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This Week in History – 3 Feb 2025

By adminHenry County History Feed2025, black history month, Frederick Douglass, New Lisbon, Orlistus Powell

February 4, 2025

Copyright 1887-2024 Henry County Historical Society, New Castle, Indiana

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Life to History Since 1887!

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

Hours Tuesday-Friday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
We're ALWAYS open by appointment.
Call Co-Director Darrel Radford
at 765-524-0530
Email: [email protected]
Call: 765-529-4028

Henry County Historical Society, Inc

2 days ago

BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPOTLIGHT:HENRY COUNTY AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Part 2For the fourth consecutive year, the Henry County Historical Society is pleased to present a Black History Month Spotlight post on our Facebook page for each day of February. Today, we continue looking at some of the Underground Railroad activity that took place in Henry County, thanks to the research of Dr. Tom Hamm.Dr. Thomas Hamm, an Earlham College Professor who lives in Spiceland, wrote a booklet called “The Antislavery Movement in Henry County, Indiana. He called his “little volume” an attempt to describe the participation of some Henry County people in the greatest of all reform crusades of the 19th Century, the antislavery movement.”“As a result of their efforts, for a few years in the 1840s and 1850s, Greensboro and Spiceland became well-known far beyond the boundaries of Indiana,” Hamm wrote. “Walter Edgerton, Seth Hinshaw and Huldah Wickersham became, within a certain sphere, nationally promiment figures.”Below is a fact you may not be aware of -- William H. Beard, father of Charles A. Beard, the famous Knightstown historian -- was a participant in the Underground Railroad.Watch for more interesting tidbits on Henry County's role in the Underground Railroad all this month as we celebrate Black History month. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

2 days ago

On Feb. 3, 1864, the body of Orlistus W. Powell was laid to rest in South Mound Cemetery. Powell had been killed in the Civil War battle of Chickamauga five months earlier. But this a burial unlike any other the grand old cemetery had ever had. It took extraordinary effort to bring the fallen soldier home.The story begins on July 11, 1861, when Henry Powell, son of local teacher, banker and politician Simon T. Powell, was injured in the battle of Rich Mountain. He had received a severe wound to his right ankle, breaking the bone and disabling him for life. Early Henry County historian George Hazzard said Henry Powell was the first citizen of New Castle to suffer an injury in a Civil War battle.Henry Powell had dropped everything to serve his country and even after the debilitating injury, joined his father in encouraging enlistments, soliciting and forwarding supplies and caring for women and children of soldiers.The Powells were so dedicated to the cause, according to Hazzard, that after Henry's injury, his younger brother, Orlistus volunteered to serve in what became Company C of the 36th Indiana Infantry. He was a dedicated soldier, rising in rank to Commissary Sergeant and then Sergeant Major.In a letter found within the archives of the Henry County Historical Society, Simon T. Powell had this to say about Orlistus' actions to take up the Union cause for his injured brother."I was so proud of you; how you enlisted in the 36th after your brother came home from that early battle at Rich Mountain in West Virginia; the first Henry County boy wounded in this War of the Rebellion," Simon Powell wrote. "Henry was hurt too badly to return, but you didn't hesitate. Your mother Elizabeth was proud, too, but I know she had a mother's qualms, especially for you, Orlistus; her youngest son – a man at 25 but still a boy to her – off to face the unknown terror of war."And the battles you fought: Perryville, Ky.; Corinth, Miss.; Shiloh, Stone's River and Tullahoma in Tennessee," Simon Powell continued. "Places we'd never heard of before and now will never forget. And the final one – this place with an Indian name – Chickamauga. Even the Redmen called it a 'river of death' – such pathetic irony!"On Sept. 20, 1863, Orlistus Powell was killed in the bloody battle of Chickamauga, Ga., a battle that produced the second-highest number of casualties, trailing only Gettysburg.Hazzard's History of Henry County said that Powell's remains fell into the hands of Confederate troops and he was buried on the battlefield. But the grieving father could not stand the thought of his son's final resting place being in a mass grave.So Simon T. Powell left New Castle en route to Chickamauga to search for his son's body and bring him home."Nearly four months afterwards, his remains, identified under as curious a circumstance as ever came to the attention of the author, were recovered, brought home and re-interred Feb. 3, 1864, in South Mound Cemetery, New Castle," Hazzard wrote. "After the battle of Missionary Ridge, when the Federal army again occupied the old battlefield at Chickamauga, Simon T. Powell appeared on the scene to recover the body of his son, Orlistus.""Never in my wildest imagining did I think it would come to this. That I, Simon Powell, merchant, farmer, successful in life, would be making this journey," the grieving father wrote. "After all, a father's not supposed to outlive his children, is he? God give me strength to make it through this day."I thought Indiana winters were cold, but this damp Southern air chills my very soul. I pray the weather at least, was better for you last September here, at the place of your death. Your Captain wrote how valiant you were, but we knew that, your mother and I."But how do you find someone in mass grave?"He was buried in a trench containing more than a dozen other bodies, thrown in promiscuously, as was the custom in both armies when burying the enemy's dead on the battlefield," Hazzard wrote of Orlistus Powell. "When young Powell was thrown in, his arm became extended horizontally at full length, with another deceased soldier's body covering it."But on Orlistus Powell's arm was something special, something that originally irritated his father but now became a Godsend."Do you know what my son did?" Simon T. Powell wrote. "The crazy things boys will do! He had initials tattooed – yes, tattooed – in India ink on his arm! My father would have whooped me good if I had done such a thing! Another irony – that's how we found you, son. When the Rebels laid you in this mass grave, a comrade's body fell over that arm. Do you know, we could still read those initials O.W.P?"Hazard wrote: "And in the first trench opened, in taking out the bodies, mangled and decomposed beyond recognition, it was found that the body resting on the arm of Orlistus had preserved, as clear and distinct as in life, the initials 'O.W.P.,' thus the identification was complete and his mortal remains restored to the care of the family whose sacrifice he had been to the cause," Hazzard wrote.Today, because of a father's love, the remains of Orlistus Powell are buried here in New Castle, nearly 500 miles from where he died in battle – with those of his family beside him."I've come to take you home now, son," Simon T. Powell wrote. "To lay you to rest where you grew up. I know you'll miss your comrades here, but we need you close to us. Your mother, especially. A man's strong, after all, but women grieve differently, don't they? You'll be in that fine cemetery at South Mound. Remember that peaceful place not far from your own home? We used to go there for picnics. We'll put up a fine POWELL marker there and all be together for our last, peaceful rest."Paintings of both Simon T. Powell and his son, Orlistus, hang in the Henry County Historical Society museum today. In fact, the elder Powell's painting was one of the first given to the museum.Simon T. Powell was many things to New Castle in the early days of Henry County. Teacher. Banker. Politician. Advisor to Indiana Gov. Oliver Morton. But, as his writing showed and his actions proved, he was first and foremost a dad."Well, it's time to board the train back home," Simon Powell's letter concluded. "I wish you were sitting here beside me. I wish I could have taken your place. I wish… But wishes are pointless, aren't they? All we can do is what we have to do and live with our memories. You'll live with us forever, son, but how we will miss you!"BASKETBALL LIVES HERE This Day In Henry County history is brought to you by Destination Henry County Indiana. Discover slam dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com. Visit the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/VisitHenryCounty.com.HELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Our Tuesday-Friday hours won't resume until spring but we're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 765-524-0530. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

