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familiesBy SUE CARNAHAN SMITHWhen one approaches the home of Robert and Mary Max am on north West street in Princeton, one sees a home from days gone by—a more elegant, leisurely time. “The house,” Maxam says, “was built on the town’s original northwest comer.”Upon entering the home, one sees furniture from periods when cabinet and furniture makers found their profession to be an art. Natural wood is seen in the furniture, the wood work, the staircase. A warm feeling comes from both the house and the dwellers within.After an hour or two of talking with the Maxams, one’s head spins from hearing all the details of the city of Princeton and of their two familieswithout even a note to aid them.Although a former teacher oflanguages in the city highschool, Mrs. Maxam rarely adds information to the story told by her husband. She nods in agreement to a history told many times to willing ears until a “gray area” comes up in the telling. When her husband cannot remember an exact quote or date or name, she helps in the recollection.Maxam’s family, its seems, kept accurate records of names and dates. Mary’s family kept fewer written records, but word of mouth and some searching kept the family’s history alive.A former Harmon, Mary tells of her family coming to Gibson county in 1809, settling south of Owensville in the Johnson area.Robert became interested in his family history when a studied geneaology was left to him by a cousin when she died. He retired from commercial art in 1971 and has been writing the family history for his grandchildren.Came from Plymouth coloniesThe first seven generations of both families came from the Plymouth colonies. Maxam’s family belonged to the first Methodist Church in the U.S. When the family came to Gibson county, they settled in Maxam’s Station, what is now Douglas Station, near Francisco.Sprague Maxam, 33, decided to bring their children and possessions west from Sharon, Conn. The children were James, 12, John, seven, Almira, six, and Jane, four. “Most people did not attempt the trip if they were out of their twenties because it was so strenuous,” Robert said The family traveled with several other families over what was called the Pen-n Maxam wife Polhnsylvania Turnpike. It was nothing more than a buffalo trail that was slightly improved by the state’s legislators in 1812. The group reached Pittsburgh bi 1818.Upon reaching Pittsburgh, the Maxams bought a wooden flatboat called an “ark.” They traveled to Louisville, Ky., and on to Henderson where they sold the ark and ferried across the Ohio River to the Red Bank Trail which is now a railroad line. “The Red Bank Trail, Maxam explained, “came past Princeton near where the cloverleaf is now.”Land at $10 an acreIn August of 1818, Sylvester Maxam, Robert’s greatgrandfather, went east of town and bought 80 acres of land at about $10 per acre. In their covered wagon, the family had to bring everything they were going to need because the prices were so high the farther west people traveled.The Maxams bought a house at the comer of Hart and what is now Brumfield street. It had belonged to Frances Henry Hopkins who was the land agent. The family lived there for five years and, in 1822, Sylvester Robert Maxam was born.The family then moved back to Francisco. When they moved back to Princeton in 1859, Sylvester Robert was partnered with his brother John and with Andrew Lewis who wereengaged in the milling business. Sylvester Robert later married Lewis’ daughter.Early homes Robert’s grandfather Lewis built what became the old Princeton American Legion home on west Broadway in 1860 The house burned to the ground a little more than 100 years later.Robert’s grandfather built abackhouse on west State street on property that is now north Hall street, the west boundary of the city parking lot. He also tells of other, older homes in the city—Blair House, built in 1855; the Watt house, built in 1858; and the Devin property across from the now-vacant hospital, built in 1870.The house Robert and Mary Maxam live in was known as Case house and, like the Kidd house on south Hall street, was built with materials left over from building the Gibson county courthouse in 1884. All through the interview, tidbits of information were thrown out almost carelessly by someone who knows his ancestors’ past as well as his own daily routine.Robert’s LifeRobert Maxam was born July 26. 1906, to E. Rolind and Anna Bauer Maxam in his grandfather’s home. He attended Lowell school, graduated from Princeton High School in 1924, attended Indiana University for two years, and studied art in an American school in Havana, Cuba.On July 14, 1930, Robertma rr;honeynvivid m ching childrei ones tlt;away.From went t schoolii the nexEvansvtist and a few Maxam
Newspaper Details
Princeton Daily Clarion
Princeton, Indiana, US
Mon, Nov 14, 1977
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Free T.
IA, USA 13 Oct 2019
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