David Walter Hites (1858 - 1951)

Born 24 Apr 1858 in Illinois

Descendants

Died 29 May 1951 at age 93 in Logan County, Ohio

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Biography

David was the son of Michael Hites, Jr. and Rebecca Helfinstine. His father died when he was 5 years old shortly after moving the family to Piatt County, Illinois. After Michael's death, Rebecca moved them back to Hardin County, Ohio where they lived in a cabin on a small rise of her brother Simon Peter's land overlooking what is know known as Harvey Cemetery. Rebecca passed 3 years later and was subsequently buried in that cemetery in the fall of 1867. By 1870 David was living with the family of David Lawrence.

When he was old enough to work, he got a job as a farmhand on the widow Nancy McArthur's farm where he lived until 1883 when he married Ada May Spencer at which point he moved onto the Spencer farm. He took over the farm in 1899 when Ada's father died. The family was then stricken with tuberculosis which took the lives of 5 of their 11 children and eventually Ada May herself in 1906 shortly after giving birth to their last child, Edna Lucille.

His remaining minor children were removed from him by the county. Harley and Eva were placed in the children's home. And Marvin was adopted by the family of Joseph and Lida Ashba of Kenton.

David spent the remainder of his days living with other family members and eventually remarried around 1926 to Mary Ann (Augsburger) Amstutz. When he passed in 1951 from Arteriosclerosis, he was buried next to Ada May and Edna Lucille in the family plot bought by Ada's sister Jenny in the new cemetery across from Harvey.

Sources