Fairmount Township (part 5 of 10)

The United Brethren, in 1844, organized a class at Carter Hasting's home, one mile south of Fairmount. The charter members were Solomon Thomas and wife, John Thomas and wife. Isaac Anderson and wife. Carter Hasting and wife, William Hall and wife, John Buller and wif-e, and John Smith and wife. William Hall was the first class leader. Services were held later on at the home of William Hall, in Fairmount. He was called to the ministry, and for a number of years preached at different points in this section of Indiana.

William Hall

First Postmaster of Fairmount. was in his younger manhood a carpenter and tanner. For a number of years lie lived at the southwest corner of Third and Main Streets, occupying the dwelling house now used by his daughter, Mrs. John Burgess Hollingsworth, and family. William Hall was a native of Greene County, Pennsylvania, where he was born. February 28, 1814. He died at his home in Fairmount on October 4, 1900. His father's name was Josiah Hall, born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, where he died, in 1825; the mother, born in the same county and same State, died in 1828. William Hall was a Republican in politics. He served as a member of the Indiana State Legislature in 1861-62. For fifty years he was a minister of the United Brethren Church, and had much to do with the organization of this church at various points in this section of Indiana. He was known widely as a circuit rider, doing a vast amount of missionary work among the pioneers. His wife was Hannah Jones Stanfield, born in Tennessee, December 28, 1821. She died August 3, 1873. Her parents were David and Elizabeth Stanfield. William and Hannah Hall were the parents of seven children, namely, George \\'., Malissa. Mary, Jane, Levi, Sarah Ann and David. Mary Hall Hollingsworth lives in Fairmount; Levi is a well known business man of Marion, and David resides in Wichita, Kansas. The others are deceased. William Hall was a man of considerably more than ordinary ability. He lived a long and useful life, and as minister and legislator earned by good works and disinterested service the respect and gratitude of his neighbors. William Hall was a potential factor in many of the most important movements which resulted in the moral, educational and business welfare of the comniunitv.

The W'eslcyan Alethodist Church was orq^anized about 1848 at the lioine of Harvev l^avis. wlu) at that time lived about two miles and a lialf southwest of i'airnujunt. The charter members were Lindsay Buller and wife, Elijali Harrold and wife, and Henry Wilson and wife. The class was oro'anized by Rev. Alfred Tharp. Meetino;-s were continued at the liome of Harvey Davis mitil 1850, when \\'illiam Cox. David Smithson, James I''arrin<;ton and Harvey Davis built a school house on the Davis farm, where services were held for ten \cars or

The first Baptist Church was organized at the home of William Leach, which was a commodious two-story log structure, located about five miles southeast of Fairmount. This was the beginning- of the church that is now known as Harmony Church, which holds services in a brick building standing on the pike northwest of Matthews. The first members, when the church was originally formed at the Leach home, were William Leach and wife, Benjamin Furnish and wife, William McCormick and wife and James Gillespie and wife. Benjamin Furnish was an associate judge of the circuit court, 1845 to 1852.

Fairmount Friends meeting for worship was set up in 1851. Preparative meeting was established in 1852. and a monthly meeting in 1869, with a membership of 547. The first brick church was built in i860. It had a seating capacity of 8(DO. Fairmount Monthly Meeting was composed of Little Ridge, Fast Branch, Upland and Fairmount Preparative meetings.

The little frame church that the Friends first put up in Fairmount, where they held their first school, stood, according to Dr. A. Henlev, about where the late Henry Davis lived, now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Mittank, on the south side of First Street.

'""Robert W. Trader, prominent in the early days in the Wesleyan Back Creek neighborhood, was born in Clinton County, Ohio, June 30, 1828. His grandfather was Arthur Trader, of Virginia. His father was William Trader, born in Virginia in 1801, and died in October, 1867. Robert Trader was the son of William and Elender (Wiley) Trader, the father born in Virginia in 1801 and died in October, 1867, and the mother born in Clinton County, Ohio, in 1801 and died in 1855. Robert Trader came to Grant County in 1842, and with the exception of sixteen years spent in Alexandria, Indiana, he has lived in Fairmount Township all his adult life, engaging continuously in farming with the exception of one year he sold merchandise in Fairmount. He cast his first vote for the Free Soil candidates, and when the Republican party was organized in 1856 he supported Gen. John C. Fremont, remaining loyal to this organization until 1884, when he affiliated with the Prohibition party. He was converted in 1848 and became one of the organizers of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Fairmount Township, being a charter member. The denomination held its first meeting, led by Rev. Tharp, in Harvey Davis's home, southwest of Fairmount. The organizers were Harvey Davis and wife, James Lytle and wife, Lindsay Duller and wife, John Duller and wife and Robert Trader and wife. Jane (Davis) Trader, the wife, was born in Madison County, Indiana, in 1829, and died May 9, 1862. They were married in February, 1849. Four children were born of this marriage, namely: Harvey, Mariah, Mary and Eunice. The second wife was Phebe Ann Wright, daughter of Jesse Wright, and of this union three children were born, namely, Etta, Oscar and Luther. There were no children by the third marriage to Nettie Sater. of Alexandria. Indiana.

This picture of the Berean Class of the Friends Church, Fairmount, was taken in October, 1913. One hundred and thirty-two members and one visitor were present on that day, and all filed out in front of the church at the close of the lesson and were back in their places at the close of the school, after the picture had been taken. Followmg are the names of those runs back seventy years or more. This fact makes his contributions of more than average importance. The writer may add, at this point, in connection with the location of the frame meeting house, there is excellent authority for the statement that this structure stood close to the spot where the late Henry Davis had his office, on the lot now owned by his daughter. Mrs. Lewis Mittank.) Following is a paper read at the Friends Church, Fairmount, m the autumn, 1916, by Elizabeth Peacock:

Whenever my thoughts turn back to the early days of Friends in Grant County, and especially in and near Fairmount. and remember how earnestly they toiled to clear the forests, ditch the swampy ground, build school houses and churches, and improve the almost impassable roads, I am always reminded of one text in the Bible, which is this : "Other men labored and ye are entered into their labors.'' John iv:28.

I often wonder if the young people, and even the middle-aged, ever stop to consider what it really meant to do so very much under such trying circumstances.

And then I think, well, is it possible for them to realize what the early Friends and citizens endured to make the pleasant surroundings that we are enjoying today?

Fairmount local meeting' of the Friends church was established in the year 1851. and was composed of a few families, about fifty persons, adults and children, who were members of the Back Creek Monthly Meeting of Friends and had been attenders of the Back Creek local meeting.

The first church was a small frame building, and to my recollection, nearly square. It stood a little east of where Lewis Mittank's residence now stands. It was used for a place of worship and also for a school house. On meeting days school kept on until near 1 1 o'clock, the hour of meeting, when books and slates were put away until after the service was over, the scholars remaining for the service.

After some few years, a larger house, of brick, was built, a? the frame house was found to be entirely too small to comfortably accommo- «1ate the growing congregation and Sabbath school. It was quite an undertaking, as there was but very little money to be found among the members. But Friends helped willingly with their teams and in every way they could.

The brick and lime were hauled from Jonesboro, and that was quitq a task, as there were no gravel, tarvia or crushed-stone roads at that time.

My father, Samuel Radley, and Phinoas Henley laid nearly all,, if not all, the brick, and my father did the plastering. The house was torn down to make room for the house occupied today. We did not

We did not often have night meetings in the first church, only when ministers came from a distance. But some wonderfully good sermons were preached in the dimly lighted church, for the ministers who came were filled with the Spirit and preached with power.

David Stanfield, to my recollection, was the only minister of the Gospel who became a member of this meeting when it was first set up, and I think the first person I ever heard preach a sermon. He lived on a large farm where the south part of Fairmount now stands.

David Stanfield's land reached to Washington Street on the north, and west to the William A. Beasley land, east to Main Street. His house stood not far from where Dr. Glenn Henley's residence now stands.

The meeting grew in numbers and interest. So much so that a monthly meeting for the transacting of the business of the church, composed of Fairmount, East Branch and Little Ridge local meetings, was established, in the Eleventh month, 1869. Nathan D. Wilson and myself were the first clerks.

No doubt, through the faithful efforts and preaching of some of the ministers and workers who went there nearly every Sabbath, there is now a monthly meeting at Upland. Its members were for some time members of Fairmount Monthly Meeting, and are still members of Fairmount Quarterly Meeting.

Later, largely through the influence and faithful labors of Nixon and Louisa Rush, ministers of the Gospel, a meeting was begun, and is still kept up, at Vermillion, in Madison County. Indiana. The members of that local meeting now belong to Fairmount Monthly Meeting.

In the early days of Fairmount meeting, ministers and Christian workers used to go on Sabbath afternoons and hold Gospel meetings in the school houses in the country, where much good was done.

You ask me if those early Friends made a mistake in asking for a meeting for worship at Fairmount? I answer, "No, indeed, they did not, but did just right."

No doubt a great deal of good has been done, and many souls saved. But perhaps much more might have been done if every one of the members had done their duty faithfully.

A Sabbath school was started some time after. It was established largely through the earnest efforts of Milton Winslow. To my recollection, he was the first superintendent.

Jesse Reece, also a minister, as I remember, was the first superintendent to begin the practice of keeping up the school all the year. The bad roads and the distance some lived from church made it impossible, as some thought, for it to be done. But he succeeded, and it is still being done.

I remember well when Isaac Meek, a minister of the Wesleyan Church, and a very good man, held a revival meeting in the brick church, and in the winter of 1864 a woman belonging to the United Brethren Church held another meeting. She went from here to Jonesboro, and died there. John Lewellen, a Methodist minister from Jonesboro, also held a meeting in the brick church.

