Elijah P. (E.P.) Brown - story from his youth....

BETHANY UNION CHURCH ~ Crawford County, Indiana

The first known burial in this Cemetery was recorded as follows:

William F. M. BROWN, Infant son of Elisha and E. BROWN, born December 1, 1853, died September 10, 1854. This was near the meeting of the three roads at the top of the hill, one of which went south-west toward the Cross Roads School, one to the north-west toward Boston (now Eckerty) and the third which later became known as the Benham Mill Road past Mifflin.  In order to perpetuate these grounds, Elisha and wife deeded three quarter acres for burial purposes and three quarter acres for church purposes to the CHRISTIAN CHURCH for-ever-and-ever.
  On the grounds for church purposes was constructed a log building that was used for a number of years, having been used until it became too dilapidated for such purposes in about 1895.  At one of the last meetings at that place, Rev John BAGGERLY was conducting an all day meeting. It had rained and a young man, Elijah Peter "Pete" BROWN, decided that a log seat would be better if turned over, which he did with the result that a swarm of termites was stirred up, filling the room. People began to flee and Rev. BAGGERLY being surrounded by the flying creatures and they were flying into his mouth said: "There will be (blowing the ant out) church (blowing the ants out again) this afternoon  (blowing more ants out) at two o'clock" and made his way out without dismissing the congregation that was mostly out of the house. It became necessary to build a new church so a meeting was held at the Cross Roads School where a building committee composed in part DR. G. W. L. BROWN as Treasurer, George W. NEWTON as secretary and one other known member, Allen B. TUCKER. Trustees for the ground were George BLUNK, Silas LEONARD, and James A. "Jim" TUCKER. They leased the ground to a united group for a period of ninety-nine years.  While the following is not a complete list of those who contributed and built the new building yet these are yet known after fifty-six years:
Elijah PETER "Pete" BROWN furnished the poplar trees for which the siding was sawed. The trees were cut by John W. DENBO and Richard Absolum "Dick" KNIGHT.  

Transcribed verbatim from Mack Tucker’s, History Of Crawford County, IN. by C. V. Beringer

Brown Family - Meade Co., KY, Harrison Co., IN and Crawford Co., IN

Cynthia Anne Denbo Brown and Elijah P. Brown

I have been compiling newspaper articles regarding our Great, Great Grandfather Elijah P. Brown and will be posting transcribed copies of articles over the next several months.

Elijah's first wife, Cynthia Anne or Annie as she was known, was daughter to Joseph Denbo, Jr., the son of the Joseph Denbo mentioned in previous articles on my blog. Elijah and Annie's daughter, Daisy was our Great Grandmother.

When time permits I will post the family tree and a time line with information regarding Elijah, who was also known as Pete and referred to as E.P. Brown in newspaper articles. Here is the first of many articles I have found regarding Gr. Gr. Grandfather Brown:

Crawford County Democrat (English, IN) ~ September 16, 1897

-E.P. Brown- Treasurer of Crawford County

                Elijah P. Brown, elected in November of 1896 to the position of Treasurer of Crawford County, is the son of John F. Brown, one of the County’s earlier settlers and who died July 28, 1895. The subject of this sketch was born on his father’s farm in Jennings Township, Crawford County, December 1853. When a boy of seven years of age, his parents removed to Harrison County, Indiana, where he grew to young manhood, being engaged in farm pursuits. Young Brown found time to attend the public school and being of a studious nature, succeeded in acquiring a good English Education, which was rounded off at the Normal School at West Fork, Crawford County.

                In 1873 Mr. Brown’s parents removed to Meade County, KY, where our subject engaged at teaching school. He taught for seven consecutive terms, two of which were in schools of this county. In 1883 he again became a citizen of Crawford County and in 1890 was elected to the office of Township Trustee of Johnson Township, serving faithfully for a period of five years. Mr. Brown’s administration of the Treasurer’s office has been characterized by ability and efficiency. He has at all times attended strictly to his official duties. Mr. Brown is a popular citizen of English outside his official business. He owns a nice farm nine miles west of English.

