Minerd.com Biography of William and Sarah (Swigert) Gaumer of Flora, IN

William Gaumer was born on June 27, 1806 in Southampton Township, Somerset County, PA, the son of Daniel and Hannah (Baughman) Gaumer Sr. He was only three years old when he migrated with his parents, brothers and sisters to Muskingum County, OH.

On March 26, 1826, William married Sarah Swigert (1805-1864) (or "Swegart") in Muskingum County.

They made their home in Madison Township, Muskingum County. At some point in about 1850, the Gaumers moved westward to Indiana, making a home in or near Flora, Madison Township, Carroll County.

There, William labored earning a living as a farmer and flour miller. In 1860, federal census records show the family residing in Jackson Township, Carroll County, with William marked as a day laborer. He is said in 1869 to have erected a steam-powered sawmill on property owned by (?) Hoff northeast of Flora.

William survived his wife by eight years. He died in Carroll County on March 19, 1872 at the age of 66. Burial was in the Shirar-Landis Cemetery in Flora, Carroll County. [Find-a-Grave]

Son George Washington Gaumer (1825- ? ) was born in about 1825 in Muskingum County.

At the age of 25, unmarried, he lived at home with his parents in Madison Township, Muskingum County. He migrated to Indiana with his parents in about 1850.

They resided in Deer Creek, Carroll County, IN and had one known daughter, Susan C. Gaumer.

Son Charles Harrison Gaumer (1831- ? ) was born in about 1831 in Muskingum County.

When he was in his late teens, he and his parents migrated to Indiana, putting down roots on a farm near Flora, Carroll County.

In his work as a farmer, Charles labored with his cousin Charles Shirar, seeing him almost every day for some 15 years leading up to Shirar's enlistment in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Son Peter Gaumer (1832-1917) was born in about 1832 in Muskingum County. As a teenager, he migrated to Indiana and dwelled on a farm in Jackson, Carroll County.

Their children were Charles Gaumer, Lydia Gaumer, Elizabeth Gaumer, Sarah Gaumer and Henry Gaumer.

Census records for 1870 show the Gaumers as farmers and living in Camden, Jackson Township. Peter and his first cousin, Civil War veteran Peter Shirar, living nearby, were not on good terms over political differences.

He is believed to be the same Peter Gaumer who, in mid-December 1916, stabbed himself three times in a failed suicide attempt. Reporting on the incident, the Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune said that he "stabbed himself in the throat after twenty pills a physician had left failed to bring death. He had written a note in which he said that he had lived long enough and was only in the way."

Peter passed away at the age of 85 on March 11, 1917 at the home of his son Henry in Harrison Township near Columbus, IN. The body was shipped by rail to Flora for burial beside his wife. A short obituary was printed in the Columbus Republic.

Son Charles M. Gaumer (1860- ? ) was born in about 1860 in Carroll County, IN. When he was age 20, in 1880, he lived at home and helped with farm labor. At the age of 56, in 1916, he filed a petition in the Circuit Court of Bartholomew County, IN, asking that a guardian be appointed for his elderly father, and Frank M. Newcomb was appointed to the task.

Daughter Lydia Gaumer (1861-1952?) was born on Dec. 8, 1861 in Carroll County, IN. She was but a girl of age four when the Civil War ended, but she eventually married an older Civil War veteran. Her first husband was Alva Sibbitt (1827-1899). They were united in wedlock on June 2, 1888, when she was age 17 and he 61. They were 44 years apart in their ages. He apparently had been married before to Eliza Jane Jennings ( ? - ? ), who were married in Ohio, migrated to Indiana and were members of the Methodist Church. Alva and his first wife had three children -- George Sibbitt, William B. Sibbitt and Lydia Unger. Lydia and Alva produced two more children of their own -- Edna M. Sibbitt and another unknown. They resided in Flora, Carroll County. Sadly, at the age of 72, Alva suffered a stroke and died at his resident in Burlington, IN. Just seven months after Alva's death, Lydia married again on Oct. 17, 1899 to thrice-widowed Civil War veteran William Long (March 16, 1835-1919?). He was the son of Noah and Barbara (Bollinger) Long of Butler County, OH, with his mother an immigrant from Germany. The ceremony took place in Delphi, IN, with Rev. J.W. Stark of the Baptist church officiating. Serving as witnesses were Lydia's parents and Thomas Ryan. William stood 5 feet, 9 inches tall, with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and auburn hair. He had been married thrice before, first to Mary Ann Smith ( ? -Oct. 10, 1869), who bore him four children -- Mary A. Woodram, Barbara "Ellen" Mann Hinkle, Jennie Long and Alpha Long. His second marriage to Martha Jane Aikens ( ? -Jan. 27, 1872) ended with her death on Jan. 27, 1872 having borne no offspring. The third marriage was to Melissa "Lissie" Jewett (April 30, 1846- ? ), daughter of Josiah and Isabelle (Schripture) Jewett of Decatur County, IN. The third marriage produced 10 children, of whom six lived to adulthood: Margaret "Maggie" Ayres, Dora Flora, Emma Squires, Garfield Long, John R. Long and Roscoe E. Long -- but the marriage ended in divorce in January 1899. During the Civil War, William enlisted in the 72nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company K, and later joined the 44th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company E. While on duty in Chattanooga in July 1865, after the war had ended, he contracted malaria and was "attacked with camp diarrhea which in my opinion was caused from poor food and impure water," wrote fellow soldier Irick D. Reed. It became "chronic troubling him all the balance of his term of service." He received an honorable discharge at Nashville on Sept. 14, 1865. Upon his return home, friends noticed that he "was in bad physical condition, complained of and suffering with a badly deranged stomach and bowels and also with diarrhea and piles," wrote John W. Ayres."His urinary organs were also in a diseased condition and he complained of rheumatism." Added David Rutteer of Cutler, Carroll County: "The ailments above named have contniued to trouble and disable him ever since then."

