Joseph A. Britton
Joseph J. Daniels
Joseph Albert Britton
Joseph Albert Britton was born in 1838, three miles east of Rockville, Indiana, where he spent his entire life except for a short time in Kansas.
Britton learned the carpenter’s trade at an early age from his father who was a widely known, skilled carpenter in Rockville. By Britton’s admission, his formal education was no more than six months of schooling over a three year period. Despite this lack of formal education, he became well read, being well versed in classical literature, history and philosophy.
He was married prior to the Civil War and followed the carpenter’s trade until the start of the War. At the beginning of the Civil War, he enlisted in the army and with little training, his company was sent to Kentucky, where in the first skirmish he was captured and later released as a prisoner of war under parole.
After the War, he read law and was admitted to the Rockville bar as a lawyer in 1870. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Kansas for a brief period, but returned to Rockville and resumed the carpenter’s trade, where he remained for the rest of his life.
In 1868, he was awarded the contract for the Narrrows Bridge over Sugar Creek. Due to its location at the east end of Turkey Run State Park, it is probably the most photographed bridge in the State. It was during the building of the Narrows Bridge that he lost his first wife. Of this union, a son, Eugene, was born in 1866. Then followed the birth of Charlton in 1868, Maude in 1887, Scott in 1877, Frank in 1879, and Elizabeth in 1883. These six children constitute what was known as the “first family.” Four years after the loss of his wife, he met and married Bertha Hirsh-Brunner, a gentle lady of Swiss descent.
The “second family” consisted of Lawrence, born in 1887, Edgar, born in 1891, Ralph, born in 1894, and Joseph Walter, born in 1896. Education was a must, especially in the “second family” resulting in college training and master and doctor degrees. The young men in these two families helped their father with bridge building during school vacation time. Thus, with seven sons the Britton bridge-building enterprise became very much a family affair.
Wayne M. Weber, Covered Bridges in Indiana (Midland, Michigan: Northwood Institute)
Joseph J. Daniels
Joseph J. Daniels was probably the greatest single bridge builder in Indiana. Throughout his career, he built 60 covered bridges in Indiana, some of which were railroad bridges. Of the 27 covered bridges he built in Parke County 11 are still standing today.
He was born in Marietta, OH in 1826. His father and older brother were both carpenters and bridge builders. He learned the trade from then and as we can tell, they taught him very well. J.J. Daniels was self-educated and very well read for the times. He liked to memorize Shakespearean plays.
Daniels learned the carpenter’s trade as a young man and worked with his father and elder brother for a period of time in Cincinnati. He built his first bridge on a section of the Rising Sun-Versailles Turnpike, and at age 25, built a bridge across a fork of the White River for the Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad. In 1885, at 29 years of age, he was made General Superintendent of the Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad where he remained until 1861, leaving Evansville for Rockville, where he spent the remainder of his life. Little known about his married life, but had a daughter who died in infancy, one son and a grandson who became a well-known Indianapolis attorney.
In 1861, he was awarded the contract for the Jackson Bridge over Sugar Creek. This 207 foot single span bridge with double trusses on each side was without a doubt the crowning achievement of his career. It is the only Daniel’s bridge to have a cornerstone. He must have been very proud of this bridge! Daniels also built many railroad bridges, bridges in Ohio and many Indiana counties, several more than 100 miles from Rockville.
All of his Parke County bridges used the Burr Truss; however, he used the Howe truss on occasion in other counties when specified. Many of Daniels bridges were of multiple span and of great length, as the four span 458 foot bridge at Medora in Jackson County.
Daniels was very progressive, using iron tie rods with cast iron seats for bracing in the top chord, resulting in a minimum of carpenter work in fitting the timbers of the top chord bracing. He also developed a splice for the bottom chord members, requiring great skill to make, which he called the “double headed hook.”
In the majority of his bridges, the entrance portals were plain, having a long radius curve at the head of the opening. There were a few exceptions, one being the Jackson Bridge.
Mr. Daniels maintained a work yard in Rockville where he precut much of the timber for his bridges. At the age of 78, he built his last covered bridge, the Neet Bridge in 1904. He lived to be 90 years old and passed away in 1916. He is buried in Rockville, Indiana.
Wayne M. Weber, Covered Bridges in Indiana (Midland, Michigan: Northwood Institute)