lijah Briner, a successful farmer in Vernon Township, was born May 11, 1859, in Grassy Fork Township, Jackson County, Indiana. He was the only son of young farmer Jesse Briner who died in the War Between the States when Elijah was just 5 years old. Elijah’s mother remarried a couple of years later but the boy’s new stepfather mistreated him causing him to leave home when he was of age. He is found on the 1880 census working as a farm hand and boarding at the James H. Conner residence.

After his marriage to Harriett Winkler in 1882, life improved for Elijah as he acquired land and a home in the Crothersville area. The couple prospered as a farm family, and five of seven children born to them lived to adulthood. Elijah was blessed with 22 grandchildren. Following Harriett’s death in 1920, Elijah married Louisa Peters Kurtz.

Sources:
	Personal recollections of granddaughters Lois Briner and Lucille Briner Rhude.
	1860 Census, Grassy Fork Township, Jackson County, IN
	1880 Census, Vernon Township, Jackson County, IN, p. 234
	Marriage Record from Harriett’s Bible

Submitted by g-grandson Robert D. Rhude