Baber's Early History of Greene County Indiana Chapter VIII

In 1835 quite a number of new settlers had come into the county, and in the neighborhood of Bloomfield, among whom were FREDERICK BOUGH, Dr. JESSE BARNES, WILLIAM RUDE, ROBERT KNOX, and EDWARD [end of page 24] WEST. By the way, it is now in order for some old settler to stan up and inform us how EDWARD WEST became better known as JOE WEST, than by his real name.

Soon after this came MARCUS H. SHRYER, and a few years before Dr. DAVID M. DOBSON located at Bloomfield. Mr. DOBSON did not remain at that place many yyars. He was a man of extra ability. He was elected to the Sate Senate in 1841.

In 1847, when GEORGE G. DUNN was the Whig candidate for Congress the Democrats had great trouble in satisfying themselves with a candidate to run against him. Dr. FOSTER was first nominated, and afterwards taken off the track. He was a man of superior ability, and quite a large man. In canvassing the Mr. DUNN, their personal enmity was carried to such an extreme, that it resulted in a fight , in which Dr. FOSTER was considerably marked about the face. A very short time after this, another Democratic convention was held, at which Dr. FOSTER bore upon his face the marks of the encounter. The general drift of the convention was in favor of DOBSON, but he did not wish to make the race. In a speech, that day, speaking of GEORGEeorge G. DUNN, he said, "the iron-hoofed, steel-toed war-horse, has run over bigger doctors than I am.", casting a glance at Doctor FOSTER, and passing his finger over that part of his head where the Doctor’s head showed the marks. He finally consented to make the race, and was defeated by one vote.

After eight year’s trail of doing county business with three Commissioners, the Legislature returned to the system of the Board of Justices, but called them Commissioners. The Board embraced all the Justices of the Peace in the county. This system was both inefficient and expensive. The first board was composed of SAMUEL HARTLEY, MOSES RITTER, JACOB DOBBINS, JOHN BULLOCK, ANDREW WOODRUFF, EPHRAIM OWEN, AMOS OWEN, GEORGE R. TAYLOR, FREDERICK HENDRICKS, ISAAC ANDERSON, RALEIGH HOPPER and JOHN F. O’NEALL. The Sheriff was continued in office. E. P. CUSHMAN was Treasurer, and CARPUS SHAW Commissioner of school lands, for the whole county. The Sheriff, G. G. H. MOORE, was appointed collector,, and FREDERICK DAYHOFF was appointed Assessor, for the east side of the river, and MEREDITH GAINEY for the east side. There appeared, during the year, as additional Commissioners, WILLIAM F. WILLIAMS, JAMES M. GASTON, JOHN YOUNG and John COCHRAN.

Johnson & Wright were authorized to vend merchandise. The revenue collected this year, amounted to $846.05 ¾, which was considerably in excess of the expenditures. In fact, at the close of this year, our county was out of debt, and had several hundred dollars in the Treasury. The Assessor’s fees for this year were $39.10. The Treasurer’s fess were $19.11.

Every ting was prosperous in the county, and the various townships were being rapidly filled up with energetic, industrious citizens. In view of the general prosperity of the people, the Commissioners determined to build a new Court House, with rooms for county officers, and they appointed JOHN INMAN, WILLIAM FREELAND, LEVI FELLOWS, RUEL LEARNED and HUGH L. LIVINGSTONE, as a committee, to draft plans, etc., and gave them authority to borrow $1,500, but not to pay a higher rate of interest than 10 per cent. The report of the committee showed that the Court House would coast $5,157. This committee was authorized to superintend the building, etc. The contract was let to CALVIN HERTWELL, for $5,000, $1,000 to be paid April 1^st, 1836, $1,500 November 1^st, 1836, $1,000 April 1^st, 1827, and balance at completion of the building. The contractor, after receiving the first payment, left the country, and his sureties, ANDREW DOWNING and SAMUEL SIMONS, had to finish the building. Mr. DOWNING [end of page 25] undertook the completion. The county failed to make the payment according to contract, and after Mr. DOWNING had exhausted his means and his credit, the work was about to stop. The committee, then, on their own responsibility, borrowed of the Bedford Bank, $2,000, at 12 per cent., and the work was completed. The committee had some extra work done. The building was not finished until 1839, and cost the county $6,271.59. The committee, who had charged of it, reported that it had cost Mr. DOWNING considerably more than he had received for it. The County Commissioners endorsed the action of their committee, and paid the bank debt.

