Biography: Charles H. McCloughan, 1850:  Kosciusko County, Indiana
Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Your Russell Case
rcase1@carolina.rr.com
*********************************************************************

USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be
reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other
organization orpersons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this
material,must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the
legalrepresentative of the submitter, and contact the listed
USGenWebarchivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given
permissionto the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for
free access.http://www.usgwarchives.net

*********************************************************************


"How They Lived In The Good Old Days "(1)
A Story Of The Activities Of Charles H. McCloughan And His Family,
As Told By His Youngest Son Frank McCloughan(2), January 1944

My father, Charles H. McCloughan(3), was born in Ohio, August 15,
1828 to Joseph H. McCloughan(4), a mild mannered, soft spoken
Scotsman and his wife Martha(5) McBride McCloughan, an Irish girl,
born in Ireland, who was just the opposite in nature.

Charles migrated to Indiana and purchased a tract of virgin forest,
between Pierceton and Warsaw, in Kosciuski (sic) County, a wagon and
a team of young, fat, sleek oxen, named Buck and Bright, Buck was
pure white and Bright was a deep bay or red. Both had long horns,
tipped brass knobs. He provided his wagon with high bows and a heavy
muslin cover in preparation for his wedding tour.  About 1856(6) he
was united in marriage with Mary Smith(7), born in Erie County,
Pennsylvania, October 3, 1830, daughter of John Smith and his wife
Rosanna Keith Smith, both American born Dutch, who had also migrated
to Indiana. The oxen are hitched to the wagon, which had been stocked
with cooking utensils, bedding, food, candle molds, candle wicking
and other items available that was necessary, to their comfort to and
in their now home. They sat on a seat formed by laying a wide board
across the wagon bed near the front and drove the oxen to the forest
land, which was to be their home, over a road made by cutting trees
low enough so the stumps would pass under the wagon axles, in a space
wide-enough for a wagon to pass through.

When they arrived at their destination they slept in the wagon and
cooked over an open fire outdoors until Charles could build a cabin.
When the first cabin was finished they moved in and then he built
another, facing its leaving a space between sufficiently wide to
permit a team of oxen to be driven between.  He then cut straight
grained logs into lengths about fifteen inches long and used a rive
to split them into clapboards, which he used to cover both cabins and
the space between. He had built a large fireplace in the end of each
cabin farthest from the entrance, and for heating and cooking
purposes he would cut large logs and, with the oxen, drag them into
the areaway between the cabins and roll them in and across the room
to the fire place. These were called back-logs.  At night the large
bed of coals, which as always provided, was covered with ashes to
keep fire for the remainder of the night, then the clicking caused by
winding the old weight-operated striking clock meant lights out for
everybody.  If the fire became extinguished it was necessary to start
another with a flint and steel, tow and punk, or take an iron pot or
kettle and go about two miles to the nearest neighbor and borrow a
kettle of fire. No matches until many years later.

For building fireplaces, and chinking between the logs of cabins they
used soil wet until it became mud, and stirred until it would bake
hard when dried or heated, and then mixed with twigs and small
sticks. For floors, they cut trees of like size and cut the logs into
lengths to conform to the interior of the room to be floored then
split them in the center lengthwise and laid them flat side down on
the ground floor and then use similar slabs laid flat side up to fill
the depressions between the first ones laid. Then used an adz to
smooth the surface of the top ones. That was called a puncheon floor.
The cooking was done on the fireplace. Stoves were unknown to them.
For light, they used candles. They were made in molds brought with
them from the tallow from the many deer Charles killed and from
tallow and fats taken from beef Charles purchased or won at shooting
matches. If for any reason candles were not available they took a
saucer of melted fat and laid a piece of cotton cloth in it and
lighted one corner of the cloth, and snuffed it when it began to burn
low.

Their first bedstead had two high posts and a headboard at the head
and two low posts and a footboard at the foot.  Their posts were
turned, having corrugated rings from top to bottom except where the
railings joined the posts. There were round railings entirely around
the bed. Those at the head and foot were firmly fixed, but on each of
those at the sides were turned right and left screws, and large right
and left screws to match were turned on the holes which they entered
the head and foot boards, and the railings fastened In place by
turning the railings, which were about three inches in diameter from
the outside of the bed toward the center(8).  The railings were made
from sycamore wood and at intervals of every six inches around the
entire bed headed pegs also made from sycamore, that projected up
about an Inch and slanted slightly out from the center when the
railings were in place. A long rope, three-eighths of an inch in
diameter, was looped at one end and the loop placed around a peg at
the corner of the bed.  Then carried to the opposite and placed
around two pegs, and this proceeding followed until all pegs at each
end and the sides were filled, which formed a rope net with six inch
meshes. On this were placed a straw or shuck mattress or tick, then
two feather beds and other bedclothes. They slept on both feather
beds in summer and between then in winter. No girl was considered
ready for marriage until she owned two feather beds and many quilts,
pieced by herself and some comforts. The bed clothing had to be
removed and the rope tightened frequently; otherwise it would become
sagged in the center. This bedstead was retained in the family and
used until we moved to Iowa about 1880.  When the children arrived
and became too big to sleep with the parents father, made a bed of
boards with slat bottom a little smaller than the distance between
the posts of the large bed and low enough to roll under it.  At night
it was drawn out in the room and the children slept in it and in the
morning it was made up and pushed beneath the large bed out of the
way.