                Mr. Brown has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was married, April 1880,[1] was Miss Anna Denbo of Crawford County, whose death occurred in 1884[2]. By her, he had three children, only one now living[3]. His second wife was Miss Sarah Walls, of this county, who has born him four children[4]. It is pleasing to add in conclusion that in Mr. Brown the people of Crawford County have an honest, conscientious and painstaking public officer and that the Democratic Party find in him a zealous, active and effective worker in behalf of the principles the party advocates. As is customary, Mr. Brown is in line for re-nomination and no doubt exists as to being re-elected. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, having been admitted to the order when but twenty-one years of age. [i]

---

[1] Elijah and Cynthia Anne Denbo were married, May 17, 1880

[2] Cynthia Anne – “Annie” died, June 3, 1886

[3] Our Great Grandmother, Daisy

[4] A total of 5 children, Lawrence, Phronia, Mamie and Orville – Arthur was born in 1906

---

[i] Transcribed, February 1, 2015 – by C. Beringer

In -Memoriam Mom

~IN MEMORIAM~
Our beloved mother, Colleen, passed away September 15, 2013. It has taken me some time to deal with the loss, even though she had been ill for some time before her death. Mom was a kind and loving person who will never be forgotten and will always be missed.

Posted with Blogsy

 

Joseph Denbo ~ Affidavit regarding 1st tour of Duty

Denbo, Joseph - filing for Bounty Land Dec. 1850 1st term Service

State of Indiana

Crawford County

On this the 12th day of December A.D. one thousand eight hundred and fifty, Joseph Denbo personally appeared before Simon J. Monk Justice of the Peace within and for the County and State afore said. Joseph Denbo aged 71 years and 8 months being a resident of Crawford County, and State of Indiana according to the law, declares that he is the identical Joseph Denbo who was commissioned Lieutenant in the Company commanded by Capt. Richard M. Heath in the 5th Regiment of the Indiana Militia commanded by Colonel Joseph L. Bartholomew in the war with the Indians and that he was called out by General Harrison and was mustered into service at the Half Moon Springs in Orange County, Indiana on or about the 13th day of September A.D. 1811 and that he was not called out for any specific time, but served one month and eight or nine days in said war and was Honorably Discharged at Fort Harrison on or about the 20th day of October A.D., 1811.  (Scratched out line) never had any certificate of discharge. He makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the Bounty Land to which he may be entitled under the act granting Bounty Lands to certain officers and soldiers who have been engaged in the Military Service of The United Stated stated Sept. 28th 1850.

                                                                                                            Joseph Denbo

                                                                                                            Claimant

One to three months was the normal tour of duty in the U.S. up until the Civil War. I was so excited to think that Joseph fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe, which occurred November 7, 1811. However,  according to a document from the Treasury Department I've found, Joseph served in his first tour of duty until October 7, 1811, one month before the battle.

From Wikipedia, an outline of events during what led up and became known as "Tecumseh's War":

After being appointed governor of the newly formed Indiana Territory in 1800, William Henry Harrison sought to secure title to Native American lands to open more land for settlers; in particular, he hoped the Indiana Territory would attract enough settlers to qualify for statehood. Harrison negotiated numerous land cession treaties with American Indians, including the Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809, in which Miami, Pottawatomie, Lenape, and other tribal leaders sold 3,000,000 acres (approximately 12,000 km²) to the United States.

Tecumseh, by Benson Lossing in 1848 based on 1808 drawing.

Tenskwatawa, by Charles Bird King.

Tenskwatawa, known as the Prophet, had been leading a religious movement among the northwestern tribes, calling for a return to the ancestral ways. His brother, Tecumseh, was outraged by the Treaty of Fort Wayne, and thereafter emerged as a prominent leader. Tecumseh revived an idea advocated in previous years by the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket and the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, which stated that Native American land was owned in common by all tribes, and land could not be sold without agreement by all the tribes.

In an 1810 meeting with Harrison, he demanded that Harrison nullify the treaty and warned that settlers should not attempt to settle the lands sold in the treaty. Harrison rejected his demands and insisted that the tribes could have individual relations with the United States.

In the meeting Tecumseh warned Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British if hostilities broke out.

In August 1811, Tecumseh again met with Harrison at Vincennes, where Tecumseh assured Harrison that the Shawnee brothers meant to remain at peace with the United States. Tecumseh then traveled to the south on a mission to recruit allies among the "Five Civilized Tribes". Most of the southern nations rejected his appeals, but a faction of the Creeks, who came to be known as the Red Sticks, answered his call to arms, leading to the Creek War, which also became a part of the War of 1812.

