Rivir, John

TAKEN FROM ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA

Transcribed and submitted by Penny North

        John Rivir who died at his home in Noble township, August 10, 1895, aged 86 years 8 months and 9 days, was a native of Bedford county, Pa. and was born on January 9, 1809.  He married Nancy Stoner, a Pennsylvania girl, a native of Lancaster, born October 26, 1810.  They commenced their married life in their native state and remained there until 1845, when they came to Noble county with a family of children, they youngest of whom was an infant of a few months.  They had $18 to start with, six young children to support and no land of their own.  

        It is well for us to meditate, somewhat, on this phase in the life of John Rivir, remembering that the condition was not entirely exceptional, but was the lot of many settlers of that time.  Unquestionably his was an extreme case on account of the size of his family.  We must conclude that the first winter, with six helpless children, was a time to try souls and test the physical powers of husband and wife.  It needs no stretch of imagination to comprehend a multitude of details of suffering and privations, over some of which it were no weakness if loyal memory should at one moment, but only for a moment, shed some tears, and the nest moment yield to an uncontrollable impulse to hurrah for the heroism that carried them safely through.  

        It is pardonable, I trust, to make the contemplation of every one of these typical cases an occasion for recognition of the real glory of Noble county's pioneer age.  If it seems a little monotonous, sometimes, it may be that the fault is in our defective visions.  A cloudless sunset sky to-day may seem to the indifferent observer the same as all proceeding ones, but it is not.  Each differs from all predecessors in some of its hues and tints and shadings, presenting a succession of new aspects and effects which a thousand years of sunsets would not exhaust.

        The next spring Mr. Rivir planted for a crop of corn.  The next fall while putting in wheat he was attacked by malaria in an aggravated form of fever and ague, and was confined to his bed during the entire fall and winter for six months, and all the children except one were stricken down during that time, Mrs. Rivir  and one boy only being able to keep their feet.  How did they get through this second winter, so much worse than the first?  There was but one way.  They had to depend, for life itself, upon the sympathy and generous aid of neighbors, of scant means themselves but great hearts; the noble pioneers who would divide their last crust with a suffering fellow-being and heal the breaking heart with genuine fraternal ministrations, so pure and spontaneous, that it seemed a blessed privilege, a holy joy instead  of a charitable duty.  Call those times and those men and women rough, uncouth, offensively primitive? No! Rather, in the noblest respects, it was out heroic age, glowing with spiritual glory and redolent of sweetest grace and charm.  And we all recognize it in the rare moments when we can turn away from the brilliancy and somewhat superficial pomp of outward refinement and external etiquette and contemplate the time and the people when genuine worth and kindness were recognized in all their essential grace and beauty, without artificial formulas of manner and expression.

        Ten years after their  settlement here Mr. Rivir bought 80 acres of land in Green township, and commenced there in the timber.  His boys had grown, his forces were augmented, but sickness came again and sapped the strength of his sons and reduced him to such weakness that he was unable to keep upon his feet.  But the work of clearing must go on, and he rode and guided a horse to haul together and roll up the logs, the doing the hitching and adjusting, and piling the poles and brush.  In 1861, at the age of 52 years, he was thrown from a wagon and received injuries that crippled him for the remainder of his life.  Prior to this accident he had sold his Green township farm and was about to remove to Kansas; but the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion changed his plans and he purchased the farm in Noble township, where he died.  Three of his sons, John, Jacob, and David, lost their lives in the service of their country during the rebellion, one of them, John, starving to death in Libby prison.

    Mr. Rivir was an active worker in the cause of the Christian religion and a prominent member of the Christian church society.  These salient points in his life of fifty years in Noble county will serve to illustrate the arduous labors and formidable obstacles and discouragements incident to the work of clearing the ground and laying the foundations of the noble superstructure of civilization; the indomitable spirit that overcame and conquered.  John Rivir's career was honorable and successful, for himself and for his country.

        John Rivir was born on New Year's Day of 1809 in Bedford County, Penn. His wife, Nancy (Stoner) Rivir, was born October 26, 1810 in Lancaster, Penn. Mr. Rivir came to this county in 1845 when he had but $18, with a large family to support. He put in a crop of corn the next spring; the next fall while engaged in putting in wheat he was taken sick and confined to his bed six months. At one time the entire family, excepting Mrs. Rivir and one boy, were down sick, but they were assisted by the neighbors through the winter. In 1855 Mr. Rivir bought eighty acres of land in Green Township. He commenced there in the timber; his family were again taken sick. While rolling together the logs for a clearing he was so weak he could not walk; but to assist the boys he would ride a horse and the boys would hitch to the logs and do the other necessary work. In 1861 he sold his farm with a purpose to emigrate to Kansas or Missouri, but the war coming on, he changed his plans and bought the land where he now lives. In 1861, on the day that his son Christian Rivir was married, he met with an accident that has rendered him unable to work. While at the mill at Port Mitchell he was thrown out of the wagon and received injuries which came near resulting fatally. Mr. Rivir lost three sons in the army - John, Jacob and David. John was starved in Libby Prison. The fourth son enlisted but was under age and released. Mr. Rivir is a Republican and a leading member of the Christian Church, Noble Twp.

        Rivir John, who died at his home in Noble Twp. Aug. 10, 1895, aged 86 years, 8 months and 9 days, was a native of Bedford County, Penn., born there on the first day of Jan. 1809. He married Nancy Stoner, a Penn. girl, native of Lancaster, born Oct. 26, 1810. They commenced their married life in their native state and remained there until 1845 when they came to Noble County with a family of children, the youngest of whom was an infant of a few months. They had $18 to start with, 6 young children to support and no land of their own. In 1861 at the age of 52 he was thrown from a wagon and received injuries that crippled him for life. Prior to the accident he had sold his Green Twp. farm and was about to remove to Kansas, but the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion changed his plans and he purchased the farm in Noble Twp. where he died. Three of his sons, John, Jacob and David, lost their lives in the War, John starving to death in Libby Prison.