I do not have Goodspeed's "History of Knox and Daviess Counties",
published in 1885, but I copied the following pages from it:
WIDNER TOWNSHIP
This township was organized early in the history of the county. It was
named in honor of John Widner, its first settler. It occupies the central
portion of the northern part of the county, and is bounded on the north
by Sullivan County, on the east by Vigo township, on the sourth by Vigo
and Washington, and on the west by Busseron, Marsh and Marie Creeks,
being the dividing line between it and the last named. The township
embraces a few sections over thirty-six square miles. The land is largely
under cultivation; the population to a great extent is German. Large
quantities of grain and other produce are raised in this township and
shipped to other markets. The lates reports show about 15,000 acres in
cultivation, or about three-fifths of the entire area of the township.
The improvements are not as fine as in some townships, yet it is the
remark that a person, in traveling through the township, will pass over
less mortgaged land than any in the county.
SETTLEMENT, MILLS, ETC.
The first settler in this townships was John Widner, who settled about
two and a half miles northwest of Freelandsville. He came from Virginia
to Knox County in 1798, and in 1804 moved to the land above described. He
followed the simple and unostentatious life of a pioneer farmer. Fort
Widner was built at this place in 1812 for protection against the
Indians. Andrew Wilkins, a brother-in-law of Widner, settled at the same
time on No. 2. William Taylor settled on No. 2, near Wilkins and Widner.
This family are now all gone. Charles Carrico also came in 1804, and
settled on a part of No. 2. He afterward moved to Sullivan. Michael
Starner, from Pennsylvania, settled Surveys 30 and 4. He also came in
1804. He was the father of John and Jacob Starner. Ludwig Ernest was
another who came in 1804. He was a ranger in 1812. Charles Polk moved
from Virginia to Kentucky in 1780, where, in 1782, his wife and children
were captured by the Indians and afterward carried to Detroit. They were
rescued by friends and returned to the settlement. It was during this
captivity that Charles Polk, Jr., was born. He moved to Knox County in
1806 and settled in Widner Township. William Polk, uncle of James Polk,
settled on No. 238, about two miles from Widner's, in 1808. No. 236,
adjacent to Polk's, was owned by a non-resident, and was first settled by
Hollingsworth.
Alex Chambers, who came from Ohio, settled Location 112 in 1808. He was
the father of a large and respectable family that bore a part of the
hardships of a pioneer life. William Pearce settled 31, near Starner; he
was from Kentucky. John Lemon also was on 238, where he settled in 1808,
and where he remained until his death. Isaac McCoy settled on a part of
Survey No. 2, where he settled in 1808. He was the pioneer Baptist
preacher not only of Knox County, but it might also be said of Indiana.
He was a man of sterling worth and the idol of his friends. He remained
until 1818. He was for a time a missionary to the Indian nation. Others
might be mentioned. Many squatters lived in the neighborhood, who from
indifference for a home, never fixed any permanent habitation.
FORST, INCIDENTS, ETC.
Each section of community built its fort in 1812. Those in Widner were
the Widners, Chambers, Polks, Lemons and Taylors. These were for safety
against the Indians during the second war with Great Britain. None of
these ever sustained an attack by the Indians, yet a few horses were
supposed to have been stolen from Polk's fort one night. Widner was the
largest of these. It enclosed about three-fourths of an acre of space. It
was what is called a stockade fort. These are made by setting timbers in
the ground, closely set and so high as to preclude the possibility of
being scaled. The corners were made with bastions to enable those within
to rake the sides as well as to fire in front. Daniel Hollingsworth and a
man named Honeycutt were hunting near the forks of Marie Creek in 1812.
The two became separated. Honeycutt saw two Indians going in the
direction of his companion. Through timidity he failed to fire upon them
yet he had a good opportunity. Soon he heard a shot, and Hollingsworth
fell dead. The Indians scalped him and left the body.
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