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Below is a family biography included in The History of Switzerland County, Indiana published by Weakley, Harraman & Co. in 1885. These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary. Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more. There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.
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BOSTON W. VAN OSDOL, farmer, Vevay, was born in Ohio County in 1839. He is a son of Nathan A. and Elizabeth (Crowley) Van Osdol, his father having been born in Pennsylvania in 1813, his mother in Virginia in 1816. They were married in 1836 and reared fourteen children, seven of whom are still living. They settled in Indiana at an early day, and engaged in farming. Mr. Van Osdol served as commissioner in Ohio County from 1860 to 1864, and was forty-eight years a class leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Van Osdol was also a member, their house always being a home for the ministers. Our subject has been a farmer from boyhood. In 1861 he enlisted in Company E, Fiftieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and entered the United States service, in which he was faithfully engaged three years and three months, after which he returned to the farm again. In April, 1884, he removed to Vevay to secure the advantages of the public schools for his children, and there he has since resided. Mr. Van Osdol was married, in April, 1858, to Miss Rachel Jenkens, who was born in Ohio County in 1841. Their children are James A., Margaret, Harry, Mary, Kate, Julia, Charles and Lillian. The two eldest are married. Mr. Van Osdol is a member of Allensville Lodge F. & A. M., and Patton Post, G. A. R., of Vevay, and Presbyterian Church.
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This family biography is one of 215 biographies included in The History of Switzerland County, Indiana published in 1885 by Weakley, Harraman & Co. For the complete description, click here: Switzerland County, Indiana History and Genealogy
View additional Switzerland County, Indiana family biographies here: Switzerland County, Indiana Biographies
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