Clay Township

Clay Township

The surface i.s aluinst uniformly flat, and ibe soil Is composed of clay and loam. It is wnlered by Williams Creek, which flows in n .southerly course Ihrrai^h the center of the township; I,nnK liranch, which flows tbrou-h the j western part; McDuffy Ore. k, ibroUL'b Ihe soulb.rn. and Old Town 'Kun ' the West. After their arrival at Urookville, we hear notbin- more of Mr. Anderson. Here was located tbo landnfficc, andon Iheoeiasionoftbis visit .Mr. MeShanc entered two Iraels nf land - the easi half of Ihc northeast <|uarler of Section \i,\n Township IT north, UanRe !! casi, and the we.st half of the norlhwest cpiarler of Seclion 7, Township 17 north, ltan;:c I e.ist. Ilavin- made this purchase, he relumed wilh his fimily t.i locale with tlieui on ihc newly purchased land. lie leH. them in Ihc adjoining' eounly, Marion, while be came lo the land and conslrnelcdtt cabin from llic limber by which be was surrounded. This compleled, the fiinily were soon settled with as iniieli of comliirt as the cir,.-UTns(aiiccs permilled. Mis family nt ibat lime consisted of biiuself, wife .and two sons, Kdwaril and dames U. The former is now deceased ; the latter still survives, and al present is the owner of the old homestead. In June, IH-li, a dau;;litcr, Sarah Ij , wa.s horn to Mr. Me.Sbane an<l wife. She was tho first white child born in the township. She now resides at Indianapolis. The stru<:f;lo wilh Ihc wildcrneas was inaugurated by ibc father, and all throufjh the winter of Ibat year bis time was occupied in ihe labor of fellin;:; limber and preparing

1 other while .settlers williin Ihe limits of the township, line of ICetelmm had ad.ipled the white man's mode of 'd a porlion of the farm subseipionlly entered for him by

Henjamin Men.leliball. The dale of hh tbou;;hl that ho began clearing his Land were then flcveral while families livii MeShanc was the Indian's first while seventeen years in the improvement of I bis life-work closed in death. He was I ware Township, where Ids remains now

I'Vanklin Hall came Inward (bo close nf tbo year IH'ifi and sellled on a (met of land from which ho sulisei|nen(ly devclnp.'d n fine farm, dames (Iray came early in 182fi and cn(ered a trad of lanri situated partially in this county and pnrlinlly in Marion. His first cabin was located on (bo Haniilion County side, but widiin a few yearn bo ercc(ed n brick house in Marion County, wliero bo nflerward made his liouie. Uobert Darnbill and llenjainin C. MeDulTce came in 1H27, and each entered land in (bo autumn of Iho following year, Mr. linrnhill the oust half of tho aoulhcnst quarter of ScotloD 10, and Mr. McDulTee the enlirc soulbwest c|uarter of the same section. Darius Tower and Daniel Warren came in 1S2'.(, and both entered land, which they improved and culliva(ed fnr years aflerward. In lS:iO, Samuel Morrow, Uobert Morrow, d.din Oruse, Uarnaby Newby, John Harden, Isaac Uich, Stephen Iliatt and William Davis scKled in various localidcs in the township. Henry Cruse and Samuel I*. Scely came about the close of Ihe same year, and entered li.nd in (he following' year. l!y Ibis (ime there was what was known ns a "pood settlement," or men enou;;b to make a full party nt housc-raisinL'S, logrollings, or other ^'alherings in wliieli the leading feature Wiis the labor of the rcsideiils who conlribulcd lo assist one of iheir neighbors in Ihc iinprovemcnl of liia bnnie. New si-((lers coniinucd In arrive each year, unlil all the land in the township bad been entered. The selllera between this dato and 18:il! were as follows :

; the ehil.lri'n li..m in (bis township at an early day, Sarah L. naa (be lirsl. A chilil was born to ihc family of Daniel Warren In Samuel, son of John Harden, was horn in 18:11. Thclalleris now of Madis,m County, Iml.

daughter of James Gr.ay, who was taken In (he Wbidnger Cemclery, in Marion County, fnr inlcrmcnl. There were then no cemeteries in Clay, and many nf her pinnecr eilizens sleep "the sleep dial knows no waking" in graves ninro or less reuiolc from the scene of their labors. The b'arley Cemetery, in Delaware Township, and the Whilinger Cemetery, in the nortbern part of Marion Cnunly, were the usual burial places unlil 1.8.'!8. In dial year a ccnieliTy was laiil nut on the faViu of Isaac Slinrpe, near the present silo of Pleasant drove Cliureb. The lirsl iiil.TUHnl in (bis eeuie(ery was a dauglKcr of James

