Aaron Bair
Aaron Bair, farmer and stock raiser, of Paint Township, Ohio (P. O. Winesburgh), was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, near Canal Dover, January 13, 1832, a son of Jonas and Elizabeth Bair, natives of Westmoreland County, Penn., and early settlers of Tuscarawas County. His early days were spent on his father's farm among the hills and valleys of historic Tuscarawas. His educational advantages were limited, being able to attend school but a short time in the winter, and then only at the subscription schools, as his services were required in assisting his father in clearing his frontier farm, and preparing the land for cultivation. He remained in his native county until 1859, when he came to Holmes County, and settled on the farm where he now lives in Paint Township. This farm he has brought from a state of nature to that of advanced cultivation, and now has one of the pleasantest homes in the township. He has made a success of general farming and has also paid considerable attention to stock, buying large quantities every year and shipping them to eastern markets.
Mr. Bair was married at Winesburgh, in 1857, to Miss Caroline Kaufman, a native of Berks County, Penn., who came with her parents to Holmes County, Ohio, in 1835, and settled near Winesburgh. Mr. and Mrs. Bair have had five children: Alfred Sylvester, a physician of Winesburgh; Laura, now Mrs. Degman; Emma, now Mrs. Olmstead; Mary and Alice. Mr. Bair in politics is a Democrat, and has always been an ardent supporter of the principles of that party, taking an active part in the politics of his community. He is a prominent citizen, and is influential in both business and political circles, his strict integrity and honorable, upright character gaining for him the confidence of his fellow-citizens.
From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Wayne and Holmes, Ohio, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1889