BIO: JOHN F. KENDIG, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Joe Patterson OCRed by Judy Banja Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/cumberland/ _____________________________________________________________ >From Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905, pages 589-591 _____________________________________________________________ NOTE: Use this web address to access other bios: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/cumberland/zeamer/ JOHN F. KENDIG. There are few families in the State of Pennsylvania which can trace an older or more honorable ancestry than can John F. Kendig, one of the highly respected and prominent citizens of Newville, Cumberland county. The Kendig family in America dates back to 1700, when Martin Kendig, an honorable man of property and a zealous member of the Mennonite faith, came to Pennsylvania, in company with a Mr. Milens and Hans Herr, and they became the first settlers on the rich farming lands of Lancaster County. They were men of foresight and judgment, men whose appearance and credentials admitted them to the confidence of William Penn, who welcomed them gladly as land owners, and sold them 10,000 acres near Pequea Creek, the date of this trans- 590 CUMBERLAND COUNTY. action being Oct. 20, 1700. Of this land 3,380 acres was the share of Martin Kendig, and on his tract he erected a house of hewed walnut logs, building it so stanchly that it stood the storms of 110 years. In 1841 it was torn down and remodeled, otherwise it might be standing yet. Martin Kendig had surveyed for him 1,060 acres in Strasburg township, later 530 acres, and still later 260 acres, the record of these transactions being Sept. 11, 1711. That Martin Kendig was the business man of the trio, is evidenced by his being sent as the messenger back to Switzerland, and his return with a colony of friends, and the establishment in this valley of one of the most successful religious colonies of the times. The Mennonites flourished through their energy, thrift and industry and to this day, possess the same attributes of Christian character which made them so welcome to William Penn, another leader of a religion of Peace. Many of Pennsylvania's best citizens are proud to trace a kinship back to this colony on the banks of the Pequea Creek. Upon the recommendation of Martin Kendig, William Penn sold and surveyed off to John Rudolph Bundy, Jacob Miller, Hans Herr, Martin Oberholtzer, Hans Funk, Michael Oberholtzer and Wendel Bowman, all Swiss, some 10,000 acres of land on the northwest side of a hill, about twenty miles westerly from Conestoga. This Martin Kendig was the great-greatgrandfather of John F. Kendig, one of the well known and highly respected citizens of Newton township, who was born Dec. 4, 1837, in Steelstown, Newton township, Cumberland county, son of Daniel and Susan (Ruth) Kendig. Tobias Kendig, his grandfather, married a Miss Bowman, and moved with his family to Cumberland county, about 1820, purchasing a farm about three miles west of Newville, on the old State road, where he settled and lived many years. Daniel Kendig, son of Tobias, born June 6, 1806, in Lancaster county, removed to Cumberland county in 1839, and died May 14, 1889, aged eighty-two years, eleven months and fourteen days. He was reared in the Mennonite Church. He married (first) Dec. 11, 1835, Susan Ruth, born July 29, 1805, who died at the age of sixty-six. On May 1, 1873, Daniel Kendig married (second) Elizabeth Jacoby, who died April 18, 1882. His children were: John F., of this sketch; Daniel Bowman, who died in his twentieth year; and William H., who resides on the old Kendig homestead at Steelstown, Newton township. John F. Kendig received his primary education at Green Spring, Newton township, and subsequently attended Newville Academy and the Newville Normal school. In 1860 he attended one session at the State Normal school at Millersville and then began teaching. For a number of years he spent his winters teaching the country schools, and his summers, farming what is known as the old Mansion farm, which contained 150 acres. Later he moved to a small farm situated on the State road, which contains thirty acres. This property is in a fine state of cultivation, and is operated by hired help, the large farm being rented. On Jan. 9, 1862, Mr. Kendig was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Grove, of North Middleton township, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Seitz) Grove, of an old and prominent family of Cumberland county. Mr. and Mrs. Kendig have three children, namely: Alice married Dr. J. H. Baird, of Saline county, Kans., and has two children, Mary and Pearl; Lillie S. married CUMBERLAND COUNTY. 591 John S. Fegan, of Cumberland county; and John Ruth, a well known educator of the county, still resides at home. Both Mr. Kendig and wife are most highly valued members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been an elder for many years. Politically Mr. Kendig is in sympathy with the Republican party. He has always been deeply interested in educational matters, and served for six years as a very useful member of the school board. In addition to teaching and farming, Mr. Kendig has been of much service to his friends and acquaintances, by whom he is held in the highest esteem. He has written their wills, settled their estates, and, in many cases, settled their difficulties without recourse to law - in fact, he has proved himself, through many years, not only one of the most intelligent and progressive citizens, but also the possessor of the same kindly spirit and Christian attributes which marked the great founder of his family on these shores. His home is one of hospitality, and his family reflects credit upon the name.