First Permanent Settlement

It is not certainly known at this day who made the first permanent settlement in Perry County. The survey of the land by the Government was made in 1805, and the following year a few families arrived, and after that annually a few more came. It is well to treat the settlement by civil townships, which will now be done without regard to the order of time of settlement. In the eastern part of the present Oil Township, Range 1 west, and Township 4 south, on Section 18, Robert Walker bought land and located in the year 1813. So far as can be learned this was the first permanent settlement in the present Oil Township. Squatters were there before, as were professional hunters and trappers, who for a time lived almost like the Indians, in rude temporary bark and fur huts on the streams while game was yet plenty. At the time of this settlement the surrounding country was a wilderness largely unexplored, full of wild animals. Mr. Walker was obliged to cut his way through the woods to his land. Stephen Dean, two years later, located on the same section. A short distance west Jonathan D. Esarey settled in 1816 (Section 24), and John Ewing on Section 25, the same year. On Section 7, near Branchville, Ebenezer Richardson and James Reily settled in 1817 and Elijah Walker in 1818. Samuel Jemison located on Section 8, in 1818, and Mrs. Nancy Ballard on Section 13, on the east side of the township. About four miles west of Branchville, James Lawrence located in 1818. At the time of first settlement bears, panthers, wolves, deer, wild turkeys, catamounts, etc., were very numerous; bears were getting scarce, but were occasionally found. From the following list can be learned the names of nearly all the settlers of Oil Township prior to August, 1817: At an election, held at the house of Abraham Murphy, in Oil Township, August 4, 1817, for congressman and representative to the Legislature, the following men polled their votes: Samuel Main, John Dodson, Elias Hedden, Joseph Hanks, Abraham Barger, Elias Sapp, Peter Borer, John Peckinpaugh, Silas Beasley, Valentine Borer, John Morgan, Andrew Carmichel, William Taylor, Sr. and Jr., John Cooper, Thomas Vandevere, John Hensley, Reuben Lovell, Charles Springer, Benjamin Clark, Jonathan D. Esarey, Elijah Walker, Henry Vanmeter, Reily Main, John Frakes, William Dean, Adam Miller, Henry Roades, Benjamin Trenary, Ignatius Campron, Nathan Lindsey, Daniel McLaughlin, John Miller, Abraham Miller. Joseph Springer, William Sherley, John Stevenson, John Ewing, Richard Dean, Stephen Dean, James Borer, Richard Dean, Jr., Jesse Beasley, Moses Barker, Abraham Ramsden, Barton Mattingly, Jacob Davis, John Clark. William Hendricks received 44 votes for Congress, and Thomas Posey, 3; Aaron Cunningham received 35 votes for the Legislature, and Samuel Connor, 9.

