Tuesday, June 17, 2025
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Shelby County History: Catherine Bassett Recollections
Editor’s Note: The following article was in the files of the late David Craig, a local historian, regarding a written recollection from early Shelby County resident Catherine Bassett.
from the files of David Craig
To be a pioneer of Shelby County required both physical and mental strength. The land needed to be cleared. Housing had to be constructed using hand tools. The muscles of man and beast completed all work.
The pioneer cemeteries of the county reveal some of the mental burdens the early settlers faced. Many couples would lose children before they reached their 10th birthday. Some parents buried four or more children over a 10-year period.
Catharine Monroney Bassett was a pioneer who would later write a personal sketch of her life.
From her writings it is plain to see Catharine was a very strong woman. Born in Dearborn County, Ind., June 13, 1822, she came to Shelby County in 1826. The family made the trip in a two-wheeled cart pulled by oxen. They followed a trail that had been blazed to Shelby County. Blazing a trail meant marking trees with an ax or hatchet to indicate the proper direction of travel.
Later, Catherine refers to her move to Carroll County, Mo., with her sister and brother-in-law.
Marge Roberts, a relative of Catharine, gave some interesting details about the marriages of the Monroney sisters. Mrs. Roberts also supplied the letter for this article. Three of the Monroney sisters married three Bassett brothers. Catharine was married to Jonah Bassett in Missouri, August 30, 1837. Soon after the marriage, the newlyweds returned to Shelby County, Ind. They would remain Shelby County residents the rest of their days.
In her sketch, Catharine tells just how much each family depended on help from neighbors.
Erecting a building was impossible for one man. The men in the community would assist each other in what was termed a “log rolling.”
Game was plenty in the 1820s. Catharine lists venison, wild turkey and wild hog as staples of the daily diet. She also mentions how numerous wolves were and how one could encounter a pack in the dense woods. Catharine even saw rattlesnakes in Shelby County in her childhood.
Catharine's eyes looked upon Shelbyville before it became an organized community. She describes the small settlement as a field covered with stumps and maybe 12 log cabins.
Mrs. Bassett knew many of the famous founding fathers of the county. John Walker and his store and mill were familiar to Catharine. She also knew one of the first doctors to practice in Shelbyville, Doctor Kipper. Carey Brown was her first schoolteacher. Mentioned among the prominent citizens were David Thatcher, William Colescott, and Dr. Morris.
These rugged people found much strength through religion. Catharine first joined the Methodist
Church. Later in life she would be among the founders of the First Baptist Church in Shelbyville. On March 25, 1848, Catharine and husband Jonah went to the old school where Major Manor stands today.
Along with William Midkiff, Ruth Midkiff, Mary Midkiff, Thankful Bassett, Lydia Rodifer, Eliza Brown, Samuel Midkiff, Agnes Midkiff, Reuben DeBoard, Eliza DeBoard and Mary Leach, they organized the First Baptist Church. Catharine Bassett would be the last living member of this little group.
On January 6, 1916, Catharine Bassett passed into the next world. It makes the head spin to consider the changes in Shelbyville and Shelby County this distinguished lady witnessed. The Mexican War, Civil War and Spanish American War were memories in the mind of Mrs. Bassett. She would have read reports of the assassination of Lincoln and the building of the Panama Canal. Coming to Shelby County in a two-wheeled cart, she saw the beginnings of travel by automobile and airplane. Shelbyville, once “just a field of stumps with a few cabins,” was an industrial city of thousands. Railroads, electricity, the telephone and phonograph are only a short list of items that improved the quality of Catharine's life.
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NOTEBOOK:
Shelby County Commissioners yesterday approved up to $22,000 for Christopher B. Burke Engineering to develop the county’s required MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) plan. With new state regulations triggered by growth in Moral Township, the county must now submit a detailed stormwater management plan - including drainage studies, ordinance drafts, and water quality analysis - by the end of the summer. “Obviously, our biggest upfront cost is getting it set up, getting everything in order, and then from there, it’s going to be rather inexpensive to maintain it,” county surveyor Jeff Powell said. Commissioners Nathan Runnebohm and David Lawson approved. Commissioner Jason Abel was unable to attend the meeting.
Commissioners also approved the Sheriff’s Department to approach the County Council regarding plans to update camera systems, which includes equipping the department with 50 body cameras and approximately 40 in-car cameras under a five-year, $565,000 contract. The proposal, which covers both road deputies and jail staff, would update old equipment that can no longer be serviced.
Commissioners also approved the following allocations: $100,000 for Shelby County Development Corporation, $50,000 for Mainstreet Shelbyville and $300,000 for the Early Learning Center. “We have held out on some of these requests, mainly because we wanted to see what was happening with Senate Bill 1,” Runnebohm said. “Also, there are a couple of new commissioners, and we just wanted to do our due diligence and some research.”
HOOSIER NEWS: Hoosiers can now get a fresh cup of Dutch Bros Coffee as their very first Indiana location is officially open for business in Noblesville. The Dutch Bros Indiana store is located in Noblesville at 14560 Mundy Drive. Another location will be opening in Indiana soon, according to Dutch Bros website. It will be located in Lafayette. (IndyStar)
NATIONAL NEWS: Lithium-ion batteries have become the standard for most applications like scooters and storage, but there’s some appeal to be found in sodium-ion batteries. Sodium-ion batteries have found uses in electric micromobility scooters and for some grid solutions. That being said, these batteries are significantly worse at storing energy compared to lithium-ion batteries. The upside, however, is that the world has plenty of sodium. Lithium supplies, on the other hand, have been hard to come by at times, and prices have been volatile. It swung from $10,000 per metric ton in January 2021 to $76,000 per metric ton in January 2023, and then recently back down to around $9,000 per metric ton. (MIT Technology Review/Numlock)
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights
Nov. 20, 1964, Part II
“Notice to those in a certain third hour class: If there was a strange, crunching noise heard, it could’ve been that of Sue Graham and Tina Pope eating apples.”
