Miami County, Indiana - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 10 of those read), 1887

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 10 of those read)

BUTLER Township is bounded on the north bv the Wabash River; on the east by Wabash County, on the South by Harrison Township; on the west by Washington Township, and includes a superficial area, equivalent to about thirtytwo square miles. Wabash and Mississinewa Rivers afford ample drainage for the northern part of the Township while Pipe Creek, and its tributaries water and drain the southern portion. The Mississinewa flows in a northwesterly direction and in its course passes through one of the most fertile and well developed agricultural districts of Miami Count\-. The surface of the township is agreeably varied: that portion bordering an the water courses being level while a short distance back the countrv presents a series of rolling but fertile hills. The southern half may be described as quite level with undulations at irregular intervals. The soil presented by the surface of the country varies with each localit}-. Along the river bottoms it is \ery fertile and produces immense crops of corn, while the broken portions, though not so rich in vegetable matter are very productive and well adapted to wheat and the other cereals. Tlie southern part of the Township is characterized by a black loam soil which responds generously to proper cultivation. Before disturbed, this region was heavily timbered and some gigantic trees still exist as silent monuments of the past grandeur of these forests. While much \aluable timber was ruthlessly destroyed bv the early settlers in clearing their lands: and later immense quantities were lavishly sacrificed to the demands of trade, there still remains a sufficiency for all practical purposes for years to come. The leading varieties of native trees are walnut, hickory, sugar tree, beech, ash, basswood, several kinds of oak, elm and sassafras, among which originallj^ grew a dense undergrowth of spice brush, pawpaw, grapevine, &c., &c. These woods, when Hrst seen by white men, were infested with all kinds of game, the pursuit of which afforded many of the earlj' adventurers a means of profit as well as amusement. Deer roamed' the country in vast herds and it required no extraordinary skill on the part of the huntsman to kill eight or ten of these animals without changing his position. Mr. Sullivan states that deer would frequently come up. to his yard fence and upon one occasion immediately after the completion of his first residence, three or four very large ones deliberately walked up and looked throu<{h the back window. Wolves were also numerous and gave the early settlers considerable annoyance by frequently raiding the pig pens and barn yards. By far the most troublesome animals however, were a species of the wild hog; long, gaunt and savage creatures, which had run wild in course of nature. Thej' would frequently attack the domestic hogs and literally cut them to pieces with their sharp tusks. Dogs learned by sad experience to let these monsters of the woods alone, and they were only gotten rid of by the rifles of the settlers. The other game of this part of the country were turkeys, raccoons, squirrels, foxes, an occasional bear, wild geese and duck on the water courses and an abundance of the finny tribe in the streams. This was indeed a veritable hunter's paradise, and upon the abundance of game thus afforded, the earlv pioneer mainly subsisted until thev could clear and bring their lands into cultivation.

As is well known, Butler Township was formerly the hunting ground and dwelling place of the Miami Tribe of Indians and is still the home of a scattered remnant of that once powerful people. It was here that their noted Chief, Francis Godfrov lived, and in an Indian gravevard, on the farm of his son, Gabriel Godfroy, near the Mississinewa River, his remains, with man\' other noted men of his tribe, lie buried. Near this spot is pointed out a place, where, manv years ago is said to have been fought a bloody battle between detachments of hostile tribes, but all information concerning the engagement, is purelv legendarv. Butler Township was organized as a separate jurisdiction on the first da}- of September, 1841. Under the order providing for the organization, an election was held a little later the same year at the cabin of Isaac Litzenbarger on the present site of Peoria for the purpose of choosing the necessary township officials.

