Huntington County, Indiana - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 18 of those read), 1887

WAYNE TOWNSHIP embraces a territorial area of twentyfour square miles in the southwest corner of Huntington County, and forms part of Township 26 north, Range 8 east, of the Congressional Survey. Its boundaries are as follows: Polk Township on the north, Jefferson on the east, Grant County on the south, and Wabash County on the west. The surface may be described as level, with undulations along the water courses, and the country, when first seen by white men, was covered with a dense forest growth of the finest timber, the greater part of which has been removed in preparing the ground for cultivation. Perhaps no similar area in the county could boast of as much valuable timber as this township, and the amount of lumber manufactured from time to time has been the source of valuable income to the country. Among the leading varieties are walnut, poplar, oak, elm, ash, hickory, sugar tree, in almost inexhaustible quantities, a fact which early made the manufacture of lumber one of the most important enterprises of the community. The township is watered and drained by a number of small streams, affluents of the Salamonie River, chief among which is Richards' Creek, a water course of considerable importance flowing in a northerly directicta along the eastern border; Prairie and Logan Creeks, easterly from southwest to northeast, and Rush Creek, a small stream in the northwestern part of the township, affords ample drainage for a large area of territory through which it passes. These water courses, while small the greater part of the year, sometimes become raging torrents, and during overflows and spring freshets, frequently overflow their banks for considerable distances on either side. The soil is a black loam of great depth and fertility, and as an agricultural regionj the township is perhaps unsurpassed by any like number of acres in the county or State. In point of material prosperity, Wayne will compare favorably with any community in Indiana, and there are among her citizens a greater proportion of well-to-do farmers and intelligent business men than in any other division of Huntington County. This statement is made after mature deliberation, and the intelligent observer in passing over the well improved highways and noting the superior condition of her finely cultivated farms and elegant residences, will not long question the justness of the claim.

Land Entries. - Land was first entered in Township 26 north. Range 8 east, in 1834, at which time Isaac Branson laid claim and obtained a patent for a tract in Section 1, in the northeast corner of the township. The following year entries were made by Moses Kelley and Asher Fisher in the same section; Miles Gray, in Section 2; Anderson Liverton, Section 12; Joseph Weaver and Daniel Dwiggins, Section 14, and Thomas Hallowell, Section 23. During the year 1836 the following persons purchased land from the Government, to-wit: Nathan Hildreth, James Jennings and William Richey, Section 2; Smith Grant, Joseph Anthony and Samuel Bullock, Section 3; James Starbuck, Moses Herrell, Jacob Wister and Rinard Rinearson, Section 4; Caleb Satterthwaite, Jacob Snyder and John Scott, Section 9; James Hildreth,^ Section 10; Thomas Fisher, John Moffatt, John Ruggles and E. Starbuck, Section 11; James Belsford and John Buzzard, Section 12; Thomas G. Runnells, Section 13; William McBride, Section 14; Elias B. Stowe, John D. Lindsey and ^ Jacob Coon, Section 15; Johnson Knight, John Reicker, Aggrippa Henderson and Robert A. Robertson, Section 21; Jackson L. Stevens, Ephraim Johnson and Robert McKnight, Section 22; James Camphel, Section 23; John Blackledge and Joseph McGarrough, Section 34; Asbury Steele and John Crest, Section 25; Anderson Meheffy and John Y. Deacon, Section 26; William Reed, John Teavis and Jefferson Helm, - Section 27; James Dearth, David Clingenpeel, John Hawkins and Henry Klum, Section 28; John Robb, J. P. Thompson and Abraham Hackleman, Section 33; Peyton Daniel and James Bain, Section 34; John Thomas, Section 35; Charles Ginley and Charles Morgan, Section 36.

