Jacob Jansen Van Meter

Find a Grave

A Patriot of the American Revolution for PENNSYLVANIA. DAR Ancestor #: A118444

Jacob Van Meter, Sr. played an important role in the opening of the Ohio Country and in the history of the Dye Family. He married Letitia Stroud in Virginia in 1741. A brief summary of his life follows:

"ENSIGN 12th VIRGINIA REGT.IN FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR CAPTAIN, ILLINOIS REGIMENT, VIRGINIA STATE AMERICAN PATRIOT-SOLDIER KENTUCKY PIONEER TROOPS IN AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND SERVED ON COMMITTEE OF OBSERVATION AT PITTSBURG. COMMANDED 'A' COMPANY IN GEORGE ROGERS CLARK'S EXPEDITION TO TAKE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. LEAD BAND OF 100 PERSONS FROM VIRGINA TO KENTUCKY DOWN THE OHIO RIVER ON 27 FLATBOATS TO SEVERNS VALLEY IN 1779-1780. BUILT ONE OF THE FIRST FORTS IN KENTUCKY AND HELPED ESTABLISH THE FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE FALLS OF OHIO AND GREEN RIVER AT ELIZABETHTOWN. PROMINENT IN FOUNDING HARDIN COUNTY. ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF SEVERNS VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH,1781, OLDEST CHURCH WEST OF ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS. CAPTAIN JACOB VAN METER CHAPTER D.A.R.NAMED IN HIS HONOR." http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/gean/wildernessroad.html

Notes: Reference: 1 Who was Who in Hardin County, Compiled and Prepared by Hardin County Historical Society. Jacob Van Meter, Sr. deemed desirable to move farther west, as many of the inhabitants of the valley of Virginia were then doing, and after disposing of much of his property, accompanied John Swan, Sr. (1721-1799) and others in a tour of the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, then claimed as a part of Virginia Territory. They reached the present Carmichaelstown. The place of settlement was on Muddy Creek. Returning to Virginia, they bought back their families and household effects on pack horses, the slaves walking and driving the stock, following the route cut out by Braddock's army Swan and Van Meter located near each other in some bottom land not far from the mouth of Muddy Creek, a tributry of the Monongahela in Cumberland Township. (See Frontier of Penn., Vol. ll Pg. 441)

Reference:2 TWO CENTURIES IN ELIZABETHTOWN AND HARDIN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. by Daniel E. McClire 1979 Published by: The Hardin County Historical Society. Jacob Van Meter Sr. Grew up in Virginia, in the Shanandoah Valley, and became a wealthy land owner and horse breeder. pagge 193 of ref. 2 The inscription placed on his grave by his desscendents reads: Jacob Van Meter Sr. 1723-1798 Ensign 12th Virginia Regt. in French and Indian Was Captain, Illinois regiment, Virginia State American Patriot-Soldier Kentucky Pioneer Troops in American Revolution and served on commitee of Observation at Pittsburg. Commanded a Company in George Rogers Clark's expedition to take Northwest Territory. Lead band of 100 persons from Virginia to Kentucky down the Ohio River in 27 flatboats to Severns Valley in 1779-1780. Built one of the first Forts in Kentucky and helped establish the first permanent settlement between Falls of Ohio and Green River at Elizabethtown. Prominent in founding Hardin County. One of the organizers of Severns Valley Baptist Church, 1781, Oldest Church west of Allegheny Mountains. Captain Jacob Van Meter Chapeter D.A.R. named in his honor. His wife Letitia Stroud Van Meter, married in Virginia 1741, moved from the Family Cemetery 1965. page 199 Ref.2 Photostat Copy (No. 037083) from National Archives, establishing Jacob Van Meter as serving as a Captain of Militia, Virginia State Troops, in the Revolutionary War, in Clark's Illinois Regiment. AND ... Copy of record in the National Archives pertaining to pension granted to Jacob Van Meter, for services as ensign and captain in the regiment commanded by General Clark. Note pension was at rate of $105. per year... Reference: Elizabethtown, City Cemetery, Directory Cemetery Inscriptions, Hardin County, Kentucky. Pg. 45 Vol IV Elizabethtown City Cemetery, - Section M. Jacob Van Metre, d. Nov. 16, 1798, in the 76 yr. of his age. Moved from his farm 1967 by some of his descendants. Born March 1723 in Somerset Co., N.J. Letitia Stroud Van Meter, his wife, 1725-1799 married in Virginia, 1741. Jacob married Letitia STROUD daughter of James STRODES (STROUD) in 1741. Letitia was born on 30 Aug 1725. She died on 25 Dec 1799. Notes Reference : WHO IS WHO IN HARDIN COUNTY, Compiled a nd Prepared by Hardin County Historical Society. Reference: ELIZABETHTOWN CITY CEMETERY, DIRECTORY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS HARDIN COUNTY , KENTUCKY. page 45 Vol IV Elizabethtown city Cemetery - Section M Lot 341 Jacob Van Matre d. Nov 16, 1798, in the 76 yr of his age. moved from his farn 1967 by some of his descendants Born March 1732 in Somerset Co., N.J.. Letitia Stroud Van Meter, his wife, 1725-1799 married in Virginia, 1741. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bobbistockton/van2.html

