USA > Ohio > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions > Part 52
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After finishing the district schools, he attended Otterbein College, where he took a normal course. of three terms. After that he again returned home and continued to help his father until he was married at the age of twenty-two.
Christian A. Hart was married on December 17, 1885, to Abbie Amanda Reeves, who was born just east of Pandora, October 4, 1860, and who is the daughter of Finley and Elizabeth (Herron) Reeves. Finley Reeves was born in Tuscarawas county, June 6, 1820. His parents were both natives of Pennsylvania. Finley Reeves and family moved to Putnam county in 1859 and settled in Riley township on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres just east of Pandora. Here he lived until his death in June, 1891. His wife died on February 13, 1879. It was here that Mrs. Hart was born and reared and attended the public schools of Pandora. After leaving the com- mon schools, she attended the Columbus Grove high school, and following this, took a special normal course at the Northern Ohio Normal University, at Ada. Upon finishing this course, she taught school for five years, or until her marriage in 1885.
After his marriage, Christian A. Hart purchased a farm one-half mile north of Pandora. This farm contained seventy-nine acres and here he and his wife lived for nine years. Mr. Hart then sold out and moved to Pandora, where he continued in the live stock business in which he had been engaged
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some time previously. He continued in this business seven or eight years and then devoted his attention to the farm and also to his scales at the stock yards, which he had been operating for about twenty-two years.
Mr. and Mrs. Christian A. Hart have been the parents of six children. The first and third children died at birth, the second child, Glenn, died when nine days old, and Grace Elizabeth, who was born on January 20, 1900, died on October 5, 1900. The two living children are Leonard William, born on May 1, 1893, and Walter Reeves, born on August 8, 1895, both of whom are at home.
Mr. Hart is a Republican. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member. Christian A. Hart is one of the prominent, well-known men of Pandora and Riley township, a progressive citizen and a man whose character and reputation are the very highest in the community where he lives.
Reverting to Mr. Hart's father, Samuel L. Hart, it may be said that his father, John Hart, was born in 1809, in eastern Pennsylvania, the son of George and Mary Hart, also natives of Pennsylvania. George Hart came to Ohio and settled in Ashland county, in 1811, when his son John, was two years old. Here George Hart remained the balance of his life, dying in 1850, at the age of seventy years. He owned a farm near Jeromesville, Ash- land county. George Hart was the father of seven children, three sons and four daughters. John was the oldest child and spent his youth in Ashland county where he remained until thirty-two years of age, when he was mar- ried to Mary Ming, also of Ashland county. To this union nine children were born, three of whom died in infancy, three sons and three daughters lived to maturitd. They were, Mary Catherine, Elizabeth Ann, Absalom, Samuel L., John S., and Margaret N. The last two children were born in Putnam county to which place John Hart came in the fall of 1841, when Samuel L., his son, was eighteen months old. He settled in Pleasant town- ship, about three miles southeast of Pleasant Grove and here purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, all of which was covered with timber and unimproved. John Hart proceeded to clear this land and later built a plank house and a frame barn. Here his children grew up and Samuel L. spent his youth and remained until twenty-six years of age.
During the first year of the Civil War, in 1861, John Hart enlisted in the Fifty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served two years Among other important engagements, he participated in the battles of Pitts- burg Landing and the siege of Vicksburg. He served under General Rice from Putnam county. On account of sickness, due to a prevailing camp
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disease, he was discharged. He was a very active man and it is related that during a contest among the soldiers who were trying to jump over a mule at the siege of Vicksburg, John Hart was the only man in the brigade able to accomplish the feat. He jumped over the mule to the great delight of his comrades.
After his discharge, he returned home, in 1863, and resumed farming, but three years later his wife died. John Hart was married again, in 1869, to Mrs. Jane (Bogart) Ward. To this union, one child, Jacob Hart, was born. About ten years later, his wife died and he was married a third time to a widow by the name of Minson, but there were no children by this union. After his last marriage, he moved to Columbus Grove, where he lived for a year or two and then moved to a farm two miles south of Columbus Grove. Two years later, he died at the age of seventy-seven years.
