DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA
Settlement Of The County
Catalog Of Early Settlers And Land
Entries By Townships—Hunting And Other Interesting Anecdotes—Pioneer
Industries And Customs—Local Names- Slavery In Indiana—The Township
Trustee Warrants—The Old French Donations.
AUTHORITIES differ as to who the
first settler of Daviess -L\. County was. Some say that William Ballow
settled in the Sugar Creek Hills, sixteen miles southeast of
Washington, in 1801. If this be correct, Mr. Ballow was provably the
first settler. Others say that Eli Hawkins, who came from South
Carolina and settled near the present site of Maysville in 180B, was
the first settler. But this can hardly be correct, as Mr. John
Thompson, who wrote a series of "pioneer papers" for The Age, and who
is very generally recognized as good authority on early historic
matters, mentions in those pioneer papers seven others who came to this
region before Eli Hawkins. One of these seven, however, who is
mentioned as the first settler by Mr. Thompson, located on the west
bank of the east fork of White River, near the present site of Mount
Pleasant, in Martin County. His name was William McGowen. David Flora,
who is referred to by Mr. Thompson as the second settler, was therefore
the second settler in Daviess County, admitting William Ballow to have
been the first. Mr. Flora lived in a log cabin nearly opposite the
present site of the Meredith House in Washington. Then came Aaron
Freeland, who lived in a double log cabin. The next was Thomas Ruggles,
and then followed in succession Dr. Harris, Richard Palmer, William
Hawkins, and finally Eli Hawkins, in 1806, as mentioned above. That Eli
Hawkins did arrive in what is now Daviess County as early as 1800 is
not a matter of doubt, as the county records contain the copy of a deed
made to him November 8, 1806, by John Rice Jones, and Mary Jones, his
wife. The land deeded lay in the vicinity of Maysville, and consisted
of 400 acres, and cost Mr. Hawkins $400. It was given to Charles Valle
in 1783, according to certain laws of the United States in pursuance of
an act of Congress.* John Rice Jones bought the land from the children
and horse if Charles Valle. Eli Hawkins, on the J.5th of August, 1815,
sold 100 acres of this land to Solomon Lillie for $200. This land was a
portion of Section 6, Township 2, Range 7. This deed to Eli Hawkins by
John Rice Jones and wife was not, however, the earliest deed made to
land in Daviess County, as will appear later on in this chapter. But it
shows the promptness with which Mr. Hawkins made his title clear to a
homestead in the country selected for the future residence of himself
and family, and contrasts somewhat strangely with the apparent
dilatoriness of William Ballow, who did not, so far as the records of
the county show, until April 28, 1809. purchase land, and thus secure a
permanent location. The land purchased by Mr. Ballow was the northwest
quarter of Section 9, Township 2, Range 7.
EARLY DEEDS OF LAND.
The first deed to land within the
present limits of Daviess County, of which there is any record, was by
Jacque Cardinal, and his two sisters and their husbands (Joseph Tonga
and Jennette, his wife, and Joseph Severang and Celeste, his wife), to
Henry Vanderburgh. This land consisted of 400 acres, which was given to
John Baptiste Cardinal by the Congress of the United States, as the
head of a family at Vincennes, and was a part or the whole of donation
157,. and lay mostly in Section 14. Township 3, Range 8. The price paid
for this 400 acres of land by Mr. Vanderburgh was $100, and the date of
the deed was May 21, 1792. Mr. Vanderburgh evidently did not purchase
for the purpose of settlement, for on the 28th of March, 1797, he sold
the entire tract to John Instone for $200. John Instone sold this land
with other lands on August 1, 1802, to Peyton Short. Mr. Short
bargained to sell to certain parties, but died before executing the
deed, and the court decreed the title to William Crogan, of Pittsburgh,
Penn., and appointed a commissioner to convey it to him in 1832.
Afterward Mary Shenley proved herself to be the owner of this land, and
sold it to Charles G. McCord August 27, 1884. Mr. McCord sold it to its
present owner, Smiley W. Chambers.
EARLY SETTLERS.
It is designed to enumerate and
locate as many as possible of those who became inhabitants of Daviess
County previous to "forting times"—times remembered now by very few.
