SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
Page 2
The Republican
Delving Into Yester~Year
Local historian and writer Paul Miner takes items from
The Republican’s Yester-Year column to develop an interesting, informative and often humorous article.
To the Editor: Before The Republican, or even the Danville Advertiser, which launched in 1846, other out-of-town newspapers carried news from and about Danville. I learned the name of the county seat’s first physician from Parke County’s Wabash Herald; it reported Dr. Caleb Garrett, an “eminent and highly respectable physician” had died at his Danville residence on Aug. 21, 1831. The 1914 county history had no information about the man other than his last name and that he was Danville’s first doctor. The good doctor surely deserved more than that. The son of Quaker farmer Welcome Garrett, a large powerfully built fellow with gray eyes, Caleb was one of 13 siblings, with four step-siblings. Born on March 20, 1778, Caleb lived but 53 years, cause of death unknown. An older brother, John, was accidentally killed, age 14, by a falling door during a storm. Welcome moved to Indiana in 1834 when he was 76, first to Wayne County, then Hamilton County near Westfield the following year. Caleb was born in Surry County, North Carolina. He owned land there. He ran into trouble with his fellow Quakers, however. Records of Aug. 2, 1813, show “he was complained of for not attending meetings and for deviation from plainness.” A little over a month later, a committee visiting him reported, he was “not appearing disposed to make satisfaction.” The Quakers disowned him. Caleb then identified with the Christian (Campbellite) church until the end of his days. He was a farmer, physician and gospel preacher. I’ve not learned where he picked up his medical skills. He moved to Washington County, Indiana, in 1816. On Sept. 5, 1825, he exhorted his younger sister, Beulah, and brother-in-law, John Starbuck, to embrace his unyielding faith, as “this and nothing but this, will give you courage to face a frowning, gain-saying, surmising, evil speaking, backbiting, scoffing, sneering, blaspheming multitude.” This zealous faith would enable them to resist “the allurements – the temptations, to run with a multitude to do evil.” They would pick up the required fortitude, too. There would be adversity, and “the devil and his agents” to deal with. As of his letter writing, Caleb had seen his brother, Isom, the first time in 11 years. Isom lived 135 miles away along the Wabash River. Caleb practiced medicine there until 1829, when he moved to Danville. He died two years later, but I’ve not learned where he is buried. He was twice married. After his first wife died in 1820, he married a much younger woman, but she died of consumption, age about 28, a day after his demise. He fathered 13 children. I’ve no idea how many people calling Danville home in 1831 needed a doctor. The earliest Census data, from 1850, puts the number at 386. Clearly, though, if Dr. Garrett couldn’t heal, he was bound and determined to save souls. The state of medicine at the time is largely unknown to me. Tales from 30 years later during the Civil War, of disease and infection, gangrene, brutal amputations without anesthetic and adequate sanitation provide a general idea. The 1829 illness and painful death of a 32-year-old Lawrenceburg magistrate offers some insight of the time: “His disease was lingering, violent and obstinate, baffling the power of medicine and skill of the most eminent physicians.” A ruptured blood vessel, “occasioned as is believed by too close application to business at the desk, which ended as is supposed in a dropsy in the chest.” Congestive heart failure? I can surmise the popularity of quackery and patent medicines can be laid at the door of desperation due to insufficiently advanced medical science, particularly regarding children. In 1800, U.S. child mortality rate was 463 deaths per thousand births, or more than 46 percent never made it past their fifth birthday. A respected doctor of the era who had studied extensively in Europe complained of “a want of truth in all our systems of the medical science.” I learned the names of 13 other early county doctors. County history calls them all allopathic, meaning they believed in science, but I’ll not delve into their histories unless I discover one or more were blood-letters like Theodoric of York, the barber-surgeon. Paul Miner Lizton ______________________________________________________________________
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It’s News To Us
Birthday parties, new babies, anniversaries, visits from long-lost cousins -these items that make up the kind of news you only find in the pages of The Republican. If you have a local news item you’d like to contribute, you can call us at 317-745-2777, send by fax to 317-647-4341, e-mail to therepublican@ sbcglobal.net or drop by the office at 6 East Main in Danville. Our deadline for submitting news items is noon on Monday for Thursday’s edition.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Yester~Year
The Republican has published local news weekly since 1847. We offer this column as a look back at events from our archives and to help connect today’s readers to the people and events in our past. ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of April 16, 1896 Mont Clair: Quite a blizzard struck our part of the county Wednesday. Snow never fell faster than it did that afternoon. It drifted in some places and remained until melted by rain next day. Oak Ridge: The pioneer mules, now thirty-five years old, and known as the Gibbs’ “rabbits,” are on the retired list and living on a pension. The burglar was abroad Tuesday night and paid his respects to Higgins & Christie’s hardware store and The Fair. Bloodhounds were secured and placed on the trail and at the hour our forms close, are still at work. John Towels and Mont Sturman varied the calmness of Sunday morning by an altercation that might have resulted seriously. They commenced in a conversation on the south side of the square and one word led to another until blows were exchanged. Stilesville: The fire department was called out again Monday. There was a small fire at the residence of Mrs. McAninch. Plainfield: Horace Coleman, physical instructor of the Y.M.C.A. at Marion, Ind., perfected the organization of a similar society at Central Academy, Friday morning. Pecksburg: Isaiah Archer has built a new blacksmith shop – hardly enough business for two. David Cox, aged eighteen, and Miss Jessie Owens, aged sixteen, eloped last week from Washington township and were married in Kentucky. They have returned home and are living in Washington township. ______ ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO Issue of April 21, 1921 Danville’s grade school building, known as the Mattie A. Keeney building, has been condemned as unsanitary by the State Board of Health and its use is forbidden after June 15. Amo: A cream station has been opened by the Wadley Co. under the Red Men’s Hall, with Miss Sarah Caylor as manager. Joseph R. Glover has an electric cleaner and wishes country folks to bring in their rugs and carpets when he will clean the same at reasonable prices. Miss Unity Thomas was yesterday elected May Queen by the co-eds of the Senior class of DePauw university. Record-breaking attendance marks the opening of the spring term of Central Normal College, Tuesday. The attendance of young men is particularly noted. During war times, it looked as if Central Normal was a girls’ school. Virgil Foster, better known as Doc, and Ed Boyer, both indicted by the November grand jury, pleaded guilty to rolling the bones. The alleged offense was in a barn near town. Each was given $10 and costs. When he was a lad in Kentucky and that’s a bit ago, Uncle John Kirkham went with his mother to the county seat. On a public corner they saw a colored woman, a slave, being whipped. Her cries could be heard from blocks away. Uncle John’s mother took him by the hand and led him out of sight and hearing. And then she said: “John, when you get to be a man I want you to vote against this awful thing of human slavery.” And John promised and he made his promise good by voting and fighting. Pittsboro: Dave Turpin, an elderly comrade, who served in the civil war, now living at Danville, was here the week-end visiting old comrades and decorating his wife’s grave, where he laid her in the old White Lick cemetery fifty years ago. Hazelwood: The attraction at the Cozy next Saturday night is Douglas Fairbanks in “Arizona.” April 27, Buck Jones and Franklin Farnum in “The Desert Rat.” ______ SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of April 18, 1946 A permit of construction for a building for the showing, sale, and service of automobiles was granted to James Waddell at a special meeting of the Danville town board, Friday night. The structure will be erected in the Matlock addition on South Jefferson street. North Salem: Mrs. Russell Courtney merited full membership in the Mushroom club last Saturday when she found 284 of the delicious fungi. Everyone who wants and needs a telephone in this community has been supplied, Harry Garnett, new local manager, announced this week. There are now about 1,030 telephones in Danville. Prof. William M. Hillegas has been named as the dean of Central Normal College. The appointment was made to fill a
vacancy which had existed since Dr. P.R. Hightower was promoted to the presidency. A heavy snow storm, last Thursday, made Danville look like a Christmas card scene, briefly. Girl Scout Troop 2 held a picnic and wiener roast at the home of Betsey Blanton, last evening. Live Easter Bunnies. Assorted Colors. $1.00 each. U.G. Bennett, 301 W. Marion, Danville. Phone 365. ______ FIFTY YEARS AGO Issue of April 15, 1971 Brownsburg’s first environmental committee has been appointed to improve the quality of life in Brownsburg. Members are: Ed Schrier, Howard Thomas, Cecil Sharp, Robert Carter, and Mrs. Fred Halleck. Aside from locating a site for a new $1.6 million elementary building, the next decision to be made by the Mill Creek Community School Board will be to chose between conventional and open space concept design. A.E. Pitcher, R.R. 5, Greenwood, has been awarded the contract by the First National Bank of Danville to build its new colonial-style bank building on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana streets, Danville. Patrolman George H. Ingle, of the Danville Police Department, was a member of the eighth graduating class, Saturday, of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. The Danville Town Board, Tuesday night, voted to adopt an ordinance banning horses from the sidewalks in town since they endanger pedestrians. Horses will also be banned from the Danville Park. Danville Police Chief William Chasteen said last summer a total of 27 horses were being houses within the corporation limits Notice is hereby given that application was made on the 31st day of March, 1971, by the Western Union Telegraph Co. to the Federal Communication Commission for authority to close the agency office located at the Boone Boys Sunoco, 55 E. Main, Danville. Two Brownsburg residents have been awarded the Central Indiana Council’s top Boy Scout awards: The Silver Beaver Award to George W. Merritt and the Silver Fawn Award to Mrs. Bunny Bunch. Mrs. Bunch had the honor of being the first woman in the history of Central Indiana Council to receive the award _____ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of April 11, 1996 The 1983 Hendricks County Comprehensive plan is to be updated by Dennis Slaughter, assistant planning director. Suzanne X. Conger has become associated with the law firm of Kendall, Wood, Lowry & Kessinger. May 18 has been set for the wedding of Britt L. Thomas and D.J. Jordan at the Northview Christian Church, Danville. Ashley Kurtz, age 7, Danville, won the bicycle in the 7-8-9 year old group at the Danville Lions/Kroger Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday afternoon, at Ellis Park. Barbara Kestler, Brownsburg, will be the featured artist at the Danville Public Library during the month of April. Hendricks County Head Start is having a recruitment for children 3 to 5 years of age. The location and time is Danville Head Start, 405 W. Lincoln St., on April 17, from 2-8 p.m. Maplehurst Bakeries of Brownsburg is featured in the Indiana Department of Commerce publication, IN-ternationally, March issue. The firm is a supplier to Itochu, a major Japanese training company ______ TEN YEARS AGO Issue of April 14, 2011 The sixth annual ArtsGo! driving/walking arts tour throughout Hendricks County will be April 26 from 5-9 p.m. and April 30 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. What was once the Hendricks County Fairgrounds, and before that the Hendricks County Farm, is now going by the name of “Hendricks County Government East Campus.” The finishing touches were made to the sign on Katie’s on the Square, a re-sale boutique opening soon on the south side of the square. Sydney Kroll and Chance Clark, both 5th grade students at DCMS received Certificates Champion honors this year, Chance in the 100 freestyle & 50 freestyle, and Sydney in the 50 freestyle. Neil and Marcia Denton of Danville are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on April 16, 1961 at the First Presbyterian Church in Hutchinson, Kansas.