Isaac Cook and Susannah Moorman. Calvin Rush and Elizabeth Winslow. Amos Thomas and Nancy Newby. Thomas Bogue and Emily Wilson. (The last tw^o was a double wedding.) John Seale and Amy Davidson. Jesse Rich and Mary Ann Radley. Elwood Haisley and Milicent Rush. Samuel Dillon and Elizabeth Powell. James Foust and Rachel Little. Jonathan Binford and Anna Wilson. Thomas Jay and Elizabeth Rush. Ephraim O. Harvey and Eliza Jane Dillon. George Shugart and Harriet Hollingsworth. William P. Seale and Elizabeth W. Henley. Charles V. Moore and Mary Baldwin. Elijah Elliott and Deborah Wilson. William S. Elliott and Alice C. Radley. Joseph H. Peacock and Elizabeth Radley.

The following persons have been recorded ministers of the Gospel by Fairmount Monthly Meeting : Milicent R. Haisley, Susannah Cook, William H. Charles, Enos Harvey, John W. Harvey, Thomas Elsa Jones, Perry B. Leach, Eli J. Scott, Oscar H. Trader, Hiram Harvey, Charles Everett Davis, Bernice Oakley Riddle, Ola Smithson Oatley, Evelyn Overman, Grace B. Hobbs and Garfield Cox.

(Editor's Note. - Mrs. Peacock was for many years clerk of the Northern Quarterly Meeting-, afterwards known as Fairmount Quarterly Meeting of Friends, and until about 191 3 was officially connected with the Friends church practically all her adult life.)

The ministers accredited to the Friends in Fairmount Township in 1877 were John Carey, Ruth T. Carey, Back Creek; William H. Charles, Thomas Jay and Nixon Rush, Jr., Fairmount ; and Milton Winslow, East Branch.

The Alethodist Episcopal Church, of Fairmount, was originally organized in 1 86 1. The first services were held in the old frame school house,* which, at that time, stood on the east side of Walnut Street, between First and Second.

The charter members were William H. Broderick, class leader ; Agnes Broderick, Joseph Broderick, Martha Broderick, David Baldwin, Elizabeth Baldwin, Martha A. Wilcuts, Hannah Wilcuts, M. M. Mason and Anna Mason.

In 1864 the membership had increased by the addition of the following names : John R. Kirkwood, Phebe Kirkwood, George N. Eckfeld, Sarah M. Eckfeld, (Mary H. Moreland, Mahala Ward, Martha A. Smith, Thomas J. Parker, Rebecca Parker, John Shields, Martha Shields, John S. Bradford, Louisia Williams, Rachel Fankboner, Sarah Moreland, Jane Knight, Delilah Hollingsworth, Wesley B. Hollingsworth and Isabel Hollingsworth.

A frame building was constructed for worship at the southeast corner of Second and Main Streets, in 1871, and used for services several years.

In 1886, a one-story brick church was built at the southeast corner of Madison and Walnut. In this church services were held until 1910, when the present magnificent structure was dedicated. The building committee having charge of its erection consisted of James F. Life, Charles T. Parker, J. W. Dale, Dr. J. W. Patterson, Palmer Winslow, Curtis W. Smith, J. W. Parrill, Dr. W. N. Warner, Asa Driggs, O. M. Bevington, Capt. Hugh Weston, with Rev. Benjamin Kendall, then pastor. This building cost ten thousand dollars and is modern in design and construction.

"This structure was later bought by William Hollingsworth and moved to the south side of East Washington Street, between Main and Walnut, and occupied by him for many years as a cabinet shop. The building was later purchased by N. W. Edwards and in July, 1908, was torn down.

In 1865. the Fairmoiint Wesleyaii Methodist Church was organized by Isaac Meek, who continued as pastor for eleven years. Among the first members were Jonathan Baldwin and wife, Nathan Vinson and wife, Joseph Rush and wife, Mrs. Margaret Henley and Joseph Bennett and wife. Jonathan Baldwin donated the ground on which the church was built.

The Baptist Church was organized A]5ril 25, 1888. The charter members were Cornelius Price, Hannah Price, William Price, F. C. Creek, Catherine Creek, William Mulford, Joseph Leach, Louisa Leach, James M. Fowler, Lucretia Fowler, Ida Fowler and Albert Fowler and ^wife. James E. Price was selected clerk and R. J. Gorbit, moderator. The present brick church, on the corner of First and Sycamore streets, was built in 1891. Emory Swindell, Joseph Leach and James M. Fowler comprised the building committee. The church was dedicated in November, 1891, by Rev. A. J. Hill.

St. Cecilia's Catholic Church was organized in 1878. The services were held at, private homes for several years. Father Kelley, Father Struder, Father Grogan and others being in charge at different times. In 1900, the present buildingon North Vine Street was dedicated, and Father Joachim Baker became the first priest. The prime movers in the erection of the new church were John Shaughnessy, L. L. Coyle and Jerome Coyle. The charter members were J. P. Shaughnessy and family, Patrick McCone and family, Martin Flanagan and family, William Monahan and family, James Monahan and family, L. L. Coyle and family, Jerome Coyle and family, Mrs. Isaac Delph and children, Andrew Ulrich and family. Mrs. James Fenton. John Pfarr and family, Joseph Kearns and family, J. H. Flanagan and family.

The Congregational Church was organized in 1888 by Rev. William Wiedenhoeft, who was the first pastor. The charter members were H. H. Wiley and wife, Wesley B. Hollingsworth and wnfe, Mrs. Phoebe LaRue, Mrs. S. l"". Ink and Mrs. Elizabeth Nelson. The church which now stands on the east side of Walnut Street, between Washington and First, was dedicated December 15, 1889. Levi Scott, Dr. A. Henley and William Lindsay were members of the building committee. Members of all denominations contributed liberally of their means to the fund for the building.

The Christian Church was organized in i()07. The members were Noah Henigar and wife, A. R. Long and wife, .Mrs. C. X. I'rown, Ab Jones and wife, John Strnbel and wife, Mrs. J. C. Albertson, \\'\\- liam Cox and wife. Rockafeller LaRue and wife. Rev. W. A. McKown was the first pastor. The church building at the corner of Second and

Walnut Streets was erected in 19 12. The building committee consisted of the pastop, Rev. J. Ra}- Fife, A. R. Long, Ab Jones, Jason B. Smith, N. C. Henigar, Ed Stout and John Strubel. The church was erected at a cost of five thousand, five hundred dollars.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1901 by Rev. Chambers. The charter members were Reuben Jones and wife, Mrs. Luzena Frazier, Minnie Wallace, Rosa Wallace, Lucien McMillan and Lydia E. McMillan, Homer Dicken, Willis Dicken and Virte Lee Jones. Bishop Grant dedicated the church on East Seventh Street in 1903. Rev. Jerry Nickels was the first pastor.

Chapter Xvii Early Schools And School Teachers

SUSANNAH BALDWIN, daughter of Charles Baldwin, who setled in the Township in 1830, taught school at the Back Creek Friends meeting" house in 1831. Others who taught here were Mahlon Neal, Thomas Winslow, Henry Harvey, Jesse Harvey and John Harvey.

The first school house was huilt on the Benjamin Benhow farm, later known as the Daniel Thomas farm, now owned by William A. Beaslcy. It was a log structure, erected in 1836. The next school building was erected on the Jacob McCoy farm in 1839.

In 1844 ^ frame school house was built on the Edmund Leach farm by popular donation. A store and a saw-mill were also started at about the same time, and the community took the name of Leachburg. Joe Broyles taught here. Among the scholars at different times were Elizabeth and Louisa Reeder, William M. Duling, John Duling, George W. Reeder, Henry Carpenter, Charles M. Leach, Clark Leach, Frank Brewer, James Terrell, John W. Furnish, Milt Brewer, Mary Brewer, William, John H. and Adrial Simons and Morton and Oliver McCorniick, the two last named being grandsons of Robert McCormick.

The earliest teachers in the Township upcMi the building of log school houses were David Stanfield, Thomas Baldwin, Jose])h W. Baldwin, Solomon Thomas, Thomas Gordon, Rachel Lee and jolm T. jMorris.

In his young manhood Thomas D. Duling, .Sr.. was Township Trustee. He was broad in his views and tolerant of the religious and political opinions of others. When he leased land for the erection of a school house, it was definitely stipulated in the agreement that the building should be open free to all denominations for service when not in use for school purposes. This school house stood three-quarters of a mile due north of Fowlerton.

Edmund and Eliza (Hubert) Duling came to the Township in the same year, 1845. '^^'^^^ ^^^*^' former's brother, Thomas D., Sr. Edmund Duling's family consisted of five children, namely : Maria, Asa. IVIary Jane, Solomon and Emily. IMary Jane died at an early age. Ednuuid Duling bought eighty acres of land of Nathan Dicks, who in the early day owned a lialf-section. this tract lying about one mile northwest of Fowlerton. Edmund Duling was a successful farmer and a minister in the j\Iethodist Protestant denomination. In his younger days he, like his brother Thomas, was a teacher. One of his schools was taught at the old Myers school house, then situated at a point about one-half mile northwest of Fowlerton. The old Duling school house, frequently called Liberty, a frame building twenty-four feet square, erected in 1856, was located on the farm now owned by J. O. Duling, three-quarters of a mile northwest of Fowlerton. The first teacher at this school was William H. H. Reeder, followed in consecutive order by George Bowers, Milt McHatton, Columbus F. Lay, John Heal, David H. Bowers, Mary Taylor, Lydia E. Brelsford, John M. Littler and John Daily. There was an enrollment of sixty at the first school taught there in 1856. Among the scholars were Thomas, Ellis, Lemon, Mary. Jane and William Jones, children of Jacob Jones ; Mary Ann and Simon Small, children of Josiah and Sarah Small ; Laura, Hiram and Elijah Simons, children of George W. and Mary Simons ; Wesley, Henry and George Roberts, children of Matilda Roberts ; Newton and Stephen Brewer, children of Stephen and Jane Brewer ; Sarah and William Searl, children of Elijah and Rachel Searl ; Nancy, Charles, John and Robert Nose, children of George Nose ; Washington and Minerva Reynolds, children of Thomas and Rebecca Reynolds ; Charles Wright, son of Charles and Nancy Wright; George W\, Hiram A., Burtney R. and Robert L., sons of Joseph and Catherine Jones ; John C, Thomas, Minerva, John M., Lewis and James Littler, children and step-children of James and Sarah Nottingham ; Joshua. Andrew and Deborah Bishop ; Eliza and Cenia Reeder, daughters of Franklin and Fannie Reeder; William and Adrial Simons, sons of Henry and Elizabeth Simons ; Joseph W. Parrill, step-son of Henry Simons ; Jasper, Charles M. and George Leach, sons of Edmund and Emily Leach ; Jane, Joseph and Eunice Barclay, children of Henry Barclay ; Maria, Asa and Solomon Duling, children of Edmund and Eliza Duling; William M., Mary, John V/., Barbara Ann, Elizabeth, Thomas D., Jr., and Joel O. Duling, children of Thomas D., Sr., and Nancy Duling. The winter term of school continued for sixty days, from December to February. W. H. H. Reeder, the teacher, walked two miles through woods and swamps, built his own fires, boarded himself, received one -dollar a day for his services, and on the last day of school gave each boy and girl a present. William H. H. Reeder was one of the strong, efficient teachers of the early day. He was a foremost man in promoting the best interests of the Township. He took great pride in his work when he set out to do a thing-, lie alwa^'s contended that it was his (lut\- to perfcn-ni any task set before him with all the care and intelligence of which he was capable. Several of the boys whose names are mentioned served in the Union Army during the Civil \\'ar. and some of them never returned from the front.

