RUSH COUNTY, INDIANA
(Transcribed from the book Centennial History of Rush County
by A.L. Gary & E.B. Thomas 1921)
EARLY SETTLEMENT
"History has a great office: to make the past intelligible to the
present, for the guidance of the future." There is a certain beauty in
cold facts. While the full story of the wonderful romance which must be
inseparably connected with the remarkable development that has marked
the progress of man in the favored region composed of Rush county never
adequately can be told, there may be presented in these pages certain
details of fact and circumstance that will preserve for the future some
narrative of the doings of those hardy and courageous men and women who
a century and more ago left behind them the comparative comforts of the
established communities of the east and came out here to erect new
homes amid conditions that would have appalled all save the stoutest
hearts. And it is to such a narrative that this chapter shall be
devoted.
From an almost impenetrable forest, apparently in-hospitable to all
save the savage aboriginals who roamed the fastnesses of those densely
wooded stretches, the region comprised within the borders of the county
has been converted into one of the choicest garden spots of all the
great Midwest country; and all practically within the century of
progress which this volume commemorates. No more wonderful romance ever
has been written than that which has been wrought into actuality here
within these few generations, and to that noble pioneer stock that made
possible the full measure of social and civic development now accepted
as mere commonplace here about, all honor is due; all honor is paid.
THE LURE OF THE FARTHER HORIZON
The basic elements of the population of Rush county have had
representation here since the days of the beginning of an organic government in this
section. The grandfathers and the great-grandfathers of the men and
women who are now accounted leaders in the social and civic life of
this community were the men who brought the community into being; the
men who leveled the forests, who founded the towns and villages and
wrought here that wonder of human progress which we call civilization,
wresting from an arrested and non-progressive race one of the fairest
and most productive spots on the globe. The men who settled this region
were men of wide vision, men possessed of the true pioneering spirit,
men to whom the lure of the farther horizon was irresistible, and the
work that they did here was well done. The foundations they laid were
broad and deep and it is gratifying to note that their descendants in
the main have seen fit here to remain, erecting on those foundations a
superstructure of such proportions as to carry far the name and the
fame of Rush county.
ERECTION OF RUSH COUNTY
By the treaty at St. Mary’s, October 2 to 6,1818, the. land which now
comprises Rush county was ceded to the United States by the Delaware
Indians. Immediately the government surveyors began their work, and by
April 29, 1820, it was completed, and the land was opened to buyers
October 1, 1820, at the Brookville land office. But even prior to this
time squatters had gone into the new country. Probably the first of
these was Enoch Russell. This man lived in Franklin county, where the
town of Sommerset (now the town of Laurel) was laid out in 1818. In the
fall of that year, a few days after the treaty with the Indians was
effected, or as soon, at least, as the news reached him, Russell and a
man named Zach Colins went out into the new purchase and put up a cabin
in order that they might hunt through the winter. It had been usual for
citizens along Whitewater river to go out to hunt in the Indian land,
in what is now Rush county,
prior to the signing of the treaty, but this cabin was probably the
first permanent structure erected in the county. It was built about one
and one-half miles north of the present town of New Salem, and during
the first winter was used only as a hunting cabin. In the spring of the
year, however, Russell moved his family in, and Collins built himself
another cabin not far distant. In the fall of the same year, 1819.
Isaac Williams built a cabin near by, as did Isaac Phipps and one
Merryman. All this region was then known as "Congress land," and those
who moved into it before the land sales did so for hunting purposes.
When the Brookville office opened in the fall of 1820, John Smith
entered the land on which the Russell cabin stood, and when Smith died,
his heirs sold the property to General Robinson.
COMMUNAL DEBT TO DOCTOR ARNOLD
The people of Rush county are indebted in large measure for the
information which is available concerning the early settlement of the
county to the writings of Dr. John Arnold. In a series of twenty-six
papers entitled "Reminiscences of An
Old Settler," which were addressed in 1875 and 1876 to F. T.
Drebert, editor of The Republican,
he sketched with a vivid pen the life, habits and customs of the rugged
pioneers, and gave invaluable glimpses into the social conditions of
the day. His descriptions of the vegetation, wild animals, reptiles,
and general appearance of the region in its nearly native state are
invaluable, as they make us of this generation pause to consider the
immense debt of gratitude which is owing to our forefathers for laying
the foundations of the substantial social fabric which constitutes our
present communal life. The Indianapolis Sentinel bestowed the following
compliment upon Doctor Arnold after re-viewing a few of his
contributions in 1875.
"Many of the newspapers of the state have availed themselves of the
personal knowledge of men now living to publish interesting reminiscences of
the olden times during the past year. Among these, a series just begun
in the Rushville Republican and written by J. Arnold, promises unusual
interest. In his first paper Mr. Arnold expresses a tender and true
patriotism and home love, which in these migratory days of unrest are
refreshing to find. Such sentiments do honor to the man, and such men
carry a pure element into the stream of social life. His well written
account of the retributive death of the great Indian chief, Ben Davis,
constitutes one of those passages in genuine history wherein the truth
surpasses fiction."
Doctor Arnold came to the family home on Ben Davis creek before the
state government had authorized the erection of the county of Rush, and
of him it was said in The Republican. "He is an old resident of
the county and possesses a rich fund of information relating to its
early history. The scholarly culture and literary taste displayed in
his productions render them both instructive and entertaining."
CONCISE VIEW OF EARLY DAY
There are some parts of Doctor
Arnold's reminiscences that, while they provide a few moments of
pleasurable reading, do not pertain definitely to the subject in hand,
and for this reason, extracts are made to present to the reader a
concise view of the early settlement of this locality.
"One important factor in the early development of the material
resources and the consequent prosperity of Rush county, was that the
land was not bought up by thousands of acres by non-resident
speculators, who quietly waited, in their comfortable homes, for their
lands to be made valuable by the labor of the actual settlers, who
always must suffer loss and inconvenience by these tracts interfering
in the establishing of schools, making of roads, and in various other
ways.The settlers were
generally men of small or moderate means, who had the courage to invade
the grand primeval forest, for the purpose of hewing out a home for
themselves and their children. Most of them were young, energetic,
industrious, self-reliant, the very best representatives of their
several states; for while the timid and the weak remained in the old
settlements, these bravely dared the hardships of the western wilds.
