MORGAN COUNTY INDANA
JACKSON TOWNSHIP
THE ENTRY
OF LAND
The location of
Jackson Township, remote from any considerable
water-course, delayed its settlement for a few years. The valley of
Indian Creek, however, was too rich a tract of country to remain long
in its primitive state, and about the middle of the twenties the
settlers began to arrive, but not in considerable numbers until the
thirties, at which time the greater portion of the land was entered by
actual residents. The first man, if accounts are correct, to locate
permanently in the township was John Hamilton. He came to the township
in 1825, and the following year entered a tract of land where now
stands the thriving little village of Morgantown. He had a family
of five or six children. He was scarcely in the township before he was
joined by Daniel Troxel, Thomas Teeter, Samuel Teeter, Robert Bowles,
John Shrum, William Williams, Sampson Canatsey and a few others, all ot
whom located in the vicinity of Morgantown on Sections 24 and 25. It
cannot be stated with any certainty that Mr. Hamilton was the first
settler. Indeed there are evidences that he was not. The first
land entered from the Government in the township was on Section 1 in
July, 1821. by William W. Drew and Elisha Herndon, but if reports are
reliable neither of these men resided in the township. William Harriman
entered a tract on Section 26 in 1824, but it is stated that he did not
reside there. He lived in Washington Township. William Knox came
in 1828, locating on Section 25, and Charles Ross in 1827, on Section
26. Henry Adams bought land on Section 13 in 1828, and Jesse Daugherty
on Section 21 the same year. Finney Courtney and Jonathan Hostetter
entered land on Section 26 in 1826, but no traces of their residence in
the township could be found. They probably soon sold out to actual
residents. Thomas Hudiburgh entered a tract on Section 26 in 1828, and
another tract on Section 27 the same time. These were about the only
land owners who had entered their farms from the Government in the
twenties, but there were other families in the township who were too
poor to purchase land, and then again, there were other families who
had bought their farms second-hand. The names of such cannot be given.
The settlement
received great, accessions early in the thirties. It was
the custom in that day, and naturally enough, for families to locate
near each other. Occasionally a man had the hardihood to go out into
the woods eight or ten miles from any other resident, but circumstances
of this kind usually only occurred with the very earliest families, who
were sure to be soon joined by others, and thus a small settlement or
colony would be formed with the said first settler as the founder
thereof. Early in the thirties, families began to locate in all parts
of the township, and the neighborhoods of unimproved land were soon a
thing of the past. Among those who bought land and settled in the
township were the following: James Blair, Robert Grant, Elijah
Vandergriff, John Gross, Benjamin Roberts, Francis Helton, Thomas
Barnes, Abraham Cooper, John Francis, James Hamilton, James Dillon,
Robert Bowles, Edward Choat, Jacob Haase, Samuel Kemp, Henry Kephart,
James T. Hickman, Emery Norman, Alexander B. Kelso, Charles B. Kelso,
William Norman, John Whitington, William Kent, John Kemp, Jacob
Adams, Josiah Clendenen, Samuel Troxell, James B. Kelso, Avery Magee,
Randolph Lawrence, Peter Epperson, Daniel Shireman. David Haase, Daniel
Avery, Hugh Adams, Milton Hickson, Daniel Adams, Henry Hamilton,
William Kemp, Wilburn Kemp, Peter Dill, Abraham Kephart, Samuel H.
Voils, Stephen Howell, William Howell, Thomas Ross, Mitchell Ross,
James Little, Charles Leonard, Isaac Gross, Benjamin Reynolds, John
Lake, James Kemp, W. W. Helton, Joshua Bowles, Evan Reynolds, Samuel
Hudiburgh, Abraham Mull, Jacob Sipes, Joseph Reeder, Talmon Groves,
William Williams, William Norman, J. M. Coonfield, Peter Reeder,
Anthony Bowles, Thomas Owen, Henry Lawrence, John Kenley, and many
others in the thirties.
POLL TAX PAYERS OF 1842
Jacob
Adams, Henry Adams, Hugh Adams, Daniel Avery, William Armstrong,
Sampson Canatsey, Lewis M. Coffey, Joshua Canady, William Bowles,
Alexander Blair, Peter Bandy, Joshua Bowles, Anthony Bowles, Benjamin
Bowles, Peter Dill, George Downing, Preston Doty, William D. Dunn,
Peter Epperson, Thomas Edwards, William Fesler, John Fesler, John
Farley, Jacob Gross, Reuben Griffith, Charles Garrison, M. R.
