Immigrant Trails to Harrison County
The route from Pennsylvania was
usually overland to the vicinity of Pittsburgh and thence by flat-boat
or overland following the Ohio, usually on the Kentucky side, to the
Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, and thence to Harrison County,.
From Virginia the route was up the
Shenandoah Valley to what is now eastern Tennessee, through the
Cumberland Gap and over the old Wilderness Road to Louisville or to the
mouth of Salt River, thence to Harrison County. The route from North
Carolina was northward to Tennessee and over the same trail.
EARLY SETTLEMENT,
HARRISON CO.
(By E. W. Perrin)
The settlement of
Harrison Co. by white people dates back to
the beginning of the present century. No special importance attached to
the
section until the capital of the territory was removed to Corydon.
Hitherto,
its settlement progressed slowly, much as in other portions of Southern Indiana, but with the location of the
capital
within its limits an influx of immigration set in such as before
unknown. A
large proportion of the early settlers were from VA., and North Carolina,
with a few from TN. and KY.
A little curious as to
the motive which set journeying
hither so many people from the States south of the Ohio, investigation develops the
fact that
with many it was for the purpose of escaping what is termed the “curse
of the
caste”. Indiana
was a territory reposing under the provisions of the famous ordinance
of 1787.
Not a few of the pioneers have left their record that they sought homes
here
because the land would never be blemished by Negro slavery, and civil
and
social distinctions be yielded, only to those who owned “Negroes”. Some
of the
early settlers brought Negroes with them, but not as slaves, or, if as
slaves,
they soon freed them in compliance with the ordinance above alluded to.
Much
the larger portion of the early settlers, however, were such as did not
nor
would not own slaves. They were mostly poor in worldly wealth, but rich
in
possibilities. They were ready to endure all the privations of a new
country if
a home, free, and untrammeled, was the result of their toil.
Among the early
settlers of the county who names have been
rescued from oblivion are; “first in war, first in peace and first in
the
hearts his countrymen” Gen. William Henry Harrison; and Gen. Thomas
Posey,
Jonathan Jennings, Squire Boone, and his sons Isaiah, Enoch, Moses and
Jonathan, and 5 nephews: Henry Heth, William Branham, Thomas Smith,
Laurence Black,
John Hickman, Isaac Richardson, Laurence Bell, William Sands, Benijah
Brown,
Christopher Fort, Patrick Shields, John G. Pfriener, George F. Pope,
John
Keller, Capt. Brice, Peter Copperas, Spier Spencer, Dennis Pennington,
John
Smith, William Nance, George Gresham, George Crutchfield, Henry Rice,
Reuben
Wright, Jacob Conrad, Eli Wright, William Vest, Isaac V. Buskirk, James
Shields, Pearce Chamberlain, Joseph Decker, Sanford Randsall, Robert
Cochran,
Sack Pennington, George Given, Edward Smith, Richard McMahon, Andrew
Johnson,
John Dawson, Paul French, Benjamin Brown, Jacob Richardson, Hays
McCallen,
Edward Ransdell, Bennett Wood, Joseph Latta, Peter McMickle, Richard
Arnold,
James Stephens, Ignatius Abel, John Sturgeon, Jacob Yountzler, Joseph
Nelow,
Robert Rusk, George Tenor, John Harbison, Henry Wireau, Wm. Liedley,
John
Hurst, George Arnold, Joseph Mackfield, Jacob Miller, John Beck, Tice
Light, etc,
etc…..
Many other names might
be given, but these are deemed
sufficient to show who were the pioneer’s. Many of them still have
descendants
in the county.
Gen. William Henry
Harrison was the most prominent citizen
of Harrison Co. and one of the eminent men of the Union.
He was born in Charles Co. Va. Feb. 9, 1773, and was a son of Benjamin
Harrison, a man of considerable prominence in Virginian affairs;
Speaker of the
House of Burgesses in 1764, and1777-82; a member of the general
congress
1774-77; one of the signers of the Declaration of independence and
Governor of
VA., in 1782-85. William Henry received a liberal education, graduating
from Hampden-Sidney
College, which he
had entered with a
view of adopting the medical profession. In 1791 he became and ensign
in the
army, and the next year a lieutenant on Gen. Wayne’s staff. He was
promoted
Captain in 1795, and made commander at Fort Washington,
now Cincinnati.
In 1797-98, he served as secretary of the Northwest
Territory, although but a few years past his majority, and
in 1799
was its delegate in the Congress of the United States. He was
Governor of
the Indiana
territory from 1801 to 1813, and superintendent of Indian affairs, and
as such,
concluded 13 important treaties and gained the battle at Tippecanoe,
Nov. 7, 1811.
