Apr 22

Tombstone Tuesday-Ann E. Plants

Ann E. Plants, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Ann E. Plants, located in row 6 in the Old Section of Duck Creek Cemetery, Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed.

Ann E.
Dau of
T. & M.
PLANTS
Died
Aug. 24, 1851
Aged
22 days

Ann E. Plants was born in Mercer County, Ohio, on 2 August 1851, the first child born to Tobias (1820-1888) and Maria (Neville) (1819-1903) Plants. Ann was born and died between census enumerations and before Ohio recorded births or deaths. Her tombstone is one of the very few records of her life.  

Duck Creek Cemetery, Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)

Ann’s parents moved from the Wayne County, Ohio, area to Liberty Township in 1850, the year before Ann was born. Her father Tobias purchased 80 acres of farmland from Albert Cortelyou on 12 September 1850. [1] His property was located on the southeast corner of State Route 49 and Strable Road, land that would eventually become the north end of Chattanooga. 

Tobias Plants was one of the first businessmen in Chattanooga, Ohio, running a general store as early as about 1854. [2] Tobias, living in Liberty Township, gave his occupation as grocer in the 1870 census.

Tobias and Maria had two other children, but only one child lived to adulthood, William Plants (1852-1890). Their son Francis (1856-1864) is also buried in Duck Creek Cemetery and is laid to rest very near his sister Ann. Ann’s tombstone is the smaller of the two.

Ann E. & Francis Plants, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)

Tobias and Maria Plants lived in Liberty Township for thirty years and were enumerated there in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses. Tobias sold his 80 acres in Chatt to Jacob Deitsch on 8 October 1870, [3] and Tobias, Maria, and William moved to Crestline, Ohio, where Tobias worked as a druggist. The three of them remained in Crestline the rest of their lives and all three are buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline.

Tobias Plants died 12 July 1888, age 68 years, [4] his widow, Maria (Neville) Plants, died 3 March 1903, age 84 years, [5] and their son William Plants died 5 December 1890, age 38 years. [6]

[1] Albert Cortelyou to Tobias Plants, Mercer County, Ohio, Deeds Vol. P:48, 12 Sep 1850; Mercer County courthouse.

[2] Mrs. Maria Plants obituary, Crestline Advocate, Crestline, Ohio, 12 Mar 1903, Newspapers.com.

[3] Tobias Plants to Jacob Deitsch, Mercer County, Ohio, Deeds Vol. 16:441, 8 Oct 1870; Mercer County courthouse.

[4] Tobias Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 100998955; Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline, Richland County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.

[5] Maria Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 100998934; Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline, Richland County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.

[6] William A. Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 100998965; Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline, Richland County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.

Apr 18

Easter 2025

Today is Good Friday and in three days we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, on Easter Sunday.

The date of Easter varies from year to year and the date is determined by the full moon.

The simplest explanation for when Easter Sunday occurs is that it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of Spring. The first day of Spring may vary on the calendar, but for the purpose of determining Easter, the Church considers 21 March as the Spring equinox.

Beyond that simplistic explanation, you can get into the Lenten Moon, the Paschal Full Moon, and mathematical approximations following the Metonic Cycle. All that is much more complicated than I care to try to understand.

Easter seems rather late this year. I remember many Easter Sundays when we had a little snow on the ground. I hope that is not the case this year, although this cool spring has extended the blooms of our spring flowers.

Next year Easter Sunday will be 5 April 2026 and the following year on 28 March 2027.

Today, as we contemplate Good Friday, we look forward to a glorious Easter Sunday.

A lot can happen in three days.

He is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!  

Happy Easter, everyone!

Apr 15

Tombstone Tuesday-Jacob J. & Caroline (Bollenbacher) Baker

Jacob J & Caroline (Bollenbacher) Baker, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio (2018 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Jacob J. and Caroline (Bollenbacher) Baker, located in row 1 of St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

BAKER
Caroline
1842-1914
Jacob J.
1840-1889

“Jacob” John Baker was born in Shelby County, Ohio, on 17 April 1840, the third child born to Johann Becker (1808-1888) and Barbara Catharina (Wiedmann) (1812-1894). Jacob’s parents were both born in Germany. The names Baker and Becker were often used interchangeably in older records and some branches of the family changed the spelling from Becker to Baker.

