Franklin Township

Franklin Township

Franklin township was formed from New Garden, ]May, 1834. Its shape is oldong, being 7 miles in length, north and south, and 4 miles in breadth, east and Avest, containing 28 square miles of territory. The Richmond and Hillsboro' turnpike enters the toAvnship one mile west of the Ohio line ; and the road runs along the lines of lots straight through the township to its north line. Its principal stream is the Middle Fork of Whitewater, which enters the township from Ohio, about 2J miles south of the north-east corner, and runs almost directly south, about half a mile from the Ohio line, to the south line of the township.

The first settler within the township is believed to have been Isaac Commons, from jSTorth Carolina, in 1808 or 1800, one mile north of Middleboro', on land now owned by William, son of John M. Addleman. lie was soon followed by Robert Morrisson on the lot adjoining, north, which he sold to Henry Paleu, and Paleu to Joseph Ashton. John Nicholson settled on land now owned by J. M. Cox and Joseph Nicholson. Barnabas Boswell, on the south line, land now owned by E. Townsend and John Cox. Isaac Hiatt, on the quarter now owned by J. Butters and Robert Cox. All of these, it is

A little later, the following named persons settled in this, the south-east part of the township : Dr. John Thomas, on the south line, where his grandson, Henry W. Thomas resides ; the land first settled by Isaac Hiatt, as above stated. Edward Barton, on land now owned by Wm. Barton. John ISTicholson also owned, and sold to Wm. "Webster, the land now owned by Wm. E. Barton. Charles Teas, from Delaware, settled on the land now owned by John Townsend. John Zimmerman, from Pa., on state line, now owned by Edward Starbuck, Jun., and William Strawbridge. Benjamin Elliott, l!^. C, where Abraham W., his son, resides ; lived there until his death. James Wickersham, on the quarter now owned by W. Kewbern, S. Williams, and J. Dufiee ; John White, on part of section 2, now owned by John 11. Smith and Joseph P. Addleman.

In the south-west part of the township John P. Thomas settled, where his sons, John, George, and Henry now own, on the south line. Jonathan Grave, from Delaware, on laud now owned by II. G. Mckle; Wm. Starbuck, IST. C, where Joshua Jeffries lives; Benj. Harris, ]S[. C, where Daniel C. Eich lives; Paul Swain, JST. C, where D. Taylor owns ; Meshech Llewellyn, afterward Wm. Starbuck, where Joshua Elliott lives; Elijah Mnndin, the quarter now owned by John M. Brown and James V. Marshall ; Edward B. Hunt, N. C, on the quarter since owned by N. S., William, and Jesse Hunt; John Yenard, where S. Smith lives; Joseph Brown, Pa., wiiere he still resides; John Simmons and Thomas Fisher, IST. C, east half of the two east quarters of section 33, and Daniel Fisher the west half of said quarters, the latter now owned by James Perry, of Richmond; Micajah Jones, IST. C, the south-west quarter of section 33, now owned by Elihu Hunt.

The progress of settlement northward was materially retarded by apprehensions of danger from the Indians, until after the close of the war of 1812^ Job Elliott, K C, in 1815 settled half a mile south of the present town of Whitewater, where F. Fonts lately lived, now Josiah White. Stephen Elliott on quarter adjoining town. Wm. Hunt, N. C, on the east side of town ; land afterward sold to John Uiitliank, and next to Jolin White; now owned principally hy Handy D. Bowen. Henry ISTewton, from England, where John Pyle lives on state line. Jonathan Commons on state line, where David Stidham lives. Thomas Mason, from N. C, in 1816, near town, on the qnarter now owned by AYm. Addleman and Joseph S. Wood. In 1818 Samuel AVilliams, from IST. C, near town, on land no^v owned by James K. Dugdale and Peter T. Parris. Henry Garrett, N. C.,land now owned by James Garrett, Hiram Snpplee, and Barnabas Barton. Benj. Parker, from N". C, and Joseph Skinner, on the quarter now o"wned by John Powell and Joseph Draher. Elihu Hunt, !N". C, a mile north-east of town, where Jonathan Williams lives. Richard Bunch on land now owned by Stephen Bunnell. Thomas Mason, Jun., three-fourths of a mile north of town, on the quarter owned by Jesse Hunt, Wm. Worden, and Wm. D. Kemp. Nathan Jones, from IST. C., entered the land now owned by Calvin C. Hunt and Peter Blose. Gabriel Ilarrell, from N. C, half a mile south-west of town, on the quarter now owned by Henry Albright and others.

