The History of Cass County,
Michigan
published in 1882 by Waterman, Watkins
& Co. of Chicago
THE RINEHART BROTHERS. In the history of Cass County, an especial interest attaches to the history the five Rinehart brothers, not alone from the fact that they were the representatives of one of the prominent pioneer families of the county, and were closely identified with the early settlement of the townships of Penn and Porter, but from their high social standing, and the enviable records they have made as citizens. The old adage that every flock has its dusky member never applied to this family, for no one can point to a single, unmanly or disreputable act in the lives of any of them; socially, morally, and in fact in every way they seem to have each vied with the other to preserve, unspotted the family escutcheon. The family are of German descent. John, the father of the immediate subjects of this memoir, was a Virginian, and was born in 1779. In 1829, he came to Cass County, and first located in Penn Township. In the history of Porter will be found an interesting narrative of the early experiences of the family. They remained in Penn until their removal to Porter, where the older Rinehart died in 1856.
JACOB RINEHART. Jacob, the elder of the five, was born in Virginia in June of 1804; he was reared to habits of industry and thrift, which coupled with good judgment and economy, has brought its sure reward - a competency in old age. He came to Cass County with his father, but shortly after went to Cincinnati, where he engaged in boat-building, but soon rejoined the family; he connected himself prominently with many of the initial events in the early history of Porter, and in company with Lewis and Samuel, he built and operated the first sawmill in the township. Since 1831, his business operations have been largely confined to running the mill until it failed to be remunerative and farming. Mr. Rinehart has been three times married, first to Jane Emmons; they reared a family of six children, viz.: William, Elijah, Eliza, Mary Jane (deceased), Lewis,and Melinda. After his first wife's death, he married Mrs. W. Wright, and on her demise Jane Saunders. He has never been an aspirant for civic honors, but has led a quiet and comparatively uneventful life, and is now passing in peace and quiet the declining years of a well-spent life.
LEWIS RINEHART. Lewis Rinehart was born in Virginia, December 5, 1807. He was reared on a farm, but learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, which occupation he followed in Ohio. He accompanied his father to Cass County, where Nov. 28, 1830, he married Miss Anna Frakes, who was born in Logan County, Ohio, August 13, 1812. She came to Michigan in 1830, with her parents.
As noticed elsewhere, Lewis was one of the owners of the first sawmill in Porter, and he did his full share in the development of this section of the county. In 1839, he removed to the farm where his widow now resides, and where his death occurred in December of 1879. During the Sauk war, he held a Lieutenant's commission. He served his township in the capacity of Collector, but devoted his time and attention principally to agricultural pursuits, in which he was eminently successful. Mr. Rinehart was a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and a man who was universally respected for his many estimable qualities. He and his worthy wife were blessed with children as follows: Samuel M., John W., Margaret (deceased), Emeline (deceased), Henry, Nathan, Eliza J. (deceased), Sarah, Mary, Lucretia, and Lewis Clark.
In December, 1831, as Mr. and Mrs. Rinehart were returning from a visit to her father in Kalamazoo County, they were overtaken by a severe snow storm, and night coming on they could not descern their pathway, which was only marked by blazed trees, and realizing the extreme danger of continuing further, he cleared the snow from underneath a tree whose branches hung low, and covering his wife and her infant child with blankets, he remained there until daylight the next morning, and was only kept from freezing by vigorous walking. The child, Samuel M., that was thus sheltered that cold winter's night under a forest tree, is now living at Union. Did our space permit, many other incidents could be related, showing the pluck and determination of the man, and of the many trials and hardships he encountered in his pioneer life. He died December 6, 1879; his wife is still living on the old homestead, near the village of Union.
SAMUEL RINEHART. Samuel Rinehart, the third son, was born in Rock- ingham County, Va., in September of 1809; reared to the life of a farmer, he has followed his chosen avocation successfully through a long life with the exception of perhaps a few brief intervals. He has resided on his present farm since 1847. He is genial and social, and one who, without ostentation or display, pursues the even tenor of his way, doing what his judgment dictates as right. His mind is a storehouse of pioneer incidents and experiences which he delights in relating. He has never taken an active part in politics, but first affiliated with the Whig and now with the Republican party. He is a prominent member of the Baptist Church, in which he is a Deacon. He was married August 12, 1838, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Eleazer and Martha Hunt, old settlers of Kalamazoo County. Mrs. Rinehart was born in 1821. They have been blessed with a large family of children, all of whom are highly respected members of society and are members of the Baptist Church. Their names are as follows: Martha A., Christina E., Amos W. (deceased), Mary, Anna M., Martin (deceased), Elias W., Ellen E., Alice A., Emma A., Amanda F., Minnie C., Charles (deceased), and Mabel.
JOHN RINEHART. John Rinehart, or Uncle John, as he was familiarly known, was born in Rockingham, County, Va., June 15, 1814. At the age of nine he came with his father's family to Clark County, Ohio, and from there removed to Cass County in February of 1829, and settled on Young's Prairie, on or near the farm now occupied by Isaac Bonine, Jr. He entered the land lately occupied by him in the year 1836. October 1, 1837, he was married to Miss Parthenia Lawson, and during this year moved on his farm, where he lived forty-four years. He was an honest man, a kind and indulgent father, and an unselfish neighbor, and no one ever neared his happy home but "what they were sure of a hearty welcome from Uncle John." He was a member of the Birch Lake Methodist Episcopal Church, being one of the leading spirits engaged in the erection of the church edifice, and his house was always open for the benefit of the church society. He was, also, a member of the St. Joseph Valley Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., to which he had belonged for over thirty-five years, being one of the charter members, and had filled all the chairs. Mr. Rinehart died February 20, 1881, and left a wife and five children. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. W. P. French, pastor of the Birch Lake Methodist Episcopal Church, who preached an eloquent discourse from Exodus, first chapter and sixth verse: "And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation." The funeral was the largest ever held in this part of the country.
Mrs. Rinehart was born March 15, 1821, in Champaign County, Ohio. They had a family of seven children - Caroline J., Lewis W. (deceased), Wellington C., Elizabeth E., R. Melcinia, Emma O., and Thomas, who died in infancy. Mrs. Rinehart, after the decease of her husband, took the sole charge of the business, which she managed with consummate ability. She is a lady of generous impulses, and a worthy counterpart of her husband. She is a member of the Baptist Church.
ABRAHAM RINEHART. Abraham Rinehart was born January 5, 1817, in Rockingham County, Va., and came to Cass County with his father's family. At the age of sixteen, his father "gave him his time," and he commenced life for himself. Two or three years later, he went to Iowa and Illinois. In the latter State he made the acquaintance of Miss Elizabeth Owen, whom he married in February of 1838. In August following Mrs. Rinehart died, they having come back to Cass County, and he was again married, in 1843, to Miss Hannah E. Denton. They have six children living - Clarence Landais, Carlton W., Mary Amelia, Carrie E., Annis A. and Myra E.; five deceased - Adaline E., Charles D., Edward L., Harriet D. and Abbie A. Mr. Rinehart has lived an ordinary lifetime in Cass County, and has witnessed its development from a wilderness to one of the best agricultural sections in the State, and in his own person, typifies many of the agencies that has wrought this great change. In his political and religious affiliations, he is a Republican and a Baptist.