ADER, David
David Ader
Weik, Jesse William.
Weik's history of Putnam County, Indiana.
Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1910, p 477.
Although the late David Ader has passed from the scene of action in Putnam County, where he was so long a conspicuous figure, his wholesome influence is still felt by scores who knew him well and his memory will everbe revered for his many little acts of kindness and the good example he set the youth of the land, for he was truly a good and just man in all the walks of life and a very successful one, his large rewards coming as a result of rightly applied energy, the carrying out of honorable principles and by strict integrity in his dealings with his fellow men. All credit is due a man who wins success in spite of obstacles and by persistency and energy gains a competence and a position of honor as a man and citizen. The record of Mr. Ader is that of such a man, for he came to Putnam County in the days of her rapid growth and here worked out his way to definite success and independence. He quickly adapted himself to the conditions which he found here and laboring so consecutively and effectively that he became one of the substantial men of the county and also one of her most highly honored citizens. David Ader was born March 6, 1822 in Davidson County, North Carolina, the son of Solomon and Elizabeth Pickle Ader, the father a native of Virginia, the son of Adam Ader, who was a native of Maryland and of German extraction, thus the Ader family has been in America for many generations and many of them have been conspicuous in various walks of life. Elizabeth Pickle was the daughter of Valentine Pickle, also of German ancestry. It was as early as 1828 that the Ader family came to Putnam County, Indiana, making the long journey overland from the old Tar state of the South, and here, amid the trials and inconveniences of a new country, they established a home in the wilderness, from which in due course of time, by dint of hard toil, sprang an excellent farm and a comfortable and commodious home. Although David Ader, of this review, was then but 8 he began assisting his parents in their home building in whatever way he could. Their first house, built on their land in Russell Township was a pole cabin 14 x 16 '. Here young Ader found a very limited opportunity to attend school, but later in life he educated himself. He grew to maturity on the home place in Russell Township and shortly afterward moved to Floyd Township and became acquainted with hard toil like all sons of pioneers. In 1865 he came to Bainbridge and lived here till his death. January 9, 1845, Dvid Ader married Elizabeth Aldridge, a native of Connersville who proved to be a very faithful helpmate through the years that she traversed the path of life by his side. To this union two children were born Nathan W. and Helen E. The mother of these children died on May 4, 1854 and on Jan 18, 1855 Mr. Ader married Mrs. Belinda C. Buchanan. This union resulted in the birth of 4 children, two of whom are living: Alice B. and Francis David. David Ader was a philanthropist and stood always ready to assist in any worthy cause. Although he started in life under none too favorable environment, being compelled to literarally hew out his fortune, he became prominent and accumulated a vast fortune, owned 2350 acres of land. He was a hard worker, a good manager and a man of keen foresight, and his death occurred very suddenly while riding on horseback looking after his extensive interests on September 6, 1894 in Floyd Township and in the Bainbridge Cemetery he is sleeping the sleep of the just. Mr. Ader took an ardent interest in politics, always interested in seeing the best men in local and national offices, and he very ably served as justice of the peace, which honor was literally "thurst upon him," as Shakespeare says. He was no office seeker, preferring to give his exclusive attention to his private business affairs. He aided his government during the war of the Rebellion by acting as agent for his township, paying the total sum of $1800 for substitutes in the Union Army. He was prominent in church affairs, having been an elder in the local Cumberland Prebyterian church which he practically built and of which he was always a liberal supporter. He was a trustee of the Groveland Church from the time of its organization until his death. He was never a user of strong drink, detesting saloon and grog shops in general and wherever he could he struck a bklow for temperance. He is rememberd as a man whose word was as good, if not better, than the bond of most men, strictly honorable in his dealings with his fellow men, obliging, generous, a kind neighbor, indulgent father and ideal home man, his commodious and well appointed dwelling often being the scene of rare hospitality, for he delighted to show every courtesy to whatever guest passed his threshold. Such a life should be emulated by the youth who stands at the parting of the ways, for it was successful, noble, exemplary in every respect, and he left behind him the greatest of all inheritances, an untarnished reputation.
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