In 1875 the number of children of school age was 445. Amount of tuition fund drawn during this year was $1,353.68. The tuition fund increased in ten years $444.70.

In 1876 there were 447 children enrolled in the Fairmount Township schools, 264 male and 183 female. The average daily attendance was 283. In this year there were eight school districts and nine teachers, six male and three female. The salary of the teachers was $2.18 per day for male teachers, and $2.02 for female teachers. The iiumber of days taught during the year was seventy-five. There were two brick and six frame school houses, having an estimated value of $5,000, and $100 worth of apparatus.

In 1866 Jonathan P. Winslow, who was at that time Township Trustee, built the two-story frame school building* which stood on the square, donated by Jonathan Baldwin for the purpose, on East Washington Street previous to the time that the present brick structure was erected to replace it.

Winslow met with considerable opposition. Citizens at that time thought the Trustee was too ambitious, that his plans were too elaborate, and that the building he planned was too big and entirely too expensive. But with characteristic energy and persistence Winslow went forward with the work. He lived to see his judgment vindicated by later develojjments. as it was not many years before his critics discovered that he rightl\' interpreted and foresaw the needs of the time. His neighbors in later years gave him full and proper credit for his foresight. William Pusey and Mary Winslow Bogue were engaged as the first, teachers in the frame building. In 1891 the present commodious brick building was constructed.

"^Squire Caleb Moon afterwards houirht the old frame Iniildiiig. wliich had been turned into a dorniitorj', and moved it to his farm, west of Fairmount, in November, 1898, where it was worked over inti) a barn.

Mary Ann Taylor

the past. She was of Eiighsh birth, born in Stebbing, England, in August, in 1843, coming to the United States when a httle child, being the youngest of a family of five children, who with their father, William Taylor, set sail for the new world some time in the spring of 1849. The mother, for whom Mary Ann was named, had been laid away three years previous, in one of the beautiful cemeteries of England. William Taylor chose a sail boat for this journey of almost three months, as much safer, as he believed, than a steamboat, of which there were few at this time. The little Mary Ann, then five years old, remembers her disappointment at leaving on shore her small dog, named

Keeper, whom she had hoped to take with her. She remembers during a funeral on shipboard her father holding her uj) to see the shrouded figure lowered into the water, and of her fright at a great storm at night. There was great distress during the voyage from sea sickness, and her elder sister said to her when she refused to eat :

The child remembered the family coming to Lagro, Indiana, by canal, although the connecting link between the Atlantic and the canal is lost ; and also that Aaron, who was next to her in age, after crossing the ocean without serious mishap, fell overboard into the canal and was rescued with more or less difficulty. At Lagro friends met them with a wagon and brought them to Grant County. This was some time in June. William Taylor, with his motherless children, settled in Fairmount Township and lived on the little farm that he purchased until his death, in 1854. It was in these years that the people of Fairmount Township endeared themselves by many acts of kindness to this lonely family. The children left were never without home and friends.

tor in fonesboro. after a time Man- Ann found her way into the Joneshoro schools and took advantage of ever\- thing offered at that time in the way of eckication. Such teachers as Sarah Jay, Terah and Asa I'aldwin, Cornehus RatHff, wiili his wife. Susan Jay RatHff. and Cornehus Shugart. have left a pleasant memory. Just before the Civil W ar she attended the Indiana College, at Marion, for a time. After leaving college Miss ra\lor, who had intended to beet >nK' a teacher, went hack to Fairmount d'tnvnshi]) to begin her work. Her favorite pastime as a child had been make-believe school teaching, when she wtnild gather the children of the neighborhood around her during vacation time, keeping them hap])\- and out of mischief for hours. .*~^he speaks JOHN R. LITTLE of her first school in the summer served oife term of six years as Trus- than that. She may have nihertee of Fairmount Township. John R. ited somewhat the teaching in- Little is a son of Thomas and Susan- ... , , , - , ,

Back Creek she taught in Fairmount a summer and fall school. These were subscription schools. In the winter of 1863-1864 she taught the Duling district school, east of Fairmount. In IMarch, 1864, she was married to Joseph A. Morrow, of Jonesboro. In 1866 they moved to IMarion, ]\Ir. Morrow having been elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Grant County. They identified themselves with the IMethodist Episcopal Church, of Marion, having been members of that church in Jones- boro since early in life. Here Mrs. Morrow took up active church work, in the Sunday school as teacher and assisant superintendent in the Woman's Foreign Missionary work and wherever duty called her. At the present time she lives in Marion and is still interested in all work for the benefit of humanity, although of necessity not so active as in former years.

"Robert W. Himelick is a native of Madison County, Indiana, where he was born December 16, 1869. He was educated in the common schools, at Fairmount Academy, State Normal School, Indiana University, DePauw University and New York University. He received the degree of Master of Arts at Indiana University. He is a member of the Congregational Church. Mr. Himelick is principal of the Cleveland (Ohio) Normal School. He graduated from the State Normal School in 1898; Bachelor Arts, Indiana University, 1909; Master of Arts, Indiana University, 1910; superintendent of Fairmount schools; Jonesboro, Indiana; Monessen, Pennsylvania; supervising principal. Indianapolis schools; summer school instructor, Indiana University; superintendent training school. State Normal, River Falls. Wisconsin, and principal, Cleveland Normal School since 1914- Mr. Himelick was married, in 1895, to Miss Meda O. Tyler, at Fairrnount. They are the parents of two interesting children, namely: Francis and Jesse Himelick. Mr. Himelick has attained to his high position in educational achievement by thorough preparation and conscientious effort, ever mindful of the importance of keeping his profession at the highest standard of efficiency and practical usefulness.

"Otho Selby, one of the prominent and successful teachers of pioneer days, was a native of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, born in 1805. His paternal grandfather was Samuel Selby, a native of Maryland, who emigrated to Pennsylvania. It was in this State that Samuel Selby, Jr., father of Otho Selby, was born; his mother, whose maiden name was Agnes Bernhard, was also a native of Pennsylvania. Her death occurred in Grant County, in 1855. Otho Selby died at his home in Fairmount Township in 1880. He was educated in the common schools of Pennsylvania, came to Franklin County, Indiana, in 1832, and later to Fairmount Township, where he made his home, and where he at one time owned 200 acres of good land. Before he came to Fairmount Township he taught school in Franklin County thirteen years in one school house, a part of this time passing the summer seasons in Grant County on land which he had entered. In politics he was a Democrat, and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. His wife's maiden name was Jane C. Allen, born in Ohio, in 1821, who died in Fairmount Township in 1878. Her father's name was Joseph B. Allen.

Charles Baldwin taught in the log house at Back Creek about 1836; Beulah Knight Kauffman in new frame. There were no desks, only benches ; no backs, and a long plank for those who wrote. William Neal next.

Then I went to Fairmount, as the meeting house was now built, and Millie Wilcuts taught there. I will not soon forget it was in this school I made my first public effort in speaking. They were speaking poems, so I asked Jennie Rush if she knew "Twinkle, Little Star." She said, "Yes." So we went out on the floor. She commenced with "Tinkle, tinkle, 'ittle 'tar," so fast I burst out laughing after saying "Twinkle" once, and ran to my seat. (Now, that was different from today, being in the Matron's Medal Contest for the W. C. T. U. work.)

We now moved to Marion ; were gone five years. Back again to Back Creek, close to the school house. David Thomas was teaching when we returned. Miriam Henley, next Quincy Baldwin, a Winslow (forget his given name), from another county; Melissa Pierce, Joel Davis, Anna Newby, Mahlon Osborn, then the war came on. I taught one winter at East Branch. We then went to Iowa.

(Editor's Note. - Mrs. Arnold is a daughter of Nathan Morris. Mrs. Arnold. moved away from Fairmount more than fifty years ago. Since her marriage to Isaac Arnold she has lived in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. In another part of her letter Mrs. Arnold states that besides herself, Thomas Morris, Exum Morris and Millie Morris were other members of her father's family who taught school in Fairmount Township. Mrs. Arnold has for years been active in work as teacher among the Indians, in Sunday school associations, in Women's Christian Temperance Union matters, in suffrage organizations and other lines of endeavor having to do with the betterment of civic and social conditions.)

I have been reading your letters and notes which I have enjoyed very much. I can remember a few teachers who have not been mentioned, especially my first.

