WILLIAM NEWTON SHELHORN

BORN:

JANUARY 20, 1821

Rockville, Indiana

DIED:

September 20, 1828

Adams Township, Decatur County, Indiana

BURIED:

Old Cemetery Section

Little Flatrock Cemetery

WILLIAM N.

SON OF

JOHN & LYDIA

SHELHORN

BORN

JAN 20, 1821

DIED

SEPT 20, 1828

William Newton Shelhorn was born January 20, 1821, in Rockville, Indiana. He died September 20, 1828, at the age of 7 years and 8 months. The events surrounding his death have been lost to posterity. He is buried beside his parents in the Old Cemetery section of Little Flatrock Cemetery, and his stone matches those of his parents.

William’s birthplace is historically significant. County records state that his father, John Shelhorn, received the first land patent in Decatur County in October 1820 and he laid out the town of Rockville, believing it would become the county seat. Because William was born the following year, the family record of his birth in Rockville likely reflects the name already being used by the family and nearby settlers for that early settlement. Although the town did not develop after Greensburg was chosen as the county seat in 1822, the family record helps confirm that Rockville was a recognized place in the earliest years before the formation of Decatur County.