From Goodspeed's "History of Knox and Daviess Counties":
PALMYRA TOWNSHIP
A portion of Knox County was known as Palmyra Township as early as 1801;
however, it was not reduced to its present limits until 1851. It
consists of fifty-two donations and one or two surveys and some
fractional donations, embracing over 20,000 acres of land. Nearly all of
the lands of the township are arable, the only exception being a small
amount at the head of the Deshee and that along Pond Creek and about
Montour's Pond. The acreage in cultivation is the largest of any in the
county in proportion to its size. In 1884 Palmyra had 3,001 acres in
wheat and 4,571 acres in corn, with about 2,500 acres in timothy and
clover. It is strictly a central township, being bounded on the north by
Washington, on the east by Steen, on the south by Harrison and on the
west by Vincennes Townships. In form it is almost square. It is divided
into two almost equal divisions by the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad. The
township contains neither store, postoffice nor grist-mill, yet is one of
the wealthiest in the county.
One of the first settlers in the southern part of the township was
William Williams. He came from Virginia and settled in the township about
1800. He was with Gen. Harrison at Tippecanoe and received a slight
wound. He owned a small farm and, like many pioneers, he made shoes for
his own family. The sons of William Williams were Thomas, Joseph, Eben
and Jesse; the former was born in 1805 and is still living. He has
resided nearly all his life on the northwest quarter of Donation 30. The
sons all settled in the same vicinity. Joseph, brother of William, also
lived in the same neighborhood. John McCoy, who lived about one mile
south of Thomas Williams, was killed at Tippecanoe, but his family
remained in the same neighborhood for many years. William Welton settled
the farm and cleared a part of the land in Donation 30, previous to 1800.
John Welton, Sr., settled that portion of 31 where John Welton now
resides. There were two other brothers, Ebenezer and William. George
McClure settled on Donation 29, where he built a horse-mill and also a
small still-house. Isaac Purcell came to the county from Virginia about
1790. Louisville was then unknown. He settled on Location 28. Noah
Purcell also settled the adjoining donation; William, elsewhere
mentioned, settled near Bruceville, and Andrew settled where Purcell's
Station now is, on the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad. In Donation 28
Purcell formerly had a small water-mill and still-house, also for a time
a tanyard. George W. Purcell was murdered on December 26, 1862, by four
men on the farm where Daniel Fox now lives. Samuel Emison was one of the
pioneer settlers of Palmyra; he lived in the vicinity of Purcell; he was
a farmer and was surveyor for a time. David and John McCord were also
among the early settlers of Palmyra. John Hogue opened a farm a little
east of the Purcell neighborhood. David McClure lived near Emison's.
Samuel langdon bought the lands in Donations 68 and 53 in 1807.
Truman Marks, now eighty-five years of age, has lived in the county
sixty-four years. He was born in New York; from there he went to
Baltimore, thence to North Carolina, thence to what is now West Virginia.
He made a "pirogue," and in this, with his wife and a small store of
goods, he floated or rowed down the Big Sandy and the Ohio to
Shawneetown. He then worked his way to Vincennes on a keel-boat. He
bought 400 acres of land of McIntosh for $1.25 per acre. Marks claims to
have walked from Terre Haute to Vincennes in a single day. Daniel
Wampler, who lived about two miles from Marks, was a pioneer settler, a
farmer and blacksmith, being the first in the township. L.C. Langdon is
still using a fire shovel which is said to have been made by Wampler in
1816. John Parker, Jacob Ruble and Daniel Snyder all lived near Wampler.
Martin Rose was one of the first settlers, he owned Donation 52, where H.
R. Wise now lives. Rose and a son were in the Indian War. William
Herrell, Samuel O. Johnson, Joseph and Abraham Stoffey, and Joseph Hogue
were also old settlers. Hogue, son-in-law of Parker above mentioned, was
a great bear hunter. Game consisting of turkeys and deer, was very
abundant. Occasionally a bear was killed. It was on wild meats that the
pioneer depended largely for food.
MILLS,TANYARDS, FORTS
David Welton built an ox tread-mill on his farm in the southern part of
the township. Robert McClure built a horse-mill, as did Noah Purcell a
small water-mill. Col. Jordan also owned a water-mill at the head waters
of the Deshee. Grists that were not ground at these mills were ground by
hand-mills, beaten in a mortar or taken elsewhere. The only tanyard
remembered was the one owned by Isaac Purcell. During the Indian troubles
of 1812-1814 every neighborhoood had its forts or block-houses,
sufficient for the accomodation of the settlers. The most convenient and
commanding place was usually chosen. There were two such defenses in
Palmyra, one at Isaac Purcell's, the other at Martin Rose's, usually
known as Rose's fort. These were built in 1812, but neither was ever
attacked.
___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web:
http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.