Part of the Indiana Biographies Project
Joseph D. Spahr
No citizen of Abington township, Wayne county, is more widely known or more generally beloved and highly regarded than is he of whom this sketch is penned. Of a sterling pioneer family, of sturdy German ancestry, he and his relatives have been very prominent in the development, organization and maintenance of this county, always being safely counted upon to indorse and support to the extent of their ability every good work, movement and enterprise. In this connection the following may be quoted from the autobiography of the Rev. Jacob Young: "At this time (1808) the Spahr family were very numerous and very respectable. They were blessed with plenty of this world's goods, and it appeared to be their joy to support the church."
Philip Spahr, the paternal grandfather of our subject, lived for many years, and finally died, near Wheeling, West Virginia, at the extreme age of one hundred and five years. His son John, the father of Joseph D. Spahr, was born, about 1774, at Short Creek, near Wheeling, West Virginia. When he was about thirty-five years of age he removed to Abington township, Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1812 entered a tract of land, as also did his two companions on this momentous trip, David Jenkins and John Doddridge. He commenced the arduous task of improving his property in the wilderness, and continued to live thereon until his death, in 1833, he having contracted the low fever which was then so prevalent in this section. He had married Margaret Spievy Russell, who survived him and reared their two children. The daughter, Nancy, is yet living, her home being in Centerville. She is the wife of Isaac Jenkins, who, born in 1814, is the oldest surviving representative of his native township.
The birth of Joseph D. Spahr occurred in Abington township, Wayne -county, May 26, 1831. He had bnt limited educational advantages, and grew to manhood under the judicious training of his mother. When he reached his majority he assumed the management of the homestead, which he still owns and carries on, now one of the finest and most valuable places in this locality. Numerous substantial improvements have been instituted by the progressive owner, and the house and farm buildings are especially worthy of mention, as not often does the traveler behold more convenient, handsome, well-kept structures in the country. A generous hospitality has ever been extended to every one by Mr. Spahr and his family, and many a stranger and friend looks back with great pleasure to happy hours spent in this charming home. Mr. Spahr is truly one of "nature's noblemen," as he was fittingly characterized by one of his old friends and neighbors recently, and few lives have been more exemplary from the beginning to the end than his has been. One of the first things which the early settlers of this region concerned themselves with, after providing a rude log-cabin shelter for their families, was the erection of a house of worship. Of this number were the Spahrs, who aided in building the Doddridge chapel, in which the Methodist denomination has held sway for three generations. From his youth a devoted member of the congregation which assembles there, Mr. Spahr is justly considered one of its most efficient workers.
In 1853 the marriage of our subject and Miss Matilda Burgess took place near Centerville, Wayne county. Her parents, Richard and Susan Burgess, were originally of Madison county, Virginia. Her father departed this life about forty years ago, but her mother survived until the 12th of November, 1898, when she died at the home of Mr. Spahr, having reached the advanced age of ninety-four years. The eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Spahr, Mary, is the wife of Mordecai Doddridge, of Centerville. The other children are named as follows: Isaac J., John R., Gertrude, Alice, Joseph H. and Florence. They have received excellent advantages, and are children of whom their parents have just reason to be proud. Mrs. Matilda Spahr departed this life in March, 1881, and in May, 1883, Mr. Spahr married Miss Mattie Burgess, a sister of his former wife, and she died in May, 1892.
Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899