As the Saturday Review of Greensburg, Indiana, headlined on October 7, 1893, there was “Serious Trouble at Millhousen Saturday Afternoon: Fount Robbins Shot by Ferdinand Miller and Can Not Recover, the Doctors Say.” Other local newspapers had similar headlines.
Another newspaper headline.
In the 1882 Atlas of Decatur County a brief description of Millhousen is presented:
“The principal town [of Marion Township] is Millhousen, an exclusively Catholic town, situate on Squaw Run, in the southeastern part of the township, with a population of perhaps four hundred. It contains hotels, large tannery, planning-mill and sash and door factory, several stores and saloons. It also has a Catholic Church, with a membership of 2,000 – the largest church in Decatur County, which has been for a long time under the care of Rev. Father Pepersack. Millhousen is the most picturesque town in the county, and does a good business, being the center of a large German population, which extends into the adjoining counties.”
This story involves a man named Fountain Ballard Robbins, not common personal names in the Robbins family of Decatur County. Fount, as he was known, was the youngest son of Marmaduke and Elizabeth (Parsley) Robbins. Perhaps Fount began to go off the rails when his father died when he was only four-years-old, the ninth child of a now widowed mother. Perhaps he didn’t enjoy farming, of which some of his siblings made a successful living, or maybe he just wasn’t interested in one of the other occupations available to young men in a rural county in the mid-1800s. Fount was a problem child. As described by one newspaper at the time of his death: “He has been in a number of unsavory affrays, was generally considered of a pugnacious disposition.” But in his final “affray”, Fount Robbins seems to have been an innocent victim.
The Greensburg newspapers and the county coroner’s inquest records provide the story of Founts death, though they don’t agree in all details. The event took place on Saturday, September 30th, Fount Robbins died a week later on Friday, October 6th, and the inquest took place the next day, the 7th.
Ferdinand Miller, formerly of Millhousen, now of North Vernon just to the south in Jennings county, and George Speckbaugh (variously spelled) had been visiting in Millhousen, and by one report “drinking during the day and by evening had become pretty well loaded with bad liquor.” There were a couple of saloons in Millhousen at the time, and they decided to go visit John Witkemper’s drinking establishment. (The location of saloons are indicated on the map – probably on the same block as today’s Stones Family Restaurant.)
Map of Millhousen (1882)
According to a witness at the coroner’s inquest, Miller asked Witkemper why he’d thrown him out of the saloon. Witkemper said he hadn’t. Then Fount Robbins spoke up and said to Miller “…if you have anything against me step up and I will knock seven kinds of Hell out of you.” Miller responded with “you will, will you?” and shot at the same time, saying “damn you, take that.”
A newspaper article the following week, after the coroner’s report, gave a clearer story:
“…the facts seem to be that Ferdinand Miller and Fount Robbins, an attache of the place, were in the saloon with Witkemper when Miller asked Robbins to go with him to Spander’s saloon. Witkemper told Robbins to attend to the stock first. Miller objected to Witkemper’s remarks and said he was “no gentleman,” but walked out alone without making any further disturbance at that time. Directly however he returned and again told Witkemper he was “no gentleman.” Witkemper began trying to explain matters when Robbins spoke up: “Well I’ll tell you how it was —-“ when he was cut short by a shot from Miller’s revolver, a 32 caliber self-acting Colt. The ball struck him just below the waist, penetrating the bowels, and inflicting a wound…”
Coroner’s Inquest
The local constable, John Pfifer, unclear as to whether the dispute was between Miller and Robbins or Miller and Witkemper and Robbins just happened to be in the way, reported that he had just entered the saloon when Miller fired. “I then caught him by [the] coat collar and Witkemper took the pistol out of his hand. I placed him under arrest…” Meanwhile, Fount Robbins was carried upstairs into Witkemper’s home. The newspaper tried to be optimistic but also reported that Fount’s physicians said his chances were slim. The physicians were right, Fount died four days later.
Fount Robbins was a widower at the time of the shooting, though his wife Lovisa’s death date is not known. Both are buried in the Mount Aerie cemetery. They had two children, both of whom lived elsewhere with their families, possibly to avoid their cantankerous father. Daniel Robbins lived as far away as he could, in the Sacramento, California, area and may have never returned to Indiana. Daughter Emma Robbins was living in Hope, Indiana, at the time of her father’s death, though later returned to Decatur County. She was married to Everett Logan and they had a son Edgar Scott Logan, nicknamed “Peck” Logan, according to late Decatur County historian Dale Myers. There may be descendants of Fount and Lovisa in existence but Fount’s family was so much smaller than his siblings, the few that might exist have not been located to date.
(Jacob Robbins-William Robbins-Marmaduke Robbins-Fountain Ballard Robbins)
Robbins Roots 