My Genealogy Hound

ADAM NEISWENDER.
Adam Neiswender, deceased, was one of the highly respected men and representative agriculturists of Silver Lake township, Shawnee County, for many years and when his death took place January 16, 1901, he left behind a devoted family and many friends to mourn his loss. He was born April 28, 1828, at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and was a son of Michael and Barbara (Beecher) Neiswender.

The parents of Adam Neiswender were born in Switzerland and came to America in order to better their condition. They settled first at Reading, Pennsylvania, and then moved to the vicinity of Columbus, Ohio, where the father bought a farm of 160 acres and cultivated it until his death, which occurred December 14, 1858, when he was 67 years of age. The mother died October 1, 1879, aged 85 years. Of their 12 children, Michael, David and Adam came to Kansas and all are deceased and lie buried in Prairie Home Cemetery.

Our subject went to school at Columbus, Ohio, and then learned the trade of carpenter and bridge builder with his brother. In 1872 he came to Kansas and in the same year bought 80 acres of his present farm in section 14, township 11, range 14, in Silver Lake township, Shawnee County, to which he subsequently added another 80 acres and this land he cultivated and improved until the time of his death, being able to leave to his widow a fine home and valuable property.

Adam Neiswender was married in November, 1861, to Elizabeth Quinn, who was a daughter of David and Catherine Quinn. She died July 15, 1871, aged 33 years, having had two sons,—Frank, who died February 12, 1863, aged three months; and Harry, who resides at Sunset, Colorado. The latter’s first wife, Katie Kennett, was a daughter of Bonnie and Maria (Reeser) Kennett; they had one son, Grover, a capable young man of 17 years who is now Mrs. Neiswender’s right-hand man on the farm. By his second marriage Harry Neiswender has one son, Harold Pierce. Our subject was married, second, to the estimable lady who survives him, Catherine Naftzger, who was born in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, one of a family of six children. Mrs. Neiswender’s mother died when she was 15 months old. She has two brothers, Benjamin and Adam. The former lives in Florida. He married Rebecca Runkle who died in Iowa in 1884. They had four children: Annie (who died in 1885), Lizzie, Adam and Carrie (who died in 1902). The second brother lives in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where he married Barbara Eversole; they have six children.

Mr. Neiswender was a strong Democrat all his life. When he lived in Pennsylvania, he attended the Lutheran Church, but after locating in Silver Lake township he found few Lutherans in the neighborhood and as he was a liberal-minded man he helped to build and support the Presbyterian Church at Silver Lake, and also assisted the Methodist and Baptist Churches.