David Herring Gunter

David Herring Gunter was born in Richland County, Ohio, on December 22, 1842, to Martin Gunter and Mary Jones. As a small boy he came to Henry County with his mother and sisters in 1849, after his father was drowned in the Blanchard River while working as a logger. They settled in what is now Malinta, Ohio, and he lived in that vicinity until his death on January 8, 1919. As a young man, he enlisted in the Union Army and served from 1861 to 1865 in Company I, 125 Regiment of Ohio Infantry. After being mustered out of the service, he engaged in farming as his occupation.

His first marriage was to Malissa Lydia Ordway who died a few years later, leaving an only son, David M. Gunter, who married Rosie Hitts and had the following children: Glenava; Arthur; Lester; Bertha; Zelma; Dayton and twin Clayton; Burl; Marjorie; and Jessie. Many have descendants living in this vicinity.

In approximately 1880, he married again to Jennie Maria Carey of Henry County. She was born April 13, 1855, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and died on September 16, 1913, in this county. Her parents were Daniel Carey, born 1827 in Beaver County, Pa., and Adaline Wilson, born 1816, also in Beaver County. Daniel Carey was the son of John Carey who was born in 1784 in England and Sarah Weigle, born in 1794 and was the eldest daughter of David Weigle of Pennsylvania.

David H. and Jennie (Carey) Gunter had a family of eight children. They were: Clara; Lillie May; Ada; Robert; Walter; Ruth; Ammasa; and Maude. The following are the ones who stayed in Henry County. Lillie May, born Nov. 24, 1881, who married William Alton Saul on December 25, 1902, and had two daughters. The eldest is Hazel Ruth who married Leroy Riggs, and Mae who married C. E. Obee of Toledo. Walter, of Malinta, married Ruby Edwards and Dan Gunter and Bessie Miller are two of their five children who still live here. Ruth married Perry Austermiller and their two daughters, Hazel Gerken and Laura Kruse reside in this county. Ammasa, also of Malinta, married Fay Ordway and had two daughters, Alta Mae Ritz and Marcella Rice, who live elsewhere.

The three sisters of David Herring Gunter who came here so long ago with their mother were: Lucinda who married Tom Cheney; Mae who married Fred Sprow; and Mary who married a Mr. Boocher. The widowed mother was married a second time to Jacob Hill.

Hazel Ruth Saul, a granddaughter of David Herring Gunter and wife of Leroy Riggs, lives near Liberty Center on a farm. They have a family of seven children all born in this county. They are: Norma Lee Ingle (deceased); Lloma Jean Kirian; Gerry Cline; Norman; Arlene Adams; Rita Kryder; and Mary Beilharz. Only two of the above still live in Henry County. They are Arlene Adams of Grelton and Rita Kryder of near Napoleon.

Hazel (Saul) Riggs' parents, Lillie May Gunter, and William Alton Saul, died on May 8, 1906, and March 5, 1913, respectively.

Submitted by Beatrice Riggs Kline