In 1870 U.S. Census, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio, John S. Van Meter, age 25, M W, law student, born Kentucky, is included in t he household of John I. VanMeter (age 72, M W, farmer, born Virg inia); real property valued at $30,000, personal property value d at $6,000.

Daily Lexington Press, p. 2, Saturday, April 18, 1874: J. S. Van Meter listed on Democratic ticket as candidate for County Attorn ey.

The Morning Herald, p.1, 14, Sunday, January 25, 1903: [Articl e on the Seven Fayette County Attorneys, and "The Political Hist ory" of their terms]: " At the sam e election [1874] at which Maj. B. G. Thomas was elected over L . P. Tarlton, John Stonestreet VanMeter, or, as he was better kn own, 'Street' VanMeter, was elected County Attorney, his predece ssor, J. R. Morton, having declined to offer for renomination . Mr. VanMeter was also an ex-Confederate soldier. He was th e son of Solomon VanMeter, of Fayette County, a wealthy farmer . Yet while a youth he enlisted in the Confederate army, joinin g Cluke's regiment, in which he earned an enviable reputation a s a soldier. He was one of the best scouts in the command. H e was made a prisoner on the Ohio raid when Morgan and Cluke sur rendered their forces and was in prison for about eighteen month s. After the war closed he graduated at Washington and Lee Coll ege; then studied law under John M. VanMeter, of Chillicothe, Oh io [Benjamin F. VanMeter states he studied law under John I. Van Meter, but both John I. VanMeter and John M. VanMeter, father an d son, were lawyers in Chillicothe at that time], and practice d in the city of Lexington. As stated, he was the successor o f Judge Morton as County Attorney of Fayette County. After th e expiration of his official term, he determined to answer a cal l to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. He went to Prince ton and at that great school gained a knowledge of theology an d the authority to preach the gospel, and in this calling he ha s met with great success.

"During the four years of his service as County Attorney the Dem ocratic party in Lexington and Fayette County was greatly streng thened. In the city the Democrats fortified themselves agains t the negro vote by having passed by the Legislature an amendmen t to the charter of the city requiring the payment of a capitati on tax of $1.50 as a pre-requisite to the exercise of the righ t to vote. The burden was light to the Democrats but, as was ex pected, it was oppressive to the negroes. It was believed wit h reason that the negroes would be unable to pay the money. Th e result proved that these calculations were correct. . . .

"During Mr. VanMeter's incumbency of the office of County Attorn ey the finishing touches were put on the movement to crush out t he kuklux and that organized band of outlaws went out of existen ce entirely in Fayette County.

"The kuklux were a band of marauders not unlike the present whit e caps of Indiana. They operated not alone in Fayette County, b ut in many counties of Central Kentucky. They were usually wel l mounted and well armed. Their operations were directed agains t anybody who might have earned their ill will, but principall y against negroes who might be obnoxious to the organization."

