Greene County IN Archives History - Books .....Chapter XVIII Cass Township 1884
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Book Title: History Of Greene And Sullivan Counties, Indiana

CHAPTER XVIII.

CASS TOWNSHIP—COMING OF THE PIONEERS—THE EARLY PREACHERS— MLSCELLANEOI'S
INCIDENTS OF INTEREST—EARLY FARMING CUSTOMS —KING COTTON AND QUEEN
TOBACCO—INCIDENTS OF THE CHASE— THE FIRST MAIL—INDUSTRIES—THE EARLY
WEDDINGS—EARLY NEWBERRY—THE WABASH & ERIE CANAL—NEWBERRY IN CANAL TIMES —SCHOOLS
OF THE TOWNSHIP—ST. PETER'S CHURCH—THE METHODIST CHURCH—THE CHURCH OF CHRIST—THE
HIGH SCHOOL.

IT is thought that Isaac Doan was the first settler in the present Cass
Township, but the date of his location cannot be given. His log cabin stood near
the eastern boundary of the township on the creek which bears his name. He
settled at the Hattabaugh field, near the bridge, on the north side of the
creek. It is said that he was a famous hunter, not only of deer but of bears and
panthers, and was a dead shot with the rifle, an attainment of which all the
noted hunters could boast. Among the earliest settlers were the Richeys, Mr.
Howell, William Bynum, Samuel Bynum, John Bynum, Daniel Bynum, William Bynum,
Jr., James Bynum, John O'Neal, Benson Jones, Peter B. Lester, John Slinkard,
Andrew Slinkard, Frederick Slinkard, Moses Slinkard, Henry Slinkard, John
Slinkard, Jr., Daniel Slinkard, Robert Clark, Abner Bogard, Samuel Ewing, the
hatter, W. D. Lyles, Bazil Lyles, Nathan Chandler, Joseph Beals, Dr. Dennis.
Several of these became prominent and useful citizens, whose descendants remain
to honor their eventful lives. Henry O'Neal, father of William and John F., came
from South Carolina and settled on the Skomp place, and then moved to Daviess
County. His children and grandchildren have been among the most respected
citizens of all that locality. John F. O'Neal became a leading politician of
Greene County, serving in the Lower House of the State Legislature, and in the
Senate. He had been a Democrat, but in 1856, at the Presidential election, he
changed his vote and was one of the only five in Cass Township to help the
"Pathfinder" toward the White House.

THE OLD-TIME PREACHERS.

   John O'Neal was a Quaker, and preached many of the early sermons in the
township. He was a man of strong personal magnetism, and possessed a rude
eloquence which found its way to the hearts of hundreds of his neighbors. The
Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, the founder of a religion which has become strong
in the land in more meanings than one, and which is yet destined to cause
serious trouble in the affairs of the nation, was one of the early preachers of
Cass Township. He endeavored to secure proselytes to his faith, but so far as
known did not succeed in Cass Township. One wife was enough. The people, though
rude, ignorant and impulsive, could not accept Joseph Smith as the Prophet of
God or his Bible as the work of divine inspiration. So the famous or infamous
Joe sought other and greener pastures. He is said to have been a speaker of
unusual power and persuasion. Joe Wilson was another early minister; so was
William Plusky, and Ephraim Hall, and John Lynn, and John Wilson, and William
Roach, the latter being a resident of Daviess County and a man of gigantic
stature and stentorian voice. He was well advanced in years, and is said to have
been six feet and seven inches high, and big and heavy in proportion. His voice
was like a deep-toned steamboat whistle, and could often be heard at camp
meetings two miles away. He wore number fourteen boots, which were prepared
expressly for him, at Louisville, Ky., but these were really too small for him,
and he was forced to wear moccasins made, it is said, by himself. The
extraordinary size of his feet, however, did not affect the vigor or pathos of
his sermons.

INCIDENTS OF INTEREST.