These men, while showing the general characteristics of their native
states, also possessed marked individuality.The consciousness of power
enabled each to think, to act and to work, according to the dictates of
his own conscience and judgment.The cool and calculating Yankee was
found side by side with the impulsive and generous Kentuckian; the
proud Virginian beside the plodding Pennsylvania Dutchman; the quiet
and peaceable Quaker from the Carolinas by side of the wild and
reckless Tennesseean, and there an Englishman or an Irishman. From the
gradual amalgamation of all these different and strong elements has
resulted the present moral, intelligent and prosperous
community. Allow me, just here, to express my firm
conviction and opinion, arrived at from considerable travel and
observation but more from reading.It is this: That although there are
undoubtedly some localities possessed of a richer soil, some of a more
salubrious atmosphere, some of a climate far better and in every
respect preferable to ours, some that have more and stronger springs,
some that have a higher standard of education, but when we come to sum
up the several advantages of each, we find that Rush county, with her
soil, her timber, her water, her nearness to market, and above all in
her high status in religious and intellectual matters, is excelled by
no part of the United States or perhaps the wide
world.
Having procured board at Claypool's tavern [Connersville] the next
thing was to get a backwoodsman to act as guide in the new
purchase. Having found an old hunter well skilled in
woodcraft and understanding how to run the section lines, my father,
Uncle Richard and John Houghton turned their faces westward and soon
crossed the old boundary line, which was just this side of William's
creek on the east side of what is now the Was-ham farm. Beyond this was
the wilderness unbroken save by the squatter and hunter's cabin. My
father, though eminently domestic and social in his feeling, yet had an
exalted love and admiration for the wild beauties of nature, and his
heart was filled with pleasurable emotions as he traversed the mazes of
the virgin forest. None but those who saw the country in those early
days can form an adequate conception of the wild luxuriance of
vegetation, covering every foot of the teeming soil, and showing its
fertility. In addition to the heavy growth of lofty forest trees, the
dense and almost impassable undergrowth of spice brush, pawpaw and
other shrubs, was seen a profusion of weeds and flowers, of a hundred
varieties, which have now disappeared, trod out by the foot of
civilization. These sights produced a still more powerful impression
from the fact of his just having come from an old country, where the
rich exuberance of nature's products had been toned down by the hand of
taste and subdued by cultivation. They spent several days traveling
through the pathless woods, though with no uncertain steps, for their
guide knew his business well. Generally, at night, they found a
hunter's hospitable door open to receive them; when they did not, they
built their fire, cooked their supper of game, spread their blankets
and slept the sound sleep of wearied men, undisturbed by the hooting of
the owls, the shrill scream of the wild cat, the long dismal howl of
the solitary wolf or any of the other voices of the nocturnal forest.
Passing the headwaters of Ben Davis creek they crossed Flatrock, Little
Blue and Big Blue rivers, then turning south twenty or more miles,
recrossed these streams and struck Little Flatrock, which they followed
until somewhere near the present Flatrock church, when they went north
to Ben Davis creek, where they found two squatters, Samuel Gruell and
Weir Cassady. They put up at Gruell's and spent a day or two in looking
around in that vicinity. My father was delighted with the appearance of
the land; it was rich, well timbered, well watered by good springs and
sufficiently rolling for surplus water to run off readily. Near
Gruell's cabin, were the numerous though now dilapidated wigwams of an
Indian village, once the headquarters of that fierce old Delaware
chief, Ben Davis. Near this village were half a dozen springs of the
purest water; indeed in selecting a site for their villages, good water
seems to be the most important consideration in their location.
CREATION OF A NEW HOME
"My father decided this should
be the future home of his family in the new world; he took the numbers
of the land so as to enter it, as soon as the sales were opened at
Brookville. The lands of the old purchase had been sold at Cincinnati.
He also agreed to pay Gruell for his cabin and clearing, about half an
acre, enclosed with a brush fence, engaging boarding with him, whenever
it suited him to be out here previous to the sales. John Houghton
selected a quarter, half a mile south of my father's, eighty acres of
which is now owned by G. W. Looney and eighty by Josiah Alger. I may
here state that all these arrangements were carried out, and that
Gruell entered land west of Flatrock which he afterwards traded to John
Parsons for a farm on Nolan's Fork, in Whitewater, where he resided
many years, then sold out and went to the Wabash, where he died.
Matthew Parsons now owns the farm of his father, John Parsons. Weir
Cassady was on the land entered by Rans Byrd Green, about half a mile
from Gruell's. Cassady entered land southwest of Rushville, where his
widow still resides with her son, Simon. The sale of lands did not open
until the first part of October [1820] and it was now the latter part of August, so that my
father had to wait some time. That fall my father had a story and a
half, hewed log house built with two rooms below and one above; the
plank for the partition, the floors, doors, etc., were bought on
Williams creek and were hauled out by James Alexander. This was the
first plank brought on to Ben Davis creek. The common cabin was built
without plank and without nails, and the chimney without brick or lime.
The cabin was constructed of round logs, notched down at the corners,
so as to leave but little space between, and this was partially closed
by chunks firmly driven in, and then every crevice was filled and
plastered over with the daubing of tough clay; this when dry
effectually excluded the air and cold. At one end the logs were cut out
so as to make the fireplace. This opening was shut up by building three
sides of a rectangle of split timbers, the fourth being the opening
into the room; next a solid wall of tempered clay was built inside of
and against the timbers; this was carried up four or five feet,
constituting the fireplace; above this was the stick chimney,
constructed of sticks split square, from one to one and a half inches
in diameter and gradually and often gracefully contracting until it
reached the proper height. As fast as the sticks were laid in position
it was carefully plastered inside and out; this prevented the sticks
from being ignited by the roaring, rushing column of flame, usually
ascending from the burning logs in the vast fireplace. The roof was
made of clapboards, usually four or five feet long; the ends of these
rested on logs about three feet apart, gradually ascending like steps.
The joints or opening between these boards being covered with other
boards, and being kept in place by weight poles, formed a roof that
would keep all dry beneath it for many a day. The floors were formed of
timbers split and then hewed .smooth, and being from three to four
inches thick, these puncheons rested on logs, hewed on the upper
side. A very strong though not a very tight floor. The
doors were made of the same kind of material but thinner, and held in
place by cross pieces fastened on with wooden pins. The hinges and the
latch were also of wood, so that there was no iron, plank or brick
found in one of these primitive residences. The window was an aperture
of about eighteen inches square, sometimes closed by a piece of an old
sheet or some other substitute for glass. Now look inside and see the
bedsteads, table and stools, manufactured by the pioneer himself, by
the aid of ax, saw, augur and drawing knife, and then look at the
active, energetic woman, surrounded by half a dozen or more healthy,
noisy children, engaged in her multiform domestic labors, and you have
a rough picture that may help you to more just conceptions of the
actual life of those early settlers in the wilderness, who have hewed
out homes for themselves and subdued the forest to the purposes of
agriculture.
