Surnames mentioned in article:
BENNETT, BENT (?), COOPER, ELLIOTT, FRANKLIN, GOODWIN, GRONENDYKE, HASTY,
HAZZARD, HENSHAW, HOOVER, HUSTON, KEESLING, KUMIER, MCKEE, PICKERING, RENT
(?), SMITH, SWAIN, THURSTON, WEEKS, WILHOIT, WISEHART, YOUNT, ZERKLE
The following article appeared in the "New Castle Courier" on Saturday, 4
Oct 1924. The last part of the article is missing, but it will be of
interest to anyone interested in Mechanicsburg, and the surronding area, in
the 19th and early 20th centuries. My gr-gr-gr-grandfather, Samuel HUSTON,
is mentioned in the article, and I can provide additional information about
him -- the other families are not mine, and I cannot provide additional
information about them. Permission is given in advance to anyone who wants
to pass my transcription of the article on to other people or lists. Joann
Jameson, San Leandro, CA.
HAPPENINGS OF OTHER DAYS By Clarence H. SMITH, Curator of The Henry County
Historical Society.
Readers of my "Happenings" in last week's Courier, through an error of the
typewriter, probably failed to appreciate my reference to the Christian
name -- Jeremiah Prophet Elijah, which was borne through life by Rev.
KUMIER, one of Indiana's most prominent Presbyterian divines of half a
century or more ago. However, he has no stronger cause to censure his
parents than had his contemporary, that prominent citizen of Henry county,
who has the name Preserved Leonard Wilcox MCKEE, which is usually written,
however, with only the initials.
On the auto trip which I was describing last week, we went to the
Mechanicsburg cemetery and there I was impressed, as I had recently been at
the Centerville cemetery, with the fine work the ladies of a community can
accomplish toward the improvement of these sacred spots. I am told the
enlarged area, the retaining wall along the road, the large circle of
peonies are chiefly the result of their efforts and it is the hope they
will continue the good work until attractive shade trees shall break the
barrenness that characterizes the cemetery except to the East, where the
border of the old part is marked by some noble trees. Cedar waxwings,
chickadees, bluebirds and song sparrows were seen in the wild cherry tree,
apparently feasting on the fruit.
As we went up the steps into the cemetery I saw one of the most astonishing
inscriptions I have ever noticed, one that can probably not be seen
elsewhere in this or any other land. It marks the grave of the wife of an
early settler of the community and says, "Died Sept. 31, 1845." That and
another headstone nearly "got my goat" so that I missed making my
examinations through the yard as thorough as I should have wished. The
second stone bore the name Empress Josephine, but I learned she was the
daughter of the Rev. Daniel FRANKLIN and not connected with Napoleon's
career. Strolling through the cemetery we came upon many graves of
KEESLINGs, WISEHARTs, COOPERs, GOODWINs, SWAINs and although I was told
this was not the burying ground of most of the early KEESLING family, I
wondered more than ever why the village had not been named Keeslingsburg.
Miss Emily WEEKS, in her history of the town, states that it narrowly
escaped being called Petersburg, in honor of Peter KEESLING, one of the
five brothers who settled in that vicinity, but that Mechanicsburg was
chosen because nearly every trade was represented by the settlers.
I was interested in seeing the grave of Samuel HUSTON, who had been a
soldier in the War of 1812. Later, in looking up HAZZARD's account of the
Henry county settlers who had served in that conflict, I found Fall Creek
had a larger representation than any other township in the county. This
may be due to a more thorough research in the subject having been made by
some resident of the township, probably Capt. D. S. YOUNT, or there may
really have been an unusual number of 1812 soldiers among the many Virginia
immigrants who settled in that part of the county in the early thirties.
