Military History in Paulding County
By: Mark Holtsberry
Hobart McKinley Spencer was born on December 11, 1896, in Paulding County, Ohio. He was the son of Civil War veteran Martin Van Buren Spencer, born February 17, 1841, in Darke County, Ohio, and Eliza Jane (Flowers) Spencer, born January 9, 1872, in Ohio. The couple married in 1890.
Their children included Otis E., born in November 1890; Letha E., born in February 1893; Simeon, born in October 1894; Hobart, born in December 1896; and Della Mae, born in December 1899. By 1900, the family was living in Benton Township, where Martin worked as a farm laborer.
By 1910, the Spencer family had moved to Allen County, Indiana. Martin continued to work as a laborer on a farm, and most of the children were attending school. Another son, Harry Albert Spencer, was born on February 2, 1902. A child was stillborn in 1911.
On June 5, 1917, Simon registered for the draft but was not chosen. On June 5, 1918, Hobart registered for the World War I draft. He was described as tall with a medium build, blue eyes, and brown hair. At the time, he was working for a trucking company.
Hobart enlisted in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was inducted into service as a private on September 5, 1918. He served with Battery A, 68th Regiment, Field Artillery, and was honorably discharged on December 20, 1918.
On December 22, 1919, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Hobart married Sina Ruth Johnson, who was born on September 4, 1902, in Indiana.
Hobart’s father, Martin, passed away on May 12, 1919, and was buried in Monroeville Memorial Cemetery in Monroeville, Indiana.
Hobart and Sina lived at 2536 New Haven Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana. On February 27, 1920, Hobart’s sister, Letha, passed away. On March 22, 1920, in Fort Wayne, a son, Harvey Albert Spencer, was born. Harvey would later serve in World War II.
At the time of his death, Hobart was working for the Virginia-Carolina Fertilizer Company. While performing maintenance on a trestle, he fell 25 feet onto concrete, fracturing his neck. He survived for fifteen minutes before succumbing to his injuries. Hobart was buried in Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
On November 10, 1920, in Indiana, Sina married Hobart’s brother, Harry. They lived on Superior Street in Fort Wayne. Harry adopted Harvey, and the couple later welcomed a son, Richard Frederick Spencer, born in 1921. Richard passed away in 2008.
Sina passed away on September 17, 1958, and was buried in Greenlawn Memorial Cemetery in Fort Wayne. Harry passed away in 1979 and was buried alongside her.