The first mill in the township was a saw-niill, erected some time during tho year 18:<(i. It was llii' properly of Jidin Harden, and was loeideil on the bank of Williams Creek, from which stream it rcceiveil il.s motive power. It was operaled by an old-fashinne.l walcr-wheel, ami furnished tho lumber for some of (he fii-st fninie houses in diis and adjoining seltlemenls. Near die same time, certainly not later than tho year 18:17, John Siuith erected a sawniill on Seclion 10. It also received its propelling power from Williams Creek, anil contained a saali saw of primidve stylo. It was a eualoni mill, and was only operated when aoino of the neighbors had lumber lo saw. lis (rado emended inio Itoono Counly. Ilndi nf the above mills were run fnr a number of years, unlil (hey oudived their usefulness and were abandoned. Ilrisl-inills were not among Iho early insliluiions of tho township. There were mills in tho nordi of Marion Counly, and in the adjoining township of Delaware, prior to the year 18.111, all easily nccessiblo from diis setdemcnt. The first flouringmill was that of tho Carey Urodinrs, orcct«d in ISIir), on dio land of J. 0,

Tbe first road was surveyed ISiill. It was known iis tbe Inilianapolis and Peru St: roads at tbat period, its name was ibe ebief end of its identity, for no efl'ort was maile by tbe aulborilies to improve it after it was surveyed ; and for years afterward all tbat distin^-uisbed tbe " Indianapolis and Tern State road " from tbo wilderness tbrou^b whicb it pawed, was tbe tliree notcbcs cut in tbe trees alon;; its course. It was a bad road at all times, and durinp; tbe wet seasons of tli"e year, was absolutely inipa.«sable in certain localities. Sbortly after the

There is nolhin;; terrible in llie words " losi tbis locality at this time ; but, half a century a-o with dan;;cr« wbieb could scarcely be escaped by woods were infested with bears and wolves, as wc when, one morning in tbe fill of 1827, the news incut that Mrs. Mar;;aret Gray bad wonderi'd in to find her way home, every one who hcanl it v

; in tbe woods," as applied to , such an accident was fraught an unprotected person, as the II ns venomous reptiles. So, went out throu^'h the settleto the woods and bad failed » heard it was struck with con.-ternation, aimed bis nllentiiui, joined in (he search, il already pa.-wed one nij;ht in the forest, cad through the settlement. On the preareb of a mi.^sin^ pi^', her nidy -ui.le i-pntb. It was late in the fall, and the s, which tbe win.l carried about in such the pro-n'9« of the search, bear tracks were discovered by one of tbe party, Tbis but added to the horror of the situation dn-adof cominj: suddenly upon her manded v: the second day, she was discovered by Tol. Da ware Township, and a thorough woodsm; ip prior to i«,i!), and, those early days, there was little time to devote to edueati .n. The first school was taught in the winter of 18ill-3.*>, in a cabin which stood on tho farm of Isaac Sharpc, opposite tbo present site of I'lea-sanl Grove Clmrcli.

In 18.-57 or 1838, a building wa.s erected on tbe farm of James Ilamcr, in which a Fchool was taught during the winter of that year. This was tbe first building erected espieiidly for school purposes. It was of the usual style of log architecture, and both schools were supported by subscription, as were all the schools of the township, fir a number of years later. The provisions of tbe school law of 18.")l-.'i2 were adopted as .so.m as practicable after the pa.«.s. age of that law, and the present excellent system of free schools was established. There are now seven school districts in the township, each supplied

/i).wo;>o/. - Huriog the early days of tbe seltlcment, the Mclbcdists held regular meetings nt private bouses, but without orgaiiizaliou. The earliest preaching w.as at tbe houses of Darius Tower, Samuel I'. Sceley anil Isaac Sharpc, and the ministers were Uev. IKzekiah Smith, Itev. Welsh and Uev. Asa Beck. . At this time the congregation comprised all the religious people of tbe settlement, irrespective of denominational preferences. About tbe year 1833, a class was organized at the house of Isaac Sharpc, and, within a year after organization, a hewed-log eluircb was erected on land donated by Mr. Sharpe for that purpose. It was known by the title of " Sharpe's Mecting-IIouse," and was occujiied until 18">( or 18.">.*t. Jn that year, tbe cnngrcgiition had so increased tbat the log building was scarcely large enough to accommodate them comfortably, and the present frame edifice, '* Pleasant llrovo Church," was erected in its place. Kev. IMichael Johnson was Pastor, and