After Samuel Hart married, he farmed his father's place for five years. He married Anna Amstutz, February 19, 1861. She was the daughter of Christian and Anna (Burkholder) Amstutz, both pioneer settlers of Putnam county. The three children born to this marriage are: Mary Ann, Christian A. and John S. A little less than five years after his marriage, Mrs. Hart died, February 1, 1866. Just prior to his wife's death, Mr. Hart moved to a farm one and one-half miles north of Pandora. Two or three days later, they were on a visit to the old home place when Samuel Hart's mother died, January 25, 1866, and six days later his wife died. Samuel Hart continued to farm the place north of Pandora, the children having been placed with relatives, and here he farmed for thirty years.
About fourteen months after his first wife's death, he was married to Sarah Kauffman, of Ashland county, Ohio, the daughter of Andrew Kauff- man and wife. No children were born to this marriage. His second wife died in 1884 and three years later, on February 6, 1887, he was married, a third time, to Margaret V. Poe, who was born in Putnam county, July 27, 1858, and who was the daughter of James and Nancy (Simpson ) Poe. The former was a native of Hancock county and the latter of Putnam county. To this last marriage, one child, Alvin, was born. He resides on the home place and a part of the time at Ottawa.
As has been said heretofore, the Hart family has always been prominent in the community where they live. For several generations, they have been people of industrious habits, frugal, prudent and broadminded. They repre- sent the best blood and sinew of Putnam county and are, therefore, worthy the esteem in which they are held.
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DAVID C. STEINER.
Among the citizens of Putnam county, Ohio, who built up comfortable homes and provided themselves with valuable property, few have attained a greater degree of success than David C. Steiner, of Riley township, one of the most public-spirited citizens of the county. With many discourage- ments to overcome, he has achieved an exceptional success in life, and has- the gratification of knowing that his community has been greatly benefited by his presence and his counsel. He is regarded as a good business man and a man who is possessed of sound judgment and foresight, who believes in pressing forward and in keeping the wheels of the car of civilization ever moving onward. He enjoys the respect and esteem of all who know him, and as a consequence of his business ability and his interest in public affairs, he is regarded by all as one of the substantial and worthy citizens of Put- nam county.
David C. Steiner was born in Riley township, September 16, 1860, the son of Christian and Magdalene (Lugibihl) Steiner. Christian Steiner was born in Richland township, Allen county, Ohio, January 25, 1838, the son of Peter and Barbara. (Schuhmacher) Steiner. Peter Steiner was born in Alsace, in 1810, and was the son of a farmer. He married Barbara Schuh- macher, a native of Basel, Switzerland, in 1835. She was born in 1811. Soon after their marriage they came to America, and were forty days in making the voyage across the ocean. They settled two and one-half miles west of Bluffton, in Richland township, Allen county. At that time the country was in a virgin state, being covered with timber. They passed through all of the pioneer experiences. He died at the age of sixty, in 1870, and nineteen years later his wife died at the age of seventy-eight. The were the parents of four sons and seven daughters, three of whom still sur- vive. The present living children are: Christian, Elizabeth and Peter P.
Christian Steiner, the father of David C. Steiner, spent his boyhood on the old homestead in Richland township, Allen county. Here he attended the typical log cabin school house as a boy and young man. He helped his- father clear the land and also helped to make the brick with which to build their residence, which stands today. At the age of twenty-one, he was mar- ried on November 23, 1859, to Magdalene Lugibihl, who was born on Decem- ber 23, 1840, in Riley township, Putnam county. She is the daughter of Christian and Barbara (Hilty) Lugibihl. Christian Lugibihl was born in Alsace, November 21, 1809, and as a child came with his parents to America
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and settled in Ohio. He was married, in 1838, to Barbara Hilty, who was born in Berne, Switzerland, April, 1814. After their marriage they removed to Riley township in Putnam county, settling two and one-half miles east of Pandora. Barbara (Hilty) Lugibihl died at the age of thirty- seven, in 1853. She was the mother of ten children. Her husband died two and one-half years later, in 1855. After his marriage, Christian Steiner located on à farm of one hundred and twenty acres one mile east of Pendle- ton on the Ridge road. Only a few acres of this farm were cleared and it had a one-roomed log cabin in which David C. Steiner was born. His- father proceeded to clear the land and also engaged in the saw-mill business- for several years, in conjunction with three neighbors. A part of this work was keeping the books for this enterprise. Christian Steiner has always been a very successful farmer and has always been an extensive feeder of cattle and hogs and, during recent years, has specialized in Polled Durham cattle. He is a Democrat, and served as district clerk and was a member of the school board for several years. He has acted as an administrator and executor of many estates. He is a member of the Grace Mennonite. church, of which he has been a liberal supporter. When the St. John's. was built, he was a member of the building committee. Mr. Steiner is a public-spirited citizen, of clean character and sterling integrity. He and his wife have been the parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, David C., Samuel C., Susan, deceased; Gideon C., Elizabeth, Peter C., Elias, Barbara, Christian, Sarah, who died at the age of two years, and Mary.