And in order to locate them intelligently, it is necessary to state
that in 1783 the Congress of the United States made numerous donations
of land to the early French settlers about Vincennes, and in 1807 the
Congress made what have since been called French locations. The
donations lie mostly in what is now Knox County, in the history of
which county, elsewhere in this volume, may be found a full account of
the origin of both donations and locations. A portion of the locations
are within the limits of Daviess County, and their boundary lines run
east and west, and north and south; while those of the donations run at
an angle of nearly 45 degrees from the true meridian. Eli Hawkins
settled on location No. 62, and his brother, William, on location No.
63, recently the property of Joseph M. Taylor. William Mclntosh settled
on location No. 87; William Morrison, on location No. 134; David Flora,
on No. 159; Toussaint Dubois, on No. 300; Emanuel Van Trees, on No.
304; Samuel Baird, on No. 144; Jesse Purcell, on No. 185; Elijah
Purcell, on No. 192; John Allen, on No. 258; William Flint, on No. 189;
William Baker, on No. 193; John Aikman, on No. 192; James Barr, on No.
210; Amable Godall, on No. 202; and John McDonald, the old Government
surveyor, on No. 242. It is not easy to determine the exact dates of
the above mentioned settlements, but it is sufficient to know that most
of them were made prior to the war of 1812. According to the records of
the county, John McDonald purchased the northeast quarter of Section 8,
Township 2, Range7 May 30, 1807, and Abraham Rodarmel the southwest
quarter of Section 5, Township 2, Range 7 June 10, 1807.
Others to obtain land titles prior to
1814 were the following: In 1808, Daniel Comer, May 10, southeast
quarter of Section 4. Township 2, Range 7; Richard Steen, May 20,
southwest quarter of Section 4, Township 2, Range 7; Josiah Culbertson,
August 2, northwest quarter of Section 5, Township 2, Range 7; Simon
Nicholas, November 25, southwest quarter of Section 8, Township 2,
Range 7; Friend Spears, December 13, southwest quarter Section 3.
Township 2, Range 7; Amos Rogers, December 28, east fraction of Section
13, Township 2, Range 8. In 1809: William Ballow, April 28, northwest
quarter of Section 9,Township 2, Range 7; John Wallace, April 28,
northeast quarter of Section 9, Township 2, Range 7; Clayton Rogers,
September 7, east fraction of Section 24, Township 2, Range 8; Daniel
Gregory, southeast quarter of Section 8, Township 2, Range 7. In 1810:
Thomas Aikman, May 5, northeast quarter of Section 4, Township 2, Range
7; William Horrall, October 10, southwest quarter of Section 9,
Township 2, Range 7; Thomas Horrall, October 13, southeast quarter of
Section 9, Township 2, Range 7. In 1811: Hezekiah Ragsdale, April 29.
northwest quarter of Section 4. Township 2, Range 7; Ebenezer Jones,
August 5, southwest quarter of Section 3, Township 2, Range 7; Vance
Jones, December 11, northwest quarter of Section 10, Township 2, Range
7; John Aikman, December 14, southwest quarter of Section 10, Township
2, Range 7. There was no land entry made in 1812 and only one in 1813,
indicating an unsettled or even a disturbed state of society, which
rendered it questionable whether Daviess County was the proper place to
locate. The one made in 1813 was by Jeremiah Lucas, September 18,
northeast quarter of Section 3, Township 2, Range 7. It will be
observed that all of the above mentioned individuals settled within the
present limits of Washington Township, except Clayton Rogers, whose
land lay in Neal Township, and who was, therefore, somewhat isolated
from his neighbors. During the period which elapsed while these entries
were being made, additions were constantly being made to the
settlement. The pioneers were prosperous and were making steady
progress in clearing up their claims, in improving and adding to the
comforts of their homes, until the latter part of 1811, when troubles
with the Indians began and lasted for a number of years.
LAND ENTRIES CONTINUED.