/-o/i/.tr CmiT Cliiiuh. - Abmtl. the year I8:ill, a cl.iss was organized in the southwestern part of the township, and met at thi^ houses of Nathan Wilson and other members, for a year or more. A lot was diuiated to the .society by Klijab Paltcrson, and upon this a hewed log church was soon afterward built. Karly in the year ISSG, Nathan Wilscm donated a lot half a mile cast of the h>g church, upon which the present house of worship was erected in tbe sumiuer of the same year. The church is now under tbe pastoral enro of Uev. U. B. Powell.

Mm,il HnpIlM Clnnrh. - TUc Haplisls formed an organization at an early day, but had no eslablisbcd house of worship. The homes of members of the congregation and the district Bcboolbouse were the places in which tho services of their church were conducted until 18(!7. In that year, John Williams donated to the society a lot off the southwest corner of bis fiirm, upon which Ibcy er<;ctcd a frniiie house of worship in the same year. Meetings were coniiuiiod regularly unlil the summer of 1877, since which timo tho society has been without a regular pastor. Tho building is no* occupied at intervals by the Methodists and Fricmls.

history, but the more ndvanced anil exhaustive works on that suhjcct. Ilis hoyhood «a.s passed in a manner similar to that of all boys of his station in life, liiit even bofoiT he li:id pissod from his Imyhood, he

Ilis course of reading; had made him keenly appreciiitive of tlic value of liheily, and he .«an- that our only hope of perpetuating this grand republic was III preserving lli(J union of States intiiot. lie had watched with deep interest the storm-cloud which had been for sonic time gathering over our country, and which linnlly, in ]H(11, burst upon us with such terrible rcsiilln. On the lOlli of August of thai

Kegiment Indiana Volunteer Infanlry. In a short time, his regiment was ordered South, and ho enlered upon the duties and hardships of ft soldier's life, hearing all the privations incident to such a life with cheerfulness, performing every duty promptly and fearlessly, always with his com|iany, ready and anxious to bear his share in any danger, to do his part in nny duly which might devolve upon them.

and he fell and died nlone and unknown, in what the poets have called the " Sunny South," hut which might ho more fittingly termed tlie " Uloody South." Ilis body was not recovered, and lie (ills an unknown grave ; but he is not forgotten. lie is reniembcreil, and his image is cherished by all who ever knew him in life. He could not be more honored by his relatives and friends if his grave had been made near his old home, than he is in his unmarked restingplace. His n.emory could not be more afl'cctionately clicrishcd were ilis grave in plain sight of his friends, than it is now. Tliey know there is some spot on eartii sacred to him, given liim by tlic hands of blue-coated jiatriols like himself, and hallowed by ttio honors tiicy paid him in placing him there. They know that lie was laid in liis present resting-place by loving liands, the hands of brothei-s - ft brotherhood born of a great piiiiiiple; and lliero tlioy are content to leave him till tho great day which shall call him to his reward. And, while his abode there on that bloody field is unknown, he still abides in the hearts of tlioso who knew him and loved him in life.

Would .llmt the memory of every bravo patriot who to-day fills a nameless grave could be as fittingly and alTcetionately preserved m is the memory of John Ilussey, Company F, Tenth Uegimont Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

Julin Husscy, the paternal ^-randrath^r of our sul.jccl Nortli Carolina, and at liis death, which oecurred while he wan yet a youii'; ninn, left two children, named Jonathan and Joseph. Joseph was horn in Guilford County, near Greensboro, N. C, in 1815.

lie remained at home with hi,s mother until ho was seventeen years of aire, when in \S.V2, lie and his hrolher left liome and came North, to the wild, uncullivatcd new .State of Indiana, in quest of a future home for themselves.

s married to Jliss .^arah Fraizer, dnu.^hter of John 3 e.nrly settlers of Fayette County. Ho continued inly until Ifij.'!, when lie sold out his farm of 10(1 milion County, Ind., and settled on a farm of lidO acres h« has ever since resided, and at this time he and enjoyment of n well-earned competence, accuniulalcd

Ulizaheth, Harriet, Thomas, liaehcl, Franklin and in^ at this time except John, Mary and Franklin, llie age of twenty one years, enlisted in Company F He was among the first to respond to the call for ebcllion, and lis early .is 1861, ho was among the He participated in .ill the battles in whicli liis command was engaged, until the historically disastrous battle of Chickamauga, when he, with thousands of other brave and heroic martyrs, fell a victim to the slaveJmldcr'a rebellion. The remaining members of this family arc all married except Milton, who is at home with the old people ; .ind they arc all living in Jlamilton (bounty except Harriet, who resides in Illinois.

