Jay County IN Archives History - Books .....Chapter XXII 1896
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 9, 2007, 1:53 am

Book Title: Reminiscences Of Adams, Jay And Randolph Counties

CHAPTER XXII.
BIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH L. CARL.

    I was born in Bloomfield, Essex County, New Jersey, January 1st, 1819. At
the age of eight years I was sent to school and my parents being poor, I could
only go three months. There was no free school those days and as there were
several children of us our school privileges had to be divided among us all. We
had to pay $1.25 per quarter. So in my three months I learned to read, write and
cipher, as it was then called. At the age between nine and ten I went to work in
a woolen factory, managed by a firm named Wile's, at $1.50 per week, and by
being promoted my wages were raised and on less time, and as there was a night
school started I went to it at night.

    At school we used to try and surpass each other in learning. Our books were
the old Daybold arithemetic, the old green leaf grammar and the old English
reader. At the age of thirteen I went to work at wall paper printing. There was
no machinery those days and we had to take paper by sheets and past them
together to make them long enough to make a bolt and then put on the ground work
with burshes by hand and print the paper by blocks. We could only put one color
on at a time and press the blanks with a hand press; and now what a change
progression ha9 made in that line. At the age of seventeen and a half I went to
the city of Newark, N. J., to learn the cabinet makers' trade. I was bound to my
preceptor until I was 21 years old, but when I was 20 I had some difficulty with
my boss and I ran away and went to New York city, and still continued at my
trade. At the age of twenty-two and a half I married, it being July 3rd, 1841,
to Elizabeth Casterline. After that I went into business for myself, and in the
spring of '55 I came to Indiana. I lived in Fairfield, Franklin County, in this
state, and in the spring I moved to Green Township, Jay County, in the woods on
the farm now owned by Jacob Whiteman, and in '64 I bought the farm known as the
Timberlake, which we own yet. To look at Jay County then and now, the rising
generation would hardly believe the change it has made. No horses and no fine
buggies to ride in; horse back was the only mode of conveyance then in winter
and muddy times. I went to one of our neighbors, George Whitemen, and got 300
pounds of hay and yet got stuck in the mud and had to walk a mile to Adam
Zigle's and get his oxen to pull me out and help me home with it. I was elected
in 1862 as assessor for Green Township. I served three years, then by the
persuasion of my friends, was elected justice of the peace and served four
years. That gave me enough of public office. Although I was a strong Democrat
and took an active part in politics, I would decline all office.

    There was splendid hunting them days. You could hear the crack of the rifle
every hour of the day; squirrel was plenty, wild turkey was plenty, and some
deer. James Spahn,Mathias Spahn and Jacob Koup and myself, in the fall, would
take a trip to Paulding County and camp out two or three weeks. My experience in
deer hunting was very limited, not knowing how to hunt deer. James Spahn went
out to hunt deer and we separated and in a few minutes I heard his rifle crack
and he hoted like an owl and I went to him, and he had killed one. We hung him
up and started out again. I had not gone far before two deers jumped up before
me not twenty steps from me, and I had a double gun and could have killed them
both, but I was so excited to see their tails pop up that I took the gun down
from my face and let them run off, forgetting that I had a gun until they had
gone out of my sight. My luck eneded there; I had no such chance after that. I
was out turkey hunting with Redman Gaunt and we got after a flock of turkeys. He
told me to go to the old Timberlak school house, in a narrow strip of woods, and
set down; that they would all come down through them. I went down, but they were
hollowing up in the deadening; I was so anxious I could not wait, so I went
after them, but they all slipped through where I had been and the consequence
was I got none and Gaunt got four, and he said to me that the next time he would
put me under a brush heap to keep me still, but I finally learned how to hunt.
In 1869 I left the farm and moved to the place called Dunkirk, and started
business in the furniture line. It was a small place then; about 200 inhabitants
then, and in 1872 I commenced practice in law, I was appointed deputy prosecutor
under Jesse Lafallett, Luther I. Baker, Adair, George Whitaker and R. H.
Hatfield. I quit the furniture and undertaking business about twelve years ago.
My wife died about six years ago and I broke up keeping house and lived with my
son. The town of Dunkirk has grown from 200 inhabitants to a city of 5,000, with
brick streets, good walks, large brick business houses, splendid churches, two
large school houses, which now has an attendance of 1,000 children. It seems
wonderful to me that I have lived from the time that there were no railroads, no
telegraph, no photograph, no phonegraph and with all of the progressiveness that
has been made. While so many have been denied this grand privilege I have lived
to see all of my mother's family of eleven children go, while I am the only one
left, but such is life.


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


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