In the year 1835, the term of service of THOMAS WARNICK, as Clerk of the Circuit Court, expired. Up to this time, he held the office of Clerk continuously from the first election of the office. Next to Judge BRADFORD, he was perhaps the leading man in the organization of the county. – In the earliest days of the county, when no money could be collected on taxes, he advanced money from his own private funds, to purchase the necessary books for keeping records. His oldest son, JAMES WARNICK, who now resides in Bloomfield, is about fifty years old, and was born and raised in this county.

SAMUEL R. CAVINS succeeded Mr. WARNICK, as Clerk. The first ad quod damnum case in the county, was on the application of RUEL LEARNED, and the jury was composed of JOHN T. FREELAND, Paris CHIPMAN, John MILAM, A. B. CHIPMAN, JESSE BARNES, BARNEY PERRY, BENJAMIN BROOKS, HILTON WAGONER, JAMES H. HICKS, THOMAS PATTERSON, CARPUS SHAW, and JOHN VANVORST. This case was for the purpose of establishing what is now known as the Peden Mill, and assessing damages incident thereto – The jury reported no damages to any one, and that all the lands on the stream, for two miles above the dam, were public lands.

The first newspaper started in the county, was in 1836, and it was called the COMET, and was credited, at first, by WILLIAM RUDE. It was like a comet, in some respects. It blazed with brilliancy for a short period, and disappeared for a long period, but like a comet, continued to return at intervals. In 1840 it appeared with more than usual brilliancy. Judge EDWARDS conducted it then, and it blasted amid the furor of log cabins and hard cider, bearing aloft the standard of Tip, and Tyler, but as the autumn leaves began to fall, the Comet collapsed, and disappeared forever.

About this period, there were several boys in and near Bloomfield, who are there or near there yet, among whom are Captain WILLIAM BOUGH, JOSEPH BURCHAM, Colonel JAMES CULBERTSON, WILLIAM D. RITTER, HENRY MASON, JEREMIAH STROPES, JAMES WARNICK, HENRY ROACH, VINCENT SHEILDS and ADEN G. CAVINS.

SSAMUEL CULBERTSON taught school in Bloomfield, about this time, - Among the earl Representatives in the Legislature, were DRURY BOYD and JOSEPH STORM, but the records of the county fail to give the dates. It is said that JOSEPH STORM was unusually popular with the people. – He was a large, muscular man, and noted for his great physical strength. It is said, that in passing through a grove, just west of Bloomfield, in an early day, he was attacked, by two catamounts. They were very dangerous animals for an unarmed man to encounter. He was entirely unarmed, and had to meet the attack without a club or any other weapon of defense. He met it, and slow the tow catamounts with his ponderous fist. This great victory added very much to his renown. As a member of the Legislature, he manifested unusual activity in dispatch of the business of the Legislature.

