Marshall County, Indiana - Green Township, 1881

Green Township

ORGANIZED 1836 - DEsCRIPTION - FIRST ELECTION - CONSTARLES - FrencE VIEWERS - OVERSEERS OF THE PoOR - Fins? Suenire - PETITION FOR TAVERN - WOLF ChEEK - MILL - DROWNING OF BiivEN - EARLY SETTLERS - TERRIFIC EXPLOsSION - Four PerRSONS KILLED.

REEN was one of the original townships of the county. When first organized, it embraced what is now Union, Green, Walnut and Tippecanoe Townships, being seven miles in width and twenty-one miles inlength. It has been eliminated by cutting off the three townships from its original dimensions. so that it is now but seven miles in length north and south, and about five miles in width east and west. There is novillage within the limits of the township, and the matter for historical reference is very limited. Originally, the township was sparsely settled, and but little occurred out of the usual routine of pioneer life. Ewell

Kendall was the first Inspector of Elections in this township, and the first election was held May 25, 1836, at the house of Sidney Williams. June 15, 1536, the following orders were made by the Board of Commissioners.

| That Fielding Bowles be allowed 51) cents for making ballotbox for Green Towuship. That Abner Caldwell and John Triner be appointed Constables of Green Township for the year 1836. That William Owens and John A. Boots be appointed Fence | Viewers in Green Township for the present year.

At the September term, 1536, of the Commissioners' Court, it was ordered that John Compton be appointed Constable in Green Township to fill the vaeaney of Almer Caldwell, former Con stable. who is now elected Sheriff of said county.

"We, the undersigned petitioners. citizens of Green Township, in said connty, certify that Williamson Owens, the present applicant for a tavern license im said township, is a man of good moral character. and that it would he for the benefit and convenience of travelers, and conducive to the public good if such tavern should be opened, and we believe it is the bona fide inteution of said Owens to keep a tavern for the accommodation of travelers.

Wolf Creek

This place is situated on a small stream called Wolf Creek. in the northwest corner of the township. It contains a grist-mill, a The mill was erected by Robert C. Bliven prior to 14d), who, during a rise in the creek, on the 2Sth day of February, 1550, in attempting to repair the dam, lost his footing and was drowned. The mill passed into the hands of the Zehner family, and is at present owned by M. B. Zehner, who is also Postmaster.

The conntry immediately surrounding this place was settled in a very early day by those who came from the sonthern part of the State. John Anderson, who settled on a piece of land a short distance to the northward, in 1535, was probably the first. Uneles Henry and Thomas Logan also located near here. Then there were James Voreis, Abraham Voreis, John London, Thomas Klifton, and perhaps a few others, who located near by not long afterward. A short distance north was at that time an Indian camping-ground, and tradition has it that at one time a battle was fought there between some of the hostile tribes, but there is no authentic information in regard to it.

Mrs, Kendall, wife cf Ewell Kendall, of this township, died April 20. 15538, aged nearly one hundred. She had been an invalid from a stroke of paralysis for a number of years prior to her death. Some time before her death oecnreed, three robbers entored the house of these old people and carried off all the money and valnables they could find about. the premises. Mr, Kendall died a few years later,

Early Settlers

EARLY SETTLERS. Among the early settlers of Green Township who came prior to 1840, including what is now Walnut Township, are the following:

Terrific Explosion

Among the items for historical mention is a terrifie explosion which ocewred in this township in 1876, From the reports made at the time, the following facts are obtained:

The most destructive boiler explosion which ever oceurred in Northern Indiana took place on the farm of William Johnson, in Green Township, on Saturday. October 1, 1876. A steam threshing machine, known as the Feary machine, but which, at the time of the accident, was the property of John J. Thompson, exploded, earrying death aod sorrow to many homes, The machine had been set, and about sixty bushels of wheat threshed, when the explosion took place, A belt liad broken, and, after it was repaired and the word had been given to start up, Feary turned on steam, and while in the act. and before the motion was ob tained. the explosion took place, with a noise and a crash which no pen ¢an portray, or imagination picture, scattering death and The only one killed outright was a He was standing near destruction in all directions. boy named Isaae Jones, aged fourteen, the fire-box of the engine, warming himself. the day being cold. He was blown a distance of 110 feet, against a rail fence, the top of his skull down nearly to his evebrows being blown off, and his His elothing was nearly all Standing by the boy brains running off on the ground. torn from him, and his body badly scalded. near the engine was William Hughes, about thirty-five years of age, who was blown the same distanee that the boy was, being found near where he lay, He had one arm and one leg broken, was injured internally and badly scalded He died on Monday following the accident. Thoinas H. Wirt, band-cntter, was struck by one of the heavy wheels of the engine and so badly injured that he died in abont two hours. W. W. Johnson, son of William Johnson, the owner of the farm where the accident occurred. was pitching sheaves froma stack. The boiler struck the stack in its course through the air, throwing Johnson a distance of about one hundred feet, breaking his skull and otherwise injuring him. He died about six hours after the explosion, having been in an insensible condition all the time. Joseph Dudgeon was on the stack with Johnson at the time the boiler struck it. He was thrown about fifty feet, had both bones of the right leg broken, and the right hip bruised. David Logan, the feeder, had an arm broken Ezra Jones, father of the boy killed, was badly scalded and otherwise injured, 5S. P. Feary, the engineer, had his arm broken in two places, Clem Newhonse had his Marvin London was slightly injured.

acter, however. No imagination could picture the scene of the disaster as it really was. The boiler, with engine attached, was thrown a distance of 160 feet, alighting on the ground ina reversed position from that in which it started, haying gone throngh the side of a wheat stack, thrown two men fifty and one hundred feet, stripped the harness from a span of horses, and mashing a two-horse wagon. It was said by some who were present that the engine turned three and a half times round while fly- An examination of the boiler showed that The explosion was nndonbtedly