Notes
Note N2308
Index
North Carolina, Civil Marriages
Name Reubin West Event Type Marriage Notice Event Date 03 Oct 1829 Event Place , Burke, North Carolina Spouse's Name Gincy Woods
North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011
Name: Gincy Woods Bond date: 3 Oct 1829 Bond Place: Burke, North Carolina Spouse: Reubin West
1840 United States Federal Census
Name: Reanbin Messh [Reaubin West] Home in 1840 (City, County, State): Morganton, Burke, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: 2
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14: 2
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49: 1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9: 2
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39: 1
Persons Employed in Commerce: 2
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: 2
Free White Persons - Under 20: 7
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 9
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 9
United States Census, 1850
Name Reuben West Event Place McDowell county, McDowell, North Carolina Age 55 Birth Year (Estimated) 1795 Birthplace North Carolina House Number 667
ROLE GENDER AGE BIRTHPLACE
Reuben West M 55 North Carolina
Jincey West F 40 Virginia
Isaac Avery West M 20 North Carolina
Nancey West F 16 North Carolina
Jane West F 14 North Carolina
William O West M 12 North Carolina
Hampton West M 11 North Carolina
Thomas West M 9 North Carolina
Alexander West M 5 North Carolina
Harriet R West F 18 North Carolina
United States Census, 1860
Name Reubin West Event Place McDowell, North Carolina Age 67 Birth Year (Estimated) 1793 Birthplace North Carolina Page 119
ROLE GENDER AGE BIRTHPLACE
Reubin West M 67 North Carolina
Jane West F 50 North Carolina
Nancy West F 23 North Carolina
Jane West F 22 North Carolina
William West M 19 North Carolina
Hampton West M 17 North Carolina
Thomas West M 15 North Carolina
Alexander West M 12 North Carolina
findagrave
Reuben West BIRTH 1795 DEATH 9 Jan 1870 (aged 74-75) BURIAL Brackettown Cemetery McDowell County, North Carolina MEMORIAL ID 49880189
Children
Isaac Avery West 1830-1915
Jane J. West Bates 1838-1914
Geneanet Community Trees Index Name: Reubin West Birth Date: 1795 Birth Place: North Carolina, North Carolina Death Date: 9 janv. 1870 Death Place: Dysartsville, McDowell, North Carolina
Father: Colonel John West Mother: Margaret Peggy Witherspoon Spouse: Gincy Jane Woods Jane Jinsey Gincy Woods
Child:
Nancy Nancey L
Nancy Nancey
Alexander West
Avery Isaac Avery West
Hamilton West
Harriet R West
Jane Judy Jane West
Joseph H West
Thomas West
William O West
Notes
Note N2309
Index
United States Census, 1880
Name Jane West Event Place Dysartsville, McDowell, North Carolina Age 72 Marital Status Widowed Occupation Keeping House Birth Year (Estimated) 1808 Birthplace North Carolina
Father's Birthplace Virginia Mother's Birthplace Virginia Sheet Letter A Sheet Number 404 Person Number 0 Volume 1
Geneanet Community Trees Index
Name: Jane Jinsey Gincy Woods Birth Date: 1820 Birth Place: Carroll County, Virginia Spouse: Reubin West
Child:
Wade Hampton West
Nancy Nancey L
Alexander West
Harriet West
Isaac Avery West
Joseph West
Judy Jane West
Thomas West
William O West
Notes
Note N2310
Index
Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007
Name Wade Hampton West Event Date 29 Sep 1869 Event Place Hendricks, Indiana Marriage License Date 29 Sep 1869 Marriage Place Hendricks, Indiana
Spouse's Name Isabel Ann Swain Officiator's Name R H Moorhead Page 197 Number of Images 1
United States Census, 1870
Name Hampton West Event Place Indiana Age 24 Birth Year (Estimated) 1845-1846 Birthplace North Carolina Page Number 4
ROLE GENDER AGE BIRTHPLACE
Hampton West M 24 North Carolina
Ibloa West F 20 North Carolina =Isabela
William West M 28 North Carolina =older brother?