In the loest part of the township, Wm. Hunt (not the Wm. Hunt who settled near town,) settled where Elijah Roberts lives. George Blose, of Ohio, where Wm. Hunt now lives. Andrew Starbuck, from I^. C, on the land now owned by John T. Voorhees, on ISTew Garden line ; first settler probably Daniel Bucket, a Friend preacher. Joshua Brown, from Pa., on land uow owned by Joseph C. Graves. Isaac Pyle, on the northwest quarter of section 27, now owned by Elias Chenewith and Hugh Stevenson. Isaac Pyle resides on a part of section 22, formerly owned by Andrew Starbuck. Edward Fisher, from ]^. C, near west line, where he yet lives. Charles Thomas, froni jST. C, son of Stephen Thomas, where Jonathan Marine resides. James White, on west hue, where he still resides. Lemuel Chance, from N. C, where Isaac Thomas lives, on section 16. Wm. Fulghum, from IST. C, settled and owmed land where he and his son, Levi G., reside.

Wm. Addleman, from Penn.,in February, 1810, settled a mile and a half north-west from town. The second tree cut on his farm measured 7 feet and 7 inches across the stump, and its length to the lowest limb was 77 feet 7 inches. The body of the fallen tree formed one side of the camp built against it, in which he lived with six children for several months before his cabin was built, his wife having died before his removal. John M. Addleman settled where S. D. Wallingford lives, IJ miles north of town. Wm. B. Kemp, from Md., where Henderson Kemp lives, near town, Joseph P. Addleman, where Wm. Hill lives. Nathan White, on the land noAV owned by Wm. G. and Joseph White, IJ miles north of town. James White, from S. C, after a few years' residence near Middleboro, settled on the south half of section 13, IJ miles north from town, wdiere he still resides. [See Sketch.] Nathan Elliott, N. C, settled on land now owned by Nathan White. Robert Starbuck, from N. C, where Whitmell Hill resides. Cornelius Vaunuys, where he now lives. He was an early blacksmith.

In 1817, James Harlin, from Kentucky, with a large family of children, whose names were Valentine, Elihu, Joshua, John, (who never lived here,) Jacob, Nathan, James, Edith, Polly, Anna. The father, with Jacob, Nathan, and James, settled near the township, in Darke county, Ohio. The other brothers, in 1817, commenced a settlement, known as the " Harlin settlement," now Bethel. John, Nathan, and James reside in low^a. Nathan Elliott, who settled in 1816, where James White now resides, also removed to this settlement in 1817. John Thompson and five sons of Nathan Anderson, John, Joseph, David, Nathan, and Wm. H., settled in the vicinity about the same time. The friends of these settlers constitute a large proportion of the inhabitants of the northeast part of the township ; the Anderson families numbering some ten or twelve.

In the north-west part of the township, Jesse Overman settled where Josiah Haisley resides, on land adjoining the north line. Wm. Nixon, where Peter 11. Wright resides, Samuel Henderson, where Nathan Edgerton lives. Thomas Simons on land now owned by Jesse Outland.

Paul Swain, Wm. Simmons, Thomas Roberts, Daniel Fisher, Nathan and Henry Hunt, who settled in the southwest part of the township, assisted in opening the road called the " Quaker trace," from Richmond to Fort Wayne. Edward

Fisher and Ann, wife of Henry Blose, are the only children of these families now living in the township. Also, Ahrahara Ashley and Enos Grave, both of A\^ayne township, belonged to the party. Grave was surveyor of the trace.

A Saw-mill is said to have been built in the south-west corner of the township, by Wm. Starbuck, about 1817, and was owned at different times by several persons. A saw-mill was built on Middle Fork by Henry JsTewton and John Unthank, about the year 1825 ; another afterward by John "White, tlireefourths of a mile north of N^ewton's; and another by James White, three-fourths of a mile still further north, which run about 35 years, having been once rebuilt. John jSTicholson and Isaac Commons built a saw-mill in the south-east corner of the township, which is now owned by Abraham B. Elliott. A steam saw-mill, built in the north-west corner of the township, owned by Peter H. Wright, was destroyed by fire a few years ago.

