Jul 26

Threshing in the Willshire & Chatt Area

Last week I wrote about threshing and cooking for threshers and I learned a lot about both events. Threshing and the meal preparation certainly was a whole lot of work, but the families were able to turn the hard work into a social event at the end of the day.

Several of us Miller relatives talk every Friday morning on Skype. My aunt and uncle (my dad’s brother and sister), and a couple of my cousins enjoy talking about the good old days and catching up on the latest news. Last Friday my aunt Ruth, who will be 100 this year, and my uncle Kenny shared some of their memories about threshing on the Miller farm north of Chatt.  

Uncle Kenny said he remembers helping out on threshing day when he was about 10 years old, by delivering water to the threshing crew. He said that Johnny Reef had a threshing machine and he recalls the names of some of the men who were on the threshing crew, the threshing ring, as he called it: Homer Carr, Howard Caffee & sons, and Jr Miller. He said my dad also worked with the crew, by sacking grain.

Aunt Ruth recalled that her aunts Caroline (Miller) Caffee and Clara (Miller) Reef came over to help with the threshing meal. Ruth said her mother cooked a lot of roast beef, macaroni and cheese, and pies. Ruth said the macaroni and cheese was her favorite and that grandma made very good cream pies. Kenny thought they had an ice cream social when the threshing was done for the season.

They both said they liked to play on the straw stack and slide down it. In fact, all their siblings liked to play on it. They said the straw stack was quite tall and that the animals would eat from it.    

Cornelius L. Schumm threshing machine, at 1986 sale.

My grandpa, Cornelius L Schumm, had a threshing machine and did threshing for some farmers in the Willshire area. These photos are from his last threshing job, threshing for R.L. Stetler in 1952.

C.L. Schumm’s last threshing job, for R.L. Stetler, 1952.

C.L. Schumm Threshing for R.L. Stetler, 1951-2.

C.L. Schumm, threshing for R.L. Stetler, 1951-2.

Grandpa had a Rumely Oil Pull and he may have used it to power his threshing machine.

C.L. Schumm by Rumely Oil Pull, 1985.

Grandpa Schumm saved a few of his threshing account books, which are dated from 1938-1948, and usually during the months of July and August. The grain was mostly wheat, but there was some oats, rye, and barley. Bushel amounts ranged from 48 to over 400 bushels.

C.L. Schumm’s Thresherman’s Account Book, 1946-48.

C.L. Schumm’s Thresherman’s Account Book, 1946-48.

For example, one 1948 slip for R.L. Stetler: 76 bushels wheat @ 7¼, total $5.39; 858 bushels oats @ 5¼, total $45.03; minus $5.00 labor; total owed $45.42.

C.L. Schumm threshing account for RL Stetler, 1946.

I assume he took his threshing machine to the individual farms, charged them using a specific number, according to the number of bushels, and deducted the farmer’s labor from his bill. I do not know how that specific number was determined, but it was always 7¼ for wheat and 5¼ for oats. When you do the math it figures to be $0.0725/wheat and $0.0525/oats.

I wonder if the other farmers on the crew helped out for free or if they got paid or compensated in some way. Maybe they volunteered at each farm, knowing the crew would come and thresh at their farm eventually. I would be interesting to know the answers to these questions.

Below are some of the names in his threshing books, the farmers my grandpa Schumm threshed for between 1938-1948. I put them in alphabetical order. Maybe you will see the name of one of your relatives.

R.E. Allmandinger
Rudy Allmandinger
W.L. Allmandinger
Basil Banta (hauling clover seed)
J.H. Becher
Laurel Bowen
Clarence Brandstetter
Emil Brandt
Claude Buchanan
A.H. Buechner
Otis Byers
L.S. Cully
Firmin Dellinger
Frank Dudgeon
O. Dudgeon
Del Eichar
W. Eichar
Engle
Henry Etzler
Ernest Gribler
Sam Haggard
Albert Hamrick
W. Hamrick
Leon Huffine
T.C. Hofmann
Gale Hook
Mrs. J. Hurless
Austin Jones
Frank Ketrow
Kettring
Fred Kidd
Christ Krall
H. Merkle
R.L. Painter
George Putnam
George Roehm
Paul Roehm
Albert Roop
J. Scaer
Oscar Scaer
Glen Schadt
Arthur Schinnerer, Mrs. Minnie Schinnerer
Arnold Schumm
Paul Schumm
W.J. Schumm
Floyd Shoaf
Harold Stetler
R.L. Stetler
Roy Stetler
A.A. Stove
Clarence Trable

Grandpa threshed for quite a few people over the years. I recognize quite a few names. Interesting stuff!