   In many respects, the Richey family were remarkable. The girls were pretty,
were wooed by the pioneer youth, and were the belles of the neighborhood. The
boys were of great strength and activity, possessing rare combinations of nerve
and muscle. They became noted wrestlers, and were rarely vanquished. They were
not quarrelsome, but when insulted or wronged could and would resent with a
force that was irresistible. It is said that several of them could stand, and at
three jumps forward, clear forty feet, and three jumps backward clear thirty
feet, and and at one running jump clear twenty-one feet. You that boast of your
activity take these measurements and endeavor to equal these distances and see
how easily and surely you will "light too soon." The Richeys were Methodists,
and were among the best of the early settlers. The Bynums were prominent, and
were connected by marriage with the O'Neals and others. One of the boys, while
carrying pumpkins from a field on a sharpened stick, fell, and in some
unaccountable way, ran the stick through his body, killing him almost instantly.
Peter R. Lester first came to Salem, Ind., but in 1820 moved to Greene County,
locating on the bluffs of White River near the mouth of Doan's Creek. He was
thus one of the first settlers in this locality. At this time, the township was
sparsely settled. It is probable that Doan reached the township as early as
1817, coming, it is said, from Washington, Daviess County, near where he had
previously located. The main portion of the earliest settlers came from 1818 to
1824.

EARLY METHODS OF FARMING.

   By 1828, there were probably fifteen cabins scattered over the present Cass
Township. All were of logs with the traditional cat-and-clay chimney, the huge
fire-place, the rude chairs, benches, floor and door, and the hanging herbs,
skins, dried venison and beef and the rifles and axes. The ground when cleared
was rich, and on the lower lands fifty bushels of corn could be raised to the
acre. The old wooden mold-board plow was the principal agricultural implement,
or perhaps that ancient implement, the hoe, was, as the stumps and roots were
too thick for plows. Corn was ground at Slinkard's mill, or at Washington,
Daviess County, where the settlers usually went, when the winter's supply of
flour was to be obtained and where the marketing was done, the trip consuming
several days. There it was that the first plows were sharpened. The cutter could
be taken off and sharpened by a blacksmith, and re-attached. The old wooden
mold-board plow mostly in use was called "Bull's Plow." and was regarded as a
high type of art. Blacksmiths made them. In a short time, shops were established
nearer than Washington, and home mills, stores, etc., as good as could be found
any where in the wilderness, rendered useless the long and harassing trip to
Daviess County. Wheat was raised in small quantities, and was threshed with the
flail on a puncheon floor, or in some cases tramped out after the custom so old
that the memory of the man runneth not to the contrary. It was the custom in the
reign of the Pharaohs of Egypt and in the old Assyrian and Babylonian dynasties
in times antedating authentic history. Cattle were driven round and round upon
the grain in the stock until all was cut in pieces, when the grain was separated
from the chaff by the tedious process of winnowing. Corn was raised easier by
the early settlers than wheat, and was the "staff of life." "Hog and hominy"
have become household words in the Hoosier dialect. Pumpkins were grown in large
quantities and sweetened and prepared for the table with maple sugar or syrup,
or fed to cattle. The peavine pastures of early years were famous places for the
herds of cattle. Cattle eagerly sought this vine, and though it imparted a
strong taste to milk and butter, still it was not unpleasant after a few weeks'
use. Hogs ran wild in the woods, subsisting the year round on the rich "mast"
which covered the ground.

COTTON WAS KING.

