Trouble in Tipton

By Eilene Lyon

Since I come from people who were always on the move, it’s unusual to find an ancestor who was not. My 2^nd great-grandfather, Martin Smith, spent his entire long life (more than 98 years!) in central Indiana. Census records repeatedly give his occupation as farmer. It’s about time I learned a bit more about this man, I thought recently.

Martin was the oldest son of John Smith and Nancy Dean, born February 4, 1823 in Marion County.¹ While he was still young, his family relocated a little south to Johnson County. It was there that Martin married Christiana Orme in 1845.² The Ormes and Smiths had all moved from Lewis County, Kentucky, and Christiana lived on the neighboring farm to Martin.

By 1850, Martin and Christiana had relocated their young family to Cicero Township in Tipton County, roughly 50 miles to the north. Martin purchased an 80-acre tract of land to establish his new home.³ It’s hard for us to imagine what Indiana looked like in the mid-19^th century, but it was heavily wooded, not the open farmland of today. Clearing the land was heavy work and took decades, even generations, to accomplish.

I did not find a purchase record, but in 1859, Martin sold a quit-claim deed to his brother-in-law, Joseph Vanhorn. The land itself, a sliver near the Peru & Indianapolis railroad tracks, was insignificant. But the sale included “a Steam Saw Mill the Engine boiler and all other machinery thereunto belonging situate on said parcel of land.”⁴ This is the first inkling I had that Martin was involved in other occupations besides farming.

Like Martin and Christiana, the Vanhorns located to Tipton County and remained there. At various times, two of Martins brothers, Christiana’s brother, and her parents, all lived in Tipton. These other relations all left (or died) by 1870, though.

Martin purchased the 80 acres adjacent to his existing farm in 1868, and things seemed to be going well for the growing Smith family, which now included seven surviving children, including infant Charles Edward Smith, my great-grandfather.⁵ Their troubles began with the next real estate transaction I found from 1869.

Apparently the sawmilling business still seemed like a viable opportunity. Martin mortgaged his 160 acres and borrowed additional money against nearby property that consisted of 240 acres of woodland, and the equipment to operate the sawmill.⁶

He had a partner in this purchase, an experienced sawmill hand from Indianapolis named James N. Meade. There were additional backers in this enterprise, none of whom lived in Tipton County, so I do not know how they became involved. Their contributions appear to have been minor, however.

This turned out not to be a successful money maker for Smith & Meade. They had several large mortgage payments to make over the next three years and they defaulted on all of them. The legal action against the partnership began in 1871 and culminated in a compromise foreclosure on ALL of Martin’s land, the Smith & Meade property, and the sawmill equipment.⁷

Everything went on the block in a sheriff’s sale in 1872, and Martin and his family had a year to either redeem the land or vacate. Fortunately, the sale covered the entire judgment for debt, interest, and court costs. Smith and Meade were not permitted to take any wood from the property during that time, or damage the property in any way.⁸ Not surprisingly, the Smiths and Meades did not redeem the land and they were forever barred from making any claim or appeal on the settlement.

Things didn’t go well for James Meade. His wife, Martha, died in 1877 causing his family to shatter.⁹ By 1880, he had lost an arm, presumably in a mill accident, but he still worked in the lumber industry, though in Tennessee, not Indiana.¹⁰

In August 1873, Martin and Christiana purchased roughly 45 acres next to the railroad tracks at a spot known as Jacksons Station.¹¹ This became their permanent home and was known, even after it was eventually sold, as “the Martin Smith farm.”¹² They purchased the land in Christiana’s name. I expect she intended to be sure Martin didn’t mortgage it for any future business schemes!

Lest you think this episode tarnished Martin’s reputation, I can relate that he was elected to serve as a county commissioner in 1873.¹³ Though he was not well-known outside Tipton County, newspaper reports do indicate he was esteemed in his home community.

Feature image: A bit of old-growth forest near Fort Wayne, Indiana, that I visited in spring 2017. In reality, this is nowhere near as dense as the original old growth in that state.