Jacob’s father Johann Becker immigrated to America in 1833 and married Barbara Catharina Wiedmann in Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in 1836, according to church records. Their two oldest children were born in Pennsylvania before the family moved to near Piqua in Shelby County, where their other children were born. They had at least seven children, six living to adulthood. The family moved to Mercer County, Ohio, in October 1853.

In 1860 Johann and Barbara Becker resided in Black Creek Township with their six children, including their son Jacob: John, 50; Barbara, 48; John P, 21; Jacob, 19; Louisa, 16; Catharine, 15; William, 11; and Henry, 9. [1]

Their son, today’s subject, Jacob Baker married Caroline Bullenbaugh in Mercer County, Ohio, on 18 June 1863. [2] That was the spelling of both their surnames on their marriage license. Bullenbaugh is another name that changed over the years and morphed into Bollenbacher.

Caroline was the daughter of John George Bollenbacher (1800-1889) and Maria Elisabeth “Henrietta” (Alt) (1805-1900), both German immigrants.

Caroline Bollenbacher was born in Bavaria on 1 June 1842 and came to America with her parents, arriving in New York on 7 May 1852. The family, as listed on the passenger list: George 48; Henrietta, 47; Catharine, 19; Jacob, 14; Adam, 9; Caroline, 7; and Carl, 5. [3]

By 1860 the George Bollenbacher family was settled in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, and had a Skeels Post Office: George Bollenbacher, 60; Henrietta, 55; Jacob, 22; Adam, 20; Caroline, 18; and Charles, 14. [4]

Their daughter Caroline married Jacob Baker three years later, in 1863. They resided with their children in Liberty Township in 1870: Jacob Baker, 29; Caroline, 28; Charles, 6; Anna, 4; Lewis, 3; and Caroline, 10 months. Jacob’s occupation was farmer. [5]

By 1880, Jacob, 39, and Caroline Baker had eight children, ranging from age 2 to 16 years: Charles, Anna, Louis, Caroline, Mary, Lydia, Jacob, and Henry. Jacob’s occupation was farming. [6]

Jacob Baker had a large farm about a mile east of Chatt on Tama Road. By 1876, Jacob was also the proprietor of a sawmill in Chatt, [7] in partnership with Adam Bollenbacher and William Gehm. Jacob accidentally lost his life at the sawmill on 6 June 1889, when he stopped the big circular saw to make a repair or to change a part. Someone inadvertently threw the belt, starting up the saw again, and Baker’s body was cut in two by the saw. He was only 49 years old. [8]

Baker’s body was reportedly the first in the community to be embalmed by Chattanooga’s undertaker John Allmandinger, and he was reportedly the first to be taken to the church and cemetery in the new black, horse-drawn hearse. [9]

Jacob J Baker, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio (2018 photo by Karen)

The accuracy of the accident’s location varied in some newspaper accounts:

Jacob Baker, a wealthy farmer from Chattanooga, Mercer County, fell on a sbear [sic] [saber?] and was instantly killed. —Xenia Democrat News, Xenia, Greene, Ohio, 15 Jun 1889; MyHeritage.com.

Jacob Baker, of Mercer County, while standing near a large circular saw watching a man run the trucks toward him, on Thursday of last week, fell against the saw and was killed. –The Sidney Journal, Sidney, Shelby, Ohio, 14 Jun 1889; MyHeritage.com.

Jacob Baker of New Haven, O. [sic], was cut in two by a circular saw. –The Miamisburg Bulletin, Montgomery, Ohio, 21 Jun 1889; MyHeritage.com.

Jacob Baker, near New Bremen, O., fell against a circular saw and was cut in two.—The Evening Bulletin, Maysville, Mason, Kentucky, 15 Jun 1889; MyHeritage.com.

