U
Delaware County, Indiana
KITH AND KIN CONNECTION

On Union Township - Excerpts from Our County, Its History and Early Settlement by Townships, John S. Ellis, 1898

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John B. Babb was one of those handy men who could turn his hand to various kinds of work besides clearing land and farming, and, in 1841, while engaged in walling a well for a Mr. William Tippin, who lived on the northeast quarter of section 15, on land entered by Joshua Shideler, in 1835, a stone accidently fell from the top of the well thirty-six feet, striking Mr. Babb on the head, fracturing the skull, from the effect of which he lay unconscious for six days, but finally recovered and lived many years afterwards, a useful citizen to the community.------- The first mill built in the township, and in fact one of the first in the county, was built by Francis Harris on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 25, Mr. Harris having purchased the land of the government on February 16, 1831. This first mill was crude in construction, the building being of round logs, and the mill-stones or buhrs being dressed out of "nigger heads," which were and still are found in abundance all along tile river. For a bolting chest a hollow sycamore log did duty, and a harmonious crudeness characterized all the departments. Mr. Harris continued in the milling business for some eight or nine years, when he sold out to Frederick Carter, Caleb Carter and Thomas Johnson. About 1847 the firm of Carter & Johnson erected a frame building on the same site, in which they placed two run of buhrs and a sash, or perpendicular saw, for sawing lumber, for which there began to be a great demand. Shortly after the erection of this mill, the firm sold out to Charles and George Carter, and soon after this transaction the mill was destroyed by fire. The Carter Brothers rebuilt their mill at once on the same site and operated it successfully for a number of years, in fact until one of the firm (George) died, when his brother Charles purchased his deceased brother's interest, extended the race some distance farther west, erected a new saw-mill, and afterwards a four-story flouring mill. The mill is located in the southern part of Eaton, and is known as the Carter mill, a monument to the enterprise and industry of one of Union's oldest citizens.----- About 1845 David Studebaker erected a saw-mill on the west half of the southeast quarter of section 22, just below the point where the Studebaker pike crosses the Mississinnewa river. By turns this mill was converted into a flouring, carding, and finally general woolen manufacturing mills.------The first church organization we have any account of was at the residence of John Ginn, who came to the township in January 1830. Mr. Ginn was a native of Ireland, emigrating first to Pennsylvania, from thence to Morgan county, Ohio, and from there to Delaware county, Ind., where he spent the remainder of his life, a well respected and honored citizen.-------The church organization referred to occurred about 1833, when seven or eight adherents to the tenets of the denomination, under the pastoral labors of Rev. Robert Burnes, were united as a class of the Methodist Episcopal church. At nearly the same time, another class of the same denomination, was organized at the cabin of Tristram Starbuck, who was one of the first settlers, and who made the second entry of land in the township. Mr. Starbuck lived in section 22, and Mr. Ginn in 18, so it only being some two or three miles from one of these class headquarters to the other, they eventually united, and Richard Craw, one of the members, donated a lot of ground from his farm, upon which they built a log church, and named it "Mount Zion." Among the early prominent members of this church were Martin Brandt and wife, James Rutherford and wife, John Gorthop and wife, Leonard Cline and wife, Phillip Keller and wife, Richard William and John Craw and their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Tristram Starbuck and Mrs. Isaac Cox. The log church, "Mount Zion," continued to serve the purpose of worship until 1867, it was superceeded by the present brick edifice.------ The Christian church of Eaton grew out of an organization formed at the home of Robert Long, east of Eaton, in 1839 or '40. Like most church meetings, this organization first met at the cabin homes of the settlers, then at school houses, in summer time when the weather would permit, in the groves. Among the early ministers of this church were Ebenezer Thompson, Elder Montford, Amos Willson, George H. Babb, Benjamin Martindale, Samuel Hendricks, Elijah Martindale and Thomas Wiley. In 1858 Charles Carter donated to the society the lot on which was built the Eaton Christian church. -----The German Baptist church was organized in 1840 at the home of Jacob Gump, just south of the present town of Eaton, where their meetings were held for a number of years. In 1855 they bought a lot of James Long on the east half of the southeast quarter of section 23, and south side of the river, and in the same year erected a substantial frame house for worship. ------Union township has but one town and a half, all of Eaton and half of Shideler are in this township Eaton dates back to 1870, when the railroad from Muncie to Ft Wayne was completed, but was incorporated in 1873. The population in that year was one hundred and fifty-eight. ------Although a comparatively new place, yet Eaton will be noted in history for many generations as the pioneer gas town of Indiana. Early in the fall of 1886 the first gas well in Indiana was drilled in at Eaton. This well was about forty or fifty feet east of the railroad, and a few hundred feet south of the river. ------Several years prior to this date, W. W. Worthington, then superintendent of the Ft. Wayne and Southern Railroad, together with George W. Carter, a business man of Eaton, concluded to drill at this point for the purpose of ascertaining if there was not a strata of coal underlying this territory, but after sinking their drill several hundred feet, struck gas, but did not know what they had found; but from the roaring noise produced by escaping gas, and the stench of the same, concluded that they were perhaps encroaching on the territory of his satanic majesty, and at once abandoned their project. However, in after years when gas had been discovered in the country about Findlay, Ohio, and excursions were made to see the wonderful discovery, Mr. Carter being on one of these excursions, at once recognized the important fact that it was nothing more nor less than natural gas that he and Mr. Worthington had drilled into, and at once commenced work, reopened their former operations, and in doing so opened the way to the most grand results of any discovery ever made in this or any other country. And now the hundreds of factories, and thousands of operatives and armies of laborers look to the unpretentious village of Eaton as the starting point of their great success.