Jul 23

Tombstone Tuesday-Johan Hoffmann

Johan Hoffmann, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Johan Hoffmann, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Hier ruhet
Johan Hoffmann
Gestorben
Den 14 Nov. 1865
Alter 41 Jahre
8 Mo. n. 9 Tage

Here rests Johan Hoffman, died 14 November 1865, age 41 years, 8 months, and 9 days.

This weathered marble tombstone is a little difficult to read because some of the 4s now look like 1s. Some of the old engravings consisted of a very thin line on the number 4 and over the years that line can become so faint that a 4 can look like the number 1. That can make a big difference in determining the vital dates and the age of a person. This has happened to this stone and the inscription on it has been recorded differently at times. From the information in Zion Schumm’s records and from looking closely at the stone, I believe some of the 4s have sometimes been read as 1s.

According to Zion Schumm’s records, Johan Hoffmann was born 5 March 1824 in Waldeck, Germany.

Johan Hoffmann married Eva “Katharine” Windsheimer 30 September 1853 in Allen County, Indiana. [1] They resided in Van Wert County, near Willshire, by 1860.

The Johan Hoffmann family in 1860: Johan, 36; Katharine, 27; Christopher, 6; Elizabeth, 3; and John, 1. This enumeration shows that Johan, Katharine, and Christopher were all born in Germany, while the other 2 children were born in Ohio. This does not quite add up since the couple married in Indiana in 1853. [2]  

Johan Hoffmann is mentioned several times in Zion Schumm’s records, in his children’s baptism records or when he was a baptismal sponsor for another child, usually a relative or neighbor. From the scant information in the church records I was able to put together a little information about his family. Some of this is theory, particularly about who his siblings were. They may have been siblings or close relatives.

Johan’s wife was listed as Eva Katharine in the church records, with no maiden name. However, her full name appears as Eva Kathryn Windsheimer on their son Christian Hofmann’s death certificate [3] and on their 1853 Indiana marriage record.  

The children of Johan and Eva Katharine (Windsheimer) Hoffmann:
Christian Hoffmann/Hofmann (1854-1919), married Lena Schinnerer
Rosina “Elisabeth” Hoffmann (1857-1913), married Abraham Pflueger
Johann George Hoffmann (1859-1942), married Malinda Miller
Christian Adam Friedrich Hoffmann (1861-1864)
Hannah Rosine Magdalena Hoffmann (1863-?), married Fredrick Glessing

Johan Hoffmann died of lung fever on 14 November 1865, at the age of 41 years, 4 months, and 10 days. Lung fever may have been what we call pneumonia today. He was buried on the 16th.

Johan Hoffman’s widow Eva Katharine was left to raise at least two, possibly four, children. She married Martin Gaier/Geier in 1866 and they had at least two children, Maria, born in 1867, and Magdalena, born in 1869.

Eva Katharine (Windsheimer) Hoffmann Gaier died in 1870. The surviving children from her marriage to Johan Hoffmann had lost both parents and someone had to take them in and raise them. In 1870 it appears two of their children, John Hoffmann, 11, and Hannah Hoffman, 7, were living with Charles P & Anna E Germann. [4]

Johan Hoffmann may have had siblings living in the area. My theory is that Rosina (Hoffmann) Schinnerer Geissler Lutz was the sister of Johan Hoffmann. Anna “Rosina” Hoffmann (1829-1899) first married Pankratius Schinnerer. After his death she married George Geissler, and after George’s death she married Johann Lutz. Johan Hoffmann was the baptismal sponsor for at least two of the Schinnerer children. [5] He was likely their uncle. More research is still needed to determine if Johan Hoffmann had other siblings, possibly with a Germann connection, too.