Jacob’s tragic death left his widow Caroline with nine children under the age of 20, the youngest under 3 years of age, and three older children, a total of twelve children.

In 1900, widow Caroline Baker resided with six of her children: Caroline Baker, 38; Jacob, 24, son; Henry, 22, son; Dewalt, 20, son; Hulda, 17, daughter; Fredona, 16, daughter; and Amelia, 13, daughter. She reported that all twelve of her children were living. [10]

In 1910 widow Caroline Baker lived with her daughter Lydia (Baker) Rothhaar and her family: George Rothhaar, 43; Lydia Rothhaar, 37; Raymond Rothhaar, 15; Clifford Rothhaar, 11; Ralph Rothhaar, 7; and Caroline Baker, 67, mother-in-law. Caroline reported that all twelve of her children were living. [11]

Caroline (Bollenbacher) Baker died at the home of her daughter Mary Stuckey, near Chatt, on 21 January 1914.

Mrs. Caroline Baker, a pioneer woman of the county, aged 71, died suddenly Wednesday evening at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Fred Stuckey, near Chattanooga. Death resulted from heart trouble, though she had been in ill health since early fall.

The deceased is survived by seven daughters—Mesdames Wm. Rothaar, of Dayton; Geo. Rothaar, near Chattanooga; Wm. Garmen, of Van Wert; Albert Garmen, of Chattanooga; Caroline Stuckey, of Berne, Ind.; Mike Linn and Fred Stuckey, near Chattanooga-and four sons, Jacob, Lewis, Henry, and DeWalt.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 10 o’clock at St. Paul’s Evangelical Church, with Rev. Samuel Egger in charge. [12]

Caroline (Bollenbacher) Baker, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio (2018 photo by Karen)

Jacob and Caroline (Bollenbacher) Baker had the following children:
Charles William Baker (1864-1950), married Catharine Bauer
Anna H. Baker (1865-1940), married William H. Rothhaar
Lewis G. Baker (1867-1957), married Mary Koch
Caroline Christine Baker (1869-1953), married Christian E. Stucky
Mary Baker (1871-1963), married Fred Stuckey
Lydia P. Baker (1873-1941), married George F. Rothhaar
Jacob Adam Baker (1875-1960), married Kathryn Linn
Henry Christian Baker (1877-1956), married Margaret Koch
Theobald A. Baker [aka Dewalt] (1880-1961), married Clara M. Anselman  Dewalt????
Hulda L. Baker (1882-1976), married Albert Oscar Germann
Fredona Dorthea Baker (1884-1964), married William Frederick Germann
Amelia Magdalena Baker (1886-1976), married Michael Linn

[1] 1860 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, p.88, dwelling 623, family 628, John Bachar [sic]; Ancestry.com.

[2] Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer Marriages 1861-1887, p.45, John Jacob Baker & Caroline Bullenbaugh, 18 Jun 1863; Ancestry.com.

[3] New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1957, George Bollenbacher, 7 May 1852; Ancestry.com.

[4] 1860 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, p. 359, dwelling 1015, family 1020, Geo Bulenbaught [sic]; Ancestry.com.

[5] 1870 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, p.150A, dwelling 128, family 115, Jacob Baker; Ancestry.com.

[6] 1880 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 188, p.472D, dwelling 30, family 31, Jacob Baker; Ancestry.com.

[7] Mercer County, Ohio, Combined 1888 and 1900 Atlases and 1876 Map of Mercer County, Ohio, 1999, Mercer County Chapter OGS, p. 11 & 17.

[8] History of Mercer County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Scranton, 1907, p. 407.

[9] “Ohio’s Chattanooga: An Oil Town Of Yesterday,” The Daily Standard, Celina, Ohio, 28 Apr 1977.

[10] 1900 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 85, p. 12, dwelling 220, family 226, Caroline Baker; Ancestry.com.  

[11] 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 119; dwelling 338, family 298, George Rothharr [sic]; Ancestry.com.  

