DAVID FILER SACKETT, M.D., born 18 Jan 1780 at East Greenwich, Litchfield, CT.; died in 1864 or 1865 near Irvington, IN., the second child of Dr. Samuel Sackett and Sarah Manning; married 1807 Martha Milliken.
In the summer following the birth of David 18 Jan 1780, his father moved from Connecticut to Youghiogheny, Pennsylvania, arriving there by October 27, 1780, when he wrote a letter to friends back in CT. from "Shistee Settlement". By October 16, 1781 Dr. Samuel had moved his family to Uniontown, in what is now Fayette County. On November 10, 1788 the Sackett family moved to a farm on Georges Creek, about a mile south of the present town of Smithfield, PA. which became the permanent residence of Dr. Samuel and his family.
Between 1788 and 1807, when he married Martha Milliken, David spent time in Pittsburg learning the saddler's trade. And, according to Harry Dorsey Bertsch a reporter and historian in Richmond, IN., David studied medicine with his father and at a medical college in Philadelphia, PA. He then moved to Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., PA. and started a practice in medicine in that place. It was here that Sarah Lucinda, the first of their 12 children, was born in 1808. In that same year Dr. David moved to near Hamilton, Ohio, where many of the relatives of Mrs Sackett lived. Two of David's uncles also lived nearby; Aaron Sackett was near Hamilton and Cyrus Sackett was near Bell Brook, Greene Co., OH.
In 1807, David's brother Reuben T. had written to their father that he would like to have David and Alex come to Louisiana because he thought they would like it there. There are records in Louisiana which indicate that David F. Sackett filed on 1000 arpents of land in LA:
Vol. 3, Page 116; Public Lands; [No 225; No. 114.
"David F. Sackett claims one thousand arpents on the
bayou Nezpique by virtue of purchase from Henry Hergroeder, who held it
under requete approved by the commandant. The notice of this claim is accompanied
by a petition of said Hergroeder for twenty-five arpents front, by a depth
of forty arpents on the bayou Cane. In the Prairie Mamou, at the first
grand point west of said prairie, for a vacherie, which portion is approved
by the commandant, Forstall, under date 9 September 1789. Anthony Corkran,
before the Board, the 1st October. 1811, hath deposed, "that in consequence
of the ravages committed by the Indians on the stock and plantation of
John McDaniel, who resided on the land for several years, john McDaniel,
was obliged to remove from the same, and that himself and several other
persons who had settled in the neighborhood were obliged to remove for
the same reason." John Ilays, before the Board, the 13th July, 1810, hath
deposed, "that, in the year 1789, the land was inhabited and cultivated,
and continued to be for five or six years, and is now in cultivation: that
he has always heard that there was a requete for said tract of land." This
claim would have been valid in the opinion of the Board, under the former
Government, and ought to be confirmed by this." [Images of the Documents:
(1);
(2)]
It appears that this claim was approved in 1816. However, there is nothing to show conclusively whether or not David F. Sackett was actually in LA. to file this claim; or whether it was done by someone acting on his behalf. It is possible that David went to Louisiana from Hamilton, Ohio, filed on the land and did not get immediate approval, and then returned to Hamilton, Ohio. He then decided to move to the Whitewater area of Indiana Territory. By the time the claim was approved in 1816, Dr. David had become established in Wayne Co. and did not return to Louisiana.
In 1810, David's brother Alexander, who was also a Doctor, arrived in Hamilton. On 23 Feb 1811 Alexander wrote a letter from Rossville, OH to his father, Dr. Samuel, in Fayette Co., PA. in which he tells his father:
"David and the family was well when they
left this place for Whitewater in the Territory on the
15 __________ out he has got a Son whose name is Samuel
arising four months old. his Situation is good
is good
foor the practice there are no Dr.s nearer than
this place."
From this we see that Dr. David had moved to "Whitewater
in the Territory" before 23 Feb 1811. From the records in Wayne Co.,
IN. we learn that Dr. David had been practicing medicine there in 1808*
and moved there in 1810. We know from the letter written by Dr. Alexander
to his father that David's son Samuel was born in Hamilton and was approaching
the age of 4 months. According to information provided by Debbie
Streeter, Samuel was born 29 Nov 1810 in Hamilton, OH. From
this we would conclude that for David to arrive in Wayne Co. in 1810; he
made the move in Dec. 1810.
* Memoirs of Wayne County, page 60: "Dr. Sackett, the
first physician, came in 1808. There is said to have been a fatal malignant
fever prevailing along the East Fork about this time."
