David Showalter and Christina Likes are Todd’s 3X Great Grandparents.

I have family history titled “The Pennsylvania Ditesch Family of Showalter” written by Floyd Howes. It was given to us by a neighbor of ours in St. Joseph, Missouri, Fay Haught Murray, who was a Showalter cousin. I’ve relied on this document along with Ancestry.com and other internet sources for this article.

David Showalter was born July 10, 1804 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His parents are David Showalter and Hannah Weltmer. Read about them here.

Christina Likes, who went by the nickname “Teanie,” was born in 1822 in Pennsylvania. Her parents are George and Eve Leix/Likes. See Eve’s Find a Grave memorial here. Read about Christina’s parents here.

David came to Wayne County, Ohio with his widowed mother and siblings around 1825.

David Showalter first married Christina’s cousin Margaret Likes on August 30, 1827 in Wayne County, Ohio. They had 6 children. (We know their names because they were listed in a legal action taken in the estate of Margaret’s father John Like’s, and a transcript of it is included in the book by Floyd Howes.) Margaret died in 1841 in Wayne County, Ohio.

After Margaret died, David married Christina Likes on February 17, 1846 in Wayne County, Ohio. Todd’s 2X Great Grandfather David was the 2nd of their 5 children.

On the 1850 US Census, David was 46 and Christina was 28. The family was farming in Ashland County, Ohio. Children in the home were: John, age 23; Margaret, age 16; Hannah, age 13; Ann, age 11; Sarah, age 9; W. H. age 2; and David, 4 months. Everyone except David was born in Ohio. David was born in Pennsylvania.

The family moved to Defiance County, Ohio and had a son there in 1853, followed by 2 more children.

It is believed that David died between 1856 & 1860, in Noble County, Indiana, because that is where Christina is found in 1860.

After David’s death, Christina brought her young sons back to Ashland County, Ohio. She “bound out” David, Todd’s 3X Great Grandfather, to her cousin Jake Weltmer. She “bound out” William Henry to her cousin John Weltmer. She then returned to Indiana with the other children.

On the 1860 US Census, Christina was 35 and lived with her youngest children (Joseph, age 7; Martha, age 5; Abram, age 4) with her brother Abram Likes, his 2 children, and her mother Eve Likes, age 70, in Wayne, Noble County, Indiana.

A couple of years later Christina married Hezekiah Elwood, said to have been a Baptist Minister. He didn’t want to raise her children so they were “bound out” with relatives. Joseph, age 9, was “bound out” to Christina’s brother Abram Likes. Martha, age 7, and Abraham, age 4, went to other homes.

On the 1870 US Census, Hezekiah was 70 and Christina was 50. They lived in Spring Green, Sauk County, Wisconsin. They had 2 sons: Hezekiah was 6 and Richard was 3. Both children are said to have been born in Indiana. The sons are later known as Thomas and Frank.

Christina died in 1875. There is a stone for her where son David is buried in Holt County, Missouri, and some believed he moved her there.

The children of David Showalter & Margaret Likes:

John Likes Showalter – John was born June 18, 1828 in Ohio. He married Lucinda Tucker, and then he married her sister Martha Tucker. They had 6 children. He died on March 7, 1900 in Whiteside County, Illinois. His Find A Grave memorial is here.

Catherine Showalter – Catherine was born about 1830. She is said to have married John Jewell but I can’t find record of it.

Margaret Showalter – Margaret was born about 1834. She married Job Beollier on June 30, 1853 in Ashland County, Ohio.

Hannah Showalter – Hannah was born January 15, 1837. She married Henry Likes in Ashland County, Ohio. (Henry Likes was the brother of Hannah’s stepmother Christina Likes, and her mother’s cousin.) They had at least 7 children. She married John Hollowell on January 14, 1886 in Whiteside Co., IL. She died on July 16, 1904 in Illinois. Her Find A Grave memorial is here.

Ann Showalter – Ann was born about 1839. She married Thomas Onstott on January 9, 1858 in Wayne County, Ohio. They had 2 sons. Thomas fought in the Civil War and Anna filed for a widow’s pension in July of 1890. She died April 28, 1895 in Wayne County, Ohio.

Sarah Showalter – Sarah was born about 1841. She married Nathaniel Edy in Ashland County, Ohio on October 10, 1859. I don’t have further record of them. It’s confusing because there is a Sarah Eddy in the area, but her maiden name is Merkel and her husband was Asa Eddy.

The children of Joseph David Showalter & Christina Likes:

William Henry Showalter – William was born October 27, 1847. He died in 1867 at age 19. His Find A Grave memorial is here.

David Showalter – David is Todd’s Great Great Grandfather. Read about him here.

Joseph Showalter – Joseph was born December 25, 1853 in Defiance County, Ohio. He moved to Holt County, Missouri around the time his brother David did. He married the widowed Sarah Ann Garrett Tharp on February 27, 1881 in Holt County, Missouri. They had 6 children and lived in South Dakota and Sherman County, Kansas before settling in Washington County, Kansas. He died on August 1, 1927 at the home of his daughter in Afton, Iowa, but he is buried in Washington County, Kansas. His Find A Grave memorial is here.

Martha Showalter – Martha was born about 1855. There is no record of her after the 1860 US Census. She is said to have died at age 21 of tuberculosis while working as a “hired girl.”

Abraham Showalter – Abraham was born in 1856 in Ohio. The only record of him is the 1860 US Census.