Obituary, Lexington Herald, p. 1, Wednesday, March 9, 1904, als o Lexington Leader, p. 8 (same date): died on March 8, 190 4 of heart trouble at 23 W. 93d St., New York, NY, wife and so n at bedside, funeral services at First Presbyterian Church, Lex ington, on Friday at 11:00 a.m.; heart trouble resulted from a p rolonged illness which originated while serving in pastorate a t Second Church, Paris Kentucky in summer, 1903; while in Paris , taken ill of inflammatory rheumatism, which disease he had con tracted in the Confederate army, and had suffered from intermitt ently since; had been taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, remaine d a month and developed the heart trouble; was born in Septembe r 1846 in Fayette County on the Bryan Station pike, the son of S olomon and Elizabeth Stonestreet VanMeter; at the age of sixteen , entered the Confederate army, serving through the war as a mem ber of Company E, Eighth Kentucky Cavalry; at the end of the war , enrolled in and graduated from Washington & Lee University; re ad law with his cousin, John I. VanMeter at Chillicothe, Ohio; m arried Miss Lizzie Yerkes, daughter of Dr. Stephen Yerkes of Dan ville, KY, only son, John [sic] Yerkes VanMeter; elected Fayett e County Attorney; while holding office decided to study for th e Presbyterian ministry, gave up office and practice, attended t he Theological Seminary at Danville, and later graduated from th e Theological Seminary at Princeton, NJ; first charge was Cynthi ana for three years, then Hot Springs, AR, seven years, then Ric hmond and Clinton, MO for several years, Los Angeles, CA for on e year (where he went on account of his wife's health), for pas t two years had been living in New York, NY where son was attend ing Belleview College of Medicine; was one of seven surviving Fa yette County Attorneys, while in Lexington last year, the seve n had their picture taken in a group which was published in th e Morning Herald, with sketches of each (Col. W. C. P. Breckenri dge, Judge J. Soule Smith, Steven G. Sharpe, John R. Allen, Joh n Stonestreet VanMeter, and Hon W. P. Kimball); other survivors , sister, Mrs. W. D. Nicholas of 440 W. Fourth [sic] St., Lexing ton, three half-brothers, Messrs. Solomon, Ike, and Prewitt VanM eter, and half-sister, Mrs. Lucy H. Kerr, Fulton. MO; was a Knig ht Templar, and the funeral will be held with Masonic honors.

Editorial, Lexington Herald, p. 2, Wednesday, March 9, 1904:"Dea th has been gentle and very kind to the Confederates, but as the y grow old, with this kindness, death removes them from this wor ld of work where old age is at a disadvantage, and crowns them w ith the eternal crown of immortality, and their ranks become thi nner every day. On yesterday two Kentucky Confederates, who ha d worthily won success in eminent professions, laid down the bur dens of this life-- one a successful physician in Sherman, Texas ; the other a beloved Presbyterian preacher in the city of New Y ork. Each had been a resident of Fayette, each belonged to larg e and widely scattered Kentucky families and each was born in th is favored Blue Grass country. On yesterday Mrs. W. C. P. Brecki nridge received a dispatch that her brother, Dr. John Orlando Sc ott, had died that morning in Sherman, the city of his residenc e for over a quarter of a century, from an operation performed t he day before; yesterday afternoon Mrs. William D. Nicholas rece ived a dispatch that her brother, Rev. John Stonestreet VanMeter , had died in New York of disease of the heart.

. . .

"When a lad of about sixteen, Stonestreet VanMeter-- as he was t hen called-- enlisted in the Confederate service in our command ; after the organization of the regiment of Col. Roy Cluke, he a sked to be transferred to that regiment, and to a company made u p of his friends and neighbors. After the war he studied law, an d settled in this city, and was elected County Attorney. He ha d married the youngest daughter of Rev. Dr. Yerkes, who had bee n one of the Professors of Transylvania when the writer was a st udent there. Joining the Presbyterian Church, he was convinced t hat it was his duty to preach, and with the same devotion to wha t he believed was his duty that he exhibited when he entered th e Confederate army, he gave up his chosen profession, resigned h is office as County Attorney and faithfully devoted himself to t he laborious task of fitting himself for the ministry in accorda nce with the custom and demand of the Presbyterian Church. He pr eached with marked success and acceptability in Kentucky, Arkans as, Missouri and New York. We were taught to honor, preserve an d reverence hereditary ties; to remember with affectionate cordi ality those whom our forebears had been on terms of friendship . Among the beloved and honored guests at the house of our fathe r was Mr. Stonestreet, the venerable grandfather of Mr. VanMeter -- an elegant, cultured and pious Presbyterian elder, an old-fas hioned, scholarly country gentleman. In our childhood, there wer e many of these typical country gentlemen; farmers and slavehold ers, independent in fortune, and scholarly in taste; dignified , influential and yet simple in manner and severe in life. We re call as we write a number of these who were often guests at Cabe ll's Dale or Breadalbane; or at whose house we had the delight t o be guest-- sometimes taken when a lad to their homes by our fa ther, and afterwards invited there by the friends of our family . We recall Mr. Stonestreet in his old age and are glad to hav e this opportunity to put on record this tribute to his memory . Street VanMeter had also served under us in his boyhood; he wa s a gallant, cheery, stout, healthy soldier; always well, gay ea ger for duty and ready for battle or scout; and our terms of cor dial friendship were never weakened.

