From "The Evilsizer Heritage" by Ivan Palmer Evilsizer, 1978
VIEW FAMILY SHEET
Born in @1794 in Rockingham County, Virginia
Died Feb. 12, 1846, Washington County, Illinois
JOSHUA EVILSIZER was the son of JACOB EVILSIZER and was born in Rockingham County, Virginia in 1794. In 1816 at the age of 22, he met and fell in love with a young widow named Francis Hennings Dodds and they were married on September 26, 1816 in Rockingham Co, VA She was the daughter of John Hennings and had married Samuel Dodds on June 15, 1811 Her late husband, Samuel Dodds was a seafaring man and had been killed aboard the U S Chesapeake which was captured by the British frigate “Shannon” on June 1, 1813. The Captain of the “Chesapeake” was James Lawrence, who as the British were boarding his ship and he lay wounded, rallied his men with the words “Don’t give up the ship”. This became the battle cry of the U S Navy during the remainder of the war of 1812 and is still heard today. In 1817 Joshua took his wife, packed up their belongings and started the long journey to Indiana. The journey took several months. Joshua and his family were very tired from their long journey and decided to settle in Morgan County. Joshua built a cabin on the banks of the White River, and began to provide for the necessities of life. They put in a garden of about 3/4 acre and left the women folk to tend it as the men went into the wilderness to hunt and trap. They would journey to the southern part of the state several times a year to trade their skins for ammunition, traps, tobacco and clothes for the women. The men preferred to dress in deerskin which was more suitable for the hunting and trapping In the woods. On their trips to the settlements they would return home with trade goods so they could barter with the local Indians for hides. In the fall of 1820, several days after what they considered an exceptionally shrewd deal with Walking Bear and his family, they were all at home and the evening meal was over when Walking Bear and four of his friends appeared at the edge of the clearing where the cabin stood. They remained some distance from the cabin and called to the Evilsizers. Upon opening the front door of the cabin, Joshua moved quickly out from in front of the opening as a bullet buried itself just above the door. Joshua and his family knew that their trading had finally gotten them into a heap of trouble. Joshua slipped out the back window to circle outside of the cabin clearing to try to outflank the Indians. His wife Francis called to Walking Bear to tell him they wanted to talk. This was to keep the Indians interested while Joshua made his way to the rear of the Indians. When Joshua was in position at the left flank of the Indians he opened fire, wounding two and putting them to flight. The Indians managed to return the fire and Joshua was wounded in the shoulder. The Indians left rapidly and helped the two wounded ones make their retreat. Joshua and his family spent the winter of l~i2O at this cabin. The cabin which they left was later used by a Thomas Hodges who lived there for many years. A book written by Majors, No. 5, Vol. 5 of the Collections of the Indiana Historical Society states that Joshua built the second mill In Morgan County on the White River near the town of Paragon, Indiana. While on a hunting trip in the Illinois Territory In 1832, Joshua was pressed into the Illinois Militia. Troops were needed to push Chief Blackhawk back across the Mississippi River. Fifty million acres had been given by treaty in 1804 to the Sauk and Fox Tribes and now the settlers were in the process of taking the land back. Joshua was cited for bravery in the Battle of Bad Axe which was fought August 2, 1832 just south of Lacrosse, Wisconsin. In this battle approximately one thousand Indians participated and only one hundred fifty lived to be taken prisoner. In the fall of 1832 Joshua again returned to Morgan County, Indiana and rejoined his family. While in Illinois, he had seen much fine country just free for the taking. His wife, Francis, was in poor health and it was decided that she could not make another journey to resettle, so Joshua stayed where he was until 1839. His wife had died in 1838 and he still longed for the beautiful country he had seen seven