The First Settlements

The F"irst Settlements within the limits of Butler were made hv emigrants from Pennsylvania and Ohio. A large portion of the northern part of the township was included in the strip donated b\- the Goverimient to the Wabash and Erie Canal, and was placed at the disposal of settlers several years before the southern half came into market, the latter at that time forming a part of the great Miami Reservation, which was not opened for settlement till late in the forties. The first sale of land took place in 1S40, at which time a number of men, availing themselves of the opportunities thus offered of securing cheap homes, purchased tracts in various parts of the township, to which the)' moved their families soon after. The first actual settler, however, made his appearance the year prior to that date, and laid claim to a piece of land in the extreme eastern part of the township near tlie Wabash County line. He was a Pennsylvanian by the name of Wilhelm, and the site of his original settlement was on the land owned at this time by J. Long. After a short residence in that locality, he sold his claim to Isaac Litzenbarger and moved about two miles southwest of the present site of Peoria village, choosing for his home what is now the Johnson farm, when his death occurred over thirty years ago. James Cla^'ton came a short time before the land sale also, and settled on the north bank of the Mississinewa river, opposite the village of Peoria, where he subsequently entered a tract of Government land, a part of which is owned at this time by J. L. Farrar, of Peru. Mr. Cla\ton was a man of many excellent qualities, and is remembered as a very civil and trustworthy citizen. His death, six years later, was one of the early events of the kind in the township. Another pioneer of 1839 ^^^^ Benjamin Barnes, who settled first where Joseph Bo\-er now lives, a short distance west of Peoria. He subsequently disposed of his claim to Frederick Wilds, and bought land north of the Mississinewa, where he made a number of substantial improvements. He, with a brother and two other men, was accidentallv drowned a number of years ago at the feeder dam in Peru, while rafting logs down the river. Hugh Banks made the first improvements on what is now the Boyer farm, the site of Barnes' original settlement, as early as 1839, but did little besides erecting a rude cabin for the reception of his family. Unlike many of the early settlers of a new county, he was possessed of considerable means, which enabled him to purchase several valuable tracts of land in Wabash Countv. to which he remo\ed after a brief residence upon his original claim. Thomas Clayton, brother of James Clayton, and son-in-law of Benjamin Barnes, settled on land adjoining the latter's place prior to 1840, and was a resident of the

In the year 1840 Isaac and John Litzenbarger became residents of the township, the former purchasing tlie Wilhelm chaim north of Peoria, and the latter settling where he still lives on the present site of the village. They came to this countv from Pennsylvania, and were among the substantial citizens of ISIiami Countv. Isacc died about ten or twelve years ago, and John is the oldest resident of Butler at this time. In company with the Litzenbargers came James Beard, who resided near Peoria, in the vicinitv of which he purchased a hne tract of land. About that time, or perhaps a little earlier, Moses Falk came to this county and established a trading post, where Peoria now stands, and for a number of years carried on a successful traffic with the Indians, purchasing valuable tracts of land in the meantime, which he subsequentb, disposed of at good financial profits. He afterwards moved to Peru, in which cit\- his death occurred several years ago.

John, David and Benjamin Hahn, with another brother (name unknown), were reported to have settled south of Peoria early in the year 184O, a«d about the same time one Samuel Robertson, a son-in-law of Benjamin Beard, was li\ing near the latter's place in the vicinity of the village.