"New York is remote from Texas, and Kentucky distant from each ; yet these Confederates died at home, in the sweet, lasting sen se of that word; each had in good faith done his duty as his hea rt and brain dictated; each had risked his life for that which h e was convinced was the command of honor and patriotism; and whe n his cause was defeated, each had devoted his life, his energie s, his labors to build up this country and make it a free, prosp erous and Christian republic; each loved his fellow-man, and gav e his life for their upbuilding. They were Kentuckians of old an d excellent stock; their ancestors migrated to this exquisite Bl ue Grass section before Kentucky was admitted as a State; they h ad in their veins the blood of revolutionary soldiers; and amon g their kin there were no better men or braver soldiers either i n the battles of war or the contests of peace."


Funeral, Lexington Leader, p. 5, Friday, March 11, 1904: "Sol emn Services Held At First Presbyterian Church. Funeral service s over the body of the Rev. John Stonestreet VanMeter were hel d at 11 o'clock Friday morning at the First Presbyterian Church.

"Mr. VanMeter, who at one time was County Attorney of Fayette co unty died in New York Tuesday and his body was brought to Lexing ton Thursday afternoon at 5:10 and was taken to the residence o f his sister, Mrs. W. D. Nicholas at 440 West Third street.

"Dr. Edwin Muller officiated at the services, assisted by the Re v. E. H. Rutherford of Paris. Dr. R. O. Kirkwood was to have ass isted but was called away from the city.

"As the body was being brought into the church a quartette consi sting of Misses Eugenia Dunlap and Amanda Maul and Messrs Garlan d Barr and Howard Curry, sang "Abide With Me." Dr. Rutherford th en read the twenty-third psalm and offered prayer. The quartett e then sang "I Need Thee Every Hour." Dr. Muller read the funera l service and offered a beautiful prayer.

"As the body was being borne from the church the quartette san g "Nearer My God to Thee."

"About thirty Confederate soldiers, comrades in arms of Mr. VanM eter, were present in a body and accompanied the body to the cem etery. Many beautiful floral tributes were sent, among them bein g a handsome Masonic design of the compass and square in white a nd red flowers and banked with ferns. Mr. VanMeter was a Knigh t Templar.

"At the grave the committal service was said. The pallbearers we re: I. C. VanMeter, S. L. VanMeter, W. D. Nicholas, John W. Yerk es, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, N. P. VanMeter, James C. V anMeter, John Woodford and Lovell Yerkes. Mr. Yerkes came from W ashington to attend the funeral of his relative, Mr. VanMeter ha ving been a cousin [sic] of Mr. Yerkes. [Note: Mr. Yerkes and th e decedent were brothers-in-law-- LBV]."

In Genealogies and Biographical Sketches, John Stonestreet VanMe ter, is listed as being a Presbyterian minister in Clinton, Miss ouri (pp. 66, 36). Buried Lot 20, Section D (lot of Stephen Yerk es, D.D.), Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, KY.

The Ministerial Directory of the Ministers of the Presbyterian C hurch (The Ministerial Directory Company of Oxford, Ohio, 1898) : John Stonestreet Van Meter, State: Richmond, MO Birth Ci ty and State: Lexington, KY PostID: 1317 Ordination: 1 0/31/1881. (Source Information: Armstrong, Amy, comp. Presbyte rian Ministerial Directory 1898. [database online] Provo, UT: An cestry.com, 2001-).