VanPelt, Ellis

VANPELT

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 18:24:24

ELLIS VANPELT
born Dec 17, 1839, Ohio

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.681

VAN PELT, ELLIS, farmer, West Washington Township, Sec. 1; P. O. Indianola; born in Ohio, in 1839, and came to Henry county, this State, when about fifteen years of age, and made it his home till he came to this county, in October, 1864; he was married there, to Miss Mary L. Wilson, in 1868, a native of Iowa; they have one son and two daughters; Minnie A., Mary E. and William E.; he en-enlisted in the late war, for the State service, in the 25th regiment, in charge of officers' stock, in Colonel Stone's command; owns an improved farm of 159 acres.

Ellis Van Pelt, of Lincoln township Warren county, Iowa, was born in Highland county, near Cincinnati, Ohio, December 17, 1839, one of the ten children (nine of whom are now living) of Jonah and Mary (Van Pelt) Van Pelt. His father, Jonah Van Pelt, was a native of western Virginia, was born in the year 1795, and when ten years old removed with the rest of the family to Belmont county, Ohio, where he remained for several years. Of a mechanical turn, he early in life learned the trades of carpenter, bridge-builder and millwright. He was married in 1821 to Miss Mary Van Pelt, a daughter of John and Mary (Dever) Van Pelt, her people having removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio at an early day. After his marriage he settled down on a farm which he cleared and improved, and in connection with his farming operations spent considerable time in work at his trade. He erected a number of churches and other buildings and built numerous bridges in the pioneer settlements of Ohio, and in that State he spent nearly the whole of his life. When well advanced in years he came to Iowa and settled at Mt Pleasant. That was in 1854, and here he spent the residue of his life, his death occurring in 1863. He was a man of remarkable strength and energy, and continued to work at his trade up to the end of his life. A Whig of the old school, and strong in his convictions, he was a power in his party for many years - one of the rugged influential men of his day. His wife, Mary, was born in the year 1807, and died in 1883. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Van Pelt was named Jacob. He was born in the year 1742, in the Keystone State, the son of early settlers there. Late in life he emigrated to Ohio, where his closing years were spent, and where he died at the age of eighty-seven. Grandmother Van Pelt, whose maiden name was Sarah Ryan, was likewise a native of Pennsylvania. She was of Holland origin, her forefathers having located in America in the early Colonial period. Ellis Van Pelt, with whose name we introduce this sketch, spent the first fourteen years of his life in Ohio,coming to Iowa in June, 1854, and locating in Henry county. In 1863 he came to Warren county and settled in what is now Lincoln township. The farm he now occupies he purchased in 1868. At that time it was all wild land and had no improvements whatever, and from its primitive condition he has developed it into one of the fine farms for which Warren county is noted. He has for years given attention to stock-raising, making a specialty of hogs, and in this has been uniformly successful. In 1868 Mr Van Pelt was united in marriage to Mary L Wilson, daughter of Lewis and Malinda Wilson. She is a native of Indiana and one of the eight children her father's family. Mr. Wilson is a Virginian by birth, and is still living, at the age of eighty-four years; his wif, a native of Tennessee, died at an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Van Pelt have five children: Minnie A., Mary E., William E., Ethel M., and Emma Grace - all at home. In his political views Mr. Van Pelt is a pronounced Republican, being one of the radical men of his party. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.406