PIONEER PICKINGS The Salem DEMOCRAT Washington County, Indiana Apr.7 1880 Salem, Indiana               Surnames in this are: Trueblood, Overman, Morris Henley, Morrison, Cook, Woody, Moody, Clayton,Loudon, Sturgeon, Johnson, Thompson,            Sketch Of James and Elizabeth Trueblood                    JamesTrueblood had one brother and two sisters. His brother was named Nathan and hedied in his 19th year. His sister Mary married a man named Overman, and died atthe age of ninety.  Rebecca, the othersister married a man named Morris, and. is now    living, aged ninety-three years. Hon. Thomas J Henley formerlya member of Congress from this district was a cousin of the mother of Mrs.Trueblood.                    While James was a non-voting man on account of slavery, men of both parties tried to obtain his vote on their side. One. Sunday John I. Morrison and Catherine his wife went to visit the family.  Mr. Morrisontold her husband that he must not talk politics. Morrison was at the time a candidate for some office, yet he could not induce Trueblood to vote at all at that election for anyone.Trueblood says that Asher Cook trod the mud to make the brick to build thefirst Court House in Salem.  Our readers may not know that in early days the mortar for brick was tramped by men and oxen. Cook was a North Carolinian, and has been dead many years. That CourtHouse was built up on pillars with an opening underneath for hitching horses.                                                      _________              Robert Loudon was one of the first teachers in the friends School, then came Levi, and Lewis Woody (printed Moody here) Alexander and Simeon Clayton, John and JamesTrueblood and others.                                        Catherine, a daughter, married Hatcheson Sturgeon, a son of DavidSturgeon, of whom we gave a pretty good history some time ago.  Mary E married Davis Johnson, near TerreHaute, Indiana, a prominent citizen there. John H. is the oldest of the children and aged 64, and now resides inCanton.  Milton resides in the township.Martha married Francis Overman, and he is long since dead and Martha nowresides in Kansas. Hicks resides in this township. Warner M died some years ago at Hitchcock’s Station, in this county. Rebecca married Hiram Thompson and resides in this county. Susannah, the youngest daughter, resides at home taking care of her aged parents.                              Elizabeth’s father was a merchant of Elizabeth City, North Carolina andsent out vessels to trade with the West India Islands.  Joshua wrote some letters to his future wifewhen he was on one of these far off Islands.