   It seems strange, but the fact is that in early years cotton was quite
extensively grown in Cass and other townships of Greene County. The early
settlers, many of them, had come from the Southern States, where cotton and
tobacco were the principal staples, and where it was thought that "cotton was
King," and tobacco Queen, and that their kingdom was bounded on the east and
west by the oceans, and on the north and south by the British possessions and
Mexico. It was not dreamed that the rich soil of the Northern States was to
create a revolution in farm products, placing corn and wheat on the throne so
long occupied by the justly illustrious cotton and tobacco. So it came to pass
that the early settlers brought seed of cotton and tobacco with them to Indiana.
In a short time, a large number of the first residents annually grew from one to
five acres of cotton, and from a few rows to an acre of tobacco, both of which
products were mainly consumed at home. The cotton was freed of seed by a
neighboring cotton-gin, and was then taken in hand, and in a short time, by
various and mysterious processes, transformed into garments of sundry sizes and
hues. Before the gin was brought in, the seed was picked out by hand in picking
bees by the girls and boys. Many a match of pioneer youth was struck and lighted
into fervid flame at these pickings. Yes, your father and mother, now old and
wrinkled, with palsied hands and tottering feet, were then young and rosy and
strong, with warm and loving hearts under linsey-woolsey and jeans and tow, and
with spirits "feather light" in the merry morning of their lives. Soon you came
on the stage in swaddling clothes, very red in the face, lifting up your voice
in doleful lamentations, and then father and mother were never tired waiting
upon you, tenderly watching your uncertain growth and directing your energies in
healthful pursuits and curbing your abnormal passions with the specific of
Solomon. Can you do too much for them now? They are standing on the brink of the
river of Death, and can hear the surf beat on the rocky shore of time, and can
see the dark boat in the distance coming for them. They know as the Arab
beautifully expresses it, that

   "The black camel named Death kneeleth once at each door
    And a mortal must mount to return nevermore."

   There is no evasion. When the camel comes one must go. There is time but for
a kind word, a clasp of the hand, a kiss, a last good-bye and the boat leaves
the strand and goes out into misty oblivion. Once the old loved to pick cotton
for your little form, loved to meet pioneer associates with salutations of the
backwoods; but now they live only in memory—in the happy days of the dead past
where their hearts lie.

WILD GAME.

    Wild animals were very numerous, and were represented by some of the largest
and most dangerous. Bears were often seen and not infrequently encountered. Deer
were far more numerous than sheep, and could be killed at any hour of the day or
night. Their hides were worth about 50 cents each, and a "saddle of venison"
brought less than that. In some cases hogs were as savage as bears, and were
known to attack man when cornered, and when it seemed likely that they were
destined for the pork barrel. The tusks of the males frequently attained a
length of six inches, were turned up at the points and as sharp as knives.

Wolves were numerous, went in small packs, and it was next to impossible to keep
sheep unless they were guarded by day and securely penned up by night. Foxes
were killed once in awhile. Wild cats infested the woods. Panthers frequented
deer licks. Squirrels were a nuisance. Corn had to be guarded constantly until
the kernal had sent up a tall stock and rotted away. They were hunted and killed
by the hundreds by companies of men organized for the purpose. Turkeys, very
large and fat, were on every settler's table. Wild geese, ducks, brants,
pheasants, otters and a few beavers were also present to afford the hunter sport
and the settler subsistence. One day, Isaiah Hale, who had been away, returned
home through the woods, and while walking along suddenly came upon a large bear,
which had been concealed from him by intervening brush. He was so close to it
that he could not escape, for it instantly reared up and struck at him with its
paw, catching his hand with its paw and badly lacerating it. He then ran back,
and bruin left, seemingly as glad to escape as he was.

MAILS, DISTILLERIES, FIRST MARRIAGES, ETC.

   Mail was for the first few years obtained at Washington, Daviess County. In
about 1825, a mail route was established from Evansville to Indianapolis,
passing through Greene County, and the route lay through Cass Township. This
gave the settlers better facilities for mail. Tanneries were numerous. The work
done in them was called "hog-trough tanning." The process usually required
several months for completion. The vats were simply logs hollowed out, and hence
the name "hog-trough tanning." Thomas Plummer, after whom old Plummer Township
was named, owned and conducted a distillery. It was started about the year 1826,
and ran several years. It served a double purpose— furnished the settlers with a
market for corn, and likewise furnished them what was considered one of the
necessities of life—whisky. People actually thought they must have whisky, and
no house "was found without it. One of the first marriages in the township was
that of Joseph Hepner and Susanna Bynum. The certificate was issued February 4,
1822, and the marriage solemnized by Rev. I. Stewart six days later. This was a
typical pioneer wedding, and a fine supper of substantials was enjoyed at night.
Another early marriage was that of Andrew Slinkard and Mary Westner, the license
being issued February 22, 1822, and the marriage occurring four days later, Rev.
Stewart performing the ceremony. James Adams and Anna Wolf were united in the
"holy bonds of wedlock" on the 3d of September, 1822, by Squire Frederick Slinkard.