In i860 a small frame school house stood in Nixon Winslow's grove just across the road from his late residence east of town. This school was taught by Huldah Baldwin Bradford. Other teachers I remember going to were Anna Rush, Asenath Winslow, Joseph Wilson. They taught in the Quaker school across from the Quaker Church, Here the Quaker children went in preference to the other school. Fourth-day meeting was observed and teacher took her flock to church. Sometimes this seemed a day. and how many times we sought for excuses, mostly always in vain.

(Editor's Note. - Mrs. Pickard is a daughter of Rariden and Rachel (Baldwin) Smith, and a granddaughter of John and Mary Ann Smith, early settlers. Mrs. Pickard's grandparents were the first couple to obtain a marriage license in Grant County. Rariden Smith was at one time interested in a tanyard located here.)

My father, Exum Elliott, bou.^ht the farm north of the Solomon Knight farm in the fall of 1864. My mother was Solomon Knight's eldest daughter, therefore I am a great-granddanghter of Joseph Winslow.

Though living in Mill Township we went to Back Creek to meeting, and the greater part of the time from 1864 to 1874 I went there to school. Several have spoken of the "gads" and the "whippings," but I never witnessed a child whipped at school. Neither did I hear of one being whipped at any school I ever attended, though this may have happened.

Several have spoken of all the school attending mid-week meeting at II o'clock, a custom which was faithfully kept up at Back Creek until the fall of 1888. The teacher, although a Friend, decided not to take the children to meeting, and as the patrons did not ask him to let their children go, the custom of so many years was dropped.

Now, I never remember of attending school but that it was a part of the program of the day to begin school with a Bible reading. A few of my teachers offered prayer occasionally after the reading, and sometimes a pupil would pray. One teacher especially I remember that read from the Bible and prayed every morning, often explaining to us children the lesson read. One morning she read the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes and gave from it such a vivid picture of an old man without God that I have never forgotten it.

Once there stood a little school house in the corner of a large woods near where Perry Scale's house is now located. In that school house Elmira Dillon taught a summer term. If memory does not fail, she was the daughter of Sammy Dillon, and she afterwards became the wife of William Charles. Mr. Charles had a gift in public speaking, and was recorded a minister of the Friends Church in his young manhood days. Mrs. Charles died soon after her marriage. Arc these memories correct? To that school among the trees went Misses Mary and Hannah Wilson, the writer and her sister, Emma, and it probably was the first school for each of us. We had great fun making clothes and hats during recess hours out of pawpaw leaves and oven roofing our play houses with the same big leaves.

"Joe Knight is still living and is seventy-nine years old. His eyesight did not fail until last winter. He has never used glasses to aid his sight. He can still read without them. He enjoys telling of early days in Grant County, and remembers many who are now living at Fairmount and Jonesboro.

"This evening he told some of us about the first license he got to teach school. It was in 1853. \\'illiam Neal was the Examiner. He asked only this question : 'Why do you invert the divisor in divisions of fractions?' Mr. Knight said he did not know, but he told the Examiner something, he had forgotten what, and got a two years' license.

My mother went to school to William Neal. She thought he was an excellent teacher. Has any one told you of Pike's Arithmetic and Talbert's Arithmetic and Pineo's Grammar? Have they told of singing geography ? D. W. Lawrence.

(Editor's Note. - Prof. Lawrence is a former Liberty Township man, and a brother of Mrs. Jacob Briles. For many years he has been engaged in educational work, a profession in which he has met with notable success.)

Old Liberty school house was built in 1856, on the northeast corner of the land now owned by Joel O. Duling. During the time the house was situated there I went to the following teachers : William H. H. Reeder, George Bowers, Milton McHatton, Columbus Lay, David Bowers, John Heal, Mary Taylor, Eliza Brelsford, John Daily, Frank Smith, John Litler, and Maria (Duling) Hollingsworth taught a subscription school. Solomon Duling.

(Editor's Note. - Solomon Duling" is a son of the late Edmund and Eliza Ann (Hubert) Duling, who came to Fairmount Township in 1845 from Coshocton County. Ohio, and settled on the farm situated about four miles east of Fairmount, now owned partly by Solomon Duling and partly by Joshua Hollingsworth. Edmund Duling" served as a County Commissioner during the Civil War, when the county was paying bounties in order to induce men to enter the Union Army. He was an ardent sui)porter of the Republican party, and he and his family were affiliated with the Methodist Protestant Church. The Dulings have been known from the very early days of the Township to be active in promoting educational and church matters in their neighborhood, and foremost in supporting the best and most substantial things in civic affairs.)

Miss Stell.V Bullkr

I'airmount Township teacher. Miss Buller is a great-granddaughter of David Stanfield, founder of tha south lialf of Fairmount, and one of the after. Township's progressive pioneers.

(Editor's Note. - This is a contribution which relates an experience famiHar, doubtless, to many others on their initial introduction to the school room. Mr. Suman, who is a son of Abner Suman, lived when a boy and young- man in the Leachburg neighborhood. Mrs. Suman is a daughter of the late William G. Lewis and Mrs. Emeline (Osborn) Lewis.)

It was in the years of 1874-75. I was master over the Back Creek school, with Miss Fidelia Pierce as my sole assistant. It was in the old brick school house, with two rooms, one upstairs and one down, which you no doubt remember when you were a small boy.

Since that time I have seen a lot of this old world, and now have the honor of holding down a seat in the Minnesota State Senate, which is now in session, and it is likely to be "some session" at that.

(Editor's Note. - Mr. Baldwin is a grandson of Charles Baldwin, and a son of Lindsey Baldwin, both of whom at one time lived in the Back Creek neighborhood.)

In the summer of 1852 I went to a school taught by Rachel Jane Fankboner, then Rachel (Moreland, who now lives in Fairmount. The school house stood on the Abraham Myers farm, a little more than onefourth mile northwest of the present school house in Fowlerton. There had been schools taught there before by Thomas Duling, Edmund Duling, Bertley Bradfield and Joseph Broyles. You have their names. In the winter of 1852-1853, while George Thorn was teaching there, the house burned down, and was never rebuilt.

teachers who tauolit there, in 1857 T think it was. whose name I have not seen in the Hst. was Benson Milhird. He was a brother-in-law to George W. Bowers, the pioneer Methodist preacher who was known by all Methodist people in early times for many miles, especially as far north as Marion and east to Hartford City and Eaton. Millard was a well-educated man, from the East I think, but his ways and manner of teaching were so far different from what the pioneers were used to that his school was not as much of a success as it should have been.

In the summer of 1854, Anna Simmons taught a subscription school in a log- dwelling house, which was vacant at the time and stood near one-fourth mile west of the present brick Leachburg school house.

I well remember of being at the last day of her school. I remember of going with ni}' parents to a basket meeting held at a log school house that stood on the Jonesboro and Muncie road in Fairmount Township, about one-fourth mile west of the Gabriel Johnson farm, where the Hartford City pike now intersects the old road. I don't know who any of the teachers were that taught there.

Gabriel Johnson and John Heavilin, east of him. were early settlers on the old road. Johnson kept a tavern and Heavilin had a blacksmith shop and did lots of work for travelers on the State Road in early times, such as mending wagons and shoeing horses. He also made almost everything in the way of hardware. I have in my possession at this time a pair of barn-door hinges that Byram Heavilin, son of John Heavilin, made in [851 for Joel Littler, then living on the farm that I now own. They are the hook-and-strap hinge.

Dear Friend: Some one very kindly sent me two copies of The Fairmount Nezvs. In each copy there was a reference, one by yourself and another by your brother, to a little girl who years ago taught school in your neighborhood.

You will think this statement true when I tell you that at that time T was less than sixteen years of age (friends told me then T was older than my years), and until 1 was twenty years old I taught at intervals in Fairmount Township. The school to which your brother refers, when I "boarded around," was my first school.

the people generally, and they, in turn, became better acquainted with me. There is a friendship in this, too, not found in the school room.

Do your remember one evening that I went home with you? On our wav there came up a thunder storm. We were in the woods. Other children were with us and we all were drenched. That was my sixteenth birthday, and I suppose the reason I remember it, and maybe

Eli Jones Cox

Born near Fairmount, in 1853, ~is a son of William and Elizabeth (Wilson) Cox, the parents natives of North Carolina. The Coxes trace their ancestry back to England and Scotland, having originally come to the nswr country vv^ith Friends who settled in Pennsylvania. Eli J. Cox was educated in the common schools of Grant County and attended Normal School at Marion, Indiana. As a young man he taught school a short time and then traveled West, where he remained for ons year. He later went to Florida, where he engaged in the business of growing, buying and shipping'citrus fruits, becoming an active member of the Florida State Horticultural Society. He has found time in his busy career to, devote considerable attention to the study of astronomy, and is deeply interested in this science. He has kept abreast of the discoveries inade from time to time, and with the theories of leading astronomers, never tiring of the study of the wonders of the heavens. He is a member of the Astronomical Society of Los Angeles, California. In politics Mr. Cox is a loyal Republican, and affiliates with the Friends Church. Mr. Cox, who owns a home in Fairmount, with Mrs. Cox, spends his winters at his orange grove near Maitland, Florida. Mr. Cox, as a small boy, was a pupil of Mrs. Mary (Taylor) Morrow when the latter taught school at Wesleyan Back Creek in the days when the teacher "boarded 'round."

I do not recall standing him on the stove with a little girl, or of making him wear a dunce-cap. "Poor little man," I would say now. I'm glad if he has forgiven me. I suppose the punishment was not unjust. I know I did not like to use the whip, but usually kept a supply on hand, for order was requisite to my teaching.

After teaching this first school, the following winter I went to school to a former teacher of mine, Cornelius Shugart. Then I taught the summer school again at Wesleyan Back Creek, with an increased attendance and some larger pupils.

I have been told since that at the first (and I am not surprised) older and wiser heads thought I would not be sufficient for the place, as there had been some trouble in the government of the school. I do not recall now of having any serious trouble.

I do not mention this to take any credit or glory to myself. Before I began to teach others I had learned in whom to trust for needed help. I believe now that I did the best I knew at the time, and lived to feel the "touch of His hand on mine."