When Dr. Sackett came to Wayne County in 1810 it was
only five years after Holman, Rue, and McCoy had built the first cabins
in the county and before the county was organized. This settlement
was known as the Kentucky settlement. Rev. Hugh Cull, a Methodist
lay preacher, was one of the earliest Kentucky settlers in the Rue-Holman-McCoy
settlement, the Elkhorn district. His cabin was near the Elkhorn
church , about five miles south of the present site of Richmond.
Mrs. Cull, lonesome in the Whitewater wilderness and also fearful of an
attack by hostile Indians, so the Culls prevailed on the Sackett family
to share the Cull cabin. Therefore, his first months in Wayne county
in were spent in the cabin of Hugh Cull,. This enabled the doctor
to meet the pioneers in that part of the county and he enjoyed their friendship.
Dr. David became the first physician to practice medicine in Wayne Co. treating patients in the cabin of Rev. Hugh Cull. The following year the county seat was located at Salisbury.
When the Sacketts arrived at the Cull cabin in 1810, hunting parties of Indians ranged the nearby unbroken forests. About this time Tecumseh, the famous Shawnee Chieftain and his brother, the Prophet, began urging western tribes to join in a united effort to drive out the white intruders and alarms were frequent.
One of thes alarms came late in 1812, soon after the birth of Gulielma, third child of Dr. and Mrs. Sackett. The mother and the few days old baby were hastily carried to a nearby block house where they remained several days. The alarm soon passsed. The war party of Delawares, which had been reported approaching from Muncietown, probably had been diverted to the southwest. It was not long after this scare that Dr. Sackett moved to Salisbury, becoming some of the first residents of that town.
Early Wayne County histories note that Smith Hund, Samuel Woods and James Brown laid out Salisbury in 1811. Andrew Woods and John Meek oversaw the building of a jail and estray pen (holding pen for stray animals); at some point the courthouse followed, along with 35 homes, two stores and two taverns. Salisbury was the first incorporated town in Wayne Co. and was the first county seat. In 1811, George Hunt, clerk of Wayne County, wrote about settler's hopes for the county's first incorporated town: "The town of Salisbury stands on a beautiful site on the waters of Clear Creek, W. C. I. T. (Wayne County, Indiana Territory) in a fine neighborhood environed by rich land ... No better water in the world, the air salubrious; and its elevated situation commands an extensive and beautiful prospect. And we flatter ourselves that in a few years, Art, with her sister Industry, will convert it from a forest to a flourishing inland town. Several gentlemen of property have purchased lots, both in the mercantile and mechanical line, which will greatly enhance its value."
Soon after his move from the Elkhorn district to Salisbury in 1812, Dr. David became its first postmaster. The exact date of this appointment is not known. However, one of his descendants has a letter, written in 1813, which directed to him as "Postmaster, Salisbury, Wayne County, Indiana Ter". In another letter written, by Dr. David, to his father from "Salisbury, I. T." dated 8 Jan 1815 David makes reference to a change in the postoffice regulations and a change in the mail delivery to Salisbury:
"There has been some regulations in the Post
office department the mail formerly arroved here
but
once in two weeks the same one now comes weekly
and anoher rout from Chillicothy comes to this
place also weekly So that on the Chillicothy rout
our letter can pass several days earlier"
And:
"15th By last evenings mail I recd a letter from you
dated 30th November. I was glad to hear from you
the
Chillicothe mail did not arrive last Monday accor-
ding to expectation and have not sent it this morning
by the Southern mail but expect to start it tom-
orrow by the Eastern mail if he should arrive"
These references would suggest that David had a working knowledge of the postal regulations and routes.
After a bitter political dispute, the county seat was moved to Centerville in 1817 when the state legislature ordered the seat of justice transferred there. The population of Salisbury rapidly decreased and many houses and businesses were wrecked or literally dismantled, with the bricks and logs being hauled to other villages with a future, like Richamond and Centerville. By the 1820s, few families remained in Salisbury. Although some historians estimate Salisbury's population grew to between 300 and 400, its history proved to be the shortest of all the towns, villages and cities that would spring up in the county.
Dr. Sackett moved to Centerville shortly after the removal of the county seat from Salisbury to Centerville and his move to Centerville did not affect his political fortunes. Three times he was elected to seven-year terms as county recorder. He probably was elected the first time in 1816. The first appearance of his name in the records of Wayne County is in 1813 as a witness to a signature on a deed. The first signature, "David F. Sackett, Recorder W. C." appears in 1817 a short time before the county records were moved to Centerville. Earlier deeds recorded in Wayne County are attested by Geroge Hunt, clerk of court and sometimes as recorder, and sometimes both the initials C.W.C [Clerk Wayne County] and R.W.C. [Recorder Wayne County] were used.
