Madison County, Indiana - Chapter 18, 1897

The society Hourished for a number of years, but a gradual decadence of interest began about IStUj, and at a meeting held in April, 1807, it was mutually agreed among the membership to discontinue the meetings of the association indefinitely. No further meetings were held until August, 1875, when Dr. W. A. Hunt published a call for a meeting of the society at the office of Dr. C. S. Burr at Anderson. The object of this meeting was for the purpose of uniting the medical societies of Alexandria. Pendleton. Anderson and the medical profession generally throughout the county into one association and make it an auxiliary to the State Metlical Society. This was done, and the following officers of the association were selected : J. W. Perry, president ; William A. Hunt, vice-president: J. Stewart, secretary-; C. S. Burr, treasurer; W. H. Lewis, B. F. Spann, J. T. Sullivan, censors. In 1875 there were twenty-five members of the society, nearly everv town in the county being represented. At the present time

The present otficers o( the society are: John \V. Cook, president; F.J. Hodges, vice-president : Ed. W. Chittenden, secretary, and Joseph E. Hall, treasurer. The society meets regularly on the first Tuesday of the following months : January. -Vpril, July and October. The meetings are held alternately at Anderson, Elwood, Alexandria and Pendleton. The society belongs to the Delaware District Society, which is composed of the medical societies of Delaware, jSIadison, Blackford, Grant. Randolph and Henry comities.

Early in December. 1884. Dr. William A. Hunt invited a number of gentlemen of well-known taste for archieological matters to meet at his office in .Vnderson for the purpose of organizing a county historical society. The meeting was held and an organization effected with the following persons as officers : Dr. William -V.Hunt, president; Stephen Metcalf, 1st \ice-president ; Samuel Hardin, 2d vice-president; Frank A'. Walker, secretary, and Fleming T. Luse, treasurer.

On the L'Oth of December, 1884, articles of association were filed in the Recordei's office, one of which sets forth that " The object of this society shall be to discover, procure and preserve, whatever may relate to general history ; especially to the archieological. natural, ci\il. literary and ecclesiastical

The names of tliose sijjjneil to the articles are : \V. A. Hunt, Stephen Metcalf. Samuel Hardin, F. T. Luse, F. A. Walker, Charles B. Gerard, 15. F. Spann, W. R. Pierse, William Roach, B. H. Campbell, Dale J. Crittenberger. Dory Biddle, R. I. Hamilton. O. S. Kelso, M. A. Chipman, M. A. Bos worth.

The Board of Commissioners reserved a room in the court house for the use of the society, and the work of collecting historical relics and curiosities was begun. Much interest was taken in the matter for awhile, and many rare arch;rological specimens, interesting relics ami curiosities were donated to the society by citizeus of the county.

One of the interesting features of the nmseum was a collection of beautiful sea shells, gr.iss mats, bark blankets, and other rare anil unique curiosities gathered in the South Sea Islands by Lieut. Whitmuel I*. Ray. of the U. S. navy , and presented by him to the society. Lieut. Ray was a native of ]\Lidison county, having been born in Anderson, where he passed his boyhood imtil he was appointed to a cadetship in the navy by Col. T. N. Stilwell, who, at the time, was a representative in Congress. The appointment of Ray, who was a poor boy without influence, was in marked contrast with the appointments made by congressmen, as a rule, and stamped Col. Stilwell as a friend to the boys who, without riches or friends, were ambitious to cut their names on the world. The writer regrets, as a schoolmate and boyhood companion of Lieut. Ray, to record the fact that, in a fit of despondency at San l^rancisco, June 9, 1S9S5, he committed suicide by cutting his throat with a razor. He was burieti with military honors in the cemetery at that city. L'eut. Ray was a courtly gentleman, of convivial inclinations and generous impulses, and the unnatural manner of his taking ofl' was not only a surprise, but a shock to his friends.

Other contributions were made by Mr. Samuel Hartlin and Mr. Fleming T. Luse which augmented the attractions of the society's museum very materially. These gentlemen were particularly active in collecting curiosities and classifying them for the benefit of the public. There was no lack of interest on the part of the citizens of the county, and a great many people visited the society's room to see the curiosities as long as t!ie collection was permitted to remain in the court house. In the course of time, however, it became necessary to use the room donated to the society bv the Board of Commissioners, for county purposes, and this, together with the depredations made on the collection by petty thieves, induced certain members of the society to consent to its removal to the Anderson High School building in the fall of 1895, where it has since remained in charge of the superintendent of the city schools. As stated elsewhere in these pages the Hunt donation of rare geological and archa'ological specimens constitutes an important and interesting part of the collection.