| THE JASONVILLE STORY CONTINUED... |
| Chapter V It seems to have been undisputed down through the years that John Lewis and his son-in-law Isaac Taylor were the first white inhabitants of what is now Wright Township. In 1818 they built log houses on the forty acre tract that lies in the Southeast corner of the intersection of State Road 59 and the East Shanklin Street road. The houses stood quite a distance Southeast of the location of the present dwelling occupied by Floyd Gadberry. Almost fifty years ago they were pointed out to the writer by an elder citizen of that day, who stated they were the first homes erected in Wright Township. In 1818 or 1819 Robert Burch built log house near the present site of Queen Three pond (NW of SW of 9-8-7). Another early settler of near the same time was David Ingram who settled near the spring, later known as the Barnes� spring. This spring is near the Clay County line and about 100 yards West of Meridian Street. This land has been occupied by the Kirkham family for many years and the spring has been kept in good condition down through the years. The writer had a drink from it not so long ago. Since writing the above Kirkhams tell me the hollow is now dammed up and the spring flooded with water. As in the case of John Latta, Greene County�s first settler, the writer can get little information concerning the history of the John Lewis, Isaac Taylor, Robert Burch, or David Ingram families. Between the arrival of the first settler in 1818 and the year of 1825 the following settlers found their way to what is now Wright Township: Benjamin Fry, James Heims, James Frazier, Samuel Wilks, Rev. Richard Wright, after whom the township was named, Alexander Poe, a Mr. Cantrell, Jacob Wicher, Isom Ferris, James Malay, Edward Combs and perhaps a few others. Altogether, by 1825, there may have been twenty families scattered over the thirty six square miles, later to become Wright township. The township having an area of 23,040 acres, would give us the picture of one family for each 1152 acres. Wright township and Lewis township had so much in common that history finds no place for separation. The township and county line is just one half mile North of Main street. Probably few settlers knew the precise location of this line, and surprisingly few citizens could give its exact location today. No road marks the northern boundry of Wright township except a short jog westward near the old Green Valley mine. The other three sides of the township have public highways for the boundries. The man to give Jasonville its name was a resident of Lewis township, the man it was named after resided there for a time and the first two churches of the community (Oak Grove and Union) were in Lewis township. In view of these circumstances, consider any history of the period before the coming of the railroad must properly deal with the community as a whole. The Buckallew family were natives of Virginia, first settling in Tennessee, then coming into Indiana about 1825. Fording the Ohio River near Cape Sandy, they entered Crawford County, Indiana and established their pioneer home. Nine years earlier, 1816, another family had forded the Ohio a few miles downstream from Cape Sandy, and built a crude cabin near Gentryville in nearby Spencer County. A member of this family was a seven year old boy named Abe Lincoln. Buckallew�s left for Clay County, Indiana in 1827. The Lincoln family, who also originally came from Virginia, departed for Illinois three years later, 1830. Despite the proximity of the trails of these two families, in time and place, it is highly unlikely that they ever met. I tell of the migrations of the two families that my readers may consider the time of the settling of this community by comparision, or in connection, with a well known date in American history. Here in Crawford County, Indiana, William L. Buckallew, who later claimed to give Jasonville its name, was born on June 6, 1827. His father, James and his mother Mahala (Halt) Buckallew brought their family to Clay County, Indiana the same year William was born. The first home was across Eel River, but in 1835 they came into Lewis Township settling on the East side of the North Meridian Street road less than a mile North of Jasonville�s Main street. Joel, a brother of William,was one of the founders of the original Jasonville Methodist Church. On October 17, 1855 William was married to Elizabeth Goble of Vigo County. William was elected a justice of the peace of Lewis Township in 1852 and re-elected for three successive terms. In 1865 he was elected township assessor and in 1869 be was elected township trustee. In 1878 he was elected county commissioner and re-elected in 1882. The year of 1863 found the family moving into their new home which it had taken him two years to build, doing all the work himself. His house still stands in the Northwest corner of the bogle cross roads and is presently occupied and owned by Earl Sluder. Mr. Buckallew (Uncle Billy as we knew him in later life) has told this writer that while engaged in building the home, he would lay down his hammer and saw, wander into the woods and in a short time return with a nice, plump wild turkey or a deer for the family table. He was a member of the Jasonville Masonic Lodge and was the Master in 1880. His photograph adorns the wall of the lodge room at this time. He also was a member of the Baptist Church. He died January 11, 1921 at the age of 92, his wife having preceded him in death by passing away September 25, 1920 at the age of 93. Mrs. Flora Ambs and Floyd Buckallew, citizens of this community are his grandchildren. I drew another simile of the Buckallew and Lincoln families. Altogether, Abe Lincoln had less than a full year of schooling when he left Indiana at the age of twenty-one. It is doubtful if William Buckallew had more, yet he educated himself to a point where he was a successful school teacher of his day, teaching his first school in the Buchanan district in 1851. |
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| "Uncle Billy" Buckallew and wife Elizabeth (Goble) Buckallew |
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