Steuben County's Favorite Family
Newspaper
Established 1857
Chief Topics of Former Years Are
Recalled
Date: Dec. 5, 1957
Twenty-Four Years Ago
Harry Homan, 50, who
liveson the Garn farm a mile east of the Pleasant Point school house,
was rescued alive on December 5, after being buried for two hours in a
well shaft. The well was walled with rocks and Homan went down to
adjust a drainage
cock. The wall caved in, burying him with four and half feet of
rock
and earth. He was rescued by neighbors and suffered little
effects
from his experience.
This
would have happened in 1933.
The
Grave Of A Chief
John
Holton, of near Hamilton, was in
Angola
last Saturday. His father, John Holton, was the first settler of
DeKalb
County, locating there as early as 1833. There were 600
Pottawatomie
Indians near his home and Mr. and Mrs. Holton were present at the
burial
of their chief. A section of a walnut log was split in two pieces
and
from one a trough was made into which was placed the body of the chief,
together
with his gun and many other trinkets of greater or less value. A
shallow
grave was dug in the forest, the trough containing the body was placed
in
the grave, covered with the other half of the log, and then with dirt,
apparently
to rest there in peace until the resurrection. But not so,
for
with the clearing away of the forest came the washing and changing of
the
surface of the ground, until one day when the young Mr. Holton was
plowing
in the field the sharp point of his plow caught the cover to the rude
coffin
and exposed to view all that remained of the brave chief. The
skeleton
and the rusty gun and trinkets alone gave evidence of the years that
had
passed since the grave was first made for the interior of the trough
was
apparently in as good state of preservation as when placed there many
years
before.
Mr. Holton was a man who
had respect for even a dead
Indian,
so he and his son dug a new grave and to this day have kept the secret
of
its location, although they have from time to time been offered money
to
reveal the secret and permit the grave to be opened.
Source: Steuben
Republican Newspaper 18 Feb 1903
Submitted by Kay Lash
Old Settler Gets Granite
Marker
Angola
Monument Company,
Lazenby
and Hetzler, Props. Angola, IN
Gentlemen,
Having submitted to me the awarding of
the red Scotch granite
marker to be placed at the unmarked grave of the person who lived
longest in the county prior to death, and who died prior to January 1,
1900, and having certain data submitted to me for consideration.
I
find from the statement referred to me the facts to be as follows:
George Tabor came to Steuben County in
1837 and died in 1839, and lived in this county prior to his death two
years.
Mrs. Lyola LaRue came to Steuben
County in 1837 and died in 1893,
having lived in the county prior to her death fifty-six years.
John Mahan was born in Harrisburg, PA,
in 1790. He came to Steuben
County in about 1834, and was the first settler in Fremont
Township.
He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died in Angola in 1877, at the
age of eighty-six years. He resided in this county forty-three
years,
but under the rules prescribed for making the award, however deserving,
neither he nor the others afore mentioned would be entitled to the
monument.
Elmus Barron came to Steuben County in
1836, and settled in York
Township in the village of Metz. He died in February 1899, having
lived in Steuben County for sixty-three years. His last
resting-place
being left unmarked and there being no other applicants for the
monument, I find and award that the granite marker should be placed at
his grave.
Done at Angola, this 20th day of
August
1906.
Stephen A. Powers
Submitted by Kay Lash
Source: Steuben Republican Newspaper,
Angola, IN Wed., 22 Aug 1906
Note: Elmus Barron is buried in the Metz Cemetery. Audree Lewis,
Cemeteries of Steuben County
Reaching Backward
As we
stated last week, we take pleasure in quoting from the
Republican of July 12, 1862 handed us by Stephen Hodges of York
township. The paper, being printed during the second year of
Civil
War, has several letters from the boys in blue at the front.
The first item of this kind is from Captain Charles F. Kinney,
dated at Florence, Alabama, giving a list of deceased soldiers of Co.
A, 44th Indiana up to that time as follows:
Francis Brooks,
died 4 Oct 1861, at Fort Wayne, IN
Marion Grant, died 26 Jan
1862, at Evansville, IN
Charles F. Hurlbert died
17 Feb 1862 at Calhoun, KY.
John Stealey, died 21 Feb
1862, at Calhoun, KY.
William W. Wright, died 2
Mar 1862, at St. Louis, MO.
George W. Van Cleve, died
15 Mar 1862 at Evansville, IN
William Bennett died 26
Mar 1862 at Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn.
Richard P. Swain, died 27
Mar 1862 at Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn.
Henry Field, died 5 Apr
1862 at Cairo, IL
Leander Hall, killed 6
Apr 1862 at Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn.
Joseph Jackman, mortally
wounded 6 April and died 10 Apr 1862, at Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn.
John Eckhart died 20 Apr
1862 in Steuben County, IN.
William Yenner died, time
and place unknown.
James B. Ewing died 14
May 1862 Steuben Co., IN.
Henry Nichols writes of
an engagement before Richmond in which
sixty or more Steuben County boys participated. Of the 4th
Michigan
Regiment he says the Colonel was killed, as were also the following who
went from Steuben:
Lieut. Thomas Jones
(wounded) since died.
Serg. F. W. Mench,
killed.
Privates -- A. F. Day, L.
J. Croxton, Homer Fisher, Sanford Morse,
L. T. Scholfield, George Bennett, Mr. Atchison, Mr. Barnes, Mr.
Guernsey, Mr. Bailey, all killed.
John Richardson, A.
C. Bennett and Henry Petre all wounded.
No doubt others of our boys are either killed or wounded. The
fight lasted for three days. Every field officer was lost, and
although the regiment numbered 800 at the beginning of the battle, the
number is now only about 250.
A notice headed “To Arms,” says: “Once more it is our duty to call
upon the people of Steuben County to rush to arms. Steuben County
is
expected to furnish a company for the new regiment required of the 10th
Congressional District. Then rouse ye! Your country at no
time during
this rebellion, needed your services more than at the present.
The
army before Richmond must be re-enforced, and to do this, everyone who
can should at once buckle on the armor. B. F. Dawson will attend
to
recruiting in Angola, and we hope our county will be the first to
report.”
The locals in the paper are very scarce: Orland celebrates the
4th and
Dr. Scott delivered the oration. -- Fremont had a Sunday school picnic
on the 4th, as did also Pleasant Lake. Four men at Hamilton,
after a
drunken frolic, had a fight. If they are so fond of that kind of
sport, we think they had better go to war. -- Sunday, July 6th, the
ceiling at the Balding School house, northeast of town, fell in, joists
and all. The building was new, only built last year.
The men who
will do such a job, only for gain, and this endanger the lives of
children, ought to be punished. Fortunately the school was not in
session when the accident occurred.-- The editor is under obligation to
Daddy Patterson, the merchant, for a new beaver hat.-- We understand
Asa M. Tinker is to be removed as postmaster at Angola, and Alfred
Osborn appointed in his place.
Submitted by Rosalie Spirek
Source: Steuben Republican Newspaper,
10 Aug 1904.