Tobin’s Bottom and the vicinity of Rome saw about the first settlement in the county, and, certainly, the greatest number of very early settlers, as well as some of the most prominent. The bottom took its name from the Tobin family, from which particular member cannot be stated with certainty, owing to differences of opinion. It is said that three men, with their families, located about the same time in the bottom. They were Charles Polk, Jacob Weatherholt and John Winchel. Speaking from this lapse of time they did settle about the same time; but as a matter of fact Polk bought land on the extreme southern end of the bottom in November, 1807; Weatherholt near him in October, 1808, and Winchel in 1809. Alexander Miller also bought a tract in 1808, on Section 26, up the river, about two miles from Polk and Weatherholt. Doubtless Polk was the first permanent settler. Other settlers in what is now Tobin Township, with dates of land purchase, are as follows: Township 7 south, Range 2 west, Section 1, John Claycomb 1817, Lemuel Mallory 1817; Section 7, Adam Glaze 1809; Section 8, George Ewing, Jr., 1818; Section 9, Martin Cockrell 1819, William Asbury 1816; Section 12, George Ewing 1817; Section 20, Henry Drinkwater 1815; Section 21, Thomas Polk 1813, Thomas Tobin 1816; Section 27, William Weatherholt 1818, George Tobin 1816; Section 28, Littleton Martin 1815, William Blanchard 1815, Abraham Finch 1818; Section 29, Thomas and Henry Drinkwater, 1814; Section 31, Nathaniel Ewing, 1815; Section 33, Smith Winchel, 1816. In Township 6 south, Range 2 west, in what is now Tobin Township, on Section 1, John Stack located in 1817; Section 13, Alexander Van Winkle, 1815; Section 17, Samuel and Daniel Hinton, 1817; Section 32, Charity Sandage, 1818; Section 33, John Crist, 1818; Benjamin Smith, 1818. North of Rome, along the river in Tobin Township, and in Congressional Township 6 south, Range 1 west, John Faith bought on Section 4, just below Derby, 255.62 acres, August 21, 1807, and just below him Thomas Cummings, bought on Section 9, 208.03 acres, September 26, 1807. But little could be learned of Faith. Cummings, however, was one of the very first settlers of the county. On Section 5, William Cummings, 1818; Section 17, Eli Cummings, 1818; Section 19, Uriah and William Cummings, 1815; Section 20, George Lanman, 1817; William Macy, 1818 ; Adam Glenn, 1818; Section 21, Dade Connor, 1815; Section 28, Abraham Barger and David Groves, 1810; Section 29, Terrence Connor, 1817 ; Section 31, Adam Shoemaker, 1814, and John Shoemaker, 1817; Section 32, Daniel Taylor, 1814, Thomas Taylor, 1817; Section 33, Ansel Hyde, 1817. In the near vicinity of Rome, in Congressional Township 7 south, Range 1 west, Samuel Connor, August 21,1807, boughton Section 3,182.30 acres. This man was one of the very first in the county and one of the most prominent men. He was captain in the war of 1812, and afterward a Brigadier General of militia. On “Section 4, at Rome, Abraham Hiley, bought in 1817 ; Richard Avit, 1816; Terrence Connor, 1812. Section 5, Anthony Green, 1815; Jesse Green, 1813; John Lamb, 1809. Section 6, Joseph Mallory, 1817; John Riggs, 1813; William Frymire, 1813; Benjamin Huff, 1811. Section 7, John Claycomb, 1816. Section 9, John Crist, $814 (site of Rome). Section 10, Samuel Connor, August 21, 1807. As a further means of preserving the names of the early settlers of Tobin Township, the following election list is given:

On the 3d of August, 1818, at the election held in Tobin Township at the house of Lemuel Mallory, the following men polled their votes: Josiah Cummings, Israel Lamb, Nicholas Critchelow, Charles Roff, James Wilson, Jacob Weatherholt, Thomas Tobin, Henry Weatherholt, Ashford Smith, James Wheeler, John Stapleton, Sr., Peter Kinder, Samuel Martin, John Riggs, John Claycomb, Thomas Polk, John Gerber, Ezra Lamb, John Alva, Jesse Hall, John Lanman, Uriah Cummings, John Stark. Abraham Hiley, Edmund Polk, William Cox, George Claycomb, Samuel Hardin, William Gilbert, Riley Main, William Weatherholt, George Kinder, Terrence Connor, Jr., Thomas Bolin, Richard Avit, Joseph Tobin, Nathaniel Harris, Samuel Messenger, Smith Winchel, John Sinclair, James Lanman, John Mallory, Henry Rhodes, Lewis Kilburn, William Tyndall, Joseph Boltinghouse, David Main, Alexander Miller, Moses Mallory, John Black, Sr., Lemuel Mallory, Daniel Ryan, Reuben Huff, William Connor, James Hendricks, Thomas Rhodes, Daniel Taylor, Charles Polk, Richard Polk, William Frymire, Adam Chaffin, Anthony Green, George Hoskins, John Stapleton, Jr., John Green, Jesse Green, John Bolin, John Conner, Sr., David Allen, Adam Shoemaker, Terrence Connor, Sr., William Lamb, Stephen Shoemaker, Benjamin Smith, John Connor, Jr., Alexander Van Winkle, James Van Winkle. John Crist, James Critchelow, Joel Green, Wilbur Barlow, John D. Lamb, Thomas Wheeler, Jacob Davis, William Mitchell, Joseph White, David Groves, Daniel Hinton, John Main, Uriah Winchel, William Cummings, George Lanman, John Cassidy, John Daniels, Samuel Connor, John Black, Jr., John Gibson.

