Floyd Township

Floyd Township

This township is the full Congressional township 15, range 3. and is bounded on the north by Jackson Township, on the east by Hendricks ( -ounty, on the south by Marion, and on the west by Mouroe Township. The j Join soil is good, and compares favorably With the best townships of the county. Its surface is rolling, but becomes broken along the streams, which are Walnut Fork of Eel River, Warford's Fork. Monudbal's Fork, ami their branches, all running in a southwesterly direction. The valuable timber of this township consists of poplar, walnut, oak, maple, ash, elm and hickory. The most peculiar natural feature of the county is the sandy ridge iu this township. It extends north and south a distance of three miles, at an elevation of forty feet above the surrounding level. The and Aquila Pickett, J. M. and II. 15. Pickett, Isaac Yeates, Mr, Howard, Thomas Ogle, Joseph Evans, William Arnold, James Miller, J. Kinder, Moses Lewis, E. Tarburton, J. L. Bird, J. C. Wilson, I. J. Wilson, A, Wilson, L. Gibson. J. Westhart, J. Kurtz and William Todd. The next three years witnessed the arrival of John Gregory, Dr. Stadiey, Jacob McVey. Jacob Hoffman, Cooper Wilson, James Robinson, Dr. Josias 11. Robinson,

II. Herod, Charles Hunter, Thomas Ellis. Lewis Ellis and James Ellis. Between 1834 and 1839, Joshua Iddings. Archibald Miller. John Craver, Martin and Enoch Wright, Thomas Job, Henry Wain, Thomas Randall, John Millman, Levi Owen, James Shoemaker, George Ilnnselb Elijah Wilkinson, Samuel Shinn, John Shinn, .Jacob Millinan, Stephen Brown, Wesley Eigg. J. W. Chatham, and Thomas Job. son of Samuel J oil.

Among the old settlers still living are Harrison Monnett, Sanford Wise, Harvey Collings, William Todd, Susan Hunter, Delcomposition is of band and gravel, and is j phia Busby, Francis Hughs, Joshua Iddings. entirely different from any other geological Stephen Brown, Archibald Miller, Wesley

Th iirst settler was Joseph Warford, who j Thomas Job. located on section 33 in the year 1821. In j The iirst marriage in Floyd was that of 1822 came Wilson L. Warford, Washington j Wilson L. Warford and Nancy Monnett. Weatherford, Beadle Akers, Isaac Monnett, ! daughter of Isaac Monnett. This occurred Lawson Monnett and Reuben Smith. During j in 1823; and an incident in connection with the year lb23, Thomas Purcell, Cuthbert ; the wedding that is worthy of recording was Daniels, William Aldridge, Thomas Higgins ! that the family had no flour to make bread, and Harrison Monnett became pioneers of ! and therefore the feast had to be enjoyed without that necessary article of food. Delia Warford, born in 1824, was the first white child born in the township. The first who died was a daughter of Joseph Warford, in 1822. She was buried on the home farm, now owned by Vincent Day. This was the first grave-yard in the township, "but it lias not been used for many years. The first saw-ni il! was built by Anderson i'>. Matthews on section 33, in the year L829. Within the next year he added a grist-mill. These were water mills, and stood on Warford 's Fork. Mr. Ogle built a saw and grist mill on Walnut, in tli is township, in the year 1831 or 1835. William Arnold, who had a shop in section 20. in 1S2X. was the first blacksmith. Dr. William Matthews, son of Anderson 15. Matthew-, was the first resident physician in Floyd, lie located in the south part of the township, and became quite a noted man in his profession. The Doctor was author of several medical works, and correspondent of some leading journals of the country. At i later day he removed to Mason, Effingham County. Illinois, where he died a few years ago. Dr. J. II. Robinson is living in section 27, and does most of the practice in the township.

In the year 1838 John Millman, Sr., erected on section 2b' a factory for the manufacture of fur and wool hats, in which he continued to carry on business until the year 18(33, a period of just a quarter of a century. During this time he manufactured hats by the hundred and by the thousand, and hauled them in wagon-loads to neighboring counties where they were exchanged for furs and pelts, ile was a prominent member of the American Fur Company, and collected furs in large quantities, which he hauled in wagons to the company's depot at Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Millman was a man of great experience in his business, and a splendid work- i man, having produced from his factory hat-, which were worn for thirteen years in succession. It was a claim of the old gentleman that he made the first hat eves- worn by Bishop Simpson, of the Methodist church. The last hats he manufactured were sent to Scottsboro, Tennessee, during the civil war, to be worn by the Union soldiers. This old pioneer was a great lover of his country, having sent three sons to the Mexican war, and five to the Union army in 1861. He died in the centennial year, at the age of eighty-seven years, and was buried within sight of his old factory.

Anderson 11 Matthews was the first justice of the peace, holding the office in 1828, and continuing in the same until the time of his death, ile served for a number of years as President of the County Hoard of Magistrates.

Daniel Anderson preached the first sermon in this township, in the year 1822 or 1823, ar. the house of Joseph Warford, which was a place of worship for a number of years. These meetings were livid by the Methodists, who at an early day built -Wesley Chapel" and "Pleasant Grove." -Wesley Chapel" is the only church which this denomination now owns in the township. Their first minister was followed by S. Otwell, William II. Smith. Lorenzo Dow, Mr. Crimes. A. L. Ceilings, II. Ceilings, Isaac Owen, Mr. Cord and Mathew Simpson, with probably others worthy of record, if their names could be recalled.

The history of the Regular Baptists in Floyd dates from the year 1826, in which they farmed a society and built a house of worship called Erion, the same being the first structure of the kind in the township. They also built the second church in the township.

and named it Palestine. Charles and Carter itmter, of Marion Township, preached the first Baptist sermons in Floyd, in the year 1826. They were followed by J . Cost, Spencer Colli ngs and Thomas Broadsheet, who auk among the early Baptist ministers of /ns part of the county.

The village of Groveland, situated on sections 2 and 3. was laid out by Benjamin P. | and Daniel Summers, March 18, 1854, and now contains a population of about 100 per- j sons.