My Genealogy Hound

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 & Bodley 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 of 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.