Ky.
made him a major
General of her militia in 1812, while the Federal Government made him a
Brigadier General in the regular army, and the next year (1813). He
left the
army in 1814, and was employed by the government in Indian
Affairs until 1816
when he was elected a member of Congress
from Ohio, having removed tot hat State, serving until 1819, and State
Senator
2 years from that date; in 1825 he was elected to the united States
Minister to
Columbia in 1828-29, after which he retired to his farm at North Bend,
Ohio, 16
miles below Cincinnati; and Cincinnatus-like betook himself the plow.
He was
elected to the presidency in 1840, over Martin Van Buren, receiving 234
electoral votes to Mr. Van Buren’s 60. The election was one of the most
exciting ever held in the Republic up to that time. The battle-cry of
“Log
Cabin & Hard Cider” referring to statements of his adversaries as
to his
home and his favorite beverage, were effectively used by the Whigs, the
party
to which General belonged, and carried him to an overwhelming victory.
These
are some of the public services of General Harrison; and the fact that
is the
grandfather of the present President detracts nothing from his name or
fame. He
died Apr. 4th,
1841, just 1 month from the day of his inauguration as
President.
Many local incidents of the life of General Harrison are given in
Harrison Co.
which was named for him, showing how absolutely he was a man of the
people.
Gen. Posey & Gov.
Jennings were not permanent citizens
of the county, but merely residents during their official careers.
Their
history can scarcely be said to belong in the history of Harrison Co.
They were
men of intelligence and patriotism, and the virtues of each are
perpetuated by
a county in the state, bearing their names. The following publication
in a
newspaper in Oct. 1888, referring to Gov. Jennings, should find an echo
in
every patriotic heart, and is not out of place in this sketch:
“At the next session
of the Indiana Legislature a vigorous
effort will be made to have the Assembly pas an act appropriating a
sufficient
amount of money to erect a suitable monument over the grave of Jonathan
Jennings, the first Governor of the State. The body now lies interred
in an
abandoned little graveyard at Charlestown
without stone or slab to indicate the location. The mound has long
since
disappeared, and it is hardly probable that there is any one now living
who can
point out the exact spot where the bones of the first executive of one
of the
chief States in the Union now lie.
At one time, the
cemetery was little better than an open
commons, and hogs, cattle and fowls roamed at will over the grounds. Of
late
years a fence has been placed around the place and the weeds kept in
bounds.
Although a spot at present but little resembles a home of the dead, it
is still
kept sacred, and but a few people are allowed to sojourn in the town
any length
of time without being reminded that Gov. Jennings lies buried there.
Many efforts have been
made to obtain by private
subscription, the needed funds to erect a marble shaft, but nothing
ever
resulted from the attempts. It is not expected that any costly pillar
will be
placed at the head of the grave, but is thought that the State should
have
sufficient pride to expend a few hundred dollars for the purpose. It
this is
not done, in the course of a few generations it will not be known to
the
general mass of people of the State, who the first Governor of it was.
As it
is, at the present, there are thousands of persons who could not answer
the
question if it was propounded to them, or tell where his remains are
interred.
Gov. Jennings has been
dead 54 years, and with the death of
each pioneer his memory passes that far out of recollection. Besides
holding
the highest office of the State, Gov. Jennings was Grandmaster of the
Order of
Free masons, from Oct. 1823-to Oct. 1826, and it has recently been
suggested
that this fraternity should use its influence to carry out the
contemplated
action.
Early
Settlers
Who were some of the settlers coming
to Harrison County from these states? Squire Boone came from Rowan.
County, N. Carolina about 1802 following his brother, Daniel, who had
made extended hunting trips into what was later to become Harrison
County. with little doubt, he followed his brother a trail which later
became the Wilderness Road.
Jacob and John Lopp, who lived in the
vicinity of the Boones in Rowan County, followed Squire Boone in 1807 -
08. They entered land on 6/10/1807, evidently returned to N. Carolina,
and returned to Harrison County with their families in 1808.
Catherine Bierly Beanblossom and her
six sons, her brother John Bierly later spelled Byerly by some
branches of the family, and John Frank; neighbors of the Lopps followed
them in 1811.
David Ham from Rowan County came via
Kentucky and/or Tennessee in 1814 Daniel McRae came from near
Wilimington, N. Carolina, in 1814.
John Kepley, the founder of New
Salisbury, came from Rowan County at a later date.
James Bean came from Burke County, N.
Carolina, via Franklin County, Term., where he married Sallie Littell,
to the county about 1816.
Jacob Conrad Sr. and Henry
Stonecypher (Heinrick Steinsifert) left Washington County, Pa. about
1790 and first settled at the mouth of Bear Grass Creek in Jefferson
Co., Ky. About 1805, the Stonecypher family removed to Clark Co., Ind.,
where several of the children were married, and thence to Harrison
County. The Conrad family also reached the county, exact date unknown.