Dr. Sackett also became postmaster of the new county seat. He held the office for a total of about 14 years. He continued to act as recorder until 1838.
Part of his popularity with the voters has been attributed to his kindness to the Quakers of Wayne County as well as his earlier association with the Kentucky settlement in the Elkhorn district. The Quakers constituted a sizable block in the population of the county. Their support of the candidate at the polls usually was the equivalent of election. Also, Dr. Sackett enjoyed the friendship of the Kentucky settlers, who, like the Quakers, were substattial residents of the county.
He befrended four young Quakers, imprisoned in the Salisbury jail, because they refused to perform military services because of their religious beliefs.
Says a Wayne county history:
"To extort from them a promise of compliance, fire was
denied them in prison. Their suffering must have been intolerable
but for the partial relief afforded by Dr. Sackett, county recorder, and
Jesse Bond, then living where Earlham college now is, the former handing
them hot bricks through the grates and the latter blankets."
It is also recorded that he showed kindness to Quakers whose farm implements, livestock and houshold goods were sold at rediculously low prices to pay their fines. This made him a popular man in the entire county and accounted for his lasting popularity with the Religious Society of Friends.
In addition to his political services, Dr. David F. Sackett took an active part in the early medical history of the state. On Dec. 24, 1816, when the state of Indiana was only 14 days old, Governor Jennings approved an act of the legislature, providing for the licensing of physicians. It divided the state into three medical districts and appointed a Board of Censors for each. Dr. Sackett was named a member of the board for the Third District, which was directed to hold its first meeting at Lawrenceburg in May, 1817, to license physicians. There is no record that this meeting was actually held, but the fact that Dr. Sackett was appointed one of the board's members indicated that he was regarded as one of the leaders in this profession.
The Indiana Medical Society was created by an act of the legislature passed in 1820 and a provision was made for district societies. The state increased rapidly in population and by 1827 there was a new alignment of districts. In that year the Eleventh District Medical Society was organized at Centerville. The district consisted of Wayne, Henry, Randolph, Adams and Allen counties. Dr. Sackett was chosen secretary and Dr. Joel Pennington of Richmond was licensed to practice , May 11, 1827.
Among the pioneer physicians who lived in Salisbury and Centerville in the days when Dr. Sackett was a leader in its professional and civic affairs were Dr. Ithamer Warner and Dr. William Pugh. Dr Warner came in 1815 to Centerville. He moved to Richomond in 1920. Dr. William Pugh came to Richmond in 1818. He studied medicine under Dr. Sackett in Centerville.
For the close of his life, I quote from the account by Harry Dorsey Bertsch published in the Palladium Item, Richmond, IN., 14 Dec. 1933:
"After the expiration of his third term as recorder in 1838, Dr. Sackett devoted his energies to the practice of his profession. When he first came to Centerville he lived in a two-story hewed log house on South Morton Avenue, south of where the Friends church now stands. Later he lived in a small brick house on South Ash Street near Main. ..."
"The story of Dr. Sackett's descendants is no less colorful than his own. Two of his sons served in the Union army and one with the Confederate forces. Alexander Sackett born in 1820, went to Iowa at an early age and engaged in farming. When more than 40 years of age he enlisted in an Iowa regiment, leaving behind a wife and six children. He was captured and after spending several months in Andersonville prison was exchanged and started for home on furlough." Bertsch also states that Alexander was lost in the explosion of the Sultana.
Charles Weygant in his book "The Sacketts of America" states that Alexander "enlisted in 8th Iowa Cavalry, which was attached to the 15th Army Corps. After participating with credit in several engagements he was captured by the Confederates in McCook's raid at Newman, Goergia, and suffered confinement in several prisons. At length, in 1864, he was exchanged, and broken in health started north on the steamer General Lyon, which was lost with all on board between Fortress Monroe and Wilmngtion."
The account of the loss of the Steamer General Lyon is found in The New York Times - Monday, April 3, 1865; Vol. XIV No. 4220 Page 5. (Transcribed by Bernard Yeatts):
"DREADFUL FIRE AT SEA.
FIVE HUNDRED LIVES LOSTThe U. S. Transport Steamer General Lyon Burned Off Cape Hatteras.