NOBLE MEMORIAL TO DOCTOR RUSH
"Rushville was laid out by W.
B. Laughlin and others, in 1822, and the county was organized in 1822,
both being named in honor of the celebrated physician and teacher, Dr.
Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, through the recommendation of his
admiring pupil and devoted friend, Dr. William B. Laughlin. Of the
latter gentleman I have many pleasant recollections, for to him I owe
my first introduction to the cultivation of the rich, though arid
fields of classic literature, and I hope in some future paper to jot
down these reminiscences of my early friend and teacher."
A brief sketch of one of these pioneers is given by Doctor Arnold in
his seventeenth paper, and is here incorporated to show what manner of
men the first settlers were.
" Jacob Dewey, a squatter on the fraction north of the burial ground on
Josiah Alger's place, was a rich study. He was as poor a
man as could be, but always
happy, always cheerful, always patient under the sharp and often well
merited reproaches of his better half, who would expatiate on his
indolence, improvidence and recklessness in language more forcible than
polite. He came from Fayette county, but what spot claimed the honor of
his birth I know not, but presume he was a Yankee, from the consummate
skill displayed in the working of a bovine team. A pair of bulls was
his most valuable and indeed almost his only worldly property. With
these he rolled the logs in the clearings, or with a rude sled hauled
the rails for the fences of his neighbors and thus eked out a
livelihood mainly obtained by his dog and gun, for he was a skilled
hunter. He was a wild looking fellow, scarcely ever wearing anything on
his head, except nature's covering of long, tangled, tawny locks;
generally barefooted, with his buckskin breeches rolled up to his knees
and his shirt sleeves rolled up above his elbows. The furniture of his
cabin was scanty and of the rudest description. The walls were
ornamented with the skins of wild animals shot or trapped by him, but
the crowning ornament was the skin of a tremendous yellow rattlesnake
with eighteen or twenty rattles, so well stuffed that it represented
the living reptile with startling effect. By the side of it hung the
claws and head of a bald eagle. But, whatever might be the poverty of
his surroundings, his table was always bountifully supplied with the
best of venison, wild turkey, etc. Pie did considerable work for my
father; fenced and cleared one field eighteen inches and under. Perhaps
I had better explain the technical term "eighteen inches and under,"
for fear the young of this generation may not clearly comprehend what
it implies. In this kind of clearing the brush is grubbed, all the
trees eighteen inches or less in circumference two feet from the ground
are cut down, the logs chopped and the whole piled and burned, putting
it in a good state for a woods pasture when seeded with
blue-grass. Sometimes, however, in addition to the above work the
trees left standing would be deadened, and at the end of two years the
ground would be planted in corn, pumpkins, squashes, beans, potatoes,
etc. Of course the plowing among the roots would be difficult and
imperfect, and the hoe was the main dependence for its cultivation, but
so powerful were the productive energies of the virgin soil that an
abundant crop was generally secured. I well remember one spring Dewey
was hauling and rolling logs in the creek bottom; he had run a
handspike under a large log and then passing his arm under it to draw
the chain through; he immediately exclaimed that there was ice under
the log. and as soon as it was rolled, lo, there lay three large
moccasin snakes, whose cold bodies he had mistaken for ice. Fortunately
for him, there had not been sufficient heat to arouse them from their
winter torpor, and it was this that enabled him to pass his naked arm
with impunity on these vicious reptiles. Under his rough, unpolished
and sometimes reckless manners was concealed a generous and manly
heart. He was ever ready to assist any one in distress from sickness or
other cause. He possessed a large share of that friendly, fraternal
feeling so common among the early settlers, and the loss of which we
often hear bewailed by the hoary-headed patriarchs who enjoyed its
pleasant warmth in their youth, and now contrast it with the cold
selfishness of the present community. When John Horlock came to his sad
end by the fall of a tree, Jacob Dewey was among the first and most
earnest to offer his services to do anything that was in his power for
the distressed family. Mr. Horlock had a large number of hogs, which,
like all others running in the woods, had become almost as wild and
savage as the natural denizens of the forest. These Dewey spent several
days in hunting up and driving home prior to the sale, and it was about
as disagreeable a job as could be imagined, and when asked his charge
felt and expressed indignation that any one should think him mean
enough to take pay from a poor widow for a few days' work. In the bosom
of this uncultivated backwoodsman, glowed as true a spirit of chivalry
as ever animated the lofty paladins of the court of Charlemagne. Dewey
lived in this neighborhood some three or four years, when it became too
crowded to suit his taste, and he pushed farther west, where the
clearings were not so numerous and the game more abundant. He seemed to
have no desire to own land and make himself a permanent home, and I
have no doubt that he lived and died a very poor but very happy man.
NATIVE DENIZENS OF THE WILD
"In the early settlement of
this country there were plenty of gray foxes but no red ones; they,
like the Norway rats, follow in the footsteps of improvement and
civilization. The fierce wildcat was occasionally treed by the dogs and
then shot by the hunter; if after being wounded it fell into their
clutches, it fought, as long as life remained, with the savage fury
characteristic of the feline race.
"Of the fur-bearing animals found here, at that date, we may mention
the beaver, the otter, the mink, the muskrat, the weasel and the
raccoon. These were generally trapped in the winter when their fur is
valuable. The remains of beaver dams I have seen in several places in
Rush and Hancock counties. A spot on a swampy creek, two or three miles
west of Burlington, still retains the name of Beaver meadow, because a
colony of these animals once occupied it. The otters remained long
after the beavers were exterminated; indeed they are occasionally found
along Flatrock to the present day. The country had been settled eight
or ten years before I ever saw or heard of a polecat or skunk, but of
late years they have multiplied rapidly; and one traveling over the
country at night, frequently has his nostrils saluted by the peculiar
and horribly disgusting odor emanating from this foul animal, when
irritated or. attacked. It is its only effective weapon of offense and
defense, and well does it understand its power and the unwillingness of
all animated nature to encounter its overpowering mephetic stench.