Settlement. - The first white men to lead the advance of civilization into what is now Wayne Township, were John Ruggles and John Buzzard, whose arrival is said to have been in March, 1835. The former located where his son, Joseph Ruggles now lives, on the northeast quarter of Section 13, and was a man of considerable prominence in the early days of the county, having at one time held the ofiice of Township Trustee. He was a native of Ohio, but moved here from near Lafayette, Tippecanoe

County, having located in that part of the State as early as 1833 or 1834. Buzzard was a native of Ohio also, and a brother-inlaw of Mr. Ruggles. He settled the Thomas Pinkerton farm, southeast quarter of Section 13, and upon the same erected the' first house in the township. He was a prominent citizen for a period of thirty-five or forty years, and is remembered as one of Huntington County's representative pioneers. The next permanent settler was Anderson Leveston, who moved from Wayne County in the fall of 1835, and purchased from the government a tract of land in the northwest quarter of Section 13. He made substantial improvements upon his place and like the majority of the early residents was a man of industry and sterling worth. About the same time came Asher Fisher and settled on the southwest quarter of Section 1, where he resided until his death in 1884. His brother, Thomas Fisher, the oldest resident living at this time, moved from Wayne County in the fall of 1836, and settled on Prairie Creek, Section 13, where he has since resided. He made a tour of the country, however, the previous spring, and after entering his land cleared and planted a small "truck patch" besides erecting a cabin for the reception of his family. He was seven days in moving his family to the new home in the woods, and immediately on reaching his destination he began pioneer life in earnest. He soon succeeded in widening his area of cleared land and as soon as time would permit he set out an orchard, the first in the township, and one of the first in the southern part of the county. Mr. Fisher is still living, having reached the ripe old age of seventy-eight years, and is justly classed among the most intelligent and prosperous citizens of the township in the development and organization of which he took such an active part.

The year 1837 brought a number of energetic pioneers to the county, prominent among whom was Reinard Reinarson, who settled where the Widow Ham now lives in Section 3. His son, Allen Reinardson, is a leading citizen of the township at this time. Jacob Snyder in 1837 settled in the western part of the township, choosing for his home the place now occupied by Thomas Logan. He had in his family several daughters, all of whom were within a few years claimed in marriage by as many substantial young men of this and other parts of the country.

During the years 1837-38 the population was increased by the following additional pioneers. David Clingenpeel, in southwest part of the township; William C. Parker, an early Associate Judge of the county, where Joseph Billiter lives in Section 2; James Price, in Section 35, where his son James lives; George Weaver and his son, Joseph Weaver, adjoining the Fisher farm, in Section 13;] George Klum near the Price settlement; Moses Herrell, in Section 4; Ebenezer Thompson, in northern part of the township and James Ruggles, in the fall of 1883, south of the Fisher farm. Mr. Ruggles moved from Kentucky and after a short time spent in the new country, went back to his native State where he remained until 1840. He then returned to Indiana and from that year until his death in 1886, was an honored resident of Wayne Township.

Conspicuous among the arrivals of 1839, was James Ca,mpb,ell, who made a home in the southern part of the township. He early gained considerable notoriety as a politician, and the decided stand which he took upon the question of the abolition of slavery was such as to antagonize many of his neighbors, who were bitterly opposed to such a " monstrous political heresy." He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, true to his convictions, and his public lectures on the slavery question brought him into prominent notice, not only in Huntington, but in adjacent counties. It is alleged that he was personally interested in one of the celebrated " underground railways " and there is no question but that many a poor unfortunate black man escaping from the shackles of servitude, found in his home a comfortable and secure hiding place.

' The following men are said to have settled in the township as early as the year 1839, to-wit: John Deacon, an old batchelor, near the Klum place; Henry Klum, in the same locality; Jacob Coon, southeast part; Thomas and Richard Stevens, southern part; Bluford Cecil, place of settlement not learned, and others. The following w ere also early settlers, viz. : James Pattison, Mr. McLean, Benjamin Price, John Heflfner, John Sparks, Watson Sparks, John Thompson, Joseph Hall, Joseph Brown, Jesse Starbuck, Reuben Star buck, John Reicker, Robert A. Robertson, John McDauiel, John Hawkins, J. P. Thompson, Ebenezer Thompson, James Bain, William Bain, Charles Morgan, Thomas Hallowell, and Ephraim Johnson, all of whom became identified with the township some time in the forties. There are doubless many others entitled to a mention, but the omission of their names should not be construed as intentional, as many names as well as facts connected with the early settlement of the county have been long forgotten.