United States Census, 1880
Name W Hampton West Event Place Lawrence, Marion, Indiana Age 35 Occupation Farmer Birth Year (Estimated) 1845 Birthplace North Carolina, United States
Father's Birthplace North Carolina Mother's Birthplace North Carolina Sheet Letter D Sheet Number 350 Person Number 0 Volume 1
ROLE GENDER AGE BIRTHPLACE
W Hampton West Self M 35 North Carolina
Isabel West Wife F 28 North Carolina
William A West Son M 9 Indiana
Rolla L West Son M 7 Indiana
Clara West Daughter F 5 Indiana
Terrence West Son M 3 Indiana
Bertie West Son M 0 Indiana
George Klepfer Other M 20 Indiana
United States Census, 1900
Name Hampton West Event Place Delaware Township Carmel town (part), Hamilton, Indiana Age 56 Years Married 30 Birth Date Aug 1844 Birthplace North Carolina Marriage Year (Estimated) 1870
Father's Birthplace North Carolina Mother's Birthplace North Carolina
ROLE GENDER AGE BIRTHPLACE
Hampton West Head M 56 North Carolina
Isabella West Wife F 50 North Carolina
Terrence West Son M 23 Indiana
Arthur W West Son M 20 Indiana
Chas West Son M 18 Indiana
Jennie West Daughter F 16 Indiana
Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Name: Hampton West Age: 59 Marital status: Married Birth Date: 2 Aug 1845 Birth Place: North Carolina Death Date: 26 Aug 1904 Death Place: Michigan City, La Porte, Indiana
Father: Reuben Mother: Jane
findagrave
Wade Hampton West BIRTH 2 Aug 1844 McDowell County, North Carolina DEATH 26 Aug 1904 (aged 60) Michigan City, La Porte County, Indiana BURIAL Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
PLOT Sec: 43, Lot: 5010 MEMORIAL ID 46045754
Parents Reuben West Reuben West 1795-1870
Spouse Isabella Elizabeth Swain West 1850-1935
Siblings
Harriet Long Harriet R Long 1830-1904
Isaac West Isaac Avery West 1830-1915
Jane Bates Jane J. West Bates 1838-1914
Nancy L West 1844-1921
Children
Avery West Avery William West 1871-1958
Thomas West Thomas West 1873-1951
Clara Estle Clara Lilly West Estle 1875-1923
Terence West Terence James West 1877-1954
Arthur West 1880-1913
Submitted by GEVogel Date submitted 18/01/2019
Grave Robbing in Fishers- Part 1: https://hepl.lib.in.us/grave-robbing-in-fishers-part-1/ Posted in Highlights in History by Abbey Venable Share by David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian
Grave robbing, the subject of countless horror movies, was a real-life concern for late-19th century Hoosiers. As in the movies, the object of the crime was not any valuable object that may have been in the grave, but rather the bodies themselves. Also called body snatching or resurrection, this was often the only method for medical schools to obtain subjects for teaching their students. It was finally ended only after lurid criminal trials forced the state government to take direct action. Around 1900, some residents of the town of Fishers became notorious for their involvement in the crimes.
The first person, Wade Hampton “Hamp” West, was born in 1844 in North Carolina. Later in life, he said that he had enlisted in the North Carolina Infantry during the Civil War and participated in the battles of Chancellorsville, Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg, and the Crater at Petersburg. At Chancellorsville, supposedly, his unit was the one that accidentally shot Stonewall Jackson, which would mean it was the 18th North Carolina Infantry. He also said that he had been wounded when a shell fragment tore away his cheekbone and that he deserted the army rather than surrender at the end of the war. Whatever the reason for leaving North Carolina, after the war he took his wife and moved first to Henry County, Indiana, and then to Hamilton County around 1880. One of his first acts after arriving in Hamilton County was to kill a man in tavern brawl in the town of Fishers, or “Mudsock” as it was then called. Since Fishers was a very rough place at that time, the court acquitted him based on his plea of self-defense.[i] This attitude must have appealed to West for he chose to settle here and at various times farmed and operated a tavern.