In the old days women wore dresses that touched the ground, two or
more undershirts but no other underclothing and it was considered
indecent to expose even the ankle. It was also considered indecent
for a woman to wear underclothes other than skirts, as her dress was
not supposed to be above her ankles at anytime so she did not need
underclothes.  Hoops were worn on "dress-up" occasions, and when a
woman sat down it was necessary to kick the hoops back toward the
chair to cause them to lay flat and by that means prevent exposure.

Father was an expert rifleman but had only, a full stock flintlock
rifle.  When he saw game he had to pour some powder from his
powder-horn into the small pan on the right side and near the rear
end of the rifle barrel, then cock the hammer, aim and press the
trigger but he killed many deer, as deer were plentiful in his
forest, Sometimes the powder from the pan would burn without ignition
the powder In the gun barrel, That was called a "flash in the pan",
or the powder in the pan would burn and the firing of the gun delayed
perceptibly that was called a "hang fire".  At times my father or
some of the neighbors would kill a steer and quarter it and hold a
shooting match. They shot for each quarter separately, Each
contestant paid a specified sum on money, the total amount to equal
the value of the quarter of beef at about five cents a pound and when
all the beef was disposed of they hold a match for the hide and
tallows, and father usually brought home at least one quarter of
beef, They used the hide, after tanning, for leather for shoes and
the tallow for candles or soap.

In the fall, they took a log about eight inches in diameter and
beginning at about six inches from one end, removed one quarter of it
forming a trough with one open end.  They then took a short log about
fifteen inches in diameter and another about twelve inches in
diameter and laid this trough across them, open end on the smaller
log which gave it a drop of about three inches. Then they built a
frame about six feet square and about the same height, then set
boards on end in the trough and leaned them against the frame forming
a "V" then closed the ends of the "V" with boards. They lined this
with hay or straw to prevent ashes from shifting through the cracks
and covered it to turn rain, and each day they deposited accumulated
ashes in this until full. In the spring they placed a vessel under
the low end of the trough, poured water on the ashes which leached
through into the vessel as lye.  Since the process was slow the small
vessel was usually emptied each day into a larger one until the lye
began to run weak.  Then the ashes were taken from the leach in which
they had been stored and scattered and the lye tested for strength by
dropping a fresh egg into it.  If the egg floated about one-eighth
out of the lye, it was sufficiently strong to dissolve grease.  If it
was too weak it was boiled until the desired strength was reached and
then the fats were added and the mixture boiled until it became the
nature of jelly. This was excellent soap and was used for all
purposes for which soap is intended, as no other was available. For
clothing they caught their sheep washed them in the creek, let them
dry, sheared them and sent the fleece to a carding mill, where It was
carded into rolls, then the rolls were taken home and spun into yarn
on a spinning wheel, woven into cloth on a hand loom at home, the
garment was cut out and made with a needle and thread, by hand. If
coloring was desired they gathered barks and berries from the
surrounding forests and did their own coloring. Flax was also home
processed into linen, but cotton goods, what little they used, could
be bought on the market forty miles away. Carding of wool was
sometime done by hand at home but it was a slow process. On washday,
Charles took a large iron kettle to a place down near the creek
suspended It on a green pole and filled it with water and built a
fire under it.  This supplied hot water and the creek supplied the
cold, this was mixed in tubs made by Charles from wood from his own
forest.  Home made soft soap was used. The only washing machine was
the laundress and washboards had not been thought of. They removed
what soil they could by rubbing the clothes between the hands and if
that was unsuccessful they laid the garment on a log or stump and
struck repeatedly with a round stick or paddle to remove the dirt,

Father was a veterinarian and also a shoe cobbler who repaired most
all the damaged shoes in that locality. In addition to being one of
the best marksman with a rifle In the state of Indiana, Sometimes
they would allow him to win one prize and then bar him from further
competition in that shooting match.