Often at night I have seen one coolly trotting along in the road before
me, utterly ignoring my presence, and refusing to turn out, seeming to
understand that I would not dare provoke a salute from its terrible
battery. In these cases I have justified its expectation, and if it
would not, I have turned to one side, fully believing that discretion
was the better part of valor when you encounter a skunk. Fortunately
their fur is valuable and fashionable under another name and color. The
skins are sent to France, and after being deodorized, dressed, colored
and made up into muffs, boas, collars, etc., are sent back to this
country, to be proudly worn by the fair dames whose noses would
instinctively turn up at but there is a great deal in a name, and the
observer will the very name of skunk. Men may say what they please, see
this fact verified almost every day. I will here mention a singular
fact in natural history, which I do not recollect to have seen, in any
work on the subject. It is that the skunk fraternizes with the ground
hog, both being found occupying the same den or burrow, excavated by
the industry of the latter, but now jointly and sociably used by both.
A trap set at the opening will in a few nights often catch both skunks
and ground hogs. Whether the ground hog has voluntarily extended the
hospitalities of his home to the skunk, or whether the latter presuming
on the impunity of power has taken possession and holds it, in an armed
neutrality, which the unfortunate ground hog dares not break, I am not
prepared to say.
"The mink and weasel still infest our country in greater numbers
probably than when it was new, for the abundance of domestic fowls
supply a material on which to gratify their insatiable thirst for
blood, greater than could be found in the wilderness.
"The muskrats are still plentiful along our creeks and are trapped in
great numbers every winter.
"The raccoon still roams through our woods, forages in our corn fields,
and occasionally makes a raid on the hen roost and is particularly
destructive to the broods of young turkeys and peafowls. Coon hunting
in early times was a favorite amusement with the boys, but is not now
so attractive, from the fact that the timber has become too valuable to
be cut to capture them, and consequently they are not so successful.
The young coon is a very amusing pet, full of drollery, cunning and
quaint antics, and generally very mischievous, a great favorite with
the boys, but a continual annoyance to the careful housewife.
"Thus we see that while the larger wild animals have entirely
disappeared, the smaller ones still remain in undiminished if not in
augmented numbers, from the greater abundance of food in a settled
country.
THE DAYS OF THE WILD TURKEY
"In this paper I shall speak
of the birds found in our woods by the pioneers. In this list, we must
give the precedence to the wild turkey, for its numbers, richly
flavored flesh, graceful carriage and beautiful form, justly entitle it
to this post of honor. They roamed through the forests or entered the
diminutive cornfields, in vast flocks, and were frequently sought by
the hunter, when his larder needed replenishing, for their delicious
juicy meat, so far excelling that of the tame turkey, as all game
animals excel the domestic, formed a repast that would satisfy the most
fastidious epicure. And those who have only participated in the 'turkey
dinners' of these later days, capital though they unquestionably are,
can have no realizing sense of the exquisite and higher excellences of
this most noble bird, when properly brought out by the skillful cook.
In the autumn .and early winter, when the young birds were grown and
were fat from the abundance of mast and berries,, many who had neither
time nor inclination to seek them with the dog and gun, secured them by a trap, simple but effective.
Having selected a suitable place, a ditch was dug fifteen to eighteen
feet long, five or six feet wide and was twenty to twenty-four inches
deep, then it gradually sloped to the surface at the other end with,
say, eighteen inches; over the deeper end was built a pen of rails or
poles some three feet high, covered with the same material, and inside
across the ditch close to the side were laid a couple of clapboards or
some bark. Some corn was scattered around the pen, and a considerable
quantity was strewn in the trench extending to the end within the
enclosure. Any flock of turkeys passing by, attracted by the scattered
corn would gather round the pen, and seeing plenty in the trench run in
pell-mell, those behind crowding those ahead of them, until half a
dozen or more have entered the trap, when they immediately begin
running round their prison, trying to get through the openings, not
having sense enough to leave the sides and re-enter the trench, near
the middle of the pen. In hunting with the gun, the dog is of great
service, making them take to the trees and while their attention is
attracted by the dog, the hunter has a fine opportunity to select and
bring down his game. Another method, though only practicable on
moonlight nights, in the season when the trees are leafless, is when a
roost is discovered, to go out and when the moon is sufficiently high
to bring the turkey in the proper range between the hunter and the
moon, a good shot is obtained, and he will seldom fail to secure his
bird. The turkey is not only powerful of wing and capable of extended
flights, but also has swiftness of foot, which renders it difficult to
secure, even after a wing is broken.
"The ruffled grouse, pheasant or partridge, as it is variously termed
in different sections of our country, were very numerous, harboring in
the densest thickets and swamps, when early in the morning or in the
evening their peculiar drumming could often be heard. They were very
easily shot, which caused their number to decrease rapidly; their flesh was delicious.
The quail was also common, though not very numerous. In the spring and
fall many varieties of wild duck visited our waters, and occasionally a
pair remained through the summer, rearing their young. I recollect a
pair of beautiful crested ducks made their nests in the hollow of a
gigantic sycamore, for two succeeding seasons, and I frequently saw
them flying in or out. I once saw the old ones bring their unfledged
offspring from the nest, in their bills, carefully placing them in a
pool in the creek; there were some six or eight of them. Cranes were
numerous and were daily to be seen flying along the creek, standing at
the riffles quietly watching for their finny prey, or wading in the
ponds ever and anon, impaling with their javelin-like bills an
unfortunate frog. The headquarters of the cranes was an extensive
swamp, from which originated the main branch of Ben Davis creek; it was
in Fayette county, about a mile from the Rush county line; the land now
belongs to Richard Nash, Matthew Hastings and others. Here eight or ten
pairs usually made their nests, consisting of a large pile of sticks
slightly hollowed along for the eggs, and built in the tops of the
lofty burr oaks or water elms, the usual growth of such a locality.
Prom this, their home, they foraged the country far and wide on
tireless though leisurely wing, seeking food for their noisy offspring.
"The bald eagle was often seen by the settlers and was always a
tempting mark for their rifles.
"The raven was often seen perched on the topmost branch of some dead
tree, near a stream, and its hoarse guttural cry was heard echoing
through the forest. Mr. Horlock once presented me with one whose wing
was broken. The raven is no longer found in this country. I do
not think I have seen or heard of one being here for the last
thirty-five years.
"Crows gave serious offense to the farmers by pulling up their young
corn.
