This month Grave Spotlight of the Month takes a look at Harry A. Axtell, also known as the Turkey King of Monroe County. Why you ask? Well, let's find out together.
Harry Allen Axtel was born on February 19, 1871, possibly in Bloomington, as he is listed as being a Bloomingtonian, though it is not certain. He was the youngest son of Doctor Andrew Jackson Axtell (1827-1900) and Susan McKee Gilkerson Axtell (1830-1923). Both are listed on the same headstone at Rose Hill Cemetery, in the Spencer Addition near the rock wall that borders on Third Street. He had four older siblings: Charles Jasper Axtell (1851-1917), buried with his parents and Harry in Rose Hill Cemetery; William Francis Axtell (1855-1935), buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Washington, Indiana; Martha "Mattie" Eugenia Axtell Hert (1861-1932), buried in Bound Brook Cemetery, Bound Brook, New Jersey; Mary Belle Axtell Willis (1865-1953), buried in Rose Hill Cemetery; and Henry Oscar Axtell (1865-1908), buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Clay Center, Kansas.
Harry was a graduate of Indiana University, having studied law. He became a lawyer, though he didn't seem to stick with it because he is also stated as having been in the insurance and real estate business.
In 1898 he was married to Jane Wylie (1872-1958), daughter of Redick McKee Wylie (1831-1904) and Madeline A. Thompson Wylie (1837-1923); granddaughter of Andrew Wylie, first president of Indiana University (formerly known as Indiana College). She is buried in Rose Hill with her husband and his parents.
Not long after they were married, Harry began working with the Mutual Savings and Loan Company, located on the east side of the 100 block of College Avenue. I am not sure how long he stated with this company.
He and his wife owned a large farm, one of 18 1/2 acres located on what is now Tenth Street to Smithwood Hall on Indiana University Campus. Living with them were three children that they adopted, all of whom were orphans from another family. It doesn't appear that they had any natural children. They stayed here for a few years before selling the home and part of the land to Phi Delta Theta fraternity in 1913 for $16,000. With this money, they built a new home a few hundred yards away. This house was also sold some years later to developers who wanted the land to build Fraternity and Sorority houses. This time, they moved onto a farm in Ellettsville, leaving Bloomington behind.
This move to Ellettsville was what started Axtell on his path to becoming the Turkey King. He had a crazy idea: raise and sell turkeys. On a large scale. Most of the wild turkeys had been wiped out in the 1800s by hunters and domesticated turkeys were few and far between making it hard for people to enjoy a lovely turkey dinner. If someone wanted one, an order had to be placed with a local grocer and that could take a long time to get.
Few farmers wanted to deal with them though as it was noted that these "feathered critters were gluttonous eaters, ill-tempered, and often downright mean, and tried to run away at every opportunity". Because of their ill-temper, many farmers reported the turmoil that these birds caused in the barnyard by harassing chicken and ducks, battling with cats and dogs and causing the cows and horses to become very nervous.
Axtell determined that the reason for these problems was the twofold: (1) the farmers only had 2-6 birds, where more would cause less trouble, (2) turkeys do not integrate well with chickens and ducks and should be kept on their own. With this in mind, he figured out what he needed to do to be successful: Large scale turkey farming. This became the Axtell Turkey Farm in which he came to special in prize winning birds, having won first prizes in many large poultry shows all around the country.
So as you having your Thanksgiving dinner, remember Monroe County's Turkey King, Harry Allen Axtell.
REFERENCES
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Monroe County History Center - The Monroe County "Turkey King"
Seeking My Roots - Axtell Family History