On a test in Home Nursing, Miss Bodem had asked, “What are some of the public recreational facilities in Shelbyville?” One girl answered, “nursing homes, Red Cross and UNICEF.”
Radio Club had increased its membership to 24. Those who already had radio numbers were: Bill Newton, WN9KHF; Larry Kennedy, WN9MIH; Bill Haehl, WN9BZ; John Fleming, WA9LS; and James Hoff (number not published).
A review of fire egress was underway in the gym. The fire marshal had to ensure there were 22 inches of exit space per 100 seats, school officials said. Several schools had to remove numerous seats.
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This Day in Shelby County History
News around Shelbyville and the surrounding area as reported on or about this date in history. Selections are curated by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: Runnebohm Construction began work on the new Gas America gas station, located on State Road 9 just north of I-74.
PK USA received a national Freedom to Compete Award from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington D.C. Bill Kent, vice president of human resources and administrative affairs, had overseen efforts to actively recruit members of the Latino community as employees when the company could not find enough workers for the Shelbyville plant.
1995: Jill Ingle and Tim Kamleiter had been the 1995 Shelbyville High School prom queen and king, The Shelbyville News reported.
Construction workers laid asphalt for a new basketball court at Kennedy Park.
1985: Laurel Peterson of Shelbyville won the women’s triathlon at Fairland Recreation Park. A Cincinnati man won the men’s division. Terry Kuhn, Steve Nuthak and Suzanne Pounds won first-place in the team division. The second-place team consisted of Bruce Bottorff, Dave Conner and Ed Willard.
1975: Winners in the Shelby County Heart Association’s bike-a-thon, who were awarded new bicycles or trophies, were Teresa Bowers, 5; Sandra Kirschbaum; Janet Ragsdall, Dick Gehr; Thelma Aldridge; Frank Kehoe; Scott Decker; and David Phares II, 5.
1965: State school officials approved construction plans for an addition to Shelbyville High School that would include an auditorium, swimming pool, cafeteria, shop and 13 classrooms.
1955: Workers finished blacktopping the Addison Township School playground area. The area had previously been dirt.
A second meeting was held at the courthouse to discuss establishing a school for those with development disabilities. A committee was formed to do more research. Committee members were Francis Wright, Dr. Roger Whitcomb, Rev. Melvin Phillips, Dohn Sipe and Mrs. Carl Strait.
1945: Local Scout leaders announced a contest for the naming of the Flat Rock Cave camping grounds. The winner would receive a $100 war bond. Contestants were to send in their suggestion accompanied by a 50-word essay explaining their choice.
1935: A 44-year-old man sleeping overnight near a truck on Boggstown was injured when the truck owner started the vehicle and, unaware of the man’s presence, ran over the man. The man was treated at Major Hospital.
1925: Ten local women put on a style show in the display windows of the Goodman Department Store for the second consecutive year. The show attracted a crowd large enough to block the sidewalks surrounding the building.
State police advised that motor owners must use both lights on their machines rather than just one.
1915: Shelby County lawyers were joined by all members of the Indiana Supreme Court and a majority of the Appellate court judges for their annual picnic at Flatrock Cave. “There will be no chaperones for the party other than K.M. Hord,” The Republican said. A chicken dinner would be served at noon. “The number of chickens that will be prepared for the 90 lawyers that will be present at the annual function would be sufficient to feed a detachment of the German army after a raid on the English entrenchments,” the paper said.
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OBITUARIES
Reatha Jayne (Rayl) Shaw, 83, of Ingalls, formerly of Morristown, passed away on June 15, 2025, at Community Hospital in Anderson. She was born January 6, 1942, in Shelbyville, the daughter of Dorothy Alyce (Willson) Rayl. Reatha is survived by sons, Brian S. Shaw and wife, Tania, of Houston, Texas, and Neil P. Shaw and wife, Marca, of Carthage; son-in-law, Dale Anderson of Ingalls; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Betsey L. Anderson; brothers, Albert K. “Butch” Rayl and Ron W. Rayl; sister, Helen “Dede” Hauk; step-father, Ralph “Pete” Rigdon; and step-sister, Ann Connor.
In 1960, Reatha graduated from Morristown High School. She attended Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Missouri from 1960 to 1962. Reatha was a member of the Markleville Christian Church. She formerly worked for the Federal Government for 15 years in security, and for the Indiana Department of Corrections at the juvenile center from 2000 until retiring in 2008.
Reatha was a member of the Eden Order of Eastern Star, where she had served as the worthy matron. She enjoyed painting and crafting.
Visitation will be from 10 am to noon, Thursday, June 19, 2025, at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, 124 E. North St. in Morristown. Funeral services will follow at noon. Interment will be at Asbury Cemetery in Morristown. Memorial contributions may be made to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Attn: Donor Services, PO Box 650309, Dallas, Texas 75265-0309 or American Diabetes Association, 8604 Allisonville Road, Suite 140, Indianapolis, IN 46250. Online condolences may be shared with Reatha’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.