Bios: Mikesell Family, Indiana Co, PA SUBJECT: MIKESELL Family SUBMITTER: E.K. Warner EMAIL: wgene@twd.net DATE: Jan 28, 1999 SURNAMES: Altimus, Best, Bowers, Bricker, Coy, Holmes, Kunkle, Mikesell, Ralston, Rugh, Sleppey, Watterson as recorded by Prof. J. T. Stewart in “Indiana County, Pennsylvania ~ Her People, Past and Present” Published by J. H. Beers & Co., 1913 Transcribed by E.K. Warner, Jan. ‘99 JOHN KUHNS MIKESELL, who owns a beautiful 200-acre farm in Blacklick township, Indiana County, belongs to a family which has been settled in these parts for several generations. The Mikesells are of German descent, John Mikesell, the founder of the branch in Indiana County, having been a native of Germany. He spent his early life there, coming to America when a young man, in the early part of the last century, and first settling in Bedford county, Pa. Thence he came to Indiana County, making his home in Center Township, on the Ridge near the line of what is now Burrell township. He became the owner of 300 acres in what was then an unsettled region, erected a small log dwelling and set to work to clear his land for cultivation. The rest of his life was spent at that place, farming, and he made many improvements on the property, building a stone residence and substantial barn, and in various other ways adding to its appearance and value. He married Margaret Altimus, and they became the parents of six children : Adam, who settled in Center township; Elizateeth, who married Peter Bowman; Peter, who settled in West Wheatfield township; Joseph, who died in Michigan; John, who died in Iowa; and Jonas. Mr. and Mrs. Mikesell died on the farm and are buried there. They were members of the Lutheran Church, which he served as elder, and in politics he was an adherent of the Democratic party. Jonas Mikesell, son of John, was born March 7, 1804, on the Ridge farm in Center township, and there received such educetional advantages as the subscription schools afforded. However, he became a well informed man in spite of his lack of early opportunities, and was wel1 read in both German and English. Working at home until he reached manhood, he then removed to Clarion county, locating near Salem, on a farm owned by his father-in-law, Christopher Rugh. It was a tract of 123 acres, and he carried on its cultivation for some time, eventually selling out and returning to Indiana County. Settling at his parents , old home on the Ridge in Center Township he cared for his widowed mother in her declining years and operated that place, which comprised 180 acres of fine land. He lived there the remainder of his life, improving the farm greatly. He died Jan. 16, 1854, and was laid to rest in the family burying lot on the farm. He married in Center township, Catherine Rugh, who was born at Rugh Station, in what is now Burrell township, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth (Best) Rugh, and died at the old homestead. She is buried in the cemetery of the Luther Chapel at Coral. Mr. and Mrs. Mikesell were members of the Lutheran Church, and he was quite active in church work. Politically he was a Democrat. They were the parents of ten children: Julia Ann, who died unmarried in 1909; John Kuhns; Solomon, who died from the effects of wounds received while serving in the Civil war; Abraham, who died in Altoona, Pa.; Christopher, also deceased; Jonas, Jr., deceased; Augustus, who died in boyhood , Isaac, deceased; Jacob, twin of Isaac, who died in infancy; and Philip, who resides in Illinois. John Kuhns Mikesell was born March 4, 1833, near Salem, in Clarion county, Pa., and was but two years old when his parents returned to Indiana county. He attended school in Center township, and acquired his knowledge of farming under his father,s tuition, working with him upon the home place until he died and subsequently cultivating that tract on his own account for a number of years, until the land and coal were sold, in 1890, to the Graceton Coal & Coke Company. He then moved to Blacklick township, buying the Alexander Gordon farm, a tract of 224 acres which he has since occupied. He follows general farming and stock raising. Mr. Mikesell considers no detail of his work too trivial for attention, and his home and surroundings show his taste and thrift. He has erected buildings and made other notable improvements on the property during his ownership, and few farmers have their work on a more systematic and orderly basis. Mr. Mikesell was married in Center township June 2, 187D, to Keraenhappuch (Carry) Coy, a native of Pine township, this county, ,daughter of Lewis and Margaret (Sleppey) Coy, and they have had a family of five children, namely: Augustus Babb, who resides on the homestead, working for his father, and at present acting as a director on the school board of Blacklick township, being secretary of that body; Laura May, who married Edward Berkley and lives in Middletown, Ohio; Ira B., now living at Steubenville, Ohio; Christopher, who died on the farm; and Mary, unmarried, who lives at home. Mr. Mikesell is a member of the Lutheran Church at Coral, which he helped to organize, and he is at present serving as elder and superintendent of the Sunday school, being one of the most efficient workers of that congregation. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but now supports the Republican party. The “Coy family” to which Mrs. Mikesell belongs, is also of old settled Center township stock. John Coy, the founder of the family in Indiana county, came hither from Bedford county, Pa., settling in Brushvalley township in 1820 and later moving to Pine township, where he passed the remainder of his life. He married Sarah Bowers, and they had a large family, viz.: Lewis; Franey; John B., who married Margaret.Empfield; Adam, who married Rachel Lyda; Sarah, who married : George Empfield; Peter, who married Mary d Stevens; Nancy, who married Samuel Stall;: Elizabeth, who married William Fowler; and David, who married a Miss Dick. Lewis Coy, son of John and Sarah (Bowers) Coy, was born in 1812 in Bedford county, Pa., and was a boy when he came with his parents to what was then known as Brushvalley township, Indiana County. Later he moved with the family to Pine township, where he spent the