Invalid Troops, Refugees, and Women and Children on Board.The steamer Gen. Sedgwick, which arrived at this port at noon yesterday,
brought as passengers twenty-nine persons saved from the wreck of the
transport steamer Gen. Lyon, which took fire off Cape Hatteras on the
morning of Friday last, and was totally destroyed. The Gen. Lyon had on
board from five hundred and fifty to six hundred souls. The twenty-nine
who arrived here yesterday are believed to be all that was saved. ..."
The steamer was caught in a hurricane and in the rough
sea some barrels of kerosene slid into the boiler and caught fire.
Only 31 people survided out of the 550-600 onboard. Alexander T.
Sackett of Iowa is listed among those who died.
It is curious that Weygant indicates that Alexander had headed north on the Lyon in 1864 when in fact the records above show that it was in March/April of 1865. Probably a typo or proofreading error..
"Dr. Sackett's youngest son, Cyrus Oran, enlisted in A. company, Seventeenth regiment, Indiana Volunteers, and served as musician and headquarters clerk. His niece, Mrs. Albert Foster of Richmond, has a silver fife that was presented to him by his company. He learned the printer's trade at Centerville, and after the war "held cases" on the Indianapolis Journal for many years.
"James Milliken Sackett, born in 1817, went to Memphis, Tenn., while still a young man, Here he engaged in mercantile business and married a daughter of a prominent southern family, who inherited several slaves. A few years prior to the Civil war, Mrs. Sackett, made an extended visit to her husband's family at Centerville, bringing with her, three children and two slave girls to look after them. There was strong antislavery sentiment in Centerville at this time and the presence of these two bond-women made something of a sensation, but there was no attempt to liberate them as they apparently were well satisfied with their lot.
"When the war broke out, Dr. Sackett, who was a staunch Unionist, tried to persuade his son to bring his family to Centerville and to enlist in the Union army. The latter refused, saying that all his business interests and those of all his wife's family were in the South and that he would cast his lot with the secessionists. He served until the end of the war and several of his grandchildren are still living in Memphis.
"Samuel Sackett, named for his grandfather, was a storekeeper in Centerville in the 1840s and for a time was a partner of Meyer Seaton, later postmaster. He moved from Centerville to Laporte and went from there to Iowa.
"During the pioneer period of Indiana, the making of hats was one of the leading industries and every town has one or more shops where hats were made from wool, rabbit, muskrat, beaver and other furs. Centerville had four of these shops and the largest of these shops was in a brick building on the south side of Main street, just east of Major Gay's Tavern. It was kept by Solomon Kuhn and Matthew Jack. Solomon Kuhn married Gulielma, daughter of Dr. Sackett and another daughter, Elizabeth Ann, became the wife of Matthew Jack. the brick house on Walnut Street, in later years the home of Mr. Lizzie Wolfe, was built by Dr. Sackett as a wedding present for Mrs. Jack.
"Martha Morina, another daughter of Dr. Sackett, born in 1825, became the wife of William Jefferson Medearis, a harness maker, who later lived at Williamsburg and Richmond. Their youngest son was Oscar Medearis. Theodore Medearis, general manager of Indianapolis speedway, is a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Medearis.
"Martha [should be Margaret] Ellen, another daughter of Dr. Sackett, was married to Calvin Conner, a carpenter and bridge builder, who later moved to Galveston, Ind. He built most of the bridges on the Richmond and Logansport railroad. The late Frank Conner, Richmond attorney, was a son of this couple, and Mrs Albert Foster is a daughter. Two other daughters, Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Shaffer reside at Logansport.
"The small hatter shops having been crowded off the map by machine hat factories of the east, Kuhn and Jack closed their shop and the Jacks moved to Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn purchased a farm north of the present site of Irvington in the early 60s and it was not long after this that Dr. and Mrs. Sackett joined them. It was here at the ripe age of 85 years* that the long, rich and useful life of Dr. Sackett came to an end. His body lies in a small cemetery near the eastern limits of Indianapolis, that beautiful and rapidly growing city, which had not even been thought of, when he came to Indiana Territory to do his not inconsiderable bit in the development of a great commonwealth."
*[August 20, 2000: I received an e-mail from Rachel
Stella stating that she had found the grave of Dr. David Sackett in the
Anderson Cemetery, Irvington, IN. (an eastern suburb of Indinapolis).
The headstone gives the date of his death as Feb. 28, 1864. Therefore,
he would have been a month and nine days over 84 years.]
============ Sources ===========
