Oldest Living Resident (1939)
Prominent Figure in the History of Newcomerstown

The Coshocton Tribune: Wednesday, September 27, 1939 - Coincident with the town's 125th anniversary celebration, news of the failing health of Newcomerstown's oldest resident and lone Civil War veteran was broadcast today.

His 93 years weighing heavily upon his stooped shoulders, Theodore F. Crater today was reported ill ay his Cross Street home. His illness is attributed to a general failing of health due to his advanced age.

Mr. Crater was born here when Newcomerstown was but 43 years old. He has spent his entire life here. With the exception of the past few weeks, Mr. Crater has reported daily at the Oxford Bank, where he is cashier - reportedly the oldest active bank cashier in the country.

He has always spurned the use of glasses and until recently his mind was bright enough to recall events of his early life in Newcomerstown, then but a settlement.

Once, when Abraham Lincoln stopped in Newcomerstown and appeared on the rear platform of a train, Mr. Carter, then a boy, rushed close to the car to brush the shoes of the emancipator with his hat.

Later, while in Akron, Mr. Crater turned down an offer to buy stock from an unknown salesman. The man, it was later discovered, was the late John D. Rockefeller, Sr. The price of the stock then was $1 per share.

In the Civil War, Mr. Crater attained the rank of corporal in the 178th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and received an honorable discharge at the close of the conflict.

"My father," he once recalled, "sold everything in his general store here when I was a boy, including whiskey at 25 cents a gallon."