Early settlements were made in what is now Union Township. In that small portion of the county east of the second principal meridian, Joel Suttles entered a tract on Section 17, in 1810; John Heddon and Joshua Richardson on Sections 20 and 29, in 1810; Jacob Davis on Section 30, in 1810; Joseph Springer on Section 18, in 1811; Valentine Borer, Daniel Heddon and Elias Heddon on Section 19, in 1811; Jesse Morgan on Section 18 in 1812; Ignatius Thompson on Section 18, in 1813; John Dunn and August Heddon on Section 18, in 1816. Then in Township 5 south, Range 1 west (Union Township), were the following: Section 11, Stephen Dean, 1817; Section 13, William Sherley, 1817, Jesse Shacklett, 1813; Section 21, John Davis, 1811; Daniel McLaughlin, 1818; Section 23, Riley Main, 1818; Section 25, Abraham Rounder, 1810; Section 26, John Stephenson, 1808; Section 27, Samuel Elder, 1817; Section 33, (Derby) William Mitchell, 1818. Township 4 south, Range 1 west, Section 33, Abraham Murphy, 1817, Benjamin Murphy, 1817, Anthony Horton, 1817. The above were the only entries of land in Union Township prior to 1820. The following is an additional list of early residents:

At an election held at the house of John Stephenson in Union Township, the first Monday in August, 1818, the following men polled their votes: Henry Pulingwider, Jesse Martin, Samuel Main, John Dodson, John Stephenson, Abraham Barger, Daniel McLaughlin^William Taylor,

Ignatius Campbell, Jesse Beasley, Benjamin Trenary, Martin Mattingly, George Wales, Richard Dean, Jr., Harvey Gerber, Richard Dean, Henry Willard, Elias Sapp, Moses Barker, William Sherley, Elias Heddon, Peter Borer, Valentine Borer, Nehemiah Main, Dade Connor, John Cooper and Robert Gilliland. Among the early industries were the following: John Stephenson, who was probably the first permanent settler in the county, operated an early horse-mill. John Hargis conducted a horse-mill and a distillery on Poison Creek. North of Derby, several miles, was a well-known tanyard, owned and conducted by Mr. Rosecrans. Charles Hascall conducted an early saw-mill on Oil Creek, the motor being water. The Hortons were the famous hunters of Union Township. As late as 1835, they would kill forty or fifty deer during one winter.

The settlement in the present Troy Township was about as early as any in the county. Elias Rector bought on Section 31, Township 6 south, Range 3 west, in 1809, and at the same time on Section ft, between Cannelton and Tell City. Aaron Fountain entered’ at Tell City and vicinity, a large quantity of land from 1813 to 1818. WaitVaughan was one of the earliest settlers locating on Section 15, just above Cannelton in 1816. Isaac Wilcox located on Section 8, below Cannelton in 1817. David A. Leonard settled near Vaughan in 1818. John Cummings in 1815, bought on Section 29, now the northern part of Tell City. Abel Butler bought near him in 1818. John Sutherland entered a tract on Section 33, now the southeastern part of Tell City, in 1816, and Benjamin Persinger on the same section in 1819. Thomas Trasher bought on Section 6, Township 7 south, Range 2 west, in 1817. Dosier and Castleberry, two early settlers, gave names to the creeks at Cannelton. The Fulton Tract of land between Tell City and Cannelton was once owned by Robert Fulton, who first effected the application of steam to boats. Above Cannelton in 1824, the Marquis de la Fayette was compelled to pass the night in the log-house of Mr. Cavender, owing to the wrecking of the steamer on which he was a passenger, the “Lady Franklin.” An interesting event at Troy is the fact that Abraham Lincoln, when a young man, kept a ferry there for a few weeks for Taylor, Porter or McDaniel. This fact is too well authenticated by those yet living, who saw young Lincoln thus engaged, to be doubted.