I well remember a pony ride down to Marion to meet the county superintendent and pass an examination for a teacher's certificate. After this, I felt better equipped for teaching, and in the winter of 1863 I taught my last school in the Duling settlement, east of Fairmount.

Chapter Xviii William Leach And His Descendants

WITHIN a year after Grant, as an organized county, had been placed on the map of Indiana, the Leach family name was spoken in the wilderness long since supplanted by the cultivated fields, in the immediate vicinity of Fowlerton.

In their early ancestry history the Leach family is of English and Scotch descent. Coming to America in the Seventeenth century, like pioneers of other households, the ancestral members were busy with the every-day economic problems, and they did not leave much record of their effort - simply the fact that their posterity is here and enjoying the fruit of their labors. We have little knowledge of the family back of Esom Leach, father of William Leach, and great-grandfather of William J. Leach. Esom Leach came from Virginia to Ohio, and into Indiana early in the Nineteenth century.

It is a family tradition that in 1803 or 1804 Esom Leach located in Franklin County, and that six children were born in his family. William Leach, who came in 1832 to Fairmount Township, was the founder of the local branch of the Leach family. We trace hini back to the Franklin County family, and to the household of Esom Leach. He was one of the four sons and two daughters. His brothers were Reuben, Archibald and James. His sisters were Martha and Rebekah. Those who remember Uncle Billy now know whom he left behind him when he came to Fairmount Township.

Privation and dire necessity, which were the common fate of all, must have been the portion of Esom Leach's family in the Territorial days of Indiana history. The Leach family was in Indiana a dozen years before it became a State, and in Grant County within a year after its organization. The name Leach appears early in the annals of both the State of Indiana and Grant County.

The name Esom - the name of the family's earliest Indiana ancestor - has been handed down in several Grant County families, and it is a name peculiar to the Leach family. Where is there an "Esom" outside the Leach family relationship in Grant County?

There was a time when Leachburg seemed to describe the locality - the neighborhood now occupied by Esom Leach's descendants in Grant County. William Leach entered seven eighty-acre tracts of Fair-

The Old Edmund Leach Homestead

Located about one-half mile south of Fowlerton. This property is now owned by Mrs. Naomi Deeren. William Leach, father of Edmund Leach, was born in Virginia May 5, 1793, and when a young man moved to Ohio. He was married in Ohio to Sarah Harrison. Their marriage occurred on December 23, 1813. About 1820 they moved west to Franklin County, Indiana. During the thirties he left his wife and some of the children on the Franklin County farm and with his son, Edmund, and a daughter. Rachel, came to Grant County and entered a half-section of land where the town of Fowlerton now stands, his wife and the other children joining him later. William Leach and his wife remained in this Township until his death, February 23, 1851. His wife survived him until about 1865. Religiously, they were of the old school Baptist faith. Edmund Leach was born June 22. 1821, in Franklin County, Indiana. He came to Fairmount Township with his father in 1832. Edmund Leach married Miss Emily Brewer, daughter of Stephen Brewer, one of the early settlers of Fairmount Township. To this union were born twelve children, namely: Jasper, now living in Gordon, Nebraska; Charles M., now living in Delaware County, Indiana; Stephen and Esom, living in Sullivan County, Indiana; Rachel Ann, deceased; Edmund, Jr., living in Gordon, Nebraska; Lucinda, of Culver, Indiana; George, of Sullivan, Indiana; four dying in infancy. Edmund Leach, Sr., moved to Sullivan County, Indiana, in 1864, and died there in 1901. Charles M. Leach, son of Edmund Leach, Sr., was born in Fairmount Township in 1846, and moved with his parents to Sullivan County in 1864. Charles M. returned to Fairmount Township in 1872, and married Miss Malissa J. Caskey. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are the parents of Edmund. Claud and Iva. the latter the wife of Leo Underwood, all of whom live at Gaston, Indiana; William O., best known as Wick Leach, of Fairmount Township; Addic, of Wheeling, Indiana, and Bertha, wife of Oscar Roberts, also of Wheeling.

mount Township's most fertile and productive land, all of which lie in the immediate vicinity of Fowlerton, and most of which are yet in the possession of his posterity. The peaceful village of Fowlerton nestles securely on one of those tracts. There was a Leach school, a Leach store, and a Leach saw-mill. In short, the name Leach was coupled with about all the industries of the community, and the name Leach is still a synonym for thrift and industry, the Leach family occupying an honorable place in the history of the community.

William Leach married Sarah Harrison, who was born in October, 1793. Mrs. Leach belonged to a pioneer family with an honorable history, her brother, Lewis Harrison, father of Luther Harrison, having been a soldier in the War of 181 2. The span of fifty-eight years seems short, now that so many older men and women have succeeded him in the history of the Leach family. William Leach lived when the settlers of Fairmount Township were enduring hardships. Longevity seems to have been the rule in all families, now that the comforts of civilization are secured, and the men of three-score years do not seem old. Three score and ten is the allotted life of man, and many reach the four-score milestone in Grant County history.

William Leach, who was a soldier in the War of 181 2. came when Fairmount Township was a dense forest, and he certainly had his part in its transformation. Along with the Lewis, Ward, Todd, Simons, Duling, Powers, Crist. Reeder, Ice, Corn. Furnish, Mason, Harrison and Payne families, the Leach family had its opportunity, and William Leach was the man of the hour in planting the family tree in the virgin soil of the Township. Three sons, namely, Esom, John and Edmund, and four daughters, Rachel, Mary, Jane and Martha, constituted his family circle, and his children and children's children unto the third and fourth generations assemble in annual reunion in the comfortable little grove generously bequeathed to Fowlerton, the town of his foundmg, by William J. Leach, who is in the second generation of his family in Indiana, but in the first generation as far as the history of Fairmount Township and the immediate family tree is concerned. Those who point to him as a relative are numbered among the good people of the community. With the coming of railroads came changes in the family and community history, and Leachburg became Fowlerton.

In the days of William Leach the McCormick Tavern was a landmark. The pioneers along the Mississinewa - the McCormick, Wilson and Coleman families - knew all about self-denial and privations. The pioneers in all these early-day families knew what it meant to procure venison from the woods, and to shoot wild turkeys if unexpected com- pany arrived for dinner, when the family rejiast was cooked before the fire. Some of those old hearth-cooking- vessels are still treasured in many households.

David Lewis was not the only man who secured corn meal for family use from the settlers along- the Wabash when the resources of the Mississinewa farmers were exhausted. Our forefathers all told of the long trip to Wabash and the canal when they had something- to offer on the market. They hauled grain to Wabash until the railroads came and changed the whole situation. Fairmount Township was then in touch with the outside world.

William Leach went the way of all the world many years before the whistle of the locomotive or the telephone bell had been heard in the land to which he brought the family name. He and his contemporary neighbors should be honored, inasmuch as they made this community a possibility. The history of the sons and daughters of William and Sarah (Harrison) Leach is, in a measure, the present-day history of Fairmount Township.

Esom Leach, born December 8, 1816, married Lucinda Corn, and thirteen children were born to them, nanielv, William J., Nancv E., Sarah A., Joseph J., Edmund C, Martha P., John G., Mary E.. George W., Wilson T., Benjamin F., Reuben J., and Simon B. Leach, who have all been factors in this community.

John Leach was born Jaimary 23, 1819, married Martha Fear. One son, Harvey, was born to them. Martha died and John married Mary Lewis. There were born to them David, who died in infancy ; Nancy. Esom O., Sarah J., Mary E., Edmund S., and ^Martha Ann.

Edmund Leach, born June 22, 1821, married Emily Brewer, and their children are Jasper, Rachel Ann, Charles AL, James S., George W., Esom. Lucinda, and Edmund, Jr.

Mary (always called Polly) Leach, born October 24. 1825, married James AlcCreery, and one son, Samuel, was born. After the death of McCreery, iMary was joined in wedlock to Jehu Stanley, and two sons, William and j()se])h, were l)orn of this union.

Martha Aim Leach, born July 9, 1833, married Thomas lulward Smith, anrl their children are William Henry, James Edward, I .ouisa Jane, John Lewis, E.som Leach, Mary Emeline and Rachel Olive.

The Leach family history is an open book and new pages are constantly being added to it. William Leach was a God-fearing man, and, with his wife, was instrumental in organizing the first Primitive Bap-

William J. Leach

Son of Esom and Lucinda (Corn) Leach, is a native of Fairmount Township, where he was born on February 2, 1840. Esom Leach, the father, was a native of Franklin County, Indiana. Esom came with his father, William Leach, to Fairmount Township, in the early day. William Leach stopped the first night in the new country at the Mc- Cormick Tavern. From this friendly cabin he went forth with a compass and blazed his way through the forest to the location where he afterwards made his home. On August 24, 1838, Esom was married to Miss Lucinda Corn, who was born in Kentucky, December 15, 1823. She was a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Said) Corn, pioneers of Fairmount Township. Joseph Corn lived to be eighty-three years of age. His wife died at fifty-four. Bred to farming and stock raising, William J. L?ach has never been permanently engaged in any other occupation. In 1865 he married Miss Sarah E. Havens, the datighter of Jonathan and Gabrille (Clark) Havens. Mrs. Leach, like her husband, was a native of this county, where she was born April 23, 1843. Four children were born to this union, namely: Lucinda A., Anna J., Charles E. and Martha C. The wife and mother died April 17, 1888. March 16, 1890, Mr. Leach was again married to Miss Jennie Wood, of Bluffton, who is a native of Ripley County.

tist Church in Grant County. He established a pace for the family, and the men and women of today owe him an obligation. Harmony Primitive Baptist Church had its inception within the Leach family, having been organized in the home of William Leach, a large, two-story hewnlog house located about one-half mile south of Fowlerton. on the farm now owned by Simon B. Leach. Today, descendants of this pioneer famil}- are members at Harmony, while others are identified with the church in Fowlerton.

