Firsts of Benton Township
H. W. Enyart taught the first school in the township
and possibly in the county. He taught at his house in the sunnier
and winter of 1837, and had same ten pupils. The tuition fee was two
dollars and a half a scholar for a term of three months, taken in
the currency of the realm, which was of assorted stock and
variegated in color. There was no discount on the assortment; a gold
dollar wasn't any better than a deer skin, and a bushel or so of
corn was just as good, if not a little better, for home consumption
than silver dollars, and in fact was preferred. Some honey now and
then, to sweeten the pathway of life, was taken, and a deer skin was
not refused, for leggins and moccasins were a necessity.
The first loom ever built in Benton township was also the work of H.
W. Enyart, and his wife, Mary Ann, did the first weaving, and this
was in the year 1831, and not as above dated. This lady also did the
first carding and spinning in the township, and in the year last
above mentioned. Like all the pioneer women of the early times, she
not only made her own clothes but those of her husband and children.
The great mart of trade for these up country folks was Liberty, in
Clay county, the first year or so, and then they changed to St.
Joseph, which was the trading point for several years. Indians were
plentiful and peaceful, and would, when the opportunity offered,
steal by the armful. When they couldn't get their meal at Liberty,
or run out, a burnt hole in a log and a stick with a big butt for a
pestle, answered for a mill. The meat was entirely of wild game, but
it was of a variety fit for the palate of an epicure. There were
bear and venison steaks and hams, wild turkey, and fresh fish from
the streams; these made life durable and would not go bad even in
the year 181. In fact, the old pioneer lived on the fat of the land,
and it seems to us of later years that its fatness has seriously
diminished.
The first physician was Dr. William Henderson, and he came in the
year 1835, and the next was Dr. Yater. Both of these gentlemen came
from Kentucky and both have long since passed to another world.
The Rev. George Waugh preached the first sermon at the house of H.
W. Enyart, in 1834. He belonged to the Methodist denomination. Isaac
Burns was also a Methodist preacher and began preaching at the
houses of the neighbors the spring he came to the township, which
was in 1835. His first service was held at the house of William
Allen. Rev. J. T. Duberry was also one of the early preachers
in the same church.
The first child born in Benton township was in the
spring of 1836, and was a son of Glenn Sampson. The second was Ann,
a daughter of .Benjamin Burns, born the summer following. There was
but a month or two between their ages.
The first death in the township among the settlers was that of "Milly,"
a negro woman belonging to Mrs. Mary Enyart. She died and was buried
in the fall of 1834, and her coffin was made from the wagon-box
brought by the family when they came into the township. It was the
only resource for boards then in the county.
In 1835, Mr. Enyart's cabin, and all its contents,
except the loom, was burned. They saved nothing but the clothes they
had and the loom above mentioned.
The First School House
The first school-house built was put up in the summer of 1842. It
was built of round logs and was sixteen by eighteen feet in size,
with a dirt floor clapboard roof held on by weight-poles, cracks
finely cemented with mud, and smooth puncheon seats and desks. The
house was built by the neigh-bors, all jointly assisting, among the
number being David and Isaac Groomer, John D. Williams, John
Githens, Joseph McCrosky and others. The first teacher was John
Githens and the "taught the young ideas how to shoot" and took his
pay in wild game, chickens, ducks, coon and deer skins, corn, or
cash, as the case might be. He taught for the moderate sum of $3.50
per scholar for a term of three months, and had some twenty pupils
in all. The school-house stood on the Dilley place in section
twenty-eight and in the north half. Where that school-house stood
now stands a mulberry tree, fully ten inches in diameter, a living
monument to the memory of the first institution of learning within
Benton township.
In the meantime Benton was rapidly settling. The Aliens settled in
1834. James Brown and George Brown came in 1835. The former is dead
and the latter removed to Texas. Elijah Frost came about the same
time and was a prominent citizen of the county for years. He removed
to California in 1851, going overland soon after the gold excitement
broke out.
The first appearance of John D. Williams was in 1835. He came west
to look after the fate of William Easom, whose death is mentioned a
few pages back. The wife of Easom, and a neighbor of Mr. Williams's,
requested him to look up, if possible, some further proof of her
husband's fate. She had been notified of the facts heretofore given.
Nothing further could be learned. Mr. Williams looked around
considerably in this western country on that visit, and five years
after, in the year 1840, John D. Williams be-came a resident of
Benton township. He purchased land on both sides of the Grand River,
in section thirty, but lived on the east and south of the river. His
son now occupies the old homestead.
No roads were laid out in those early years, but the roads were free
to roam or drive wherever your destination might lead you. Trips of
days, and often of weeks, were taken to procure the necessaries of
life, or bring back loads for some enterprising man on the way.
Mills
The first horse-mill was built by Benjamin Sampson, on the Sampson
place and did duty for several years. The first water-mill was put
up by Matthew Patton, on Big Creek, just north of the site of the
old town of Pattonsburg, and from whom the town took its name. It
stood for many years, and was of great benefit to the people of the
surrounding country. The town of Pattonsburg was first known as such
in 1845, though but one or two buildings were standing in the early
winter of 1844 and 1845. A. few years after this Mr. Patton removed
to Oregon and took up his permanent residence.
The first rag carpet ever wove in Benton township was by the hands
of Mrs. Hulda Powell. She was a splendid type of the pioneer woman
of the age that called forth all the virtues and the fortitude of
the wife and mother. All that was demanded of her she seemed capable
of performing. She was the wife of J. W. Powell. Mrs. Benjamin
Sampson and Mrs. Mary Enyart both furnished their houses with the
same article, the skill of their own hands.
First Marriage
The first marriage in Benton township was that of Charles Burns to
Miss Sampson. The neighbors came to attend that wedding in force.
They came from miles around, and they had to, for the cabins were
miles apart. The bride wore a beautiful homespun dress of her own
weaving, and the groom was equally at home in a wedding suit of
homespun, wove by his mother and made by her nimble fingers. The
church bells did not sound a merry peal, but the old cow gave her
head an occasional shake, which answered the same purpose. She had
on her neck the only bell of the family, while Charlie Burns secured
the belle of the neighborhood for a helpmeet through life. They went
to house-keeping in the usual primitive style. Stoves were scarce in
those days, and mahogany parlor, and walnut bedroom sets, finished
in oil, were not then in vogue. All this saved money and a great
deal of hard work, so the couple were happy in having a pot or two,
a bag of corn meal and a trusty rifle. With this outfit and strong
hearts and willing hands, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Burns started in
life, buoyant and full of happiness that would badly discount a
brown stone front.
The township continued for years in steady progress. It continued to
lead in wealth and population. Its citizens represented in a marked
degree the progress of the county. John D. Williams served in the
legislature two terms, and was prominent in all the public
enterprises of the day. Benjamin Salmon, an able man, served one
term, and others held important trusts.
Benton township was always fortunate in her choice of public
servants. The year Benjamin Salmon was in the legislature Harrison
county was organized and its metes and bounds described. Mr. Salmon
lived on section thirty-six of township sixty-two of range twenty
-nine. It had been sup-posed the township line would be the dividing
line of the county, but if so, Salmon would find himself not only in
Harrison county, but outside of the township. Having charge of the
bill, he proposed to remain inside of Daviess and still live in the
borders of old Benton. To that end lie had the Harrison county south
line commence one mile north of township line No. sixty-two, and it
was so fixed. Mr. Salmon's farm joins the Harrison county line, but
he is in Daviess county, and Benton township is his home.
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