By mid-September, most of the militia regiments had formed. By then, Harrison had returned, accompanied by a small force of army regulars, and had taken command of the militia. Harrison had already been in communication with his superiors in Washington, D.C., and he had been authorized to march against the confederacy in a show of force, hoping that they would accept peace.^[11][12]
Harrison gathered the scattered militia companies at Fort Knox near a settlement on Maria Creek, north of Vincennes; There he was joined by the sixty-man company called the Yellow Jackets, so named for their bright yellow coats, from Corydon, Indiana, as well as the Indiana Rangers.^{[note 1]} From there the entire force of about 1000 men set out northward towards Prophetstown.^[14] The force consisted of about 250 army regulars from the 4th US Infantry Regiment, 100 Kentucky volunteers, and near 600 Indiana militia including two companies of the Indiana Rangers.^[12] The army reached the site of modern Terre Haute, Indiana, on October 3 where they camped and built Fort Harrison while they waited for supplies to be delivered. A scouting party of Yellow Jackets was ambushed by Native Americans on October 10 causing several casualties and preventing the men from continuing to forage. Supplies quickly began to run low.  - Joseph's tour of duty ended on the 7th of October.
I will be posting the second affidavit of Joseph Denbo, for the period of late 1812 - early 1813 soon.

JOSEPH DENBO, SR. ~ Appointment to Lieutenant ~ Light Infantry, 5th Regt., Indiana Territory

DENBO, JOSEPH - appointment to Lieutenant of the Indiana Territory, Light Infantry, 5th Regt. July 12, 1811> PAGE 1



DENBO, JOSEPH - appointment to Lieutenant of the Indiana Territory, Light Infantry, 5th Regt. July 12, 1811> PAGE 2

Certificate signed and sealed by the Governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison  - the promotion of Joseph Denbo to Lieutenant of the 5th Light Infantry. Awarded July 17, 1811. Page two is the oath given by Joseph Paddachs, the Colonel Commandant of the Militia of Harrison County, Indiana to Joseph Denbo on August 5th, 1811. 

Website: Indianahistory.org> http://images.indianahistory.org/index.php

Joseph Denbo, Sr, Militia Service

Joseph Denbo, Sr. , raise in rank to Lieutenant July 11, 1811

Page 175 ~ from the Executive Journal, Indiana Territory

The year is not mentioned in the text, from other records I know everything listed on this page occured in 1811.

Joseph Denbo was promoted to Lieutenant on July 26th of the 5th Light Infantry, Indiana Militia.

JOSEPH DENBO, SR. - WILL

I just transcribed my 4th Great Grandfather's Last Will and Testament and thought I'd share. He had many children and more property than most in the area. His son, Joseph Denbo, Jr. is my 3rd Great Grandfather. Without further ado:


JOSEPH DENBO, SR. - LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
Transcribed: October 28, 2008 by Carole V. Beringer

On the outside page is the following:I acknowledge the within to be my last will and testament Joseph Denbo

Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of:
John B.Tilman - seal
James Sloan - seal

Witness Statement:

The State of Indiana Crawford County that -
John B. Tilman (James Sloan's name is crossed out and J. Tilman's name written above) of the county and state aforesaid and of lawful age being duly sworn before the Clerk of the Probate Court of said County upon oath saith that the within instrument of writing was executed, signed, published and declared by Joseph Denbo the Testator therein named on the day of the date thereof as his last Will and Testament in his presence and in the presence of James G. Sloan the other subscribing witness to said will and said Joseph Denbo was at the time thereof of the age of Twenty One years, of sound disposing mind and memory and not under coercion or restraint as he verily believes. That he subscribed his name as witness thereto together with said Sloan in the presence and at the request of the Testator and in the presence of said James G. Sloan.
John John B. Tilman

In testimony whereof I, C. W. Kindle Clerk of said Court hereto set my hand and affix the seal of said Court at Leavenworth this 15th day of September 1851.
C.W. Kindle CKP cc

Clerks Statement:

The State of Indiana
Crawford County
I Cassimer W. Kindle, Clerk of the Probate Court of Crawford County hereby certify that the within last Will and Testament of Joseph Denbo was this day duly admitted to Probate before me. That the same was duly proven by the examination under oath of John B. Tilman one of the (page tear) xxx witnesses thereto and that a full and comxxx (page tear) record of said Will and proof by said Witness has been made in Record of Wills, No. 1, page 59,60,61.

Witness my hand and the seal of said Court at Leavenworth this 15th day of September - 1851
C.W. Kindle, ck

November 17th 1845

This last Will and Testament of Joseph Denbo, Sr. late of Crawford County Indiana saith in distribution to his children

1st to Rebeca Carroll to have fifty dollars in money and thirty dollars in property in addition to what she has all ready (already) had.

2nd to Robert Denbo to have thirty dollars in addition to what the has all ready had.

