Cass County, Indiana - Chapter 41: Adams Township, 1913

Adams township is situated in the northeast comer of Cfiss county and embraces an area of about thirty square miles. It is bounded on the north by Fulton county, on the east by Miami county, on the west by Bethlehem and Clay townships, and on the south by Eel river which separates it from Miami township. It is not a full congressional township, is irregular in shape, being nearly eight miles in length from north to south, and* five miles from the eastern to the western boundary and lies in congressional townships 27 and 28 north, range 3 east. In the northern part of the township the surface is level, with some marshy land, but in the southern portions it is undulating. It is well watered by Twelve Mile creek, which has two branches, eastern or upper, and western or lower. Twelve Mile, that begins in the northern part of the township, winding about in a southerly direction a distance of about twelve miles, hence the name Twelve Mile creek.-' The two branches unite about a mile north of Eel river and empty into that river a mile and a half west of the town of Hoovers. This was quite a large stream and afforded power for numerous mills in the early settlement of the township, but since the land has been ditched and tiled the water runs off rapidly and the water power is no longer available. The eastern half of the township was originally covered with heavy timber of walnut, poplar, beech, etc., but the western part was what is termed ''barrens," being covered mostly with scrubby oak. The timber, however, has been largely cut and only enough remains for the farmers' private uses. The land adjacent to Eel river is a black loam and very fertile soil, except in the southwest comer, where the soil is lighter. The north and northwest part of the township, known as the ** range,'* contains a light soil, not so well adapted to agriculture as the southern sections. Adams, however, is a fair average township, and under better and more careful .methods of her farmers in recent years, is very productive of all the agricultural products adapted to a temperate climate.

The early settlers of Adams township who first sought homes in the dense forests of this section, were not adventurers, but plain, matterof-fact people, who were induced to locate here and endure the hardships and privations of pioneer life by the advantages that were afforded by cheap lands, which could then be obtained at congress prices, $1.25 per acre. To make a home in the dense woods was an undertaking attended with great trials, and difficulties, of which we, of today, can have no conception. The wild condition of the country, the absence of roads, mills, the long distances to be traversed to the nearest markets, together with the general poverty of the settlements and the immense amount of hard work and drudgery required to clear the land and make a living at the same time during the first few years, were obstacles well calculated to shake the determination of the most energetic and brave hearted pioneer. These were years attended with many dangers and constant struggle and the motives which animated and impelled them forward are certainly deserving of the highest praise of we, of today, who are profiting by the results of their labor and industry.

Priqr to the year 1828 Adams township was in the undisputed sway of the Indians, unless the wild animals that infested the forests might be considered as disputing the Indians' supremacy.

Barring an occasional roving and daring hunter, the first permar nent settler was Jackson Conner, who located about 1828 on the east half of section 4, township 27 north, range 3 east, about one mile east of the present town of Hoovers, on the north bank of Eel river. Here he established a trading post with the Indians and this was his occupation exclusively until the final removal of the Indians to their westem home in 1838-39.

Mr. Conner was a shrewd trader and carried on a successful business with the Indians and became known far and wide for his shrewdness in a trade and acquired a reputation of being a great lover of money. He was married and had a family of sons and daughters, all of whom are now dead, but many of his grandchildren are still living, one, Mrs. Cizzia Lunsford, is now a respected resident of Hoovers, in the neighborhood where her eccentric grandfather lived and died. Jack Conner, as he was generally called, was a unique and eccentric character, who died 6n August 26, 1846. Prior to his death he gave directions that his body should not be buried under ground, but the box containing his coffin should be filled with tar and placed on blocks eighteen inches high and thus left above ground. His directions were carried out and David Young, of Adams township, and Mrs. Harp, of Logansport, both still living, attended the funeral and verify the above account. Mr. Conner, it was said, was not the most religiously inclined and had an abhorrence of the devil and took this precaution, thinking the devil would not disturb him thus encased in pitch, but Mr. Conner would certainly receive little consolation, if the modern idea of the devil is correct, for in this progressive age it is generally -thought that his Satanic majesty delights to revel in pitch. The coffin thus encased rested in the woods near his house for some months, but the neighbors objected and a stone vault was erected over the coffin, which stands there today, as shown in the illustration from a photograph taken by E. E. Worstell on Thanksgiving day, 1912. This tomb is located less than a mile east of Hoovers, on the south side of the railroad, on a beautiful knoll. Here also is buried his wife, Elizabeth Conner, who died June 5, 1848 ; also several other interments. Jack Conner's tomb is across a deep ravine from his hewed log cabin, which is still standing and the illustration shows this old cabin as it exists today, in a dilapidated condition, as it has not been occupied for years, yet shows the primitive house and surroundings of the pioneers of 1828, when Adams township was first settled by this eccentric Indian trader.

The second white man to set foot on Adams township soil was Samuel Lowman, In 1830. He settled in the southwest quarter of section 28. The following year *' Logan'' Thomas occupied a part of section 29, township 28 north, range 3 east. The same year James McPherson and John Kelly also located in section 29 and to the north, and John Hoover in section 4. These, the very earliest settlers, were strong characters and did much toward the development of the community. About 1833 Miner Alley settled on the east half, section 28, and Philip Woodhouse in the same neighborhood. In 1832 Isaac Young located in section 29 and his son, David Young, still occupies the old homestead. About the same time Richard Ferguson, Henry Daggy, John Gilleland and Nathaniel Nichols became honored residents of this new settlement.

The next few years witnessed the coming of Joel Black, James Dalzelle and Nathan Jones. About 1834 Geo. Lowman settled in the western part of the township in section 19 and began to fell the forest and erect a cabin in the clearing. He was an eccentric character and possessed marked peculiarities and will be remembered by those who faiew him as ever working in the construction of perpetual motion machines, which he was always hopeful of perfecting, but he went down to his grave with, his hopes forever blasted. His wife was no less a character, although honest and sturdy, yet rough and outspoken, and many a joke she has turned to the discomfiture of her neighbors, who were wont to take advantage of her eccentricities.

