farmer, Vevay, was born in Ohio County in 1839. He is a son of Nathan A. and Elizabeth (Crowley) Van Osdol, his father having been born in Pennsylvania in 1813, his mother in Virginia in 1816. They were married in 1836 and reared fourteen children, seven of whom are still living. They settled in Indiana at an early day, and engaged in farming. Mr. Van Osdol served as commissioner in Ohio County from 1860 to 1864, and was forty-eight years a class leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Van Osdol was also a member, their house always being a home for the ministers. Our subject has been a farmer from boyhood. In 1861 he enlisted in Company E, Fiftieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and entered the United States service, in which he was faithfully engaged three years and three months, after which he returned to the farm again. In April, 1884, he removed to Vevay, to secure the advantages of the public schools for his children, and there he has since resided. Mr. Van Osdol was married, in April, 1858, to Miss Rachel Jenkens, who was born in Ohio County in 1841. Their children are James A., Margaret, Harry, Mary, Kate, Julia, Charles and Lillian. The two eldest are married. Mr. Van Osdol is a member of Allensville Lodge F. & A.M., and Patton Post, G.A.R., of Vevay, and Presbyterian Church.
Source: History of Switzerland County, Indiana 1885. Chicago, Illinois: Weakley, Harraman & Co., 1885
Transcribed by: Sheila Kell