 

[1] Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993, John Huffmann & Catharine Windsheimer, 30 Sep 1853, Allen County, Indiana; Ancestry.com.

[2] 1860 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.152 [penned], dwelling 1085, family 1079, John Hoffman; digital images by subscription, Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1860usfedcenancestry/ : viewed 22 Jul 2019).

 [3] “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” Van Wert, Pleasant Township, Christian Hofmann, 27 Mar 1914; database with images, FamilySearch.org, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PK3-9X4S?i=1803&cc=1307272 : viewed 22 Jul 2019). [This record gives his parents as John Hofmann & Eva Kathryn Windsheimer.]

[4] 1870 U.S. Census, Harrison, Van Wert, Ohio p. 24 [penned], p. 262B, dwelling & family 164, John Hoffman; digital images by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1870usfedcen/ : viewed 22 Jul 2019).

[5] Zion Schumm’s records show Anna “Rosina” was born in Waldeck, Dieketsbuehl Bayern, where Johann Hoffmann was also born. Johann Hoffmann was the baptismal sponsor for several her children. Their birth years indicate they could be siblings.

 

Jul 19

Cooking for Threshers

We have several summer events coming up and we will have house-guests here, too, so I have been looking through my cookbooks and planning meals, preparing for more cooking than usual around here. 

I remember my grandma saying, when preparing a large meal, that it was like cooking for threshers. Just the way she said that phrase gave me the impression that cooking for threshers was a whole lot of work.

I really didn’t understand or know much about threshing. I grew up in the country, but I did not grow up on a farm. There is a lot about farming I do not know. I don’t remember ever seeing threshing done, so I had to do some reading in order to understand it better and to learn what it had to do with cooking. Below is what I was able to piece together about threshing.

Threshing was a cooperative project among the farmers, to help each other during the wheat and oat harvest. Actually, this time of year would probably be the time for threshing. Quite a few people were involved in the threshing process, usually about 18-20 men on the threshing crew.

People first put the grain into sheaves and piled the sheaves together into shocks. The shocks would stand in the fields about two weeks or more before threshing. On threshing day there had to be enough people to haul the sheaves from the field and others who would toss the sheaves onto the conveyor that carried the sheaves into the threshing machine. There, in the threshing machine, the grain was separated from the chaff. Two men then sacked the grain and took it to the bins, where others piled up the sacks. More men were needed to build the stack from the leftover straw and chaff, which would be used for bedding for the livestock.  

Long story short: the threshing machine removed the seeds from the stalks and husks.

Cornelius L Schumm threshing machine, at 1986 sale.

The threshers worked hard and steady all day long.

And they worked up big appetites! This is where the term cooking for threshers comes in.  

The farm family was responsible for feeding the threshers, although extended family and neighbors often helped with the meal. The threshing meal was the social part of the day, where people had a chance to gather, eat, and talk.

The threshing meal was a big event and could put quite a bit of pressure on a farm wife. A lot of thought and preparation went into the meal. I read that some women started worrying about the meal when the fields were planted in the spring.

These meals gave the women a chance to show off their cooking skills and set their table with special tablecloths and tableware. Women and girls were assigned to serve the food and often wore special aprons. The women and children ate only after the men were finished at the table.

Often neighboring women helped with the meal. Cooking for threshers sometimes made the news in the local newspaper:

Newspaper note about the threshing meal. (not from a local paper)

Threshing was a lot of hard work for everyone.

My grandpa, Cornelius L. Schumm, had a threshing machine and he did threshing for other people.

CL Schumm, threshing for RL Stetler, 1951-2.

CL Schumm Threshing for RL Stetler, 1951-2.

Grandpa even saved a few of his threshing account books, between the years 1938-1946.

Some of CL Schumm’s threshing books from the 1930s & 40s.

Next week I will post the names of the people grandpa did threshing for, as written in those books.

 

Jul 16

Tombstone Tuesday–Emma Maria Schinnerer

Emma Maria Schinnerer, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Emma Maria Schinnerer, located in row 2 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Hier
Ruhet
Emma M
Tochter von
H. und L.
Schinnerer
Gest 20 Feb
1896
Alter 1 Jahr
u. 27 Tagen

Here rests Emma M, daughter of H & L Schinnerer, died 20 February 1896, aged 1 year and 27 days.