Prominent among the arrivals of 1841 was Joseph Votaw, who settled the summer of that year on land which he had previously purchased in the northeastern part of the township. Mr. Votaw describes his tirst habitation as ha\ing been a hastily improvised structure, resembling in its make up, an Indian wigwam covered with a tent cloth, the construction of which required the united labors of himself and wife for about two or three hours. In this rude shelter the pioneer family managed to live with a reasonable degree of comfort, until a better, but less picturesque building of logs, could be erected hard by. With the energy characteristic of the man, Mr. Votaw soon had a respectable area of land in cultivation, and in connection with his early efforts at farming started a blacksmith shop, the lirst in the township, which he carried on with encouraging success for many years, lie bore a conspicuous part in the moral as well as material development of the county, and is still an honored resident of the township. The next settler deserving of special mention was Jonah Sulli\an, who, while on a tour of inspection in 1836, selected a home site in section 3, township 26, north range 5, east, which he purchased at the land sale in 1840. Soon after securing his land Mr. Sullivan went back to his native State (Ohio), and the following year, accompanied by his wife, whom he had married in the meantime, returned to his new home in the wilderness of the Mississinewa, where unfortunately no shelter of any kind awaited them. He states that over two weeks were required to make the trip, and that all their housohold goods, provisions, farming implements, etc., were hauled in a single wagon, which at frequent intervals mired ta the hubs in the muddy and ahnost impassible roads. Mr. Sullivan's brother accompanied him as assistant on the journe)', and the two,, after an immense amount of hard work cutting a wa\ through the dense woods, prying the wagon out of the mire, etc., finally reached their destination, where a shelter, much after the fashion of the one described above, was hastil}- prepared. Quite a number of Indians-, passing and repassing while the goods were being unloaded, caused the ^-ounger brother no little uneasiness, and as soon as the tent was pitched he took his departiu'e for what he considered safer quarters, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Sulli\an alone in their wild forest home. The place of settlement being remote from a spring or stream of any kind, and water being an important item, Mr. Sullivan determined Hrst of all to dig a well and after that to erect his dwelling. Accordingly an eligible site was fixed upon and in due course of time the hole was completed, but the months dragged h\ until the latter part of December before the family exchanged the original residence for a better one. Mr. Sulli\-an. against the advice of several of his neighbors, determined to erect a house more in conformit\' with his ideas of comfort than the conventional round pole shanty of the period, and accordingly took his time in preparing the nece.ssarv materials for the same. The buildinir, although a log structure. was a storv and a half high, smoothed down both in side and out. and for many years W'as considered the best dwelling in the township. It was subsec]uently abandoned for a more modern dwelling, but is still standing in a remarkable state of preservation. Mr. Sullivan resided upon his original purchase until 1874, when he movx'd to Peru, of which cit\- he is at this time an htjnored resident. Job Morris settled on land adjoining the Votaw farm in 184 1 and is remembered as one of the substantial pioneers of the township. He purchased three eighty acre tracts in the vicinity, but subsequentl\- disposed of the same and moved to Illinois. Isaac Deeter came the later part of 1841 or early in 1842, and made a settlement south of the river near Peoria. William Parks located in the vicinity of Peoria in an early da}", as did also Re\'. Joseph Davis, a minister of the Baptist Church, who visited the county at intervals several years before making a permanent settlement. After 1841 and 1842 settlements began to multiply quite rapidly, and it is impossible to name the pioneers in the order of their arrival or to give anything like a full and complete list of them. The following, however, with those alreadv enumerated, constitute the majoritv of the pioneers in northern l>utler, to-wit: Eclnuind Wright, near the Wabash Count}' line; Michael Bradley, near the Votaw farm; Jacob Iletlley, one and a half miles south of Peoria; Adam Fansler, southeast of Peoria, where he is now living: John Davidson, near the central part of the township; Jonathan ("Speck") Johnson on the Wilhelrh place; William Cipher, one mile southeast of Peoria; Samuel Ramsey in the sariie locality; Mr. Bosden, about two miles west of the village; Henry Watts in the vicinit}- of the town; Zachariah Wallick in the western part of the township; James and Thomas Keyes, near the central part; Thomas Timmons, Joseph Werhle, David and William Miller, James Long and Jeptha Long, near Peoria; John King, John Fegle\', Solomon Fegley, Samuel Kiem, Benjamin Wallick and J. Thomas, whose places of settlement are at present unknown. The earliest settlement in the southern part of the township was made late in the fifties by the Fenimores, who in 184S, projected and laid out the village of Santa Fe. Others came in during the following two years and by 1850 every part of the township was settled bv an intelligent and thriflv population.

JJ/7/f. - The first mill patronized bv the earlv settlers of northern Butler was a small log mill in Wabash Countv, erected by the general government for the Indians, prior to 1S40. The first mill in the township was built at Peoria, in 1845, by Isaac Litzenbarger. The original structure was a primitive log building, supplied with machinerj' for sawing lumber, and one run of nigger head burrs, which ground a very coarse article of flour. After operating the mill several years Mr. Litzenbarger sold out to Dr. Helm. It was afterwards burned down, but has since been rebuilt, and is still in operation, belonging at this time to the lieirs of E. H. Shirk, of Peru. With the exception of several steam saw-mills operated at different times, the above is the only mill of any kind in the township.

T/ir Rcliifioiis Hislorv of Butler dates from its earliest settlement, though no attempts were made towards the organization of churches until a number of years later. The first religious service of which there is any definite knowledge was held at the cabin of Mr. Beard, by Rev. Mr. Beloit, of the Methodist church, in the year 1841. Ministers of several denominations began visiting the settlements about that time, holding services in cabins and groves, which were attended b\' the earl)- settlers for many miles around. These meetings were the means of accomplishing much good, and served to check manv of the prevalent evils of the times. A number of settlers in the northern part of the township were members of the Baptist church and attended meetings of that denomination in Wabash County, where a society was organized at quite an early day. The Christians organized a society in Peoria a number of vears ago, and erected the first house of worship there in 1856. This organization was never strong in numbers, and at this time no services are held. The Presbyterians organized a societ}' in the township some years since, which is still maintained. The Methodists have a small class and a neat house of worship at the village of Santa Fe, at which place the Duiikards also hold services at regular intervals, using the school house for a meeting place.

The first frame dwelling houses in the township were built by Joel Davis, Job Morris and Joseph \'otaw, and in 1841 the first orchard was planted b)- Jonah Sullivan, the trees of which were obtained from Matthias Mo^-er's nursery in Richland Township. James Clayton ^and Joseph Votaw set out orchards about the same time, a number of the trees of which are still standing, bearing fruit. The first marriage celebrated in the township was that of James Wilhelm to Nancy White in 1S41. Probabh' the first birth was that vi Frank Litzenbarger, born to Isaac and Sarah Litzenbarger in 1841. William Sullivan, Esq., of Peru, son of Jonah and Louisa Sullivan, was born here, and earl)^ in the forties births occurred in the familv of Joseph Votaw.

