GEORGE F. BAREIS In his home town, in the capital of the State, and beyond its borders, a large circle of friends and as- sociates heard with deep regret the news of the death |
|
of George F. Bareis. He had been in failing health for a portion of the past year but had been seriously ill only a short time. He passed away at Grant Hospital, Co- lumbus, at 2:40 P. M. on Thursday, January 7, 1932. (325) |
326 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Especially was his loss felt in the
Ohio State Archae-
ological and Historical Society with
which he had been
officially connected for more than
forty years.
He was the son of George and Ernestina
(Fink-
biner) Bareis, and was born July 23,
1852, near Bremen,
Fairfield County, Ohio. His father was
a native of
Wittenberg, Germany, as were also his
grandparents on
his maternal side. He was educated in
the district
schools and attended the high schools
in Logan and
Canal Winchester, Ohio. In 1871 he
began an ap-
prenticeship to the carpenter trade and
the study of
architecture. In 1880 he entered upon
the lumber busi-
ness as an employe in Helpman's Lumber
Yard. Later
he purchased the business which he
continued to operate
successfully to the close of his life.
He united in marriage with Amanda
Schoch who de-
parted this life February 14, 1909. Of
this union two
daughters were born: Miss Grace Bareis,
an instructor
in mathematics in Ohio State
University, and Miss
Helen Bareis who was with her father in
the home.
Had Mr. Bareis lived until the 23rd of
next July he
would have been eighty years old.
He early identified himself with the
Reformed
Church and was active in its every
interest throughout
life. He was for thirty years a Trustee
of Heidelberg
College, an educational institution
administered under
the support of his church. He was
Sunday School super-
intendent of David's Reformed Church of
Canal Win-
chester for thirty years, resigning
that position ten
years ago. He served as a member of the
Board of
Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church
in the United
States for many years and as a member
of the Board
George F. Barcis 327
of Directors of the Ohio Council of
Religious Educa-
tion, formerly the State Sunday School
Association, for
thirty-five years.
He was elected to membership in the
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
in 1888. On Feb-
ruary 19, 1891, he became a life member
and on the same
date he was chosen to the Board of
Trustees, a position
that he held through the remainder of
his life, almost
forty-one years. On February 1, 1900,
he was elected
second vice-president and on June 3,
1904, promoted to
first vice-president of the Society.
The latter position
he held continuously till the date of
his death.
His interest in the work of the Society
grew with the
passing years. He was an enthusiastic
student of the
archaeology of Ohio and collected many
mound-builder
and Indian relics. He was interested in
state and local
history and wrote a History of
Madison Town ship, in-
cluding Canal Winchester and Groveport.
This was
prepared with his usual conscientious
care and has been
highly commended as a township history.
It is an ample
volume of 515 pages including 16 pages
of index. If
every township in the state had a
history as adequate,
an important source would be available
for a definitive
history of the State.
Although Mr. Bareis had almost reached
the age of
four-score years, it was difficult to
think of him as an
old man. His spirit was perennially
young. His in-
terest in the rising generation has
been noted by every-
one who was well acquainted with him.
Truly did Dr.
Charles E. Miller, President of
Heidelberg College, say
in his tribute at the funeral:
"One could not know Mr. Bareis
very long or inti-
328
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
mately without discovering his deep and
abiding interest
in young people, in boys and girls, and
in children. Ad-
vancing years never changed this
attitude of mind and
heart. I have always thought that he
kept young in
spirit himself because of his interest
in and contact with
the young. Not only here in the home
community but
elsewhere, among strangers, on a train,
in a hotel, at a
public assembly, it was a common experience
to see him
doing something for some child. He
sincerely loved
young people and found happiness in
helping them."
He did not have an opportunity to
attend college, but
by study and research he had acquired a
good practical
education. Realizing what he had missed
in his failure
to attain a college education, he was
eager to aid in pro-
viding this opportunity for worthy
young people. This
and his religious convictions were the
incentives to his
long and devoted service and financial
support to Heidel-
berg College.