David C. Steiner was born on the old homestead and there grew to. manhood. He attended the district schools and the Northwestern Ohio University, at Ada, for five terms, after which he taught school for five years. He was considered one the successful teachers in this township.
When Mr. Steiner was twenty-six years old, he was married on March 10, 1887, to Barbara Welty, who was born, on January 15, 1866, in Rich- land township, Allen county, Ohio. She is the daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Steiner) Welty, the former a native of Berne, Switzerland, and the son of John and Christina (Gerber) Welty. Frederick Welty came to. America in 1856, at the age of twenty-five, with his parents, and settled in Richland township, Allen county. He was born on February 6, 1831. He was married on September 4, 1856, to Catherine Steiner, the daughter of John F. and Barbara (Habegger) Steiner, both of whom were natives of Switzerland. They came to America in an early day, when Catherine was. only two years old, and settled in Riley township, Putnam county, Ohio.
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After his marriage, David C. Steiner settled on the Markley farm of eighty acres, three miles east of Pandora, where he has lived ever since. He was always engaged in general farming and has been successful in this vocation.
Mr. and Mrs. David C. Steiner have eleven children, three of whom are deceased, Elma Delia, the wife of Doctor Nicewander, of Bluffton, Ohio, who has one daughter, Eleanor; Lennis Gilbert, who married Hulda Schuh- macher and lives in Pandora; Hulda Viola, who died at the age of two years; Homer Arthur, who died at the age of one year; Frances Ellen, who died at the age of one month; Elvina Ruth, who is a student in high school; Susie Amelia, who is also a student in high school; Edith Gertrude, Lillian Grace, Wilma Catherine and Marguerite Madeline, all of whom are stu- dents in the graded school.
Mr. Steiner is a Democrat. He is a member of the Grace Mennonite church, while his wife is affiliated with the Missionary church. David C. Steiner is a clean-cut, progressive farmer and citizen. He owns a beautiful farm, on which he has erected a modern house. He is a man who is well respected and is possessed of high ideals, a worthy example to young men who are hesitating at the beginning of their careers as to what course they will follow.
ARCHIE A. SLAYBAUGH.
The whole career of Archie A. Slaybaugh, covering a little more than two score years, has been spent in Putnam county, Ohio. When only six- teen years of age, he began to teach school, and after two years' service as a teacher, he began the study of law, and since his admission to the bar, in the fall of 1896, he has been actively engaged in the practice of his pro- fession. He has held various official positions and is now prosecuting attor- ney of Putnam county, a position to which he was elected in the fall of 1912.
Archie A. Slaybaugh, the son of Thomas C. and Emma J. (Miller) Slaybaugh, was born on September 2, 1874, at West Leipsic, Putnam county, Ohio. Both of his parents were born in Pennsylvania, his father being a son of John Slaybaugh and wife, who came from Pennsylvania, to Shelby county, Ohio, early in its history. Emma J. Miller, the mother of Mr. Slaybaugh, came to Gilboa, in Putnam county, with her parents when she was five years of age. Her father, David Miller, was a tanner for many
ARCHIE A. SLAYBAUGIL.
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years, and spent his declining years in West Leipsic, where his death oc- curred.
Thomas C. Slaybaugh was a soldier in Company B, Benton Cadets, a Missouri regiment, and was at the front for nearly three years. After the expiration of his first term of enlistment, he re-enlisted in another company and served until the close of the war. He was twice married, his first wife dying in Shelby county a short time before he located in Putnam county, in 1872. There was one daughter, Mrs. Lizzie Henderson, born to this first marriage, and she is now living in Rossford, Ohio, where her husband is the chief engineer of the Ford plate glass works. By his second marriage, with Emma J. Miller, there were born three children, A. A., of Leipsic; Mrs. Lola Rehfeldt, of Toledo, Ohio, and Wiley A., of Toledo. Thomas C. Slaybaugh was a carpenter by trade. Later he became a finished of D handles, and, in 1880, went to Edgerton, Ohio, where he worked for four years. He moved back to West Leipsic in 1884, and lived there until August, 1913. His wife died on September 30, 1909, and he is now living at Toledo with his daughter, Mrs. Rehfeldt.