West apparently had other ways that he earned money as well. When a man named Rufus Cantrell was arrested in September of 1902 for grave robbing, he pointed out West as one of his main competitors. West denied everything, but was arrested on November 14.[ii]
In March of 1903, West was indicted by a grand jury. During the testimony for this, one of the many bizarre stories of this affair came to light. Cantrell had contended that during one of his nightly expeditions, he and his gang had just finished excavating a grave when Hamp West and his gang arrived. West ordered Cantrell away from the grave, and Cantrell refused. A brawl ensued, and suddenly both gangs drew pistols and began firing. A member of Cantrell’s gang dropped into the open grave with a bullet through his neck, while Cantrell and the rest of his men fled into the night. At the trial, Cantrell accused West of either burying the fresh corpse in a swamp or selling it to the medical schools. West denied that the incident had even occurred.[iii]
Hamp West’s trial began In Noblesville on July 2, 1903. It seemed almost anti-climactic after the trials of some of the other grave robbers. However, there were some surprises. One of the last witnesses produced by the prosecution was a neighbor of West’s from Fishers. The young man testified that while walking through a patch of woods on his land he accidentally came upon West boiling something in a large kettle. It turned out to be “the body of a rather low, heavy-set man with the head missing”. The young man did not say how this encounter finished, but the court did not admit his testimony as evidence, because it was ruled as not material to the case at hand. However, West was found guilty on July 16 and sentenced to ten years at Michigan City Penitentiary.[iv] West died of stomach cancer in prison in 1904.[v] and became a part of the folklore of the Fishers area.[vi]
[i] Noblesville Ledger, August 30, 1904, p.1.
[ii] Indianapolis Sentinel, November 14, 1902
[iii] The Sunday Sentinel, March 22, 1903, p.1
[iv] Noblesville Ledger, July 17, 1903, p.1
[v] Ledger, August 30, 1904, p.1
[vi] Hamp West, Grave Robber compiled by William T. Myers, Noblesville, Ind., 1981.
Submitted by GEVogel Date submitted 17/01/2019
From Hamilton County (Indiana) Business Magazine (Undated)
A Touch of the Wild West in Fishers: The Battle of Mudsock was a National Sensation
This year is the 135th anniversary of the “Battle of Mudsock”. I mentioned this event a couple of years ago in an article about early Fishers and in a later article about grave robbing in Indiana. However, I’ve done some more research and found that it was even larger than I originally thought. A fistfight between two men in the fall of 1881 snowballed into an explosion of violence that left one person dead, 32 injured, and caused the destruction of two buildings. And it was all because of the new economic growth in the area.
Unfortunately, there are no records at the courthouse - the county court records only go back to January of 1882. However, the story was picked up by newspapers all over the country. So, this information is drawn from a great many news accounts which can vary widely.
The town got a reputation for violence which started almost immediately after its founding in 1872. At an 1875 shooting competition, James Redwine got into an argument with Milford G. “Dick” Parsley about who had won. Tempers flared and Parsley drew his revolver and fired three shots. Redwine died the next day, leaving a widow and children. That was the peak of violence in Fishers Station for a few years. However, it remained a stopping place for drifters and rowdies.
The Battle
The two saloons where the brawl occurred were on the south side of the plank road (116th Street), with one on the east side of the tracks and one on the west side of the tracks. The western saloon was run by the Farrell brothers, Edward and Andrew, who had emigrated from Ireland in 1850 as small children. The eastern saloon was run by Wade Hampton “Hamp” West, a Confederate army deserter who had drifted north after the Civil War. Hamp West’s building was in a low, swampy area of land and was supported by pilings sunk into the muck. It was known as the “saloon on poles”.
The event started around noon on Saturday, November 19 in a low-key manner (for Fishers) when two men got into a fight - Barney Reinier, whose family owned the land north of the plank road and west of the railroad, and “Dutch Joe”, one of the many anonymous drifters. It broke up soon, but not before many people in town picked sides. There were probably a lot of old vendettas involved.
At the Farrell saloon a few hours later, about 5 o’clock, Benjamin Fouch was playing billiards with the Lynn brothers, Daniel and Wesley, while their brother Adam Lynn watched. They were all rough characters - Fouch in particular. He worked in Adam Lynn’s blacksmith shop as a stable hand and was a former Marion County deputy sheriff. He had been forced to leave Marion County a few months earlier when he threatened a man for paying too much attention to Fouch’s wife. He was known to be particularly mean when he had a few drinks in him.
