One Township's Yesterdays Chapter XXIX  

EASTERDAY

DANIEL EASTERDAY and his wife Julia, with their family of children, then of tender years, came to Union Township from Marion County, Ohio.

They came direct to Lake Maxinkuckee by way of Plymouth. At the lower end of the lake they found quite a colony of German families forming, and decided to set up their home there. It was a pleasant locality, one to which anyone the least bit susceptible to the charms of nature might soon become firmly attached. It is true, the soil was sandy, and the EASTERDAYs had not been accustomed to land of this kind, back where they had lived in Ohio. When they migrated, it was a case of "out of the heavy land and into the sandy," as it has been expressed.

Daniel was the first EASTERDAY known that came to Indiana, or to this part of the State anyway. The land he settled on had been previously occupied; it was the MC MILLEN place. The MC MILLEN family lived there when he came.

He found a log house already located on the place, but it had rotted down and was hardly fit to live in. And since the MC MILLEN cabin was in such a state of decay, Daniel EASTERDAY decided that the best and only thing he should do was to build a log house of his own, immediately. Wasting no time, he set to work and soon had a snug and substantial home in readiness to shelter his family. That log house stood for a number of years, and was in use until such a time as the head of the family was in position to put up a more modern and commodious form of dwelling.

Daniel EASTERDAY was born in Ohio, November 26, 1835, and died in Culver, January 12, 1899*. His wife, who before her marriage was JULIA MYERS, was born in Germany in 1830. At the age of nine, she came to America. She passed away, December 23, 1883, on the homestead farm, now owned by JOHN KLINE, and was buried on Christmas Day.

*Daniel EASTERDAY came to CuIver [Culver] as a retired citizen in 1899 and died in 1929 and not in 1899.
The children of Daniel and Julia EASTERDAY were all born in Ohio.

Laura, the oldest, deceased
John deceased
W. S. (Samuel), the youngest, is the well-known undertaker, now of Culver.

Other members of DANIEL EASTERDAY's immediate family became interested in the "lands of the farther west," and they also came and settled in the vicinity of Lake Maxinkuckee. They migrated somewhat over a decade later than did Daniel.

Henry, an older brother of Daniel, moved, into the Germany neighborhood in about the year 1875.

Daniel's brother Benjamin came in '78 from Crawford County, Ohio, bought a farm right beside Dan's, and settled there. The place is now SCHUYLER OVERMYER's. Benjamin was the father of

Lee EASTERDAY who now resides on a place of his own in the township

Another brother, Jacob, came out and settled near Plymouth. He passed away some years ago and was buried back in Ohio.

The EASTERDAY brothers owned considerable land at the south end of the lake in the 'seventies.

• Daniel's consisted of 133.06 acres at the extreme southeast corner of the lake. It bordered on that body of water.
• West of this land, on the south shore and bordering also on the lake, Benjamin had 118.29 acres. District School No. 10, the Mt. Pleasant School, was located in the southwest corner of this land.