Anthony Martin located in section 7 as early as 1833 and opened a blacksmith shop, the first ever operated in the township. (I. W. Kreider.) In the eastern part of the township, during the year 1835, we find the coming of Thomas Skinner and his locating on section 15. He was a man of character and his moral and religious influence left a permanent impress upon the entire community. His brother, Nathan Skinner, about the same time settled in section 19, where he lived until his death a few years ago. The Leffel family, consisting of Jacob, Arthur, William, John, Anthony and Samuel, came some years, later and settled in the southern part of the township.

Other early comers were: James Reed, in the Skinner settlement on the eastern line of the township ; Taswell Richardson, in the southeast comer, on the banks of Eel river ; Noble Plummer, near the Fulton county line, and B. Chestnut, near Jack Conner's Indian trading post.

Daniel Dillman moved to the township in 1840, settling in section 28, and was a prominent citizen until his death in 1880. Daniel Conrad purchased land in section 18, where he resided for many years and until his retirement and removal to Logansport.

The above names are some of the earliest settlers, but some of them were only what was termed ** squatters,'' who simply settled or squatted upon their land but never took title from the government. The following, however, shows some of the earliest settlers who obtained title to their land as shown by the plat book, yet some of them may never have occupied the land but bought it for speculation.

The first entry of land in Adams township was made in 1831 by Samuel Hall, who obtained a patent for the east half of the southeast quarter of section 29, township 28 north, range 3 east. In 1832 entries were made by Nathaniel AVilliams in section 32; John Cox in section 29 ; Samuel Leffel in sections 20 and 28 ; Samuel Lowman in section 28 ; James McPherson, section 20; Isaac Young and Samuel McKinney in section 21, and Franklin Douglass in section 22. During the years 1833-34 the following persons made entries from the government: Abraham Garst, section 27; D. H. Morris, section 27; William Stapleton, section 22; Wm. Halston, section 28; JMiles Thomas, section 29; Nathaniel Williams, section 29; John Daggy, John Gilliland, and E. Oilliland, in section 30. During the years 1835 and '36 many entries were made in all parts of the township by Silas Enyart, Wm. Reed, James McClung, Wm. Lowman, Joel Martin, Richard' Ferguson, Geo. Lowman, Thos. Sheridan, Henry Lewis, Miner Alley, John Arnold, Elijah Cox, John Kelly and Geo. Harland. Prior to 1840 the following names appear to have received patents for land : Calvin Taylor, Wm. R. Davis, Saml Harp, J. Lathrop, J. E. and J. Carney, Jos. Shamburg, Wm. Stroud, James Payne, John Denny, John Euritt, Henry Conrad, Jesse McLean, Jonathan Washington, C. W. Lowe, Wiseley Craig, E. Morse, Geo. H. Sherwood, Joel H. Davis, Wm. Filley, Jacob Metz, Wm. Bromenbaugh, John Simons, Jos. Lowman, Jesse Qreathouse, Henry Alexander and Silas Wells; not all of these, however, became settlers.

All the first houses built by the pioneers were rude, round log cabins; later, however, hewed logs were used, but yet very primitive, being covered by clap-boards weighted down with poles. The floors made of split timber, called puncheon floors ; the doors made of the same material, pinned to the batton by wooden pins hung on wooden hinges with wooden latch to keep the door closed, which was opened by a latch string passed through a gimlet hole in the door to the outside and the latch string always hung out except at night or in times of impending Indian hostilities. Not a nail or piece of iron of any kind entered into the construction of the pioneer home.

James Reed, in 1842, was the first to build a frame' house in the eastern part of the township, prior to which the pioneer cabin held full sway and Mr. Reed's house was the cynosure for all eyes in the settlement.

The township was organized May 6, 1835, and received its name from President John Quincy Adams. Soon after the declaration of the county board fixing the boundary lines of the township an election was held at the house of Nathaniel Nichols, who acted as inspector and was chosen the first trustee and John Cox the first justice of the peace.

The first marriage ceremony performed in the township was that uniting Samuel Kelly and Sirena Cox, on March 5, 1834, Rev. Wm. M. Rayburn oflSciating.

In the early settlement of Adams township. Eel river, in times of high water, afforded transportation to the southern part of the township and Indian trails to the interior. While the pioneers opened up roads, that is, cut down the timber so as to permit an ox team to pass around and over the stumps, through the mud, to reach this township, yet the first main road leading from Logansport to Perrysburg in Miami county, a distance of about twenty miles, was opened up about 1840-44. It ran on a comparatively straight course northeast, passing entirely through Adams township. This road was a great thoroughfare for travel and all that section of country passed over this road in coming to Logansport, then the principal town in Northern Indiana. This road was improved by grading and used for thirty years, but as the farms were cleared up the road was changed to section lines so that it is now on a zig-zag on two sides of every man's farm between here and Perrysburg and is used only for local travel.

In the early settlement of the township the roads were impassable at certain seasons of the year, but as the forests were cleared, the land drained, and the county generally improved, the farmers realized more and more each year the benefits of good roads. Adams has no stone roads, but has about twenty-five miles of gravel roads. Roads have been straightened, placed on section lines and the main thoroughfares graveled, so that almost any section of the township may be reached by graveled roads. There are now six roads running east and west through the township and three roads running north and south, all in good condition.

Adams township has two railroads extending through the entire township. One, the C. C. & L., running from the southeast to the northwest, built in 1901, and passing through the towns of Hoover and Twelve Mile. The other railroad is the Eel River division of the Vandalia, which passes through the southern part of the township and crossing the former road at Hoover. This road was begun in the fifties but the work was suspended, but taken up by a new company and pushed to completion in 1871. These roads afford ample shipping facilities to the farmers of the township.

As has been stated elsewhere, the pioneer, landing in the midst of a forest, hundreds of miles from mill or factory, first began to feel the necessity of grinding his corn and sawing lumber for his buildings, and consequently set about to erect mills on the banks of the creek and harness its waters to run ^hem ; so here, as in other sections of the country, we find the pioneer early building mills. The first one was erected by Samuel Lowman about 1835-37, on the banks of Twelve Mile creek in section 29. This was a saw mill and com cracker attachment. It served a useful purpose for many years but has long since been abandoned and no vestige of this old mill is left to mark the spot of its past activities, although it was a picturesque as well as a useful adornment of pioneer days.

