Abraham
VanMeter

June 13, 1744 - December 4, 1781

Abraham was the second of twelve children born to Jacob Van Meter Sr. and Letitia STROUD Van Meter who were married Aug. 30, 1741 in Frederick Co. VA and are both buried in Hardin County, Kentucky.

In 1769, Abraham married Elizabeth Rebecca KLINE (or CLINE) Van Meter in Frederick Co. Virginia.

Abraham and Elizabeth had four children:
1) Catherine, b. June 13, 1770 PA
--m. Bladen Ashby
2) Letitia, b. Apr. 02, 1772 PA
--m. Thompson Ashby
3) Sarah, b, 1776 PA
--m. James Edlin, m. Mr. Goodin
4) Elizabeth, b. 1780 KY
--m. Jacob Swank

The photo of the plaque above is on the site of the Jacob Van Meter Fort in Hardin County, Kentucky. The fort was built in 1780 by Abraham's father Jacob Van Meter Sr. and his party of one hundred settlers.
(Photo by Dottie McKee, intended for free personal, non-commercial use)

Abraham Van Meter's land grant was near Shelbyville. He and his family were stationed with Squire Boone at Boone's fort. Abraham was killed by a poisoned arrow at Boone Station, Kentucky. The Van Meter family Bible, with a bloody foot track and a spear hole in it, was found next to a dead woman at the fort after the Indian raid in which Abraham Van Meter was killed. It was later handed down by Abraham's daughter, Letitia, to her descendents. It is now known as the Harrison Bible, and is in the Iowa Historical Library in Des Moines, Iowa.