When Amos Newton Fulkerson was 7, his grandfather, Richard, died. Amos's parents, William and Eliza Jane Fulkerson, decided it was time to leave Greene County, Ohio, and join others who had moved west into the new but rugged Blackford County, Indiana. William and Eliza Jane bought property close to the town of Dunkirk, near the farm of John Stewart, a Virginian who was among the earliest settlers of Indiana.
Young Amos soon met John and Adeline Stewart's little girl, Rebecca, who was a year younger than Amos, having been born in Blackford County in 1841. It is likely that Amos and Rebecca attended the same log cabin school and played together.
When Amos turned 21, he began teaching school in Blackford County. However, the Civil War erupted and Amos, like thousands of volunteers from Indiana, enlisted for nine months, the common term of service at the time. He joined Company M, First Cavalry, 28th Regiment, of the Union Army on October 16,1862. This regiment, which was organized at Evansville, Indiana, on August 20, 1861, served near Ironton, Missouri. The Regiment was involved in scouting and skirmishing in Missouri and Arkansas from February to June of 1862. Amos served in the Regiment until he was honorably discharged on July 22,1863.
Returning home from duty, Amos returned to teaching and to courting Rebecca Stewart. At the age of 23, Amos married 22-year-old Rebecca, on Dec. 13, 1863. They were married in nearby Hartford City by the Elder John Buckles, likely the same john Buckles who operated the first store in Dunkirk, Indiana.
On Sept. 27,1864, however, Amos re-enlisted in the Union Army. Two days later, his first child was born. One will note that it was almost exactly nine months from the date of Amos and Rebecca's wedding. Perhaps their marriage was a matter of necessity. Their daughter, Susan Josephine Fulkerson, was born on Sept. 29, 1864. Why did Amos leave home at such a critical time? This is the first piece of evidence that he wasn’t a deeply devoted husband. Amos joined Company L, 22nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry Volunteers. In May, 1865, after serving two nine-month terns in the Union Army, he was honorably discharged and returned home.
Amos again taught school, becoming "a popular and successful teacher," for a period of seven terms. Amos and Rebecca settled on their own farm which he "converted from a wilderness into one of the best farms in Jackson Township," according to the Biographical and Historical Record of Jay & Blackford Counties, Indiana, published in 1887. The biographical sketch of Amos Newton Fulkerson, written while he was still operating his farm, went on to say that he had a "comfortable residence, a commodious barn 36 x 48 feet in size, and other valuable farm buildings, and his land is well improved and under fine cultivation. In politics he is a Democrat. He has held the office of justice of the peace four years, when his decisions were always wise and just. He is a man of strict integrity, honorable in all his dealings, and a man of genial disposition, and is highly respected throughout the community where he has made his home for so many years."