Guthridge, Wesley Gross, John Gerbalt, William Howell, John Hackney,
John G. Hine, John Haase, William Hamilton, Samuel Hamilton, Samuel
Hudiburgh, David Haase, W. W. Helton, Charles Hess, Christopher Hess,
Absalom Haase, David Howell, Noah Haase, Ephraim Haase, A. B. Hart, B.
Johnson, William Jenkins, John Johnson, William Kent, John Kenley,
Samuel Kemp, John Kelso, John Kemp, William Kemp, William Kephart,
Harvey Keeney, Andrew Knox, William Keeney, Jackson Keeney, George
Kephart, James J. King, Charles Landers, Owen Lloyd, Timothy Lake, John
Lake, Hiram Logston, George Lake, Lewis Lake, Amos Lawrence, Fred
Miller, Abe Mull, Mordecai Meadows, Christian Miller, James Norman,
Emery Norman, William Norman, Daniel Norman, Thomas Owen, Timothy
Open-chain, Benjamin Perry, Stephen Perry, William Palmer, Thomas Ross,
Joseph Reeder, William Roach, Benjamin Roberts, Irvin Reynolds,
William Reeder, W. E. Roach,
George Troxell, John Trower, John B. Thacker, Samuel Voils, Joseph Voils,
Samuel Vandergriff, Elijah
Yandergriff, Elisha Vandergriff, William Woods, William Wallace, J. F.
Whetstine, Edward Watson, John Williams, Emanuel Whetstine, Joel
Williams, Frank Worley, Abijah Watkins and Charles Whitaker.
REMINISCENCES AND
NOTES
By the year
1842, the township was quite well settled and the
citizens were in better circumstances and more comfortable. The
log cabin was still the rule, but a few frame houses had made their
appearance. The wild animals had largely disappeared. Even deer had
become somewhat scarce, though down in Brown County among the
precipitous ravines and almost impenetrable woods, all of the
native wild animals could still be found, not excepting bears and
panthers. These were rare, but still they were there for the hunter who
bad sufficient courage to follow them to "their lairs. Deer were very
numerous there yet, and many interesting incidents could be told
of the hairbreadth escapes of those of Jackson Township who went down
there on hunting excursions. Deer, wolves, catamounts, foxes, wild
turkeys, myriads of squirrels, snakes, wild cats, etc., etc., were
still found in Jackson in greater or less abundance. The earliest
settlers in Jackson had a picnic, so to speak. John Hamilton, who lived
near Morgantown, tells of shooting wild turkeys and deer on the present
town site almost every morning, or whenever they were required for food
or otherwise. He would get up just as the light began to break in the
East, take his rifle, walk out a few hundred yards from his cabin, and
in a few minutes the crack of his rifle would announce the death of
either a deer or a wild turkey. The latter in the fall of the year
became often very fat. It is stoutly averred by old settlers, that
sometimes when they were shot from the top of the high trees and fell
the long distance on the hard ground, the skin upon their backs burst
open like a ripe pod. This sounds "fishy'" now, but no doubt the old
settlers state the truth. Take such a bird, pluck it and dress it, and
roast it to a ripe brown before the fire-place, and then garnish it
with rich dressing and smother it in delicious gravy and the old
settlers had a feast fit for the gods. It makes the mouth water to
think of it. A great sport in early times was the hunting of bee trees.
It may not be generally known, yet it is a fact that wild bees are
unknown far out in the wilderness, hundreds of miles from human
habitation. They are like the pioneer hunters, and just precede the
advance guard of pioneers. It required some experience to be able
to find bee trees readily. In the summer the flight of the bees was
watched and the direction taken followed. A close and experienced
observer could thus trace them to their store of sweets. It could be
told fairly well, also, when a bee was coming from the hive or
returning. An examination of its honey bags would reveal whether
it was loaded or not. If it was loaded and on the wing, its course was
a "bee line" for its hive, otherwise it was seeking some flowery
pasture. In the winter time when the snow was on the ground, bees would
venture out of their trees on warm days, would be frozen to death and
would drop on the snow, where their bodies would cause a yellow
discoloration of two or three inches in diameter. A cluster of these
yellow spots could be seen a long distance often twenty or thirty rods,
and the location of the bee trees could thus be found. The Hamiltons,
on one occasion, discovered a
fine bee tree on the present site of Morgantown, from which almost a
tub-ful of the finest candied honey was obtained. The old settlers,
many of them, did not fare so badly after all.
INCIDENTS
OF THE CHASE
One day Mr.
Daugherty discovered a half grown bear near his cabin. The
details of the encounter which occurred are not fully known, but were
about as follows : He took his rifle and a big butcher knife and
accompanied by his dog cautiously approached the bear, which he
fired upon, but for some reason only gave it an ugly wound. The shock
prostrated the animal and Mr. Daugherty, who was near, hurried up to
bleed it, but when within a few feet of it the savage animal sprang up,
and in a moment was upon the settler with mouth open and eyes of fire.
