Boy Henry and The Bees

Boy Henry and The Bees

Where do I start telling the story of how “the farm” got started with out giving you TMI? Henry cleared the land and built a home where brother Allan farms today. So lets start with Boy Henry.
In September 1838, five-year-old Henry Overhiser started moving west with his parents George & Elizabeth, 7 siblings (6 mos to 10 yrs), and his Grand Father Peter Storms. They left Avoca NY on a Monday and got to Buffalo on Friday. His other Grand Father John Casper Overhiser took a wagon load to Buffalo and then he returned home. After loading on a steamer they left at noon on Friday. At 4:00 a. m. Sunday morning they arrived at Sandusky. Cedar Point and Kalahari had not yet been built. On their way to Indiana they passed through Columbus and Springfield over the National Road. They rented a large log house near Uncle Reuben Storms in Fayette County near Connersville for 3 years. Henry’s dad cleared land and cut wood for 25 cents a cord.

As a youth, Henry learned farming, woodcutting and carpentry. Boy Henry helped his father clear away the forest three times for the building of a family home. The drawing below is the 1851 house built by George and Elizabeth in Blackford County south of Roll. They both died in this house (Mother 11-21-1860 and Father 12-18-1862). A log school was built on a part of the farm just 80 rods south of this house and a cemetery is located across the street.



As an adult, Henry would clear home sites four more times. At age 19 (1854) his father gave him one dollar with which to commence life on his own account. He at once began by chopping wood and then learned the carpenter trade. Those skills together with his farming became his life work.

On February 19, 1855, Henry married schoolmate Sarah McKee (born 6-23-1837 in OH). They farmed and had three of their 8 children prior to moving to Michigan in 1860. The stage is set for 3 year old William Albert to move with his parents to a land of promise.

Background - The 1832 Black Hawk War in Wisconsin aroused sentiment against the Indians and in 1838 the Potawatomi tribe was escorted from IN to the west by military force. In 1840 William Henry Harrison was elected President and the population of IN was 685,866. The log cabin above was home for the 13 kids. Sidebar: Henry was number 6 of 13 and our mother June (born 6-13-1917) was number 6 of 11 in the Evans family. Must have been some long waits to use the outhouse. The Evans family had a two-holler with Sears Catalog.

Henry Overhiser was born 1-2-1835 in Steuben Co., NY. His Father George was born 8-21-1804 in Otsego Co., NY and his Grand Father John Casper was born 4-1-1782 in Montgomery Co., NY. According to an old family Dutch Bible, Henry’s Great Grandfather Conrad was born near the village of Fishkill on the Hudson River in Dutchess Co., NY in April 29, 1754. Conrad married Mary Storm in 1776 and served his country during the Revolutionary War as a woodcutter. Conrad’s parents (Gasphier and Fronah Overhiser) we believe were born in Germany about 1734 and traveled to the colonies as newlyweds.

At the Farm (May 1) – Bees, Blossoms and Pollination

Sing along, “the hills are alive, with the sound of music … and blossoms”. The whites and pinks are in full bloom. The first two weeks of May are very critical as the pistils in the blossoms are very tender. So Mr. Frost, stay away! For a tree to produce quality fruit it must be healthy and mature enough to blossom freely and receive adequate pollination. Most trees will start bearing fruit 3 to 5 years after planting. Insect and bees do the pollinating.

So how does Allan get bees to do the pollinating? He rents 100 honeybee hives for just under $5,000. The hives are placed in four different locations. These worker bees will be buzzing around the fruit blossoms until the flowers are gone (about two weeks). You could call these workers “snow bees” because they winter in Florida. The beekeeper will move the hives north to other farms along Lake Michigan until they end up in the Travers City area. Below sister-in-law Kim Overhiser is checking the blooms (peaches and pears). Sweet cherries are above left and the bee in on a future apple.

Eat fruit today!