It must be said of his service in the
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society,
that it was faith-
ful and unselfish. He made it his
business to be present
regularly at the meetings of the
Society. The only
recompense that he asked was to see
every department
of the work of the Society grow and
prosper.
His was a genial and companionable
nature. His
sympathies were broad. His attitude
toward and his
judgments of his fellow-men were
generously tolerant.
He respected the sincere opinions of
others even when
they differed from his own. This
attitude he con-
sistently maintained without the
surrender of cherished
principles. In his well-grounded
opinions and his Chris-
tian faith he was adamant. With conscientious
convic-
George F. Bareis 329
tion he made no compromise. In his
testimony he was
unwavering to the last breath of life.
And thus it was
that a multitude of friends, regardless
of sect or party,
with profound respect and sincere
sympathy, followed
him to his final rest.
Funeral services were held in David's
Reformed
Church, Saturday at 2:00 p. m.. They
were largely at-
tended, many being present from distant
points.
While the audience assembled, and the
body lay in
state, from one to two p. m., Mrs. V.
B. Tallman played
"Life" by Oley Speaks, and
other sacred selections.
While the friends entered the church
she played "Going
Home" by Anton Dvorak, followed by
"Abide With
Me."
The scripture lesson was read by Prof.
F. W.
Kennedy.
Prayer by President W. C. Clippenger,
D. D., of
Otterbein College.
President Charles E. Miller, D. D., LL.
D., of
Heidelberg College, Tiffin, paid the
following tribute:
In the death of Mr. George F. Bareis,
Heidelberg College
has lost a great friend. For thirty-six
years Mr. Bareis served
the College as trustee and for
thirty-three years he was the faith-
ful and efficient President of the
Board. This long term of service
covers, within five years, one-half of the entire
eighty-two years
of the history of the College. To this
exceptional record should
be added the further fact that through
all the years Mr. Bareis
never missed a meeting of the Board
until last month when he was
prevented from attending by what proved
to be a fatal illness.
It is little wonder that Heidelberg
College feels a loss today
which no words of mine can express. No
good cause can hope to
succeed and progress unless it enjoys
the loyalty and devotion
of sincere and earnest and capable
souls. A Christian college
must always be just what its friends
make it. For Heidelberg
College therefore to have had the
constant thought and care of
330 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
such an unfailing friend as Mr. Bareis
through more than a third
of a century is not an ordinary
blessing. Certainly a large share
of the credit for the achievements of
these years must go to the
man whose memory we honor today and
whose good deeds we
should emulate tomorrow and in the years
to come.
Mr. Bareis did not have the opportunity
in early life to se-
cure a college education but like many
other men of his time he
became, by his own personal efforts, a
well-educated man. En-
dowed with natural gifts of mind and
heart far above most men
but denied the help of the schools of
high-learning, he used the
opportunities at hand, responded to the
calls that came, and,
unconsciously to himself, he climbed to
heights of knowledge,
understanding, power, influence and
leadership to which gradu-
ates of our colleges in these modern
days might well aspire. I
have no doubt that one of the reasons
for his deep and abiding
interest in the work of the college was
the fact that he had
missed a college training himself. He
found increasing pleasure
in helping to provide for others that
which had been denied him.
One could not know Mr. Bareis very long
or intimately
without discovering his deep and abiding
interest in young people,
in boys and girls, and in children.
Advancing years never changed
this attitude of mind and heart. I have
always thought that he
kept young in spirit himself because of
his interest in and contact
with the young. Not only here in the
home community but else-
where, among strangers, on a train, in a
hotel, at a public assem-
bly, it was a common experience to see
him doing something for
some child. He sincerely loved young
people and found happi-
ness in helping them. Whether he took
boys and girls across
the fields and into the woods to learn
about the trees and the birds
and the plants and the rocks which God
had made, or to the
symphony concert to gain appreciation of
music that lasts through
the centuries, whether he provided
apparatus for the gymnasium
in the high school or at the College,
the motive that controlled
him was his great love for the young and
his desire to do some-
thing for them. It is not difficult for
me to understand why this
busy and capable business man, with so many and such
varied
interests in life, should have found
increasing satisfaction
through more than a third of a century in giving so
generously
of his time and thought and money to the promotion and
ad-
vancement of Heidelberg College. If a man really loves
young
people he must be interested in the institutions which
have been
established and are maintained for their
welfare.
