The Indiana Homestead

Nathaniel Foltz (1831-1932)

Sarah Catherine Leonard (1836-1910)

paternal 2nd great-grandparents 

Left: Nathaniel Foltz and Sarah Leonard 

  

I enjoy looking at all kinds of maps but I’m partial to cadastral maps when working on genealogy. This type of map shows land parcels in relation to one another and to the adjoining roads. It also shows owners’ names and the size of each parcel; small black squares indicate locations of houses.

 

A portion of the 1903 Grant County, Indiana cadastral map containing the town of Swayzee and sections 9 through 25 in Sims Township is shown below. This is where Nathaniel Foltz and Sarah Leonard, along with two of their sons, Elmer and Emmet, settled in 1883.

 

1903 cadastral map of a portion of Sims Township, Grant County, IN (Library of Congress)

   

I marked each of the Foltz properties with a red circle. 

• Section 12 shows E. Foltz (Elmer) as the owner of 128.69 acres. 

• In Section 13,  S. C. Foltz (Sarah) is shown as the owner of a 49-acre portion, with Nathaniel owning 150.50 acres of adjacent land. 

• E. & E. Foltz – Elmer’s brother, Emmet, and sister-in-law, Elizabeth ‒ own a parcel of 63.75 acres.   

The properties marked in green in Sections 14, 15, 22, and 27 were owned by some members of the Gentis and Zirkle families, also from Champaign County, Ohio. Jesse Foltz mentioned them in his letter to his niece. [See post Settling the Indiana Homestead.]

 

This 2019 Google Map image shows the Foltz homestead.

 

According to Jesse, Nathaniel Foltz’s property was located one mile north and two miles east of Swayzee, which puts it at the intersection of 200 S and 600 W. As far as I can tell from Google Maps satellite images, it appears the original house is still there.  

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It's now 2026. I decided to check Google Maps again to see if the old Foltz homestead is still standing. Sadly, this April 2025 image shows that the house has deteriorated significantly. 

− SOURCES −

 

Photos of the Foltz homestead − Google Maps images (2019 and 2025). 

 

W. B. Westlake. Map of Grant County, Indiana. Madison, Ind.: W.B. Westlake, 1903. Map. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593196/.

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Howell-Richards Family History − June 2021 (updated March 2026)