----- Many adventures were had by the early settlers of this as well as other localities, which have never been given the public through print. One, which now occurs to our mind, was that of Jackson Green, then a young pioneer hunter. Mr. Green was out deer hunting, and his dogs coming close onto a large buck near the Mississinewa river, just above the Carter dam, the deer being pretty well run down, and perhaps thinking that he could the better defend himself, took to the water. Mr. Green coming up feared to shoot for fear of killing one of his dogs, they being in the water around the deer. So, leaving his gun on shore, he started to the assistance of his dogs, and the deer started for him, he caught the deer by the antlers and a desperate conflict ensued, the deer rearing and striking at him with its sharp hoofs, and he in turn endeavoring to drown the buck by twisting his head and throwing him on his back and drowning him, which he finally succeeded in doing after several attempts, and when almost in despair, wishing all the time that some one would come along to "help him let go."(Pages 76-70)
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One of the land owners of section 14, who now lives in Eaton, and is engaged in merchandising, we think should be mentioned in this connection, for a history of Union township, without mention of David Brandt would be incomplete. Mr. Brandt is not only a pioneer of the township, but may well be considered one of the pioneer business men of the county, and one of the oldest, if not the very oldest, merchants, in the county. He was engaged in business a half mile east of where Eaton is (at "Hen Peck") long before there was any Eaton, is now over eighty years old and still actively engaged in business. Mr. Brandt came to Union township nearly sixty years ago and has been a leader in all things pertaining to the interests of the community ever since. (Page 81)
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It perhaps sounds strange to read of the former navigation of the Mississinewa river. However, it is a fact that boats for carrying freight were built and sent down the river loaded with the products of the country along the stream as early, as 1838, and for a number of years after ward. The first of these voyages we have any account of was made in 1838 by Jacob Gump and Joseph Snider. The boat of these early settlers was a flat-boat, fifty or perhaps sixty feet in length, four feet wide and three feet deep. On this was placed one hundred barrels of flour, two barrels of lard, three barrels of linseed oil, together with a quantity of bacon, coon skins, ginseng, and in fact anything the settlers could gather up that would bring cash in the market to which the craft was bound, which in this case was Peru, Indiana, some sixty miles down the river, and a short distance below where the Mississinewa empties into the Wabash river. The pilot of this boat was one Abraham Gray, who was supposed to know the river, although we do not suppose he had a regular United States license, as pilots are now required to hold before being allowed to take charge of the steering apparatus of a boat. The crew consisted of four men, each of whom manned an oar. The trip down was supposed to consume two days, and as it was not considered safe to navigate at night, the boat was tied fast to a tree, the crew went ashore and cooked and ate their supper, rolled up in their blankets and slept until morning, when, after a hearty breakfnst, they would resume their voyage. Reaching their journey's end, they sold their cargo for cash, sold their boat to some one who wished to proceed still farther down the river, made what purchases they could carry, and then started for home on foot, where they would arrive in two or three days, to the delight of waiting wives and children, and the envy of all the neighboring boys. And why not? Had they not been on a long voyage and had safely returned? Among others who ventured their hard earnings on the river in flat-boats was John Black, who found his first flour market, the product of his mill above Granville in Delaware township, at Peru and points along the river. This process of marketing was kept up until late in the forties, when the big feeder dam was placed across the river near Peru, which put an end to navigation above that point.--------- So far as we have been able to gather the facts, the first school ever taught in Union township was by Miss Susan Handley, in a cabin which stood on the southeast quarter of section 21, then owned by Junius McMillan, and now owned by F. R. Foorman. This school was taught by Miss Handley in the winter months of 1836 and 1837, sixty-two years ago. Her salary was contributed by six of the citizens who were patrons of the school; these were Wilson Martin, Junius McMillan, William Essley, Philip Stoner, Aaron Mote and Francis Harris, who paid $1.50 for each pupil he sent. In 1837 a log house was built on the land then owned by Aaron Mote, now by D. A. Barley, on the northeast quarter of section 23. This house was built especially for school purposes and was perhaps the first school house in the township. During the winter following (1837) William Campbell taught school in the new school house. During the same winter (1837 and '38) Robert Wharton taught school in a cabin on the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 19, on the land of Havilla Green. This forty acre tract is now owned by Liberty Ginn, and lies one mile west of school house No. 6. This was the first house known as the "Green school house."(Pages 75-75)
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