Old Pleasant Hill Methodist Cemetery, Franklin Township, Hendricks County, Indiana

[Forward Reference: "Old Pleasant Hill Methodist Cemetery", MFHN v.XI n.3 July 2003 pg.2003-18;

 research report (online) at www.McAninch.Net/genphcem, note added June 2003 Frank McAninch]

Samuel McAninch, born 5 Feb. 1789, was the second of five (known) sons of Daniel McAninch, one

of the early pioneers in Lincoln County, Kentucky (now Casey Co., set off in 1807). Daniel McAninch

first appears on the Tax Books of Lincoln County, 1799 (one white male over 21, another over 16) [1],

and in both the 1800 Census [2] and 1810 Census [3]. In 1810, the family includes two males 16-to-26,

who are believed to be Samuel, age 21, b.1789, and younger brother George A., age 16 (b. circa 1794).

During 1831-1832, Samuel McAninch left Casey County, Kentucky, moving first to Putnam County,

Indiana, and then settling in adjacent Hendricks County [4,5], with his (2nd) wife Polly (Skidmore), and

eleven children (Sally, Hannah, Elisha, Elizabeth, Daniel H., Joseph P., John W[esley]., Enoch George,

Permelia Catherine, Samuel James, and Polly Susannah (born 2 Dec. 1830, Ky.)); their last 2 children

(Arminta, born 26 Feb. 1833, and William S. McA., born 5 Mar. 1835) were both born in Indiana.

In 1834, Samuel McAninch patented 120 acres of land in Hendricks County, filed at the Crawfordsville

Land Office [6]. In 1839, he bought an adjoining 80 acres from Silas Bryant [7], and, on the 1841 Tax

List, he owns 200 acres in Hendricks County, all located in Section 9, Township 14, Range 2 West [8].

On the 1844 Tax List, Samuel McAninch owns a total of 220 acres, in Franklin Township, Hendricks 

County, and his second son, Daniel McAninch, age 25, has 100 acres, also in Franklin Township [9].

In 1849, four days after his 60th birthday, Samuel McAninch donated ½-acre of land for the Pleasant

Hill Methodist Episcopal Church [10]. The land was donated to “Trustees M.E. Church”; and five

Trustees are named in the deed: John Hancock, Tristram Pike, Elias Grimes, Daniel McAninch, and

Benjamin Tincher. The deed states that the Trustees “shall erect ... a house of worship for the use of

the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church”. Three of the five Trustees are “family” to Samuel:

his son, Daniel H. McAninch; Tristram Pike, father of Daniel’s wife, Phebe Pike; and John Hancock, 

believed to be the father (or brother) of George Hancock, who married Samuel’s first daughter, Sally.

Samuel McAninch lived another 10 years, five months past his 70th birthday, and died on 30 July 1859.

There was no Will recorded, and the inheritance was contested by 2 groups of children, spouses, and

grand-children. The Court appointed three commissioners: Elias Grimes (M.E. Church Trustee, 1849),

Washington West, and Job Headley. Samuel’s wife, Polly, had already died; since Samuel had thirteen

children, his land was divided by Court Order, in February, 1861, “... to each of the parties one equal

13th part of said lands”. The M.E. Church’s ½-acre was explicitly recognized in the Court Order; one

of Samuel’s sons, Joseph P. McAninch, age 40 (born 2 Apr. 1821, Casey Co., Kentucky), inherited

“Lot 12”, seventeen acres, “except one-half acre deeded to the Methodist Church at Pleasant Hill” [11].

Joseph P. McAninch had married Elizabeth J. Quiett, 21 May 1845, in Paris, Edgar County, Illinois,

and they lived in Hendricks County. Samuel’s youngest son, William S. McA., age 23, married Mary

Johnson, 1 Feb. 1859, in Hendricks County, and they were members of the (new) Methodist Episcopal

Church in Coatesville, Indiana. In February, 1861, William S. received “Lot 5” in the land partition,

fourteen acres, and then, in July, 1861, Joseph and Elizabeth J. McAninch sold “Lot 12” to William, for

$200, with reserve clause “except one-half acre deeded to the Methodist Church at Pleasant Hill” [12].

After the Civil War, Joseph (148th Indiana Infantry) and William S. (18th Indiana Light Artillery) both

moved their families to Iowa. At this time, it is not known when the Pleasant Hill M.E. Church ceased

operations, and, by 1904, the land around the Church was no longer owned by any McAninch [13].

Known in the 20th century as “Old Pleasant Hill Methodist Church”, the Church and Cemetery have

been lost, and the only known record is the following document, from the Danville Public Library [14].

Old Pleasant Hill Methodist Church and Cemetery, Franklin Twp., Hendricks County, Indiana (1 of 3)

McAninch Family History NL, V-4  November, 1997  Copyright Frank McAninch   page 1997-31

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