NEWBERRY BEFORE THE CANAL.

   Old Newberry was first laid out in the fall of 1822 on land owned by that
fine old Quaker gentleman, John O'Neal, and the first house was built by Moses
Ritter, it is said. The building was a log cabin, and was used a little later as
a store by Mr. Ritter, who afterward did an extensive mercantile business at the
county seat. In about 1827, Cary O'Neal opened a store in the village, his
stock, it is said, being worth about $500, but was afterward increased to
several thousand dollars' worth, and greatly improved in quality. Peter B.
Lester was also an early merchant in Newberry. He had a good stock of dry goods,
bringing supplies in wagons from Louisville, and sometimes at Salem, then quite
an important town. He also kept groceries and a general assortment of store
supplies used in the backwoods. O'Neal had the leading store at Newberry for
many years. A Mr. Hinds was in with goods at a later day. Some flat-boating was
done from Newberry by the early merchants. The town was named for Newberry, N.
C., whence some of the early settlers came. Honey and beeswax were leading
articles of exchange. Benjamin F. Morse, it is said, succeeded the O'Neals in
the mercantile business. He is said to have been the first Postmaster. The town
was very small and inconspicuous until after the building of the canal, when it
became an important commercial point. The first doctor was probably Dennis. The
town before the canal days numbered about twenty families at its best, and had
blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, tanners, shoe-makers, etc.

THE WABASH & ERIE CANAL.

   Joseph Knight, Hugh Stewart and Alonzo Knight were contractors on the canal.
The work wa3 commenced late in the forties and finished early in the fifties.
Their contract comprised the feeder dam, the guard bank, the locks and five
miles of excavation above, the estimated value of the contract being $140,000.
The survey of the canal was made in the fall of 1848, the engineers being
Whittle, Pope, Burdan and Hutchinson. The location of the dam was selected by
Jesse L. Williams, and W. H, Ball, chief engineer of the Wabash & Erie Canal.
The contracts were let at Point Commerce in 1848. The survey and the letting of
the contracts were great events, and large crowds assembled to hear the bidding
and the news. James Bouquet was one of the architects. Owen and Bynum were
treasurers, and John F. Slinkard was clerk. A large store was kept at Newberry
expressly for the workmen on the canal, who numbered about 150. While the work
was going on, life was infused into all branches of business. The difficult work
of extending the canal across the river was easily effected by the skillful
Superintendents.

NEWBERRY AFTER THE CANAL.

   The canal no sooner became a certainty than Newberry "took a new lease of
life." Other merchants came in, mechanics appeared, and all kinds of business
multiplied. Livery stables, butcher shops, barbers, carpenters appeared. The
town was re-surveyed in the winter of 1848 by Benjamin F. Cressy, and the public
sale of lots took place the following spring. Many were sold—some to those who
became residents and some to speculators. Among the leading business men were
Hugh Stewart, Alonzo Knight, Joseph Knight, B. F. Morse, Frederick Slinkard, J.
Slinkard. F. P. Stark, John Basker, Daniel A. Bynum, Walter Early, Dr. McDaniel,
Thomas H. Johnson, John Lander and others. A great deal of shipping was done as
soon as the canal was finished, and even steamboats came up for cargoes. Morse
had a large warehouse, where grain was stored and thence shipped when markets
were favorable. Early also owned a warehouse, as did J. Slinkard. The shipments
of produce were mostly to New Orleans, and the journey required about six weeks.
The town was very prosperous from 1848 to 1858. Morse sent $9,000 worth of
produce to New Orleans every spring from 1848 to 1856. D. A. Bynum, Dr. McDaniel
and Jonas Slinkard also made shipments. Several of the early fairs were held at
Newberry, as were also several of the early Teachers' Institutes. Since the
canal days, the activity has not been so great. The town is now considered a
good trading point by commercial men. If it gets the projected T. H. & S. E. R.
R., there will be a permanent revival of the old canal days.

