Individual Details

History of Saline County, Missouri
Published 1881

John Carmean, prominent among the farmers of township 49, range 23, Saline County, [Missouri] is the successful agriculturist and influential citizen with whose name this sketch is introduced. The owner of five hundred and fifty acres, Mr. Carmean has brought his land to a good state of cultivation, and in his work of general farming and stock-raising has met with more than ordinary success.

Born in Green Township, Ross County, Ohio, January 4, 1813, our subjects is a son of John Carmean, a native of Holland, who came to America an orphan boy, settling in the eastern part of Maryland, and in time becoming a farmer. He removed to Ross County, Ohio, in 1804, and became an early settler of Green Township, his home being near Kingston. There he lived up to the date of his death in 1817, at which time he was seventy-six years old. He served in the War of 1812. In religion he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The mother of our subject was known in maidenhood as Nancy Grayless, and belonged to an old Maryland family. Her death occurred in 1837.

Our subject was the youngest son, as is now the only survivor, in a family which consisted of six sons and three daughters. His childhood days were passed in the log cabin where he was born, and which was situated just west of Aldelphi, Ohio. His educational advantages were limited, consisting of about two months' schooling each winter. The schoolhouses (which were also utilized as churches) were built of logs, and contained slab seats and other primitive furnishings. The boyhood days of our subject were passed upon the farm, which was located in a section where deer, bear, and other wild animals were to be found. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-two, when he began working out by the month, earning about fifty cents a day and sometimes $12 per month. He continued to work out for about five years, part of the time at the carpenter's trade.

October 6, 1840 Mr. Carmean married Miss Susannah Dehaven, whose home was one mile east of Kingston. Mrs. Carmean was born December 26, 1819, and was a daughter of Harman and Magdaline (Gerhart) Dehaven, of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio soon after their marriage in 1804, becoming early settlers of Ross County. The father died at the age of forty-three; the mother lived to the advanced age of eight-two. There were six children in the family, four daughters and two sons, but Mrs. Carmean is the only one now living. After his marriage Mr. Carmean rented a farm for five years, and subsequently purchased the place on which his wife was born and reared. In the spring of 1866 he sold his property in Ohio and came to Missouri, making the long journey by water from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Waverly, Mo.

Mr. Carmean arrived in Elmwood Township April 1, 1866. He had been here during the fall of the preceding year and purchased two hundred and sixty-eight acres on section 8 of this township. The land had formerly been the property of a slave-owner and contained very few improvements, but through his efforts has been brought to a high cultivation. On buying the farm he paid $25 per acre, but its valuation has since materially increased as the result of the embellishments and improvements it now contains.

Birth	4 Jan 1813	Ross County, Ohio
Marriage	6 Oct 1840	Ross County, Ohio - Susannah DeHaven
Residence	1860	Green, Ross, Ohio
Residence	1880	Elmwood, Saline, Missouri
Death	16 Sep 1894	Saline County, Missouri
Occupation		a carpenter and farmer

Spouse

Susannah DeHaven (1819 - 1905)

Father	John CARMEAN (1771 - 1847)
Mother	Nancy GRAYLESS ( - 1837)
Sibling	Jacob Carmean (1790 - )
Sibling	William Carmean (1794 - )
Sibling	James Carmean (1799 - 1888)
Sibling	Zebdial Carmean (1802 - )
Sibling	Jesse CARMEAN (1802 - 1859)
Sibling	Matthew J. Carmean (1820 - )