3 days ago

BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPOTLIGHT: HENRY COUNTY AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROADFor the fourth consecutive year, the Henry County Historical Society is pleased to present a Black History Month Spotlight post on our Facebook page for each day of February. Today, we take a look at some of the Underground Railroad activity that took place in Henry County.The accompanying map here (click on image to enlarge) was used in a Zoom presentation by well-known Indiana author James Madison. an award-winning teacher and author who serves as the Thomas and Kathryn Miller Professor Emeritus of History at Indiana University and is an “Indiana Living Legend,” as designated by the Indiana Historical Society. Here is part of a PowerPoint presentation by Henry County Historian Darrel Radford describing the Underground Railroad activity here, clearly shown on the map.There are no tracks or train whistles, yet Greensboro was known for a railroad in its early days -- the Underground Railroad Herbert Heller writes: “At one time prior to the Civil War Greensboro was nationally recognized as a center of anti-slavery intrigue and old Liberty Hall was the scene of many an abolitionist rally and fiery oration against the system.”Frederick Douglass once said "It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake."In several communities across Henry County, citizen actions aided "the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake" as they used daring and cunning to the aid black people on The Underground Railroad in their journey from slavery to freedom. Dr. Thomas Hamm, an Earlham College Professor who lives in Spiceland, wrote a booklet called “The Antislavery Movement in Henry County, Indiana. He called his “little volume” an attempt to describe the participation of some Henry County people in the greatest of all reform crusades of the 19th Century, the antislavery movement.” “As a result of their efforts, for a few years in the 1840s and 1850s, Greensboro and Spiceland became well-known far beyond the boundaries of Indiana,” Hamm wrote. “Walter Edgerton, Seth Hinshaw and Huldah Wickersham became, within a certain sphere, nationally promiment figures.”Historian Dr. Herbert Heller also included articles about the Underground Railroad in his magnificent three-volume set “Historic Henry County.” These are no longer available to purchase, but can be viewed in the Indiana Room of the New Castle-Henry County Public Library as well as the Henry County Historical Society Museum.Dr. Heller wrote that the first meeting of what was called the Female Anti-Slavery Association was held March 18, 1843, in Greensboro. At the meeting, a resolution was adopted stating “That it is our duty to assist the way-worn traveler on his journey from the land of oppression to a land of liberty.”According to Dr. Heller, “this was a clearly stated support of the work of The Underground Railroad.”And the Underground Railroad was certainly active here in Henry County.From here in the Middletown area to Greensboro and Spiceland, many Henry County citizens were the behind-the-scenes thunder, storm, whirlwind and earthquake that Frederick Douglass spoke of in one of his many eloquent speeches. Watch our daily posts for more on the Underground Railroad as the Henry County Historical Society celebrates Black History Month.BASKETBALL LIVES HEREThis day in Henry County history is brought to you by Destination Henry County, Indiana. Discover slam-dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com.Visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VisitHenryCountyINHELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Our Tuesday-Friday hours won't resume until spring but we're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 765-524-0530. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

