Edward Maybaum was one of the many children of Charles and Caroline Maybaum. The elder Maybaums bought their 80 acres south of Ainsworth sometime after 1874 and before 1891; since Ed was born around 1881, that old farm had been his home probably from early childhood.
The first mention of him in my reading came in 1901, when he lost a thumb to a corn husker. That seems not to have dimmed his spirits, as most of his subsequent mentions in the paper have involved his organizing or attending public dances. At one Ainsworth social he even acted as "auctioneer." It's true he once disrupted a dance by slapping Louis Weiler, but — who knows? — maybe Louis had it coming.
Around 1905 he married a young woman named Frieda, whose maiden name I don't know. By 1917 they had two young sons, Russell (10) and Gordon (4).
Sometime previously Ed's health had taken a turn for the worse. In 1916 he underwent surgery in a Chicago hospital. Perhaps that failed to set him right, and he wanted to escape the strenuous physical labor involved in farming; for whatever reason, in 1917 he decided to quit farming. And so to dispose of his livestock and equipment, he hired the same auctioneer as Louis Wojahn, and placed a similarly high-profile ad.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Ed planned to move his family to Gary and try his hand at the garage business.
Sources:
♦ 1874 Plat Book.
♦ 1891 Plat Book.
♦ 1910 Census.
♦ 1920 Census.
♦ "Ainsworth Pick-Ups." Hobart Gazette 27 Jan. 1905; 17 Feb. 1905.
♦ "General News Items." Hobart Gazette 5 Apr. 1901; 4 Dec. 1903; 7 Apr. 1905.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 27 Sept. 1917.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 26 Feb. 1909.
♦ "Personal and Local Mention." Hobart News 7 Sept. 1916.
♦ "Public Sale." Hobart News 17 Sept. 1917.
♦ "Ross Township." Hobart News 22 May 1913.
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