John Williams Farm
John was a free man and a blacksmith living in Louisville in the 1810's, when Thomas & William Lindley (Quakers) were operating a freight wagon service, from Salem to Louisville, and back, when they first encountered each other. At some point John Williams assisted the Lindley brothers with wagon repairs, and he quickly gained their trust and friendship.
Sometime before the 1820 Census, the brothers convinced John Williams to move to their father’s and become the blacksmith of the Blue River Quaker Community. He lived approximately six years in the home of Samuel Lindley, before purchasing 160 acres of land for himself, from his friend, Thomas Lindley. He lived, worked and farmed here for over 40 years. Then during the Civil War, and the height of racial injustice in our county, (largely perpetrated by associates of the Knights of the Golden Circle), John was shot in the back, on his front porch, in his night clothes, in somewhere around 2 or 3am. Stunningly, the story goes, his body was discovered the next morning by Major Thomas Rodman, (later General Rodman, cannon and ballistic inventor and Father of the Rock Island Arsenal.), who came to buy some livestock from John for his father. (I checked the National Archives for General Rodman’s record and it shows he was on convalescent leave for having a mild heart attack!! I was Shocked!)
Supposedly, Major Rodman told the Quakers that he noticed numerous horse prints in the dirt around John’s porch, so the assumption is, it was a racial killing, perpetrated by a group or gang of men. Unfortunately, the only record of this murder was when our local AME Minister reported it to the AME Headquarters in Indianapolis. It was never reported anywhere else. The man who was identified and brought to trial in Indianapolis as the local leader of the Knights of the Golden Circle, also owned the local newspaper at the time and was an elected county official, so there was scant to no reporting on the hate crimes committed in our county.
Prior to his murder, John Williams, who by every account I’ve ever seen was an island, and had no known relatives or relation to speak of, had the tremendous foresight to plan his Last Will & Testament! He appointed his trusted friend William Lindley, as the Executor, (who by this time had become a considerable and influential businessman in the Salem Community, owning a Mill, and speculating in real estate.), Mr. Williams stated in his last testimony that he wished to have his property and possessions sold at auction and all of the proceeds be applied towards the future educational benefit of black Hoosier children. I believe to the best of my current knowledge that after going through several legal battles to defend the estate of John Williams, William Lindley eventually won out and turned the bulk of the estate over to the Quaker Headquarters in Indianapolis, where it was applied to a fund for the “educational benefit of colored children.” I further believe, with some investigation by that organization, (where I have secured a representative who is willing to assist us), you will find that fund John Williams established is still assisting black Hoosier children obtain a quality education. So, I can hardly name too many people from Washington County, who have been more significant to the long-term history of our state.
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