1. Eleanor, born October 1742 2. Abraham, born June 13, 1744 3. Rebecca, born September 1746 4. Susan, born July 2, 1750 5. Elizabeth, born about 1752 6. Rachel, year of birth unknown 7. Mary, born February 11, 1757 8. Isaac, born February 2, 1759 9. Margaret, born December 27, 1759 10. Jacob Jr., born October 4, 1762 11. John, born about 1764 12. Alsey, born about 1766

It is often said that he served in the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War (1756-1763) but no record has yet been found.

In the spring of 1779, he applied for permission to take his family and "pass unmolested to the Falls of the Ohio [River]." It was his intent to settle in Kentucky, a virgin territory that lay just to the west of the Appalachian Mountains. The legendary pioneer Daniel Boone had settled there only four years earlier, after passing through the famed Cumberland Gap. Unlike Boone, Van Meter and his family and friends planned to enter Kentucky from the north, by traveling down the Ohio River. Permission was granted on March 23, 1779.

Unfortunately, the Van Meter party was troubled by more than Indians on their journey to Kentucky. As it turned out, they had inadvertently chosen to travel during a period time of severe wintertime weather that was ever afterward known as "the Hard Winter of 1780." In the spring of 1780 the Van Meter party reached the Severns Valley, in what was then Jefferson, later Hardin County, Kentucky. Jefferson County records reveal that Jake Van Meter, Stephen Rawlings, and Edward Rawlings all bought land from John Severns, for whom the valley was named. To protect themselves from Indians, they immediately built wooden "forts" (probably log blockhouses). Van Meter's fort was located, according to one source, "near the big spring at the power house on Leitchfield road, for a long time the source of the Elizabethtown water supply."

Jake Van Meter quickly became one of Hardin County's most prominent and enterprising citizens. Only a year after his arrival in Kentucky, he helped to organize the Severns Valley Baptist Church, reputed to be the oldest church west of the Allegheny Mountains that is still in existence. He also built a grain mill on Valley Creek and is "said to have raised the first wheat in Hardin County, having brought the seed with him from Virginia." He also had license to keep a still and a tavern license, which permitted him to allow travelers to stay in his home.

Many years later, the remains of both Jacob Van Meter and his wife Leitita were moved from the family graveyard and re-interred in the Elizabethtown City Cemetery.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8757511

GEDCOM Source

@R-1098072798@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=64316063&pid...

GEDCOM Source

@R1653704215@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Trees http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=16191938&pid...

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 9 2021, 6:57:17 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 9 2021, 6:58:32 UTC