F. A. Burkhardt
F. A. Burkhardt, joint agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton and the Lake Erie & Western railroads, at Lima, was born in Shawnee township, Allen County, Ohio, December 31, 1872, and is a son of George and Mary (Bowsher) Burkhardt.
George Burkhardt came to Allen County in 1865 and has since been identified with the agricultural interests and public affairs of Shawnee township. he married Mary Bowsher, a member of one of the old and prominent families of the State. She is a daughter of Benjamin Bowsher, who came from Pickaway County to Allen County in 1836. His father, William Bowsher, was a soldier in the War of 1812, coming to Ohio from Pennsylvania, in 1804. The father of William Bowsher was Daniel Bowsher, who lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1755, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The family has been very conspicuous in Allen County in political, business and social life. For the past 10 years our subject has bee engaged in tracing its ancestral branches and this work, when completed, will possess interest for the family and make a valuable addition to local history.
F. A. Burkhardt has been a resident of Lima since he was 20 years old. He was afforded excellent educational advantages and attended the Ohio Normal University at Ada and Lima College, and then taught school for two years in Allen County. He was then made assistant agent for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, at Lima, in 1896, and on January 1, 1900, became agent for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad; on June 16, 1901, he was made joint agent of both roads. This position of importance he has filled ever since. Its duties require special talents and these Mr. Burkhardt is fortunate enough to possess.
On June 16, 1896, Mr. Burkhardt was marred to Nannie Dearth, a daughter of Samuel Dearth, a prominent farmer of Warren County, Ohio. They have two children, E. Lucile and Lorene. The family belongs to the English Lutheran Church, in which Mr. Burkhardt is a member of the board of trustees. Mrs. Burkhardt is a graduate of the National Normal College, at Lebanon, Ohio. For some time prior to her marriage, she was a successful teacher in the public schools of Lima.
Mr. Burkhardt for eight years was a member of the board of trustee of Lima College. He is a member of the board of directors of the Lima Young Men's Christian Association. He is treasurer of The Brunswick Bowling Company, at Lima and is also secretary of the organization known as the Ohio Checker Association.
From History of Allen County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Edited by Charles C. Miller. Richmond & Arnold, Publishers, Chicago, 1906