The second mill was erected by James Reed in 1840, on Upper Twelve Mile creek in section 22. This was also a saw mill with a corn cracker attachment. It was successfully operated for about twenty years, but fell into decay.

In the early fifties Jacob Leflfel erected a saw mill on Twelve Mile creek above the Lowman mill and operated it in times of high water until 1876, when it was washed out and waS) never rebuilt, as there was no demand for such a small mill that could not be run except during flood times, as the country became ditched and the rains rapidly flowed oflE, leaving the water too low to run a mill except in times of flood.

. The first flouring mill in the township was erected in 1856 by Matthew Obenchain. It stood on Lower Twelve Mile creek in section 31. It was a typical old frame country mill, and ground corn, wheat and buckwheat; also a saw mill to manufacture lumber. It was successfully operated, and quite extensively, until 1876, when it was totally consumed by fire. It was soon after rebuilt by David Myers, but it was again burned down in 1883, entailing a heavy loss on the proprietors. Two years later, or in 1885, Noah Simons and brother, at a cost of $3,500, rebuilt the i^ill. This is a frame building and has been operated by Mr. Simons, Lewis Smith and a Mr. Brower, but suspended operations several years ago, as it was not profitable, the larger mills with newer processes driving out the small country mills. The old mill, however, still stands as a monument and reminder of pioneer days when the boy was sent with a sack of corn on horseback to the little old country mill, with its old fashioned water wheel, screaking as it was turned by the over-shot, moss-covered water buckets.

Out of the three score old water mills that have been built in Cass county,* this one, the Adamsboro mill and one on Pipe creek, are the only ones left standing to remind us of our boyhood days dt the old mill pond.

About 1840 Taswell Richardson erected a small distillery where he lived, on the north bank of Eel river. It was a small affair but often did a big business for the sheriff. Some time in the sixties a Mr. Myers moved the still further east near the Miami county line and did a ** moonshine*' business in a small way, but soon abandoned it.

After the passing of the old water mills, and facilities for transportation improved, steam mills began to make their appearance and the first mill of this kind was erected in the town of Twelve Mile in 1852 by Daniel and Jacob Brubaker and since that date there has been a saw mill in Twelve Mile village almost continuously, operated by different parties. At present Theodore and Samuel Hoover own and operate it. About 1874 a large steam saw mill was erected in the town of Hoover to saw the timber in what was known as Taber's seven sections and surrounding country, and did a very extensive business for many years, and is still operated, on a smaller scale, however, as the timber is nearly all cut off.

Probably the first business in the way of manufacturing was a cooperage for the making of barrels, run by Nathaniel Nichols, some time in the thirties, but as '*Taswells*' distillery could use only a limited number of barrels and kegs, Mr. Nichols' cooper shop did not prosper long and only furnished kraut barrels in which the farmers could make that standard of pioneer diet.

Newburg is a paper town that was laid out in 1838 by Saml Lowman and Joel Black, located on the east branch of Twelve Mile creek in section 29, near the first mill erected in the township a few years before. Benjamin Powell was the surveyor who run the lines and made the plat of the town, which shows seventeen blocks, fifty-four lots and five streets, three of which, Main, North and Spring streets, run north and south, the other two, Poplar and Mill streets, cross them at right angles, running east and west. Although this was a beautiful site for a town and the proprietors had visions of becoming millionaires, yet they were doomed to disappointment and the great metropolis, of which they would be the leaders, never materialized and the town site has never passed the agricultural stage and cannot be found today except by an expert surveyor who is capable of unraveling the field notes of its projector.

This, the recognized capital of Adams, is situated near the center of the township in section 17 and dates its history from 1852, when a saw mill was erected here by JNlr. Brubaker and soon after became a local center of trade. Hammond Ludders was the first merchant, opening a general store and since then Richard Ludders, John Walters, Geo. Lowman, Frank Wait, J. L. Clouse, Noah Simons, JMilton Enyart, Saml Pence, James Wilson, J. S. Rannels and T. P. Swigart have Operated country stores in the village. Isaac W. Eggman opened a general store about 1882 and succeeded in building up and holding an extensive trade and is still in active business, having continued in business longer than any other merchant in the history of the town.

Twelve Mile or "''Hen Peck,'* as it was generally called, never had but a few residents, but was in the midst of a good agricultural country and being a long distance from any other town, commanded quite an extensive trade, attracted not only by the store but also by repair and other shops, where Decker Bros, ran a planing mill, John Smith a blacksmith and wagon shop, and Danl Fetrow a saw mill. In 1901, however, the Cincinnati, Chicago & Louisville Railroad was built and left the little town of **Hen Peck'' about a half mile to the east of the railroad.

Jerome Jones owned the land on the south of the wagon road, now Main street, and Edith Skinner that on the north side, and they at once laid out the town into building lots, with four principal streets, towit: Main and Pickle, running east and west, Carson and Beamer streets, north and south. The new town grew rapidly. Business soon began to drift to the railroad station, the old town was practically abandoned and now the new town of Twelve Mile is a thriving village of over three hundred inhabitants, located on both sides of the railroad, which gives excellent shipping facilities to Chicago and the North and Cincinnati and intermediate points to the South. Mr. Eggman, the veteran merchant, abandoned his store room in the old and moved into the new town, where he is still in business but has several competitors since the advent of the railroad.

Three general stores and a hardware and agricultural implement store have located here, kept by Ira Slifer, Jerome Jones, Geo. Brown and Becker & McMahin; furniture and undertaking establishment by J. B. Qrindle; butcher shop by Dudley Dalzelle and Sam Cover, also barber shops, blacksmith shops, livery stable, pickle factory and stock yards, and an elevator operated by F. P. McFaddin, giving ready market for all kinds of farm products. J. E. Black runs an up-to-date restaurant. Dr. C. L. Miller looks after the health of the community and two resident preachers, a Methodist and United Brethren, administer to their spiritual needs. A new U. B. church has recently been erected, also a handsome eight-room brick schoolhouse in which all grades are taught, including the high school. A hotel accommodates the traveling public and all kinds of building crafts and mechanics are well represented, as carpenters, plasterers, brick and stone masons, painters, etc.

