History of Caesar Creek Township Indiana

Originally Caesar Creek township comprised a portion of the township of Clay and part of the western end of Ohio county. On the organization of Clay township it lost a considerable portion of its territory and when Ohio county was formed out of Dearborn, it again suffered a loss of territory. It is now best described as an irregularly shaped territory in the southwestern corner of Dearborn county between Hayes branch on the north, Laughery creek on the south and east, and the county of Ripley on the west. In 1826, when it was laid out by the county board of supervisors, Thomas Palmer, James Lewis, Mark McCracken and John Lyon, it was described as follows: Commencing on the old boundary line at the northwest corner of fractional section 8, township 5, range 3 west; thence east to the northeast corner of section 12, township 5, range 3 west; thence south to the south line of the county of Dearborn; thence west to the western boundary line of Dearborn county; thence northwardly to the old Indian boundary line and western line of the county of Dearborn to the place of beginning.

ORIGINAL LAND SALES

Township 5, range 3 west. Part of section 4 was sold in 1816 to John Watts and Nathan Frakes; in 1825 to John Watts, and in 1838 to Frederick Probst. A part of sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 9 and 10 are in Ohio county.

Township 5, range 3 west. Fractional section 20 (part of it in Ripley county) was sold by the government to Felix Brandt in 1818. A portion of section 26 (part in Clay township) was sold in 1818 to J. Embree and E. Hepburn; in 1834 to John Williamson, and in 1836 to Young Johnson and Peter Spangler; in 1838 to Henry Probst, Charles Drago, William Turner and Frederick Wabben.

The earliest land entered from the government in the township was bought by Benjamin Purcell in 1808. The next piece of land purchased was entered in 1812 by Solomon Stephens, and another in 1815 by John Dougherty. The last land to be taken up from the government was in 1839 by Frederick Probst. Quite a number of pieces of land was taken up in the township in 1838, but the desirable lands along the valley of Laughery were taken first. Before any land was entered from the government there seems to have been settlers who lived in the township, but who neglected to enter the land. It is claimed that George Zinn came to the township in 1805, and Jacob Zinn and his son, who moved to Missouri in 1876, claimed that there was a stockade on a place at that time owned by a man named Rudolph Winters. He said that back of an old stone house called the Spears house and near the foot of the hill, close to a large spring, the stockade enclosure was located. Mr. Zinn was a small boy during the War of 1812 but old enough to recall distinctly that there were several small cabins within the stockade, to which, when an alarm was given, the women and children would flee for safety. This stockade is supposed to have been built by Mr. Purcell in 1811, who had moved there from Kentucky in 1808. Mr. Zinn claimed to have a clear memory of the alarms that were given at several times during the war and he recalls spending several days and nights in this stockade.

Robert Rickets, who lived on a part of section 16, was a member of the company of “rangers” and his house was also built so as to be capable of defense, which made it a place where the nearby residents would seek shelter at nights.

One of the earliest settlers of that vicinity was James McGuire, and a sketch of his life is herewith appended as a tribute to one of the brave and fearless men of those times. “Major James McGuire was born on May 10, 1785, at Dundalk, a seaport town in the province of Leinster, Ireland. He early entered the British navy. He was under the command of Lord Nelson at the taking of the Danish fleet at Copenhagen in 1801. Subsequently he enlisted in the English army. In 1802 he arrived in Ohio, having crossed from Canada, where his regiment had been ordered, and in 1808 he came to Dearborn county, making his home at Lawrenceburg until after Indian hostilities were over. He became acquainted with Adam Flake, one of the first settlers, and married Flake’s daughter. On August 22, 1810, he was appointed and commissioned by the government a captain of militia of Dearborn county, with James Allen, lieutenant, and John Payne, ensign. In 1812 he went into active service and was appointed drill master, to drill all the troops that were raised in the county; he being a perfect master of military tactics. There were two companies of mounted men with rifles called ‘rangers.’ The first company was under command of Capt. James McGuire, and the second company was under Capt. Frederick Scholtz. These companies erected some half a dozen block houses: the most southern one was on the land owned by Major McGuire. One company at a time would be distributed in squads of ten men to each block house. The other company would be patrolling the wilderness from block house to block house and extending their rounds into the interior of the wilderness twenty or thirty miles; then spending a part of their time at home with their families. This guarding of the frontier was kept up until the close of the war. Captain McGuire was during the war promoted to be a major. April 17, 1811, he entered the southwest quarter of section 9, township 4, range 3. He entered this land when it was a dense wilderness. Here he moved into and occupied a block house. Prior to this there was but one tract of land purchased in the township. This was bought by James Hamilton and was the quarter section just north of McGuire.”

