Bartholomew County IN Archives Biographies.....Snider, John And Herman 1835 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 24, 2007, 5:10 pm Author: B. F. Bowen (1904) JOHN AND HERMAN SNIDER. Among the native sons of Haw Creek township who are numbered among the leading and influential citizens are the gentlemen whose names introduce this record. They are sons of Cornelius and Mary (Reed) Snider, and the natal day of John Snider was February 28, 1843, while Herman Snider was born on the 8th of December, 1849. The family comes of Holland ancestry and was founded in America by the great-grandfather of the subjects, who was a native of Holland, whence he crossed the Atlantic to the new world in colonial days. He first settled in Pennsylvania, and afterward removed to South Carolina, while later he established his home in Stokes county, North Carolina. When the colonists, unable longer to bear with patience the yoke of British oppression, resolved to throw off all allegiance to the English crown, Mr. Snider joined the American army and fought for the independence of the nation. He lived for some time thereafter to enjoy the liberty for which he faced danger and death. He became a prominent and influential citizen of his community and was the first representative in congress from his district in South Carolina, where he was living at the time of the organization of the new republic. John Snider, the grandfather, was born in North Carolina, where he remained until after his marriage and the birth of several of his children. He then removed with his family to Bartholomew county, Indiana, casting in his lot among its pioneer .settlers as early as 1833. He established his home in Flat Rock township, where he entered land from the government. Beginning the arduous task of developing a farm, he continued its cultivation until his death, about 1852, and he also followed the trades of a millwright and cabinet-maker. He was the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, a part of which he cleared, developing it into a productive tract. He was a member of the Moravian •church and an earnest Christian gentleman whose worth was widely acknowledged by his friends and neighbors. As a worthy pioneer his memory deserves to be perpetuated among those who laid broad and deep the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of the county. Cornelius Snider, the father of John and Herman Snider, was born in North Carolina and was the first of the family to seek a home in Indiana. In 1832 he made the journey to this state by wagon and afterward walked back to North Carolina in order to induce his father to leave the slave state and become a resident of the Hoosier state. He was a wagonmaker by trade and established a shop in Haw Creek township, Bartholomew county. He followed that pursuit and was also employed in a sawmill through a period of ten years and thus earned the money which enabled him to become the possessor of a tract of land. To his property he added from time to time until he owned a valuable tract of four hundred acres. In this county Cornelius Snider was united in marriage to Miss Mary Reed, daughter of Lewis Reed, whose people had come to the county in 1830, when she was a maiden of about twelve summers. In 1859 Mr. Snider erected the old family home in St. Louis, a brick house which is still standing. He and his wife traveled life's journey happily together for many years, and the former died October 29, 1888, while the latter passed away in December, 1895. He was a stanch Republican and was a man interested in everything pertaining to the material progress and substantial upbuilding of the locality. He was a generous contributor to the church and to charitable work and the poor and needy found in him a warm friend. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Snider were born ten children, of whom four are now deceased. Harrison, the eldest, is now living a retired life in Indianapolis; John: Maria has passed away; Medora is the wife of Thomas Armstrong, of Haw-Creek township; Herman is the fifth in order of birth; Crawford has also departed this life; Albert lives in St. Louis, Indiana; Ella is deceased; and Sherman lives in Flat Rock township. The children were reared upon the home farm, carefully trained by their parents to habits of industry, economy and honesty, and in the public schools acquired their educations. Like the other members of the household, John and Herman Snider spent their boyhood and youth. In the year 1872 John Snider went to Greensburg, Indiana, where he was engaged in the sawmill-business for twenty years, and as a manufacturer of lumber he conducted a profitable enterprise. Two years ago, however, he returned to old St. Louis, and is now at home there with his brother Herman. Herman Snider remained at home and has spent his entire life at the old place in Haw Creek township. He has prospered in his undertakings, has carefully superintended his business interests and his keen business sagacity and unfaltering diligence have gained for him desirable success. He is now the owner of one hundred and forty acres of land, valued at ten thousand five hundred dollars. He was for many years actively engaged in dealing and trading in stock, and his investments were so judiciously made that his sales brought to him excellent profits. He is now practically living retired, but still owns and lives in the old home. In politics both brothers are Republicans, stanch in their advocacy of the party and its platform, and Herman Snider once served as a member of the township advisory board, retiring from the office on the 1st of January, 1903. In 1899 he made a trip back to the old ancestral home in North Carolina and remained in that state for some time. The family has long been a prominent and honored one in Bartholomew county, their connection with this part of the state dating from early pioneer times and the representatives of the name have ever been active and useful citizens. Additional Comments: Extracted from BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY INDIANA INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GOVERNORS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF INDIANA ILLUSTRATED 1904 B. F. Bowen PUBLISHER File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/bartholomew/bios/snider777gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/ File size: 6.6 Kb