Witmer, Captain Jacob Rooker

WITMER, PARKER, EBBY, KAUFMAN, KENDIG, PINK, SAPP, SUMPTER, KAPEL

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 10/24/2009 at 11:12:48

Witmer, Captain Jacob Rooker

Jacob R. Witmer was born near Safe Harbor, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the son of J. S. and Mary (Parker) Witmer. This family is of Swiss descent, the great-great-grandfather, John Witmer, having been born in that country in 1688. He came to America and located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1728. The Captain's great-grandfather was Michael Witmer and his grandfather was Herman Witmer. Mary Parker, mentioned above, was the daughter of Abram and Elizabeth (Ebby) Parker, both natives of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Captain Witmer was one of a family of ten children, an equal number of sons and daughters, three, besides himself, coming to Jasper County. Captain Witmer was reared in his native state and educated in the public schools. He came to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1866 and here launched in the lumber business, running a sawmill and maintaining a lumberyard, and here he resided until his death. He was married here to Lizzie Kendig, daughter of John and Maria (Kaufman) Kendig, pioneers of Sherman Township, this county, who came from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the father being now deceased. The wife of the subject was called to her rest on February 6, 1900, when fifty years of age. The following children were born of this union: Emma married Peter Pink, of Sherman Township; Minnie is the wife of George Sapp, formerly of Colfax, now of Sunnyside, Washington; Mary is the wife of Hamilton Sumpter, of Acton, Iowa; Lincoln Witmer, who is engaged in the lumber business at Kennewick, Washington, served two years in the marine service of the United States in this country and two years in the Philippine Islands; Cora married Milo Kapel, of Tacoma, Washington; Jacob lives at Denver, Colorado; Cristal, who has remained single, lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

Captain Witmer's war record is a notable one. Scarcely had news of the firing on Fort Sumter been received when he offered his services in defense of the flag, enlisting in April 1861, and serving throughout the conflict and even a year after the surrender, not leaving the service until in April 1866. He served as a private in Company B, Seventy-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and as second lieutenant of Company E, Two Hundred and Fourteenth Volunteer Infantry, of that state and he was mustered out as first lieutenant of his company. He was in the Army of the West and took part in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky; later he was transferred to the Army of the Potomac and served with it in the Shenandoah Valley. He was captain of a company of one hundred soldiers that guarded the prison where Captain Wertz was confined, and in the absence of his captain, the subject acted as provost marshal at Annapolis, Maryland. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 623.