Individual Details

Abraham Van Meter

(13 Jun 1744 - 1781)

Abraham Van Meter, his wife, and four daughters, went to Kentucky with his father but he was killed by Indians soon after their arrival. Abraham's land grant was near Shelbyville and he and his family were stationed with Squire Boone at Boone's fort, when it was attacked by Indians. The Indians were repulsed but Abraham was struck by an arrow: he was only grazed and thought nothing of it, but in a few days became violently ill and died. Another story of his death is that he was killed near the present site of Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Abraham had at least one slave he brought with him from Virginia. This was "General Braddock," who became well-known on the frontier and who earned his freedom through killing nine Indians. He moved from the Severns Valley settlement to Goodin's fort in the Rolling Fork when Abraham's widow, who had inherited him, married Samuel Goodin. The slave was appraised at 100 pounds. On March 19, 1797 he was "set free forever." He afterwards married Becky Swan and lived on a small farm near Elizabethtown. This verifies that the Swans, who came out with the Van Meter party, also brought slaves to Kentucky.

Events

Birth13 Jun 1744Frederick, Virginia, British America
MarriageAbt 1769Pennsylvania, British America - Elizabeth Cline
Death1781from an Indian attack on Boone Station - Shelby, Kentucky, United States
Probate4 Dec 1781Hardin, Kentucky, United States

Families

SpouseElizabeth Cline (1746 - 1800)
ChildCatherine Van Meter (1770 - 1835)
ChildLetitia "Lettie" Van Meter (1772 - 1845)
ChildSarah Van Meter (1773 - 1853)
ChildElizabeth Van Meter (1780 - 1846)
FatherJacob Jansen "Valley Creek Jake" Van Meter Sr. (1723 - 1798)
MotherLetitia "Letty" Strode (1725 - 1799)
SiblingEleanor Van Meter (1742 - 1811)
SiblingRebecca Van Meter (1746 - 1821)
SiblingElizabeth Van Meter (1752 - 1848)
SiblingSusanna "Susan" Van Meter (1750 - 1798)
SiblingRachel Van Meter (1754 - 1841)
SiblingMary M. "Polly" Van Meter (1757 - 1832)
SiblingIsaac Van Meter (1759 - 1840)
SiblingMargaret Van Meter (1759 - 1843)
SiblingJacob "of Otter Creek" Van Meter Jr. (1762 - 1850)
SiblingJohn Van Meter (1764 - 1806)
SiblingAlcinda "Alsey, Aisley" Van Meter (1766 - 1828)
SiblingWilliam Van Meter (1766 - 1808)

Notes

Probate

estate appraisal

Endnotes

1. Wood, Melba, Loper-Keller-VanMeter and allied lines : Rhoads, Keele, Searles, Haynes, and many other pioneer settlers of Macoupin County, Illinois (Godfrey, Ill.: Illinois Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1969, 57 pgs. ), has b. 6-13-1744.

2. Unknown. A Story of a Van Matre Family. (Eleven pages copied by Shirley Lillie, found at the Genealogical Dept., Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.), 1744.

3. Howard L. Leckey, The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families: A Genealogical History of the Upper Monongahela Valley (1977; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009), 199; digital images, Google, Google Books ( : accessed 6 April 2015.

4. Howard L. Leckey, The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families: A Genealogical History of the Upper Monongahela Valley (1977; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009), 199; digital images, Google, Google Books ( : accessed 6 April 2015.

5. Howard L. Leckey, The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families: A Genealogical History of the Upper Monongahela Valley (1977; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009), 199; digital images, Google, Google Books ( : accessed 6 April 2015.