THE TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS.

   The Plummer Schoolhouse, three-fourths of a mile from Doan's Creek, and
Wesner Schoolhouse, one-fourth mile from First Creek, were the first built in
Cass Township. They were constructed of small poles, and the cracks were left
open probably for ventilation. The floors were of dirt, and there was no
fire-place nor window. David Bradford was the first teacher. He sat in an old
chair at one end of the room, and heard the scholars recite as they arrived and
mastered their lessons. The school was by subscription of $2 for each scholar
for the term of three months. School was taught in the fall before the cold
weather appeared. Recesses were not given; intermission, one hour at noon. It
was not long before other schools were started, and by 1830 there were three
well-established schools in the township. Early in the thirties, the first
school money was obtained from the sale of the sixteenth section, and early in
the forties the first special fund was received. At this time, there were five
schools in Cass. The new law of 1852 greatly improved the schools and
school-houses. Emma and Eliza Ritter taught the first schools in Newberry.

CHURCH INFLUENCES.*

*Furnished by Prof. J. W. Walker.

   The chastening and hallowed influences of the Gospel followed close upon the
footsteps of the pioneers. A settler's cabin was hardly up before an itinerant
was there with his Bible and hymn book gathering the family for devotion around
the altar in the wilderness. The first settlers were an intensely earnest
people; they manifested no half-way religious feeling, but worked for their
Master as they worked for themselves, with loud shouts and heavy blows. The
first meetings were held in the houses of the settlers. They were soon removed
to the log schoolhouse, and as the country became more densely populated, a
meeting house became a necessity, and had to be built. The pioneers seemed to be
inspired with a progressive zeal.

ST. PETER'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

   At a meeting held at Andrew Slinkard's on the 23d of December, 1849, the
members present resolved that they would organize a church. The following
persons were elected Elders: Frederic Slinkard, George Wesner and Isaac Skomp.
Mr. Slinkard had been an Elder of the Union Church of Greene and Daviess
Counties. It was decided that the organization should be known by the name of
St. Peter's Church. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments formed the rule
and guide of their church government. On the fourth Sunday of January, 1850,
Rev. Fairchilds preached at Andrew Slinkard's, and George Wesner was ordained
Elder. Isaac Skomp being absent, was not ordained until the fourth Sunday in
February. At this time it was resolved that as many of the members of the Union
Church of Greene and Daviess Counties who desired to connect themselves with the
St. Peter's Church should order their names placed on the church record. There
were seventy-seven who ordered their names recorded. In the spring of 1851, the
church decided to erect in Newberry a building which should be used for public
worship and also serve the purpose of a seminary. On the 21st of June, 1851,
Frederick Slinkard, John Slinkard and John Wesner were chosen Trustees. As a
seminary, it was to be free to all students who possessed a good moral
character. As a house of worship, it was to be under the control of the
Lutherans. The building was to be forty feet long and thirty feet wide.
Frederick Slinkard was the contractor. The house was built by H. C. Owen, Sr.,
for $114. The job was completed in July, 1852. On the 10th of October, the
church secured the services of Rev. Fairchilds, who agreed to preach once a
month during the year. He continued his work until the autumn of 1855, at which
time he was superseded by Rev. W. H. Deek, who had the church under his care
until February, 1858. Rev. E. S. Hinkle then assumed control of the church. The
others who have served as pastors of the church are Revs. Jacob Wesner, J. E.
Wesner, Emerson Hursh, Lauer, Eichelberger, Booher and Sappenfield. The present
membership exceeds fifty. In connection with the church there is a Sunday
school, which ranks with the best in the county. William H. Killian has served
as Superintendent for fifteen years. During this time the average attendance has
been upward of sixty. The building has not been used for a seminary for several
years. When it was used, R. C. Hiiburn and J. G. M. Hursh were the most
prominent teachers. Mr. Hursh was an efficient teacher. At the same time he was
acting in the capacity of teacher, he was pastor of the church on a salary of $450.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

