09/20/2024
As promised, here's a little history for you!
Nulltown Cemetery and Franklin Baptist Church
Nulltown was originally named Null's Mills because the Null Brothers had built mills there. The cemetery is roadside and easily accessible.
To read more of the church minutes, go the historicconnersville,org website. I have transcribed some of the most interesting and gossipy entries there. You will be surprised at some of the carrying on. Remember that churches of that time were the center of the community. Being “churched” (removed from membership for illegal or immoral conduct) meant that you were isolated from many of your neighbors, as well as prohibited from going to services.
About 1852, the church built the building that is on the west side of 121 up on a hill in Alpine. I haven’t transcribed the second minutes book yet, but the membership list, as well as I could make sense of it, is from 1814 to 1852. It appears the congregation split around 1855 and some members moved back to Nulltown and built another frame church before the congregation later disbanded. As time permits, I will try to decipher the second book that starts in 1852.
On the 27th day of March, 1814, a group of pioneers who were members of the Baptist Society met at the home of Mary Martin (and her husband William) to form a church. Among those present were Elders Lewis DeWeese and William Tyner. The Martin home was a logical meeting place, as Mary Ann Martin was the daughter of Elder Tyner. (The Martins later moved north of Columbia and are buried at Tullis Chapel, another pioneer church and cemetery.)
DeWeese and Tyner were responsible for the founding of many of our area’s Baptist churches. They traveled the countryside, preaching and helping small groups of people organize permanent places of worship. Perhaps the best known is Little Cedar Baptist Church south of Brookville, Indian, which they founded in 1812..
Both of these men had come to the Indiana Territory in an early day from South Carolina, part of an influx of Carolinians, about 1807.
Once the rules and creed of the church were determined, leaders were established. Plans for a building were begun immediately. Members met at homes until the log church was finished.
Note: In 1814, Nulltown, along with a large part of what we call Fayette County, was in Franklin County. Fayette was separated off until 1818, and became a county on January 1, 1819, with the installation of the first government.
Also:The John Conner mentioned here was not THE John Conner. Both lived here at the same time, but were not the same person.
From the Minutes Book
January 28, 1815
Agreed to correspond with the Friends of Humanity in Kentucky. Agreed to build a meeting house on the land owned by A. Boyce and Wm. Egan. Bros, Newhouse and Helm appointed to make a contract with them and lay off the ground. (Helm was Judge Helm, father of Meredith Helm who built the Helm House on 3rd Street and Dr. Jefferson Helm who platted Viena - now Glenwood - and built the house on State Road 44 between Glenwood and Rushville that is being restored.)
March 27, 1815:
Church agreed to license John Conner to preach. Agreed to build a hewed log meeting house. Bros, Webb, Crisler, & Sailors to contract to the lowest bidder.Brother Crisler to petition members and friends for funds. Request received from New Bethel to assist in ordaining Jonathon Keney as minister, and E. Webb and Jas. Newhouse were ordered to assist. (The church probably was north of the cemetery.)
Work continued on the church for a couple of years. The logs were chinked and flooring was installed, both on the lower floor and in the gallery, suggesting that this was a two story building.
September 28, 1816
Received by letter, Simon Gill, a man of color. (This is the first mention I’ve found of a Person of Color in the county. I have tried to learn more about him, but haven’t been successful. He was received by letter, meaning that he had come from another congregation, but where? The membership roll says he died in 1816. Is he buried in the cemetery? Another mystery.)
The cemetery was part of the church property.
The first burial is said to be Sally Martin who died in 1814 or 1815. She has no marker and no other information other than what is mentioned in the 1885 History of Fayette County, Indiana.
The oldest marker in the cemetery is that of Elizabeth (Davis) Fullen, consort (wife) of Samuel Fullen. She was born January 30, 1775 and died November 18, 1818. Samuel was born in 1766 and died in 1820. They were married in Wythe, Virginia in 1790. Both were born in Virginia. Samuel entered land in Section 12 of Columbia Twp. in 1816.
Their son, Samuel, born 1799, married Annie (Mary Anna) Pogue in Franklin County in 1817. Annie was the daughter of George Pogue. George Pogue and John McCormick, Jr. (son of John McCormick, a soldier of the Revolution who is buried at City Cemetery) settled in Marion County where the center of Indianapolis is today. Pogue’s horses were stolen, and he set out to find them, but was never seen again. His neighbors recovered the horses while searching for him. Pogue’s Run, a creek that runs through Indianapolis, is named for George Pogue. Samuel, Jr. and Annie relocated to Montgomery County.
John Sims and his wife Nancy (Cullins) are buried here. He was a village blacksmith. Their daughter, Orpha Jane, married Samuel Trusler, and they were the parents of County School Superintendent Claude Trusler, the father of CHS English teacher Jean Trusler Cummings and Esther Trusler Hassler.
Phoebe Eagan (Egan) is buried here. She was the wife of John Egan, and they were very early settlers who lived across the Whitewater River in Jackson Twp., directly across from Nulltown. They were married prior to 1823, and both died in 1855. For reasons unknown to me, John is buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Jackson Township. Their daughter (evidently their only child) Malinda Eagan McKinney is buried at Bentonville Cemetery. If there are any descendants who know the reason for the couple’s separate burials, please let me know!
For more information on burials in Nulltown, go to Findagrave.com. It’s free to search and easy to access and use! Happy hunting!