Archie A. Slaybaugh was reared at West Leipsic and attended the normal school at that place when it was under the charge of I. L. Harmon. When only sixteen years of age he secured a teacher's license and taught for two years in this county, teaching his first term at Miller City, in 1891. He began reading law with T. W. Prentiss, of Leipsic, in June, 1893, and in October, 1896, was admitted to the Putnam county bar. He has since been in the active practice of his profession at Leipsic. He is active in the councils of the Democratic party, and from 1900 to 1902, was mayor of Leipsic. He was solicitor of the village from 1902 to 1912, and on January I, 1914, again took charge of the same office. He was a member of the board of education from January 1, 1910, to January 1, 1913, when he resigned to take his present office as prosecuting attorney of Putnam county, to which he had been elected in November of the preceding year. He is now discharging the duties of prosecuting attorney in a manner that shows he has a firm grasp of the law, as well as those qualities of good judgment and impartiality which should characterize the successful prosecutor.
Mr. Slaybaugh was married on June 9, 1901, to Emily Bradley, who was born at Kalida, this county, and is a daughter of Patterson and Emily (Turpening) Bradley. Her father, now deceased, was a farmer in early life and later was a dealer in horses. He was of Irish parentage and was a soldier in the Civil War, coming to Putnam county and locating at Kalida
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after its close, where he spent the rest of his days. Mr. and Mrs. Slay- baugh have two children, Gordon Maxwell and Helen Louise. The family are members of the Church of Christ at Leipsic, while fraternally, Mr. Slaybaugh is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BAKER.
A prosperous farmer of Van Buren township, Putnam county, Ohio, is Thomas Jefferson Baker, where he has been a resident for many years. Mr. Baker has met with many discouragements in his life, yet despite the many obstacles which he has met along life's pathway, he has maintained a cheerful spirit. He has made several trips to California, where he has always succeeded in recouping his losses in Putnam county, in various ways. He and his wife have reared a family of children and have given them all excellent educations.
Thomas J. Baker, the son of George Adam and Margaret (Weeks) Baker, was born near Van Buren, Hancock county, Ohio, August 27, 1847. His father was born in 1822, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a son of Charles. Baker and wife. Charles Baker was a native of Ohio and moved from Fairfield to Hancock county in its early history and entered government land, on which he lived until his death. Charles Baker owned three hundred and sixty acres of land, at the time of his death, and each of his five children received sixty acres from their father's estate. Charles Baker and wife reared five children, Hannah, the wife of Samuel Koggy; George Adam, the father of Thomas J. Baker; Solomon, Betsy, the wife of Steven Warner, and one daughter who died in infancy.
Charles Baker lost his first wife when the children were very young and he later married, but only lived nine months after his second marriage, leav- ing his children orphans. At that time, George Adam Baker was only nine years of age and he, and the rest of the children, were bound out until they should become of age. George went to live with a German family in Fairfield county, and in this way learned to speak German. He. was taught the plasterer's trade and when a young man of nineteen, mar- ried Margaret Weeks, of Fairfield county. She was the daughter of Nathan and Barbara (Corfman) Weeks, and was born in 1822, and died on. September 5, 1913, at the age of ninety-one.
George Adam Baker and wife were the parents of twelve children,
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Hannah, who first married Cephus Gribble, and had five children, and after her first husband's death, married Willis Decker, and had one child by her second marriage; Solomon, who married Amanda Lehr, and had six children; Nathan, who married Fromy Miller; Thomas J., with whom this narrative deals; Almeda, the wife of Steward Skinner, and the mother of four children; Benjamin, who married Seena Busong, and has two children, one deceased; George, who married Mary Warner, and has five children; Malissa, who married John Overholt, and had two children, one dying in infancy; Elmira, deceased, who was the wife of Louis Roberts, deceased, and the mother of two children; Ella, the wife of Ernest New- man, and the mother of one child, who died in infancy; Clemmie, who married Kate Kisel, and has nine children; William, deceased.