The Twelve Mile State bank was organized in 1911 with a capital stock of $25,000, held by seventy-three stockholders, chiefly residents of Adams township. The bank officers are: President, Dr. C. L. Miller; vice-president, Aaron Plank; cashier, O. R. Pickering; directors are the officers and M. W. Collet, Wm. Murden, Abe Moss, Chas. Einneman, Wm. Carson, Geo. Kistler, Geo. Raub. Their deposits at this time amount to $55,000. In the fall of 1912 a substantial new brick bank building was completed and occupied, at an expenditure of $5,200.

The exchange started with 108 patrons, which have been increased to 220 in 1912. The exchange is connected with Logansport, so that its patrons can communicate not only with each other but also with any of the patrons at the county seat, and is a great convenience as well as conserver of time to the residents of Twelve Mile and Adams township.

Twelve Mile postoffice was established about 1852-4 in **01d Hen Peck,'^ and John Walters was its first postmaster. The office was supplied by star route, part of the time from Deedsville in Miami county, but most of the time on a route from Logansport to Perrysburg, where Stephen G. Conrad was mail carrier for many years and Daniel Fetrow the last star route carrier from Logansport, when the building of the railroad in 1901, replaced the star route service. Isaac AV. lEgman, the present incumbent, has been postmaster for thirty years. Two rural mail routes, Nos. 21 and 22, established eight or ten years ago, lead out from Twelve Mile, now carried by Charles Jones and Elzie Martin, and are a great convenience to the farmers of Adams township, bringing daily mail to their doors. Prior to the establishment of this office the people in this township had to go to Logansport, 10 to 18 miles distmit, for their mail.

The fraternal spirit of the people of Twelve Mile is shown by the societies they have organized since the rapid development of the new town on the advent of the railroad in 1901.

Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 519, was organized December 17, 1881. with only a small membership, but in recent years the numbers have rapidly increased. Present membership, 77.

This, perhaps, was the first secret fraternal order organized in the township in 1870, and James P. Ferguson was its first ** master.*' The oflBcers consisted of a master, overseer, steward, secretary, treasurer and chaplain. Women were eligible to membership. This organization was popular among the farmers all over the western country about this time. They combined for mutual improvement, benefit and protection against what they termed imposition and extortion of moneyed interests and middlemen. The Grange held its meetings in schoolhouses and for a time was prosperous and helpful in many ways, but did not last many years, when it was entirely abandoned.

This was a political secret order in sympathy with the South during the Civil war and opposed to President Lincoln's methods of conducting the prosecution of that war. These treasonable societies under the above name, were organized all over Indiana. They were often composed of otherwise good citizens, but who, in their political and party animosity, were carried to the extreme of opposing the government and organized secret societies with that object in view. There were a few men of this character in Adams township, who, in 1862, organized a lodge of the Knights of the Golden Circle and Joseph Lease, who was a strong Union man and ardently supported President Lincoln's policies, joined the order with the object of exposing the treasonable workings of the society, which he did.

When Mr. Lease exposed the workings of the order, he was menaced by the disciplining committee of the order and had to keep in hiding for many weeks, until the excitement subsided and an aroused public sentiment arose in his favor. The names of the leaders in this order are not given out, out of consideration of the descendants of these men, who are among our best and respected citizens, as were also their forebears, except for this one incident of their lives, which they afterwards greatly deplored.

is a small station in the southern part of Adams township, at the crossing of the two railroads that pass through the township, the Eel River division of the Vandalia and the C. C. and L. R. R., and about nine miles east of Logansport. It dates its history from about 1871 or '2, soon after the Eel River R. R. was completed. At this time a large steam sawmill was erected here, which was the nucleus around which the town developed. In April, 1874, Riley Hoover, proprietor, laid out the town, surveyed and platted 14 lots and a few houses to accommodate the mill hands were erected. For many years the sawmill was the chief industry. It had been located here to saw the timber from the big woods, known as the ** Seven Sections,*' belonging to the Taber heirs, and there has been a mill located here ever since, run by diflPerent parties, although in recent years, owing to the scarcity of timber, the mill does not do the business it formerly did. J. L. Clouse was probably the first merchant to open a country store, which he continued to manage for many years or until his death. He was the first postmaster in the village. Wm. Obenchain also engaged in the mercantile business for a while and Willard Place bought and shipped grain and stbck extensively for some years. At present there is a general store managed by John Crumpacker; an elevator, and stock yards operated by F. P. Mc- Faddin; blacksmith and repair shops and the usual ** press brick'* workers found around a country village store.

Peter Enyart has been postmaster for many years and has one rural mail route. No. 20, which delivers daily mail to the farmers of the vicinity, greatly to their convenience and profit. Grain, stock and lumber are the principal articles shipped from the town on its two railroads, which maintain a union depot at the crossing. The population numbers about one hundred.

A new Methodist church was recently erected and a schoolhouse stands nearly a half mile to the west. A good farming country surrounds the town, which affords a ready market for all agricultural products.

An iron bridge was some years ago erected across Eel river just south of Hoover, which gives an outlet to Miami township and New Waverly, which is mutually advantageous to both.

The first automobile in Adams township was purchased in 1906 by James Black, when he was looked upon as an aristocrat or a plutocrat or anything but a plain Hoosier, and it was quietly noised around that Mr. Black must have receive^ a tip from Andrew Carnegie or John D. and would soon be a director in Standard Oil or the Steel trust. For a time in old Adams everybody was craning their necks when that automobile came up the road; but now the people are accustome<d to the innovation, rather like it and an automobile is not as much of an attraction today as the old ox cart of the pioneer, and each year finds the number increasing.

The first piano in the township was bought by Thos. H. Skinner in 1882, and at that time was a great novelty as well as luxury for a common farmer to possess.

John Mars was struck by lightning and instantly killed on his own farm in 1856 and Henry Mars was crushed to death under his wagon shed in 1870.

A distressing accident occurred in 1865 at a sawmill on Alexander Reed's place, in the southern part of the township, whereby Addis L. Thomas lost his life. He fell against the moving saw and before it could be stopped his body was so mangled that he died a few days later.

Abe Townsen, while driving a four-horse team, hauling logs, ran the wagon against a tree in the woods, which fell and struck him on the head, crushing his skull, causing sudden death.

Many other minor accidents, such as having hands or feet injured, requiring amputation, legs and arms broken by kicks of horses, falls and injuries of various kinds, so that Adams township heads the list for sudden deaths and accidents to her citizens.

