Adams County IN Archives History - Books .....Chapter V Mrs. Ferry 1896
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Book Title: Reminiscences Of Adams, Jay And Randolph Counties

CHAPTER V.

    Mrs. L. P. Ferry, daughter of L. T. Bourie, possibly one of the very first
traders and merchants in this vicinity, was present at the meeting this morning.
Mrs. Ferry drew a pen picture of early Fort Wayne, which her grand-daughter,
Miss Minnie Orvis, read as follows:

    My father, Louis T. Bourie, whose life will be spoken of in this meeting by
one of his descendants, came to Fort Wayne from Detroit in 1762 as an Indian
trader and interpreter, built a house and store near the English fort. This fort
was located on the south bank of the St. Mary's river by Captain D'Vincennes,
founder of Vincennes, Ind. Gen. Wayne traced this fort in 1794. My parents were
warm personal friends of both Generals Wayne and Harrison. My father, after his
house was completed, brought his family to Fort Wayne to live. There were only
two houses besides his own. They returned to Detroit in 1814. When I was three
months old we returned to Fort Wayne, down the river in a peroque—a boat hewn
from a large log and propelled by paddles. The boat was large enough to hold
trunks, bedding, provisions and passengers. When we arrived there we found our
house had been destroyed by fire, so we lived in the fort until it was re-built.
The house was located on what is now the present site of Columbia street,
between Clinton and Barr streets. I first went to school in the fort about the
year 1822. My teacher being a Baptist missionary named McCoy. I next went to
school in the council house. In this room was a long row of cupboards where the
tobacco supplies were kept. When the boys were unruly the schoolmaster would
shut them up in these cupboards until they would almost suffocate. The girls in
those days never required punishment. I next went to school in the jail (the
present site of the court house) until a brick school could be completed which
wes being erected where the jail now stands. This old jail was built of logs and
was divided into two rooms, an upper and lower. The lower room was used for
criminals, and the upper, where we studied, was used for prisoners of debt.
People at that itme [sic] were incarcerated for debt. One man named Alexander,
was imprisoned quite frequently, but by some means escaped as soon as he was put
in. It was finally discovered that by putting his shoulder under a log he could
crawl out. After my return from school in Detroit I met my husband, Lucian P.
Ferry, a young lawyer, and in August, 1831, we were married. I cooked my first
meal in a fireplace ten feet long, as in those days cook stoves were an unknown
luxury in this part of the country, as there was no way of bringing them here.
In 1836 my husband bought me the first cook stove ever brought to Fort Wayne.

    A family traveling through by wagon stopped in Mr. Ferry's office and
offered to sell it. It proved a great curiosity, as people came from miles
around to see the "saddle bags," as they termed it, because of the manner in
which it was built, having a hole on each side and an oven built underneath.

    The only means of travel was on horseback or by water. You may like to hear
something of social life in those days. While we lived in a primative way, we
did not dress in primative style. Life was very gay, as the garrison was filled
with officers and their wives from eastern cities, and many parties were given
which were equal in elegance to the parties of to-day. After the officers left
other people came in to take their places.

    The ladies' dresses were rich brocaded silks, satins and canton crepes,
bodices cut decollette and sleeveless. Men wore the dress suit of to-day with
the exception of satin vests, ruffled shirts of linen cambric and silk or satin
stock. For general use, the satin vest was worn, but for traveling wore black
broadcloth.

    Provisions were brought in covered wagons from Piqua. The Indians loved wild
fruits, and in this region, on the present site of the Pittsburg depot, there
was an abundance of strawberries, wild plums and other fruits. The Indians were
accustomed to cherish the belief that for them the Great Spirit had especially
caused these to come forth and ripen each season, and every specie of food from
the roots, vegetables and fruits to the animals themselves were alike considered
as imbued with the same peculiar principle, in which the Great Spirit had
infused some special element of excellence intended to impart to the red man
both health and strength. Here more especially the blackberry was most abundant,
and from this fact this point was long known to the Indians as Ke-ki-on-ga,
signifying "blackberry patch." Chas. B. LaSalle says Ke-ki-on-ga passed among
the Miamis as a symbol of antiquity. But whether this name was given on account
of the spot being covered with blackberry or meant to represent it as the most
ancient village of their race in this country is not known to tradation. Thus
unusual regard for the place and the tenacity with which they so long defended
it would imply the latter supposition.

    I have seen Fort Wayne grow from a hamlet to the city it now is, and I have
the privilege of being the oldest settler in Fort Wayne.

    At the conclusion of these reminiscences Mrs. Ferry bowed to the audience as
the meeting was brought to a close.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Reminiscences of Adams, Jay and Randolph Counties

Compiled by Martha C. M. Lynch

Ft. Wayne, IN: Lipes, Nelson & Singmaster

Circa 1896

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/adams/history/1896/reminisc/chapterv471gms.txt

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