George McCoy entered the saloon and insulted Adam, probably in connection with the earlier fight, and was beaten by Fouch and thrown out. Soon after, he came back with Hamp West and Bob Dawson. West allegedly gave a signal to fight. However, Dawson and McCoy were thrown out and West was savagely beaten by Fouch and the Lynns using brass knuckles and pool cues. After a time, he was allowed to leave. West went back to his saloon by a circuitous route - he crossed the plank road going north, jumped Rienier’s fence and washed in their pond, cut through Mrs. Redwine’s yard, and then down the alley behind W. H. Dixon’s house and William Bolton’s house, and then back across the plank road to his saloon. Dawson had already gotten back.
Fouch and the Lynns finished up their billiard game about an hour later and Henry Justus decided to create more trouble by suggesting that they go to West’s for a drink. The group headed down the street twice - once as far as the blacksmith shop and once as far as Tucker’s drugstore. West shut the front door and said the saloon was closed. Then Dawson opened the door and invited them in. West said he was done with fighting and didn’t want any more trouble.
Fouch was wearing his brass knuckles and said he could whip anyone in the house. Dawson drew a knife and slashed Daniel Lynn. A general fight broke out, and the crowd started throwing billiard balls. In the midst of the general melee, West hit Fouch with a brass beer faucet, killing him. Fouch was carried first to Tucker’s drugstore, then to the Redwine boarding house where he died that night. Tragically, the boarding hose was run by the widow of James Redwine, the man who had been killed in the 1875 shooting.
Fighting had continued at the Farrell saloon where Elwood Haworth and Thomas Perkins attacked Andy Farrell. However, Farrell had armed himself with a Colt Navy revolver. Shots were exchanged but, fortunately, no one was killed. The Farrell saloon burned down that night, whether by accident or on purpose wasn’t known. West’s was closed and later reported destroyed
The Sheriff arrived by railroad handcar on the 20th and the Coroner’s inquest ran from the 20th to the 23rd. A grand jury was convened and heard testimony on November 29. They handed down eighteen indictments on December 3. Although charged with the murder of Fouch, Hamp West was not indicted. The grand jury felt that he had acted in self-defense.
Profound Impact
Why did Fishers become the epicenter for this tragedy? The main reason is that it was a brand new railroad stop with very little government organization. A minister later claimed that Salathiel Fisher was going to forbid taverns from being built in the town, but died before he could implement this. The rest of county was strongly in favor of the Temperance movement, even to the point of having night-riding vigilantes attack saloons. Add to this that there were apparently no law enforcement personnel in Delaware Township, and Fishers ended up being the only place that you could go to drink and raise hell. If you’ve seen the movie “Tombstone” or the TV series “Deadwood” - that was what Fishers was like.
The brawl hit the national news. Since the gunfight at the OK Corral had happened only the month before, people were paying attention to violent incidents. The New York Times had an article on page one titled “A Fight Among Ruffians”. There was an editorial in the New Orleans Times-Picayune titled “Mudsock Matinee” that called it a “brilliant battle”. The event had a profound impact on Hamilton County. The people of the area became more vigilant against saloons and other places considered detrimental to the community. In 1882, a group of Westfield women demolished a saloon and set fire to the rubble. In 1883, a brothel in Noblesville was burned to the ground by a mob.
Fishers became less of a focus after the Monon Railroad was finished in 1882 and much of the economic activity switched to that side of the county. Then the discovery of natural gas in 1887 caused major changes in the population of the county. There was still some excitement coming out of Fishers - it was the center of a major grave robbing scandal in 1902 - but, by the end of the First World War, it had begun to settle into a quiet farming community.
by David Heighway
Geneanet Community Trees Index
Name: Wade Hampton West Birth Date: 2 août 1845 Birth Place: North Carolina, North Carolina Death Date: 26 août 1904 Death Place: Michigan City, La Porte, Indiana Father: Reubin West Mother: Jane Jinsey Gincy Woods
Spouse: Isabella West Isabel Ann Swain
Child:
Terence James West
Lydia Caldwell
Avery William West
Bertie West
Chas West
Clara West
Jennie West
Rolla L West
Thomas West
William A West