One of the amusements of pioneer life was an occasional entertainment, exhibition or theatrical performance by the young people of the settlement, which were generally held in the largest barn in the neighborhood at which the young Shakespeares would display their Thespian faculties. One of the grandest of these performances was held in the barn of Thos. H. Skinner, about forty years ago. There was a tragedy in one act, where a boy was shot and killed and the act was so realistic that Mrs. Richard Lowman, who never witnessed a play of that character, fainted and it required great efforts to resuscitate her and put a stop to the young tragedians' further performances.

During the Civil war partisan feeling rose to a high pitch in Adams township and had many unfortunate disputes and a great deal of bitter feeling was engendered. At a camp meeting near the Dillman farm, an attempt was made by some soldiers to hang an erratic citizen of Logansport in attendance, who had given utterance to some treasonable sentiments. He was, however, hustled off the grounds by his friends and barely escaped the noose which had been gotten in readiness by the would-be lynchers.

Dr. Thomas Crook was the first physician to locate in Adams township in 1853. He was a brother of General Crook, of the Indian and Civil wars, and was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, December 18. 1822, and died in Adams township, December 26, 1882, and lies at rest in Bethlehem M. E. cemetery. He was twice married. First wife was Louisana Worst; second, Eliza Dudgeon. He had three children by his first wife and two by the last. He came to Cass county in 1853 and practiced in Adams township, residing on a farm, until 1870, when he returned to Dayton, Ohio, but in 1876 moved back to Adams township, where he practiced u,ntil his death. Dr. Crook was not an educated physician, but possessed the intuitive faculty of a good physician.

was a native of West Virginia, where he was born July 15, 1835. He moved to Cass county in 1862; graduated from Rush Medical College, 1869 ; practiced at Walton, Indiana, 1873-74, then for a time at Adamsboro, Hooverville, and finally locating at Twelve Mile, where he had been in practice prior to his receiving his degree, about 1867; later he engaged in practice at Chili, Miami county, and finally, moved to Julietta, Idaho, where he died in 1903. He was a member of the Idaho legislature for two terms. Dr. Waite was a charter member of the Cass County Medical Society. He was married three times and has one daughter living.

Dr. James McKee, a former resident of Bethlehem township, is a son of Robt. P. McKee and brother of ex-Mayor Geo. P. McKee. He was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, about 1840; educated in the public schools of his native state, attended a college in West Virginia, and graduated from Rush Medical College in 1878-9. He first began practice at Macy, Indiana, then at Mexico, and about 1878 located in Twelve Mile, where he practiced his chosen profession until about 1881, when he moved to Newton, Kansas, residing there until about 1905, when he was appointed as an official in the pension department at Washington, District of Columbia, where he now resides. He was elected to the office of coroner for several terms while in Kansas He was joined in marriage to Miss Mollie Grable of Bethlehem township in 1866, and they have three children.

is a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, and was bom in 1841. He studied medicine with Dr. Peters in Ohio, attended medical lectures in Columbus, Ohio, and at Keokuk, Iowa. He moved to Twelve Mile in 1870, where he continued in practice until 1881, when he removed to Fulton, Indiana, where he is still in active practice. While at Twelve Mile he was married to Sarah Jane Sargent, to which union six children were bom, three of whom, two sons and one daughter, are living.

is the son of Richard Skinner, a pioneer of Adams township, where the doctor was bom November 21, 1854. He was educated in the public scho'ols and later taught district schools for several terms. He studied medicine in the oflBce of Fitch and Coleman and received his degree of M. D. from the Indiana Medical College in 1881 and at once engaged in the practice of medicine at Twelve Mile, in the township that gave him birth, where he continued in practice until 1884, when he moved to Denver, Indiana, and about a year later went to Minnesota and finally located in Condo, North Dakota, relinquished medical practice and engaged in the legal profession. The doctor was united in marriage September 15, 1882, to Miss Sarah A. Williams of Indiana, and they have several children, only one of whom is living (1910). While located was born at Five Corners, Miami county, Indiana, December 27, 1858, educated in the public schools and one term at De Pauw University and graduated from the medical department of 'Michigan University in 1886 and in 1896 attended a post graduate course in Chicago. He located in Twelve Mile in 1887 and continued in active practice until 1896, when he moved to North Manchester, Indiana, where he is still engaged in professional work. In 1882 he was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Lester and they have several children.

is a native of Ohio, where he was born (at Alliance) in 1869 and educated at Union College, Ohio; received his medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1895 and at once located at Twelve Mile, where he has been a successful practitioner to the present time (1913). The doctor has attended strictly to professional duties and cast aside official honors. Recently, however, he has been elected to the presidency of the Twelve Mile Bank, established in 1912. He was joined in marriage in 1897 to Miss Snyder of Deedsville, Indiana, and they were blessed with three children.

Rev. Wm. M. Rayburn, a Methodist preacher, was probably the first minister to expound the gospel of Christ in this township about 1832. He held religious services in the cabin of Logan Thomas in the southwest part of the township, but no class was then organized.

This was the first religious society to be organized in Adams township. Anthony Martin settled on the northwest quarter of section 7 in 1831. He was a blacksmith and the first to ply that trade in the township. In 1833 he sold his claim to James McClung and moved to Laporte. No records are accessible showing the details of the organization of this church, but there is a cemetery (Grables) on the Martin McClung farm and hjirials were made here prior to 1833, these with the family and church relationships, shows, according to I. W. Kreider's investigations, that a class was organized in this neighborhood about 1835, composed of Benj. Enyart and wife, Silas Enyart, Thos. Enyart, James McClung and wife. Rev. Ashabel Buck with members of the Plummer, Dague and other families not now ascertainable. Meetings were held in private houses and later in a log school house located on the northwest quarter of section 5, Adams township, until about 1846, when a hewed log church was erected near the house above mentioned, on land donated by Henry McHenry. This log meeting house served as a place of worship until 1888 when it was torn down and the present frame building was erected at a cost of $1,800. The trustees in 1888 who erected the new church were Wm. S. Finnimore, G. W. Wolford, D. N. Dague, Wm. M. Preston and J. 0. Winegardner.

churches caused a decrease in membership. While this is not a large congregation, yet, what is lacking in numbers is made up in zeal and the church is moving along in the even tenor of its ways, doing its duty in the Master's cause. The present membership is reported to be 71. Present pastor. Rev. Spekane, 1912.