3rd Jacob Denbo to have thirty dollars in addition to what he already had.

4th Elizabeth Hall to have thirty dollars in addition to what she all ready had.

5th Harrison Denbo to have thirty dollars in addition to what he has all ready had.

6th Sintha Mcwilliams thirty dollars in addition to what she has all ready had.

7th to Joseph Denbo to have twenty five dollars in addition to what he has all ready had and his Book account beside.

8th William Denbo to have the eighty acres of land he xxxx and fifty dollars in money.

9th Harvey H. Denbo to have the landiss 63 acres and the forty inxxx by Levy Hall.

10th Woodfield Denbo to have the three billxxx (?) and a horse and saddle and bridle.

11th B. F. Denbo to have the eighty acres where the dwelling house is on and the eighty acres east of the meridian known by the Harison place, also one horse saddle and bridle.

12th F.M. Denbo to have the west half of the west quarter of Section 24 also eighty acres joining on the west in Section 23 also one horse saddle and bridle.

13th Jane Denbo to have the forty acres near Fromans Mill and fifty dollars in money he wishes Robert Denbo and William to sell the land and give Jane the proceeds thereof.

14th Jane Denbo his wife to have all the household and citchen (kitchen) furniture all the rents and profits of the place and farm, all the farming utensils, all monies on hand and owing and xxx all the property on hand to have and to hold as her own. To be no sale of property with out she thinks proper and at her death all the property and effects that is in her hands to be equally divided among her children that she had by Joseph Denbo.

MILLER FAMILY ~ Houston, Jr. and Martha

Here is a photo of the same couple from my previous post but taken many years later: Houston Ray (Jr.) and Martha Ann Miller. My cousin Bonnie posted this on our "My Family" site a few years back.
 

When I first saw the photo I was determined that it could not be Houston Jr. and his wife, that it must be Houston Sr. and his second wife Mathilda. Today I sat down and compared the two and now believe Bonnie is right, this is Houston Jr. and Martha. Amazing how a few decades can change a person!

No date on the photo, maybe someone out there can give an educated guess with these facts:  

1. Houston Ray Miller, Jr. born: October 1839 died: May 29, 1908

2. Martha Ann Gregory born: February 7, 1841 died: July 18, 1904

3. As mentioned in the previous post, they married November 3, 1861 (Houston 22 yr old, Martha 20 yr old)

I'm guessing this was taken while they were in their forties, perhaps the late 1880's? They both have dark hair, no visible greying except Houston's beard. Houston's beard really throws me, it is something men wore in the early to mid 19th Century.

My Brickwall ~ Miller's of Crawford County Indiana

Many years ago my Great Uncle Don Miller sent me a copy of this photograph along with brief family history. Over time he sent information and photos along with the "brick walls" he had hit trying to unearth our family genealogy. Thanks to Uncle Don I was hooked and have spent my spare time over the past two decades taking up the search as well as searching other family lines.

The couple in the photograph are my Great,Great Grandparents, Houston Ray Miller, Jr. and Martha Ann Gregory, this was a photograph taken on the day of their marriage at Crawford County, Indiana on November 3, 1861.

As you can imagine, Miller is not an easy family name to research. My research goes back to Houston Ray Miller, Sr. who was very active in politics in Indiana, however finding him before he came to Crawford County, Indiana has been the challenge.
Here are the clues I have regarding Houston Ray Miller, Sr. prior to his move to Indiana in the late 1830's:

• He was born in Overton County, Tennessee in 1809.
• The portion of Overton Co, Tennessee that Houston Miller, Sr. was born became Cumberland Co, Kentucky when when the two states settled the dispute regarding the Walker Line. Here is a link with an explanation of this dispute Echos from the Past by Judy Maupin, Boundary Disputes: http://www.westernkyhistory.org/trigg/maupin/boundary.html
• He married a Nancy or Cynthia (Sinthia) Cummins - she was Houston, Jr.'s mother. I have not found a marriage record in Tennessee or Kentucky. Her name was mentioned in a letter from one of Houston Sr.'s sons to Governer Wm. English.
• According to family history when he left Tennessee he traveled with several families, one with the surname DICUS
• Houston Sr. father's name may be either William, James or David and his spouse may have had the maiden name of Ray or Rae.

I'm hoping someone out there is related to a sibling of his who perhaps stayed in Tennessee, or has ANY clues - please contact me!
As I learn how to blog, I will continue to post photos and try to provide links for research.
Updated: June 2, 2012