DE WITT C. SEIBERT

DE WITT C. SEIBERT, deceased, was one of the early settlers of Cherokee County, and for many years was identified with its important affairs. He was born in Washington County, Maryland, July 11, 1846, and died in Cherokee County, February 10, 1902. His parents were Henry and Elizabeth (Martin) Seibert.

Henry Seibert was born November 26, 1815, in Washington County, Maryland, and died July 26, 1871, in Carroll County, Indiana. His wife, Elizabeth Martin, was born April 7, 1822, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and died October 26, 1867. The Seiberts have all been Democrats in politics, and Presbyterians in religion, and both they and the Martins were prominent men and women in their day. William Martin, a brother of the late Mr. Seibert's mother, as one of the responsible men of his locality, was selected as one of the jury called in the case of John Brown, the agitator. Mr. Martin still survives and lives at Harper's Ferry, being an old man now. The late Mr. Seibert was one of a family of eight children, viz: Mrs. Catherine Mullendore, who died at Dodge City, Kansas; Mrs. Rachel Barnes, who died at Delphi, Indiana; Mrs. Susan E. Barnes, of Danville, Illinois; De Witt C.; Emma, who died in Illinois; David, who died on his farm in Indiana; Abram, who died in Indiana; and Lewis, who died in boyhood.

The late Mr. Seibert removed with his parents to Carroll County, Indiana, when five years of age, and remained there until the fall of 1876, when he came to Cherokee County, and settled on a farm about four miles from Columbus, in Crawford township. Here he prospered, and the farm is still owned by his widow, who leases and oversees it personally. In December, 1901, he removed to Columbus, but enjoyed his pleasant home there but a short time, his death occurring in the following February. He was active in politics, and frequently served in township offices. He joined the organization of Odd Fellows while a resident of Indiana.

On February 8, 1870, in Indiana, Mr. Seibert was married to Belle F. Wharton, who was born September 17, 1852, in Carroll County, Indiana, and is a daughter of John and Ann A. (Montgomery) Wharton. John Wharton was born July 12, 1812, in what was then Mifflin, but is now included in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish parentage. At the time of his death he had been a ruling elder of the Rock Creek Presbyterian Church for over 50 years, having joined this religious body in 1832. On February 2, 1866, Mr. Wharton was initiated into Rockfield Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 301, and as long as he lived he took an active part in the workings of the order. On March 23, 1837, Mr. Wharton married Ann A. Montgomery, who was born at Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1819, and died at Logansport, Cass County, Indiana, July 29, 1901. Her parents came to America from County Tyrone, Ireland, accompanying their parents to Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, where they settled down to farming in the fertile Tuscarora Valley. Great-grandfather Wharton served seven years in the Revolutionary War, and was taken prisoner by the Indians. Mr. Wharton survived until June 6, 1900, dying on his farm in Carroll County, Indiana, after a residence there of 62 years. In early life a Whig, he later adopted the principles of the Republican party.

Mrs. Seibert was the youngest of seven children who arrived at maturity, namely: William W., a farmer near Logansport, Indiana, and a veteran of the Civil War; Mrs. Lizzie J. Anderson, who died at Mattox, Virginia, in June, 1899; James, a very successful farmer near Bringhurst, Indiana, who was 1st lieutenant of Company A, 9th Reg. Indiana Vol. Inf., and served through four years of the Civil War; S. Edward, also a veteran of the Civil War, who is now engaged in the grocery business in Chicago: Mrs. Mattie Jordan, who resides at Lake Cicott, Indiana; Robert, who is in the employ of the Chicago & Alton Railway Company at Bloomington, Illinois; and Mrs. Seibert. The last named was reared and educated in lndiana and there met and married the late De Witt C. Seibert. They had three children, namely: Leila, Lewis and Harry. Leila, who is now the wife of Dr. P. R. Sayer, a prominent dentist of Columbus, was born December 5, 1870, in Carroll County, Indiana. Lewis, who was also born in Carroll County, March 17, 1874, is interested in farming in Cherokee County; he was married on March 19, 1899, to May Overholser, and has one son,—Clinton. Harry, who was born in Cherokee County, February 2, 1877, is engaged with S. W. Hough, in the undertaking business at Columbus, and on December 28, 1898, was married to Margaret Gaither.

As before stated, Mrs. Seibert finds pleasure and occupation in personally overseeing the homestead farm of 160 acres, and she also owns the handsome family home in Columbus. She has been a member of, and an active worker in, the Presbyterian Church since her childhood. About the time of his marriage, Mr. Seibert became a member of the same denomination, and from 1877 until his death he served as an elder in the Columbus Presbyterian Church. He was a man of upright life and Christian spirit. He commanded the respect of all who knew him, and his death was a distinct loss to Cherokee County.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Sharon Godfrey from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 1/13/97.