Emma Maria Schinnerer was born 23 January 1895, the second child born to “Henry” Frederick (1867-1952) and Maria “Louise” (Schumm) Schinnerer (1870-1952). She was baptized at home on 3 February 1895 with Mrs. Maria Schumm, Mrs. Sophie Gunsett, and Emilie Schumm as her sponsors.

Emma died 20 February 1896 at the age of 1 year and 27 days. She was buried on the 23rd.

Zion Schumm’s records give no indication of the cause of her death.

It appears that neither her birth or death was recorded in Van Wert County probate.

Her parents, Henry and Louise (Schumm) Schinnerer, had the following children:
George “William” Joseph (1893-1963)
Emma Maria (1895-1896)
Lydia Amalia (1897-1985)
Frederick Henry (1904-1984)
Henry Frederick (1907-1908)

Jul 12

Bridesmaid Dresses from the 1950s

A couple weeks ago, while getting out my mom’s wedding gown and veil, I found three other formal dresses that she had saved. I didn’t know if my mom wore them to the prom or if she wore them in weddings.

With a little photo detective work, by looking at her sisters’ wedding photos, I was able to identify where she wore two of the fancy dresses.

It turns out they are bridesmaid dresses. My mom’s sister Esther married in 1951 and my mom was her maid of honor. My mom wore this pink dress. It has satin under the tulle.

Bridesmaid dress, worn by Florence (Schumm) Miller in Esther Schumm’s wedding, 1951.

Bridesmaids in Esther (Schumm) Krueckeberg’s wedding, 1951. Amy (Schumm) Boenker, Florence (Schumm) Miller, Phyllis (Gunsett) Dietrich.

Esther (Schumm) & Alvin Krueckeberg wedding party, 1951. Left to right: Herb Miller, Phyllis (Gunsett) Dietrich, Florence (Schumm) Miller, Esther & Al, Elmer Schumm, Amy (Schumm) Boenker, and Jr. Krueckeberg.

The mom’s sister Amy married in 1953 and my mom was also in her wedding, where she wore a blue dress. This dress has a short, sleeveless, lacy jacket and lacy lower arm coverings. There is a layer of satin under the lace.

Bridesmaid dress worn by Florence (Schumm) Miller in Amy Schumm’s wedding, 1953.

Bridesmaid dress (Amy’s wedding) with jacket and arm covering.

Amy (Schumm) & Herman Boenker wedding party, 1953.

The third dress is blue satin and likely a dress my mom wore in another wedding, but I am not sure whose wedding. Perhaps it was my aunt Kate’s wedding. Kate was my dad’s sister and was a bridesmaid in my parents’ wedding. The blue satin has discolored a little over the years, giving it an iridescent look.

Dress worn by Florence (Schumm) Miller in someone’s wedding.

All three bridesmaid dresses are the same size. I know this because I tried them on! These dresses are heavy and hot! Not dresses you want to play dress-up in on a hot July day. They are a little difficult to get into because they have a side zipper, under the arm. A back zipper, from the neck down, would have made them much easier to get into. However, I did get into them but I was not able to zip any of them up. I am bigger on the top than my mom was.

How styles have changed! I am sure these were the very latest styles in bridesmaid dresses at the time, but we had a good laugh when I modeled them for Joe. I looked a like cross between Bo-Peep and the Blue Bonnet girl in the blue satin dress. Needless to say, photos of me in the bridesmaid dresses have been deliberately omitted here.

My mom’s wedding gown has nice embellishments around the neck and little buttons going down the back. I imagine it was originally white but is more of an ivory-color now. The matching veil was first worn by my mom in 1950 and was also worn by both of her sisters in their weddings.  

Florence (Schumm) Miller, wedding photo, 1950.

Florence (Schumm) Miller wedding dress, 1950 wedding.

Florence (Schumm) Miller wedding dress & veil, 1950 wedding.

Florence (Schumm) wedding dress, 1950 wedding.

My mom was not the only one in her family who saved her wedding gown. Her sister Esther displayed her wedding dress at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration in 2001.

Esther (Schumm) wedding dress, Krueckeberg 50th Anniversary, 2001.