Springfield-Greene
County LibraryEarly and Recent History and Genealogical Records
of Many of the Representative Citizens
JAMES BAIR. The army record alone of James Bair, deputy county clerk of Greene county, entitles him to the respect of all good citizens who remember the troublous times of the great war between the states. True Americans can never forget the heroes of the sixties, nor should they ever fail to do them honor. Mr. Bair has spent forty-five years in our midst and each succeeding year has found him with more friends than the preceding, which would indicate that he has been an honorable and valuable citizen. Indeed his long record as educator and public servant in this county is worthy of praise. He is an example of what honest effort, combined with perseverance and right thinking, will produce. His beginning was somewhat humble and discouraging, but he in due course of time rose to a position in the body politic which commanded respect by his fellow citizens. All the more credit is due him for his own brave efforts, and his example may well be imitated by those whose youthful environments are not of an encouraging nature, not that he has been a great success financially, but what is better, that he has made a good and useful citizen.
Mr. Bair was born at Canal Dover, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on December 18, 1845. He is a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Bonfield) Bair. Jesse Bair was born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, about 1817, was reared on a farm and learned the millwright's trade when a boy, also worked at the carpenter's trade. From his native state he went to Canton, Ohio, and about 1842 moved to Canal Dover, that state, where he worked at his trades, erecting a number of substantial mills and other buildings over that country; the old Blake mills are still standing near that city as a monument to his skill as a builder. Politically he was a Democrat, and fraternally a Mason. His death occurred in 1890 at the home of our subject. Elizabeth Bonfield, mentioned above, was born at Canton, Ohio, and was a daughter of Dr. Bonfield, of that city. Her death occurred in New Philadelphia, that state, in 1853. Four children were born to Jesse Bair and wife, James, of this sketch, being the only survivor at this writing. His eldest brother, Martin V. B., was a soldier in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, and was one of the large number of soldiers who met death by drowning by the sinking of the steamer Sultana in the Mississippi river in 1865.
Upon the death of his mother in 1853 James Bair went to live with relatives near Waynesburg, Ohio. He received his education in the public schools there, and on December 22, 1861, enlisted in Company F, Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and proved to be a gallant soldier for the Union, serving in a number of important engagements, such as Farmington, Iuka, Corinth, Raymond, Jackson and the siege of Vicksburg, all in Mississippi, later in the battle of Missionary Ridge, Tennessee, and Resaca, Georgia, then joined Sherman during the Atlanta campaign and marched with his army to the sea. He had previously re-enlisted in the same company and regiment, which entitled him to rank with the veterans. After reaching the coast at Savannah he accompanied the army northward through the Carolinas to Raleigh and was present when Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Sherman, then marched overland to Washington, D. C., camped at Arlington Heights, Virginia, and later participated in the grand review at the capitol. After that he was sent with some troops to Louisville, Kentucky, and thence to Little Rock, Arkansas, and was honorably discharged and mustered out on August 13, i865, as sergeant-major of his regiment, of which he had been adjutant clerk from August, 1863, until May, 1865, when he was appointed sergeant-major. Appreciating his ability as a soldier, he was commissioned first lieutenant, but never mustered as such.
After his career in the army Mr. Bair returned to Waynesburg, Ohio, and attended school for some time, then spent two terms at Mt. Vernon College at Alliance, Ohio. After finishing school he clerked in a store at Malvern, Ohio, for eight months, then began his career as teacher, for which he seemed well qualified by both nature and training. His first work as an educator was at Mapleton, Ohio, where he remained until 1869, when he came to Springfield, Missouri, and soon thereafter began teaching in the rural schools of Greene county, which he continued for a period of seventeen years, teaching nine terms in one district. He was regarded as a progressive, thorough and painstaking instructor and his services were in great demand. He was one of the best-known teachers in the county of that period. Since abandoning the school room he has served in various capacities in business and county offices. He was deputy recorder of deeds for two years, was deputy county clerk for one term, then bookkeeper for five years for a wholesale company in Springfield, then traveled for a firm for eighteen months in several states. We next find him as deputy county collector for two years, then as deputy county assessor for four years, and in 1903 he was appointed deputy county clerk, in which capacity he has since served, being still in this office. His long career in the county offices has made him one of the best-known men in the county, and his work has been most satisfactory to all concerned, being not only well performed, but promptly and courteously.
Politically Mr. Bair is a Republican. He is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and religiously he is a member of the Christian church.
Mr. Bair was married on August 11, 1870, to Virginia J. Jeffries, who was born in Greene county, Missouri, in March, 1851, and her death occurred on November 12, 1912. She proved to be a faithful and sympathetic helpmeet and was a good woman in every respect.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bair four children were born, namely: Anna L., born on April 20, 1871, died on August 9, 1905; William M., born on May 4, 1873, died in March, 1875; Victoria, born on September 8, 1875, died on February 28, 1894; Charles A., born on May 2, 1878, is a conductor on the Frisco Railroad and lives in Springfield.
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