John Shuck left Northumberland Co.,
Pa. about 1795 and removed to Washington Co,, Ky. Three sons; Philip,
Christopher and George Sr. and one daughter, Rozann who married Daniel
Venner, came to the county prior to 1810. They were listed as residents
of the county when their father's estate was settled in Washington
County in that year.
Garrett and William Applegate came
from Allegheny and Washington Counties, Pa. about 1816.
Richard McMahon came from
Pennsylvania in 1806. His daughter, Rosannah who married Joel Wright,
is said to have been the first white child born in Harrison County.
Others from Pa. were: James Hays in
1808, John Zenor in 1808, John Simler in 1809, and Samuel Current in
1815. Charles Reader and Jacob Stockslager came at a later date.
Perhaps the greatest number of
Harrison County families came from Virginia, many of them from
Shenandoah County. Most of these were of German origin, some of whom
were probably descendants of Hessian soldiers. There was a large
Hessian prison camp near Winchester, Va. where many prisoners were
supposed to be interned however, since these men had no interest in
continuing resistance against the Colonies, they were allowed unusual
freedom and privileges. They became acquainted with local girls and
after the War remained in America, married and became the progenitors
of many prominent families. Some Harrison County families from
Shenandoah County, Hessian descendants or otherwise were:
Polly Hammon Casner (Kesner) came
with her family about 1816, via Tennessee, where her husband died in
1810. She married Peter Vandeventer in Tenn, in 1811 and he too came to
the county.
Ephriam Fleshman came in 1806. He was
buried in a small cemetery not far from the bank of the Ohio River
about half way between Morvin's Landing and the mouth of Buck Creek. I
have been told by what I believe to be a reliable source,. that a
former owner of the. land paid a resident of Mauckport $5.00 to
remove
the three stones in a skiff during one of the floods and drop them: in
the river channel.
Moses Funkhouser came in 1808, Jacob
Doll in 1817, John Mauck in 1813, some say as early as 1808-09 but this
seems incorrect, Jacob Sherman. in 1824, and John Fravel in 1824.
Others were; Jacob Haas, Philip P.
Sonner, John Pitman, William Gwartney and the Wiseman family.
Thomas Smith came from Frederick
County, Va. in 1807 and Amos Brandenburg in 1816.
Robert Shields, the progenitor of the
Shields family in Harrison County removed from Rockingham Co., Va. to
Sevier Co., Tenn, in 1784. Jesse Shields, his youngest child, married.
in Sevier Co. and came to the county in 1807. Robert's, daughter,
Janet, married John Tipton and they also came in 1807. Others from
Virginia, county unknown were; Reuben Littell in 1817 and William
Woodward in 1845. Benjamin Borden and James Shrigley came at a later
date.
Adam Croiser, Anthony Dodds, Adam
Douglas and others came from New York state in 1816 and settled near
Lacona.
Libraries are another source of
information. The Corydon Library has other books in addition to those
mentioned above. They also have the 120 census of Indiana. Here the
heads of families are listed alphabetically with the county
residence together with the number of males and females in various age
groups. This is not too much help but it will show whether or not
your
ancestor was in the county prior to this and also show the total number
of children in the family. The 1830 & 1840 census gives about the
same thing. However, starting in 1850, the census gives the name of
each member of the family, their age and place of birth. The New Albany
Library has microfilm copies of these census records for many Indiana
counties. The attendant told me they had all from 1830-1880, the latest
released, for all counties south of Indianapolis. I know they also have
records for some of the northern counties. These records are most
helpful in establishing the names of all
members of a family with the year and place of birth. The Indiana State
Library and the Fort Wayne Library, said to be the second best
genealogical, library in the country, also have valuable information.
The Filson Club Library in Louisville has very good Kentucky records if
any of your ancestors lived in that state. They also have several books
on the thirteen original colonies. The Kentucky Library, located on the
campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, also has
excellent Kentucky records. The Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Library in
Salt Lake City is the best genealogical library in the country and
possibly in the world. I am told that they have a card file containing
thousands, perhaps millions of names. When a Mormon child starts to
school, he must bring a chart showing four generations of his family on
both his father's and mother's side. For a small fee, they will search
this file for any name in which you are interested. They will not do
any extensive research but if they find your name, they will send you a
list of names of people who will do this work.
All of the above work is directed
towards finding the names of your ancestors and where they lived.
However, if you want a complete family history, you will probably have
to visit the counties where they have lived and search the records
there or have someone do it for you. What records are available at the
county courthouses and what should you look for? Records differ
slightly from county to county and state to state. However, in general,
the same information will be found in any county although perhaps under
another name and in a different place. So let us use Harrison County
as an example, the one with which I am most familiar.
Perhaps the most interesting and most
used record is the marriage records. These are recorded in a series of
books starting in 1809 and continuing to the present time. We have been
particularly fortunate, in this county that none of our records have
been destroyed by fire, floods or other disasters as has been the case
in many countries. Many courthouses were burned during the Civil War
with the loss of many records. Others have burned inadvertently or
records have boon lost by floods.