3 days ago

On this date in Henry County history, Feb. 2, 1837, "Jamestown," became "New Lisbon" by an act of the Indiana General Assembly.New Lisbon was platted in 1833, but at that time, it was called "Jamestown," a tribute to one of its founders, James Tomlinson, Jr.. Some even today can remember grandparents or other family members of the past calling it "Jimtown." It was discovered, however, that there was another "Jamestown" post office in Indiana at that time, so the change was made."New Lisbon" was reportedly selected as the new name because some of the early residents had come here from Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio. Arguably, one of the most famous families to settle in the New Lisbon area was that of future Civil War general William Grose, pictured here. His family purchased a farm one mile northwest of Jamestown in 1829. Grose lived here from ages 1 to 17. Historian Herbert Heller wrote that the future general's experiences growing up were similar to that of Abraham Lincoln, whose formative years were spent on a farm in southern Indiana.Grose served as postmaster of the New Lisbon Post Office but is best known for becoming a general in President Abraham Lincoln's Union Army. Of course, the home he owned at 606 S. 14th St. in New Castle is now the Henry County Historical Society. Call us at 529-4028 and schedule a visit. Paintings of the general, the sword he used, and more can be found inside the museum, one of Henry County's hidden jewels.BASKETBALL LIVES HEREThis day in Henry County history is brought to you by Destination Henry County, Indiana. Discover slam-dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com.Visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VisitHenryCountyINHELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Our Tuesday-Friday hours won't resume until spring but we're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 765-524-0530. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