remainder of his life engaged in farming, dying in July, 1896. In 1834 he married Margaret Sleppey, who was born in 1810, daughter of Abraham and Ann Sleppey, and they had a family of nine children, three sons and six daughters, one of the latter being the wife of John Kuhns Mikesell. JOHN P. MIKESELL (deceased) was a most respected resident of Center and White Townships, Indiana county, where he was a prosperous farmer and stock dealer during his active years. For some time before his death he lived retired at Indiana. Born Nov. 19, 1833, on his father’s farm at Graceton, in Center Township, he belonged to a family of German extraction, being a son of Adam Mikesell and grandson of Jonas Mikesell, of Brushvalley township, this county. The latter married a Miss Altimus, of Pike county, Pennsylvania. . Adam Mikesell, father of John P. Mikesell was born in 1794 in Center township. He passed his life in agricultural pursuits in that township, where he purchased the tract of five hundred acres upon which he resided until his death. He died, however, in Washington township, while on a visit, in November, 1877. He was a citizen of worth and high character, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and esteemed by all who knew him. Mr. Mikesell married Margaret Bricker, who died in Center township, and they had children as follows: Israel, Mary, Philip. Enos, Violet (married William Sutton), Jonas, John P., and George. John P. Mikesell was reared on the farm and received his education in the common schools of Center township. There he began life for himself as a farmer, and he remained in his native township until the fall of 1879, when he removed to White township. He was engaged in general farming and stock dealing. shipping stock to Philadelphia. He came into possession of 112 acres of his father's property in Center township. In 1890 Mr. Mikesell retired and moved to the borough of Indiana, where he passed the rest of his days in retirement, his death occurring Dec. 31, 1905. He purchased property upon settling in the borough, and the comfortable home his widow now occupies was erected in 1904. Mr. Mikesell was a Democrat in political connection, but took no active part in such matters. On March 10, 1868, Mr. Mikesell married, at Blairsville, Indiana county, Sarah (Sallie) Ellen Holmes, who was born in Brushvalley Township, this county, and received a good education, attending public school and the academy at Pineflats. To Mr. and Mrs. Mikesell were born two sons: Addison Holmes and Torrence. The latter, born Sept. 10, 1876, is deceased. The former, born Feb. 20,1869, in Center township, was married June 13, 1888, to Monetta Ralston, daughter of Samuel Ralston, of Cherryhill township, this county, and they have two living children, Arthur Talmage and Helen Beatrice; they also had sons John and Walter Gilbert, now deceased. Addison E. Mikesell resides on his own farm in White township. Mrs. Mikesell is thoroughly alive to business activities in the borough of Indiana, in which she takes an intelligent interest. Broadminded and highly respected for her many sterling qualities, she is an honored and influential member of the community. She is a member of the Lutheran Church, to which her husband also belonged. The Holmes family, of which Mrs. Sallie E. (Holmes) Mikesell is a member, came from Ireland, her father, George Holmes, being but three months old when brought to this country. He was a carpenter by trade, doing fine woodwork principally, being employed in the construction of some of the best dwellings erected in his day in Indiana County. He died in Cherryhill township, this county, when his daughter Sallie was quite young. He married Eliza Ann Watterson, who was born in Milford, Kent Co., Del., and Mrs. Mikesell was the youngest of their thirteen children. ROBERT E. MIKESELL, postmaster and general merchant of Coral, Indiana County, was born in Center township, this county, Dec. 24, 1868, son of Philip and Emily (Kunkle) Mikesell. His paternal great-grandfather, a native of Germany, came to this country from the Fatherland during the early part of the last century. Adam Mikesell, grandfather of Robert E., came to Center Township at an early day, buying by patent 700 acres of land at what is now the site of the extensive coal operations of the Graceton Coke Company and the Joseph Wharton Coal Company. The towns of Graceton and Coral are both built on land taken up and improved by Adam Mikesell, whose operations along realty lines were very numerous and successful. He married Mary Bricker, a native of Pennsylvania, and their second son was Philip. Philip Mikesell was born on the homestead of his father, Dec. 22, 1821. He grew to manhood’s estate under the parental roof, and followed agricultural pursuits during his life with a large measure of profit. On May 1, 1860, he married Emily Kunkle, daughter of John Kunkle, of Center township, and both belonged to the Lutheran Church, and attended services at the Lutheran chapel near their home, which they had helped to build. They are buried in Greenwood cemetery, in Indiana county. The following children were born to this most worthy couple : Margaret; Robert E.; Oliver, who married Martha Kunkle, a daughter of Lemuel Kunkle, of Center township; Simpson; Carrie, who married William Shank, of Coral; Christopher; Etta, who married W. C. Burke, of Coral; and a daughter who died in infancy. Robert E. Mikesell, son of Philip Mikesell, after leaving the farm entered mercantile life, and has continued to be a merchant ever since, having been thus engaged for about nine years. Since the town of Coral was organized he has been postmaster, still holding that responsible office. When the Odd Fellows lodge was organized at Bell’s Mills, now Josephine, he became a member; this lodge is now Known as Blacklick No. 1156, and has a large membership. In religious belief he is a Methodist, while politically he is a Socialist and a warm and enthusiastic supporter of the principales of his party, leading many other Socialists in the neighborhood because of the study he gives to the subject which lies so near his heart. ----------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. 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