John Raudebaugh
This venerable and highly honored citizen of Wayne county, Ohio, was an interesting man to talk to, for he could tell of the wondrous transformations he had witnessed in this locality since the pioneer days, he himself taking no small part in the material development of his community, and his life, having been honorable and usefully spent, is worthy of conspicuous mention in this history.
John A. Raudebaugh was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, in 1826, the son of Solomon and Martha (Bell) Raudelbaugh. The parents of the latter, who came from Ireland, were Richard and Mary Bell, who first settled in Pennsylvania, where Martha Bell was born. Neither she nor her husband ever came to Ohio. The paternal grandparents of the subject were Jacob and Elizabeth Raudebaugh, who spent part of their days in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Raudebaugh and their four children made the trip from Pennsylvania with a five-horse team, there being no railroads in those days. They bought one hundred and twenty-two acres in Plain township, the place having been nearly all woods, as were most of the farms in Wayne county at that time. They worked hard and soon had a good start in their new home.
After his marriage, John A. Raudebaugh lived on the home place, which he had helped to clear in his boyhood days, for a period of sixteen years, and he built every fence on the farm making numerous other substantial improvements. He then moved to Ashland county, this state, where for one year he lived on an eighty-acre farm belonging to his father. After that he lived in Mercer county, Ohio, for two years, then returned to Chester township, Wayne county, where he bought eighty acres. Later he sold it and bought one hundred and twenty-three acres northeast of Overton in the same township. There he farmed very successfully until 1903, when he retired, moving to Overton and purchased a home here, where he spent his declining years in the midst of plenty as a result of his former years of thrift and industry. His death occurred there on January 11, 1910.
Mr. Raudebaugh was married in 1847 to Susan Soliday, who came to this county from Pennsylvania with her parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Rose) Soliday. They entered land in Plain township which they cleared, living there the remainder of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Raudebaugh the following children were born, seven sons and four daughters; Mary Elizabeth, Jacob Winfield, Henry (deceased), John Ford, Solomon Emery, Evert Lincoln, Bertha, Charles, Elmer, Hattie and Effie. The parents of these children were blessed by a harmonious wedded life of sixty-three years. No person in this part of the county was held in higher esteem for his kindly and generous nature than Mr. Raudebaugh, being honored especially by the young people. He was a member of the United Brethren church, to which Mrs. Raudebaugh belongs. Politically, Mr. Raudebaugh was a Republican: he at one time very ably served as justice of the peace of Plain township, and he was trustee for two terms in Union township, Mercer county, Ohio. He was always ready to do his part in any public function that would assist in furthering the general good.
From The History of Wayne County, Ohio, B. E. Bowen & Co., Indianapolis, 1910