To Elder Thos. Whitman the credit is due of sowing the first^ed, which, under careful culture, germinated, and in due time developed into the Twelve Mile Christian church.

There Jiad been preaching at intervals for three or four years in the cabins of Thos. Skinner and J. Reed by Father Atkinson, Rev. A. Snethen of Kentucky, Rev. Jos. Roberts and N. Myers, but on January 16, 1847, Rev. Whitman perfected a permanent organization at a meeting in the cabin of Thos. Skinner ydth a charter membership as follows : John and Lucinda Davis, Thos. and Amelia Skinner, Richard Skinner, James Davis, Thos. and Jane Whitman. The first oflScers were John Davis and Thos. Skinner, deacons, and these two with John Johnson, trustees. Thereafter meetings were regularly held in private residences and the congregation rapidly increased. Among the new members were Margaret and Elizabeth Davis, Margaret and Nancy Reed, Rebecca Stroud, Amelia and Elizabeth Jones, Abraham Lowman, Mary Johnson^ Elmore Simons, Joseph and Henrietta Venters, Jos. Lowman, Eliza M. Beck, S. Skinner, Rebecca Balew, Cynthia Bockover, Joel Black, Caroline Skinner, 0. P. Davis, Rebecca Reed, D. L. Davis, Wiley Johnson, Margaret Skinner, Sarah J. Davis, Susan Lowman, Catherine E. Leavel, Isabelle Ashworth. In the fall of 1848 a hewed log meeting house 24x36 feet was erected in the northeast quarter section 22, on land donated by Thomas Skinner and this church has generally been known as the Skinner church.

This log building was used for church purposes until 1870 when it was replaced by a new frame building 36x40 feet and dedicated to the service of the Lord, by Rev. T. Whitman, the first pastor, on December 25, 1870. The church seats 300 and cost $1,100.

A Sunday school was organized in 1846 in the cabin^ of T. Skinner and hiis been successfully operated from that day to the present time and has been a great aid to the prosperity of the church. The present membership of the church is about 60. A cemetery adjoins the church. The first interment therein was Mary, the wife of Nathan Skinner, March 16, 1841.

Rev. Nicholas Myers, Rev. McKinzie, Rev. Joseph Roberts, Rev. Bussard, Rev. Faucett, Rev. A. D. Kellison, Rev. Williams, Rev. E. Tillman, Rev. Atchison, Rsv. L. Shoemaker, Rev. Wm. HeflBin, Rev. A. L. Thomas, Rev. T. Weoster. Rev. Charles E. McCoy is the present pastor, 1911-12.

For many years there were irregular church services held in the school house at Twelve Mile but no organization was ever formed until the year 1883, when the Rev. R. J. Smith held a series of meetings, arousing a great religious interest in that neighborhood and organized a class of forty members, at the schoolhouse in the village of Twelve Mile. Joshua Howell was class leader and Andrew Decker, Sunday school superintendent. Sunday school was maintained with irregular preaching for a number of years but a house of worship was never built as Twelve Mile was only a few miles distant from Zion and Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal churches. In 1891 this little congregation assisted the United Brethren people to erect their church at Twelve Mile and have blended with that organization and with the above named Methodist churches, so that the Twelve Mile Center Methodist Episcopal church organization no longer exists as a separate or independent class. Rev. R. J. Smith continued as pastor of this church and accomplished much in bringing many souls to Christ, and although the organization was abandoned yet his work greatly strengthened the other three churches into which the members of this congregation entered and became blended.

This church is an outgrowth of the German Baptist, Brethren or Dunkard church at Mexico and eastern part of Adams township and they are known as Progressive Brethren in Christ, as they do not adhere to some of the old customs of the parent church, such as the special style of dress, music in the church, etc.

The charter members were H. C. and Adda Reed, Belle Dalzelle, Aron C, Wm. C. and Nora Black, Frank and Jennie Dillman, Samuel and Rhoda Damm, Mary Qrandsinger, D. A. and Josephine Hopkins, S. McClain, A. M. Sherard, T. E. and Maggie Thomas, Sarah Teal, Geo. D. and Sarah Wilson, Eliza E. and Mary Crook, Wm. M., Anna, David and Barbara Young, Marion and Emma Kreider. This congregation at once began to plan to build a house of worship and purchased one and one-half acres of land, and the records show that S. F. Dillman conveys a church site located in the southeast comer of section 28, Adams township, to the trustees of the church; D. A. Hopkins, S. McClain, and D. Young; date of deed, June 10, 1890. A church edifice was at once begun and completed the same year and formally dedicated to the Triune God, November ,21, 1890. The church is a substantial frame building erected at a cost of $2,600. There is a burial ground adjoiaing the church and the first interment therein was a child of Logan Thomas in the year 1833.

The Mexico German Baptist church was organized at Mexico, Miami county, in 1881 by Wm. Fisher and Geo. Balsbaugh, with the following list of charter members: Joseph Edward, John Kinzie, John Arnold, Wm. Fisher, Geo. Balsbaugh, Eliza Miller, Lewis Fisher and Joseph Angle.

Meetings were held in schoolhouses and private residences until 1883 when a frame church was erected about two miles east of Mexico, Miami county. There were some dissensions in the congregation and they became divided into progressives and conservatives. The conservatives predominated and as the majority of the latter resided west of Mexico and in Cass county the church was torn down in 1897, moved and rebuilt on the southeast quarter of section 4, about one mile northeast of the town of Hoover in Adams township at a cost of $1,800 and the church has continued to prosper. The present membership is reported to be sixty-five. Services are held every two weeks with Geo. Balsbaugh, Wm. Fisher and Elisha Miller, officiating.

The deacons are Edward Kinzie, John Kinzie, Benjamin and John Angle. The church is not large but is composed of plain but devout and earnest Christian workers who believe in practical religion and act accordingly.

