Krider, Jacob

17 Aug. 1788–17 Oct. 1874

See also: Western Carolinian

Jacob Krider, printer, publisher, and planter, was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Barnabus and Peggy Krider. Barnabus Krider moved with his family to Salisbury, N.C., sometime after 1800 and remained there until his death in 1823. Jacob's education and early years in Salisbury are not known; however, it can be assumed that he was involved to some extent with his father's print shop as he became affiliated with the printer Francis Coupee as early as 1811. Under the name of Coupee and Krider they printed a number of religious tracts and other materials. In 1813 Coupee and Krider founded the North Carolina Magazine, Political, Historical, and Miscellaneous, one of the first periodicals in western North Carolina. The first issue appeared in August 1813, with monthly issues through December 1813, when the magazine folded—perhaps in part because of Krider's involvement in the mustering of militia to fight the Creek Indians during the War of 1812. Krider became captain of the First Company, Seventh Regiment, commanded by Colonel Jesse A. Pearson. The company rendezvoused in Salisbury on 1 February, marched on 1 March, and returned to Salisbury about 1 August.

On 29 June 1815 Krider married Sarah Wood (1792–1880), and in 1817 was among a group of businessmen who subscribed the support for the first fire company in Salisbury. He was then operating a tavern with his brother-in-law, Thomas Holmes, and a store with David Wood. Krider also returned to the printing trade and in 1819 issued James H. Conway's The North Carolina Calculator. In June 1820 he founded The Western Carolinian in partnership with Lemuel Bingham, but in 1821 he sold his interest to Philo White. The Western Carolinian supported many of the political ambitions of Charles Fisher and was a strong voice for western interests in the state until it ceased publication in 1842.

About 1822 Krider moved with his family onto a tract of land in Scot-Irish Township that he purchased in the same year from Robert Bunton. The plantation he established there, Mt. Vernon, was adjacent to the grist and sawmills operated by his father-in-law, Daniel Wood. Krider's wife inherited the mills and property on which they sat at her father's death in 1829. Krider continued to operate the mills, and for the remainder of his life he was a miller, merchant, and planter in the Third Creek community.

With his removal from Salisbury to the country, Krider moved his membership from the Presbyterian Church in Salisbury to the Third Creek Church. In 1833, he served as chairman of the building committee that raised funds for and oversaw the construction of a brick structure, which has been occupied by the church since its completion in 1835. He and his brother-in-law, William Burton Wood, were two of the three church members who subscribed as much as $100 to the building fund. On 22 May 1842, Krider was ordained an elder at Third Creek Church and held that position until his death.

The Kriders had three daughters and five sons. Mary Letitia (1816–51) married the Reverend James Elijah Morrison, Margaret C. (1823–79) married John Giles Fleming, and Julia (1833–1912) married first Richard Wainwright Griffith and second John Graham. Krider's oldest child, William H. (1819–61), never married. The second and third sons, Thomas Albert (b. 1821) who married the widow Jane Wood, and Daniel Wood (1825–82) who married Margaret A. Lowe, became doctors. The fourth son, Charles C. Krider (1827–91) who married Margaret A. McKinnon, was sheriff of Rowan County for ten years (1880–90). The fifth son, Barnabus Scott Krider (1829–65), attended Davidson College and the Columbia and Princeton theological seminaries; he married Maria Catherine Cowan.

Krider, his wife, and five of their children were buried at Third Creek Church. His house, Mt. Vernon, which passed out of the family in 1892, still stands in Rowan County.