Early marriage records are quite
different from what we know today. As recorded they give the name of
the groom and bride, date of license consent given by ---- if either
was not of age, and the return showing actual date of marriage and by
whom performed. No printed license forms were available in the early
days out were written longhand on slips of paper this was scarce
then, as were the returns also,
A typical
example follows:
To anyone authorized to perform
marriages:
You are required by law to join
together in the Holy state of Matrimony- John Smith and Mary Jones
and
this shall be your authority for so doing. Dated this 2nd day of March
in the year of our Lord 1810.
Signed;
Robert Brown, Clerk of H.C.
Many of those slips may be found
in file boxes stored in the east vault on the first floor of the
courthouse. If you are lucky, you may also find the consent form
showing the name and the relationship of the person giving consent for
the marriage.
As time went by, books with printed
forms became available and still later a witness form was added.
However, many of these were never used, ln some cases, the father or
brother signed these forms and this gives valuable information. At a
still later date, about 1880, an application form was added giving the
name of the parents, age of groom, etc. However, this was a separate
form not bound in the book so that many have been lost but if
available, they too will be found in the boxes mentioned above.
Beginning about 1809 ,these applications were pasted in the book with
the license and later they become a part of the printed forms in
the
book. Thus, one can readily see that the amount of family information
to be obtained from these marriage records depends upon the date of
marriage.
Wills are also an important record.
These are also recorded in books, each of which is indexed. These
sometimes gives the name of the wife and each of the
children and this gives a good family record. However, many wills
simply states that the property "be equally divided among
children”
some times giving the number, i.e. “among my four children”.
Unfortunately, many people died living no will. However, estates
had
to be settled, especially if there were minor children These “estate
settlements" are stored in boxes and indexed
in a book marked "Probate". These
give the value of the estate, administrator and his final settlement.
in
several cases with which I am familiar, the administrator took what was
left after, paying all debts as payment for his services. This record
sometimes contain a list of heirs but most times not. Search of these
records requires a lot of patience to scan each bit of paper to
determine if they contain any information of value.
Records of civil, action in the Court
are perhaps not one to which a person would turn when seeking
genealogical information but they are often important. This is
especially true where a person died without leaving a will and the
heirs cannot decide on a division of the estate. In this case, the
administrator or one of the heirs will sue the remaining heirs and the
matter will be settled by the Court. Records of the case will name all
heirs, perhaps on a subpoena summoning them to court. Another is where
there is not enough cash on hand or derived from the sale of personal
property to pay all debts and the administrator must sell some real
estate to get additional money. In this case, he petitions the Court
for permission to sell and names each of the heirs. These records are
recorded in books arid file boxes with an index in a book marked,
"Civil”.
Other records includes guardianship
bonds and proceedings dealing with orphans. All of the above will be
found in the Clerks office or vault adjoining.
Records under the jurisdiction of the
Recorder are land or real estate transactions, mortgages and soldiers
discharge papers. The earliest land transact-ions are recorded in the
“Tract Book” and shows the first owners of each piece of land as
purchased from the land offices at Vincennes or Jeffersonville. These
are listed by section in each of the townships and unless you know the
section or at least the township, finding the name of your ancestor may
be rather difficult. Fortunately, however, Youth Corps workers under
the direction of hr. Fred Griffin, indexed this book by name in 1971. A
copy of this index is in the Corydon Library. Deeds are recorded in
books and indexed under Grantor (seller) and Grantee (Buyer). These
records are useful in several ways. Sometimes a person purchased land
before moving to the county and his place of :residence at that time
will be given. Also people sometimes loft the county before selling
their land and the deed will often show the county and
state to which he moved. These deeds will also give some indication of
when a person came to the county since they usually purchased land just
before or soon after coming. At the very least, it proves that a person
was in the county at a given time. However, little family information
can be gained from deeds. The given name of the wife is sometimes
stated and if the deed is to one of the same surname, one may assume
that it is a son. However, this can not be certain unless other records
prove that there was a son of this name. If you are interested in
tracing a certain piece of land, look in the tract book and obtain the
name of the original owner. Then look for this name in the Grantor
index book to see when and to whom sold, the grantee. Then look for
this second name in the Grantor index to determine when and to whom
sold., Continue this process to the present time.
Your ancestors probably lived in
several counties in several, states. From the above you will see the
various records which must be searched in each of these counties. This
is not a short or easy task and may take years. to complete depending
on the time you have to spend on it. But it is a rewarding task! Not
only will you have a family history of which you can be proud and enjoy
but you will , also
have the satisfaction of having done something well worth leaving to
your posterity. This is most rewarding, at least I have found it so. I
hope the above will make your task a little easier.
Written by Walter S. Beanblossom
