Michael Snyder
At rest since 1879 in the Seward cemetery some five miles south of Fulda,
have been the remains of one Michael Snyder, husband, father, soldier, pioneer,
neighbor, friend, community builder. Although he died comparatively young , just
under sixty years of age., on May 2, of that year, Mr. Snyder had led a busy,
active life.
Born in Cherry Point, New York state, July 27 1819, the outbreak of the
civil war found him married and living in Indiana and on October 15, 1861,
enlisting in the 29th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers at Camp Nevin; later he
transferred to the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry. As a soldier Mr. Snyder was captured by
the Confederates and served nine months in Libby prison. After his liberation he
returned to Indiana, and while broken in health, he was still in good spirits,
he later re-enlisted and served until the end of the war.
His enlistment record says he was 42 years old at the time, with blue eyes,
auburn hair, of fair complexion and 5 foot 10 inches tall. His occupation was
listed as farmer.
His marriage to Harriet Nellis was solemnized in 1842. His bride
was born in Montgomery county New York, in ????. Mr. Snyder was a resident of ??
county in the same state. In 1856 he moved to LaPorte, Indiana which was the
family home until after the war. In ???? they began their trek westward, their
first stop being in Benton county Iowa. Afterwards they lived for a short time
in Missouri, and in 1873 they moved to Seward, Nobles county Minnesota.
The trip from Missouri to Minnesota was made by ox team, the whole
family coming together. Philo, one of the sons, had been in Seward (township),
in 1871, he must have reported to the family in favorable terms. Delos was the
only married one at the time. Progress was slow and the family did not arrive in
Worthington until 1874. Mr. Snyder then contested a farm two miles south of
Iona, and when that failed, filed on a homestead two miles west of Graham Lakes.
Crops were poor; it was the time of the grasshopper plague, and Mr. Snyder
mortgaged and lost the farm. Of the trip to Minnesota the family recalled
trading off the dog the day before starting, and how the dog rejoined them the
evening of the first day out.
Mr. and Mrs. Snyder were the parents of twelve children, nine boys
and three girls. Two of the boys, Delbert and Dewitt, died in infancy in the
east before the family came west. The others were Delos, Philo, Adelman, Abe,
Georg, John, James, Harriet, Laney, and Georgiann.
With the death of Mr. Snyder on May 2, 1879, the wife and mother
was left with the younger children to care for. This she did in a commendable
manner, and in 1892 came to live in Fulda with her daughter, Mrs. J.A. Wilson.
Mrs. Snyder passed away at the Wilson home on July 10, 1904. She
was brought under the Quaker belief, and the thriftiness, honesty, and sobriety
of this early training remained with her through life. Left a widow some twenty
five years ago, the entire care of her large family evolved upon her. In return
for her care for them, she live to receive the kindness which her grateful
children so willingly bestowed upon her in old age.
Note; Michael Snyder is buried in the Seward Cemetery, Seward Twp., Nobles county, Minnesota