William Leach was an Andrew Jackson Democrat, and the family has always clung to his political faith. In art early day he gained the confidence and esteem of his pioneer friends, and was chosen by them the first justice of the peace in Fairmount Township. He was an aggressive, enterprising citizen, an obliging neighbor and a good friend, although firm in his convictions and determined in his stand for the right as he understood it. The name Leach will alwavs live in the annals of this community. The founder of this family was a strong advocate and a liberal supporter of all projects for the extension of educational advantages in the early day. He was an especially good friend of David Lewis, grandfather of the writer, and proved himself a man of tender sympathies under many trying circumstances. William Leach was born May 5, 1793. and died February 23, 1851, in his fifty-eighth year.

Sugar Grove. As an evidence of the economical habits formed in early life, Mr. Leach now has in his possession, in the shape of a $2.50 gold piece, a part of the first money he ever earned, which was paid to him by Henry Harvey.

In 1855. led by William H. H. Reeder, who had energetically advocated the improvement, the first effort was made to drain the big sloughs of the Leach neighborhood by the construction of ditches leading to Barren Creek, and in this work Mr. Leach, as a boy, had a ])art. In the winter of 1863 he split about five thousand rails. It was by means of the hardest kind of la- CLA.UD I E \CH ^ '^'^ ^'^'^^ '^''' gained his first start in family of that name, now a prosper- ^^" ^^^ ^'^\ ^^ '"'^'" J- ^^each has ous farmer of Delaware County and been a prominent factor in the de- Trustee of WashinLi;ton Township. , . r i - i i i j it is largely due to his untiring efforts and his ceaseless enterprise that the town of b^owlerton was built. Throughout his long and busy career he has, in season and out of season, with his influence, his energy and his purse, supported every well-directed movement wliicli promised to redound to the advantage of the people of his comnumity and of liis Township, even doing so at times when it resulted in personal and financial sacrifice.

Mr. and Mrs. Leach reside at Fowlerton, where they live in comfort amidst the friends and descendants of many who were his associates in his young manhood, enjoying the surroundings of his earlier activities and the scenes of his boyhood, blessed with a full measure of contentment and happiness, which he richly deserves in the evening of a life well lived.

Chapter Xix

JONATHAX r. W l.\SL(3W, active promoter for many years of all movements tending to benefit Fairmount and surrounding community, was a farmer and merchant. He was born in Randolph County,

North Carolina, June ii, 1818, and died at his home in Fairmount, August 18, 1899. His paternal grandparents were William and Guinea Winslow, and his maternal grandparents were Jonathan and ]\Iary Phelps. Jonathan P. Winslow was a son of Hardy (i. Winslow, who was born in Xorth Carolina August 15, 1791, and died December 30. 1871 ; the mother, Christina (Phelps) Winslow, w^as born in Xortli Carolina, August 8, 1793, and died June 21, 1861. Hardy G. and Christina ( Phelps) Winslow were the parents of twelve children, namely : r^lary, Martha, William, Jonathan P., Thomas, Guinea. Jesse, James, Alison, Hilkiah. Griffin and Eliza, all deceased except the \-oungest, Eliza Walker, wiio still resides in North Carolina. Jonathan P. Win.slow was educated at New Ciarden I'oarding .School, now (iuilft)r(l College, Xorth Carolina. He first came to I*"ainiiount Township in 1840, when he was twenty-one years of age, dri\ing the horses and carriage for I )ougan (."lark, an uncle of Jane (Henley) Winslow. Dougan Clark, acct)mpanied by his wife, Asenalh, lioth recognized ministers in the hriends Church, visited most of the i^'riends meetings in the I'nited States, traveling either on horseback or by carriage. Dougan and .\senath Clark were the parents of Dr. Dougan Clark, of Richmond, and Xathan Clark, of Westfield, ministers in ilw I'riends Church, both now deceased. Gn his visit to Indiana Jonathan P. Winslow remained in Fairmount Township a few months and worked for Daniel Winslow and Matthew Winslow, who owned farms on Back Creek. He worked at splitting rails and as a farm hand. He helped to make the shingles that covered the old brick meeting house at Back Creek. He was reared in a Methodist home in North Carolina, but as a matter of religious conviction joined the Friends at Back Creek, September 19, 1840, during his brief stay here. The same year he returned to his native State and attended New Garden Boarding School. He afterward taught the Oak Grove school, in the neighborhood where he was reared. This was the first term of school Sarah (Stewart) Luther, of Fairmount, ever attended. In politics he voted the Whig ticket until the formation of the Republican party. In 1884 he left the Republican party and supported Governor John P. St. John, Prohibition candidate for President. He was loyal and enthusiastic in his support of this party until his death.

In 1843, at the age of twenty-five years, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage to Jane Henley, at Back Creek, North Carolina. She, too, was reared a Methodist, but united with the P'riends when a young woman. Jane Henley was born in Randolph County, North Carolina, May 12, 1823, and died May 17, 1908. Her parents were Esquire John Henley, born January 3, 1793, and died February 18, 1854, and Margaret (Clark) Henley, born February 7, 1794. and died during the Civil War. They were the parents of nine children, namely : Martha, William, Henry, Jane, Mary, Thomas, Rebecca, Alexander and John, all deceased except John. Jonathan P. and Jane (Henley) Winslow were the parents of eight children, namely : Mary M., Margaret L., Thomas J., Martha J., William Clark. John Henley, Joseph A. and Oreanna E. J^^'^^ (HENLEY) WINSLOW Mary married Jesse Bogue ; Margaret married Enoch P.eals ; Thomas left Fairmount in 1864 for the Civil War, and never returned ; Martha married Henry ]\I. Shu.2:art ; \\'illiani married Adeline Patterson; John died at the age of forty years, unmarried ; Joseph married ^Targaret Gurnea, and Ora married Webster J. \\'inslow.

By hard work and economy, which continued to characterize their lives, they succeeded in gaining- a competency. The first $i,ooo they saved, however, had to go to pay security for a friend. With undaunted courage they kept right on, owned different farms and held stock in the Union Factory cotton mills. Just before the Civil War broke out he disposed of his business interests at High Point, being at that time a partner with Sewall Farlow in the mercantile line, and owning a half interest in the brick hotel at that place. This hotel was subsequently converted into a female seminary.

Having always cherished a desire to return to the North, he, with his wife and seven children, started in the spring of i860 to their future home. They came via Baltimore. Chesapeake Bay. Cincinnati, Richmond and Anderson, thence by stage coach, driven by H. Walker Winslow to Fairmount. Arriving at Fairmount, then a very small village, they met a warm reception at the home of Seth Winslow, corner of Alain and Washington Streets, where the Borrey block now stands. Until a house could be procured they found most hospitable entertainment at the homes of the Winslows, Wilsons, Rushes and Thomases. They soon located in a house on North Alain Street, the only vacant one to be found, now owned by Isaiah Jay, who purchased it of Dr. J. W. PALMER WINSLOW Patterson.

Son of W. C. Winslow and grandson ^^''- Winslow soon opened a of Jonathan P. and Jane (Henley) general store on South Afain Winslow, is a native of Fairmount ',-* >. i*. i 1 <^- ^^ 4^1 ^ forty acres of land of David and Elizabeth Stanfield. This land extended from what is now Walnut Street east to the Big Four railroad and south of Washington Street to the fair grounds, all of which is included in the town of Fairmount. In 1861 they burned the brick and that summer built the house in which he and his wife continued to reside until their deaths. The youngest daughter, Oreanna E. Winslow, with her husband, Webster J. Winslow, continue to reside in the old homestead, which was left as a part of her inheritance. Out of a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, only three survive,

Jonathan P. Winslow Homestead

The grandparents of Mrs. Jane (Henley) Winslow on her father's side were John Henley and Keziah Nixon, who were also the paternal grandparents of Dr. Alpheus Henley. Her grandparents on her mother's side were William Clark and Eleanor (Nellie) Dougan. William Clark was a captain in the Revolutionary War. He lived to a ripe old age, but ever regretted the fact of having taken human life, although the cause for which he fought seemed a just one. The spectacles worn by William Clark are in the possession of the Winslow family and are prized by them as an heirloom of Revolutionary times.

Nixon Winslow, farmer and banker, humanitarian in principle and in practice, benevolent in his tendencies and by inclination a community builder, was born in Randolph County. North Carolina, June 28, 1831, and died at his home in Fairmount, May 23, 1910. His paternal grandparents were Henry and Elizabeth Winslow and his maternal grandparents were John and Lydia Ilogue. He was a son of Thomas Winslow, born July 14, 1795, and Martha (Bogue) Winslow, bom August 30, 1805. Thomas and iMartha Winslow were parents of six children, namely, Nixon, John, Nancy, Peninah. Charles and David, all deceased. Nixon Winslow came with his parents to Fairmount Township in 1836, when he was five years old. He was educated in the common schools of the log-cabin period, when reading, writing and arithmetic were about the extent of the mental training received. At twentyone years of age he began to carve out a fortune of his own. His first investment was the purchase of eighty acres of land, bought with money earned at hard labor. He kept adding to this possession until at one time he had acquired over five hundred acres. He was Presi- (lent of the Citizens Exchange Bank from 1893 to 1909, being a heavy stockholder in this institution. In politics he was affiliated with the Republican party, in later life identifying himself with the Prohibitionists. He was, all his life, a member of the Friends Church, being for many years an elder. During the Civil War he was drafted, but faithful to the |)rinciples of the Society of Friends and true to the doctrines of his forefathers, he paid $300 rather than enter the army. His wife's maiden name was Cynthia Ann Jay, born in Miami County, Ohio. May 5, 1832. Her jxarents were Denny and Mary Jay, he born .\])ril 24, 1809, and she on January 18, 1809. Their children were Susan Ratliff, Cynthia A. Winslow, Keturah Rush, Elisha J. Jay, Elvira Small, Jesse Jay, Thomas Ellwood Jay, David A. Jay, Mary J. Nixon, Denny Jay and Lambert B. Jay. October 25. 1854. Nixon Winslow and Cynthia Ann Jay were married at jonesbonx To this union seven children were born: Luvenia, February 24, 1856, married John Kelsay; Webster J., January 15, 1858, married Mary Jean, and after her death was wedded to Ora E. Winslow ; Mary Ella, October 31, 1859, unmarried and at home with her mother; T. Denny, October 28, 1861, married Anna Ellis; Ancil, December 29. 1864, married Ida Elliott; Clinton, June i, 1869, married Myrtle Ellis, and Marcus A., September 24. 1871, who passed away July 12, 1874. The sons and daughters of this esteemed couple all reside in Fairmount and the surrounding community.