Mr. Daugherty was a man of great physical strength and courage, and
when he thus found himself in the embrace of the bear, he began to ply
his butcher knife with all his strength and skill. Ere many blows were
struck, however, the knife was knocked from his hand. In the meantime,
the dog had been gnawing industriously at the posterior extremity of
the bear, but seemed to make scarcely any impression. About the time
the knife was knocked down, Mrs. Daugherty appeared upon the scene,
armed with a sharp case-knife, and probably the broom, and Mr.
Daugherty called out to her to hand him the knife, which she
quickly did, and the bear, which was weakening from the effects of the
rifle shot, was soon dispatched. The struggle had been very short, and
was within a few rods of the cabin: The above is the way the story was
told to the writer. Another incident is told of one of the Kemps,
equally as thrilling. This settler, while hunting in the woods with his
big dog, saw a catamount, which he shot at and wounded in the shoulder.
He was so close to the animal that as soon as he had fired, enraged
with the pain of the shot, it turned and bounded for the hunter, but
was met by the dog, and in an instant the two animals were fiercely
locked together. Notwithstanding the wound which had been inflicted
upon the catamount, the fight had scarcely begun ere it became evident
that the dog would come out, so to speak, at the little end of the
horn. The catamount seized it by the neck and was furiously shaking it,
when Mr. Kemp, who could not bear to see his faithful old dog torn in
pieces, rushed up, knife in hand, leaped astraddle of the beast
and drove his knife into its neck. This stroke seemed to settle
affairs, as the catamount released its hold on the dog, and was soon
dead. During the first few years, wolves were very numerous and often
troublesome. Sometimes in the night, when the weather was very cold and
snow lay deep upon the ground, they became so hungry and fierce that
they did not hesitate to attack even man. On one occasion, Hugh Adams
went probably in the southern part of the township for a piece of fresh
beef, and upon his return was somewhat belated. He had gone but a short
distance before the wolves scented the fresh meat and were soon
stealthily following him. The settler with his meat on his shoulders,
all he could conveniently carry, first heard the howl of a
solitary wolf. This was repeated, and another was heard and then
another and another, until the woods behind him were filled with a
chorus of the terrifying
sounds. The traveler, anxious for his own safety as well as
for that of the -beef, hurried on as fast as he could with his load.
The wolves came closer and closer and then seemed to hesitate, though
they still kept coming up. On ran the settler and on came his pursuers.
In a little while, the clearing of home was reached, and soon both meat
and settler were safe in the cabin. It was a narrow escape, as he would
no doubt have been attacked. He could have thrown down his beef, which
would have delayed them, but they would have been all the hungrier and
fiercer for the morsel. Incidents like these might
be multiplied without limit.
MILLS,
DISTILLERIES, ETC.
About the
year 1830, Joshua Whiteley built a small corn cracker on
Indian Creek, just east of Morgantown. Of course, water was the motor,
and the wheel was of the tub or bucket kind. It is said the owner would
leave it for hours at a time, and, upon returning, would find the grist
ground. He had an old dog that became very fond of corn meal, and
sometimes when the master had left the mill to run itself the old dog
would enter, seat himself on his haunches and lick up the meal as fast
as it fell from the spout. The manufacture of meal was so slow that it
would not come down as fast as the canine desired, whereupon he would
howl dismally until another mite had fallen. The reader may take the
story for what it is worth. A few years after this corn cracker was
built, James Blair erected another on the creek a short distance west
of town. This was operated until about 1840, when it was abandoned.
Joshua Bowles also built a grist mill near town late in the thirties,
which ran for eight or ten years and did good work. The old Vansicke
Mill at Mahalasville was built in the forties, and under various
owners and with many improvements is yet in operation. It was
originally built by John Coonfield. David Haase owned a small
distillery where apple and peach brandy and corn and rye whisky were
manufactured. Considerable good liquor was made here. It was moved
across the line into Washington Township, and was conducted after the
last war.
MORGANTOWN
This town
was first laid out in the month of March, 1831, by Robert
Bowles and Samuel Teeters, owners and proprietors. Fifty two lots were
laid out on the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 25, and
the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 24, Township 11
north, Range 2 east. For some reason this plat was not satisfactory, as
in 1836 the lots were laid out anew (on the south side of the main east
and west street at least). The first resident on the present town site
was no doubt Samuel Teeters, who located there in 1828. He was
afterward joined by John Bowles, John Whitington, Avery Magee, Andrew
Shell, Thomas Hudiburgh, Hugh Adams, Thomas Lockhart, John Fee, Samuel
Lawrence, William Woods, James Mclntire. John Fesler, William
Fesler, James Pratt, John Francis, Timothy Obenchain, Henry Hamilton,
Robert McNaught, Reuben Grifntt, John Hudiburgh, William Fee, Col. John
Vawter, Samuel Lawrence, Gabriel Grivens, Thomas Teeters, T. D.