44th Indiana Infantry at Pittsburg Landing, TN, April 1862, with the woods afire
Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War

William is profiled in John Curtis Odell's 1916 book History of Carroll County, Indiana: Its People, Industries and Institutions, which states that:

Splendid achievements always excite admiration, and men who accomplish things are men whom the world delights to honor. Ours is an age representing progress in all lines of material activity, and the man of initiative is the one who forges to the front in the commercial world. Among the well-known, retired farmers of Flora, Indiana, and among its venerable citizens is William Long, one of the worthy pioneers of this section, who, in his advanced age, is still able to look after his farm properties. He is the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land, practically all of which he has made by his own efforts, but this venerable citizen has not permitted the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his actions toward those less fortunate than he. He is a man of most sympathetic turn of mind, and has a host of warm and admiring friends who honor him for the work that he has done, and the things for which he has stood in this community.

In 1890, living at Wildcat, Carroll County, William was awarded a military pension as compensation for his Civil War sufferings. [Invalid App. #753.623 - Cert. #1.083.127]. The monthly payments totaled $20 as of 1910. He was a member of the Masons lodge and voted the Republican ticket. The History of Carroll County noted that "Mr. and Mrs. Long are quiet and unassuming people, who are privileged to enjoy the fruit of a substantial competency. They are well known in Flora and vicinity and enjoy the confidence and esteem of all who know them." Suffering from kidney disease ("interstitial nephritis"), William's skin bore a yellowish color over the final decades of his life. He passed away just two days before Christmas in 1918. He was laid to rest in (?) Hill Cemetery. As a soldier's widow, Lydia in April 1919 was eligible to receive his pension payments. She prepared the requisite paperwork, backed by supporting affidavits from such friends and neighbors as John M. Little, John Harter, Ellen and Daniel V. Ayres, William M. Flora and George Witter, all of Carroll County [Widow App. #1.138.910 - Cert. #870.398]. She became eligible for a financial raise at her 70th birthday and wrote a letter to the Veterans Administration to that effect. The monthly payment amount was duly increased to $40 effective Dec. 8, 1931. She passed away on or about Aug. 28, 1952.

Step-granddaughter Vera Florence Sibbitt (1881-1949) was born in about 1881. She married John Cal Shanklin ( ? -1938) and in 1944 was wedded to Charles Pitman ( ? - ? ). She produced four children -- Rev. Robert Shanklin, Fred Shanklin, Bert Shanklin and Helen Mae Snyder. Vera was a member of the First Christian Church and of the Sons of Veterans Auxiliary. Tragically, at the age of 68, on Aug. 19, 1949, while at the Washington Avenue crossing of the Nickel Plate freight train of the Lake Erie Division, she was struck and killed by a passing engine. The Lafayette Journal and Courier reported that "The train, heading west into the local yards, was brought to a stop a block and a half west of the crossing. The crossing was guarded by flasher lights and bells. The body had been thrown about 20 feet west of the tracks when trainmen reached the scene. Members of the family stated that Mrs. Pitman was walking home from a grocery, a distance of one block, when the accident occurred. She apparently became confused and stepped in front of the train."