In 1829, Valentine Harlan built a Grist-mill above James White's saw-mill. In 1837, AVilliam Addleman, Jun., and Stephen Elliott built, three-fourths of a mile north of Whitewater, a grist-mill which run about twenty years.

The first Merchant in Whitewater is said to have been John Price. After two or three years he sold the goods to Stephen Elliott, who was on the south-west corner, and by whom the house had been built. Thomas Morton, of Miami, Ohio, had a store in the north-east corner about two years, and built on the corner where Joseph A. Bowen now trades. Elliott sold his goods to John II. Bruce and Jonathan D. Gray. Wm. B. Schenck was here at least as early as 1839, and as late as 1844. T. J. Ferguson & Co., in, 1844. At Bethel, Wm. :\lcFarland appears to have been the first merchant in 1845, on the northeast corner, where are now a grocer}^ and a tavern, ke})t by jSTathan Harlan, and traded several years. Edward Osborn, of Newport, soon after established a store, kept by Joseph Unthank. There were afterward, at different times, John A. Unthank, Walker Yeatraan, Jesse Richards, Jacob & Howard Harlan, Morgan & Henderson. Present merchants - Martin Wiley, dry goods; Xathan Harlan, grocer. Present merchants at AVhitewater - Joseph A. Bowen, north-west corner;

The first Physician was John Thomas, in the south part of the township, where his grandson, Henry "W. Thomas, now resides. He had an extensive practice, there being no other physician near. He carried his medicine in a bladder, instead of the ordinary saddle-bag. At Whitewater, afterward, were John H. Bruce, Azel Owens, Richard G. Brandon, Robert Hamilton, Wm. Williams, Wm. Commons, Robert Fisher, Harlan Harrison, now residing in Union. Dr. Thomas T, Courtney, after an absence of several years, returned to Whitewater, and died earlj^ in 1871. Present physicians - J. E. Beverly, J. B. Stevenson, W. P. Griflis.

The earliest .Religious Society in the township was that of the Friends, who built a log meeting-house two miles south of Whitewater, near the site of the present brick house on the turnpike. Isaac Commons, Job Elliott, Wm. Hunt, Joseph Ashton, John jSTicholson, Jeremiah Cox, Jun., and Luther Tillson, were early members.

The Christian Church at Bethel was formed in August, 1821, under the ministration of John M. Foster. Meetings were first held in the dwelling of Valentine Harlan, afterward in a school-house; next, in a large log meeting-house half a mile east of Bethel, where the grave-yard is, until the present house in Bethel was built. Since the pastorate of Mr. Foster this church has enjoyed the ministerial services of Valentine Harlan, 2d., Eli Harlan, Hosea C. Tillson, Joseph G. Harlan, Hardin Harrison, and Henry Polly, now residing at Union.

The Episcopal Methodists organized a church near Jesse Hunt's, in the south-west part of the township, about the year 1830. Edward Starbuck, Hugh Stevenson, Joseph Henderson, and Joseph Whitacre were early members. The organization was given up about six years ago.

A Methodist Episcopal Church was formed at Whitewater about 1831 or 1832. Among its early members were William Boswell, Thomas K. Peeples, Wm. Brown, and their families, and Margaret Addleman. It was in the Centerville and Williamsburg Circuits. The congregation at first met in a log house near where the present house was built in 1854.

The Wesley an Methodists organized a chnrcli about 1854, and built their present house of worship near the site of the old house of the Episcopal Methodists. Early members were Edward Starbuck, and Edward, his son, .Jacob and M

Brown, Elijah Roberts, Elias Cheneweth, Ambrose Roberts, with the families of most of them. Edward Starbuck, Jun., was a local preacher. Among their preachers have been John W. Johnson and Daniel Worth.

A Christian Church at "Whitewater Avas formed in 18(J7. Early members were James M. Gist, .Jesse T. Hunt, Wm. R. Winsor, Henry W. Thomas, Wm. L. Robinson, and their wives, Sally White, Aleda Harney, Milesia Addleman. Their permanent place of worship is the lower story of the Academy building. Their preachers have been Mr. Buf}', who had preached before the organii^ation, Wm. B. Moore, and their present preachers, Joseph G. Harlan and Edward Fen ton.