Meddle, James Blair, J. J. Kelso, and many others.
In 1836, the village had a
population of about fifteen families, or seventy persons. Dr. Samuel
R. Trower was the first resident physician; James Pratt and William
Fesler were the first blacksmiths; John Fee was the first Postmaster;
Lewis Lake made the first set of harness in the town; William Adams
began selling liquor in 1831, and Thomas Hudiburgh opened a general
store in 1832; Henry Hamilton began selling liquor in 1833 ; Samuel and
Henry Lawrence and Avery Magee opened a liquor store in 1834. At this
time the sale of liquor was certainly in a flourishing condition. It
will be remembered that, many of the early settlers came from
Kentucky, the land of good whisky, fast horses and beautiful women. In
1835, Col. John Vawter sent a stock of general merchandise, worth about
$3,000, in charge of James Chambers, to Morgantown, but did not go
there himself until years afterward. John Fee opened the first store of
goods, however, in 1834. He started, it is said, with about $2,000
worth of goods. In 1835, Thomas Lockhart opened a liquor
store. Liquor establishments in those days were called "groceries." The
other term is used here to prevent misunderstanding. Mr. Lockhart soon
changed his stock to general merchandise. John McKinley opened a
"grocery" in 1836, and James Norman the same soon afterward. James
Reville, an old bachelor, commenced selling liquor in 1836. Thomas
Edwards opened a shoe shop in 1837. It was during this year that Martin
& Crocker brought to the village about $4,000 worth of goods. A few
years later, the firm became Seaman & Crocker. S. R. Trower &
Son became merchants in 1837, and Preston Doty the same year. Eli
Murphy sold merchandise in 1838. In 1839, H. C. Martin, who had
been in with Crocker, started a new store on his own account. E. St.
John sold liquor in 1839. Vawter, Hudiburgh, Trower, Fee, the
Lawrences, Hamilton, Peter Keeney, and perhaps others, were in business
in 1839 and 1840. In 1841, Downing & Guthridge opened a store.
During the forties, the leading merchants were several of the above,
also Fesler & Seaman, James Baldwin, Fesler & Egbert, Rogers
& Coleman, and others. Afterward came John W. Knight, Andrew S. and
James Hickey, John Collett, and on still later, Col. W. A. Adams,
Butler, Patterson & Neeley. Col. Vawter continued in business
until his death in about 1864. He started back in the thirties, but did
not live in the village until later. He became a prominent citizen. R.
M. Dill came later. William Fesler was Col. Yawter's partner, and
continued the business after the latter's death, and until his own
death in 1868. Samuel Hamilton was in the mercantile business in the
sixties. His successor was James Horton. Horton's partner later was
Rosengarden. James Hickey, J. O. & J. S. Coleman, hardware; Freeman
& Montgomery, Mate Kerliu, drugs, about 1857. The first harness
shop of consequence was kept by George and Milton McNaught, in the
forties. Thomas A. Rude, drugs; A. C. Payn, drugs; Knox &
McPheters, drugs ; Arnold & Neal, drugs ; J. S. Kephart,
livery, in the sixties; Rude & Canatsey, same, burned down; Israel
Egbert, livery; Lee & Enos, same; Mrs. Eliza Walker, millinery
goods, in the sixties.
MANUFACTORIES
Obenchain
& Lake owned and conducted quite an extensive cabinet shop early in the forties. The Feslers
were in the same business,
together with wagons and buggies, in the thirties. T. J. Lamb conducted
a wagon shop later. It is said that William Wood manufactured the first
wagons in town. One of the earliest and most noteworthy industries was
the linseed oil mill built by John Fee about the year 1835. Much more
flax was raised in those times, comparatively, than now. Almost every
farmer owned a flax field. The seed found its way into Fee's mill,
where it was crushed by iron rollers, heated until the oil had run out
and then pressed into cakes, and sold for food to stock. Five or six
hands were constantly employed, and hundreds of gallons of the oil were
barreled and transported to market. The enterprise continued eight or
ten years. Early in the fifties, James McAllister built a woolen mill,
where for four or five years large amounts of wool were carded, but no
spinning or weaving was done. He also owned a saw mill. Mr. Lang built
the big grist mill near the depot many years ago. The grinding has run
down at present. William Hickey manufactured large quantities of plug
tobacco about twenty years ago, continuing about three years. He used
all the tobacco raised for miles around, and brought in considerable
from outside points. The present population of the
town is about 800.
