Section nine was entered by William Powers, William R. Roe, Eli Hoover, William Baltimore, William J. Cecil and Stephen Bunnell, during the years of 1829, '30, '31 and '35. The eastern portion of the section is high, or hilly, and along Prairie Creek, which drains the western portion of the section, is low, rich prairie land. The land is now owned by A. B. Cunningham, W. and B. Gilmore, F. M. Gates, A. L. Gates, A. G. Gates, L. G. Gates, J. and B. Cunningham, J. H. Shroyer, N. Howell and S. Carmichael. The Muncie and Blountsville pike crosses the section and school No. 9 is on the southeast corner.The government land in section ten was entered by John Buck, Samuel Halstead, William Locke, William Ball, Joseph Fifer, Thomas Edwards, Martin Hoover, Henry Hart and Stephen Bunnell, during the years from 1831 to 1837, and is now owned by I. W. Swingley, C. Swingley, E. H. Valentine, J. Hawk, R. B. Linsey, J. C. F. Thornburg, P. A. Helm, O. F. Bowers, W. L. Linsey and A. J. Blount. This is the only section in the township that can lay claim to a good road on each of its borders and entirely surrounding the section.
Section eleven was entered by Moses Hudson, Benjamin J. Blythe, George Holloway, Charles Miller, Paul Way, John Buck and Henry Way, in the years 1832, '33, '34 and '36. The present owners are E. C. Sutton, H. A. Sutton, G. W. Keesling, T. C. Reese, J. A. Mills, J. C. Turnboldt, W. A. Jordan, L. and R. Gates and O. O. Linsey. The Christian church is located on the southwest corner; gravel road along the south and west lines.
Section twelve borders on Randolph county, and is the center of Perry township, north and south. Its lands were entered by Thomas Clevenger, Norris Fleming, John Thornburg, Jacob Branson, Joseph Whitacre, Solomon H. May, Samuel Rooks, Evan Jay, John Helms, Henry Hill and Ephraim Emmons, and is now owned by John Linsey, L. Linsey, S. M. Warner, S. Hackman, L. Gilmore, T. C. Reese, J. Mills and J. Thornburg. School No. 8 is on the south quarter and a cemetery on the northwest corner.
The earliest entry of land in section 13, Perry township, was made June 4, 1822, and the last on February 1, 1837. The original purchasers were Benjamin Carr, Edward Thornburg, Sr., Isaac Thornburg, Joseph McClurkin, Isaac W. Beeson, Alexander Thornburg and John A. Locke. The present owners of this section are G. H. Thornburg, E. W. Thornburg, L. Gilmore, A. Gates, J. H. Thornburg, R. B. Lindsey, J. A. Mills and C. E. Trees. The highest point of elevation in the county is in this section, in the west half, and near the center of the section north and south. The section has three gravel roads and the northwest part is crossed by Stony creek.
Section No. 14 was entered by James Warren, David Stephens, James Livingston, Robert Hindman, William Locke, Michael Wolfe, Jackson Brewer and Isiah Templin. These entries, with the exception of the one made by Isiah Templin (1835) were all made in the year 1836. The present owners of land in this section are M. and A. Yockey, R. B. Lindsey, S. Hindman, C. E Trees, J. C. Thornburg, A. Yockey, M. Cunningham, J. E. Fletcher and D. Fletcher. The section is surrounded by gravel roads with the exception of three-fourths of a mile. Stony Creek crosses the southeast corner of this section.
The lands in section 15 were entered by Michael Wolfe, William C. Ball, Henry Way, James Hart, Jesse Pugh, Jonathan Warren, William Locke and Leonard Stump in the years of 1835-36 and 37; and are now owned by I. S. Clevenger, J. Clevenger, I. V. Thornburg, J. E. Fletcher, S. A. Thompson, D. Fletcher, A. G. Gates, A. H. Hiatt, R. P. Shanklin, L. Gates, C. Hart, F. M.Hewitt and William Beall. School No. 6 is located on the southwest quarter and the section has gravel roads on the south and east lines.
As early as 1803, there were petitions presented to our national congress, asking for changes in our system of disposing of public lands, whereby would-be purchasers of small tracts could be accommodated, and where sections were before sold, they could be divided and sold into half sections, half sections in quarters, quarters in eights, result of which was to cause a rapid settling up of government lands, the government, at the time of the settling of Delaware county selling land in quantities of forty acres or more. Another wise provision was the reservation of one thirty-sixth part of all public lands, (or one section in each township) which the government gave in perpetuity for school purposes. Then for convenience, it was determined that section 16 (it being near the center of each township) should be designated and reserved as such school section. For our purpose, suffice it to say that the Indiana State Legislature passed all sections numbered sixteen in this State into the hands of officials whose duty it became to rent, sell, or otherwise dispose of these sections for the benefit of the schools of the respective townships in which they were located. This explanation, we trust, fully accounts for section numbered sixteen never being entered, but sold to settlers by the officials having the proper authority, and the purchase money used for the education of the children of the township.