William, the second in this family of children, was born at the former home of his parents in Faydlc County, Ind., on the :iOth day of April, 1812. The years of hisboyhooil and youth were passeil in awpiiring ncoraiiion-sehool education, and at labor on the farm at homo until ho reached his majority, after which lie ottended the Poplar Itidgc .Seminary for ono term, which elo.sed his S'-hool life. He continued to abide with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, when, on the 21th day of November, lSfi4, he was united in marrioge to Mi.ss Hannah A. Je.ssup,daug]iter oC John C. and Maria Jcfsup, old resi.lenl.i of Hamilton County.

Mr. HasM-y isiimao of solid w. nppreeiated by his fellow-townsmen and the county at large as a genlh-nmn of sound judgment and sujierior obility, as they have frequently manifesled by placing him at various times in po.sitions t.f trust and responsibility, such as Magistrnt" and Trustee of his township, and he is at this time serving as ono of the Commissioners of Hamilton County. He and his wile arc honored members of the Christian Church. Their children, six in number, are all living at homo with tho parents. Their names are Nancy K., John S., Fanny M., Melinda, Oliver ond Jesse. The portrait of Squire Hussey may bo found elsewhere in these pages, in the group of County Officials.

The subject of our sketch, whose name wo give above, was a son of Abrahiiin and Hannah Jes.sup. He was the ninth in a family of ten children. Ilia parents were both natives of North Carolina. His father was born April 23, 17811, in Guilford County of that State, while his mother (.Miss Hannah Wright, before marriage), was born in the Counly of Stokes April 1, ITS'i. They were married in tho year ISM, iu Wayne County, lud., to which locality they had both removed.

Alfred T. was born in that eonnty Nov. Illl, 1822. p;ieven years liiler (18;i:i),he removed wilh his father's lainily to this ( llaniillon) eounly, where he has since re.^ided. At so early a date, in this then wilderness porlion of Indiana, young .lessup iieecssiirily had very meager opporluiiilies for moral, menial or business training. Tho forests then were almost niitonelied by tho woodman's ax, eliureh edifices were quite unknown, while cheiip log sehoolhouses receive the advantages even of these rude inslitulions, our young subject was obliged daily to walk each way, to and from, a distance of three miles. Yet, by means thus unfiivorablo,he.iequiied a ba.se upon which he has since built - through the forces of observation and experience ^aeomniendabie superstructure. On Aj.ril 20, ISlli, having arrived .it young manhood, he wedded iMi.ss Henriella Tod.l, dau-hter of Capl. Todd, from the Slate of Maryland. Sadly losing by death this lirst companion of his bosom April 1:1, ISiili, h.> afivrwurd wooed Mrs. JIartba Comer, a most estimable widow lady of Wabash, Ind., and to her he was wedded October 3, ISllG. She was the daughter of .Michael and Mary Harvey, who had been very early settlers in Wayne County. Ind. Iteared to farming, for several years succeeding his first marriage, or up to about forty years of age, he continued, as his chief jmrsuit, the vocation of his youth. In the meanliiue, from l.S.-):i to lS.-)7, he filled ibe oflico of Postmaster at C'arniel, while for eight years, from IS.'iU to ISllT, he filled that more responsible position. Trustee for the township of Clay. Mr. Jessiip, never physically strong, was unfavorable to his continuance in the pursuit of agriculture. This, too, of course, hits jiroven a detriment .since changing to tho mercaiiiile business. Yet, inaking this ehaugo nearly twenty years since, and eomuieueiiig the new vocation with a limited capital, be has, by crlrciiir. niilim- III/, and JiKliciniis miinmjrmrni. enlarged his business anil been micccxs/'ii/. Let us add, also, that this success has been iiehievcd under the double disadvant.ige, in fact, of a delicate constitution, and the enliro hiss of fingers from his right hand. He may well be quoted iis a striking examjile in support of the adage that ".i man will not wear out os soon as he will rust out." As n means, too, of br.ieing up health, Mr. .Icssup, at times, has felt constrained to try the pleasures of travel. Four years since, he thus paid a vi.sil to friends and kiudied scattered through Northern Indiana, and Ibenec westward into Iowa and Mi.s.souri. Still later, he has journeyed far enough to the South to take iu the Stale of tieorgia, wherein he has a daughter living, lielongs to the Ancient Order of Odd Fellows, and helps to sustain, in his comiuuuity, the two ehurehes denominated Jlethodist.s and Friends. Mberal to a fault, ever an iodiislrious, icnipeiatc, upright man, wiihin the large circle of his ncquaiiilanee ho is held iu high esteem, and well dc.-ervcs o record in the history of Hamilton Counly.