PRESENT BUSINESS
PURSUITS
Dry goods,
Clarence H. Jones, G. W. Buckner, W. B. Hill, J. H. Hickey
& Son, Mrs. M. L. Walker. Groceries, I. N. Coonfield, Gibson &
Son, Moses Wooden. Hardware, George Montgomery. Drugs, W. M. Berry
& Co., M. T. Hancock. Furniture and undertaking, Peter Fesler.
Millinery, Mrs. M. L. Walker, Paulina Vandergriff, Mrs. L. G. Karst.
Agricultural implements, C. H. Obenchain, J. W. Crawford & Son.
Barber, A. L. Gross. Hotels, Charles Saltcorn, James Santifer.
Photographer, James Walker. Butchers, George Overstreet, Harry Jackson.
Carpenters and builders, Fesler Brothers, Jeremiah Kelso. Doctors, R.
C. Griffitt, W. H. Butler, Mr. Selfridge, Ira Willen. Saw mill and
lumber, M. J. Bell. Grist mills, R. M. Dill, W. S. Coleman. Harness, J.
M. Neeley. Boots and shoes, James Hickey. Liveries, J. K. Coffman, W.
H. Fesler. Lawyers, Judge Ramsey, W. L. Rude, J. V. King. Common sense
bee hives, Sprague & Patterson. High School Professor, James Henry,
1882—83. Secret societies, Masons, Odd Fellows and Knights of
Honor. The village was incorporated about 1870, but was not continued
thus.
EDUCATION
Schools
were started in the vicinity of Morgantown, under the
patronage of the residents of that neighborhood, about the year
1830. A log schoolhouse was built east of town, and was used until
about 1834, when another was built in town. This was used until 1840,
when a frame schoolhouse took its place. John Fee donated the lot. The
first teacher in town cannot be named. Milton Guthridge, John Vitito
and James Hogeland were early teachers, but not the first. Early in the
fifties a new frame schoolhouse was built which was used continuously
until the present brick building was built, about ten years ago, at a
cost of $3,700, Mr. Demoss being the contractor.
Cathcart, Kennedy, Shuck, Morris
and others have taught in this house.
It is a fine two-story brick
building, and is a credit to the town and township. It was
built by the township, and is called the Jackson Township High
School. It was during the latter part of the decade of the thirties
that schools were started in the western, southern and northern
portions. In 1840, there were four established schools, and in
1850, three more.
RELIGIOUS
CLASSES
A class of
the Christian denomination was organized at Morgantown early
in the forties, among the members being the families of John Fesler,
Albert Roberts, John Trower, George W. McNaught and others. The class
was small and did not grow rapidly. After a few years they were strong
enough to build a frame church in the eastern part of the town. This
house was used until the present brick was erected early in the
seventies, at a cost of about $3,000. The Methodists had the first
class in Morgantown. It was organized not far from 1836. The early
membership comprised among others the families of Reuben Griffitt,
A. S. Hickey, David Howell, James Pratt, John Cochran, Samuel C.
Hamilton, James A. Coeplin, Daniel H. Warner, Larkin DeHart and others.
In December, 1844, James Pratt, for $10, deeded to the class a piece of
land 31x31 feet on Lot 64, upon which the following year a log church
was built. This house was used until about the beginning of the last
war, when the present frame structure was erected at a cost of $2,000.
The class is considerably run down at present, and needs some
evangelist to stir it up. About 1845, a German Methodist class was
organized in the northern part. The families of Christian Hess, George
Weamer, Michael Knipstine, Fred Miller, David Bowling, Conrad Muth,
Fred Truckess and others belonged. The class divided soon, one branch
becoming German Lutherans, at the head being Michael Knipstine,
Henry Cook, Andrew Gross and others. Their church was built after a few
years. Late in the forties, the Mount Nebo Methodist Church was
organized. William Howell, Daniel Moore, Mansfield Moore, Martin
L. Creed, Ed Ferguson and William H. Jackson were leading members, the
latter being pastor in 1851. Their church was built after a few years.
A Baptist Church was built at Morgantown in the fifties, the whole
expense, or nearly so, being borne by Col. Vawter. It was a brick
building, and is said to have cost $2,000. This church was
succeeded, four or five years ago, by the present frame building, which
cost $2,100. Later churches have been started by the Methodists and
Baptists. There are now in the township nine churches. This speaks well
for the morals of the township.