Madison County, Indiana - Chapter 4, 1897

A majority of the early settlers of this county c;ime from Virginia and Kentucky, the former State being more largely represented than the latter. The first man who came to tlie county for the purpose of locating permanently was John Rogers, an Irishman. Rogers faced the perils and hardships of the wilderness and located in Fall Creek township in November, 1818, two years after the territory of Indiana had been organized as a .State, and while the seat of the State goyernment was jet at Corydon. He left the county sometime after coming here, but subsequently returned and located about two and a half miles east of the town of Pendleton, where he reared a family. A sketch of Air. Rogers will be found elsewhere in these pages.

But it was not until 18:^0 that any considerable number of pioneers located within the borders of the county. Those who came at that early day, like those who followed, saw that the land was well watered and that the soil with proper culti- \ation would yield abundantly. They settled in the primeval wilderness and began the arduous labor of cutting and hewing out of the unbroken forests, homes for themselves and their descendants. It was in this year that the nucleus for Madison county's present population settled near the falls of Fall Creek. Among the number were Elias Ilollingsworth and famil}', William Curtis, Nathaniel Richmond and family, John Linsey, Israel Cox, Conrad Crossley, Saul Shaul, Samuel Holliday, Thomas and William McCartne\'. Tiiese were soon followed by ^Vdam Dobson, Manly Richards, Stephen Corwin, the Silvers, W'illiam and Thomas, Palmer Patrick and many others \\ lio have long since gone to their reward.

About this time other settlements sprang up in the yicinit}' of Chesterfield, at Anderson and Perkinsville, with a -olitary cabin here and there between these places.

ity of Chesterfield were Frederick Broniieiiberj^r, sr., William Diltz, John Suman, Daniel Nohind and Airiasa Makepeace. Those who first settled at Anderson were John Berry, A\'illiani ^Vllen, Samuel Cory, William Curtis and William Stogdon. These pioneers were soon followed by otheis who will receive honorable mention elsewhere in this work.

Two families of the name of Kinser and Dewey settled in the vicinity of Perkinsville, and were followed by Benoni Frell, of Ohio. Then came Daniel Wise, who made the first entry of land in Jackson township. In the fall of 182-5, William Parkins, with his family, which consisted of his wife and seven children, came from Ohio, and located where Perkinsville now stands. Other immigrants followed and the settlement nourished.

FoUov.'ing the organization of the territory of Indiana into a state, the agitation of the matter of organizing the county began in earnest in the infant settlements and did not cease until the metes and bounds of the territory which now comprises the county were established. At the session of the legislature which assembled at Corydon on the first Monday in December, lcS22, an enabling act was passed and received the signature of Governor William Hendricks on the 4th of January, 1828, granting the residents of the county the right to organize a separate and independent jurisdiction for the administration of affairs. That act is as follows :

Section' 1. A'c // cimctcil by tlic (ici/cral Assciith/v of the Stale of Indiana, that from and after the first day of July ne.xt, all that tract of land which is included in the following boundaries, shnll constitute and form a new county, to be known and designated by the name of the county of Madison, to-wit ; Beginning at the south-west corner of the county of Henry, thence north with the line of the saniL' and to the township line di\iding 20 and 21 north, thence west to the north-east corner of Section 5, in Township 20 north, range 6 east, thence south 20 miles; thence west to the north-east corner of the county of Marion ; thence south to the northwest corner of Shelby county; thence east with the line of Shelby until the same intersects Rush county; thence north with Rush county to the north-\vest corner of the same ; thence east to the place of beginning.

Sec. 3. Abijah Bayless, of Harrison county i \Villiam Williams, of Jackson county : Jesse Reddick, of Bartholomew county ; Rollin C. Dewey, of Lawrence county, and James Dill, of Dearborn county, are hereby ajipointed Commissioners, agreeably to an act entitled, " An act for fixing the seats of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid oft." The Commissioners above named shall meet at the house of William McCartney, in said new countj- of Madison on the first Monday in September next, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Marion county to notify the said Commissioners, either in person or by written notification, of their appointment, on or before the 15th day of August next, and the said sheriff of Marion county shall be allowed therefor by the County Commissioners of the county of Madison, such compensation as by them shall be deemed just and reasonable, to be paid out of the county treasury of the county of Madison in the same manner other allowances are paid.

Sec. 4. The Circuit and other courts of the county of Madison shall meet and be holden at the house of William McCartney until suitable accommodations can be had at the county seat of said county : and so soon as the courts of said county are satisfied that suitable accommodations are provided at the county seat of said county they shall adjourn thereto ; after which time, all the courts of said county shall be held at the seat of justice thereof; provided, however, that the circuit court of said county shall have authority to remove from the house of said William McCartney to any more suitable place in said county previous to the completion of the public buildings if they should deem the same expedient.

Sec. 5. The agent who shall be appointed for said county to superintend the sales of lots at the county seat oi' said county or receive donations for said county shall reserve 10 per cent of the proceeds of such sale and donations, which he shall pa}- over to such person or persons, as b}- law may be authorized to receive the same, for the use of a county library for said county, which he shall pay over at such time or times and manner as shall be directed by law.

Sec. 7. Provides for the organization, conduct and support of a county library, as provided by the act organizing Dubois county, approved January 23, ISllS.

Sec. S. The county is attached to and made a part of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Indiana. This act to be in force from and after July 1. 18J-5."'

It will be seen from the foregoing that Madison county included all of what is now Hancock county and only so much of its present territory north of the White river as lies south of the north lines of LaFayette and Richland townships. With the formation of other counties adjoining the territory designated as the county of Madison the boundaries designated in the original act were changed by subsequent legislative enactments until the county boundaries were established as we find them to-day.