Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 539
MARTIN KIBLER.

Martin KIBLER, who came to Harrison County, May 19, 1854, will form the subject of this sketch. He was born in Shenandoah County, Va., November 15, 1821, and seven years later his father moved to Portage County, Ohio, and our subject remained at home until 1845, when he married, and bought fifty acres of heavy timbre land, in that county, upon which he built a frame house, and cleared up twenty acres of land, and lived on this place until he came to Harrison County. He married Margaret J. CARD, August 14, 1845, and by this union four children were born, one dying in infancy.

Sylvester B., now a merchant at Woodbine, born July 22, 1846, George H., a partner of Sylvester's, born March 27, 1848, Orrin, F., May 26, 1856. He died September 24, 1887.

The wife of our subject was born July 4, 1825, at Deerfield, Portage County, Ohio, where she remained with her parents, until she was married.

When the KIBLER's started for Iowa, they took the Pittsburg and Cleveland railroad, coming to Wellsville, on the Ohio river, where they took a steamboat for St. Louis, and from there to Kanesville, (now Council Bluffs,) which only had one good house in the place, most of the houses being log huts. They arrived on a beautiful Sabbath morning, May 18, but at this time the Lord's Day was not kept sacred at that point, as the saloons were running in full blast. From this point they hired teams to bring them to Six Mile Grove to the house of Kirtland CARD, the brother of Mrs. KIBLER, who had been here for two years.

During the first ten years they saw many hardships, their place of trading being Council Bluffs, which required a three days journey with ox teams. After they had been here two years, the first sermon was preached in Cass Township, that being the first one they had heard since leaving the old Buckeye state. This sermon was preached at the home of Mr. Kirtland CARD, by Rev. Mr. RICE, a Congregational Minister from Council Bluffs.

Politically, Mr. KIBLER votes the Republican ticket, and in religious matters is a Methodist.

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