George Adam Baker moved back to Hancock county, after his mar- riage, and located on the old home place near Van Buren. He had sixty acres which he inherited from his father's estate, after which he bought the share of property belonging to his brother, Solomon, which gave him a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. On this he lived the remainder of his life, dying at the age of forty-seven, in 1869. He was a man highly esteemed in his community and was always concerned in every movement which promised to better the locality in which he lived.
Thomas J. Baker was educated in the common schools of his boyhood days and helped his father on the old homestead farm, in Hancock county, until he was about twenty-three years of age. He then took a trip to California, where he worked on a ranch and served as a "Buck Ayr." He remained in California a year and then returned to his home in Hancock county, where he worked out by the month until he was twenty-nine years of age. He then married, and immediately after his marriage, moved to Van Buren township, Putnam county, Ohio, and located on an eighty-acre farm four miles east of Leipsic. He had bought this farm prior to his marriage, and at the time he moved upon it, there was only twelve acres cleared. He struggled along on the farm for two or three years, but not being able to make much money, he decided to go "out West," where he felt that he could get good wages. He left his little family with his wife's parents and went to California, where he again worked for the same man who had employed him on his first trip to that state. He made good wages and returned home with nearly enough money to pay for his farm. He remained on the farm for several years, but his house burning down, caused him a loss of sixteen hundred dollars. Again he decided that he would go to California and try to make enough money to pay off his debt
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and build a new home. He made the trip the third time and was again successful and returned with enough money to start in life anew under favorable circumstances, and he has since made his home on the farm, and, in addition to general farming, he has been very successful in raising fruit and poultry. He is an extensive poultry raiser and derives no small part of his income from the sale of this product.
A very interesting story is apropos at this point. It seems that when George Adam Baker, father of Thomas J., came to Ohio, that they had no chickens, so they bought a hen and chickens from a neighbor. When these chickens became large enough to crow, it seemed that they did not know how. An Irish friend explained that the reason why they did not crow, was because they did not know how. There were no other roosters in the neighborhood and the young cockerels had never heard one of their kind crow. The Irishman volunteered to teach them this art, and each morning he went out early, clapped his hands, hopped on top of a chicken coop and crowed. Strange as it may seem, the Irishman taught the young roosters how to crow, and thus the chicken industry started in the Baker family.
Mr. Baker married Jennie Walker, a daughter of Abraham and Mary Walker. She was born in Wood county, Ohio, July 25, 1851, and died April 1, 1908. Her parents were natives of New Jersey. To this union five children have been born, Nathan, who is a resident of Phoenix, Ari- zona; Alva A., who married Loua Eastman, and lives at Carmangay, Alberta, Canada; William B., who married Lulu Pendleton, farming the home farm; Ira E., who married Nona Pendleton, and makes his home in Cleveland, Ohio; Charles E., married Miss Alta Ginder.
Mr. Baker is a Democrat in politics, but has never been active in the councils of his party. He has taken a great interest in the education of his children, and has seen them all receive excellent training in the public and normal schools, as well as the universities of Ohio and Indiana. After graduating from the Leipsic high school, Alva later attended the Tri-State College at Angola, Indiana. Nathan was a student in the Ohio State Uni- versity at Columbus. Ira graduated from the Ottawa Business College, while Charles E. is a graduate in music. Mrs. Baker was a member of the Evangelical church, while Mr. Baker is affiliated with the United Brethren denomination. Mr. Baker is a man of genial impulses, kindly disposition and highly esteemed in the neighborhood where he has made his home so many years.
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CLEMENT C. RIMER.
Clement C. Rimer, for many years, has been closely identified with the history of Putnam county, Ohio. He is one of the brilliant young attorneys of Columbus Grove, and, throughout his life, has been active in behalf of all worthy public enterprises. He has already achieved a splendid measure of professional success, his years of conscientious work as a lawyer having brought him increasing practice and reputation. By a straightforward, hon- orable course, Mr. Rimer has built up a large and lucrative legal business. His life is a splendid example of what an American youth, endowed with common sense, energy and determination, can accomplish. He has achieved a splendid record at the bar at an age when most men are merely starting on their life work. He has been intensely methodical and unswervingly per- sistent in search of legal essentials. Success could not help crowning his efforts and attracting to him public recognition and appreciation.
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