Harry Osthimer - Spanish American War Veteran

Harry Osthimer was born on January 30, 1880 in Adams County, Indiana, into a farming family. Later his father would leave farming and purchase a meat market in Westport, IN. Osthimer would help his father in the market but life was not easy in those days. Typhoid fever took one of his bothers and his mother died while he was still a boy.
The declaration of war between the United States and Spain was declared on April 24, 1898 but Osthimer didn’t get into the affair until November 18th. He and his older brother, Charlie, had tried to enlist in the spring but Osthimer’s youth - he was 17-years-old at the time - prevented his enlistment. By fall, trouble had developed in the Philippines and Harry went to Indianapolis to enlist in the regular army. His dad had to sign his papers so he could get in.
Serving with A Battery, First Heavy Artillery in St. Augustine, Florida he was assigned guarding prisoners. These prisoners however were not of foreign birth. They were American soldiers confined for such things as desertion, stealing or murder. There were both long- and short-term prisoners there.
As a private he received pay of $15.60 per month. Twenty-five cents was taken out every other month to pay towards the old soldier’s home. Osthimer was stationed at Fort Marion (St. Augustine, FL) during the winter of 1898 and the following spring. That fall they were going to send him to the Philippines, but changed their minds and he was off to Eggmont Key or Fort Dade which was across the channel from Fort Desota on Mullett Key. By this time the Spanish-American War had ended and Osthimer finished his duty on the island. After three years in the service Corporal Harry Osthimer was discharged on Nov. 17, 1901.
Following discharge Harry went back to Westport where he stayed with his sister and brother-in-law. He soon got a job storing ice, cut from ponds. Valentines Day, 1902 brought a call for him to come to Indianapolis to work at the state mental hospital.
When he was 23, he married Grace Farmer and they had four children.
Over his lifetime he worked several places, eventually coming to Wabash, IN. While living in Wabash he worked for the Big Four Railroad, the Wabash Cabinet Company, cutting buttons in the Wabash Button Factory, for Honeywell’s Inc. and for Wabash Filing Supplies. After his retirement, he became a painter.
On December 15, 1972, at the age of 92, Harry Osthimer, The last surviving Spanish-American War veteran in Wabash, passed away and was buried in Falls Cemetery, Wabash, IN.
This audio interview was recorded by George Dingledy as part of the Wabash Carnegie Public Library Oral History Project.
From 1970 to 1987 Wabash Carnegie Public Library and members of the community worked on an Oral History Project that interviewed multiple people in Wabash. These were recorded on cassette tapes, which were later converted to CD in 2006.
Subscribe to keep up with our local history! For any questions or inquiries regarding this video please reach out to [e-mail].
Follow us on our other platforms: • Facebook - Wabash County Museum • Instagram - @wabashmuseum • TikTok - @wabashmuseum