'The large hen hawk, two or three varieties of the blue and the sparrow
hawk were all native to this country.
"The large and powerful horned owl, the common cineritious or gray, and the
diminutive screech owls all found happy homes in the hollow trees and
often made night vocal with their peculiar, and to those not cognizant
of the mysteries of owl language, melancholy cries. These cries no
doubt really express the tender pleadings of love, the bold defiance or
the joyful triumph.
"In early times a large variety of the woodpecker was very common,
which has long since become extinct in this part of the country. It was
as large as a small pigeon, with a powerful bill three inches long, a
red crested head, its general color black, with a white ring around its
neck, some white bars across its wings and some marking of the same
across its tail. It would frequently, in the winter, dig through one or
two inches of solid green wood to reach a colony of large ants or other
insects, hid away securely against everything, except the unerring
instinct of this prince of the woodpecker family. All the other
varieties that we now have were then found in much greater numbers,
such as the common but beautiful red headed and white and black dressed
depredator of the cherry orchard, the yellow-hammer or golden winged,
the Virginia and the various sap suckers and climbers.
"Thrushes, robins, jays, black birds, cardinals, orioles, doves, flax
birds, king-fishers, several varieties of swallows, the martin, for
whose hospitable entertainment boxes were placed on poles and over
tavern signs, cat birds, wrens and the richly hued and dashing humming
birds, with several other kinds of small birds; which I do not now
remember. Our list of birds would not be complete if I did not mention
the wild pigeon, which though not native to this section, yet in those
years when a bountiful yield of mast crowned our beech and oak, visited
us in countless thousands. When large flocks suddenly rose from the ground the noise
of their rushing pinions was like the sound of distant thunder and
could be heard to a great distance. Of course everyone, men or boys,
enjoyed rare sport at these seasons, for everything that could carry
shot was in requisition. With an old long-barreled ducking gun given me
by my Uncle Isaac, I have killed as many as thirteen at one shot. The
most favorable chance for a successful shot was when the ground was for
acres and acres covered, to get ahead of them, hide behind a tree or
log and wait until the living and fluttering wave was sufficiently near
and then just as they rose, to fire into the almost solid mass of
birds. When here they select some wild hilly spot as remote as may be
from settlements, where they congregate nightly, occupying hundreds of
acres of timber to its utmost capacity. At the break of day they begin
their flight to their feeding grounds, fifty, seventy-five or one
hundred miles away, but with their swift and powerful wings they soon
travel the distance. Like an invading army, when they have exhausted
the supplies of one district they move to another. At their roosting
places they are destroyed by wagon loads, many of the sportsmen coming
from a distance, and the heavy firing through the night would make a
stranger suppose a fierce battle was in progress. I have often
regretted the wanton destruction indulged in on these occasions, the
hogs in the neighborhood becoming fat on their flesh.
A COLORFUL SNAKE STORY
"Having spoken of the beasts
and birds found by the pioneer in our forests, in this number I will
speak of that most repulsive and dangerous class of animated be-ings,
the reptiles, for I wish to give as clear an idea as possible of all
the surroundings, for good as for evil, that gave coloring to the
every-day life of the early settlers.
"The rattlesnake, both the brilliantly hued and his more modestly
colored brother, the black, were quite numerous. The coloring of the yellow is
beautiful, especially when he has just cast his old skin and his glossy
back of alternate gold and black squares casts a shimmering light as he
glides with gentle, undulating motion over the ground, or throws
himself into the coil, with head erect and quickly vibrating tail
producing the rattle, giving fair warning that he is prepared for the
deadly spring. We must confess that this sounding of his battle note
before beginning the work of death, is an honorable trait in his
character, as it gives the intruder an opportunity to retreat ere the
venomous fangs enter his flesh.The peculiar sharp, metallic rattle when
once heard can never be forgotten, and even when heard, for the first
time, by one ignorant of its origin, strikes a chill and an instinctive
terror to the heart.Thus it is that kind nature, not only in this, but
in very many other instances, implants an intuitive recognition of
danger in the bosom of her children.The rattle differs in size
according to the age of the snake; the first year it has no rattle, but
simply a horny protuberance at the extremity of its tail called a
button. Every subsequent year gives it one section of the rattle, so
that its age is always apparent. They are, when unmolested, long lived,
frequently being found with twelve, twenty and thirty or more
sections.Their size is in proportion to their age, they are large in
proportion to their length; five feet is a very large one, and its
circumference at its greatest girth would be about nine inches.In the
uninhabited regions they have no natural enemies that ever seek their
destruction, though occasionally the deer attack and destroy them. They
do this by running some distance at the top of their speed, springing
high in the air and alighting with all their feet together on their
victim, then quick as the lightning's flash bounding away to return
again and again, until the serpent is cut all to pieces by their sharp
hoofs. But in a level, fertile county like this, the stroke of the
woodsman's ax is the death knell of the rattlesnake, not merely because he will receive no quarters at
his hands, but because he is accompanied by an animal, an insatiate
destroyer of the race, and one peculiarly fitted for the task by
possessing a complete immunity from all ill effects from the bite of
the terrible reptile. I mean the hog. The bite of the rattlesnake, so
fatal to all other animals, has no effect whatever on the hog.
"The rattlesnake was not the only venomous snake to be feared; the
copperhead was equally poisonous and really more dangerous, because it
gave no warning, but the stroke of the terrible fangs was the first
indication of its presence. Its color was a dirty brown, slightly
marked with spots of a darker color. It was smaller than the
rattlesnake, seldom being over thirty inches in length. It had the same
peculiar flat head common to all the poisonous reptiles.
"The water snakes were very numerous, finding safe homes in the
numerous drifts that obstructed our creeks. I have seen ten or fifteen
big fellows in one pile, twisting and writhing around each other in a
way anything but pleasant to look at, and enjoying the grateful warmth
of the noonday's sun.
"The agile and glossy blacksnake or racer, as they are sometimes
termed, were frequently seen gracefully and rapidly gliding through the
woods, their heads elevated from eight to ten inches and their bright
eyes glancing in every direction. They were frequently from four and
one-half to six feet in length, though occasionally one was killed
still larger. They are not poisonous, but belong to the constrictor
family, destroying their enemy by crushing it in their powerful folds.
They will not attack a man unless terribly enraged by injuries.
