September 15

Emma Adelia Parker VanMeter died 15 September 1892 in Pike County, Ohio.

THE SAD TALE OF THE VANMETER FAMILY

Emma Adelia Parker was born 17 August 1863 and died 15 September 1892 in Pike County, Ohio. 

Emma Adelia Parker VanMeter was a first cousin to Massie Parker Treat (my great-grandmother).

Emma married John I. VanMeter 21 December 1883 in Pike County, Ohio. He was born 1853 in Pike County, Ohio, and died 15 September 1892 in Sunfish Creek, Pike County, Ohio.

Emma and John had three children - James Noble, Sanford Stanton, and a baby boy whose name is unknown.

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From my dad's family history notes --

On September 15, 1892, John I. VanMeter murdered his wife and infant. The two boys found their mother and baby brother in the yard.  Seven-year-old James stayed with the bodies while  Sanford Stanton, age 5, walked to the nearest house, about five miles away.  The coroner, Dr. Wilson was called.  The search began for John VanMeter. The neighbors found him in Sunfish Creek drowned. 

No one seems to know the name of the infant.  The birth had not been recorded and a blank has been drawn in the death records for the first name.  Supposedly all three were buried in Gardner Cemetery. If so, the graves are unmarked.  There is an area in Gardner Cemetery for the graves in the VanMeter area that could hold several unmarked graves.  

The tale that has come down through the VanMeter family is that John had an eye for other women.  In his other liaisons he contracted syphilis.  He was being treated for it.  There was an article in the newspaper stating that the doctor had warned Emma Parker VanMeter that her husband could become dangerous. John VanMeter got to thinking that it was his wife cheating on him. He even thought the baby was not his child. After the murders, John VanMeter committed suicide by drowning.

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JAMES NOBLE VANMETER

James Noble VanMeter was committed to the Ohio Home for Epilepsy on May 23, 1895. He died there on 11 September 1905. 

 SANFORD STANTON VANMETER

Sanford Stanton VanMeter was an orphan from the age of five years.  He was tossed from family to family until he was old enough to work and earn his keep.  Stanton was the child who, after finding his mother and infant sister murdered outside of the VanMeter home, walked five miles to family/ neighbors, the Cruzes, to get help.  Stanton never spoke of the incident except once.  He was extremely drunk at the time and said it was "like a bad dream."  

Stanford Stanton VanMeter lived with his VanMeter grandparents for a time. Eventually, he lived with his Parker grandmother and his Aunt Martha J Parker Krebs. 

VanMeter owned and operated a sawmill and a farm.  It was said that he had quite a sense of humor and always woke up in a cheery mood.  

Stanton VanMeter married Edna Mae Morehead in 1911. They had eight children.

Edna Mae Morehead VanMeter was more commonly referred to as "Dude."  She was a hard working woman, ever at Stant's side.  Dude Morehead VanMeter loved babies and was always trying to make them smile.  She was not the greatest of housekeepers but a good cook of plain fare.  She had a warm sense of humor and was a loving person.  She died of congestive heart failure 13 Apr 1962.  

After the death of his wife, Stanton grieved heavily and mourned for her.  He died a mere five months later on 13 September 1962.  A nephew, Lee Morehead and some of Lee's friends had asked permission to squirrel hunt on his property.  Permission was given.  Later, Stanton walked out to see how the hunting was going.  He sat under a large, knotty maple tree and talked with the young men.  As Stanton got up to leave, he fell back down dead from a massive coronary.  Lee Morehead's friends became frightened and left.  Lee went to report the death of his uncle.  As Lee Morehead had worked in a nursing home, he knew dead when he saw dead.    

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I don't have pictures of any of the other people in this story.