MYERS FAMILY REUNION - 1901 - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

The Myers family reunion near the Lutheran Church at Wallace, was attended yesterday by 300 people of that name. They ate at a table that was 60’ long and after a big dinner got away with 60 watermelons. The youngest of the blood was six months old, the oldest Eli Myers, aged 87 years.  It was a great family affair.  All the Myers families from this city, attended and with them, Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Ramey    --- kbz

The Myers family includes almost the entire population of the south eastern part of Jackson township, and a pretty good representation over the surrounding territory. Almost every member of the family is a person of considerable wealth. The family spoke the German tongue till about 1850 when the public school system forced the English language. At the reunion a photograph was taken of the first generation of children in the settlement—four brothers and one sister. John Myers aged 90; Eli 88, Mary 79; Harrison 76; Alijah 71—the five children’s combined ages being 404 years. John and Alijah each gave a sort address. A sumptuous feast was spread at the noon hour and a big load of watermelons was slashed up. The principal address was made by J. A. Sanders who said in parts: “By way of historical sketch I will give the following account of the pioneer settlers of the Myers community. Eve Grimes was born in Germany, 1757, came to America at the age of six years they settled first in Pennsylvania on the Susquahana river. The family afterwards moved to North Carolina, locating in Rowan county. She was married to Christian Myers who died in 1792, leaving a widow and eight children. The widow remained, in the old North State and raised her family. The children were Catherine, Sarah, Christiana, Sibby, Christene, Jacob, Barbra and Michael. Jacob, the second son and sixth child married Catherine Shuler and in 1810 removed with his wife and child to the then territory of Indiana, settling in what is now Harrison county, near Corodyn but having promised his wife’s father to return to the old home in North Carolina if Indiana troubles arose, not learning of the battle of Tippecanoe which occured in Nov., 1811, until the spring of 1812, he made his arrangements are rapidly as possible and started back to his old home stopping at Crab Orchard in the state of Kentucky where on the 13 day of September the second son was born, and who is now known by the familiar title Uncle John, 90 years ago to-day. The family continued their journey to the old North state where they continued to reside for some years. In 1826 Jacob Myers in company with Mathias Grimes rode on horse back to Indiana, coming as far north as Osborne’s and Lopp’s Prairie; he decided to remove his family to Indiana, but was unable to get started before 1829, located near the place where Elijah Myers’ house now stands in the month of Feb. 1830, with no house, nor field, nothing but snow and trees to be seen. The children of Jacob Myers and Catherine Shular Myers were Noah, John, Eli, Susana, Mary, Jacob H., Michael F. and Elijah. Jacob Myers departed this life April 1870, his wife survived him 14 years, dying in July 1884. Of the children there are yet living John, who is 90 years old, Eli, 88, Mary 79, Jacob H. 76, Elijah, 71. In church affiliations the family were Lutherans and in politics democrats. The descendants of Jacob Myers and the descendants of his brothers and sisters all located finally in Indiana but are now widly scattered, some in Iowa, some in Kansas some in Illinois and some in Missouri. The family was once German but by degrees commingled with others that now it is simply American.—Citizen. – jlr