Military History in Paulding County
By: Mark Holtsberry
Emmett Clarence Skinner was born January 2, 1894, in Payne, Ohio. He was the son of Clarence Sylvester Skinner, born March 24, 1870, in North Star, Darke County, Ohio, and Effie Sarah (Wahl) Skinner, born October 14, 1872, in Erie County, Ohio. This couple was married on May 21, 1892, in Paulding.
By 1900, the family was living in Harrison Township, Paulding County. Clarence was a farmer, and together they were raising five children: Myrtle Esta, born July 28, 1892; Emmett Clarence, born January 2, 1894; Frederick Albert, born January 6, 1896; Goldie Blanche, born November 2, 1897; and Ira Edward, born November 25, 1899.
By 1910, the Skinner family was still farming and living in Harrison Township, and the household had grown with the addition of Lewis William, born January 16, 1902; Lloyd Clifford, born January 27, 1904; Ruth Ann, born March 18, 1907; and Russell E., born September 29, 1910. The older children were attending school or helping on the farm.
On September 25, 1913, Emmett married Anna Mae Brewer in Hillsdale, Michigan. Anna was born May 22, 1898, in Payne, Ohio, the daughter of William Hoskins Brewer and Nettie T. Brewer. In 1914, Anna gave birth to a son, Edward, followed by a daughter, Dessie Viola, born February 16, 1916.
On June 5, 1917, in Harrison Township North Precinct, Emmett registered for the World War I draft. He was described as tall and slender, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. At the time, he was farming. Emmett cited his occupation and his responsibility for a wife and two small children as reasons for exemption from military service.
On February 3, 1918, a daughter, Doris Orlea, was born. In October of 1918, Emmett became ill with pneumonia. On October 11, 1918, he called for prayer with his mother and told her that he was ready to go. Several other members of the family were quite ill at the Skinner home but survived. Emmett passed away four days after his brother Frederick, who died at Camp Sherman, Ohio.
Emmett leaves to mourn his departure a devoted wife and three children, a father and mother, grandmother, four brothers, three sisters, and a host of friends and neighbors. On October 12, 1918, a double funeral for the brothers was held at Wiltsie Cemetery. Revs. D. Earl Rhoads and E. E. Cory ministered to the family. The brothers share a tombstone in Wiltsie Cemetery.
Emmett’s son Edward passed away in 1943; Dessie in 1992; and Doris in 1983. Emmett’s wife remarried and passed away on July 18, 1962.
… Until Next Time!