But above and beyond all this I am happy
to say today that
the chief motive and controlling power
in the life of Mr. Bareis,
George F. Bareis 331
as it was my privilege to know him, was
religion. He was
preeminently a Christian man. He believed implicitly in
Al-
mighty God; he had a Saviour and Lord to
whom he had given
the glad and full obedience of his
heart. This great fact explains
all others.
Mr. Bareis was known and recognized as
one of the leading
laymen in the Reformed Church. In the
Ohio Synod the two
men who through the last generation have
exerted the greatest
influence upon the thought and action of
the Synod were two lay-
men:--Hon. Horace Ankeney, officially
identified with Central
Theological Seminary, Mr. George F.
Bareis, officially identified
with Heidelberg College and both of them
members of the Board
of Foreign Missions of the denomination.
I am quite sure that Mr. Bareis was
interested in Heidelberg
College primarily because it is a
Christian college. He knew
that it was founded by Christian men and
women to promote
the interests of the Kingdom of Christ.
To him Heidelberg was
an instrument of power in the hands of
Almighty God. He
believed that God was using Heidelberg
to work out His pur-
poses of love for the world. Whenever
through these years I
have been able to tell Mr. Bareis of
some generous gift or other
great blessing which had come to the
College his response would
always be: "Doctor, there is a God
in Heaven."
Of course we shall miss this good friend
of the College,
no one more than I. No College president
ever had a more loyal
and true friend and helper than I have
had. It will be our joy
to try to realize all that he sought to
accomplish. We shall re-
member Mr. Bareis as the good man
described by the Psalmist
when he said, "And he shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers
of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season; his leaf also
doth not wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper."
The following appreciation and
resolutions by the
faculty of Heidelberg College were then
read:
The passing of Mr. George F. Bareis on
January 7th has
brought to the Faculty of Heidelberg
College a sense of great
personal loss. His official connection
with the Institution has
been very unusual. Thirty-six years ago
he became a member
of the Board of Trustees. For a full
third of a century he served
as the president of that important body.
During that long period
of time Mr. Bareis but once missed a
meeting of the Board, and
that once was a few weeks ago, when his
final illness made his
presence an impossibility. One is
tempted to wonder whether
332 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
in all the land another college can
boast of an official so faithful
over so long a period of continuous
service.
His was no perfunctory loyalty. The
welfare of the Col-
lege was constantly in his thought. His
faith in the Institution
was shown by many substantial gifts.
Hardly a Christmas season
passed without some generous
contribution. And yet, his gen-
erosity was attended with an utter lack
of ostentation.
Mr. Bareis loved Heidelberg College.
To many of the Faculty who had known him
long, he was
more than just a personal friend. To
them he was father, wise,
sincere, sympathetic.
His familiar figure will be missed on
the campus, but he will
not be forgotten. Never again in the
flesh shall we hear his quiet
voice, but he still speaks and "His
works do follow him." We
shall cherish the memory of this
Christian gentleman, this gener-
ous friend, this efficient and devoted
officer of the College.
In view, therefore, of all that Mr.
Bareis has meant to the
College and this Faculty, be it
RESOLVED, That though fully conscious of
the great loss
suffered by the College and the Faculty,
a loss that at the present
moment appears irreparable, we bow in
humble submission to the
will of the all-wise and beneficent
Heavenly Father; further, be it
RESOLVED, That we as individual members
of the Faculty
can best honor the memory of our
benefactor by striving to show
ourselves worthy of his confidence in
us, and to realize the high
ideals of Christian education which he
always cherished; and,
again, be it
RESOLVED, That, to the daughters of the
deceased, we ex-
tend our heartfelt sympathy in the hour
of their great sorrow in
the hope that, through companionship
with the Unseen, there may
come to them an abiding comfort; and
finally be it
RESOLVED, That these Resolutions be
inscribed in the
official minutes of this Faculty, and a
copy of the same be sent
to the bereaved daughters.
