HOUK

A   Private Cemetery

 In North-Central, JEFFERSON Township , CASS County , IN.

Cemetery located in the area of a large & winding “Crooked Creek.” The creek is surrounded by winding hollows; numerous hills and an abandoned road make up part of the route, followed by a little used semi-public lane. These features make for much confusion on the part of those who chart the maps. It seems as if the only map which conformed to the area as it was in Sep. 1941 was an aerial photograph. Study of this photograph and considerable fieldwork leads us to believe that this is a long-ago abandoned, little old Pioneer cemetery is just North of the S.W. corner of the N.W. 1/4 of N.E.1/4 of Sec.15, T. 27N. R.1W.

As the crow flies, this is 2 miles N.N.E. of Lake Cicott & is over 1/2 mile S. of  “ White-Post Rd. ”, is on the S.W. terrace-rim of Crooked Creek & is on a point which has a good view of that creek’s hollow.

North of Sec.15’s East half’s very center is a north-bound road which has been following the mid-line of Sec.15’s East half. The road abruptly turns, (elbow’s) westward and goes through the N.W. part of Sec.15. The cemetery is a little more than 1/8 mile due north of this abrupt (elbow) turn & is reached by a rarely used northward running lane (which is a former continuation of the previously mentioned mid-line road. The cemetery is [at this point] where the lane [abruptly ceases going north and] turns east-northeast & begins descending into the hollow of Crooked Creek & soon crosses the creek on a rather rickety old iron bridge. At certain seasons of some years this road is almost un-drivable because of the over-hanging tree branches of the somewhat wild surrounding forest. In recent decades a couple of rattlesnakes have been killed close to this cemetery but the present [1941] fieldworkers only encountered rabbits, squirrels & black-snakes that measured in excess of 5 ft. The cemetery itself was overgrown with briars & was in a state of total neglect.

Though 3 persons canvassed this cemetery quite thoroughly & systematically & it’s vicinity & though we found several sunken places that could have contained unmarked graves & the ruined bases of a couple of missing old slabs or other monument, we found only one at all that was decipherable. A quite large old slab containing two separate names & it was lying badly broken & prostrate on the ground having broken off at the base. Ten minutes after we found the main part of this old slab, we found in a small ravine or gully some 20 ft. distant, two separate lettered and sizeable sections of this same old slab. After we cleaned & fitted these segments together, we found the following inscription (itself incomplete):

IN

(m)emory  of

Dr. J.Z. Powell, the late local historian, (though lacking part of this information & calling the surname Suter rather than Suters). Had information that a boy named Levi Edgar Suter(s) is buried here; and also that a Teter (Peter) Houk and his daughter Caroline Houk were and still are buried here; and that Mrs. Ann Houk, Mrs. Mary Webster, and two children of the said Mrs. Mary Webster were originally buried here, but were all dis-interred (about 1877? ) and re-interred at Mt. Hope cemetery located in the county-seat of Logansport (some 8 miles eastward by Mr. George Houk.

Immediately west of the cemetery but 20 ft. below it is a very small northward-flowing southern tributary of Crooked Creek, the latter of which the hollow is immediately N & N.E. of this cemetery.  The cemetery’s south edge seems to be about 150 ft. south of the drop into Crooked Creek Hollow, into which the lane descends to the bridge [over Crooked Creek] of the lane [or abandoned road] lies about 1/4 mile N.E. of this cemetery’s eastern edge. Nearer to the bridge than to the cemetery, but across the lane from the cemetery is an unoccupied house, which is said to be on or very near the site of a pioneer-era log cabin.

Genealogists may be interested in our discovery that George Houk, whom the Kingman Bros. “Atlas of Cass Co.” (1878) says George Hauk was a Pennsylvanian  who entered E.1/2 of N.E. 1/4 of this Section 15 on 8-19-1835, and received patent for it on 3-1-1841.” [more than a century prior to the making of this report [1941]. The D.R. Book “H” pg. 208, says that for $1.00 and love and affection,” George Houk on 10-24-1848, deeded the S.E.1/4 of N.E.1/4 of said Section 15 to Clemency Ann and George Lee Webster, with George Houk’s wife Ann Houk, likewise signing the deed.

Fieldwork on this cemetery done May 2, 1841 by Messr’s

Robert W. Barr; Frank Wipperman; R.B.Whitsett Jr.-secretary

L’ANGUILLE VALLEY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION

500 FRONT STREET

LOGANSPORT , INDIANA

With the compiled report submitted to the

INDIANA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

INDIANAPOLIS , INDIANA

This report was input by Pat Fiscel February 21, 2007 for the Cass County INGenWeb Project.