My Genealogy Hound

CAPT. HENRY GEPHART, a prominent farmer and old settler of Niles Township, Berrien County, now residing on section 25, where he has a very pleasant rural home, is a native of the Buckeye State, born in Montgomery County, ten miles from Dayton, October 20, 1820. His father Daniel Gephart, was a native of the good old State of Pennsylvania, but moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, with his father when a boy. They located on the present site of the city of Cincinnati, when but one other house was standing there. They were among the first in that region, and entered land from the Government. The grandfather inherited the thrift and energy of his German ancestors and became quite well off. While a resident of Montgomery County, Daniel Gephart became acquainted with Miss Mary Eagle, a native of Virginia and of German descent, and their nuptials were celebrated in that county. After marriage, they located on the Big Miami, and there kept an hotel for twenty or twenty-five years. They also owned large tracts of land in that county, and gained it all through economy and industry, for they experienced all the privations and hardships of pioneers. About 1833 they went to South Bend, Ind., and after residing there for three years, crossed the line into Michigan, locating in Niles Township, Berrien County. There they kept the old Digens Hotel for a few years, and there, in 1836, the father received his final summons, dying when sixty years of age. The mother survived him many years, and died in California when in her ninety-sixth year.

The nine children born to this most estimable couple were in the order of their births as follows: David and William, deceased; Robert, residing in Niles Township, who is now seventy-seven years of age; Henry, our subject; John, who when last heard of was in Mexico; Horace, deceased; Sarah Ann, the wife of John Jacobs, of California; Mary Jane, widow of William Roberts, and a large land-owner in California; and Harriet, widow of B. Gray, who resides in Niles Township. Capt. Henry Gephart, the fourth son and fourth child of the above-mentioned family, was thirteen years of age when he went with his parents to South Bend, Ind., and sixteen years of age when he settled with them in Berrien County, Mich.

When eighteen years of age our subject was bound out to learn the carpenter’s trade to a man by the name of Childs, and he remained with him until twenty years of age. He then started out for himself, with a pair of overalls and a shirt, and made his way to Niles, where he began working at the carpenter’s trade. Later he began working as a ship-carpenter, and followed this for about five years, helping to build several keel-boats. From there he went to Michigan City, and worked on the big “Montezuma,” a sailing-vessel, for some time. In 1848, he assisted in building the first railroad bridge over the St. Joseph River at Niles, but the following year he was seized with the gold fever, and went to California by way of Salt Lake City with horse-teams. He spent the Fourth of July, 1849, in that city, and then pushed on to the West.

After remaining in California for about two years, engaged in mining, Capt. Gephart returned to the past, by way of the Isthmus, and reached New York without any trouble. From there he made his way by steamer to Michigan, and was engaged in the livery business in that State for some time. Selling out, he began keeping hotel in Niles, and ran the Bond House for one year, then bought the Pavillion Hotel and ran it three years, then trading it for city property, after which he bought a farm in Niles Township, two miles south of Niles, where he tilled the soil for about three years. This farm he sold to an Englishman for $10,000 in gold, and in 1862 he raised a company which became a part of the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, and entered the army to fight for the Stars and Stripes. Although promoted to the rank of Major, for some reason he never served in that capacity. He participated in the following battles: Shiloh, Pittsburg Landing, Inka and Hatchie, and served his country faithfully and fearlessly.

Just previous to entering the army, Mr. Gephart loaned the $10,000 he had received for his farm, and on his return received thirty-three and a-third percent, of the amount. In 1866 he bought his present farm, and has eighty acres of excellent land, all improved and well cultivated. Miss Mary Baird, who became the wife of our subject, is a native of the Empire State, born in Ripley, August 7, 1831, and remained a resident of her native State until 1851, when she came to Michigan. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gephart, six daughters and one son, viz: Emma, wife of Charles Harris, of Chicago; Fannie, wife of Frank Langston, of Niles Township; Annabell, who died when four years of age; Hattie, wife of Robert Probasco, of Chicago; May, a graduate of the Niles school; Harry, who is at home attending school; and Maude, who graduated from the Niles school in the Class of ‘84, when in her seventeenth year. In politics, Mr. Gephart has always been a Democrat, but is rather conservative in his views. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a man worthy the esteem of all.