Black and white illustration of train tressle
Hauber trailed his eloping wife and her lover on a train from Millersburg to Mount Vernon, where he had police waiting. They would have come across the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge in downtown Mount Vernon, just before stopping at the depot, which is today the Station Break senior center. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Knox Time Collection

History Knox

Mark Sebastian Jordan authors a History Knox column each Saturday morning in Knox Pages.

MOUNT VERNON — On Friday, April 26, 1895, Charles Hauber of Delphos, Ohio, received a mysterious telegram.

The telegram said that his wife was ill. He was about to find out that not only was his wife not ill, she was feeling pretty darned good right about then, in her love nest.

It’s fascinating to look at how society shifts over the years in the way it handles human behavior.

There are things commonly discussed today that would have shocked a person from over 100 years ago.

But in this case, we will hear about a personal drama played out in newspaper headlines, which today would almost certainly be considered private.

It started with the married couple Charles and Sarah Hauber, who lived in Delphos. They had been married for over a decade, but something about the relationship was not working for Mrs. Hauber. 

At some point along the way, she met a man named Samuel Yockey, and the sparks flew. 

This complicated things, as Sarah was married, and Samuel was, too, having a son with his wife in Delphos. 

Looking for a way to get together with her new love interest, Sarah announced that she was going to take a little trip from Delphos to visit her sister, who lived in Howard, here in Knox County. 

As a cover, to make her trip look even more family-oriented, she took along their 12-year old daughter.

At the same time, Samuel Yockey announced that he was moving his family to Van Wert, where his wife would remain with their son. But after visiting his parents in Stark County, Samuel would head west to Colorado where his brother was operating a silver mine. 

However, instead of going to Stark County, he took the train to Mount Vernon. Mrs. Hauber — with her daughter in tow — caught a train from Howard into Mount Vernon, and rendezvoused with her lover. 

I wonder how they explained this to the 12-year-old, who was still with her? 

The three then took the next train to Millersburg, where they registered at the Schreiber House hotel as “S. Yockey & wife.” 

Meanwhile, someone — it isn’t clear who — had figured out what was going on, and sent the mysterious telegram to Charles Hauber in Delphos. 

He caught the next train east and rushed to Millersburg.

The newspaper reports aren’t clear about all the details, but it appears that Hauber saw the eloping couple and held off on confronting them. 

Whatever the case, we know that they embarked on a train for Mount Vernon Saturday morning, and Hauber boarded the same train to trail them. 

Charles F. Hauber and Sarah A. Bell got married in Knox County in 1881. It was here, 14 years later, that their marriage would come crashing down.

At one of the stops along the way, Hauber sent a telegram to Mount Vernon asking for a police officer to meet the train.

When they arrived at the station in Mount Vernon (today the Station Break senior center), Hauber finally confronted lovebirds in a very public manner.

Samuel and Sarah were arrested on the grounds of adultery. Charles and Sarah had an intense discussion at the police station. 

Charles tried to convince her to return to Delphos with him and resume their married life for the sake of their daughter and two sons. But she would have none of it. 

They finally hammered out an agreement that Charles would drop the charges and let Samuel and Sarah elope, but she would relinquish custody of their children, including the 12-year old daughter.

Charles couldn’t see what wasn’t perfect about their marriage (which was probably one of the problems in Sarah’s eyes).

“I always did what was right by her,” Hauber said to a reporter from the Delphos Daily Herald. “[I] provided for her, and allowed her everything she desired. I trusted her and was deceived.

“That’s all there is to it.”

A notice in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette said that the eloping couple was headed to Missouri to start a new life. 

Charles Hauber returned to Delphos to sue for divorce, plus a $20,000 suit for damages against Samuel Yockey.

Meanwhile, those sparks apparently fizzled out before long. 

A later newspaper report notes that Sarah returned home to Delphos in January the following year, to resume her original marriage.

But Charles got his opportunity for revenge: In March, he left her, leaving behind a note that said he was going and would never be back!