The reader will remember that the
Indian troubles, independently of and connected with the war of 1812,
caused a cessation of land entries during the years 1812 and 1813, no
entry being made in 1812 and only one in 1813. A list of those made
during the next subsequent four years is here introduced. In 1814 the
following: February 8, Joseph Case, north fraction Section 7, Township
1, Range 6; June 20, Thrice Stafford, southwest quarter of Section 7,
Township 1, Range 5; September 22, Robert Hays, southwest quarter of
Section 9, Township 1, Range 6; November 5, John Tranter, east fraction
of Section 7, Township 2, Range 7; November 12, John Case, north
fraction of Section 22, Township 1, Range 6; November 25, Elias Stone,
southeast quarter of Section 6, Township 1, Range 6. In 1815: February
'25, Jonathan Morgan, east fraction of Section 25, Township 2. Range 8;
March 8, Daniel Clift, northwest quarter of Section 9, Township 1,
Range 6; and George W. Clift, southeast quarter of Section 9, Township
1, Range 6; April 29, William Ballow, southeast quarter of Section 7,
Township 1, Range 5; November 1, William Williams, southeast quarter of
Section 29, Township 3. Range 6; November 24, Jacob Reeder, north
fraction of Section 20. Township 1, Range 5. In 1816: February 23,
Joseph Hays, southwest quarter of Section 14, Township 1, Range 5;
April 4, Edward Adams, southwest " seven-eighths " of Section ft.
Township 1, Range 5; April 15, John Davidson, north fraction of Section
13, Township 1, Range 6; April 19, Benjamin Hawkins, east half of the
southeast quarter 'of Section 14, Township 1, Range 5; and George
Gregory, west half of the southeast quarter of Section 14, Township 1,
Range 5; August 30, Caleb Brock, southeast quarter of Section 10,
Township 1, Range 5; October 1, Henry Foster, west half of the
southwest quarter of Section 10, Township 1, Range 5; October 21,
William Peterson, southwest quarter of Section 31, Township 3, Range 5;
October 25, Nicholas Hutson, southwest quarter of Section 26, Township
3, Range 6; and James Montgomery, half southeast quarter of Section 23,
Township 3, Range 0; December 2, John Johnson, northwest quarter of
Section 6, Township 2, Range 5. In 1817: January 11, Robert Burris,
east half of the southeast quarter of Section 20, Township 3, Range 6;
August 12, Alexander Stephenson, northwest quarter of Section 3,
township 2, Range 6; August 30, James Henry, southeast quarter of.
Section 17, Township 2, Range 6; September 26, Dennis Clark, northeast
quarter of Section 17, Township 3, Range 6; and George Keith, east half
of the northwest quarter of Section 17, Township 3, Range 6; October 9,
Jesse Morgan, northwest quarter of Section 31, Township 3, Range 5;
November 1, Alexander Bruce, southwest quarter of Section 32, Township
3, Range 5; November 16, Samuel Comer, southeast quarter of Section 10,
Township 1, Range 6; November 24, Thomas Patten, southwest quarter of
Section 11, Township 1, Range 5. .
The above list will serve to give an
idea as to the rapidity of the settlement of the county in those early
days, and the location of the settlements as well as to furnish the
names of many of the early settlers.
ORIGIN OF LOCAL NAMES.
Steele Prairie was named from a
family by the name of Steele, as also was Steele Township. English
Prairie took its name from John and Alexander English; Owl Prairie from
the great number and variety of owls found there in early times. The
name of the township comprising Owl Prairie and other lands is Elmore,
from a family of early settlers in that portion of the county. Peterson
Prairie was named after Frank and William Peterson. William Peterson
settled where the town of Odon now stands, but Frank settled on the
prairie which has since borne his and his brother's name. Neal Creek
was named after James C. Neal. Prairie Creek was named from the nature
of country through which it flows. Smothers' Creek derived its name
from an early settler by the name of Smothers.
EARLY MEANS OF SUBSISTENCE.
Most of the early settlers of Daviess
County came from the Southern
States, about one-half of them from South Carolina, one- fourth from
Kentucky and the rest from North Carolina and Tennessee. Their object
in coming was to secure homes in the prairies and timber lands of this
portion of Indiana Territory. To obtain a livelihood was the first
prime and principal duty of all, and in accomplishing this purpose, it
was necessary to use considerable ingenuity and all the means nature
had placed within their reach. Their houses or cabins were for years
wholly of logs, round or hewn, as the case might be. During " forting
times" most of these were abandoned for the forts, but some families,
possessing an extraordinary amount of courage, recklessness or means of
defense, remained at their homes. The food of these early settlers
consisted in part of game, which abounded in great variety in the
woods. Deer were very plentiful for several years. "If Friend Spears,
who lived down in the edge of what is now Salty Row, or Jacob, Charles
or Abner Cosby, all of whom lived just beyond Neal Creek, wanted a mess
of venison, they would take a little walk out in the barrens, be out an
hour and return, having killed the deer and hung him up; then take a
horse, bring him in, and live fat until they wanted more. As it was
with them, so it was in most places throughout the county, and for many
years after I moved on this lot I bought venison, hams at from 12 to 16
cents per ham. At two different times while in the paltry trade I had
in the house 800 deer skins all bought in that winter's collection, all
killed that season." There were also immense numbers of squirrels,
quails, wild ducks, wild geese and wild turkeys.