An election held at the court house in Troy for representatives to Congress and the Legislature, August 4, 1817, resulted as follows: For Congress, Thomas Posey, 57; William Hendricks, 8. For the General Assembly, Samuel Connor, 62; Aaron Cunningham, 2. The following men polled their votes at this time: Peter Barber, William Gilbert, John Daist, James Hendricks, William Bolin, John Small, Joseph Wright, John Barber, John Bristoe, John Carter, Thomas Richardson, Daniel Hendricks, Adam Dosier, Sr., Joseph Wright, James Bristoe, John Farris, John Parrett, Runnels Jeffers, Thomas Carter, John Richardson, Marion Carter, Barnet Dewitt, Richard Hazel, Aquila Huff, Elisha Dewitt, Daniel Hazel, Samuel Hazel, John Hazel, Reuben Grigsby, John Terry, William Laforce, James Masterson, Hugh Masterson, Jonathan Johnson, John Archibald, Amos Richards, Nathaniel Huntington, Michael Huffman, William Hicks, John Miller, John Erwin, Edward Bibb, Austin Lincoln, Elisha Terry, George Huffman, Adam Dosier, Jr., David Edwards, Sr., Michael House, Samuel Eslick, John McCrum, Stephen McDaniel, Joseph Murray, Haws Posey, Samuel E. Goodrich, Richard Potts, Theodorus Davis, James Taylor, John Cummings, George Tobin, William Jones, Ishmael Connor, James McDaniel, Elias Roberts, Solomon Lamb, John D. Lamb, John H. Phillips.

The earliest entries of land in what is now Anderson Township, are as follows: Township 5 south, Range 3, west, Section 6, Ephraim Cummings, 1818; Section 35, William Horner, 1817, Township 6 south, Range 2 west, Section 8, John Donnelly, 1820. These were the only entries prior to 1820, in the present Anderson Township.

August 7, 1820, the following men polled their votes in Anderson Township at the house of Daniel Purcell; Theodorus Davis, John Davis, Daniel Hendricks, John Terry, John Jarbo, Thomas Fitzgerald, Richard Kennedy, Richard Davis, Caleb Huston, John Stuck, William Taylor, William Royal, William Hicks, John Wheatley, James Hendricks, David Gregory, Thomas B. Van Pelt, John Lanman, John Farris, John Cassidy, Smiting Irish, John Beardsley, Jesse Barber, Stephen Owens, Daniel Purcell, John Woodall, Samuel Morgan, Gideon Draper and Samuel Eslick.

The following were the early land entries in the present Clark Township: Township 4 south, Range 3 west, Section 3, Robert Ewing, 1819; Section 30, James Ingram, 1818, Ephraim Cummings, 1816, also on Section 31. Township 3 south, Range 3 west, Section 25, Allen D. Thorn, 1819, Township 4 south, Range 2 west, Section 17, John Faith, 1817. These were the only entries prior to 1820. The township was named in honor of Robert Clark, one of the most prominent of the early settlers.

On the 27th of November, 1819, in Clark Township, the following men polled their votes: John Asbell, Wilson Hifel, George Hensley, Thomas Faith, William Rowe, Robert Hills, William Goble, Henry Hill, Ephraim Cummings, John Faith, Solomon Byrne, Robert McKim, Robert Clark, James Lanman, Alexander Cunningham. Two justices of the peace were elected, Robert Clark and Robert McKim.

Old Smith Township comprised portions of the present Oil and Clark Townships, and in August, 1821, the following men polled their votes there: Robert Ewing, James Falkenborough, Elijah Walker, Ebenezer Richardson, John Frakes, Samuel Jamison, John Williams, Hiram Dodson, John Sellers, John Ewing, Abraham Trott, George Robertson, James Reily, Samuel Irwin, Peter Peckinpaugh, Phillip Walker, Jonathan D. Esarey, William Goad, Joseph Rowe, Gabriel Goad, Robert Irwin and Haley Goad. The election was held at Walker’s near Branchville. This was one of the most important localities in the county in early years. Several men who became prominent in county affairs lived there.

Leopold Township is a civil creation of a later date. Its existence was due to the French and German settlement there soon after 1840. The earliest land entries were as follows: Township 5 south, Range 1 west, Section 6, Aaron Cunningham, 1815; Township 4 south, Range 1 west, Section 31, John Frakes, 1817 ; Township 4 south, Range 2 west, Section 32, John Snell, 1816, John Mayo, 1817; Priscilla Crist, 1817: Section 33, Daniel Miller, 1817; Township 5 south, Range 2 west, Section 8, James Cassidy, 1819. The names of the early voters in this township will be found in the lists of Oil, Smith, Union, Clark and Anderson Townships.

Ref: History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Indiana, GoodSpeed