New Harmony Historic District

Was organized August 14, 182 1, and derives its name from the peculiar class of people who settled it in 1814 - 15, and who styled themselves the "Harmonie Society," an account of which will be found under the sketch of New Harmony. In population and wealth it is second only to Black. Its inhabitants are intelligent, industrious and public spirited. There were 8,573 acres of land under cultivation in the township in 1880, and the yield of wheat and corn for that year aggregated 265,402 bushels, the average production being respectively, fifteen and thirty-five bushels per acre.

Passage source: History and Directory of Posey County [Indiana] : Containing an Account of the Early Settlement and Organization of the County ... : Also a Complete List of the Tax-payers, Their Post-office Addresses and Places of Residence, Together with a Business Directory of Mt. Vernon and New Harmony ... Also Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens of the County, published 1882.

JACOB BEEITH, dealer in drugs and family groceries, was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 15, 1828, and is a son of Frank and l^argaret (Heldebrand) Breith, who were the parents of twelve children. His father was also a native of Germany, a shoe-maker by trade, and served four years in the Bavarian Army. His mother was also of German nativity, both lived and died in their native land. The only education received by our subject was when he was very young. When he was nine years old his father began teaching him the trade of a shoe-maker, at which he worked until arrivii}g at his majority, when according to the law of his country he began serving the regular term of five years in the Bavarian Army. He immigrated to America in 1854, landing at New Orleans, coming up the Mississippi and Ohio Elvers to Evansville, thence to Posey Coiinty, and settling at Stewartsville. For about [two years he worked by the day on the farm at 50 cents per day, and then began the shoe-maker's trade at Stewartsville, where he continued working at his trade until 1870, since which time he has been a resident of New Harmony. For a short time he continued working at his trade in this place. In 1873 he engaged in the grocery business; in 1876 moved to his present place of business, and the same year added a stock of drugs. He was married, March 1, 1854, to Miss Saloma Shifar, also a native of Germany. Of fourteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. Breith, only three survive: Elizabeth, Caroline and Eleanora. At the time of their marriage they were too poor to buy a bedstead and for six weeks had to sleep on the floor, but by energy, economy and hard labor they have made a comfortable living. In politics Mr. Breith is a Democrat, and withal an estimable and worthy citizen.

Passage source: History of Posey County, Indiana : from the Earliest Times to the Present, with Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc. : Together with an Extended History of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana, published 1886.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Harmony Township - 13,814 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.