4 days ago

BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPOTLIGHT:FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND SETH HINSHAWBlack History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.For the fourth consecutive year, the Henry County Historical Society is pleased to present a Black History Month Spotlight post on our Facebook page for each day of February. Today, we take a look at Frederick Douglass and his connection to Henry County history. Douglass is pictured here alongside Greensboro's Seth Hinshaw, who reportedly helped Douglass after a violent incident in Pendleton.Frederick Douglass spoke here in 1876Packed crowd at Henry County Courthouse heard struggles continued for blacksBy DARREL RADFORDHenry County Historian More than a decade had passed since the end of the Civil War, but on a Friday night in the early fall of 1876, a packed crowd in the Henry County Courthouse learned the struggle for black people continued. They heard it from one of the most powerful anti-slavery voices of the 19th century – Frederick Douglass. The former slave who first came to Henry County in 1843 and was given refuge by Greenboro’s Seth Hinshaw was back, this time as a free man. DOUGLASS REMARKS AT COURTHOUSE The New Castle Courier reported the event this way in its Sept. 29, 1876 edition. “The speech of Fred Douglass at the court house on Tuesday night was an important event in the campaign in Henry county. Although the meeting was little advertised, the court house was densely crowded, and the close attention manifested, showed the respect entertained for the distinguished orator. The audience, too, was different from the audiences found at ordinary political meetings. The old anti-slavery pioneers were out in force to hear the man whose utterances had been so potent in creating an anti-slavery sentiment in the north. “It was Mr. Douglass’ second appearance at New Castle,” the article continued. “In the summer of 1843 he spoke at the old court house in this place and those who heard the speech remember that he recounted upon that occasion the story of the brutal outrage which was committed upon him at Pendleton a few days before by Democrats of Madison county. The changes which have occurred in the nation since that time seem marvelous. Then slavery existed in one-half of the Union. The Fugitive Slave law was upon the statute books, negroes were forbidden by law to come into the state of Indiana, and John Tyler was in the Presidential chair. When Mr. Douglass traveled through the North, he was subject to outrage and insult, while he would have been remanded to slavery if he had visited the South.DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, SIMILAR CHALLENGES “Upon the occasion of Mr. Douglass’ second appearance at New Castle, he came as an enfranchised citizen, but he is still the earnest advocate of his race, whose wrongs, he believes, are to-day but little less than in many sections of the South than those endured thirty years ago,” the article continued. “When Mr. Douglass appeared before the large audience, he was greeted with hearty applause. He is now about seventy-five years of age and his abundant hair is nearly white. He is still vigorous and eloquent, but has lost some of the fire of his youth; but when recounting the wrongs inflicted upon his people by the Kuklux and White Leaguers of the South, his old fire seemed to come back.” While the newspaper article reported there was passion in his voice, pessimism colored his tone and a sense of renewed urgency rose in his words. “Mr. Douglass regards the future of the country as dark, in the event that the Democratic party obtains control of the government,” the Courier article stated. “He is no alarmist; and spoke of a change of administrations as being desirable in ordinary times, but the utter disregard for law in many of the Southern States, the massacres at Coushatta and Hamburg and the many thousands of murders of negroes by the Democrats of the South filled him with forebodings for the future of his race. The people of the North could scarcely comprehend the atrocity of the Southern Democrats, and it was creditable to their civilization that they could not.” The Coushatta massacre in 1874, just two years prior to Douglass’ second appearance here, was an attack by members of a white supremacist organization composed of white Southern Democrats, Republican officeholders and freedmen in Coushatta, the parish seat of Red River Parish, Louisiana. They assassinated six white Republicans and five to 20 freedmen who were witnesses. The Hamburg Massacre (or Red Shirt Massacre or Hamburg riot) was a riot in the town of Hamburg, South Carolina, in July 1876, leading up to the last election season of the Reconstruction Era. It was the first in a series of civil disturbances planned and carried out by white Democrats in the majority-black Republican Edgefield District, with the goal of suppressing black Americans’ civil rights and voting rights. The Courier article said Douglass used both of these sad events as an example that while the Civil War was over, civil injustices were not. “Mr. Douglass adjured the people of the North to save, for the sake of freedmen or the South, the government from falling into the hands of men who, by reason of slavery, had so little regard for the welfare of colored people of the nation. Questions of finance and tariff were of minor importance compared with the existence of the nation and the supremacy of law. As the sleeping babe is safest in the arms of its mother, so the freedom vouchsafed the nation by the Republican party is safest when that party is in power. The address throughout was eloquent and philosophical, and showed a thorough knowledge of the animus and purposes of the late slave power of the South.BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES CRITICIZED Douglass’ was as critical of Republicans, however, as he was Democrats in his speech here. “The Republican party had given them their freedom, but still owed a debt to them,” the article continued. “It had emancipated them, but they were still without homes, without the means of gaining a livelihood and at the mercy of their offended masters. The Republican party had given the negro his freedom and it was now the duty of the party to protect him. The Democracy, by their policy of murdering the inoffensive and long suffering black men were to bring about a solid South for the Democratic party. But let them have a care. By their course, they bring about a solid north against them... The negro, when called upon to aid the Union, had rallied two hundred thousand strong. The Democratic party had in times past been the defender of a hellish crime, which for gold sold human flesh on the auction block and sold babies to build churches. Even the pulpit had been the defender of slavery, and the minister was paid from the proceeds of human chattels. The speaker closed by saying the peace of the country depended upon the continued success of the Republican party, and he believed it would succeed. The people of Indiana had a great duty to perform, and that was a vote for Harrison and Hayes.” HAYES WON, BUT THE BLACK STRUGGLE CONTINUED The 1876 election saw the highest voter turnout of any in U.S. history (82 percent) and was decided by a single electoral vote. Rutherford B. Hayes was the eventual winner, and true to Douglass’ wishes, Henry County supported him. But Douglass had to be disappointed in the Hayes administration. An article on the University of Virginia website by Sheila Black said Hayes was unable to advance the cause of civil rights. “While Hayes strongly supported African Americans’ right to vote and protection of their civil rights, he had little influence in the South,” Black wrote. “By the time he took office, the only federal troops still in the South protecting Republican governments were limited to small areas surrounding state houses in the capitals of New Orleans and Columbia. Hayes insisted that Democrats in South Carolina and Louisiana pledged to uphold the civil and voting rights of black and white Republicans. Once the Democrats agreed, Hayes pulled the remaining federal troops out of the South. And white southerners quickly turned their backs on their pledges, systematically disenfranchising black voters through poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation. Democrats in the South created a segregated society that used terror and violence to oppress African Americans.” “He (Hayes) bitterly complained in his diary, for example, about the fraud, intimidation, and ‘violence of the most atrocious character’ that white southerners used to win elections in 1878,” Black wrote. “And he used his presidential veto multiple times to try to preserve some element of federal oversight over African American voting. But his efforts did little, and white supremacy dominated life in the southern states well into the second half of the 20th century.”BASKETBALL LIVES HEREThis day in Henry County history is brought to you by Destination Henry County, Indiana. Discover slam-dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com.Visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VisitHenryCountyINHELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Our Tuesday-Friday hours won't resume until spring but we're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 765-524-0530. ... See MoreSee Less

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