One of the frustrations of dealing with pioneers is the fact that quite often we have no idea of what they looked like --- other than the assumption that some characteristics are carried forward in the size, shape and demeanor of their descendants.
Lucas County pioneer David D. Waynick, however, left his image behind in full public view by commissioning two years before his death at age 56 in 1883 a portrait published in the 1881 Lucas County history.
I've paired it here with images of his tombstone, located in the namesake family cemetery, Waynick, located just southwest of Chariton. So we can see how David wished to be remembered on the one hand and how is family wished him to be remembered on the other.
Here's a link to a post that provides a general outline of the Waynick family, "The senior Waynicks: Peter and Susannah," including David.
The tombstone also marks the grave of David's wife, Martha Elizabeth (1839-1884), who outlived him by only a year and is buried by his side. He was Lucas County's first assessor and the proprietor of a dry goods store. In all, David and Martha had 11 children, four of whom died young. All of their surviving children moved west.
Here's his obituary, as published in The Democrat-Leader of July 4, 1883, under the headline, "An Old Settler Gone."
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On Friday evening, June 29th, one of the oldest settlers of the county, Mr. D. D. Waynick, died. He was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, on March 13th, 1827, and in 1849 he came to this county and entered the land on which he lived and died. A few weeks ago, while superintending the making of some repairs upon his residence, he fell from a step ladder, fracturing several ribs and sustaining other severe injuries. At first his friends did not regard his injuries in a serious light, but as the days wore away and he failed to improve, anxiety followed, and then despair. Pneumonia set in and completed the work.
Mr. Waynick was a man well known in the county, and universally respected by his acquaintances. He was a man of strong convictions, and never feared to express them. This trait of character, while it antagonized some men, seldom failed to produce conviction of his sincerity, and respect for his motives. As a business man he was straightforward, as a churchman he was zealous, as a neighbor he was kind and obliging, as a citizen he was useful, while his friendships were always of the strongest nature.
In all the walks of life he was active and energetic. This was particularly true in his relations to the order of Odd Fellows, to which he was devotedly attached. He was the first man initiated into that order in Chariton, and in all the years that have intervened since that time, he has lost no opportunity to work in the interest of the order he so much admired.
In his death, as is true with every good man, the community has suffered a great loss. He will be missed in the daily walks of business life, in the church, the Sunday school and the lodge, but particularly in the social circle and the home, where he was esteemed for his uniform kindness.
His funeral services were held on the lawn in front of his late residence, on Sunday afternoon, and was one of the largest, if not the largest procession ever seen in the county. He was buried in the Waynick cemetery south west of the city.
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