This is the 12th installment in this series. Click here for the previous installment.

Later in this series we will feature the David and Elizabeth Neuenschwander Stauffer family. One of their children, Regina, married Christian Matter, This couple is the focus of this week’s column.

Regina Stauffer was born Aug. 15, 1840, in Putnam County. She came from Adams County, Indiana, with her parents and married Christian around 1860. Christian was born March 18,1839, in Richland County, Ohio, and also came with his parents to Richland Township.

After their marriage Christian and Regina settled four miles south of Bluffton. Later they moved to Hardin County, but eventually returned to Allen County and purchased land in Section 23, Richland Township, two miles south of Bluffton.

They hewed a log home from the wilderness and remained there as a farm family. Later their sons, Peter and Henry, took over the farming operation.

Christian and Regina had 13 children with one child, William, dying in infancy around 1875. John W. married Sarah Amstutz and they had four children. Samuel S. married Sarah D. Carman and they had four children.

Daniel married Lizzie Jane Stratton and they had two children. Later, Daniel married Lillie Etta Stouffer Welsh and they had a son, Robert.

Arnold and Noah were twins with Arnold marrying Melinda Oberly and they had four children. Noah married Carolyn Kern and they had three children. Peter married Sarah Badertscher and they had five children.

Theophilus married Effie G Leeper and they had 10 children. Sarah married John A. Walker and they had one son, Lester. Anna Ellen married Joseph Gromann and they had five children.

Catherine married Gideon Oberly and they had three children. Henry married Mary Waltz and they had one son, Henry, and also raised a child, Helen Amstutz. Leona, the youngest, married Edward E. Good and they had three children.

Christian died at age 55. Regina lived to be 71. Both are buried in maple Grove Cemetery, Bluffton.

The family name Matter had reference to the Matterhorn Swiss Alps. Later, some families changed the spelling of their name to Motter.

Christian Matter
Born, March 18, 1839, Richland County, Ohio
Died: July 10, 1894, Richland Township
Buried: Maple Grove Cemetery, Bluffton
Occupation: Farmer at Hillville-Bentley Road, south of Bluffton

Christian's father: Samuel Matter (1808-1853)
Christian's mother: Elizabeth Stettler (1812-1896)
Married: 1860s

Regina Stauffer
Born: Aug. 15, 1840, Putnam County
Died: June 26, 1911, Richland Township
Buried: Maple Grove Cemetery

Regina's father: David Stauffer, (1814-1880)
Regina's mother: Elizabeth Neuenschwander (1816-1845)

Children
John W. Matter
Born: June 1860, Richland Township
Died: July 23, 1917, Richland Township
Spouse: Sarah Amstutz
Married: 1862c

Samuel S. Matter
Born: April 20 1861, Richland Township
Died: July 13, 1927, Bluffton
Spouse: Sarah D. Carman
Married: 1892

Daniel Matter
Born: Nov. 12, 1862, Richland Township
Died: Oct. 15, 1929, Bluffton Hospital
Spouse: Lizzie Jane Stratton
Married: Jan. 9, 1887, Hancock County

Spouse: Lillie Etta Stouffer Welsh
Married: July 8, 1903

Arnold Matter (twin)
Born July 5, 1863, Richland Township
Died: March 11, 1913, Perry Township, Allen County
Spouse: Melinda Oberly

Noah Matter (twin)
Born: July 5, 1863, Richland Township
Died: May 11, 1929
Spouse: Caroline Kern
Married: Sept. 29, 1892

Peter Matter
Born: June 19, 1866, Richland Township
Died: Aug. 12, 1944, Bluffton
Spouse: Sarah Badertscher
Married: Dc. 14, 1889

Theophilus A. Matter “Phil”
Born: Jan. 24, 1870, Richland Township
Died: Jan. 21, 1933
Spouse: Effie G. Leeper

Sarah E. Matter
Born: March 3, 1872, Richland Township
Died: 1930
Spouse: John A. Walker

Anna Ellen Matter
Born: May 10, 1874, Richland Township
Died: Nov. 6, 1946, Bluffton
Spouse: Joseph Gromann
Married: July 28, 1894

William Matter
Born 1875 c, Richland Township
Died: 1875 c, Richland Township

Catherine Matter
Born: Aug. 14, 1878, Richland Township
Died March 11, 1963, Ada Nursing Home, Ada, Ohio
Spouse: Gideon P. Oberly

Henry Matter
Born Jan. 2, 1881, Richland Township
Died: Feb. 5, 1940, Bluffton Hospital
Spouse: Mary Waltz
Married: Feb. 12, 1905

Leona L. Matter
Born: Oct. 20, 1889, Richland Township
Died: Jan. 19, 1970, Bluffton
Spouse: Edward E. Good
Married: Aug. 20, 1910

Melinda Oberly, who married Arnold Matter, and Gideon P. Oberly, who married Catherine Matter, were brother and sister.