George Holbein at his desk in the newspaper office.
George Holbein was born on August 16, 1864 at Dennison Station, Summit County, Ohio. He was the fourth child in a sibling group of eight born to Elias and Lydia Holbein. Only four of George’s siblings survived to adulthood.
George’s father, Elias Holbein was a skilled leather worker who crafted saddles and harnesses for horses. Elias was an educated man who was active in his German Reformed Church congregation, where he served as deacon, secretary and Sunday school superintendent. He was praised as having “an even temperament and a genial spirit.”