"FANCY TOM"
Born:
Died: 1850
Buried
Was one of the citizens we
gained when the capital was removed to this
place. Tom had been connected with the seat
of government at Corydon from the birth of
the State, and considered himself one of its
institutions, and his presence indispensable
at its capital.
Thomas Bennett,
which was his proper name before he came to
Indianapolis was a professor of the "tonsorial
art," practically he was a better cook. The way
in which he got the prefix to his name was
this: He was living with Governor Ray and the
Governor sent him to his neighbor, Mr. Wilkins,
to borrow a basket of corn; Tom asked for fancy
corn, as he wanted it to feed the Governor's
horse. From that day he was known as "Fancy
Tom." His complexion was a dark mahogany, or
horse chestnut; he wore his wool plaited quite
around his head, the plaits about two inches in
length, and resembled very much to "pigtail"
tobacco so much used at that time. He had a
very effeminate voice, and were you to hear
without seeing him, you would take it to be a
female's.
Tom had a barber
shop on Washington street, north side, between
Pennsylvania street and the alley west. One morning
one of his old legislative customers that
represented one of the Ohio river counties, named
"Tadlock, called in to be shaved; after Tom had
complimented his customer, as was his wont to do on
all occasions, he invited him to be seated in his
tonsorial chair--this man had one leg off above the
knee, which was supplied by a block of wood fastened
with a leather strip, which, for the convenience of
Tom and the comfort of himself, he took off while
the professor was operating upon his phiz.
Tom was very much afraid
of Indians and his customer had no very high opinion of
them himself. Tom had shaved one side of his face and
had come round to the other side, so that his back was
to the front door, and while he was flourishing his
brush over the man's face in fine tonsorial style, very
much engaged in conversation, dilating upon the future
of the new capital, four or five Indians, unobserved
either by him or his customer, come to the door, (an
Indian hardly ever passes an open door without looking
in). A large and finely painted Indian put his hands on
each side of the door, the others were peeping under his
arms; Tom was between them and his customer, and in
order to see what he was doing the big one gave one of
their peculiar ughs. Tom turned around, and as soon as
he saw the Indians dropped his professional tools and
cried out, "oh, blessed ingins," he made a spring for
and through the back window, crying as he went "oh,
blessed ingins." The Indians not understanding his
movements followed to the window to see what he
intended. Mr. Tadlock began to think he was in no very
enviable situation, alone in the room with the Indians;
he made a spring in the direction of his wooden leg, as
he could not get out of the way without it; in this jump
he fell to the floor, which caused his nose to bleed
profusely, but he got hold of his leg and hobbled into
the street, crying "ingins" and "murder" at every step.
The blood on his face and the presence of the Indians
alarmed those that were attracted to the place. The
noise and cry of murder had attracted all the whites in
the neighborhood and several more Indians, that happened
to be in town, to the place, all of whom were alarmed
until the frightened legislator became composed enough
to explain. In the meantime Tom had jumped over the
fence and ran down the alley west until he came to Mr.
Ungles' yard near Mr. Hawkins; tavern; he ran into Mr.
Ungles' house, crying murder and "ingins" at every
step. Mrs. Ungles had a pan of breakfast dishes in her
hands at the time Tom entered, and his abrupt enterance
[sic] so frightened her that she dropped the pan and
broke all her dishes. After things became more quiet a
search was made for Tom, but he was no where to be
found. Mr. Hawkins had an attic room that he did not
often use; that night it was necessary to put some
strangers up there to sleep; when they went into the
room Tom stuck his head out from under the bed, and
inquired if the "ingins had killed many people."
Tom lived to see many
Indians after that, and died in 1850. He was found sitting
in the kitchen of the Capital House with a boot in one hand
and shoe-brush in the other.
Nowland, John
H. B., "Early Reminiscences of
Indianapolis, with Short
Biographical Sketches of Its Early
Citizens, and of a Few of the
Prominent Business Men of the
Present Day," 1870, pp. 169-171.
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