Nehemiah  Means
          Nehemiah Means, a native-born citizen of Moral Township, was born September 13, 1830.  He is the son of Fountain and Letta (Edwards) Means, natives of North Carolina.  They emigrated to this State and settled near Madison in 1822, and in 1826 came to Moral Township, and located one mile north of Brookfield, where they entered a wild tract of land, put up a cabin and began to make a home in the forest.  There they resided until their deaths; that of Mrs. Means in 1849, and of Mr. Means in 1865.  Our subject was reared amid the scenes of pioneer days, and assisted in developing a home.  His school advantages were limited and of necessity an education was hard to get.  At the age of nineteen or on October 4, 1849, he was united in marriage to Martha H. Holmes, daughter of George W. and Sarah (Floyd) Holmes. She was born on the farm where Mr. Means now resides, and was reared to womanhood there.  This union was blessed with five children: Sarah J., Margaret E., John R., George F., and Thomas H., of whom John R. and George F. are deceased.  Mrs. Means was called away in 1862. In 1865, Mr. Means was again married, this time to Mrs. Lucinda Rouse, widow of Tompson Rouse, by whom she had three children.  Their six children are: Albert P., Cary S., Rolla L., Anna B., Willard A. and Ezra P., the latter of whom is deceased.  Mrs. Means was also called away on March 17, 1880, and on November 10, 1880, he married Eliza A. Harriman, daughter of James N. and Catharine Judd**[see important footnote below].  Mrs. Means is a native of Ohio, and by Mr. MEANS is the mother of one child:  Roy J.
          Politically, Mr. Means is a Democrat, and is quite a worker in that party.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, "Moral Sketches," page 715-16, Brant & Fuller, 1887
Copied by:  Cindy Jones

          Nehemiah Means, sixth of the above list [see sketch of Fountain Means], was born in Moral township, September 13, 1830.  He grew up on his father’s farm, assisting in the clearing of the land and other hard labor.  His education was limited, being received in the poorly equipped subscription of schools of those days.  His death occurred May 6, 1909.  He was the oldest member of the East Union Baptist church, of which he was a trustee and was a deacon for nineteen years.  He always took much interest in church work, after joining in 1868, was a liberal subscriber and active in all of its educational and missionary affairs.  Shortly after his first marriage in 1849, he rented a farm from his father-in-law, for six years, purchased the property at the expiration of his lease and later added to his holdings from time to time until he owned two hundred acres of choice farming land.   When he moved upon his farm he occupied temporary quarters on the northeast side touching the Michigan road, where he remained eighteen years, and then erected the commodious house in which he resided until his death.  All the surroundings were kept in good repair, everything indicating the presence of a good farmer and up-to date management.  He was one of the oldest born residents of the township, as well as one of its most highly respected citizens.
          October 14, 1849, he married  Martha, daughter of George W. and Sarah (Floyd) Holmes.  They had seven children, of whom five grew up: Sarah J., wife of Archibald H. Joyce, resides in Missouri, and has the following children: Carrol, Oliver P. M., Addison, Gertrude Essie, Eva Estel and Floyd; Margaret E., wife of Frank McDonald, resides in Sugar Creek township and has one child, Dr. Ora Holmes McDonald, Coroner of the county; John Robert and George F. are deceased; Thomas Hendricks married Anna Grahim, resides in Missouri and has had five children,  Elmer,  Ora,  Clarence,  Floyd (deceased) and Marie.  The mother died in 1862, and in 1865 Mr. Means married Mrs. Lucinda Rouse, widow of Thompson Rouse, by whom she had three children.  Her maiden name was Jackson.  By his second marriage, Mr. Means had the following children:  Albert P., married Margaret Cunningham, now deceased; Carey S., died in youth; Rolla married Mamie Larrion, resides in Moral township and has one child, Glenn.  Anna, wife of  Alva Mann, is dead; Willard A., who married Stella House, is a resident of London, this county, and has two children, Roberta and Harold.  Ezra P. is deceased.  The mother dying March 17, 1880, Mr. Means was married November 10, 1880, to Eliza A. Harriman, daughter of James N. and Catherine (Judd) Harriman.[See note!]   The only child by this union was Roy J., who married Edith Jeffries, resides in Moral township, and has two children, Maurice and Nazoma.  Mrs. Means dying, Mr. Means chose his fourth wife in the person of Olive Rush, to whom he was married July 23, 1890.  She was born in Sugar Creek township, June 6, 1859, and was a daughter of William Rush, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.
Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Edward H. Chadwick, B.A. Assisted by well known local talent. Illustrated.
Copied by: Cindy Jones

NOTE     from Mrs. Elma Lou Jackson Burke [please read - PMF]:
The first marriage of Eliza A. Judd , daughter of James N. Judd and Catherine Trisler was to Thomas F. Harriman on February 17, 1867 in Shelby Co., Indiana (Vol. 8, page 602) and the next marriage was to Nehemiah Means on November 10, 1880 in Shelby Co, Indiana (Vol. 11, page 510).  The second marriage shows her as Mrs. Eliza A. Harriman.
          I have also found that James N. Judd, the father of Eliza A, took a land patent in Shelby Co, Indiana on September 30, 1835 (Document #18451) for 77.2 acres.  The actual land patent certificate shows his name as " James Nower Judd".
          The James N. and Catherine (Trisler) Judd family rotated back and forth between Clermont Co, OH, Shelby Co, IN, back to Brown Co, OH and back to Shelby Co, IN, per the federal census records.  The reason had to do with the health of Mrs. Judd's mother, Mrs. Jacob Trisler, who died in July 1849 in Clermont Co, Ohio.  After her death, the Judd"s accompanied the father, Jacob Trisler, to Indiana to live near his eldest son, Andrew Trisler in Bartholomew County.  Jacob then lived until 1863 when he died at age 76.  Jacob Trisler is buried near his son Andrew in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Clifty Twp. in Bartholomew County, IN.  Mrs. Jacob (Elizabeth Hamilton) Trisler is buried near Felicity, Clermont Co., OH.
          Sometimes these old history books can contain errors.  And this is one.  I will be glad to furnish documentation if you so desire. For further information on these families, please contact Mrs. Elma Lou Jackson Burke.

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