My Genealogy Hound

CHRISTIAN ERISMAN, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Stelvideo, Ohio. Jacob, his father, was born in Pennsylvania on the 12th of October, 1785; he married Nancy Cassel, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1795; they emigrated to Ohio in 1839, locating in Darke Co., Adams Township, Section 21, where he resided till his death, which occurred in 1843. They were the parents of eighteen children, of whom nine are living, viz., Christian, Jacob, Henry H., Reuben, Benjamin, Emanuel, Daniel, Joseph, Anna. Christian, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. on the 24th of December, 1820; he assisted his father on the farm in the clearing and the cultivation of the soil; obtained his education in the subscription schools; came with his parents to Darke Co. in 1839; he remained at home till he was 21 years of age, when he commenced life on his own responsibility, working by the day or month, and at all kinds of work, till the death of his parents, when he returned home, and, with his eldest sister Eliza, took charge of the farm, which he managed with good success. On the 6th of February, 1845, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Catharine Long, who is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Adams Co. on the 16th of February, 1807; he now began the herculean task of clearing and opening up a farm, which has been accomplished; and, through the mercy of Providence, he has been spared to see the mighty forests fall before the woodman’s ax, and what at that time was a dense wilderness, is now dotted with beautiful meadows, with elegant farmhouses and large and commodious barns; he has under cultivation 110 acres, with good farm buildings, has erected a large barn at a cost of about $1,000, also a two-story brick house at a cost of $1,200, all of which was done when labor and material were very low; he now owns 144 acres, valued at $10,000, all of which he has accumulated by hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife, having passed through the many struggles, dangers and incidents so common to the pioneer of the West; eleven children have been born to this union, of whom only five are living, viz.: Lizzie, born Feb. 14, 1850; Franklin C., born Feb 14, 1860; Lewis E., born Dec. 9, 1864; Cora M., born May 5, 1867; Arthur A., born Oct. 5, 1871. Henry Erisman, his brother, lives but a short distance from the old home farm; he married Mary Jane Reck on the 26th day of September, 1848; eight children have been born to them, of whom seven are living, viz.: Samuel H. born Aug. 26, 1849; Ervin H., born May 13, 1852; Edward, born Dec. 11, 1854; Brough, born July 4, 1862; Charles, born, Dec. 7, 1868; Frances, born Nov. 2, 1857; Delia, born July 25, 1856.