Among the earliest deaths in the township was that of Mr. l'ller\-, who was killed b}' Mr. Wilhelm, Sr. It appears that Wilhelm had a daughter to whom Ullery desired to pay his respects. This did not meet the approval of the father, who forbade the voung man entering the house. The lover, however, failing to comply with this request, continued his visits. This, with other things, so exasperated Wilhelm that, upon one occasion, he shot the young man, at the same time hallowing so as to attract the attention of his son, who came out of the house and fired, but, as he persisted afterward, at random. UUer}' was killed, and the son, who was supposed to have committed the bloody deed, was arrested, tried and sentenced to the penitentiary. The father, just before his death acknowledged firing the fatal shot, upon which the son was released. Another verj' early death was that of Washington Godfroy, son of Chief Francis Godfroy. He was struck b}- lightning in the presence of a white man and a number of Indians, and instantly killed. This created the wildest excitement among the Indians, and in a ver\'' short time hundreds from different \illages were assembled to witness the sad spectacle. James Clayton and Mrs. Thomas Clayton died many years ago and were among the earliest persons buried in the Clayton graveyard in the northeastern part of the township. A couple of children of Michael Bradley were early buried in the same, as were also several Indians, names unknown.

ViNiioc of Peoria is situated ' on the west bank of the Mississinewa River in Section 10, Township 26, North Range 5 East, and dates its history from 1849. ^^'^'^ \'awA upon which the \illage stands, was purchased in an early day by Isaac Litzenbarger, who, to further the interests of the locality, laid out the town in October of the above year. The original plan of the town consisted of thirty-six lots and four streets, viz.: Hill, Walnut, High and Race. Mr. Litzenbarger opened a general store about the time the lots were surveyed, and sold goods for a number of years thereafter. Previous to that time, however, Moses Falk, to whom reference has alread\' been made, established a trading post on the town site, and during the early settlements of the county carried on a successful traffic with the Indians. Mr. McClain was an early merchant of the village, and . since about the year 1865 the commercial business of the town has been carried on at at different times by Ira Litzenbarger. John Lieurance, Samuel Jameson, Noah Minnick and the present merchant, James A. Long. William Luce settled in the village in an early day, and worked at the tailor's trade. Among the earliest residents was John Younce, who operated the hrst blacksmith shop. Peoria was ne\er a place of much importance, and at this time has one general store, kept by Mr. Long, and a blacksmith and repair shop carried on b\- John Hahn. The last physician of the village was Dr. Frank Black.

Santa Fc. - The little villaa^e of Santa Fe is situated in the extreme southern part of the township, on the southeast quarter of Section 32, Township 26, North, Range 5 East, and was laid out Mav, 1884, by Ebenezer Fenimore. An addition of 26 lots was made to the town in January, 1850, b}- Matthew Fenimore, one of the first settlers in the southern part of the county. One of the first residents of the village was William S. White, who erected a business house and engaged in merchandising as early perhaps as 1848. Messrs. Bond & Harper brought a stock to the place about the same time and sold goods for a period of two or three years. Nelson McGraw kept a general store during the early history of the place, as did also Samuel Metret,, David Bowers, Noah Reese, Thomas Jones, Henry Bowers, Noah Bowers and others. David Jewells. William Kessler, Noah Reese, David Jones and a Mr. Frick were among the early mechanics, and Drs. Hendricks, Barnes, Ginther, Stewart, Foraker, Pence and Pugh practiced the healing art from time to time. An industry of the place was a mill erected on Pipe Creek by Messrs. Fenimore & Britton, who operated it for a period of about eighteen or twenty years. They sold to Solomon Stout, who ran it for some time in partnership with Thomas Cla\ton. It was destroyed by fire in 1869 or 1870, and afterwards rebuilt by Amos West. The present proprietor is John Thorn, who is doing a fair business.

Until the construction of the Pan Handle railroad through the county a couple of miles distant, Santa Fe enjoyed the reputation of one of the best country villages in Miami County, but the completion of the road and the consequent springing up of towns in the county, proved an effectual check to its further development. It still commands a respectable proportion of the current trade, and supports a couple of general stores and about the usual uumber of shops found in a country village. The Methodists have an organization and a neat house of worship in the town, and the Dunkards have preaching at regular intervals in the school house.