The Academy was built by a stock company, styled Franklin Township Academical Association, m or about the year 1859. The school is still continued. A select school was kept a year or longer by Milton Hollingsworth before the Academy was built.

The Town of Hillsborouyh was laid off by Stephen Elliott and .John White, proprietors. The description and survey of the plat was acknowledged and received for record -November 14, 1828. An addition made by Stephen Elliott is dated September 8, 1832. The name of the town was, a few years ago, changed to Whitewater.

John M. Addleman was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1790 ; married November 24, 1813, Sarah AVliitaker, who was born February 17, 1796. He settled, in 1826, in Franklin township. He was elected in 1829 or 1830 a justice of the peace. He had fourteen children, of whom eight were married : 1. Ann llaria lUaryeiret was mixn-'md to Wni. Kemp; 2. Joseph P., to Catharine Townseud; 3. John C'.,lirst to Nancy 'N. Wood ; second, to Mary Eliza Dulin ; 4. James ^., to Hannah Morton, and died about 1850; 5. William S., iirst, to Judith Townseud ; second, to Ellen Townsend ; 6. Sarah Ann, to Henry H. Eeed ; 7. Benj. W., first, to Martha Kemp; second, to Mehssa Addleman; 8. George JF^to Martha J. Broderick. He served in the late war. Milton W., the eldest, was killed by lightning. Five died in childhood and infancy.

William Addleaian, from Chester county, Pennsylvania, settled in Franklin township in 1819, a mile and a half northwest of Whitewater, as elsewhere stated. [See Franklin Township.] His father, John Michael Addleman, was born in Germany, December 15, 1723, and emigrated to America in 1752. He was married on the vessel during his passage, and settled in Chester county, Pennsylvania. William, his son, was born there in October, 1758, and married Mary Hennix, December 6, 1790. He had eight children, all married, as follows: 1. Alary married Joseph Oglesby in Pennsylvania; settled in this township ; removed to Ohio, and died in that state.

Pennsylvania. Both are dead. 3. 31argaret married Nathan Grave, an early settler in Wayne township. 4. Eliza married Elias Ogan, an early settler. She died here ; he in Somerset, Wabash county. 6. William married Mary, daughter of Job Elliott, and had six sons and two daughters. Three sons were in Col. Meredith's regiment, in the late war. Joseph O., who died in the battle of Antietam; Jacob O., who returned from the army sick, and died in nine days; and John, who, on account of sickness, was furloughed home. He re-enlisted, fought in the battle of the Wilderness, and in August, 1864, was discharged for physical disability. William O., another son, enlisted in the 147th Regiment in February, 1865, and served until after the close of the war. 7. Hannah married Robert Starbuck, removed to Ridgeville, where she died, and where he still resides. 8. Jacob married Mahala Starbuck, and died in 1864. Three sons, John, Andrew, and Flavins, were in the war. John Avas killed in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain. died of sickness at Washington City.

about six miles north from Richmond, and four miles southeast from J^ewport, in the south-west part of the present township of Franklin. He was a son of Obadiah Harris, Sen., elsewhere noticed. He died about the year 1850, on the farm on which he first settled. He had fifteen children, thirteen of whom attained to the age of majoritjs and were married: 1. Obadiah, who married Sarah, daughter of John Lewis, of Green, and settled on Green's Fork, near Williamsburg, now resides near Indianapolis. 2. Pleasant, who married Hannah Massey, and settled in New Garden ; afterward on jSTettle Creek, near Dalton. He has since lived at South Bend, and last in Iowa, where he died. 3. James, who married ]^aomi, a daughter of John Lewis, and settled on Green's Fork, where he died. 4. Bcersheba, who married Job Coggeshall, and settled near ISTewport, where she died. He resides at Williamsburg. 5. Jo/in, who married Nancy Harvey ; settled in Center; removed thence to near Newcastle; thence to Iowa, where he died. 6. i?eryamm, who married Lydia Iliatt, lived on his farm three years, and th^n settled near WilHamsburg, where he lived until 1868, and now resides a mile from Kichniond. Mrs. H. died in July, 1867; and he married in April, 1870, Hannah Ann Estell. 7. Rebecca, who married Henry Dutterow, and settled in Franklin township. 8. Sarah, who married John Catey, of Green. 9. JlJan/are/, who married John Gardner, and lives in Oregon, where he died. 10. David, who married in Illinois, and died there. 11. Aaron, who married Martha, daughter of Richard Lewis, and resides in Huntington county. 12. Elizabeth, who married Seth Gardner, and lives near Arba. 13. Nathan, who married, first, Hannah Thompson; second, Mrs. Edith Anderson, and resides at Union City.

