Stand the Storms (eBook)

Chapter 1:
Early Settlers

Four Mile was the first German Baptist Brethren church established in Indiana Territory (Union County) in 1809. Seven years later, Indiana became the 19th state. The establishment of the second German Baptist Brethren church, Wayne County’s Nettle Creek, occurred in 1820. Within four years, the first settlers began moving into what would become known as Carroll County. Organized in 1827, Carroll County received its name from the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll.

Many times, early settlers came to the area and identified the land they wished to settle on before filing for the land in Crawfordsville. Government surveyors had previously located section lines and marked trees. Thus, someone could scout the area, find suitable land, and then file at Crawfordsville. By the early to mid-1830s, German Baptist Brethren settlers and others were pouring into Carroll County. I only included those settlers who came in the mid – to late-1820s.

The fall and winter of 1826 challenged the settlers. Heavy August rains made it difficult to prepare their cabins and livestock shelters for freezing weather. That winter, livestock froze to death because of the cold and the lack of shelter. The settlers also suffered while spending a miserable winter in their ill-prepared cabins. Some of the early German Baptist Brethren pioneers in what would become the Camden and Flora area included:

John Kuns, son of John George Kuns, Jr. and Elizabeth Cripe, was born in 1794 in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. He was one of the first German Baptist Brethren settlers in Carroll County. He married Hannah Wolf, daughter of Leonard Wolf and Catherine Cripe, in 1816 in Montgomery County, Ohio. In May 1825, John filed on four pieces of Carroll County land at the Crawfordsville land office. Samuel Ulrey, also of Montgomery County, Ohio, filed on land at the same time. In March 1849, O.P.Q. wrote in The Weekly Times: “In 1826, General Milroy, Samuel Wise, John Adams, and John Kuns, removed to this County.” In July 1855, The Delphi Weekly Times shared that in late September or October 1826: “Our neighborhood received considerable accession by […] Messrs. Atkinson, McDowell, John Kuns, and the late Gen. Milroy, with their families, and probably some others not named; also, a number of young men.” The Weekly Delphi Times gave an earlier date and shared: “Rock Creek Township was organized in ’28. John Kuns is supposed to have been the first settler in ’25.” He built a flour mill and operated a tannery. After Hannah’s death in 1858, John married Catherine Shively. John died in 1865 in Macon County, Illinois. Catherine died ten years later in Piatt County, Illinois.

Samuel Wise, son of John Wise and Mary Gripe, was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, in 1781. He married Elizabeth Wolf, daughter of Leonard Wolf and Catherine Cripe, in 1807 in Montgomery County, Ohio. She was born in 1786 in Huntingdon County and died in 1839 in Carroll County. Samuel filed on land at the Crawfordsville land office in March 1826. The Weekly Times noted: “James Allridge […] came […] to Carroll county in November 1828. At that time, Gen. Milroy, […] Samuel Wise and John Odell, were residing on the road between the points now known as Delphi and Camden.” Samuel soon erected a sawmill and had it operational in 1829. He eventually owned over 1,400 acres in Carroll County before passing away in 1841. Samuel, a deacon, and Elizabeth’s son, Samuel Jr. died in 1829, and the family buried him at the accident spot, which is known today as Wise Cemetery. After killing a deer, Samuel Jr. threw the deer on his horse and the deer’s antler gouged the horse, and the horse threw 17-year-old Samuel off. Their unmarried daughter, Susannah, donated land for the Deer Creek Old German Baptist Brethren meeting house.

David Harter, son of George Harter and Mary Kitterman, was born in 1781 in Maryland and married Polly Beckner in 1804. In 1827, they moved from Ohio to the Lafayette area, while David looked for a place to settle in Carroll County. David soon started building a grist mill along Bachelor Run. Goldie Harter wrote: “There were no stone cutters or iron workers in Carroll County that could do true enough work, so the mill wheels and iron work had to come from Crawfordsville. When the mill framework was ready and stones placed, every available man from miles around came to help. The men that came numbered seventeen.” David died in 1842. Polly married John Hart three years later and died in 1863.

Peter Eyman, Jr., son of minister Peter Eyman, Sr. and Hannah Whetstone, was born in February 1794 in Bedford County, Virginia. Peter Jr. married Susannah Henderson, daughter of James Henderson and Ann Caldwell, in September 1814 in Ohio. Susannah was born in Virginia in 1798 and died in May 1851. Peter was the first minister at the Montgomery County, Ohio, church in 1827. The following year, he moved to Carroll County. Peter was a founding member of the Church of God, New Dunkers. He died in Carroll County in 1852.

Peter Replogle, son of John Replogle and Maria Koenig, was born in 1785 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Shively, daughter of Christian Shively and Susannah Cripe. Peter was a minister, farmer, and operated a sawmill. He moved to Carroll County about 1828. The same year, the German Baptist Brethren began holding services in his: “barn east of Delphi along Deer Creek.” Peter moved to Cerro Gordo, Illinois, in 1856, where he operated a drug store and started the town’s first bank. Peter died in 1861 in Macon County, Illinois, and Elizabeth died two years later.

Pennsylvania-born John Hoff married Nancy Bair and about 1824, John left Pennsylvania for Ohio. Jeff Hoff wrote that when John arrived in Carroll County, about 1828, he only owned two horses and a wagon. John later inherited money from his parent’s estate, which allowed him to purchase 240 acres. John died in 1867.

John Flora may have arrived in Carroll County as early as October 1827. I think the actual date may be 1829. John, son of Abraham Flora and Nancy Overholtzer, was born in 1802 in Franklin County, Virginia. He married Sarah Harter, daughter of John Harter and Sarah Webb, in 1826. Goldie Harter cited an 1874 Illustrated County Atlas which noted: “The first settlement in Monroe township was made by John Flora, Sr. in 1827, near where Flora Station now stands. There were […] no houses between him and the White River.” Obituaries for their two oldest children showed John and Sarah came to the Flora area in 1829. Mary Polly’s obituary noted that there were only two other families living in what would later become Monroe Township when the family arrived. Both families had arrived in 1828. John served as a deacon and died in 1875. Sarah died three years later.

Philip Kingery probably arrived in Carroll County about 1829. Philip Kingery, son of Jacob Kingery and Barbara Lybrook, was born in April 1811 in Virginia. In August 1828, he married Sarah Eikenberry, daughter of Henry Eikenberry and Betsy Kingery, in Union County. Sarah died in August 1872 and Philip married Mary Wilson in 1876. He died in October 1898.

German Baptist Brethren settlers in the southwest portion of the county in what would become Clay Township included:

Esther Wagoner, daughter of Jacob Greib and Elizabeth Ulrich, married Johanes Wagoner, son of Phillip and Regina Waggoner. Johanes died in 1818 in Montgomery County, Ohio. In an 1828 deed, the heirs of Johanes sold land to James Olinger. Presumably, the family left for Carroll County soon after. Esther died in July 1834.

Esther’s niece and...