History of the Upper Ohio Valley Brant & Fuller, 1890; Vol. I, page 501.
Joseph M. Gonter, a well-known citizen of Elm Grove, is a son of Adam and Catherine (Fanning) Gonter. Adam Gonter was born at Waynesboro, Penn., in 1794, and his wife was born April 7, 1801. The former was a wagon-maker by trade, and followed that vocation through life. He had ten children in all, seven sons and three daughters, of whom five sons are now living. Joseph M. was born at Shepherdstown, Jefferson county, W. Va., March 14, 1835, and there received his education, and subsequently learned the trade of painter and paperhanger, at which he has since been engaged. On September 23, 1860, he was married to Catherine Rupp, of Wheeling, who was born February 9, 1841. The war breaking out soon afterward, Mr. Gonter enlisted in Company G, First West Virginia infantry, having previously been rejected from Battery D, First artillery, on account of disability. His last enlistment was in 1864, and he then served until the close of the war. Mr. and Mrs. Gonter's marriage has been blessed with seven children, three of whom are living. Mrs. Jane McCormick, the oldest, resides in Wheeling, and Martha C. and George B., reside with their parents. Mr. Gonter is a worthy citizen, a member of the Evangelical church, of Wheeling, of the G. A. R., and of Mystic lodge, NO. 24, K. P., of Elm Grove.