years earlier. Joshua had the following children. Elliot Rains, Sinclair, Zachariah Hoy, Jefferson T., Elizabeth Ann, Cynthia Ann, Reece B., Isaac and Levi Hennings. All of the family except Jefferson P. who stayed in Indiana with his wife, Susan, and one daughter, migrated out of Morgan County in 1839. Elliot Rains went to Monroe County, Illinois. Sinclair went to Ray County, Missouri, while the rest of the family settled in the community of Elkton in Washington County, Illinois. The records of the Baptist Church of Christ at Elkton, Illinois state that it was organized July 3, 1841 with 31 members and Joshua is listed as being a charter member. As Joshua had been raised by pioneer stock he evidently had a mind of his own regarding his behavior, as the minutes of the church meeting in January 1844 stated that Joshua was excluded from church fellowship for “heres,3 universalism and general immorality”. Other charges had been made against Joshua, such as “selling an unsound horsebeast to Brother Christian”, “illegally taking property and running away with it”, “Intoxication”, Profanity”, “Drinking too much ardent spirits”, “Singing and whistling reels and jigs and playing on the fiddle” “Playing cards and checkers, etc”. From all these charges, one would gather that Joshua was a real bad character. Actually, this was not the case. Joshua had a legitimate business going for him to supplement his income from his farm. He was making a little corn whiskey for a few friends, only to be used for special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas, weddings, Saturdays, rainy days and other causes for celebration. During the course of the making of the whiskey, it was necessary to sample it at frequent intervals to assure himself that he was not telling a lie when he told his customers “It is good whiskey”. He was just trying to keep from telling a lie, and you will notice that telling lies was not one of the charges made against him. 1841 l Joshua married Malinda Carr and had two more sons, Linville and Greenville, and a daughter, Spicy Jane. On February 12, l846 at the age of 52, Joshua passed away. Notes from File: Chronology of events in his life:
Index to the War of 1812 Pay Rolls & Muster Rolls: CATALOG CARD NAME Evilsizer, Joshua. Pay Rolls, p.187 NOTE Part of index to: Pay Rolls of Militia Entitled to Land Bounty Und er the Act of Congress of Sept. 28, 1850 (Richmond, 1851) and: Muster Rolls of the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812 (Richmond, 1852) which supplements Pay Rolls. This collection is also available on microfilm. SUBJECT United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Registers. COLLECTION War of 1812 pay rolls and muster rolls.
6-30-1814 Tax List Rockingham Co, VA 7-14-1814 Signed consent for brother Phillip to wed for Jacob. 6-30-1820 Wabash Co, IN Census 300010-00100 (Males Sinclair, Jefferson one one not known) Female Cynthia
1-24-1828 Journal By Indiana. General Assembly. House of Representatives
Mr. Brady moved to amend the same by adding the following, as an additional section:
"Sec. And be it further enacted that the said Jeremiah
Maney and Joshua Evilsizer their heirs or assigns as the case may be previous to their constructing said mill dam, shall file in the office of the-Secrctary of State, a Bond in the penal sum of four thousand dollars, payable to the State of Indiana, with at least two freehold securities, to be be approved of by the Circuit court of Morgan county, and a copy thereof, recorded in the Clerks office of said county, conditioned for the faithful construction of a good and sufficient lock and slope, at least twenty feet wide, so that boats and water crafts may pass with perfect safety/' Before the question was put thereon, Mr. Brady moved that the further consideration of said bill and proposed amendment be indfinitely postponed. And the ayes and noes being requested thereon by Messrs. Wooden and Hite, Those who voted in the affirmative are, Messrs. Baber, Bonner, Brady, Bryant, Casey, Cravens, Hite, Hoover, Jones, Lynd, Maxwell, Morris, Mover, Paddacks, Parks. Rcid, Slaughter, Smilty, Steele, Stevenson, Vawter, Wilson and Wooden— -23. And those who voted in the negative are, Messrs. Alley, Angle, Bell, Clark, Cox, Crume. Culley, Davis, Finch, Flake, Frame, Gardner, Grover, lianna, Hargrove, Harrod, Heaton, Henderson, Henley, Huntington, Lane, Mastin, Nelson, Peyton, Polke, Froffit, Reynold*, Robinson, Rose, Ruddick, Secresl» Stanford, Tcbhs, Wallace, Willet, Williams and Thornton, Speaker pro term.