After father's cabins were completed and a garden plot cleared he
began clearing land for farming.  It was customary in those days for
a landowner to fall the trees and trim them, pile the brush and let
them season awhile and then invite all his neighbors to a log
rolling.  On the appointed day, when all were present they would drag
the logs to the brush piles and roll them on until the pile was as
large as they could make it.  In the evening the host would have
prepared a big dinner, and when this was over they set fire to the
log heaps, and sang songs and told stories and otherwise enjoyed
themselves. Sometimes there was a generous supply of home distilled
whiskey, but no one became intoxicated, for that was a disgrace, and
most of them had a still and made their own whiskey so It was not a
rarity and it's use was not abused.  There was no tax on it and a
bushel of earn valued at about twenty-five cents and a peck of rye
valued at about ten cents would make four gallons of good whiskey. Of
course one had to have the still and the know-how.  After father has
cleared sufficient land to raise crops for his family need and for
his oxen he purchased a sawmill. They used oxen for loading logs on
the log wagon for the reason they were slow and steady and would stop
immediately when commanded, but the horses would pull the logs up
onto the wagon and then clear over it before they could be stopped
sometimes wrecking the wagon.

Father and my older brothers, with a little additional help, operated
the sawmill, and were financially successful.  As soon as he could
saw lumber and season It he built a good house, and was able to
accumulate some money, In those days a man with ton thousand dollars
was rich and if he had twenty five thousand dollars he was very
wealthy. No laborer had ever been paid as much as one dollar a day
for many years after the period covered by this story.

After the Civil War in 1866 the cry, in the locality was "Go West"
and get some of the cheap but fertile soil, while it could be
purchased at a low price.  Father was soon convinced by his neighbors
and friends that the West was the Iand of rare opportunities, but
mother protested, and said they were doing well and had lots of good
friends there where they were and that she did not want to go among
strangers, make new friends and risk financial failure.  But father
overruled her and decided to join a train that was formlng by his
friends to travel together.  So he sold his possessions that he did
not want to take with him, bought two new wagons, two sets of new
brass trimmed harnesses, brass knobs the top of the hames and brass
stars an each tug, and other trimmings to match. He made bows for the
wagons and covered them with heavy muslin then he bought two teams of
beautiful young dappled gray horses to draw the wagons. He had the
finest outfit in the train.  When he landed in Missouri; he had
himself, wife and five children to feed, and flour was fourteen
dollars per barrel and everything else In proportion, the native
Missourian hated an Easterner more than the devil hates holy water,
and would leave no stone unturned to cheat him or pauperize him.

He knew nothing about Missouri land and some shark sold him for cash
one hundred and sixty acres of land most of which was In Shoal Creek
bottom. He planted among other things a large field of corn which
grew as he had never seen corn grow before. Each stalk had one ear
and some had two or three large ones. Just as it was ready to be
harvested the overflow from the Grand River and Shoal Creek came up
just under most of the ears, and the ducks, geese and other water
fowl, of which there were millions would swim up to an ear, shuck it
and devour the grains. Father built a large boat and he and my older
brothers went in the boat and gathered what they could to feed the
horses over the winter, but the stalks softened and what they did not
gather or the wild fowl get went down in the mud when the water
receded, and was lost. A similar condition obtained for two or three
more years. Then father signed some notes for security, for his
friends when they came West with him, which he had to pay. Then he
had illness that stopped him from working and caused him great
expense and It was not long until he had only what he earned each
day,

Transcribed by Russell Case
Charlotte, NC
May 5, 2000
1 This is a fascinating but poignant narrative of life in Indiana and
Missouri in the middle of the 19th century.  I transcribed it from a
typewritten copy that has been handed down to me. I have not
attempted to edit or correct it but have footnoted some items.
2 Hudson Franklin McCloughan born September 28, 1867 in Utica,
Livingston County, Missouri
3 Charles H. McCloughan was born in Portage County, Ohio and died
January 4, 1883 in Allerton, Wayne County, Iowa.
4 Joseph H. McCloughan born September 12, 1795 in New Jersey and died
October 17, 1863 in Wayne Twp., Kosciusko County, Indiana.
5 Elizabeth McBride McCloughan in most sources, born November 18,
1795 in Pennsylvania and died August 18, 1862 in Wayne Twp.,
Kosciusko County, Indiana
6 May 16, 1850
7 Mary Smith died on February 18, 1917 in Allerton, Wayne County,
Iowa
8 I had to read this section several times before I understood it.
The side rails had left and right hand screw threads "turned" on
opposite ends of the rail. There were corresponding threads in the
posts.  The rails were threaded into the posts and when the rail was
turned, the left and right hand threads screwing into the posts would
pull the headboard and footboard together.  Ingenious!


??