Randolph County, Indiana
Obituaries
The Winchester JournalNathan Cadwallader, one of Randolph county's oldest and most highly respected residents, passed away Monday at his home on North Meridian street. He has been confined to his home the past few years because of the infirmities incident to his advanced years. Funeral services were conducted at his late residence Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 o'clock, by his lifetime friend, Rev. I. P. Watts. The remains were laid to rest in Fountain Park cemetery. The obituray(sic) follows:
April 19, 1917
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Nathan Cadwallader Called Home
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At the Ripe Old Age of Ninety -
Was one of County's Oldest Citizens
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Nathan Cadwallader, son of Abner and May Thomas Cadwallader, was born in Rochester, Warren county, Ohio, July 12, 1826, and died in Winchester, Indiana, April 16, 1917, aged ninety years, nine months and three days. He was of a family of four children. He was the only son. One sister, Jane Heitzman, resides at Union City, Indiana. The other two sisters have departed this life.
His father came to this county when Nathan was but three years old. Receiving a good common school education, mostly by self training in his early life, he became a school teacher and taught many district schools in log houses with puncheon floor and stick chimneys. He earned from seven to nine dollars per month and boarded round. He was counted a good and successful teacher with great originality in his management of bad boys of that early day. Many stories are told of his various forms of punishing disobedient pupils. His schools generally averaged about twenty, all with different books. The text books were the Bible, Life of Washington, Life of Marion, History of England, spelling books, arithmetic or whatever the pupil brought. He narrates, that one winter at Christmas time, the big boys took him to the creek, cut a hole in the ice to duck him until he promised to treat, which he did and sent the boys for the apples. That was the custom in pioneer days.
There were some remarkable pupils in those early days. He often took young men through Ray's arithmetic in one winter of three months' school and the progress in all branches was much more rapid than now, especially in spelling and arithmetic. Nathan said he had to study at night to keep ahead of the boys as they went to it like running a race, but he was a student himself.
His father died the very day that Nathan was fourteen years old and from that time on he worked out his own destiny. In his teens he commenced to teach and clerk in a store until December 5, 1854, when he was married to Sarah A. Griffis, who survives him. As the fruits of said marriage, there was born to them one son and two daughters.
Soon after their marriage he went into the merchantile business and kept what was called a "country store" at Newport (now Fountain City), then at Spartanburg, Indiana. He was a successful business man and a great friend to the struggling pioneer in the back woods of that day.
In 1861, just at the beginning of the civil war, he moved to Union City, Indiana, and built up a fine business there. Governor I. P. Gray was associated with him in business for thirty years without ever any kind of a disagreement.
In 1872 he was elected to the state senate and served a term of four years and was for the balance of his life an ardent Republican and wielded a great influence in the success of his party.
He had built up a large and flourishing banking business and had large real estate holdings, but reverses came, through no fault of his own, and he gave all up to the hands of the law to square himself with the world. Had he been left to manage his own business it would have been better for all. He was an honest man and all who knew him believed in his integrity.
He never had his name on any church roll, but had a birthright in the Friends church and his family before him belonged to that people, who, in that early day, were the salt of the earth. He was a man of faith in God and in the efficacy of paryer. He read his Bible, believed it, and preached its precepts in his daily life. He was the friend of every good work and lived soberly, righteously and Godly all his life, and died in the Faith, without pain or struggle, as a ripe sheaf falls to the ground. Surely we can say "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, they shall rest from their labors and their works do follow them."
He leaves to mourn his departure his beloved wife of so many years, two children, one sister and four grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Contributed by Gina Richardson
A Randolph County Area NewspaperCADWALLADER Jerry (Jeremiah A.), b. 4/14/1859-d. 11/10/1892 ae 33y 9m 6d s/o John Cadwallader. Mar. Anna J. Edwards 2/5/1884 d/o Hamilton & Asineth (Smith) Edwards, who d. 10/28/1888.
1892
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Summarized by Sandra Mumah
A Randolph County Area NewspaperThomas H. Cadwallader died near Arba, Rand. Co. 4/26/1882 age 87y. On 10/14/1866. He married Charlotte E. Platt. Surv. are the wife and 1 child. Serv. at Friends Church at Arba. Bur. Arba.
1882
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Contributed by Sandra Mumah
A Randolph County Area NewspaperEzra Cadwallader, very old, at Lynn, Ind. 10/22/1877 of palsy. He was married to Rebecca Hill 8/16/1843. Bur. Arba.
1877
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Contributed by Sandra Mumah