HUNTING THE BEAR, ETC.
Rare sport was occasionally had in
hunting Bruin. At one time a big black bear passed by William Ballow's
house. Mr. Ballow had two sons, and a slave named "Buck." The dogs
attacked and treed the bear. The boys and Buck cut down' the tree,
which fell with the bear into a ravine. Buck was anxiously hissing on
the dogs, when he slipped and fell headlong into the crowd. While the
dogs kept the bear busy, Buck safely scrambled out. Mr. Ballow then
shot the bear in the head. George Ballow, one of the boys, thought the
world of Buck, and said,
Recollections of Robert Stephen! who
came to this county Id May, 1922, and is still living when he saw him come out safe, he did not
care what became of the bear.
Friend Spears also had an adventure
with a bear. He went to "Paddy's Garden" one day to hunt; stepped up on
the body of a large tree that had been blown down. The roots of the
tree were large and, standing upright, made a fine hiding and sleeping
place for the bear in the daytime. A bear raised himself up on his hind
feet, just high enough for Mr. Spears to see his head, at which he took
deliberate aim and laid Mr. Bruin low. There were also in those early
days large numbers of bees, which collected honey from the blossom of
the "Spanish needle," with which all the low. wet lands were overgrown.
Every hollow tree and stump was filled with this delicious wild honey.
The Peterson brothers, mentioned above, gathered this honey by the
barrel, which they hauled to and sold at the falls of the Ohio. When
the country became too densely settled for the carrying on of this
business they moved to Illinois.
IMPLEMENTS OF LABOR.
But civilized man cannot subsist on
what nature in her wild state produces. His labor must assist, his
genius must direct nature's forces. Timber lands must be cleared,
marshy lands must be drained; cleared, drained and prairie lands must
be cultivated. These various kinds of necessary labor require
implements of industry. These, in the early days in Daviess County,
were few, simple and rude. For clearing away the timber and shaping
into building material, recourse was had to the. ax, broadax and
whip-saw, augur and draw-knife. The first lumber, which it is proper to
call by that name, was made by the whip-saw, which it does not seem
necessary to describe. This kind of saw continued to be used after
saw-mills were introduced. It is generally conceded that James C. Neal
built the first saw-mill, but authorities differ as to the year in
which it was built It could not have been earlier than 1808, nor later
than 1810. It was located on Neal's Creek, but did not make sufficient
lumber to supply the demand. Slabs from this mill, however, to some
extent, superseded, for the flooring of cabins and other dwellings, the
use of what the early settlers called "puncheons." Logs were split into
pieces, which were hewed on only one side, brought to an even
thickness at each end, jointed with
the broadax, and laid with the hewn side up for the floor. These were
the puncheons. Neal's mill was carried away by a freshet in the spring
of 1812, and after a considerable time rebuilt. The second mill of this
kind was built, also on Neal's Creek, by Eli Chapman in 1815. It was of
greater capacity than Neal's mill, furnished more lumber, and continued
longer in existence, but was finally suffered to decay. The third mill
was of a different design from either of the above. The motive power,
instead of being water, consisted of two or three yoke of oxen walking
on an inclined wheel. This mill furnished a considerable quantity of
lumber, but not sufficient to supply the home demand, hence the broadax
and whip-saw still continued to be used. This ox-mill was located in
the town of Washington, and was erected by William McCormick. The next
saw-mill, and the last that it is deemed necessary to mention
specifically, was also erected in Washington, by B. Duncan, William and
R. Graham and J. Thompson. This was the first mill to manufacture
lumber for export, the surplus being shipped in considerable quantities
down the river to a Southern market. After this steam saw-mills began
to be erected, and, of course, for the most part superseded other kinds.