John Kelsay and wife are parents of seven children, three now living, namely, Guy Kelsay, of Anderson, and Oren and Mary, at home. Webster and first wife had three children, one living, Mrs. Will Jones. Denny and wife had four, three living; Ancil and wife, two, and Clinton and wife, one.

Nixon and Cynthia Winslow lived together fifty-six years, w^ere life-long Friends, and all their children are members of this denomination. There are ten living grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. If recorded in detail the good deeds of this worth}' man and wife would fill many columns. It is enough to say that they built wisely and well in their own day and generation. The example of their noble lives will be an inspiration to those who follow in the years to come.

Levi Winslow, son of Henry Winslow and grandson of Joseph Winslow, was born in Fairmount Township on July 20, 1836. Levi Winslow remembers the old log meeting house which w^as the place of worship for Friends until 1841, when the redbrick structure was ready for use. Joseph Winslow sat at the head of the meeting for manv vears on the farm formerly owned by the late Jack Winslow, who was a son of Thomas Winslow, another pioneer. In early life Levi Winslow was a carpenter and has helped to build many of the homes still standing in this Township. He is a member of the Society of Friends, and attends services as often as health will permit.

Chapter Xx

CAPT. DAMD L. PAYNE was the son of William and Celia (Lewis) Payne, who lived four miles east of Fairmount. Payne received a rudimentary education in the schools of his bovhood days. Perhaps na other man born and reared in Fairmount Township attained to such distinction in frontier work and in the buildiuLi- up of the great West as did Captain Payne, lie was as dashing' and pictyresque in real life as he was in his personal appearance. Long after he had departed for the West he continued to make visits periodically to his old home. He was born in 1836.

(iabrille Havens, who remembers PaMie t[uite well as a small bo\-, relates that he was precocious, witt\-. and possessed an al)undance of initiative.

The Vvilllvm Payne Homestead

Located about two miles southwest of Fowlertoii. Tn the foregrouml of the aljove picture is shown Trustee David G. Lewis, a nephew of the pioneer. It was on this farm that Capt. David L. Payne was born and reared to manhood. William Payne was born in Georgia. He was a farmer throughout his life. He had a common school education. He was a close observer and a strict disciplinarian. The original homestead comprised one hundred and twenty acres, entered in 1S35. 1" politics William Payne was a Democrat. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and attended services at Sugar Grove. His wife was Celia Lewis, sister of David L;wis. Mrs. Payne was a native of Franklin County, Indiana. William and Celia Payne were the parents of ten children, namely: Jack, Morgan L., James G.."' Wesley, David L., John, Allen W.. Margaret, William and Jennie. William Payn; died at his home September lo, 1875. Celia, his wife, passed away May 16. 1870. Their remains lie in the Fankbon^r Graveyard, where rest all that is mortal of many of their relatives and friends of pioneer days.

It is related that in the early day a plant had been discovered over on the river that was good for rheumatism, which in that time was a common complaint. I^ayne had a little touch of rheumatism, and when it was suggested one day that he try the new remedy he replied that it would not do for him, though it might be good for others, as he had understood that the medicine w^as a Payne killer, and" he wanted to live a long while yet.

Mrs. George W. Bowers was among Payne's early teachers. Captain Payne and John W. Furnish, who until recently resided at Jonesboro, were intimate boyhood friends. Furnish is a grandson of Benjamin F. Furnish, well known as a pioneer associate judge of the Circuit Court.

Furnish relates that his first acquaintance with Payne was formed when they attended a school taught by William H. H. Reeder in John Brewer's kitchen, about the winter of 1851-1852. There were about twenty other children in attendance at this school.

*Henry Elsberry Payne was born in Fairmount Township on October 10. 1862. His paternal grandparents were William and Celia (Lewis) Payne. His maternal grandparents were Henry and Mary (Parsons) Osborn. James G. and Louisa J. (Osborn) Payne, the father and mother, were both natives of Fairmount Township, the former born in 1832, and died November 2S, 1877, and the latter, born April 22, 1833. died October 16, 1915. James G. and Louisa J. Payne were the parents of nine children, namely: Amanda, Henry E., W. Zimri, David L., Emma O., Joseph C, Minnie M., Mark and James G., Jr. H. E. Payne was educated in the common schools of Fairmount Township. From boyhood he has always worked on a farm, and with such industry and ability has he applied himself that today he is the owner of seventy-two acr:'s of good land, situated three miles southeast of Fairmount. He is a stockholder f)f the Citizens Telephone Company. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and his church affiliations are with the Methodist Protestant denomination. He has been honored by his party fri:^nds with the nomination for Township Trustee, polling the full strength of his party, with many accessions from other political organizations. He also has been frequently called upon to act as administrator and executor of estates, thus attesting to his sound business judgment and absolute integrity. February 29, 1884, he was married to Miss Effie C. Smith, born in Fairmount Township June 7, 1863, and a daughter of Roland and Nancy (Hasting) .Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Payne arc the i^arents of six children, namely: Myrtle, deceased; Stella, Wessie, Lucille, Nellie and Madeline. Myrtle, who married Will Leach, died October 27, 1910.

In 1861, upon the outbreak of the Civil War, lie enHsted in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry. During his service in this command Payne distingtiished himself by his courageous conduct and was promptly promoted to the rank of captain. He was with General Fremont in the latter's operations through the West, and was serving under Colonel Sullivan at the time Sullivan was in pursuit of Price in Missouri. Colonel Sullivan was killed at Springfield in a hot engagement.

After the Civil War Payne went with the command of Gen. George Custer and fought the fierce Comanche Indians with that brave officer through Kansas and Colorado.

In 1881 Captain Payne conceived the idea of starting an agitation for the opening of Oklahoma Territory to settlement. It was at this time that Furnish was called by Payne to the position of private secretary. Payne caused to be printed and circulated many thousand bills and circulars announcing his purpose to open Oklahoma to settlement. Payne stated in his circulars that he would locate parties on the land, and proceeded to form a stock company for the purpose of securing the necessary funds with which to push his enterprise. Headquarters were established at Wichita. The shares were sold at five dollars each. About three thousand different investors became interested in the movement, and in 1883, headed by Payne, these stockholders moved into the Territory. Captain Payne, Couch, Smith and two other leaders of the colo- iiists, were promptly arrested by the Government police and taken to I'l. Smith. I'avne offered no resistance to the orders of the Territorial police, and (|nictl\ instructed his ])eople to calmly snl)mit to lawful authority.

The arrest of Payne. Conch and Smith' had the desired effect. Pavne's purpose was to start an agitation which would create a sentiment favorable to his project. Events which followed later showed his calculations to have been correct. He was at no time hostile to the Government. He always recop;nized the right of properly constituted authority to eject his jieople from the Territory, but it was his firm conviction that Oklahoma should be o])ened to the public for settlement, and he was impressed with the idea that already this im])ortant step had too long been deferred by the Government. A few days after Pavne and his comrades were taken to Ft. Smith they were released.

Returning to Wichita. Payne again renewed his agitation, and was again organizing his following for another entry into thi- d>rritory. Before the expedition began its march, Payne had ]^repared a j^lat for the location of Oklahoma City. Entering the Territory again in 18(83. Captain I'ayne was i)romptly arrested. The (lovernment police took into custody ten or twenty of the leaders, and thew with Payne, were confined in the prison at Ft. Smith.

Being again released, Payne organized the third expedition for the trip into the Territory. Again' he was seized and sent to Et. Smith, this time for thirt\' da\s. when he was released under bond.

Returning again to Wichita, he began once more to organize a company for another invasion. His hcad(|uarters were changed to Wellington, Kansas. Before his plans were fully completed for the fourth effort to reach Oklahoma he died suddenly in 1884 at his hotel in Wellington.

During this prolonged t'iglit. which covered a period eijual to the duration of the Civil War. Ca])tain l^iyne became a National figure. He had the s\m])ath\- and sup])ort of man\- followers in various parts of the L'nited States.

Plis ])rinting ])ress. on whicli he ])rinted the first newspaper ever published in ( )klahoma, w;is seized by the authorities and thrown into the Chickaskia Kiver. It is related that he was once chained behind a slowly moving ox-cart and compelled to walk the eiUire distance across eastern ( )klahoma to i"t. .Smith.

Captain Payne was a natural orator of great magnetism and considerable power. His language, though not of the finest qualitw was nevertheless logical and convincing. His power over men was rarely equaled. He was liberal to a fault. . No worthy person ever appealed to him in vain for financial assistance. He was a friend of the poor. In the West, when he was in the midst of his tem])estuous career, he was known among the people as "Ox-H-eart"" I'ayne. He was alwa\s considerate and courteous to all with whom he came in contact. In his personal relations he was always a gentleman, never (|uarrelsomc or rude, and it is said that he was never known to take part in an argument of an\- kind.

Mr. Furnish, P^ayne's secretary, who gave the writer these facts, served three years in the Thirt}-fourth Indiana Infantr\' during the Civil War under Col. Ab Steele. Furnish lost his left arm while in the service, at Algiers, Louisiana.

