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BROTHER DAVID C. WINEGARNER, 33°, was
born in Gratiot, Muskingum County, Ohio, November 6, 1833. His
paternal ancestors were Germans; his great-grandfather, Henry
Winegarner, having immigrated to America at an early period.
His father, the Hon. Samuel Winegarner, was a
native of London County, Virginia, who went to Ohio in 1816, and
finally settled in Licking County.
For a number of years he served as a Justice of the
Peace, and from 1846 to 1848 represented his district in the State
Senate. The subject of this sketch availed himself of the advantages
of the village school for a few years and subsequently attended
Granville College, now (1892) the Dennison University.
After leaving College his time for a few years was
divided between school teaching, working on a farm, and clerking in
a store. Feeling an inclination to see more of the world, he went
west in the spring of 1857 and spent three successful years in
business divided between Keokuk, Iowa, and St. Louis, Missouri. He
returned to Newark, Ohio, and in 1860 engaged in the hardware trade,
in which he continued successfully for about sixteen years.
His next venture brought him into a business for which
he appears to have a singular adaptation-that of banking. A private
banking house was organized in 1860 under the firm name of Robbins,
Wing & Warner, of which he became a partner in 1876, the style of
the firm being changed to that of Robbins, Winegarner,
Wing & Co. BROTHER WINEGARNER was elected a
member of the Board of Education as early as 1869, and was retained
therein, with the exception of a short term till 1886. During his
term he served as President of the Board prior to, and from 1878, as
Treasurer. To his energy, perseverance and excellent business
qualifications, the city of Newark is indebted for having one of the
finest school buildings in the State. He was also a member of the
original Board of Trustees of the Licking County Children's Home, an
institution of which every member of that community is justly proud.
In the spring of 1874 he was solicited by his friends
to accept a place on the ticket as a candidate for the Mayoralty of
the city of Newark. The result was the election of BROTHER
WINEGARNER. How well he succeeded may be inferred from the fact
that at the end of his first term he received the unprecedented
compliment of a unanimous re-election.
BROTHER WINEGARNER was made a Mason in
Newark Lodge, No. 97, October 18, 1878, and at the first election
held thereafter was elected Treasurer of the Lodge. In 1880 he
became Senior Warden, and in 1881 Worshipful Master. He received the
Royal Arch degree in Warren Chapter, No. 6, of Newark, on February
3, 1879; was elected King of the Chapter at the ensuing election,
and after having faithfully served in that office for three years,
was, in 1882, elected High Priest. The order of High Priesthood was
conferred upon him in October 1883. On March 5, 1879, he was made a
Royal and Select Master in Bigelow Council, No. 7, of Newark, and in
1880 was elected Principal Conductor of the work, which office he
filled for three years. He was then chosen Thrice Ill. Master, and
served for two years. In 1885 he was elected to the third office in
the Grand Council; two years later was promoted to the second; and
in 1889 was elevated to the honorable station of Grand Master, and
re-elected in 1890. He was created a Knight Templar in Newark
Commandery. No. 34, April 22, 1879, and in 1880-81 served as Junior
Warden, in 1882-3 as Prelate, and in 1884 became Eminent Commander,
serving two years. On the organization of St. Luke's Commandery in
November 1886, he was appointed its first Eminent Commander, and at
the next election was chosen its Prelate. He received the Ineffable
Grades, 4th to the 18th inclusive, in Enoch Lodge of Perfection,
Franklin Council of Princes of Jerusalem and Columbus Chapter of
Rose-Croix, May 18-19, 1882, and the Consistorial degrees in Ohio
Consistory, March 15, 1883. At the Session of the Supreme Council N.
M. J., held at Boston, Mass., September 15, 1885, he was created a
Sovereign Grand Inspector General (33°), and elected an Honorary
Member of that body.
BROTHER WINEGARNER has at all times
exercised an active interest in the several organizations, and has
very acceptably filled not only many of the subordinate stations
therein, but has also occupied the most exalted offices throughout
the higher grades. In the Grand Lodge of Ohio, he served as Junior
Grand Deacon in 1886, and since 1888 has served as Lecturer in the
7th Masonic District. For a number of years he was chairman of the
Standing Committee on Charters and Dispensations, and has also
served with distinction upon Committees in all the Grand bodies. He
is the Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire near
the Grand Lodge of Ohio; also of the Grand Chapter of Minnesota and
the Grand Council of Oregon near the corresponding bodies in Ohio.
He is the treasurer at present (1892) of Newark Lodge, No. 97;
Warren Chapter No. 6, and of Bigelow Council, No. 7, and the Prelate
of St. Luke's Commandery, No. 34.
BROTHER WINEGARNER was married March 12,
1861, to Miss Mary E. Haver, of Fairfield County,
Ohio. They have one child, a daughter, Katharine Haver,
a young lady of rare intelligence and a graduate of Abbott Academy,
Andover, Massachusetts.
 Source: A Masonic history of 1892.
(Contributed by Robyn Greenlund) |
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Source will be listed at end of each biography