.KilIN HAItniON. Among the pioneers of Clay Township, the subject of this loenioir was a prominent ebaraeter. He was boro in Inland January 1!), ISII2, and emigrated lo the Ilnileil Stales with bis jiarcnls, at the age of thirteen years, arriving in llalliinoie in August, IHlo. Shortly after bis arrival, ho becaiuo a earpcnier's apprentice, wilh a view of learning Ihit trade ; but within a few mouths his parents removed to Coshocton, Ohio, and he withdrew from bis apprenticeship to follow them. Here, in bis youth, be acquired the ex|iericnees in pioneer life which qualified him for the part which he subseqiienlly took in the settlement of Clay Township. He grow to manhood on tho Ohio farm, and rendered his father valuable service in its improvement. In 1821!, ho was united in marriage with Mi.ss l.ucinda Beiily, and during his reaideneo in Ohio, three children - William, Marillaand George - enmo to bless this union. About this time his father died, and the family decided upon a removal to tho West. A one-horse wagon contained all their effects, and with this conveyance they s'arted for Indiana. Hamilton County was their dcslinalion, and in October, 183(1, (bey anived in Clay Township and settled in n ibiek wilderness. Here the slruggles of his youth were renewed, and fornionlhs hia lime was fully employed in clearing aufficient ground to rniso the neccaaary aupport been en-a'jed, were not ns prnfilable as ho hoped lo find tl.e.n, ami after purchasiM;; the seennd far... he resu...ed his fnr...cr oecupatinn; but in the fall of l8.-,i;, he a-ain e...h:irked iu ...ereantile pursuits, this time at Zionsvillo, Hnonc Tn., Ind., where he dealt extcMsivcly in wheat, etc., with varied success. Three years later he located i.t Lebanon, in the same cou..ty, where his wife died in I8(i2. A iiftlo ...ou.id in the cemetery at ZIonbville marks the last ri'stin;;- place of this noble Christian woman, one of the pioneer wo.nen of Clay 'i'ownsl.ip, and one whoso life was an eia.nple of purity.

After the demise of his wife, Mr. Harden tetur.icd to his former hot.ie in Ohio, where, two yciirs later, he WHS n secfM.d time married. There he purch.-Lsed n (iir.n, upon which he passed the rciaJMiler of his life. In February, 187!., his netive life closed iu death, at the a^'o of seventy -seven yairs, and he reposes in the dreamless sleep in the ccnetery at Zionsvillo, Ind., beside the wife of l.i.< yn.it h. In life, bnth himself and wife were devout Christians, and nften traveled as far as ten miles lo attend the services nf the sanctuary .luring .he early days nf thoir residence in Clay Township, and both died in fellowship wi.h the Christian Church.

Mr. Harden was one who had few enemies, and nil who knew him recognized the manly principles that marked his career through life, and ho died l.o..ored and respected.

The fruits of his first marriage were twelve children, nomely, William, Marilla, (ieorgc, Sao.ucl, Heaty W., Martha, Mary, Jobu W., AdisoM IV, jMilton. Culvert ond llorriet, of whom Harriet, William, M.lton, Martha and John

MeShane, then a young boy. came llan.illon Cou.ily on the farm where he now lives, and where hi iMtinuously all his life, or rather, for fiftyOve years out of tl.i L! b.is lived. Mr. .MeShane's parents both died .it the old homo

MeShane's boyhood w.is pas.sed similarly lo that of other boys of his ie attended the wi.i.er sossio.is of school when .here was a.iy, and .nade the ..lost of .he very meager advantages for obtai.iing an education.

and successful man. His inclinations in early life led bin. to adopt the vocation of farniing, and, as an evidence that he was not mi.stnken in his choice, wc call the attention of the reader to the fact slated above, that he has lived continuniisly tin fi/ii/firr i/ems upon the farm which his father entered, and upon which he was taught lo love the business he finally adopted os his life vocation. On the 24th of .November, 18-I0, he was united in marriage to Mis,s Martha .1. Silvcys, of Clay Township, llaiuibon Co. She was born in Marion County, Ind., and was left an orphan when i|uile a young child.