— 38.And so said motion was derided in the negative.The question recurred on the amendment proposed by Mr. Brady.And being put,It was decided in the negative.On motion of Mr. Lane, The said bill was considered as engrossed and read the third time. And on the question, Shall the bill pass?The ayes and noes being requested thereon, by Messrs. Vawter and Flake, Those who voted in the affirmative are,Messr Alley, Angle, Bell, (/.ark. Conner, Cox, Crume, Culley, Davis, Finch, Flake, Frame, Gardner, Griggs, Grover, Hanna, Hargrove, Harrod, Heaton, Henderson, Henley, Huntington, Lane, Mastii>, Nelson, Peyton, Polke, Proffit, Reynolds, Robinson, Rose, Ruddick, Secrest, Tebbs, Willet and Williams— 36.And those who voted in the negative are,Messrs. Baber, Bonner, Brady, Bryant, Casey,Cravens, Hite, Hoover, Jones, Lynd, Maxwell, Morns, Mover, Paddacks, i>arks, Reid, Slaughter, Smiley, Steele, Stevenson, Vawter, Wallace, Wilson, Wooden and Thornton, Speaker pro tem.— 25.And so said bill passed. Ordered, That it be entitled an act and that the clerk tarry it to the Senate and ask their concurrence
Excerpt from "Counties of Morgan, Monroe and Brown, Indiana: Historical and Biographical Editor: Charles Blanchard, Published 1884 Morgan County, Baker Township "The earliest settlement of Baker township is enshrouded in mystery. It is certain that white families lived therein as early as 1820, and possibly 1819. A family named EVILSIZER was living there on the old Thomas Hodges farm when the first permanent settlers arrived, but how long they had been there cannot be learned. It is believed that his family lived there before the cession treaty of 1818. The family consisted of the father, mother, two or three sons, and a daughter or two. They were professional pioneers and preferred to live in the woods, remote from the settlement. The father and the boys were skillful hunters and trappers and several times a year visited the other settlements in the Southern part of the state to sell their furs or exchange them for ammunition, traps , weapons, tobacco or some article of clothing for the women. The men dressed almost wholly in deer or raccoon skins and spent their time hunting and trapping in which they were very expert. They had a garden consisting of one half to three quarter acre which was cultivated by the women, as the men were above that sort of degradation. According to tradition, the men on one occasion had considerable difficulty with a band of four or five Indians that stopped at their cabin. The trouble arose over a trade of furs on the part of the Indians for ammunition and trinkets on the part of the whites. Arms were drawn, wounds given, but the difficulty was adjusted before any of them were killed. It is said this family killed many bears in various parts of Morgan County. Within two or three years they left the county, going no one knows whither, but certainly out into the wilderness."
Pioneers of Morgan County - Memoirs of Noah J Major, Indianapolis, IN 1915 pg 421-422
The second mill built on the river in this county was by Joshua Evilsizer and was located not very far from the iron bridge near Paragon. It passed from Evilsizer to Ambrose Burkhart in an early day, who operated it a few years and sold out to a Mr Pumphrey, who, we think, was its last owner. It probably went out of business about the year 1850. It was in the recoiling waves below the dam of this mill, one cold winter day, that the sad drowning of Leander S Lankford and a man named Crocket occurred in the presence of half a dozen or more men who were unable to rescue them They were crossing the river above the dam, when by some mismanagement, they let the canoe drift over it and were caught in the surging waters below. A small boy, son of Crocket, clung to the canoe and was saved. This accident happened as many as fifty years ago. Not very far below this mill, just in the edge of our county, was Mr Myer's mill, completed and put in running order at a later date than the Evilsizer mill. ......