Step-great-grandson Alva Sibbitt ( ? -1956) resided in Paoli, IN in 1949. He married Emma TenBrook ( ? -1953), daughter of Edgar TenBrook, who had grown up in Burlington, IN. They had a son, Alva Leon Sibbitt Jr. Sadly, Mrs. Sibbitt suffered a stroke and died in a hospital in Salem, IN on Jan. 31, 1953. Her sister Mrs. R.M. Barnard of Garrett, IN traveled to Paoli to attend the funeral, as noted in the gossip columns of the Garrett Clipper. Alva joined his wife in death in late June 1956, with notices published in the Kokomo Tribune and Lafayette Journal and Courier.

Step-great-granddaughter Blanche Sibbitt married Charles Mann on Oct. 31, 1903. They resided in Cutler for decades and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1953. The five Mann offspring were Mrs. Russell Shaffer, Robert Mann, Hoyt Mann, Richard Mann and Mrs. Ray Cloe.

Step-great-granddaughter Fern Sibbitt (1888-1974) was born in about 1888. In 1910, when she was abouit age 22, she was wedded Dr. O.V. Kingery ( ? - ? ). They resided at 759 Prairie Street in Frankfort, IN. Their only child was Helen Mae McClellan. Fern was a longtime member of St. Matthews United Methodist Church, the Frankfort Lady Elks, Order of Eastern Star and Frankfort Country Club. O.V. was a dentist and received a life membership in the Indiana Dental Association. He enjoyed hunting in Michigan with his friend B.V. Beck and in 1936 shot a 100-lb. buck on one of the trips. Tragedy visited the family, and placed O.V. in the news, in January 1939 when O.V.'s brother Dr. Garner D. Kingery shot and killed himself with a shotgun at his home in Gary, IN. Fern died at the age of 86 in Clinton County Hospital on Sept. 6, 1974. Burial was in Green Lawn Mausoleum in Frankfort. Their daughter Helen graduated DePauw University and married DePaux alumnus and attorney Sidney Earle McClellan of Muncie on June 21, 1936. Sidney served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. The McClellans lost their infant granddaughter Katheryn Joan in August 1952.

Step-great-granddaughter Ethel Sibbitt was married to Claus Cleaver and dwelled in 1960 in Tampa, FL.

Step-great-grandson L. Guy Sibbitt ( ? -1977) was born in about 1893 on his parents' farm near Cutler. He spent his entire life on the family farm as a farmer and livestock buyer. In 1917, he married Glyde Eikenberry (Feb. 4, 1896-1967), daughter of J.W. and Orra (Rose) Eikenberry. Their three offspring were Marion C. Leaming, Mrs. O.P. Lougheed and Thomas G. Sibbitt. Reported the Lafayette (IN) Journal and Courier, "He had traveled extensively in the Dakotas and Kansas in the early 1930s buying livestock. He was a 60-year member of Bringhurst United Methodist Church and a former member of the board of trustees of the church. He was also a 60-year member of Bringhurst Masonic Lodge." Glyde endured a serious illness for four years and succumbed on June 3, 1967 at the age of 71. Guy survived her by nine-plus years. He died at the Home Hospital in Lafayette on Jan. 6, 1977. Following funeral services led by Rev. Milton Persons, his remains were lowered in to eternal repose in Maple Lawn Cemetery.

Step-great-grandson Carl W. Sibbitt was a dentist and in 1920 married Ruth McBride, with a practice in Frankfort, IN but who died an untimely death at age 49 on Sept, 6, 1945. In mid-June 1927, their son Elmer -- a star basketball player for Cutler High School -- wed Jessie Kitzmiller of Flora, with the nuptials reported in the Journal and Courier.

Step-great-grandson Elmer Sibbitt made his home in 1949 in Cutler, IN. By 1974, he had relocated to Kokomo.

Daughter Sarah Gaumer (1866- ? ) was born in about 1866 in Carroll County, IN.

Son Henry C. Gaumer (1868- ? ) was born in about 1868 in Carroll County, IN. After the death of his father in 1917, Henry filed suit in the Circuit Court of Bartholomew County "against Ray Gaumer and others, to break the will of the late Peter Gaumer," reported the Columbus (IN) Republican.

Daughter Sarah Jane Gaumer (1835-1911) was born in about 1835 in Muskingum County. She married (?) Hewitt. Nothing more is known.

Son William Sommers Gaumer (1846- ? ) was born in about 1846 in Muskingum County.

Son Francis Marion Gaumer (1853- ? ) was born in about 1853 in Muskingum County.

We are grateful for records provided by Gilbert R. Gaumer, Paul K. Gaumer, Mary L. Shirer and the National Archives in the preparation of the Daniel Gaumer Sr. family biographies.