Corn was the first of the cereals to
be raised in Daviess County by the early settlers. It was more easily
cultivated than wheat, yielded a quicker return and was better adapted
to the use of both man and beast, being used by the inhabitants for
bread and also the chief food during the winter for horses, cattle and
hogs. The main difficulty experienced at that time was in the
preparation of the ground for the seed, as the plow, harrow and
cultivator were then not nearly so perfect as at the present day. Plow
irons, hoes, mattocks, etc., were brought here from the original home
of the settler, and by dint of ingenuity and hard labor he managed to
"stock" them, as it was called, or furnish the necessary woodwork, at
first out of green timber and to content himself with a very rough and
unhandy implement. But as his means and facilities improved, he has
supplanted the unhandy and unwieldy with the convenient and durable.
The first and only threshing machine
manufactured in Daviess County, was invented and built by James and
William Thompson in what was generally known as McTagart's barn. This
barn was 30x48 feet in size. Thirty feet of the west end of the barn
was used for the horse power, consisting of one driving wheel sixteen
feet in diameter, by which, by means of gearing and belting, the
thresher and cleaner were propelled. The cylinder of this thresher is
worthy of description. It consisted of a wooden shaft three feet long,
the width of the thresher, with an iron axle. From each end of this
wooden shaft projected eight arms, to the outer ends of which eight
ribs were fastened. The ribs were faced with heavy hoop iron, and as
this cylinder or reel revolved the sheaves of wheat were fed to it
through rollers, and thus the grain beaten out of the straw. The grain
was separated from the straw by passing into a hopper through a wire
grating three feet wide and six feet long fixed in the floor, the straw
being passed out of an upper window in the barn. From the hopper it was
fed to the cleaner as fast as threshed: Two horses were required to run
this machine, and with it six hands—three men and three boys—could
thresh and clean 100 bushels of wheat in ten hours. The first portable
threshing machine was introduced by a Mr. Parsons. It was an iron four
horse-power, and only threshed the wheat, which had afterward to be
fanned. Richard Graham brought in the second thresher, which was
similar to that of Mr. Parsons, and after him came the combined
threshers and separators, propelled by horse-power, and later by steam
as they now are seen.
The first mills to grind both corn
and wheat were turned by hand. Richard Palmer built the first
grist-mill on Palmer's Creek, on land afterward owned by William
McCluskey. It had a bolting apparatus. A short time afterward a second
mill was built on the same stream and on the Hawkins' farm by William
Hawkins, both of these it is believed in 1816. Palmer's mill was built
of round logs without chinking and was a cold place in cold weather,
but Hawkins' mill was neatly built of hewn logs and was much more
convenient and comfortable. The old-fashioned tub wheel was used in
both, which was substantially on the same principal as the turbine
wheel of the present day. The capacity of each of these mills was about
two and a half bushels per hour.
CLOTHING MATERIALS.
Clothing, scarcely secondary in
importance, required even more forethought and skill to provide than
food. Flax was the principal dependence at first, and its cultivation
and manufacture into fabrics were attended by no little exertion and
anxiety. The cultivation of cotton was attempted, but the seasons
proved too short, the facilities for clearing it of seed were too
meager, and after a few years it was abandoned. Sheep were few at
first, on account of the difficulty of protecting them from the wolves.
But, as wool was an absolute necessity, this protection had to be
afforded. As the wolves decreased in number, sheep increased and wool
became more plentiful. It was at first carded and spun by hand, but in
1815 Eli Chapman erected a carding machine in connection with his
saw-mill on Neal Creek, previously mentioned. Deer skins were also used
for clothing.
DISTILLERIES.
Besides food, shelter and clothing,
it seemed as necessary then as now to have recourse occasionally to a
stimulant, and various kinds of stills and distilleries were, from time
to time, brought into use. "Teapot stills," as they were called, were
common. The first distillery within the county was erected by "Obe"
Flint in 1810, in Neal Township, two miles south of Maysville. But it
was not before 1836 or 1838 that more whiskey was made than the early
settlers needed for home consumption. The first store in the county was
opened in 1812 by George W. Curtis, about two and one-half miles
southwest of Washington, near Maysville; the first in Owltown by a Mr.
Fairbanks; in Newberry by Cary O'Neall; the first in Eaglesville by
Hosier Crook; the first in Plainville by William McCluskey, and the
first in Washington by James G. Bead.
Source: History of Knox and Daviess
counties, Indiana By Goodspeed, Chicago (1886-1891)