Paulding’s Live Oak Cemetery Walk
On an exquisite autumn day in early October, several history buffs and supporters of the preservation of the historical significance of Paulding County Ohio citizens converged on the lawn of the Live Oak Cemetery in Paulding just behind the Paulding Exempted Village Schools. Attendees paid a nominal donation to tour a selected few gravesites – including one inside the newly renovated mausoleum – where volunteers were in character to tell the stories of four individuals that helped shape what the Village of Paulding and surrounding area is today. Jessie Pursel, Sergeant Theodore Aaron Noffsinger, Gilbert Barnes, and Chase W. Hastings were the featured Paulding residents.
The tour started in the mausoleum where Gilbert Barnes, portrayed by Paulding County Engineer Scott Strahley, was laid to rest in 1923. Barnes was a noble family man whose contributions to the establishment of the village of Paulding include the infamous Hotel Barnes and Barnes Mansion. There is some discrepancies of his birth year that were discussed but Strahley’s hoping it doesn’t disturb his eternal rest.
Next up on the tour was down the lane to the resting place of Sergeant Theodore Aaron Noffsinger. Paulding County Commissioner Mark Holtsberry told a slightly despondent tale about Noffsinger’s life in the military. He was never married, and he had a simple burial in November of 1918. His mother is buried beside him.
Just up the cemetery road, the tour next came to Chase W. Hastings. Hastings was born in Indiana in 1866 and later moved with his family to Paulding County, where he attended local schools before studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1891. He practiced law in Grover Hill and was appointed Probate Judge in 1904, serving until 1909 and earning a reputation for being courteous, fair and just. During his humble life, he also served as Mayor, of which village, it’s unclear. Hastings died in 1917 leaving behind a legacy of faith, friendship, community involvement and the respect of those who knew him. More than a century later, perhaps the best summary of Chase W. Hastings is the headline his own community gave him in a local newspaper when he died: “A Good Man.”
Rounding out the tour was a lady of renown for the Paulding community — Jessie Pursel. Her family were the owners of the Pursel & Pursel Clothing Store on the square in Downtown Paulding. At one point, their clothing store was the largest in the region for women’s clothing. Though never married, Jessie’s legacy as a woman business owner in a day when that was not all that common or accepted has been an inspiring portion of Paulding County history.
The Community Revitalizing of Paulding was the organization who coordinates this event each autumn. It was a fabulous day to celebrate the distinguished residents of Paulding Ohio.