The writer is indebted to William Z. Payne, nephew of Captain Payne, for the following very interesting narrative written by F. C. Cole, an intimate friend and follower of Captain Payne. Phe story was printed first in book form, in 1885, and is replete witli illustrations showing the camp life and the many daring exploits in wliich Captain Payne had a leading part. Mr. Cole says :

"With the recent death of the Hon. David L. Pa\ ne, the great interest already agitating the people, and in fact the whole world on both sides of the Atlantic - the Oklahoma country and the Indian Territory - is increased tenfold. That the great mass of the people are crazed over this most beautiful country is no wonder to the average man of today.

, "Among the statesmen, soldiers, and pioneers. David L. Payne's name stands foremost in the history of this country - Oklahoma. His sterling qualities, his faithful friendshi]), unwavering in devotion and constant as a polar star, have endeared him to those who knew him best. Who ever spent an hour in his friendly company without feeling his life's burdens as a feather? Conscious that you were with one whom you were proud to call your friend - a convivial companion, and a true gentleman in every sense that the word implies. Rudeness and vulgarity were never a portion of your entertainment in his company. His camp was your home : his noble heart your solace. He had the generosity of a prince. His purse was ever open in b-ehalf of those around him who were more in need than himself. When more was needed his industry would procure it. He had friends - indeed, who was not his friend? Of his enemies, they were few, and of them we need not speak. He was brave and true. He had a heart, when touched, full of love and the pity of a woman. He had faults that were his own ; they were few and easily forgotten. He had more brains than books, more sense than education, more courage and strength than polish. Hatred can not reach him more. He sleeps in the sanctuary of the tomb, beneath the quiet of the stars. He did not live to see the sunshine of his dearest hope matured, but left the field for his successor to see his great ambition attained - that noble country - Oklahoma - opened up for settlement by the white man, and the millions of acres of land made into bright and happy homes, occupied, free and unmolested, by the poor and struggling homesteaders.

"David L. was born in Grant County, Indiana,- on the thirtieth day of December, 1836, where he received the usual country school education in the winter, working upon his father's farm in the summer time. He was bright and forcible in character from his youth, and became more than an average scholar. Being a lover of hunting and adventurous sports, he, in the spring of 1858, with his brother, started West with the intention of engaging in the Mormon War, which was creating great excitement at that time throughout the whole country, and especially in the West. Reaching Doniphan County, Kansas, he found the excitement somewhat abated. Inducements being offered, Payne pre-empted a body of land and erected a saw-mill thereon. This investment, while flattering at the start, proved an unfortunate enterprise, and young Payne found himself entirely destitute of means. He was placed, so to speak, upon his own metal. With an active brain that would acknowledge no defeat, he soon found an occoupation of a most congenial character.

"At the time of Payne's settlement, Doniphan County, now a fertile and thickly populated section, was the grazing ground for vast herds of buffalo, deer, antelope, wolves and other wild animals native to the plains. He became a hunter. There he hunted with much success, as well as profit. Pie gradually extended his field to the southwest until he had i)cncl rated the Magillion Mountains of New Mexico and explored the course of the Cimarron River through the Indian Territory, and so became familiar and acquainted with the topographical situation of the great Southwest. He naturally drifted from hunting to that of scouting. He was soon engaged by private parties on expeditions, and after a time, by the Government. He became the comrade of all the distinguished trappers, guides and hardy characters of that wild country. His intimacy with Kit Carson, Wild Bill, California joe, Buffalo Bill, (ieneral Custer, and many others of national reputation, approached companionship.

"When the Civil War came Payne was one of the first to volunteer his services, joining the Fourth Regiment of Kansas Volunteers, which was subsequently consolidated with the Third Infantry ; shortly afterwards the two were formed into the Tenth Regiment. He served three years as private, refusing during the time six different tenders of commission. At the expiratioiy of his three years' term he returned to Doniphan County, Kansas, and, in the fall of 1864, was elected to the Legislature of Kansas, serving in the sessions of 1864 and 1865, during which time, while never courting the part of an orator, his influence w'as pronounced. At the close of the Legislature he again volunteered as a private, taking the place of a poor neighbor who was drafted. He felt that he was better able to stand the hardships, and leave his friend and neighbor at home witli his large and dependent family. Payne, upon re-entering the service, assisted in recruiting a company for General Hancock's corps of volunteers, and succeeded in enlisting one hundred and nine men, all hardy frontiersmen, who were devotedly attached to him. Again Payne refused to accept a commission, jDrefering to remain a private and with his friends.

"Payne's services in the volunteer army extended over a period of eight years, first as a private in Company F. Tenth Regiment, Kansas Infantry, from August, 1861, until August, 1864. His second enlistment was in Company G, Eighth Regiment of Western Volunteers, and as a private from March, 1865, until March, 1866. His third service was as captain of Company D of the Eighteenth Kansas Cavalry, where he served from October, 1867, until November of the same year; and his last service was in the Regular Army, as captain of Company H, of the Nineteenth Kansas Cavalry, in which he served from October, 1868, until October, 1869. In the meantime he performed other services of great value to the State. He was at one time Postmaster at Fort Leavenworth ; also appointed Sergeant-at-Arms, for two terms, of the Kansas State Senate; and in 1875 and 1876 he was doorkeeper to the House of Representatives in Congress, at Washington, D. C. Besides engaging in political campaigns that gave him social and acknowledged influence as a leader, he was an ardent supporter of Gen. Tom Ewing, who, after serving a term as Chief Justice of Kansas, sought the great honor of United States Senator. It is credited to Capt. D. L. Payne that General Ewing received his nomination through his influence and support ; and such were his efforts in behalf of General Ewing that thev remained ever afterwards warm- and steadfast friends.

tlie Rebellion, Captain Payne was attached to the .\rni\ of the I'Vontier. under (ieneral lUunt, and was enu,atjed in nearly all of the memorable conflicts that took place in Missouri and Arkansas, distin^q;uished for the desperate fightinj^ and mortality of men. He was a participant in the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, which occurred on the seventh day of December. 1862 ; and in this enj^a^ement he performed an act of i^'allantry which entitled him to a place in histor\'. Tn the hottest of the fi_q"ht his first lieutenant, Cyrus Leland. was shot through the arm, and then through the right shoulder. The enemy, having recovered from the charge, and reinforced, poured a deadly fire into the ranks of Captain Payne's com])any. The commanding officer ordered his men to fall back. Captain Payne, seeing his l!ra\-e comrade lying \\\)on the ground, while the maddened enemv was charging and ready to trample him under, stepped out of the ranks and lifted up the almost lifeless lieutenant and bore him u])on his shoulders for fully one-half mile to his own tent, where surgical attendance saved the life of his friend. Lieutenant Leland was afterwards appointed .Adjutant- General upon General Ewing's staff, and is now a wealthy citizen of Troy, Kansas, a living evidence of Payne's heroism and devotion. During the session of 1864 and 1865 Payne opposed the S|)ccial ISounty Act. purely upon patriotic grounds. However, the act was passed ; but he refused to accept it for his own use, but donated it to the count\- which he represented, thus sustaining bis honestx- and consistcr.cx .

"After the close of the War, Payne again resumed the occu])ation of I)lainsman, hunting, scouting and guarding caravan trains. I'rom nature he was congenial ; from his commanding figure and ways, he wa.^ held in respect b\ the most daring desi:)erado and the wild Indians of the plains, and earned for himself the name of the Cimarron .Scout. The Indian Territor\ , the courses of the Cimarron River and the Great Salt Basin were as familiar to him as bis childhood ])layground. Cut few men knew as well the Indian character as he, and his numerous conflicts with the Cheyemies, Araj^ahoes, Kiowas and .\avajoes were numerous and beyond description.

"In the year 1870 Captain Payne removed to Sedgwick County. Kansas, near ^^'ichita. and the following year he was again elected to the Legislature, from Sedgwick County ; and during that session through his influence Sedgwick County was divided and a new county formed from the northern jiortion and called Llarvey County. In the redistricting, one of the longest townships was called Payne Townsbi]), and for many years it was his liome, where he owned a large ranch, about ten miles east of Wichita.

1879, Captain Faync became interested in a movement for the occupation and settlement of a district in the Indian Territor\- known as Oklahoma, which, in the Indian lanouag^e, signifies Beautiful Land. This Beautiful Land is located in the center of Indian Territory, and comprises an area of fourteen million acres of the finest land on the American continent. Captain Payne claimed the right to settle on this land under the treaty made by the Government with the luflians, in t866, by which this district was ceded to the L^nited States and became a part of the public domain, and was actually surveyed and set apart as such. Through his personal endeavors a large colony was organized for the purpose of entering and settling upon these lands. The colony moved, early in December, 1880, and first assembled upon the borders of the Territory, near Arkansas City, on the banks of Bitter Creek ; and after organizing ujion a military l)asis moved along the State line to Hunnewell, where they went into camp. The colony was closely followed by the United States Cavalry under command of Colonel Copinger. who had previously informed the intending colonists that any attempt to enter the Indian Territory would be forcibly resisted, the ' President of the L'nited States having issued a proclamation to that effect. At Hunnewell the troops occupied one side of the creek and the colonists the other. Tlie latter remained in cam|) for three days, receiving a great many recruits from western Kansas. On Sunday, the 1 2th. the camp was crowded during the day with the inhabitants of the surrounding country, who came, some from sympathy and some from curiosity. In the afternoon there was a dress parade b\- tlie colonists, and fully six hundred men were in line. The wagons numl^ered three hundred and twenty-five, with a goodly numl^er of women and children. During the afternoon of this memorable Sabbath day the colonists held Divine service, conducted by the colony chaplain. The L^nited States troops were invited to attend, which they did. officers and soldiers. The services were opened by that old familiar air, 'America,' and the text was from Exodus : 'The Lord commandeth unto jMoses "to go forth and possess the promised land." ' Appropriate hymns were sung, and the services were closed with the rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' The feelings and emotions were visibly manifested on all sides, and officers and soldiers affected alike. The Stars and Stripes were fanning the breezes of a beautiful day from both camps. The wagons were covered by banners with such mottoes as :