They generally go in pairs and are apparently very strongly attached to
each other. They climb trees readily and hunt for the nests of birds,
eating the young and they also destroy the young squirrels. Sometimes
fierce war is waged by the parent birds in the defense of their offspring, but the contest invariably ends in
favor of the invader.
HARMLESS AND USEFUL SNAKE
"There was one beautiful,
perfectly harmless and really useful snake, which was quite numerous,
and in its energetic effort to benefit man, at the same time that it
secured its own dinner, it frequently made its appearance in a manner
calculated to startle weak nerves. This was the house snake, the milk
snake or the wampum snake. It was usually between four and five feet
long, very slender ; indeed the smallest in diameter in proportion to
its length of any that I am acquainted with. Its marking was small
alternated diamond-shaped spots of milk white and black shaded with
brown. The glossy shining coat, with its bright colors and delicate
shading, I presume won for it one of its synonyms that of wampum snake,
from the richly ornamented wampum belts made by the Indians from bright
hued beads. The pioneers were all familiar with the appearance of these
and borrowed the term to characterize their humble friend, the house
snake. This graceful reptile was the unrelenting enemy of rats and
mice, and as these vermin soon accumulated about the homes of the
settlers, they were vigorously hunted by their persevering foes, who
easily followed them through all the labyrinths of their hiding places,
destroying great numbers and creating such a panic in the remainder
that they would incontinently leave the premises, so that in a few days
after the advent of a pair of these snakes, not a rat or mouse could be
found. The humane and considerate never killed these industrious and
innocent creatures, recognizing their undisputed right to enjoy the
boon of life, bestowed by the beneficent Creator of all, and that no
man has a right wantonly and uselessly to take this life, unless for
the profit or protection of himself and family. But there are others
who possess such an undiscriminating hatred of all this reptile race,
that they never fail to
gratify their destructiveness though it be at the expense of these most
beautiful and harmless of creatures. "The first homes of those olden
times were simple and rude, making no pretensions to the conveniences
and graces that adorn our modern mansions; the rough log cabin, with
puncheon floor, clapboard roof, loose clapboards on the joist overhead,
and perhaps some of the same nailed over the chunk and daubing on the
inside. These, of course, were very accessible to the house snake and
afforded it grand hunting grounds. Sometimes a pair would in succession visit a dozen
houses in a neighborhood, clearing out the rats, but causing some
annoyance to the household.
"The garter, was then as now, the most common as well as numerous
variety of the snake family and might be seen of a summer day, rapidly
pursuing the leaping frog through the waving grass, with indefatigable
tenacity, until it captured its unfortunate prey, when it would begin
the tremendous but always successful performance of swallowing alive, a
creature greater in diameter than itself. Frequently I have witnessed
the chase, the seizure and the commencement of the labored deglutition,
but I must confess, that in these cases, my sympathies were with the
unhappy batrachian, and that by the time the snake had swallowed the
hind legs, the frog uttering pitiful cries during the process, I have
invariably come to the rescue and by a blow across the back forced the
snake to disgorge its living victim, which would then hop away at its
best speed toward some pool or creek, where it might cool its lacerated
haunches and rest after the fatigue of its terrible adventure, for to
be swallowed alive is a terrible fate for any living creature.
"The snake has its especial enemy also. How often have I seen the hawk
suddenly pause in its circling flight over the meadow, swoop down, and
with its squirming prey in the grasp of its strong talons, soar to
ethereal heights, and then seek the dead top of some lofty tree, where
it could discuss its meal at leisure.
THE FOREST PRIMEVAL
"Having devoted sufficient
space to the description of the animals found here by the early
settlers, I propose in this to give a brief sketch of the sylva or
forest trees. In doing this I shall speak of them by their common names
and shall not load my pages with a scientific nomenclature and
classification. This country was very heavily timbered; indeed I have
no recollection of ever having seen in my travels, anywhere, so many
large, tall trees standing on an acre as could here be found. Not only
the number and size of the trees, but also the kinds of timber found
here proved the strength and richness of the virgin soil which they
shaded. The growth arid kinds of timber indicate with infallible
certainty to the observant traveler, the quality of land over which he
may be rushing at railroad speed. This is essentially a beechen
country, for this variety largely predominates over any other, and
where it grows, as it does here, large and lofty, with but few
horizontal branches and dividing into large wide spreading limbs to
form the top, it shows a strong and fertile soil; but where it grows
small with roots widely spreading over the surface, and a multitude of
side branches, the top running to a point, and it perhaps dead, you may
conclude that the land is cold and wet and poor, and by no means
desirable for agricultural purposes.
On our uplands the sugar
maple, the black walnut, the blue and gray ash, the red elm, the
poplar, wild cherry and buckeye were very abundant, the white and black
oaks, the pig-nut hickory, linden, coffee nut, honey locust and
mulberry were also found in varying quantities; in the bottom and low
lands were abundance of burr oak, butternut, white elm, sycamore, the
shell bark and thick shell bark hickories, swamp ash, soft maple,
hack-berry and alder.
"The wild grape was common everywhere, climbing to the top of the
loftiest trees; it was in the rich bottom land that it grew most luxuriously and
abundantly, frequently canopying the top of isolated trees, thus
forming a natural arbor, whose umbrageous covering was impervious to
the noonday's sun, and which stood out a beautiful object in the sylvan
landscape.
"Rush county was particularly rich in black walnut timber, which for
quality and quantity cannot be equaled by any other county in this or
any other state. Perhaps it may not be generally known that Indiana
walnut is superior to all others in beauty of color and susceptibility
of a fine finish, and it consequently is the most sought after and
commands the highest price in the eastern markets. Within the last few
years [written in the '70's] the trade in walnut timber has attained
gigantic proportions and an amount almost incalculable has been shipped
and still a very large amount remains. The finest groves of walnut were
on the east side of the county, along the waters of Ben Davis and
Little Flatrock. There were also in the same parts a great deal of
superior poplar. Commencing at my house and going westward through the
lands of George Gray, the Hinchman farm, the Blacklidges, Alfred
Wilson's, Doctor Helm's lands, and in fact, all the way to the valley
of Flatrock, we find an abundance of the most magnificent yellow
poplar. The largest and the most admirable specimen of this noble tree
that I ever saw grew on the land west of me. which was entered by old
Mr. Virgil, sold by him to Jacob Blacklidge, Sr., and now is owned by
George Gray. It stood on high ground and though surrounded by a heavy
growth of timber, towered above them all, the monarch of the forest.