THE FIRST SETTLER

McGuire was undoubtedly the first settler in the township, as Hamilton never lived there. Col. Johnson Watts said: “When I moved to Laughery, in 1814, Major James McGuire lived one mile below me in the block house kept up in the time of war.” His location was in Caesar Creek township on the north side of Laughery creek, opposite the mouth of Bear creek. On this farm he spent a great portion of his time, in the prime of his life, clearing up, improving and cultivating his farm, and alternately running his surplus produce to New Orleans in flatboats, and then returning on foot through the Indian nations which inhabited the dense wilderness that lay along the route. He died at the old homestead on Laughery creek.

George W. Lane, in his writings during the centennial year of 1876, refers to Major McGuire thus, “Capt. James McGuire, who settled on Laughery creek, was another of the pioneers who rendered valuable service in the defense of the early immigrants to this part of the state, and deserves honorable mention. When most of the inhabitants this side of the Ohio crossed into Kentucky under an alarm of approaching Indian bands, Captain McGuire joined General Dill and others at Lawrenceburg to defend those who had the courage to remain. In this connection it might be added that the alarm was a false one, or the preparation made by the militia to meet them deterred the savages from attacking the settlements; yet it was often referred to as a feather in the cap of those who remained, and the writer has often heard mention made of those who crossed the Ohio to escape from the supposed danger, rather than to remain and take their chances with their brother pioneers. If a state was disposed to make a roll of honor composed of true heroes who had been well tried and positively proven in times of great danger, no name would grace the list more worthily than that of James McGuire. Captain McGuire was spared to a good old age, to see peace and plenty and many happy homes in the rich valleys and on the pleasant hills, where in other days he had witnessed scenes of carnage and bloodshed and traced through the dense forest the lurking foe and deadly enemy to civilized life.”

A PROMINENT FAMILY

Judge John Watts and his family settled in the township on Laughery creek in 1815. The Judge and his son, Col. Johnson Watts, were men of prominence and leading spirits in the affairs of the county during their lives. The Judge was a native of Virginia and had lived at Petersburg, Kentucky. After the War of 1812 the family removed to Dearborn county, assuming at once an active part in the affairs of the county and state. The Judge was an elder in the Baptist church and at times served his church in the pulpit as well as in its business affairs. In the pioneer settlements he often officiated as a minister, assisting the pulpits that were without a regular preacher. He was a member of the Legislature, serving in the Senate from 1825 to 1830. Judge Watts died in 1834, aged sixty-seven years, and was laid away in a private burying ground near the mouth of Bear creek on Laughery creek.

Col. Johnson Watts was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, July 7, 1794. His parents were Judge John and Fannie (Sebree) Watts. Judge Watts was one of the pioneers of Kentucky and Indiana territory, a man of ability and of great usefulness. His wife was an orphan girl whose father’s life was sacrificed in the War of the Revolution. She was raised to womanhood by Col. Robert Johnson, the father of Col. R. M. Johnson. Johnson Watts’ boyhood life was spent among the frontier scenes along the Kentucky side of the Ohio river below the village of Petersburg. His playmates were Indian boys and he became well skilled in the use of the bow and arrow. His early years were spent in assisting his father in clearing up the farm. At the age of seventeen he enlisted in his country’s service in the second war with England under Capt. Urial Sebree. He fought under Colonel Lewis at Frenchtown, near the rapids of the Maumee on January 13, and in that vicinity on January 22, 1813, received a wound by a musket ball in one leg, by which he was disabled and returned to his home in the spring of 1813. Young Watts suffered from hunger, exposure and want of attention during the marches of that winter. After his return to his father’s farm in the spring of 1813, he received three or four months’ schooling, which, with the exception of a little instruction before entering the service, was the extent of his educational advantages. November 3, 1814, he was married to Elizabeth McClain, whose father resided on an adjoining farm. His father had purchased land on Laughery creek, in Dearborn county, and a portion of which was given to the son, who in 1815 had built thereon a cabin, to which he removed and there begun life for himself. His father erected a saw-mill and later established a tan-yard and in and about these in connection with farming Johnson Watts was employed for some years, subsequently purchasing the same and in addition operating a distillery. Soon after settling in Indiana he was elected a colonel of militia, which office he held for five years. About 1825 Colonel Watts commenced flatboating, having perhaps made the first effort in starting boats from up Laughery creek; which business he was engaged in for a number of years. In 1832 he moved to Hartford and was there for a time engaged in merchandising, having gone to that place more for the purpose of schooling his children — then eight in all, three sons and five daughters. Subsequently he purchased his father’s farm on Laughery creek and moved upon it, and in connection with other business and his official duties, he was chiefly occupied during life. In 1825 Colonel Watts served as a representative in the Legislature from Dearborn county, and from 1838 to 1843 in the state Senate. At the time of his election to the Senate in 1838 the county was Democratic by from three hundred to four hundred majority, though Watts was a Henry Clay Whig. In 1850 Colonel Watts, with William S. Holman and James D. Johnson, was chosen a member of the constitutional convention, and in the same year was made the Whig candidate for Congress in the fourth district, but was defeated by sixty-seven votes only. Colonel Watts, on the breaking out of the Civil War, was a supporter of the Union and of President Lincoln’s administration, and, fired by the same patriotism as led him on to battle in 1813, when but a lad, he, although nearing man’s allotted time on earth, offered his services to Governor Morton, but on account of advanced years was declined. Colonel Watts was a man of considerable native ability, of good character and of unquestioned integrity. He closed a useful life on the 27th of May, 1871.