As promised, here's a little history for you!
Nulltown Cemetery and Franklin Baptist Church
Nulltown was originally named Null's Mills because the Null Brothers had built mills there. The cemetery is roadside and easily accessible.
To read more of the church minutes, go the historicconnersville,org website. I have transcribed some of the most interesting and gossipy entries there. You will be surprised at some of the carrying on. Remember that churches of that time were the center of the community. Being “churched” (removed from membership for illegal or immoral conduct) meant that you were isolated from many of your neighbors, as well as prohibited from going to services.
About 1852, the church built the building that is on the west side of 121 up on a hill in Alpine. I haven’t transcribed the second minutes book yet, but the membership list, as well as I could make sense of it, is from 1814 to 1852. It appears the congregation split around 1855 and some members moved back to Nulltown and built another frame church before the congregation later disbanded. As time permits, I will try to decipher the second book that starts in 1852.
On the 27th day of March, 1814, a group of pioneers who were members of the Baptist Society met at the home of Mary Martin (and her husband William) to form a church. Among those present were Elders Lewis DeWeese and William Tyner. The Martin home was a logical meeting place, as Mary Ann Martin was the daughter of Elder Tyner. (The Martins later moved north of Columbia and are buried at Tullis Chapel, another pioneer church and cemetery.)
DeWeese and Tyner were responsible for the founding of many of our area’s Baptist churches. They traveled the countryside, preaching and helping small groups of people organize permanent places of worship. Perhaps the best known is Little Cedar Baptist Church south of Brookville, Indiana, which they founded in 1812..
Both of these men had come to the Indiana Territory in an early day from South Carolina, part of an influx of Carolinians, about 1807.
Once the rules and creed of the church were determined, leaders were established. Plans for a building were begun immediately. Members met at homes until the log church was finished.
Note: In 1814, Nulltown, along with a large part of what we call Fayette County, was in Franklin County. Fayette was separated off until 1818, and became a county on January 1, 1819, with the installation of the first government.
Also:The John Conner mentioned here was not THE John Conner. Both lived here at the same time, but were not the same person.
From the Minutes Book
January 28, 1815
Agreed to correspond with the Friends of Humanity in Kentucky. Agreed to build a meeting house on the land owned by A. Boyce and Wm. Egan. Bros, Newhouse and Helm appointed to make a contract with them and lay off the ground. (Helm was Judge Helm, father of Meredith Helm who built the Helm House on 3rd Street and Dr. Jefferson Helm who platted Viena - now Glenwood - and built the house on State Road 44 between Glenwood and Rushville that is being restored.)
March 27, 1815:
Church agreed to license John Conner to preach. Agreed to build a hewed log meeting house. Bros, Webb, Crisler, & Sailors to contract to the lowest bidder.Brother Crisler to petition members and friends for funds. Request received from New Bethel to assist in ordaining Jonathon Keney as minister, and E. Webb and Jas. Newhouse were ordered to assist. (The church probably was north of the cemetery.)
Work continued on the church for a couple of years. The logs were chinked and flooring was installed, both on the lower floor and in the gallery, suggesting that this was a two story building.
September 28, 1816
Received by letter, Simon Gill, a man of color. (This is the first mention I’ve found of a Person of Color in the county. I have tried to learn more about him, but haven’t been successful. He was received by letter, meaning that he had come from another congregation, but where? The membership roll says he died in 1816. Is he buried in the cemetery? Another mystery.)
The cemetery was part of the church property.
The first burial is said to be Sally Martin who died in 1814 or 1815. She has no marker and no other information other than what is mentioned in the 1885 History of Fayette County, Indiana.
The oldest marker in the cemetery is that of Elizabeth (Davis) Fullen, consort (wife) of Samuel Fullen. She was born January 30, 1775 and died November 18, 1818. Samuel was born in 1766 and died in 1820. They were married in Wythe, Virginia in 1790. Both were born in Virginia. Samuel entered land in Section 12 of Columbia Twp. in 1816.
Their son, Samuel, born 1799, married Annie (Mary Anna) Pogue in Franklin County in 1817. Annie was the daughter of George Pogue. George Pogue and John McCormick, Jr. (son of John McCormick, a soldier of the Revolution who is buried at City Cemetery) settled in Marion County where the center of Indianapolis is today. Pogue’s horses were stolen, and he set out to find them, but was never seen again. His neighbors recovered the horses while searching for him. Pogue’s Run, a creek that runs through Indianapolis, is named for George Pogue. Samuel, Jr. and Annie relocated to Montgomery County.
John Sims and his wife Nancy (Cullins) are buried here. He was a village blacksmith. Their daughter, Orpha Jane, married Samuel Trusler, and they were the parents of County School Superintendent Claude Trusler, the father of CHS English teacher Jean Trusler Cummings and Esther Trusler Hassler.
Phoebe Eagan (Egan) is buried here. She was the wife of John Egan, and they were very early settlers who lived across the Whitewater River in Jackson Twp., directly across from Nulltown. They were married prior to 1823, and both died in 1855. For reasons unknown to me, John is buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Jackson Township. Their daughter (evidently their only child) Malinda Eagan McKinney is buried at Bentonville Cemetery. If there are any descendants who know the reason for the couple’s separate burials, please let me know!
For more information on burials in Nulltown, go to Findagrave.com. It’s free to search and easy to access and use! Happy hunting!
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