Mr. MeShane is a man of .|uiet and retiring disposition, not seeking lo push himself into the notice of his neighbors, yet he is known and respeeli'd all over the county for bis sterling integrity and industrious application lo his affairs He has served as Con.raissioner of Hamilton County, and filled that position with fidelity and to the salisfoetion of his constituents.

Mr. and Mrs. MeShane are members in high s.anding of the Methodist Kpiscopal Church, and are regarded as worthy and exemplary Christians by all who know th-^.n.

Mr. MeShane belongs lo a class of people who arc rapidly passing ..way. to whom the rising generation owes much for the many comforts they enjoy. Arriving here, as he did, when the nnw fertile country was nearly a wilderness, enduring all the priva.io.is which fill to the lot of the brave pioneers of every country, he has been ever active to aid in the advancement of various enterprises, such as churches, schools, roads, etc., calculated to make lifo nioro OTJoyablc to the present generation than it was in his day. Let us hope ho may l.ve many years yet to see the continued progro.ss of the country ho has done BO much to make what it is to-day.

Source changes here: from History of Hamilton County Indiana, by John F. Haines, published 1915; 2,702 words in this source stream.

Topography

Clay township was established by the county board of commissioners at the November session of 1833. It is situated in the southwest corner of the county with the following boundaries : Washington township on the north, Delaware township on the east, Marion county on the south and Boone county on the west. It is six miles from east and west and five miles from north and south, containing thirty square miles. It is the smallest township in this county in size, though not the least in importance. The surface is almost uniformly flat and the soil is composed of clay and loam. The township is a rich agricultural district, as evidenced by its beautiful and highly productive farms.

At the same session in which the township was organized, it was ordered that an election be held in December, 1833, at the home of Robert Marrow to elect two justices of the peace. Robert Marrow was appointed inspector of the proposed election.

Early Settlement

Some nine years previous to the formal organization above noted, the first white settler came to Clay township which then was a virgin wilderness, inhabited only by the four-footed denizens of the forest and one Indian named Ketchem and his family. This Indian is supposed to have begun clearing his land not later than 1824. About this time Francis McShane, a farmer from Harrison county, Kentucky, started on horse-back with a friend for the west, with the intention of moving thither if a suitable location was found. Mr. McShane's friend stopped at Brookville and we hear no more of him, but Mc¬ Shane continued on his way undaunted and, visiting the site of his future home, entered two tracts of land in Clay township. After his transaction he returned to his home in Kentucky where he remained a year. In December, 1825, he left Kentucky with his family, intending to settle on his newly ac¬ quired land. Leaving his family, consisting of a wife and two sons, in Marion county he proceeded on his journey. Arriving on his new land, he cut logs which he hewed into timbers for the new home. This log cabin soon was completed and he and his wife and two sons presently were comfortably estab¬ lished under the new roof tree. In June, 1826, another member, a daughter, was added to the family. This child, Sarah L. McShane, was the first white child born in Clay township. The task of clearing the timber from the land and preparing it for cultivation fell almost entirely on the father, as the sons were mere lads at this time. Though the heaviest years of toil thus fell on Mr. McShane, he lived for seventeen years after coming to this county to enjoy the fruits of his labor which were apparent to some degree, at least, before his death. At his death the remains were not laid to rest in his home town¬ ship, but were interred in the Farley cemetery in Delaware township.

A Disgusted Aboriginal

For about a year the only settler beside the McShane family was the Indian, Ketchem. It is not known how long this aboriginal had lived in this section prior to the coming of the white man. He learned many things from his white neighbors, including the willingness to live somewhat as the white man did, as well as to clear and till his land. An early history narrates the following story of this Indian : "The old man, however, did not know how to take bees from their tree-top homes, for, on one occasion he tried it when the insect warriors commenced battle upon him, and he had to save himself by jumping, which broke a leg.,, A few years of white man's civilization appar¬ ently filled old Ketchem with disgust, for it is known that he finally sought the more congenial society of his own people. His rude cabin has been gone for years and no trace of the old Indian chief remains, though the land records tell of the land on which he lived having been entered for him by Benjamin Mendenhall, which land he afterwards sold.