It's circumference, three feet from the ground, was thirty-six feet,
which would give a diameter of twelve feet. Its straight trunk rose
over sixty feet without a limb, when it divided into two immense
symmetrical branches. It showed no sign of age or decay, but gave every
evidence of vigor and luxuriant life."
FIRST SALE OF PUBLIC LAND
As has been previously stated,
the first sale of public lands in what is now Rush county could not be
made be-fore October, 1820, when the government land office at
Brookville was opened, but so choice was the land that before the close
of the year 168 entries were made. These varied from forty to 640
acres, but eighty or 160 acres was the usual amount entered by the
pioneer. During the ensuing year 278 entries were made, and as time
went on the occupation of the land went on at a faster rate. In a day
when every bit of progress and success depended upon the unremitting
toil of the individual, men found it advantageous to settle near each
other, that they might assist and be assisted by their neighbors in
many of the arduous tasks that confront settlers in a new and virgin
country. Thus small settlements made their appearance at a very early
date in the development of the county. The places which seemed to
attract the earliest comers were what is now Noble township, Union
township, Richland township, Ripley township and Rushville township.
All these settlements were commenced in either 1820 or 1821. The first
men to locate in Rushville township were Judge W. B. Laughlin, Stephen
Simms, Christian Clymer, Houston Morris, Elijah Lewark, Wesley Moffett,
George Mull, John Parson, Cuthbert Webb, Andrew Grilson, Samuel
Jackson, John Hale, Sampson Thomas, Simeon Cassady, James McManus,
Presley Moore. John Phillips, Thomas McCarty, John Oliver and man
others.
As in the case in almost all new countries, the first industries of the
county were gristmills. The first of these was erected by the Hon. W.
B. Laughlin in 1821. It was south of the present site of the city of
Rushville, and the power was obtained from a dam across Flatrock. This
mill saved the pioneers many a weary mile of difficult travel, for
prior to this time the nearest mill was at Connersville, and to take
the grain over the roads that existed at that time was an operation attended
with severe tribulations. However, after the mill had been in use for
some two years, the young town of Rushville was almost wiped out by an
extraordinary epidemic of malarial fever which left in its wake an
unusually large percentage of dead. The citizens promptly destroyed the
dam, thinking thus to rid themselves of the nuisance, but little
realizing that it could have but slight influence on the. prevalence of
the disease. Hand in hand with the gristmill came the distillery,
usually the old-fashioned copper still, and as early as 1821 Jehu
Perkins had erected one in addition to a horsepower mill with which the
corn was ground. The first steam mill was built " by William Robinson
in Noble township, and at Moscow there were two distilleries and a
gristmill. Every community had its gristmills, distilleries, and there
were also some few sawmills, although these last made their appearance
slightly later than the first two. In fact, the entire county was
well supplied within a short time with mills of all description, and
the county became almost from the start self-supporting in nearly every
respect.
The clearing of the land went forward steadily, but inasmuch as it was
practically all hand labor, it was naturally slow. In the beginning,
commodities were ex-changed by the settlers either for a certain amount
of labor or for some needed article possessed by a neighbor, but as
time went on and the lands became more easy to cultivate, a surplus of
crops and stock was produced, and then money came into more common use
as the medium of exchange. The nearest market to Rush county was
Cincinnati, and it was no mean task to haul grain or drive stock
through what was to all purposes a wilderness. The prevailing prices a
hundred years ago were indeed small when compared to those of today,
and would hardly seem to have repaid the backwoods farmer for his
labor. Wheat sold for from forty to fifty cents a bushel, corn for from
ten to fifteen cents, and hogs for from $1.00 to $1.50 net weight, with
a good drove averaging 125 pounds.
SOME OF RUSH COUNTY'S ORIGINAL LANDOWNERS
The register of sales of
government land in Rush county is an exceedingly interesting old book,
the real roster of the "fathers" of the community. From it Lave been
culled the names of those whose land here was purchased from the land
agent at the land office at Brookville during the years 1820 and 1821,
as follows:
In the Southern Tier of Townships—John
Innis. Thomas Bradley, Allison C. Lockhart, Ivory H. Legate, James
Shaw, William McCarter, Charles Fuller, Henry II. Evans, David
Mourning, John Wright, James W. Stuart, Hugh Stuart, David Overleese,
Jacob Whiteman, John Trees, John Julian, John Heiser, Richard Shaw,
John Ward, George Shepell, Israel Hewit, Richard Hungerford, Matthew
Allison, John Wood, David Query, George Julian, Reuben Farlow, Leonard
Burton, David Hill, John Shellhorn, Simon Farlow, George Foglesong,
William Nelson, William Arnett, Jacob Harlan, George Searight, Andrew
Searight, James Bell, John Simmons, Nathan Wright, William Smith,
Elijah Thatcher, Joseph Owen, Alexander Van Pelt, Peter Hushaw, Savil
Wilson, Nicholas Hedrick, Thomas E. Hall, John Stewart, Abraham Beaver,
Samuel Work. Joseph Washburn, Jane McIllwaine, James Fordice, John
Haff, Lat Green, Jacob Hackleman, Paterson Heaton, Eli J. Elston,
William Osborn, Owen Scott, Hugh Smith, Gabriel Springer, William Bell,
Nathaniel McClure, John Miller, John, Thomas and Joseph Harvey,
Matthias Beaver, Edward Louson, James Henderson, Phineas Thomas, Thomas
Craig, Benjamin Young, Alexander Young, William Holeman, James Garton,
Jacob Fisher, Jesse Morgan, Adam Trees, George Brown, Richard Merrill,
Jr., Jacob Ryder, Benjamin J. Ricker, Ezekiel Lewis, James Jones, John
Hatfield, Ephraim Boring, Joseph Miller, Moses Martin, Mark Ormacost,
Jacob Stadler, Smith Stone, Benjamin Craig, John Evick, Jacob Hite,
John Scott, Joseph Lee, Lewis
Harrison, Benjamin Goodwin, Nathaniel Patton, Nathaniel Anderson, John
Sholts, Stephen Sharp, William Phillips and John Sharp, Cyrus C. Tevis,
Jesse D. Conde, John Riger, John Hatfield, Peter Miller, David Crews,
Jr., George Craig, John Gwinnup, David Mount, Eliphalet Barber, Henry
Misner, John Barber, John Parker, Henry Hildreth, Thompson Simmons,
John Murnan, Daniel Wright, Jr., James Gregg, George Murnan, William
Murnan, Daniel Cox, J. Lockwood, C. Ridpath, William I. Posey, Arnold
Murray. John Cones, John Riley, James Linville, James Stephens, Jacob
Olinger, Nathaniel Smith and John Curry, Fielding Ballard and Jonathan
Paul.