[12] Caroline Bollenbacher Baker obituary, Find a Grave,com, Memorial no. 22502740, St. Paul UCC Cemetery.

Apr 11

Say Cheeeese

When you look at old photos, do you ever wonder why no one smiled. Everyone looked so serious. Yes, times were hard back then, but having a photo taken by a professional photographer was probably a big event to most people. People would dress in their Sunday best, but no one smiled. Not even the children.

I always thought it was probably because people had bad teeth and didn’t want to smile. There is likely some truth to that and that could be part of the reason.  

But after doing some reading, that is probably not the main reason people did not smile for the camera years ago.

 

Decades before photography, portraits and pictures were hand painted and the individuals in those paintings rarely smiled either. Having a portrait painted was a serious event that required a serious expression.

People with broad smiles were often portrayed by artists as fools, drunkards, buffoons, imps, or even as mad or lewd. Smiling could look silly, or worse, so it became the custom not to smile. The Mona Lisa barely had a grin.

That idea was carried over when photography was developed.  Mark Twain said, “A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever.”

No one would want that.

Since people were used to seeing a serious face in painted portraits, not smiling for photographs was normal, too. Plus, they did not want to be considered as having any of those undesirable traits.

It wasn’t until the 1920s-1930s that people started to smile when having their photograph taken. Eventually smiling became the norm.

Here are some non-smiling, serious-looking individuals from my family photo collection.

Front: William Reid, Gertrude (Brewster) Miller, Mary Ann (Cotterell) Headington. Back: Pearl (Reid) Brewster, Elvira (Headington) Reid. c1898

Maggie (Rueck) Kallenberger (1875-1962) & Maria Regina Miller (1884-1905)

Front: Clara (1866-1942, m. Joe Gunsett) , Mollie (1883-1955, m. Theodore Hofmann), Henry (1867-1952, m. Louise Maria Schumm); Back:Hanna (1868-1958, m. Peter Scare), Lizzie (1870-1951, m. John Scaer), Sophie (1871-1927, m. Herman Gunsett), Emma (1874-1963, m. Burton Balyeat)

Jonas Huey (1836-?), B/o Hannah (Huey) Bryan, s/o Isaac & Mary (Whiteman) Huey. Photo courtesy of E James.

Schinnerer/Scaer Unknown

William “Riley” Bryan (1854-1893). S/o John & Hannah (Huey) Bryan. Photo courtesy of E James.

John & Hannah (Huey) Bryan, Emily, Peter, Mary, Hallet, Alta, William, Byantha.

Is it just me, or do the women look more stern than the men?

Emily (Bryan) Reid (1856-1940)

Sarah (Breuninger) Schumm, (1861-1921) w/o Louis J Schumm, d/o Louis Breuninger

Maria Barbara (Pflueger) Schumm (1820-1908)

My great-grandparents did not even smile for their wedding photo. A handshake instead of a kiss.

John Scaer & Elizabeth Schinnerer (15 April 1894)

Even children looked serious.

Byantha (Bryan) Saxman children. Photo courtesy of E James.

Willie Scaer (1897-1906) & Hilda M Scaer (1895-1997) c/o John & Lizzie (Schinnerer) Scaer

Even without a smile, this is one of my best-looking ancestors:

Louis Breuninger (1819-1890). Phillips Photography, LaFayette, Indiana.

It would be many years after these photos were taken that photographers would encourage their subjects to “Say Cheeeese.”

 

Apr 04

Squad Leader Killed, 16 January 1945

I have been working to create two pages here on Karen’s Chatt for my dad’s WWII letters. I posted his letters in a series of about 30 blog posts a couple years ago, but information can be hard to find looking through 30+ posts. Putting the letters and photos in chronological order on their own permanent pages will make the information easier to find.

The two pages are under Military on the Home Page of this website. The Basic Training page of letters is pretty much finished but the page with letters sent during the war in Europe and during the Occupation is not quite complete. It is still a work in progress.

My dad arrived in England in December 1944 and was assigned to Company L, 333rd Regiment, 84th Infantry Division. The 84th was known as the Railsplitters. He entered the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium in late December 1944.