Tiffin, Ohio, January 8, 1932.
C. B. Galbreath, Secretary of the Ohio
State Archae-
ological and Historical Society, spoke
as follows:
Dear Friends:
On such an occasion as this, when we
meet to pay the last
tribute of respect and love to a near
and dear friend, we realize
how partial and inadequate are any
words of ours.
George F. Bareis 333
A great statesman once said: "If
our deeds do not praise
us, our words cannot." Measured by
the activities of a long and
upright life, an unbroken succession of worthy deeds
shall con-
tinue to sing for our departed friend a paean of
praise.
For thirty-five years I have known
George F. Bareis. About
twenty-five years ago, when I was first
entertained here in his
hospitable home, his family circle was
unbroken. Mrs. Bareis,
two daughters and comfortable
surroundings made a pleasing pic-
ture of prosperity and domestic happiness. For the past
twelve
years I have been intimately associated
with him in the work of
the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society. He be-
came a member of that organization in
1888. Shortly afterward
he was made a life member. On February 19, 1891, he was
chosen to the board of trustees, a
position that he held through
the remainder of his life, a little more
than forty years. Through
the greater part of this period he was
first vice-president of the
Society. Our tribute to his service must
be limited to a few
words in regard to its character.
It was a faithful service. Through that long period his in-
terest never wavered. Through the past year,
when his health
was failing, he made it his business to
be present at all the meet-
ings of the Board of Trustees. He
attended the last meeting, at
which he presided and in which he took
an active part. We
could always count on his presence.
It was an unselfish service. The person who reads the care-
fully kept minutes of the Society for
the last forty years will seek
in vain any word or action for any
direct or indirect personal
gain for himself. It was his single
desire and his constant joy
to aid in building an institution worthy
of the State of Ohio and
its incomparable archaeology and
history. He took a worthy pride
in the Museum and Library of the Society
and the building in
which they are housed. And well he
might, for of them his un-
selfish service had made him a veritable
part.
Those who knew him well in this work can
readily under-
stand that his services in the church,
the Sabbath-school and the
Board of trustees of Heidelberg College
were characterized by
like fidelity and devotion. In all of
these fields his service was
freely and unselfishly given. It is such
service that marks the
highest type of public-spirited
citizenship.
In an early volume of the publications
of our Society the
statement is made that in politics he
was a liberal Democrat. In
that sense he was liberal in all things.
He had a generous re-
gard and respect for the opinions of
others. James G. Blaine
in his oration on Garfield said,
"Tolerance was of his nature.
334 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
He respected in others the qualities
that he possesses himself--
sincerity of conviction and frankness of
expression. With him
the inquiry was not so much what a man
believes, but does he
believe it?" And thus it was that
he numbered on his long line
of friends men of all parties and all
creeds.
Our friend was broadly tolerant. He had
no quarrel with
those who differed from him in opinion.
In fact he had no
disposition to quarrel with his fellow-man.
His sympathies were
broad; and thus it is that a multitude
follows him today in token
of respect and sincere appreciation, to
his final rest, here in the
land and the community that he loved so
well.
While he was kindly and tolerant in his
judgments of others,
in his well-grounded opinions and his
Christian faith he was
adamant. With conscientious convictions
he made no compro-
mises. In his testimony he was
unwavering to the last breath
of life.
Words can but inadequately express our
appreciation of this
example and our gratitude to have shared
the friendship of this
upright, modest and blameless man. Well
might we paraphrase
for him the words of William Dean
Howells for a near and
dear relative:
Remember now how true through all those
days
He was--friend, father, husband, son--
Fill the whole limit of your space with
praise.
There needs no room for blame; blame
there was none.
Arthur Arnold, secretary of the Ohio
Council of Re-
ligious Education, Columbus, told of
the splendid work
Mr. Bareis had accomplished for that
organization,
which was formerly known as the State
Sunday School
association.