Obadiah Harris, from North Carolina, father of Benjamin, came several years later than his son, and still later, Obadiah, another son. They settled in New^ Garden, a mile south from Newport, whence they removed to Randolph county. Both father and son were preachers in the Society of Friends.

Luther Tillson was born eight miles from Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 17G6. He removed to Vermont, where he was married, and in 1802 removed with his family to Ohio, land- ing with a company of emigrants at Cincinnati on Christmas eve. He bought land and settled in Butler county. In 1817, he removed to Darke county, Ohio, near Franklin township in Wayne county, Indiana, where some of the family afterward settled. He had nine children, seven sons and two daughters. All had families except the youngest, a son. Only two are living, Isaiah and Hosea C, who reside at Bethel. Both united at an early age with the Christian Church at Bethel, of which both are elders. Hosea has been a minister for many years.

James White, son of James White, was born in Nelson county, Kentuck}^, June 9, 1792. In 1800, he removed with his father's family to Butler county, Ohio, where, eighteen months after, his father died. About the year 1810 or 1811 he came with the family to this county, and settled at or near where Middleboro' now is. He was married September 20, 1814, to Jane Boswell, a daughter of Barnabas Boswell, born August 24, 1794. In 1818, he settled in New Garden, now Eranklin township, about a mile and a half north-east from Whitewater, where he has resided until the present time. He had a large share of the experience of pioneer life. About the year 1826 he was elected a justice of the peace for the term of live years, and re-elected for a second term of five years; and after an interval of one term, was elected for a third term of five years. He also held the office of notary public by appointment from Gov. Willard and Gov. Wright. He had twelve children, all married, as follows: 1. Malinda, to James Garrett, and died in the township. He resides at Hagerstown. 2. Lucinda, to Peter Ellis, and resides at Whitewater. 3. Eleam, to Susan Curliner, and resides in the township. 4. Israel, to Nancy Oten. 5. Tabitha, to Augustus Bunch, and died at Whitewater. He removed to Tennessee. 6. James, to Anna Wright. 7. John, first to Sally Hubbard ; second, to Jane Tillson, and died in 1829. 8. Joseph married Esther Addleman. 9. Nathan married Anna Harrison. 10. William, to Salina Yannuys. 11. Daniel, to Martha Wright. 12. Jonathan, to Eliza Guess. Those living, whose residence is not mentioned, reside in the township.

were: 1. Mary, who married Milton Ashhy, who died of disease ill the war of 1812. She died in 1814, leaving two children, one of whom, Lavinia, married Wm. Austin, now residing at Winchester. 2. John, who settled near his brother James, married Delilah Boswell, and died in 1835. 3. Elizabeth, who married Abner Clawson ; botli dead. 4. Joseph, who married Alice Clawson, settled in Wayne township, and died December 26, 1868. They had six sons and four daughters; two daughters deceased. 5. Nathan, who married, first, EHzabeth Cook, and had a son, James C, who was killed in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain ; second, Susan Cox, by whom he had five sons and three daughters. 6. Sarah, Avho married Thomas Gray, and settled on the state line, Ohio side.

Source changes here: from Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond Indiana, by Hon. Henry Clay Fox, published 1912; 112 words in this source stream.

Franklin Township

Franklin Township

Franklin township is in the northeastern corner of Wayne county ; it is bounded on the east by the State of Ohio, on the north by Randolph county. It was formed from New Garden township, in May, 1834. Isaac Commons, of North Carolina, is believed to have been the first settler. He was soon followed by Robert Morrisson, John Nicholson, Barnabus Boswell, and Isaac Hiatt. The settlers were somewhat exposed during the war of 1812, but after the war the progress of settlement was more rapid. The first mill in the township was a saw mill, built about 1817 by William Starbuck, and the first church in the township was the Friends'.