While working on this project, I again noticed a specific incident my dad noted in one of his books. A hand-written note he made on a photo.

In the book, The 84th Infantry Division in the Battle of Germany, by Lt. Theodore Draper, Viking Press, 1946, there is a photo of a snow-plowed crossroad near the town of Laroche. The photo has the caption: “The capture of this innocent-looking crossroads was probably the turning point of the entire action. It deprived the enemy of the only two first-rate roads to the east, the Laroche Road and the Houffalize Road.”

84th in Battle of Germany, Draper, 1946

On that photo my dad wrote: “Sgt. David Uherka, Lakewood, Ohio, my squad leader was killed about ¼ mile from this crossroad.” 

When I came across his notation a couple years ago, the writing was difficult to read and I was unsure of the soldier’s last name. This time I did some research and learned who my dad’s squad leader was.

His squad leader was Sgt. David Uherka, of Lakewood, Ohio. According to his military grave marker, Uherka was in the 84th Division, not in the 82nd as his newspaper obituary reported.

Sgt. David Uherka was killed 16 Jan 1945 (age 35) at Arrondissement de Verviers, Liège, Belgium. Sgt. David Uherka, Find a Grave Memorial no. 55273528.

Sgt. David F Uherka (1910-1945), Find a Grave photo.

His obituary:

Body Of Soldier To Arrive In Elyria Tomorrow
The body of Sgt. David F. Uherka will arrive in Elyria Saturday afternoon for burial in Ridge Hill Memorial Park, it was announced today.

Sgt. Uherka, a resident of Lakewood, served with the 333rd Infantry, 82nd [sic] Division, and was killed in Belgium on January 16, 1945. He was born at Prince George, Virginia, on January 10, 1910, and was 25 [sic] years old at the time of his death. He was a member of the Slovak Calvinist church of Lakewood, and was church organist there for 17 years. His father, the Rev. Frank Uherka, retired, was pastor of the church.

Sgt. Uherka’s body is scheduled to arrive in Elyria at 1:15 p.m. Saturday and to be taken to the Sudrn-Curtis Funeral home. It will be taken then to the Ridge Hill Memorial Park, where private services will be held at the grave at 4 p.m. Saturday, with the Rev. D. W. Dodris, pastor of the Lakewood United Presbyterian church, officiating.

Sgt. Uherka is survived by his father; a daughter, Donna Uherka; and three sisters, Mrs. Robert Hunter, of North Olmsted; Mrs. Lester Price, of Detroit, and Mrs. Clarence Foss, of Elyria. [1] His parents were both immigrants from Czechia.

A squad consisted of about 12 men, so my dad probably knew Sgt. Uherka very well. My dad had been in Belgium a little over 2 weeks when his Sergeant was killed. I am not sure when Sgt. Uherka entered the war, but he enlisted in Cleveland on 29 October 1943. [2]

The Battle of the Bulge, aka the Ardennes Offensive, lasted for over a month, from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945. By 25 January 1945, the Allies had restored their line to its previous position. The Bulge was the largest land battle ever fought by the U.S. Army and was the last major German offensive campaign in the West before the end of the war.

Losses of both Allied and German soldiers were high. Nearly 20,000 American service members were killed during the battle, accounting for about 10 percent of all American combat casualties during WWII.

In addition, January 1945 was one of the worst winters ever in Belgium. Temperatures were below zero, the snow was knee deep and the winds were blizzard-like. The winter clothing the soldiers had been issued was not adequate for the bitter cold they experienced.

That was eighty years ago. January 1945. The war in Europe would end in less than four months, on 8 May 1945.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Thank you to these young men who bravely fought in WWII and to all U.S. Veterans.

[1] Sgt. David Francis Uherka, Obituary, Find a Grave Memorial no.55273528, Ridge Hill Memorial Park, Amherst, Lorain County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.

[2] Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946, Record Group 64, Box 10125, Reel 74, NARA; Ancestry.com.