W. E. Lampe, Ph. D., of Philadelphia,
representing
the Board of Foreign Missions of the
Reformed church,
told of the great faith and energy of
Mr. Bareis, which
brought the benevolences of that board
from $100,000
per year to $500,000. He was always
present at the
meetings of the board, as he was also
for all of the other
organizations to which he belonged.
George F. Bareis 335
His pastor, Rev. Paul Slinghoff, who
conducted the
service, told of his intimate knowledge
of Mr. Bareis,
and of the latter's love for the
church, and interest in
all mankind.
The pall bearers were Clarence E.
Ballmer, Parley
E. Haffey, Ernest E. Haffey, Edward 0.
Herbert, Sam-
uel 0. Loucks and Raymond L. Sims.
As the audience left the church Mrs.
Tallman played
"Even Song" by Johnston.
Burial was made in Union Grove Cemetery
where a
large concourse of friends assembled,
to pay tribute to
his memory.
EDITORIAL TRIBUTES
GEORGE F. BAREIS
Franklin County can ill afford to lose
from its citizenship
men of the type of George F. Bareis, of
Canal Winchester, who
died after a short illness Thursday.
Deeply interested in matters
of education and religion, and taking
part in civil government
always on the side of civic
righteousness and common decency,
he always could be depended upon in all
community matters to
throw his influence, which was no small
matter, on the side of
justice and right.
Without the advantages of formal higher
education himself,
he appreciated education so highly that
he was elected to the con-
trolling board of the institution that
his church, the Reformed,
maintains in Ohio--Heidelberg College,
at Tiffin. The president
of that institution, Dr. Charles Miller,
will deliver the oration
at his funeral today. His interest in
the work of his church also
led to his election to its Board of
Foreign Missions, and he also
was for many years a director of the
Ohio Council for Religious
Education.
Though holding no college degree, he had
made himself a
well-educated man. History was his
favorite study, an interest
that drew him into membership in the
Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society, of which he had
been for 30 years a vice-
president, and in which he held a life
membership. This also led
336 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
to a diversion of his activities from
the main trend of his life,
business, and he wrote a history of his
own township, Madison,
which attests the care and accuracy with
which he did all his
work.
Modest and unassuming, he occupied a
place in the business,
educational and religious work of his
community that will not be
easily filled.
Columbus Dispatch,
January 9, 1932.
The long and fruitful career of George
F. Bareis, whose
death was recorded yesterday, is a
shining example of one's ability
to achieve a life of usefulness and
influence, be one's residence
in village, city or wherenot. Nearly all
his 80 years Mr. Bareis
spent in Canal Winchester, where he was
the leading dominating
citizen during most of that period, but
the influence of his kindly
character, his indefatigable industry
and his unfailing good judg-
ment extended far beyond the scope of
his home community.
While he built up a big lumber business
he pursued certain
hobbies and cultural studies that made
him a recognized and be-
loved guide in various endeavors. For a
generation he sat in the
high councils of the Reformed Church of
the United States and
was known as one of the foremost laymen
of that denomination;
for a generation also he was chairman of
the board of trustees
of Heidelberg College, and for as long a
trustee, and officer of
the Ohio Historical Society. All his
life he had a quiet, intellec-
tual interest in politics.
Mr. Bareis was a writer of parts, especially
of historical doc-
uments; quiet, unassuming, yet always
active; genuine, whole-
some and unselfish; ever engaged in
helping somebody or some
worthy cause; a man whose advice was
widely solicited and gener-
ously granted from his fund of knowledge
gained through the
diversified pursuits of his mind.
Contact with him gave ac-
quaintances renewed faith and pride in
the human race. He
leaves a legacy of human service that
will endure.
Ohio State Journal,
January 9, 1932.
GEORGE F. BAREIS In his home town, in the capital of the State, and beyond its borders, a large circle of friends and as- sociates heard with deep regret the news of the death |
|
of George F. Bareis. He had been in failing health for a portion of the past year but had been seriously ill only a short time. He passed away at Grant Hospital, Co- lumbus, at 2:40 P. M. on Thursday, January 7, 1932. (325) |