SOME OF THE PIONEERS

Among the early settlers of Caesar Creek township were Eleazer Cole, Robert Ray, Charles L. Henry, John Froman, Jesse and Jordan Rice. On Laughery creek were living about 1820, Judge John Watts, James Rand, Adam Pate, George Zinn, John Froman and Robert Ray. The latter was a brother of Gov. James B. Ray and was a minister of the gospel.

Many present residents of the township are of German descent. Their ancestors began to settle in the township about 1837. Among the earlier of the German settlers were Bosse, Droge, Ruhlman, Grelle, Siekerman, Otting. With the exception of a few farms the lands in Caesar Creek township are owned by people of German descent, who are a thrifty, frugal class, and who have kept up the fertility of the soil to such an extent that the land produces with its old-time abundance.

The following is a sketch, written in 1843, of Gideon Tower, a resident of the township at that time: “Gideon Tower was born in Cumberland, Providence county, Rhode Island, April 30, 1753, and was married in March, 1775. He joined the army of the Revolution in April, of the same year, and served from three to seven months of every year while the war lasted. His wife was born on November 28, 1754, and both are now living in Caesar Creek township, this county, and are enjoying good health. They had thirteen children, fifty-nine grandchildren, seventy-nine great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. They had two sons who were out in the last war, John Tower and Gideon Tower, the former was massacred on January 23, 1813, at River Raisin. They had one grandson, Henry Millard, who had the honor of commanding the right wing of the Texas forces, on the memorable 21st of April, 1836, when the Mexicans were defeated and Santa Ana taken prisoner by the Texans. It is seldom that husband and wife live together for sixty-eight years, and live to see their descendants multiply to one hundred and fifty-seven and see six of their fourth generation. And what is yet more strange, that their generation should all be of the one political opinion. All of them, so far as my knowledge extends, that were voters in 1840, except one, voted for General Harrison.”

Robert Ray, the brother of Gov. James B. Ray, as well as being a preacher, was also a school teacher, and it is claimed that he taught the first school in the township in a log cabin on the old Licking farm. He also taught a school on the Judge Watts farm.

Some time previous to 1820 Peter Wright built a grist-mill at the mouth of Hayes branch, which was operated for a number of years.

PIONEER CHURCHES

The Methodists and Baptists were among the early settlers and preaching was frequently held in the cabin homes of the members. The Methodists built a meeting house about a quarter of a mile southeast of Farmers Retreat, where there is an old cemetery. This was in the decade between 1820 and 1830. Robert Ray and Israel Cole were the local preachers who filled the pulpit when the regular circuit rider was at other appointments. Many of the members of the congregation are sleeping in the old cemetery that surrounds the place and which was set apart for cemetery purposes by a member of the Cole family that owned the land at that time.

The earliest burial recorded by a date on the tombstone is that of John Cole, son of E. and H. Cole, who was buried there in 1819, December 10, aged twenty-seven years. George Headley, a native of England, died in 1848. Lemuel D. Turner died in 1865, aged sixty-four years. Thomas Kelsey, a soldier of the Revolution, died in 1835, aged eighty-one years.

In 1832 a Baptist society was formed and a meeting house was erected on lands donated by Jacob Zinn. It was given the name of Laughery Valley Baptist church, and among its members were Jacob Zinn, David Fisher, the Pattersons, the Sanders, the Grahams and the Conaways. No meetings have been held for many years and the members have died or moved to other fields.

Farmers Retreat is the central place of the township of Caesar Creek, and considerable business is transacted there. The houses are extended along the highway for some distance. There are several stores and a blacksmith shop. The physician resident at the place is Dr. C. C. Housmeyer. A good macadamized highway extends through the township, leading from Dillsboro to Friendship and Versailles, in Ripley county. The township, while the smallest of any in the county, is at the same time one of the most thrifty, and the people of the township are strictly law abiding and abreast of the times in everything that goes to make up good citizenship.