Morgan
Co, IN
Aug 2 1832 Fought in Blackhawk Indian Wars
While on a hunting trip in the Illinois Territory in 1832, Joshua was pressed into the Illinois Militia. They needed troops to push Chief Blackhawk back across the Mississippi River. Fifty million acres had been given by treaty to the Sauk and Fox Tribes in 1804, and now the settlers were in the process of taking the land back. Joshua was cited for bravery in the Battle of Bad Axe which was fought August 2, 1832, just South of LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Approximately one thousand Indians participated in this battle and only one hundred fifty lived to be taken prisoner. Joshua's sister, Anne Margaret married Elias Huff. Their daughter, Delilah married Alexander Hollingsworth, who also fought in the 1832 Blackhawk War The Blackhawk War was an 1832 US Campaign against Chief Blackhawk's Algonquian Indians. A treaty signed in 1824 with the Sauk Indians, was thought by whites to have ceded all Indian lands east of the river and thus to have paved the way for white settlement of Western Illinois and Wisconsin. But in 1831, when Chief Blackhawk, leader of the Algonquian nation- which included both the Sauk and the Fox tribes- witnessed whites plowing the Algonquian ancestral burial grounds in Illinois, he and his warriors began raiding outlying white farms. Under the command of Gen Henry Atkinson a force of regulars and militia marched on Black Hawk, driving him across the Mississippi into Missouri. With his people threatened by famine and by their ancient enemy, the Sioux, Black Hawk led a small party of his most militant followers back into Illinois. When ordered by Atkinson to recross the River, Black Hawk stood his ground. Atkinson's force - which counted among its number a youthful militia Captain named Abraham Lincoln- once again marched on the Indians, driving Black Hawk and a small band of resisters deep into the forests of Wisconsin. In the summer of 1832 the famine-stricken band was hunted down and slaughtered, squaws and children as well as warriors. But Black hawk himself was spared and taken into custody to the east, where he was put on display in several cities and brought to the White House to meet President Andrew Jackson. As punishment for starting the war, the Indians were forced to sign a treaty ceding more land in Wisconsin and, for the first time, opening an area of Iowa to settlement...Source- Readers Digest Family Encyclopedia of American History
June 30, 1836 Tax List, Lincoln Co, MO
8-2-1839 Married Malinda Stepp Carr
Washington, west of the Cascades: historical and
descriptive; the ..., Volume 2 By Herbert Hunt, Floyd C. Kaylor
pg80
The history of Hoquiam and of the Grays Harbor
country cannot be better told than by detailing many of the
incidents of the life of James A. Karr, who lived until
November, 1914, to tell the tale of the wonderful development of
this section of the country, his memory forming a connecting
link between the primitive past and the progressive present.
After the death of the father, the mother took her children to a
place near the home of her brother, Reuben Stepp, and there she
became acquainted with a German of the name of Evilsizer, who
was a widower with several children. She became his wife and
they removed to Washington County, Illinois, Mr. Evilsizer
having there purchased a farm on which was a comfortable brick
residence. He expected to pay for this place by the sale of his
property in Indiana, but not getting the money for this, he was
compelled to leave that land and settled on an eighty-acre tract
of raw land for which his son had contracted. Before he secured
title to that place, however, he became ill and passed away.
Jan 29, 1840 Sold land to Matthew Forest
Washington Co, IL The two sections found were section 9 and
section 17, which his house and barn were located in section 17.
The following records were found: 29 Jan 1840 Sold to Mathew
Forest, the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter and the
northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 9 of 3
south and 4 west. Joshua declared that the land was in mortgage
for the amount of $460.00 to be paid in two annual installments.
Giving his note for $ 260.00 on the 1st day of January 1841. The
other for $200.00 on the 1st day of January 1842. Joshua was
able to sign the note. Witnesses were James Steel Jr. and A.B.
Rountree.
6-30-1840 Census Washington Co, IL
2 Males under 5
2 Males 5-9
2 males 10-14
2 males 15-19
2 males 20-29
1 male 40-49
1 female 5-9
1 female 10-14
1 female 15-19
1 female 30-39
26 July 1841 Joshua mortgaged James Steel Jr. and Archibald
Wood (trading under Steel
Jr. & Co.) for $135.00. One ax wagon and bed, one grey horse,
horse being one sorrel mare and one five year old work steer. If
Joshua fails to repay the debt Steel Jr. & Co. may sell the
property to the highest bidder. Joshua was able to sign the
note. Witnesses were A.B. Rountree and G. Rountree.
April 1842 Baptist Church of Elkton
In the constitution of the church (Baptist Church at Elkton),
written in July 1842 you will find a listing of the membership.
Among them are Polly B. Jones (Polly B. Rountree, dau of
Linville) who had married Nieper Jones in March 1842, and Polly
B. Rountree (daughter of Allen B.) who married John Boucher in
March 1844. Also on the list are Joshua Evilsizer, Melinda
Evilsizer and Elizabeth Evilsizer.
April Term 1843 of the Circuit Court Judgment against Joshua Evilsizer for the sum of $564.77 and cost. Judgment an execution issued dated on the 29th of April 1843 directed to the sheriff's of said county. The sheriff levied the land described and were sold. Matthew Forrest being the highest bidder. northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 93 south range 4 west. Sheriff Imo J. Vernar signed the document. Document was dated 5 March 1847.
Feb 12, 1846 Death Washington Co, IL
March 16, 1846 Sale Bill of Estate