As early as 1887 Brother Pennel, a traveling minister, held meetings in the Hoover schoolhouse half a mile west of the village of Hoover and organized a class of ten or twelve. A year later Rev. Butler took up the work and held revival meetings which increased the membership of the class, but some of them inclined to the United Brethren church and joined with others of that faith at Twelve Mile, leaving the Methodist class at Hoover weak and in a state of suspended animation for several years. However, in 1902, Rev. Wm. Amoss held a series of meetings in Hoover schoolhouse and reorganized the class, some of the members of which are: Mrs. Kizzia Lunsford, Mrs. Rose Wolf, Mrs. B. E. Meadows, Mrs. MoUie Henry, E. Buskirk, Jos. Buskirk, Florence Buskirk, Laura Buskirk, Lawrence Buskirk, Mrs. Crook, Eliza Cox, D. W. Doran, Ora Doran, Frances Doran, Bertha Doran and Myrtle Doran.

Through the efforts of Rev. Amoss, a neat, frame church edifice was erected and dedicated September 27, 1902, at a total cost of $2,500, and by the assistance of the Ladies' Aid Society, six months later, the entire church debt was paid, leaving the church free from all financial obligations and in a prosperous condition, both financially and spiritually. Pastors who have served the congregation are : Rev. Wm. Amoss, 1902-04; Rev. Wm. Hamilton, Rev. Eli Davis, Rev. A. C. Hoover, Rev. Geo. Pelly, Rev. John Parker, 1910-13.

The first services held by this denomination in Adams township was at the house of Enos Butler in Sec. 19 and Rev. B. S. Clevinger was the first preacher. Later Rev. Levi Hoover and Jos. Terrell preached at irregular intervals in the Dudgeon schoolhouse at Twelve

Mile. This church was formally organized July 10, 1887, by the Rev. H. E. Butler, with a charter membership as follows: A. J. and Mary Decker, Geo. Leonard, Mrs. D. Conrad, Ida Decker, Effie Decker, Sarah Hoover, Mary A. Hoover, Cordelia Ward, J. B. Decker, Elizabeth Randolph.

It was not, however, until 1891 that steps were taken to erect a house of worship. One acre of ground was bought of I. W. Egman in the northeast comer of the northeast quarter of section 20, nearly a mile east of the present town of Twelve Mile. A commodioun frame church was erected at a cost of $1,500 and dedicated in July, 1891.

A cemetery adjoining the church is maintained and Wallace SnuflBn was the first interment March 7, 1888, as shown by the marker. When the railroad was constructed through Adams township about 1900, it left the old village of Twelve Mile to the east a half mile or more and a new town sprang up on the railroad. In the year 1911 the congregation abandoned the old church and tore it down and erected at a cost of $5,000 with lot, a handsome new modern frame church in the present new town of Twelve Mile which was dedicated to the service of the Master January 7, 1912. A Sunday school was organized in May, 1886, and is maintained and the church is in a prosperous condition with a membership of 149. Rev. R. G. Upson is the present pastor.

This is probably the oldest burial ground in the township and is situated on the northwest quarter of section 7, about one and a half miles south of the Fulton county line and one-quarter of a mile east of the west line of Adams township.

John Grable, who owned the adjoining farm, deeded to Silas Enyart, John Abbott of Cass county and A. B. Chapin of Fulton county as trustees in trust, as a burial ground for the neighborhood, a tract of land 100 by 150 feet in the above named section; date of deed October 25, 1849, but the deed was not recorded until March 7, 1900. During this time the farm changed hands and the owners claimed the burial ground. It now lies in the center of a field with no road or lane leading to it. It is grown up with bushes and trees sadly neglected and a home for ground hogs where they burrow at will. There are probably 100 graves located here but the majority are unmarked.

According to Isaiah Kreider, who is an authority, a child of Anthony Martin was the first interment prior to 1833, but no stone marks the . grave. The earliest interment as shown by the marker is Silas Enyart, died 1844, but we know the Martins who lived here in 1832-3 had deaths in their family.

A number of the Grable, Buck, Chapin, Enyart, Louthain, Stoughton, Lunsford and other families are resting here, but no interments have been made in recent years and the ground is practically abandoned as a burial place.

The following soldiers are buried here : Darius Lunsf ord, Ohio Reg. War of 1812. Oliver Enyart, Co. E, Twenty-ninth Ind. ; died at Nashville July 28, 1864. Frank Lunsford, Co. K, Fifth Ind. Cavalry; died August 26, 1892.

In the early forties James Reed donated ground for this cemetery, but deeds were never made until March 2, 1871, when Noah Simons, who then owned the surrounding farm, conveys to the trustees of the church, Allen Obenchain, Richard Skinner and Isaac Newman, a piece of land 12x18 rods, in the northeast quarter section 22, for church and burial purposes and on April 2, 1892, additions were made to the original plat.

The old part was never platted, but the new addition is platted but not recorded. The Christian church, known as the Skinner church, adjoins this cemetery. The first interments herein are : Mary, wife of Nathan Skinner, May, 1842; Daniel Bayless, 1842; James Reed, the donor of the ground, August 7, 1843.

For many years this was known as the Dillman graveyard, from the fact that Daniel Dillman was the owner of, and lived on the adjoining farm. Prior to this, however, Samuel Lowman, who had entered the land, laid out a burial ground in the early thirties and it has been used for burial purposes ever since, but, like most of the early cemeteries, deeds were never made or recorded; until June 10, 1890, when S. F. Dillman, son of D. Dillman, conveys one and a half acres of land in the southeast quarter of section 28 to David Young, S. McLain and D. Hopkins, trustees of Corinth Brethren in Christ church (Progressive Dunkards)*, (Rec. 47, p. 519). This organization erected a church soon after and controls the management of the adjoining cemetery, which was included in the above conveyance. The ground is platted but not recorded. First burials were : An infant of Henry L. Thomas, 1833 ; a child of John Simons, 1833 ; a son of Miner Alley, 1833 ; four children of Mr. Wilson prior to 1840; Sarah, wife of Wm. Leffel, 1846; Elizabeth, daughter of D. Dillman, 1845. Soldiers - Levi Lunsford, Co. F, Forty-first Ind., died November 13, 1884; Jos. A. Spencer, Co. G, One Hundred Fifty-first Ind., died November 16, 1902.