   In 1872, a church house was built in Newberry, but has never been dedicated
on account of indebtedness. Newberry Circuit was organized at the session of the
annual conference, at Rockport, in September, 1875. It embraced Newberry,
Scotland, Prairie Chapel and Simpson Chapel. It was formed from the Bloomfield,
Marco and Clarksburg Circuits. Simpson from Bloomfield, Scotland from
Clarksburg, Prairie Chapel .and Newberry from Marco. Rev. John L. Cooper was
first appointed to its pastorate. Its first Presiding Elder was Rev. John Kiger.
Previous to the organization of the circuit, Rev. G. W. Asbury was pastor of the
Methodist Episcopal Church at Newberry. He remained so from October, 1873, to
October, 1876; he was also pastor from 1880 to 18S2. Rev. Johnson succeeded him:
he died in January, 1883. Rev. Sharman, a young minister just from England, has
charge now. Membership, about forty. The first Sunday school organized after
formation of circuit had the following officers: H. C. Owen, Sr.,
Superintendent; Basil Hind-man, Assistant Superintendent; M. C. Owen, Secretary.
Since then, Basil Hindman has been Superintendent most of the time, and has been
an efficient one.

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

   A church house was erected in 1871. The church was organized under the
ministration of Rev. Alfred Ellmore, February 5, 1871. The following agreement
was then made: "We, the undersigned, members of the Church of Christ, do
solemnly before God and in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this
day covenant together in forming the body, the church, to propagate, maintain
and defend the ordinances of the Lord's House, and to keep them as they were
delivered to us; that we will pray with and for each other, to the upbuilding of
our Masters cause, that it may finally triumph and over every opposition prevail.

   "Alfred Ellmore, V. D. M.; W. L. Hastings, Elder; T. B. Jones, Deacon; F. M.
Gilbert, Clerk."

   The church has a large membership. There is no Sunday school in connection
with it. For a number of years there was no regular pastors, on account of the
inability of its members to support a minister. Rev. McCormick has the church
under his care.

SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP.

   Probably the first schoolhouse in the township was the small "log structure"
which stood for many years south of Newberry. One end was used for a fire-place,
and the floor was "ready-made." Lumber was too scarce, so the "fathers" thought
the ground would do. The window was an opening provided by leaving a log out of
the side of the house, and covering it with greased paper. The roof was of
clapboards, fastened down by means of a binder. The seats were halves of split
logs, with flat sides up, and wooden pins for legs; the backs the children
carried with them. There were no desks. Along the side of the house, and below
the window, that there might be as much light as possible, was an eighteen-inch
plank, used as a writing desk. Big and little thus learned to write. Such was
the primitive schoolhouse. The "spellin'-book" and the "rethmetic" were
stand-by's. The pupils recited each in his turn. The teacher, with an educator
three or four feet long in his hand, would occasion the young idea how to shoot
in a very lively manner. And thus the subscription school (for there were no
free schools then) hastened to its close but "to take up" again in about nine
months from "last day." However, after awhile these rude and unhewn logs were
displaced by more modern buildings of hewn timbers, and these again by frame
edifices that stand to-day. Cass Township is now divided into four districts.
The school building at Newberry is an honor to the township. Before the present
Trustee—Dr. Hilburn—was elected to that office, he told the people that if
elected he would erect a building in Newberry of which the people would feel
proud. The cost of the building, including furniture and other fixtures, was
about $3,000. The building will stand as a monument attesting the efficiency of
Dr. Hilburn as a township official and a public benefactor. His name will be
honored and respected by future generations. J. W. Walker was the first
Principal of the High School. His success is acknowledged by all. He graduated
the following students: Laura C. Killian, Maggie Killian, Mary E. Ward, Mary
Wesner, W. L. Slinkard, Lizzie O'Neal, John Hilburn and S. E. Poulton.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF GREENE AND SULLIVAN COUNTIES,
STATE OF INDIANA,
FROM THE EARLIEST TIME TO THE PRESENT; TOGETHER WITH INTERESTING BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES, REMINISCENCES, NOTES, ETC.

ILLUSTRATED.

CHICAGO: GOODSPEED BROS. & CO., PUBLISHERS.
1884.

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