PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM
page 494, 495
CHARLES A. BAUER, General Manager of the
great Champion Reaper, Mower & Binder Works of the Warder, Bushnell &
Glessner Company at Springfield, and a partner in the concern, is one of
Springfield’s most valued citizens. He
is a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and in 1852 his father’s family,
consisting of the father, mother and four children (Charles A. being the third
in order of birth and at the time five years of age) sailed for New Orleans in
which city, after a lapse of but ten months, the father fell a victim to yellow
fever. Thus Mrs. BAUER, the mother, a stranger in a strange land,
found herself in peculiarly trying circumstances, the situation being aggravated
by the depressing influences of a raging and devastating epidemic, the little
means originally possessed by the family having wasted away by the expenses of
travel and illness; but with that true courage and fortitude which have ever
been characteristic of the German people, she resolved to seek a healthier home
in the North and in 1853 arrived in Cincinnati, this State, where she yet
resides.
At the age of eleven years Mr. BAUER was
given employment in the pyrotechnic manufactory of H. P. DIEHL.
In 1861 he became an apprentice to the gunsmithing business.
In 1864 he entered the shops of Miles, Greenwood & Co., as a
practical machinist, devoting his leisure hours to the study of mathematics and
applied mechanics. So rapid and substantial was his progress in these lines that
in 1867 he was called to the Ohio Mechanics’ Institute as a teacher of
mechanical drawing and applied mechanics. In
1871 he vacated this position to become Superintendent of the great Niles Tool
Works at Hamilton, Ohio. Resigning
this position in turn, in 1873, he assumed the duties of consulting engineer for
Lane & Bedley at Cincinnati.
In 1875 Mr. BAUER was tendered the position
of Assistant Superintendent of the Champion, Bar & Knife Company’s Works
at Springfield and in 1878 he was promoted to full superintendency of the same
concern. In 1883 he became General
Manager of the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Reaper & Mower Works at
Springfield, and in 1886 when the concern was incorporated, he became one of the
partners and stockholders, retaining his position as General Manager.
He has served for several years as a Trustee of the Water Works and
Springfield Savings Bank, and is a Director in other corporations.
In 1868 Mr. BAUER was married to Miss
Louise HAESELER who came to America with her parents from St. Goar, Prussia, in
1851. Mrs. BAUER is a lady of
refinement and culture and of superior social qualities.
They have three children: Charles
L., William A. and Louis E. and reside in a very beautiful and commodious home
at No. 383 East High, Springfield’s finest residence avenue.
Charles L. is a graduate of Wittenberg College and a young man of genius
and fine accomplishments, including music, and is Conductor of the Springfield
Grand Orchestra. William, a student
at Wittenberg College, is also a talented musician.
Mr. BAUER is a close and thorough student and occupies a high position as a mechanical engineer. He has in his home a fine large library of technical and standard works. Few men in the country equal him in that peculiar faculty which enables him to grasp and analyze great mechanical problems. He occupies a place in the front rank among Springfield’s citizens and is universally esteemed and honored.