Organization of the Township. - " Prior to 1844, Wayne formed a part of the territory constituting Salamonie Township, which until 1843, included all the territory south of the Salamonie River. This territory was reduced by the organization of Jefferson Township in 1844, and further reduced by the organization of Wayne in June, 1844." To Thomas and Asher Fisher is due the credit of bringing about the organization and the name by them in honor of Wayne County, with the early settlement of which part of the state their father was prominently identified. The first election after the organization was held at the residence of Joseph Weaver in the fall of 1844, Henry Kline acting as Inspector. Among the early Trustees of the Township were Ebenezer Thompson, James Campbell and Asher Fisher. The Trustee at this time is Daniel Price.

Snyder, celebrated in 1837, one of the Associate Judges of the county officiating. It was afterward ascertained that the iudge had no authority to tie the " nuptial knot," and in order to legalize the union a special act of the Legislature to that effect was passed. Another early marriage was that of Stites Chenoweth, to Sarah, daughter of William Parker, solemnized as early as 1841 or '43. James Parrot . and Matilda Snyder were united in the holy bonds of wedlock many years ago, but the exact date of the affair was not learned. In about the year 1811, occurred the death of Ary, wife of Bluford Cecil, said to have been the first event of the kind in the township. Wesley Buzzard, son of John and Rachel Buzzard, was perhaps the first white child born in the township, his birth having occurred in 1836. Rebecca, daughter of Andrew and Phebe Leveston, was born as early as 1836, and in November of the same year, was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Fisher, a son, Daniel Fisher, who is at this time a lawyer in St. Louis, Mo. The first nursery was set out by Thomas Fisher, and the first frame house in the township was erected by John Buzzard in Section 2, prior to 1840. Jacob Snyder, early in the forties, built a brick residence, the first in the county outside the city of Huntington. It is still standing, and its quaint architecture is eloquent of days lo,ng past.

Improvements. - As is well known Wayne is pre-eminently an agricultural township, and as a consequence but few manufacturing enterprises have been attempted within its borders. The lumber business, however, has for many years been a remunerative industry, and a number of saw mills have been in successful operation from time to time. The first mill was built by John Sparks, near the southwest corner of the township; it was in operation a number of years and did a very extensive business. There are at this time, in addition to the lumber interests, there mills for the manufacture of drain tile, operated by James Pattison, Riley Stephens and Mr. Minnich, respecttively.

Religious. - " The inauguration of religious ceremonies in the settlement was at the house of Anderson Leverton, in the year by 1836, the minister being a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church." The Baptists came next, and a society of that denomination was organized in the southwestern part of the township, as early, if not earlier than 1850. The organization increased in members quite rapidly and its growth soon foreshadowed the necessity of a house of worship. Accordingly in 1852, a neat frame edifice representing a value of several hundred dollars was erected on the Kimmel farm, in the northwest quarter of Section 34. The organization is still kept up, and is reported in a fairly prosperous condition. The next religious sect to gain a footing in the township was the Christian (Disciple), an organization of which was brought some time in the fifties. A house of worship was built about two miles northwest of the site chosen by the Baptists. It has been prospered in its labors and is still accomplishing a good work in the community. There are no towns or villages in Wayne, with the exception of an addition to Mt. Etna and the little haml<-t of Banquo, near the west central part of the township. The latter place is the outgrowth of the neighborhood's demand for a trading point and, at this time has two stores, a postofl&ce, blacksmith shop and the large tile mill operated by Eiley Stephens. The mill is run by steam power and has a greater capacity than that of any other enterprise of the kind in Huntington County.