Lola May Landfair
birth: 27 April 1891 in Black Creek Township, Mercer, Ohio to Francis “Frank” Marion and Emma Jane Kuhn Landfair
death: 30 January 1964 in Gary, Lake, Indiana
burial: Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso, Porter, Indiana

marriage: 17 March 1914 in M.E. Church, Celina, Rockford, Ohio
Edwin Anton Leininger
birth: 14 August 1891 in Chattanooga, Mercer, Ohio to Theobald and Caroline Fredericka Kable Leininger
death: 7 August 1976 in Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana
burial: Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso, Indiana

Children of Lola May Landfair and Edwin Anton Leininger:

• Orlo Guy Leininger (1917-1996) m. 1st Dorothy Elizabeth Leininger m 2nd Myrna Elizabeth Allgor Schavey
• Mary Ellen Leininger (1918-2002) m. Theodore Norman Tronolone
• Bonita Frances Leininger (1921-1997) m. Harold Mathes Cook

Ancestor here lived in:

• Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana
• Gary, Lake County, Indiana

Other Information:

The fourth of seven children born to Frank “Francis Marion and Emma Jane Kuhn Landfair, Lola May Landfair entered the world on 27 April 1891 in Black Creek Township, Mercer, Ohio. Her early years were difficult at home; although Lola never discussed her circumstances. Records show that her mother obtained a divorce from her physically abusive husband on 20 March 1908 in Mercer, County. As the courts noted, a woman being granted a divorce at the time was not common. The courts had to intervene again as Emma died on 21 February 1914 in Chattanooga, Mercer, Ohio; the children petitioned the courts on 19 June 1914 as Frank was not paying their support. It was during this difficult time, on 17 March 1914 that Lola married Edwin Anton Leininger, a former classmate, at the M.E. Church in Celina, Rockford, Mercer, Ohio. Family members report that Lola worked for a short time as a teacher in the local school, though no records have been found. This was possible as Lola had completed 8th grade and had an uncle that had been the town’s mayor. The couple resided in Mercer where Edwin farmed and their first two children were born. About 1920, the family moved to Blue Creek, Adams, Indiana so Edwin could manage a farm. In 1921 they are found in Pleasant Mills, Decatur, Indiana where their third child was born. By 1922 the family was residing in Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana where Edwin found work as a car representative for the Penn Company. Lola tended their home on Nuttman Avenue. The family was members of the South Wayne Bethel United Brethren Church. In 1927 the family relocated to Hobart, Lake, Indiana and lived on Washington Street. They joined the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Lola became an active member of the Prairie View Home Economics Club, often hosting the group at her home. Edwin and Lola purchased the Avilla Dairy in Hobart in 1951. She maintained a large kitchen garden while her husband and son farmed the surrounding acreage. On 30 January 1964 in Gary, Lake, Indiana, Lola died of carcinmatosis that had spread to her lungs and pancreas. She was buried in Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso, Indiana.

Submitted by:
Lori Samuelson
Email: genealogyatheart@gmail.com