Near Samuel HUSTON's grave was that of his grandson, William S. HUSTON, his
headstone bearing the inscription, "Died in Hospital at Milliken's Bend in
the U. S. Service, Co. H, 69 Reg., Ind. Vol., Feb. 20, 1863, aged 21 years
and 21 days." Mr. HAZZARD gives him as one of more than a hundred Union
soldiers who died of disease during the short time that the 69th Indiana,
under Col. Tom BENNETT, spent at Young's Point and Milliken's Bend, LA,
during February 1863. This company was largely made up of soldiers from
this part of Henry county, Frederick HOOVER and Davis S. YOUNT of
Middletown having served as captain. Company I of the same Regiment was
also largely made up of Henry county boys and many out of both companies
lost their lives during the conflict. The bodies of several of these boys
were reinterred in the Mechanicsburg cemetery. A number of people are
living today who remembers the day on which most of these soldiers, who had
been capatured by the Rebels in the fight at Richmond, KY, and released on
parole, returned and were given an ovation by all in that part of the
country, the ladies of Mechanicsburg preparing a big dinner in their honor
-- today it would probably be spoken of as a banquet. Dr. T. W. GRONENDYKE
of Newcastle, is one of a few living members of this company. I had a
pleasure while in Mechanicsburg, of a short visit with another veteran of
this conflict, Daniel RENT (or BENT), who had served in the 8th Indiana,
who had a fund of reminiscences concerning his days of service.
Aside from the families mentioned while at the cemetery we noticed the
grave of Moses WILHOIT, great grandfather of Mrs. PICKERING, one of our
party, and the father of that wellknown stock raiser, Thomas WILHOIT, whose
fine cattle were unsurpassed. He acquired almost a nation-wide reputation
as a breeder of fine cattle. When I was a boy one of the pleasures of
every county fair in "these parts" was inspecting the barns filled with
WILHOIT's cattle.
Another noteworthy character at whose grave we stopped, was athe wellknown
banker of that part of the country, Nimrod R. ELLIOTT. Near him lay buried
other members of his family, including his daughter and her husband, Dr.
and Mrs. J. A. THURSTON, the former of whom was for years one of the
leading physicians of Richmond. When I saw the headstone of Dr. Joseph
WEEKS, I was reminded of the eulogy paid to him some years ago at the
Historical Society meeting following his death, by his former friend,
neighbor and student, Dr. GRONENDYKE, who stated Dr. WEEKS was considered
the father of the Physio-Medical School of medicine in Indiana and that he
had frequently instructed and cared for him in his own home medical
students who were unable to remunerate him.
Another instance of this desire of Dr. WEEKS to aid young people and help
cultivate any talent they might possess was shown in his service to the
talented artist, Glenn HENSHAW. Although a native of Tipton county, so
much of HENSHAW's life was spent in Mechanicsburg that Henry county can
justify feel (sic) some claim on him and we hope to be able to show an
exhibition of his work at the Historical building this winter. As a boy
HENSHAW had no place in which to exercise his talent until granted
permission by Dr. WEEKS to use the upper room in his office, which is still
standing just west of the WEEKS home. Here he sketched and dabbled in
paints, and made crayons of many of the villagers. The doctor encouraged
him to take lessons and it is largely through his encouragement and
assistance that Mr. HENSHAW was able to pursue his studies which have
brought such honor to him and his native state in which honor Henry county
can share.
From the cemetery we went west of town to see Mrs. ZERKLE weaving rag
rugs
on a large loom that filled a corner of the porch. Mr. ZERKLE, seeing that
I could not appreciate anything as modern as the present day rag rugs, took
me out on the farm to point out to me where a burying ground had been years
ago, overlooking the attractive creek that winds and turns through the
meadow. He pointed east to the old home where Dr. George HASTY, at times
student and partner with Dr. WEEKS, later head for years of the
Physio-Medical college at Indianapolis, had been reared.
From the ZERKLEs we turned to Mechanicsburg for hasty calls on Miss
Emily
WEEKS and Mrs. Rhoda KEESLING, where we feasted our eyes on an immense tree
hydrangea, literally weighted down with its beautiful pink tinted,
cone-shaped flowers. As stops at the Cadiz cemeteries had been planned,
(rest of article is missing).