Early Communal Life

Franklin Hall and family came to the settlement late in the year of 1825. In 1826 Hall entered a tract of land partially in Marion and Hamilton counties. Robert Barnhill and Benjamin McDuffy were the next comers, in 1827. Dennis Power and Daniel Warren came in 1829 and in the following year about a dozen more settlers followed. There were now a sufficient number of families in the settlement to take part at log-rollings and house-raisings, in which all the men in the neighborhood assisted each successive newcomer.

As in all new settlements, every settler had to build his home, clear the land, hunt or fish for his meat, and make clothing and shoes for his family beside assisting his neighbors in any or all of these tasks when necessary. The pioneer men and women had to be "jacks-of-all-trades" and masters of many. When one man became more proficient along one line of endeavor, besides his own regular work, he assisted the whole settlement in this specialty. It is recorded that Barnhill was quite accomplished ; he made tubs and buckets and shoes, beside repairing gunlocks for the neighborhood. Henry Davis made chairs and looms and was also a wheelwright. Much of this specializing in work had to be done at night, as all these mechanics were farmers while day¬ light lasted. The women furnished the clothing for the family by carding and spinning the wool and then weaving it into cloth and finally making it into garments for the family. Thus were the days and years of these hardy men and women occupied in patient earnest work for themselves and their neigh¬ bors. We see the fruit of their labors in the hardy generation of men and women who sprang from such noble parentage and in the bountiful farms and fine homes of Clay township.

Early Statistics

The first death in the township occurred in 1830, the one thus stricken being a child of James Gray. Interment was made in Whitinger cemetery, Marion county, as there were no cemeteries in Clay township for several years following the settlement. In the year 1838 the first cemetery was laid out on the farm of Isaac Sharpe near the present site of Pleasant Grove church. A daughter of James Hamer was the first whose body was given interment in the new cemetery. As already mentioned, a daughter of Francis McShane was the first white person born in the township. The second birth on record was that of a child of Daniel Warren and wife in 1830. In 1831 a son was bom to John Harden and wife.

John Harden and John Smith built the first saw mills in the vicinity at different points on Williams Creek about 1836. These early mills were rather clumsy, viewed in the light of today's amazing industrial achievements, but they served "their day and generation" well by furnishing rough timber for the homes of the people in the country thereabout. Both of these mills were operated by power furnished by the waters of Williams creek. In after years they outlived their usefulness and were abandoned. There were no grist mills in the township in the early years of its settlement, as mills of this class were situated both in Marion county and Delaware township at a rea- sonable distance from the settlers of Clay township. The first/ flouring mill was erected in 1865 by the Carey brothers on the land owned by J. G. Mc- Shane.

Jacob Cook built the first frame house about 1833. The lumber for this house was sawed in Delaware township by Benjamin Mendenhall. Some¬ time in the next year Zimri Cook erected a frame house on his farm. James Gray has the distinction of operating the first brick kiln in the township. He manufactured the brick for his residence, the first brick house in the town¬ ship. Mr. Gray did not make the brick kiln a permanent affair, however, as it was torn down as soon as the new house was completed.

The First Highway

In 1829 the road known as the Indianapolis and Peru state road was sur¬ veyed through the township. It is recorded of it that like many roads at that period, its name was the chief end of its identity for no effort was made by the authorities to improve it after it was surveyed; and for many years all that distinguished the Indianapolis and Peru state road from the wilderness through which it passed were the triple "blazed" notches in the trees along its course. It was a bad road at all times and during the wet seasons of the year was absolutely impassable in certain localities. Shortly after the organization of the township, roads were surveyed in all sections. First the settlers cut a strip of road wide enough to allow travel on horse back. Later this was widened to accommodate wagon travel. Gradually, all the highways of any consequence were graveled till now there are many miles of fine pike roads running in all directions over the township.

The Pioneer Schools

In the years prior to 1835 there were few children of school age in the township, hence there was no necessity for a school. Old and young alike were engaged in making homes and providing the necessities of life. Soon after 1832 Isaac Sharpe and others settled near the McShane farm and these neighbors banded together and organized a school which was conducted in a log cabin on Sharpe's land opposite the present site of Pleasant Grove church. This first school was conducted by Hannah Griffith in the winter of 1834 and 1835. Stephen Conner was the second teacher.

About 1835 or ^36 a settlement of sufficient size to support a subscrip¬ tion school organized and built a log school near the present site of the Clay

Center school house. This was the first log school erected as such in the town¬ ship, and did not receive the support of Barnhill, McDuffy, Davis or Seely. The latter attached himself to the Sharpe school while the three former sent their children to school in Marion county.

