Biographies - Elmira Township

Charles Bolt, deceased, son of James and Catherine (Aron) Bolt, natives of Scotland and Bucks county, Pa., respectively, was born in Philadelphia, June 19, 1814. James Bolt was a seafaring man. The son, Charles, on coming of age, learned the blacksmith's trade, and worked at this trade until he left his native city, in 1841, for Osceola Grove with his children by his first wife, Samuel and Catherine Bolt. Here on January 19, 1842, he married Catherine Slifer, a sister-in-law of the Vandykes. Samuel Bolt married Miss Mary Snell, now Mrs. Mary Gleeson, before the war. Catherine was also the head of a family of three children when she died, March 10, 1879. To the second marriage there were no children, but the family adopted three, namely: Rebecca Brown, married, residing in Osceola township; Lamont Palmer, married, a resident of Penn township, and Josephine Hoadley, married, residing at Salem, O. Charles Bolt followed blacksmithing and farming for a number of years after moving to Illinois, his first farm being in Elmira township, but afterward he purchased a land warrant of eighty acres in Penn township, where he erected his residence. A few years after his removal here, he engaged in store-keeping, and carried on this in connection with his farm until his death, February 23, 1884.

In politics he was a member of the Greenback party, in religion a Free Will Baptist, and in business and social matters a man who claimed the respect of every one. He served as school director and collector for several terms, and always took a lively interest in anything which promised benefits to his district. His widow, Mrs. Catherine Slifer Bolt, resides in Elmira township, just northwest of Modena. Like the Vandykes and Slifers, she is a member of the Old School Baptist church.