, came to Indiana from Iredell county, North Carolina, in 1819, and settled near Utica. In 1833 they purchased a farm in what is now Union township, to which they moved the same year and on which they resided until their death. Their son was born April 9, 1837. Fourteen years of his life were spent in the school-room as a teacher, and he is now con- sidered one of the best educated men in the county. On the 16th of November, 1859, he married Catharine Whitesides, and in 1861 was ordained as a minister of the Church of God, or the Adventists. Mr. Green has held several dis-
cussions on the articles of his faith, and has traveled largely as evangelist. In performing marriage ceremonies and preaching funeral ser- mons he has taken a leading part. He has as- sisted in building up churches in Floyd, Clark, Jackson, and Ripley counties, and at home is recognized as the leader of the community where he lives.
The Jeffersonville Daily Evening News of Fri- day, November 25, 1881, says:
Sheriff Davis yesterday received a telegram from Memphis announcing the death of his mother. Mrs. Davis received a fall some time since, of a serious nature, but she recovered and all the danger was supposed to be over. Yesterday morning she was suddenly taken ill and died at 3 o'clock P. M. Mrs. Davis was over eighty-one years old, and was the mother of General Jeff C. Davis and Sheriff Davis. She was a member of one of the pioneer families of Clark county. Her maiden name was Drummond; her father settled one and a half miles from Charlestown, where he raised a large family; his children in turn raising large families, thus mak- ing Mrs. Davis largely connected with the history of this county. It is said she was a member of the most numerous family in Clark county. She has a brother living in Iowa, probably the last living representative of the family, who is now eighty-five years old. Mr. Davis was one of the original pillars of the Democracy in this county. He was known to belong to the "hew to the line" Democrats. The deceased was one of the kindest of old ladies, and had perhaps as large a circle of friends and acquaintances as any one in the county, and she will be greatly missed. She will be buried on Sunday. It can be said in memory of her traits of char- acter: "would that we had more women like unto Mother Davis."
It will be seen from the sketch of Mrs. Davis that she gave birth to a character who played a very important part in the rebellion-none other than General Jefferson C. Davis. General Davis was born in this township; he received his ap- pointment in the army for the Mexican service June 30, 1848, but at that time the "war was over, and the fiery and intrepid, as well as gen- erous nature, had no opportunity to win laurels on the field of battle." General Davis will be remembered as the man who shot General Nel- son at Louisville, September 29, 1862, during the exciting times of the late war. His brothers are now prominent United States officers, enjoy- ing fine salaries and the emoluments of their offices.
One of the oldest residents of Clark county is Miss Rachel Fleharty, who was born in Virginia about 1775, and came to Clark's Grant when thirteen years of age. Joshua, her father, was born in Virginia, and Margaret Lazier, her mother, was born in France. Her father was a
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
soldier in the battle of Yorktown, taking part at the surrender of Cornwallis; he was also a spy of great note in the Continental armies. Rachel came down the Ohio river from Pittsburg, land- ing at Utica, where for a number of years she engaged in fancy work. During the succeeding years she took a leading part in the growth and development of this county. She has many recollections of pioneer life, and at one time was the best informed person in the Grant on early history. Of late her memory has failed rapidly. She is well known and respected by a host of friends. There are few people who know what great changes have taken place since 1794, and she is one of them. Her record is full of many choice parts, and her race is nearly run. She is the oldest living person in the county. Her residence belongs properly in Carr township, but of late years she has had no permanent home.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
MISCELLANEOUS BIOGRAPHIES.
DR. ROBERT HARDIN GALE, M. D., physician and surgeon, of Anchorage, was born January 25, 1828, in Owen county, Kentucky. His father was a physician and surgeon for many years in that county and enjoyed a widespread reputation, having performed some original and successful operations in surgery. He is of Scotch-English origin. He attended school in his native county for a number of years, and finished his education at Transylvania university at Lexington.
He studied medicine with his father; went to Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia, in 1848, and subsequently graduated with great credit, receiving his degree in medicine. He soon after commenced the practice of medicine in Coving- ton, Kentucky ; was appointed on the medical staff of the Commercial hospital, of Cincinnati. After one year's service in that capacity, he re- turned, through the solicitation of his friends, to his native county, and practiced with great success for several years. He was twice elected probate judge before he had reached his twenty-fifth year ; became a candidate for the Legislature in
1859, and was elected by a majority of seven votes in a voting population of two thousand and four hundred. He served in that body on several important committees and took an active part in its work during the troublesome times prior to the initiation of the civil war. From the first he took a decided stand for the South, and was a prominent member of the Democratic conven- tion which met at Charleston and afterwards at Baltimore in 1860. When the war came on he entered the Confederate service as surgeon of Colonel D. Howard Smith's regiment, remain- ing on active duty until failing health compelled him to return to his home.
In 1873, at the solicitation of General Eccles, president of the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexing- ton railroad, he accepted the position as agent and surgeon for that company.
In 1874 he received a similar appointment under the Louisville, Paducah & Southwestern Railroad, still holding both positions. In 1876 he was elected as secretary of the American Mutual Benefit Association of Physicians, whose offices are located at Louisville; became a mem- ber of the State Medical society in 1873; was a delegate from it to the American Medical as- sociation which met at St. Louis in that year; at that meeting was made one of the judicial council on the code of ethics for the profession, and serving the short term was re-elected the following year at Detroit, and now serves in that connection. In May, 1874, he was elected surgeon on the visiting staff of the Louisville City hospital, and has been annually re-elected; in 1876 was made president of the board of medical officers of that institution. In 1879 was elected medical superintendent of the Cen- tral Kentucky Lunatic asylum, which position he still holds. [See History of the Asylum.] He was the first physician in Owen county to give ice water in fever where the patient had pre- viously been on mercurial treatment; has been particularly successful in numerous cases of lithotomy ; is quick in his conceptions, and bold and vigorous in carrying them out, and as such stands as a pioneer in some of the most success- ful surgical operations. He is a writer of force, is a man of strong convictions, considers his position and maintains it ; a man of fine per- sonal appearance, easy and winning in his man- ers, stands deservedly high in the community,
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
and is one of those characters who would take a place in the front rank of any profession. Dr. Gale was married December 31,' 1846, to Miss M. C. Green, and has eight children, three of whom are now living. His wife died in 1880, and was matron of the Central Kentucky Lunatic asylum at the time of her death.
COLONEL STEPHEN ORMSBY.
Stephen Ormsby, one of the ablest, most hos- pitable, generous and useful citizens that Jeffer- son county, Kentucky, ever had, was born upon the beautiful farm called "Maybera Glass," sit- uated near Ormsby Station, upon the Louisville Short Line road, and now occupied by his son Hamilton Ormsby. His father, Stephen Ormsby, Sr., was a native of Ireland, whence he deemed it advisable to emigrate in some haste, immedi- ately after the Emmet rebellion. He settled at once in Kentucky. A gentleman by birth and education and a lawyer. by profession, he speedily became a successful practitioner, in the midst of competitors seldom surpassed in talent and legal attainments. From the bar he was removed to the bench and, as judge, maintained the charac- ter of an able lawyer, by his probity, industry, and distinguished talent, paving the way for new honors.
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