Subscription schools were the vogue until 1852 when the public schools were inaugurated. There have been as many as eight district schools in the township at one time, but gradually the number of pupils in each district de¬ creased, till one by one the old district schools were abandoned. At the present time there is but one consolidated graded school in the township. It is a fine modern school building situated at Clay Center and five teachers are there em¬ ployed in giving instruction to the youth of the township. This is the second year of the school and Henry Hollenback has been the principal both years. The school has proved a decided success and more than one hundred pupils are enrolled. Clay and Delaware jointly have a township graded and high school at Carmel.

The First Gas Well

Sometime early in the century, long before natural gas was utilized for domestic and manufacturing purposes, the first natural gas well in Hamilton county was dug in Clay township. As has been the case with so many other discoveries before and since, the people had natural gas and did not know what it was. Ezekiel Clampitt who had moved to Hamilton county in 1832 and settled east of the present site of the Poplar Ridge Friends church, was digging a well on his land some time after his removal to the farm, when a very curious incident occurred. When the well was about completed Mr. Clampitt heard a peculiar buzzing noise at the bottom that filled him with wonder. He proceeded to investigate the cause, thinking perhaps, it was some heretofore unknown form of "damps. " He lighted a candle and lowered it into the depths of the well. Of course if he had known what produced that peculiar sound a lighted candle would have been the last thing with which he would have experimented. Down went the candle ! Mrs. Clampitt, naturally enough interested in the peculiar developments in the new well was an eager on-looker with her baby in her arms. A neighbor man, also interested in developments, dressed in tow clothing which was worn till "nappy" was sitting on the edge of the well with his feet and legs hanging down in it. The setting of this picture would do credit to one of our modern "movie" melodramas. But the picture did not stay "set" very long. When the candle reached the escaping gas the interior of the well instantly was converted into a mass of flame which shot upward into the heavens. Mrs. Clampitt was thrown to the ground. Mr. Clampitt's hat was blown violently from his head, while the man with the "nappy" tow suit was enveloped in flames from head to foot. We are not definitely informed but it is to be presumed that the man was not fatally burned. Fortunately also neither of the other two members of the party was hurt. Mr. Clampitt left the well burning for some time and people came for miles to see the wonderful spouting pillar of fire. After a time the owner became afraid of this flaming menace and had the well filled up. He then dug another well, a water well this time, somewhere else.

The first gas well drilled for, and definitely known to be such, was struck eight feet in Trenton rock at a point east of the Follett flouring mill on Febru¬ ary 16, 1888. From that time on and continuing through the gas years, the wonderful fuel was struck in many places in the township. The true worth of this great resource of Hamilton county unhappily was not fully realized and appreciated till the best of the gas supply was exhausted by carelessness and waste.

The first cook stove was as great a wonder as the first gas well. Caleb Harvey brought an old style step-stove from Ohio and sold it to Daniel War¬ ren, Sr., for twenty-five dollars. It is recorded that settlers came from all directions to see cooking done on a stove.

In the Isaac Sharpe settlement the first regular church services were held in the log house mentioned above which had been erected for school purposes. These services were conducted under Methodist auspices, preliminary services having been held in the homes of Dennis Power and Samuel Seely as well as at Isaac Sharpe's. Among the early preachers mention is made of Rev. Hezekiah Smith, Rev. Asa Beck and Rev. Welsh. The cabin built on Sharpe's land was known as ''Sharpe's meeting house" and was used until 1854 or 1855. The church membership had so increased by that time that the old log church was not large enough longer to accommodate the congregation and the Pleasant Grove church was built. Rev. Michael Johnson was the pastor at the time the new church was erected.

In 1836 in the southwestern part of the township a class was organized and met at the houses of Nathan Wilson and other earnest members for about a year. Then a lot was donated by Elijah Patterson upon which a log church was erected. This pioneer edifice served its purpose until 1856. Nathan Wilson then donated a lot one-half mile bast of the log building upon which the present Poplar Grove church was erected. The Baptists had an organiza- tion at an early date, but had no regular house of worship for many years. Finally John Williams donated a lot upon which they erected a church in which services were held regularly until 1877. From that time on, however, they have been without a regular pastor. This church was called Mount Zion Baptist church.

In 1830 the Friends met at the home of Harmon Cox northeast of Carmel to organize and consult about a place in which to hold their services. They decided on the log cabin used for subscription schools and here for a period of three years they met regularly for worship. This was the first meeting of Friends in Hamilton county and is more fully described elsewhere in this volume.