On July 6, 1891, I. W. Egman conveys one acre of ground to the trustees of Twelve Mile U. B. church, situated in the northeast corner of the northeast quarter of section 20, Adams township. The ground was platted but not recorded. The following year a church was erected but recently was removed to the town of Twelve Mile, but the trustees of the church have the management of the burial ground. The first interment was Wallace Snuffin, March 7, 1888. Soldiers - Frank Somers, Co. F, Seventy-third Ind., died December 10, 1905; Samuel

This unique tomb is situated about a mile east of Hoover's crossing and south of the railroad a short distance in a beautiful walnut grove on a knoll surrounded on three sides by a ravine fifty feet deep. The ground was enclosed by a picket wire fence about forty feet square, but the fence has fallen into decay. John Conner was an eccentric Indian trader, the first settler in Adams township, locating here in 1828. He died August 20, 1846, and prior to death gave directions that his coflftn be placed in a box, filled with tar and left setting on blocks above ground. His directions were carried out and the box thus prepared was left setting in the open air in that beautiful walnut grove where it has peacefully reposed for over sixty-six years. A few years later the neighbors complained and a stone vault was built over -the box and coffin containing the remains, a photograph of which appears on another page, showing the appearance of this interesting tomb as it exists today, and his cabin a short distance across the ravine. His wife Elizabeth, who died March 1, 1849, lies buried here; also John Payne, 1846; three children of a Mr. Snell, 1851 to 1855; Elijah Conner, June 5, 1848, and his infant in 1840 and a child of John Hoover, 1853. Mrs. Mary M. Harp, whose maiden name was Dillman, now a resident of Logansport, attended this funeral and relates many interesting anecdotes of this most unique character in pioneer days and incidents connected with this most remarkable burial.

Is situated on the north bank of Eel river and west of the mouth of Twelve Mile creek on what is known as Little Charlies Reserve. In the early settlement of the county, from 1825 to 1840, there was an Indian village extending for three miles along the river from a mile above Adamsboro, eastward. At about the location ^bove described, there was a burial ground and residents in that locality have dug up Indian skeletons in gravel pits along the banks of the creek, but no exact spot or burial ground can now be located, as Indians more often laid their dead in hollow logs or trees or in the side of some cliflf or hill. This ground was also the scene of General Wilkinson's engagement with the Indians in 1791, mentioned elsewhere, and a number of Indians and two soldiers were killed and buried here.

Adams township, lying so far from Logansport, the center of trade and being covered by a dense forest, the pioneers of this township underwent great hardships in the early settlement and had to content themselves with what they found on the land, as it was next to impossible to transport goods or merchandise from the outside world, nevertheless they were brave and energetic and were not slow to appreciate the value of mental culture and as soon as settlements were formed they erected schoolhouses and employed teachers to instruct their children, yes, before public houses were built, the first school was taught in an old log cabin on the Dalzelle farm in the northwest quarter of section 29, in the winter of 1836-7, by Wm. Davidson. The first school house erected in the township was in 1838 or '9. It was a primitive round log house with the cracks closed with sticks and mud and cost, completed, the munificent sum of $39.50. The first schoolhouse stood on the Joel Black farm, section 29. S. A. Custer taught the school at $12 per month. In 1842 this first schoolhouse was destroyed by fire, the patrons disagreed as to the location, the result was two houses were built, one on the Dillman farm near Corinth church, section 28, and the other on Wm. Murden's farm in section 30, then owned by Logan Thomas. Both were hewed log houses, the former was occupied until 1859, when it was abandoned and a frame house, No. 6, was erected on the southeast corner of section 33 and about the same time the Thomas log schoolhouse was replaced by a frame, located near the same site, this was consumed by fire in 1910, but has never been rebuilt, its pupils being hauled to the Twelve Mile school.

The Thomas log schoolhouse was known throughout all that section, S. A. Custer, August Morse and many other well known pioneers wielded the birch in this primitive temple of learning and the first religious meetings were assembled here. The first school in the Skinner neighborhood was taught in a log house over the line in Miami county and the first school in that section was held in the log church about 1850 or '51, taught by Jos. Davis. It was not until 1856 that a frame schoolhouse was erected near the northeast corner of section 22 on the T. Skinner farm. Its first teacher was G. I. Reed, second teacher, Katherine Wickham.

The Dudgeon hewed log schoolhouse in old Twelve Mile (Hen Peck) located on the southwest corner of the southeast quarter section 17, was built in 1844 and abandoned about 1864, when a frame building was built to the west on the northeast corner of section 19, which is now in the present town of Twelve Mile. During the year 1910 this frame house was replaced by a beautiful brick structure containing five or six rooms and a graded school established, including the High school course, with an expenditure of $14,000. The High school has twenty students, taught by P. P. Chenot, principal.

About 1837-8 a log schoolhouse was built in the northwest part of the township in section 5, and in 1846 one was erected on the northeast quarter of section 9, these with school No. 7 in section 27 and No. 8, known as the Hoover schoolhouse, Adams township now has a complete system of schools running through all the grades, primary up to and through the high school.

Two districts have recently been abandoned and the pupils are hauled to the Central school at Twelve Mile. One wagon is employed in each district for which t]ie township pays $2.50 per day and it is claimed that it is not only cheaper for the township, but gives better satisfaction to the patrons to attend the larger and concentrated school.

The total enumeration in 1912 was 279. Total value of school property $28,000. From the trustees books we reproduce the enumeration of the first school district in Adams township in 1840: Nathan D. Nichols, four children; H. L. Thomas, two children; Jos. Lowman, two children; Geo. Lowman, three children; Miner Alley, no children; R. Ferguson, four children ; John Ferguson, one child ; Wm. Spray, one child; John Cox, four children; Isaac Young, two children; Thos. Dalzelle, one child; H. Alexander, three children; Joel Black, three children; Jos. Lewis, two children; P. Woodhouse, no children; Tillman Woodhouse, no children; Noah Martin, no children; M. Eldridgc, two children; J. Greathouse, two children; J. H. Wilson, four children; J. LeflPel, one child.

One object in compiling this work is to secure biographical sketches of the pioneers who developed the couijty and made history. The sketches of many have been written by Mr. Helms in his history in 1886. These will simply be mentioned as they are now of record and can readily be referred to.