In 1836 several Commissioners went out of office, and there appeared, as additional members of the Board JOHN B. FERRELL, EEISHA KNOX, E. P. [end of page 26] CUSHMAN, LEWIS STORY, J. W. COFFEY, and JOHN ABRAMS. The officers of last year continued in office, except Assesor. Thomas BUTLER was Assessor for the west side of the river, and G. R. H. MOORE for the east side. This year, Mr. MOORE held the office of Sheriff, as well as collector and Assessor. He started out in life under very favorable circumstances. Physically, he was rather repulsive, being a hunchback, but he was a man of fair education and good sense. He was Sheriff for four years, and spent many years in teaching. As an officer, intellectually, he was above the average, but towards the close of his term, he became inefficient as Assessor, negligent as Sheriff, and defaulter as collector. The duties of Assessor, had to be taken out of his hands, and his sureties had to make good his collections. All these misfortunes grew directly out of the use of intoxicating drinks. He very early in life, became a debauched and degraded drunkard, and finally became a county charge. It is sad thing to see a man, who has the ability and opportunity to do well, allured away by his appetite, down to degradation. On an occasion of a great political campaign, when the excitement was up high, this man was seen in the gutter, beastly drunk, and presenting a wretched appearance. A Whig and Democrat, strangers to him, chanced to see him. The Democrat pointed to him and said: "There is one of you WHIGS". The Whig said he was closed of a fool’s argument. They agreed to leave it to the subject of the bet, and approached him. The Whig said to him that he had made a bet that he was a Democrat, and that they wanted to know his politics. Mr. MOORE answered in his drunken hiccoughing style, "You bet I was a Democrat, did you? Safe bet – win nine times out of ten – have all the symptoms – drunk, ragged, and filthy, but a better Whig but a better Whig, you never saw." The Democrat won. Similar guesses or bets are often made in these latter days, in references to persons who degrade themselves by drunkenness. – On the day before the last election, Doctor NORVELL and Captain DUGGER were passing through the court yard, and saw a man who had taken in more tangle-foot than he could hold, and was in the act of spilling some of it. "There," says Captain DUGGER to Doctor NORVELL, "is one of your friends," The Doctor answered, "I’ll bet you any thing you dare, that he is a Republican." By this time they had come up to the subject of their conversation, and hailed him, "how are you, my friend?" – as candidates usually do. The only response was, "’Rah, for Dugger!"

This year, (1836,) J. M. H. ALLISON and JOHN F. ALLISON first procured license to vend merchandise. They were men who have been long and favorably known as two of our best citizens. For many years they were the leading merchants of the county.

EDWARD WEST commenced displaying his ability to Hoosier, as an auctioneer, by auctioning the town lots of Bloomfield.

JOHN COLE, the sailor, located in Bloomfield. He was a gay and festive young buck, but not so much of a buck as a hunter had taken him to be a few years before. The hunter had shot him for a deer, at a deerlick, a few years before. It was a terrible shot, going to his breast, and coming out near his shoulder blade. The Commissioners relieved him from poll tax and road working, on account of this wound, and this was the first case of exemption from paying tax, in the state.

The revenue collected, was $1,305.30. Cost of assessing, $82. Treasurer’s fees, $38.30.

During the year 1837, the additional justices of the peace, who appeared as commissioners, were SAMUEL FERGUSON, DRURY B. BOYD, DANIEL HARRAH, and ALEXANDER POE. The of- [end of page 27] ficers of the year before continued in office, except that JOHN CROOK was appointed Assessor for the west side of the river, and JOHN B. FERRELL was appointed Collector. The surplus revenue was distributed to the counties this year, and JOHN JONES, Jr., was appointed agent for Greene county, and he entered into a bond of ten thousand dollars.

Mr. JONES came to this county about the time or before the organization, while he was a boy and lived here continuously until his death, which occurred in 1874. He was a man of uniform good habits and character, and a man of superior intelligence. He filled, with honor to himself and benefit to the people, many offices of trust, among which were County Commissioner, Auditor and Representative in the Legislature.

This year, the system of justices acting as a Board of Commissioners was changed, and the system of three County Commissioners was adopted. The first Board under this change was composed of SAMUEL SIMONS, WILLIAM O’NEALL and JESSE RAINBOLT.

The county drew from the State $2,00 to expand on bridges.

The expenses of the county, exclusive of expense attending building og court house, amounted to $1,226.94 ½, of which over one-third was pauper expense and jury fees. Under the law at that time, the jury system was ruinously expensive; nearly one-third of the whole county expenses was jury fees for several years. The great cause of this was from the regular number of jurors. At each term of court there were sixty-six regular jurors – eighteen grand jurors and forty-eight pettit jurors. Of the pettit jury, twenty-four would attend one week and the other twenty-four the second week, but only twelve would try a case.

The Treasurer’s fees for this year were $46.28.

The Assessor’s fees were $83.00. [part of page 28].

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