His grandfather, Joel Van Meter, was, at one time, the only Abolition voter in Clark County, and did more, perhaps, for the fugitive slaves and the abolition of slavery than any other man in the county. Mr. Van Meter is a descendant of one of the oldest and most noted Holland families, his ancestors settling in New York in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
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Jane, Here is an FYI on the UGRR connections.

Above is an excerpt from Beers - History of Clark County, Ohio 1881.
This is from a biographical sketch of R.E. Van Meter.

This Mr. Joel Van Meter was an early settler in Clark County, Ohio (1804). I believe he was related to the Van Meter's of Hardy County, Va cited in your postings. Local records have him coming to Clark County, Ohio from Hardy County, VA. He was located in the Clark/Greene County, Ohio area that was a "hot bed" of UGRR activites from the time Ohio entered the Union as a State (1803). Joel Van Meter is recorded by Wilbur H. Siebert as an UGRR Operator in his "Mysteries of the Ohio Underground Railroad".

Art Thomas