Jul 12

Tombstone Tuesday-Sphere

You may have seen a grave marker topped with sphere or ball. The 3-D circle represents eternity and the unending circle of life.  

Sphere, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.

It may also represent the soul waiting for the resurrection.

Sphere, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.

Below is a small sphere used as finial.

Fountain Chapel Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio.

The spheres below are probably not actual tombstones but they make a nice addition to this cemetery.  

Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.

 

 

Jul 08

1951 Bible School, Zion Lutheran, Chatt

Summer is Bible School time for many local children. Most churches host Bible School (aka Daily Vacation Bible School) for a week in June or July.

Here is a photo I ran across the other day, a 1951 Bible School photo from Zion Lutheran Church in Chatt. This was probably one of the older classes, with an average age of about 10 years. There were likely several other younger classes.

Bible School, Zion Lutheran, Chatt, 1951.

Standing, left to right:
Mrs. Elsie Byers, Eileen Krall, Eileen Byers, Pat Myers, Cindy Reef, Evelyn Krall, Lois Krall, Rev. Waldo Byers.

Seated:
Larry Woodruff (front), Larry Caffee (behind), Farrel Krall, Joe Clase, Leon Kallenberger, Max Kallenberger, Jim Myers.

Rev. Waldo Byers was Zion’s minister at that time. Although I was not born yet, he was Zion’s minister from 1947-1960 and I remember him and his wife Elsie.

Rev. Waldo & Elsie Byers.

I remember going to Bible School at Zion Chatt most every summer while growing up. My earliest memories of Bible School are of Helen Jean White picking me up at the Miller farm and taking me and her two children, Martha and Charles, to the church. She drove us to Chatt in what I thought was a very cool car, in what I believe was a Pontiac Woody station wagon. For me it was like riding a small bus to Chatt.

Bible School was (and still is) a lot of fun. We heard Bible stories, sang songs, made crafts, had activities, and ate snacks. I remember at least one year when Bible School was all day and we took our lunch. Another year we had half-day Bible School for 2 weeks. But usually Bible School was one week for half a day. And we always had a program at the end of the week.   

Good memories.

Jul 05

Tombstone Tuesday-Emma German [?]

Emma German, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2019 photo by Karen)

This tombstone is located in row 2 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker’s inscription can no longer be read.

What do you do when a tombstone is so weathered that its inscription is no longer legible?

The first thing I did was look at a local source, the 1992 Van Wert County, Ohio, Cemetery Inscriptions, by the Van Wert Chapter OGS. The Van Wert Chapter read and recorded all the stones in the cemetery three decades ago. This stone was weathered back then but they were able to read parts of it. They read the stone as Emma German, 1y, _m, 11d, daughter of J.

That is not a lot to go on, especially since the year of her death was not legible. There appears to be a lamb image carved at the top of the marker, which indicates it is the tombstone of a child.  

I next looked at Zion Schumm’s church records. There was only one Emma German in their death records, but this is not her tombstone. The Emma German in the church records lived from 1907-1917, is buried in row 11 of Zion Schumm’s cemetery, and her tombstone is very legible.

I do not have much German family genealogy and do not know if there was an Emma German who died young, whose father’s first name began with J, and who was not mentioned in Zion Schumm’s records. Perhaps a German researcher can shed some light on this.

From Zion Schumm’s church records I know that there was a Johann and a Jacob German who attended church there years ago. Perhaps Emma was the daughter of one of them.

There were not many Emmas in their church records, but one Emma did die in infancy. Anna Susanna Emma Bienz, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Bienz, born 9 October 1874, died 21 May 1876, and was buried in the parish cemetery 23 May. It appears her tombstone did not survive.  

There is just not a lot to go on here. And, considering the condition of this tombstone, are we sure the name is actually Emma German? The script on some markers is difficult to read when a marker is in good condition, let alone on a severely weathered stone. 

This tombstone may just have to remain a mystery.   

Jul 01

Happy July 4th, 2022!

July 4th weekend, 2022. This coming Monday we celebrate America’s Independence Day. It is a day to remember the principles of freedom and liberty upon which our country was founded and the many sacrifices that were made to ensure those freedoms.

Below is The American’s Creed, the winning submission in a 1917 national writing contest for a creed of the United States, written by William Tyler Page. Page used phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in his entry. The American’s Creed was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1918. I am very familiar with The American’s Creed because we recite it at each of our DAR meetings.

The American’s Creed
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support it Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.     

Another patriotic quotation:

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.  –Robert J. McCracken

Wishing everyone a happy and safe July 4th!

 

Jun 28

Tombstone Tuesday-I H S Symbol

You have probably seen the letters I H S in a church, usually seen on the altar, church windows, vestments, and even on tombstones. These three letters are called a Christogram, which is a monogram or a combination of letters that form an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ. It is an ancient way of writing the name Jesus that dates back to the third century.  

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

The Greek letters I H Σ (iota eta sigma) are the first three letters of ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, the Greek name of Jesus. The Greek letter Σ (sigma) is written as an S in Latin and is how we write the letter today.

I H S Symbol, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio.

I H S Symbol, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Ohio.

I H S Symbol, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Ohio.

In early Christianity I H S was a secret symbol to help identify fellow Christians. In the 1400s Christians put the symbol on their doorways to identify their dwelling as a Christian home.

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

Some translate the three letters as a Latin phrase, Iesus Hominum Salvator, meaning “Jesus Savior of Mankind.” Others erroneously use the letters as an acronym for “I Have Suffered” or “In His Service.” But the letters are not an acronym.

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

I H S Symbol, Catholic Cemetery, Celina, Ohio.

The Christogram I H S is usually found in Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches and cemeteries.