Jeremy,
I live a few miles from Buck Creek Indiana, or Transitville as it was
originally named. My ancestors settled there as early as the mid 1830s.
I assure you that although it is very small, it does still exist as a
separate community. It has it's own little grocery store, post office,
pizza parlor, grain elevator, volunteer fire department, Methodist Church ,
Community Center, and as Susan Clawson said a "little league field" which
is most often used by the girls who participate in the East Tipp Summer
Recreation Softball/Baseball Program; my own daughter having played there a
couple times. Across the road is Hollywood Cemetery where my 3-great, and
2-great grandmothers are buried along with assorted other family members.
Susan Clawson gave you an accurate account of the early history of
"Transitville". What interests me is your SCOTT surname. As Susan said
the orignial town was laid out by Samuel Miller in 1856. Besides Miller's
"original edition" there is Miller's second edition, and then a SCOTT'S
edition. I have a copy of an 1878 Plat map which shows these additions.
Anyway, I'm certain that it was your Thomas Scott who laid out this
addition. A couple years ago I looked at, and transcibed parts of an old
abstract of land that some of my ancestors had once owned. This land was
in this Scott's addition, and page 28 tells how Thomas E. Scott laid out
the descibed addition to Transitville "and the lots are designated on the
plot April 16, 1864." If I remember correctly his signature was there. On
the next page there is record of a warranty Deed, dated Nov. 21, 1864 where
JOSEPH L. SCOTT & ELLEN his wife deeded certain property to Catharine
Herrington and William H. Herrington. This was recorded Aug.8, 1865 and it
is Deed Record 47, page 267. This sure sounds like your Thomas Empson and
Joseph Leonard Scott to me. The Scott addition is in the NE 1/4 of Section
33, Township 24 (Washington twp, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana) Range 3 West and
is directly South of a part of the original plat of Transitville.
Are you sure the census you found them in for the year 1860 was for
Washington twp of Elkhart County, and not Washington twp of Tippecanoe
County? Transitville (Buck Creek) is in Washington twp of Tippecanoe
County, and we know by these land records that he was there in 1864. The
next time I'm in town at the library I will be glad to look at the 1860 and
1870 census records for Tipp. Co. to see if I can find them if you would
like. But I can't say when I'll be there next; my children keep me
extremely busy these days with school and basketball.
Melissa Parrish
(Melissa_Parrish(a)compuserve.com)