Therefore, section 16, in Perry township, was sold on August 14, 1830, as follows: East half of northeast quarter, 80 acres, to Samuel Harvey, at $2.50 per acre; west half of northeast quarter, 80 acres, to John Armentrout, at $2.50 per acre; northeast quarter of southeast quarter, 40 acres, to Israel Shoemaker, at $1.25 per acre; southeast quarter of southeast quarter, 40 acres, to Leonard Stump, at $1.25 per acre; west half of southeast quarter, 80 acres, to Leonard Stump, $1.87½ per acre; northwest quarter, 160 acres, to John Reese, at $1.20 per acre; east half of southwest quarter, 80 acres, to Jesse Delaney, at $1.75 per acre; northwest quarter of southwest quarter, 40 acres, to Stephen Bunnel, at $1.25 per acre; southwest quarter of southwest quarter, 40 acres, to William H. Underhill, at $1.25 per acre. Thus the entire section sold for the sum of $890. While that may seem a small amount for a section of land in the rich region of Perry to us, yet the amount would go further toward educating the children of the township than many times that amount would now. The present owners of land in section 16 are E. D. Jackson, A. Hiatt, R. P. Shanklin, L. Hewitt, F. M. Hewitt, J. H. Reese, L. Johnson and Thomas Marshall.
The pike running from Muncie to Blountsville (the old State road) passes through the section near the center, and Scott's Run crosses the eastern portion. The eastern portion is convenient to two school houses; No. 6 being near the southeast corner and No. 9 near the northeast corner of the section.
Section No. 17 was settled early in the twenties, and its land taken up in 1823 to 1836. These entries were made by Solomon Sanford, William Underhill, William Bunnel, Hervy Bates and Jesse Jackson. The present owners of I7 are L. A. Linville, L. Odle, M. J. Felton, L. Johnson, G. M. Reese, J. B Howell, J. Jackson, R. Felton, F. H. Linville, J. Linville, James Carmichael, J. S. Hutchings and James H. Jackson. The road from New Burlington to Mt. Pleasant passes through the section near its center, being on the half section line from the north line to the center, at which point it angles to the west of south. Another road crosses the section east and west on the half section line.
1834 is the earliest entry of land in section18, and during that and the two succeeding years all the public land in the section was entered by Martin Galliher, Thomas C. Anthony, Jesse Jackson, Isaac Branson, Elijah Harrold, Morgan Thornburg, Joseph Cheeseman and Jonathan Thornburg. The present landlords of section 18 are E. D. Pommel, M. Masterson, D. Jackson, F. H. Linville, S. J. Hutchings, James H. Jackson, Lewis Keesling, Jacob Keesling, P. Turner, O. F. Nelson and Mrs. H. Shuttleworth. A road crosses the section east and west on the half section line, and another almost north and south, east of the center.
Section 19 is the southwest section of the township. This section was entered by Mahlon Branson, John Lewis, Samuel Poff, Peter Dragoo, Isaac Branson and Robert Franklin from 1830 to 1836, inclusive, and is now owned by Lewis Keesling, P. H Chalfant, S. J. Dragoo, M. Taylor and O. C. Dragoo. The village of Mt. Pleasant is located on the line between this section and section 20.
Section 20 was entered in the years of 1833-35-36-37, John Armantrout, Isaac N. Delaney, William Honnell, David Fetrick, Elias Burkett, Henry Riggs, William Heaton, Abraham Slover and William P. Mathews, and is now owned by R. Felton, E. Reese, Elijah Felton, M. Shockley, G. Chalfant, J. S. Huffman, W. A. Acker, J. Acker, P. H. Chalfant and P. Oxley.
The first public land in section 21 was entered as early as September, 1829. Others in 1830-31-33-34-35 and 36. The names of the parties availing themselves of homesteads in this section at government prices were Leonard Stump, James Lindley, Thomas Keener, Hosea Sisk, Joseph Cowgill, Hervey Bates, William Lindley, Rachael Dummit, Daniel Kessler and Charles Lindley. The land is now owned by A. M. Ofterdinger, R. Marshall, M. Marshall, S. Parks, E. Bird, E. Marshall, T. Marshall and H. Acker. The Muncie, New Burlington and Blountsville pike (old state road) passes through this section, while other good roads run through and along the borders of the section.
Section 22 was entered by John Elliott, Ebenezer Elliott, Leonard Stump and William Locke, all of whom made their purchases in 1836, from March 7 to December 16. This section has gravel roads on the east and north lines. The land is now owned by W. Lindsey, D. and A. Fletcher, J. S. Jordan, W. A. Jordan, John Daugherty, W. E. Daugherty, C. Howell, G. Paul, C. Daugherty, William Beall and A. J. Cross.
Section No. 23 was entered in the years from 1829 to 1836 by Tarah Templin, John Lenington, Eli Fox, Robert Templeton, John Elliott, Michael Wolfe, Isaac Blount, Calvin Ball and Robert Worrell. One of these first purchasers, Eli Fox, was the possessor of the shortest name we ever remember of having seen or heard, six letters spelling both his first and last name. The owners of land in this section at this time are William A. Jordan, H. Ofterdinger, J. A. Jordan, John Daugherty, M. C. Worl, and S. M. and S. Linville. This section has two gravel roads running north and south, one on the west line, the other eighty rods west of the east line.
Section 24 is the southeast corner section of both the county and the township, and its lands were entered in 1832-35-36 and 37, by Hugh McCune, Lemuel Hamilton, James Lindley, Jr., William C. Swan, Abraham Lenington, John Beckelshymer, Isaac Wrightsman and Samuel Bedwell, and are now owned by J. H. Thornburgh, James Davidson, B. Bird, C. E. Trees and William A. Jordan. This section has one gravel road that passes through the section north and south, eighty-three rods west of the east or the Randolph county line. School house No. 7 is located on the northwest corner.
(End of Perry Township-Click NEXT for Liberty Township)