In the Central Tiers of Townships—David
Mount, Thomas Cassady, William Morris, William B. Laughlin, John Lower,
David Looney, Jr., William S. Bussell, Jacob Reed, Joseph Looney, Moses
Bussell, Daniel Kellogg, Jacob Mull, Frederick Mull, George Mull, Sr.,
George Rishling, John Thornburg, Anderson Wilkinson, Thomas Stuart,
Garet Darland, James Samons, Joseph Devers, Jr., Peter H. Patterson,
John Leffler, Isaac Asher, John Asher, Richard Thornburg, North Parker,
James Greer, George Mull, Jr., Stephen 0. Brown, James Stallard,
William Kitchey, George Grace, David Templeton, John N. Calvert,
Solomon Reel, Zachariah Hodges, Reuben Vanzandt, Stephen Jessup,
Hezekiah Mount, John Campbell, Israel Brown, Lewis Smith, Henry Myers,
Peter Looney, Henry Nicholas, Thomas McCarty, Nathaniel Hodges, William
Junkin, James Anderson, Stephen Sims, Gamaliel Garrison, Samson
Cassady, William Cassady, Jesse Shortridge, William Currens, George
Guffin, Andrew Guffin, Jesse Heizer, John Kippers, Andrew Brown, Abram
Hackleman, Enoch McCarty, John P. Thompson, George Craig, John Hawkins,
Tyra Gantt, John W. Morford, Thomas Salors, E. and J. Frazee, Tancy
Driskill, Thomas F. Lewis, Jacob Goble, Brooks B. Talbott, Joshua
Moore, William Low, John P.
Minor, Frederick Miller, George Reno, Edward Stevens, Christian Climer,
Huston Morris, John Stephens, Stacy Stephens, John Perkins, Jacob
Salors, Amos Wright, John Hoisted, David YanGilder, John B. Talbott,
John Gwinup, James Robinson, Henry Lyons, Jonathan Justice, Isaac
Williams, Stephen Maple, William Arnold, Rice Phipps, William Simmons,
Joseph Marsh, Cornelius Cummings, Thomas Jones, Reuben Salors, Israel
Brown, Hezekiah Salors, Artemus Moore, William P. Priest, Elias Poston,
James Brown., John Harcourt, Jesse Win-ship, William Osbourn, James
Fordyce, Jr., Robert Thompson, Jesse Robinson, James Tyler, John
Leforge, Jr., Robert Lyons, Gardiner Moore, Benjamin Sailors, James
Logan, Edward Pattison, William Norwood, James Cooper, Robert Kelly,
Lewis Sala, G. Klein, John and Reuben Wilson, John Newkirk, Daniel
Hall, Peter Fear, Samuel Carr, Robert English, Samuel Downard, William
Appleton, John Kiplinger, Abraham Newkirk, James McCormack, John
McDaniel, Isaac Hittle, John McMillen, Amaziah Morgan, John Cox, Jr.,
Samuel Gre-well, William Gilson, Wear Cassidy. William Gibson, William
Moffatt, Stephen Harrell, John Nash, Moses Harrell, George Zion, Samuel
Newhouse, Thomas Duncan, Jeremiah Harrell, Jonathan Bishop, Michael
Hittle, George Hittle, Christian Furry, Ransbird Green, Samuel Banner,
Thomas Sargent, Richard Blacklidge, Jacob Virgil, John Morris,
Frederick Smoyer, Jacob Rutherbaugh, John Blacklidge, Dyer Woodworth,
Reuben Rowland, George Nipp, Thomas Moffatt. William Dill, Shadrach
Dill, Solomon Yeach, George Yaughn. Thomas Bracken, Nathaniel McComas,
John Houghten, Jeremiah Marston, Elisha Clark, Andrew Brown, William
Sparks, John Tate, John Hornady. John Willdridge, Isaac Adair, William
Currins, Jesse Shortridge, Alexander Reed, Alexander Power, John Gregg,
John Heaton, Ephraim Frazee, Robert Lockridge, George Taylor, Jonathan
Morris, John Davidson, Conrad Sailor, Samuel Garrison, Jacob Starr, James Cooper, Sr., Abraham Switzer, David
MePearson, John Lefforge, Robert Lochridge, William McNabb, Daniel
Jackson, George Taylor, John McKee, Michael Beaver, Timothy Allison,
James Abbott, Noah Batman, Alexander Williams, Levi Bracken, William
Newell, Gideon Minor, William Swift, William Simonds, Jesse Jinks, John
Smith, Robert Groves, James McClellan, John Judy, Isaac Hittle, John
Clifford, John Ryburn, Hugh Reed, Hugh Morrison, Isaac Arnold, John
Har-lock, John Kent, Abraham Voris, Daniel McDonald, Enoch Limpus,
James Justice, Jesse Julian, Levi Shoe-make, Robert Porter and Edward
Vandal.
In the Northern Tier of Townships—Benjamin,
Hutchins, Samuel Cary, Henry Buekman, Phineas Clawson, John Dille,
Jonathan Tullis, Ezekiel Johnson, Amos Higgins, John Maxwell, Samuel
Ross, Moses Clifford, George Hepner, Isaac Cooper, John Clarkson,
Elisha Schofield, Joseph P. Plummer, David Loudenbach, Joseph Henley,
Robert Hill, James Harrison, Peter Cassell, James A. Henry, John M.
Huddleson, William David, William Crum, Benjamin Hutchins, Joseph Cox,
Benjamin Morgan, Stephen Jones, David Blackburn, Artemus and Timothy
Day, George Gates, Edward Pattison, Philemon Plummer, Dayton Holloway,
John Hill, Pierson Lacy, Jonathan Hill, Thomas Hill, Jr., Charles J.
Low, Benjamin Snyder, Samuel Pearce, Thomas Simons, Onide Pettyjohn,
Samuel Hill and Robert Holland. While the most of these original
entrants bought their land for the purpose of erecting homes and
becoming residents, there are, of course, in the above lists the names
of some who were mere speculators and who never became residents, thus
accounting for some names that will sound strange in this generation.