{"id":51412,"date":"2026-06-22T07:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=51412"},"modified":"2026-06-16T09:31:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T13:31:49","slug":"military-history-in-paulding-county-226","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/military-history-in-paulding-county-226\/","title":{"rendered":"Military History In Paulding County"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By: Mark Holtsberry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theodore P. Swats was born on April 1, 1888, in Virginia. He was the son of Charles Lewis Swats, who was born in April 1863 in Virginia, and Margaret J. (Guin) Swats, who was born on May 1, 1868, in Highland County, Virginia. The couple married on October 21, 1886, in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1890, the Swats family was living in Virginia, where Charles worked as a blacksmith. They were the parents of Theodore, born in 1888, followed by Gabriel Augustus in 1890. By 1900, the family was still living in Virginia, and Charles continued to work as a blacksmith. The family had grown with the addition of Charles, born in 1893; Arthur, 1895; Cecil, 1897; and Boyd, 1899.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 1, 1906, Charles was murdered. He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery in Augusta County, Virginia. The two men responsible for his death were found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to serve five years in the state penitentiary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, May 24, 1907, the recruiting station in Staunton, Virginia, accepted Theodore into military service. He enlisted in the United States 6th Light Field Artillery and was sent to Columbus Barracks in Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time of his enlistment, Theodore was farming. He was described as being 5 feet 7 inches tall, with blue eyes and black hair. He was later stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he met Alice Buchanan of Rosedale, Kansas. They were married on August 11, 1910. Alice was born in 1893, and because she was only seventeen years old, her mother gave consent for the marriage. Judge Ziegelasch performed the ceremony in the home of her mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No further information has been found regarding Alice. Theodore was discharged from the military on February 24, 1911, at Fort Riley, Kansas, under General Orders from the War Department. His discharge record stated that his character and service were excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 10, 1915, Theodore\u2019s mother died of cancer. She was buried beside Charles in Green Hill Cemetery. Theodore later moved to Camp Taylor, Kentucky, where he re-enlisted in the military on July 27, 1918. He served in Battery C, 4th Regiment Field Artillery, and attained the rank of sergeant. He was discharged on December 20, 1918.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of Theodore\u2019s brothers registered for the draft, although only Boyd and Cecil served in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The years of the 1920s remain vague. It is believed that Theodore and Alice divorced during that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1930, Theodore was living in Tiffin, Ohio, where he worked as a salesman for an advertising company. He was a lodger at 27 Clinton Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 4, 1931, Theodore married Violet Bernice Fohner. Violet was born on April 12, 1908, in Van Wert, Ohio. She had previously married in Michigan in 1924, but that marriage was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1940, Theodore and Violet had moved to Washington Township, Paulding County, Ohio. Theodore was employed by the government as a laborer at the Trojan Powder Company\u2019s Plum Ordnance Works near Sandusky, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1950, Theodore and Violet were still living in Washington Township while working in the Sandusky area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 3, 1951, Theodore passed away. He was buried in Little Auglaize Cemetery near Melrose, Ohio, in Lot 9, Grave 1. In 1952, he received a military grave marker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 14, 1988, Violet passed away in Spencerville, Ohio. She had worked as a private home nursing care provider. She was laid to rest beside Theodore in Little Auglaize Cemetery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Until Next Time!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Mark Holtsberry Theodore P. Swats was born on April 1, 1888, in Virginia. He was the son of Charles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":33070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,13195],"tags":[29285,29287,29286,29282,29284,26955,29283,3747,13261,13682,29288,29281,545],"class_list":["post-51412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-mark-holtsberry","tag-arthur-swats","tag-boyd-swats","tag-cecil-swats","tag-charles-lewis-swats","tag-gabriel-augustus-swats","tag-little-auglaize-cemetery","tag-margaret-j-guin-swats","tag-mark-holtsberry","tag-military-history-in-paulding-county","tag-military-history-in-paulding-county-ohio","tag-spencervllle-ohio","tag-theodore-p-swats","tag-virginia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t