Karen’s Chatt – Karen’s Chatt

Sep 26

Tombstone Tuesday-Adam Kable

By Karen in Hoffmann, Kable, Tombstone

Adam Kable, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. (2023 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Adam Kable, located in row 8 of St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Rockford, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Adam
KABLE
1861-1948

Adam Kable was born in Mercer County, Ohio, 11 August 1861, the son of Ferdinand and Catharine (Bollenbacher) Kable, both German immigrants. Adam was the third child, the third son, born to the couple. Adam’s two older brothers, Jacob and John George, died of dysentery in 1865, shortly after the father Ferdinand returned from serving in the Civil War. The two brothers are both buried in Kessler/Liberty Cemetery.

The Ferdinand Kable family in 1870: Ferdinand, 43; Katharine, 37; Adam, 9; Caroline, 7; Louisa, 3; Catharine, 1. [1] The Ferdinand Kable family in 1880: Ferdinand, 54; Katharine, 45; Adam, 17; Caroline, /16; Louisa, 13; Catherine, 12; and Nettie, 8. [2]

Adam Kable married Margaret/Maggie Miller in Van Wert County on 17 June 1888. [3] They set up housekeeping in Mercer County and had a child, Emil, born 2 April 1889. Margaret/Maggie died of consumption later that year, on 13 November 1889. Her death record indicates that she was married, age 28 years, 1 month, and 2 days. [4] Her date of birth was 11 October 1861, as calculated from that information. I do not know where Margaret/Maggie is buried.

About a year later Adam Kable married a second time, to a Chattanooga-area girl, Katharine/Katie Hoffman. Adam and Katharine married 17 December 1890 in Mercer County. [5] Katharine Hoffmann was born 5 March 1862 in Mercer County, the daughter of Ferdinand (1830-1908) and Elisabeth (Herzog) (1834-1917) Hoffman, both German immigrants. The Hoffmans attended Zion Lutheran, Chatt, and are buried in their cemetery.

The Adam Kable family in 1900: Adam Kable, 38; Katharine/Katie Kable, 38, Carl Kable, 8, son; and Hulda Kable, 6, daughter. This enumeration indicates the couple had been married 9 years and that wife Katharine had given birth to 6 children, 3 of them living. Adam was a farmer. [6]

The Adam Kable family in 1910: Adam Kable, 48; Katharine Kable, 47, wife; Carl Kable, 18, single, son; and Hulda Kable, 16, single, daughter. This enumeration indicates Adam and Katharine had been married 19 years, this was Adam’s second marriage and Katharine’s first, and that Katharine had given birth to 5 children, 2 of them living. [7]

Adam’s wife Katharine (Hoffman) Kable died from tuberculosis 26 November 1913 and is buried in St. Paul UCC Cemetery.

Adam Kable in 1920: Adam, 59, head, widow; Hulda Kable, 26, single, daughter; Dorothea Kable, 7, grandchild. [8] In 1930 and 1940 Adam Kable, widowed, was enumerated with Lizzie Huffman, single, sister/maid. Lizzie was actually Adam’s sister-in-law, the sister of his late wife Katharine. [9] [10]

Adam Kable died in Mercer County from bronchial pneumonia on 23 August 1948. Adam was age 87 years and 12 days old and was buried on the 25^th. Adam’s obituary:

Funeral for Mercer Co. Man Set for Friday
Funeral services will be Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Evangelical Reformed Church of Liberty Township, in Mercer County, for Adam Kable, 87, who died Monday evening, at his home in Chattanooga. Burial will be at the church cemetery, with services under the direction of the Rev. Walter Ahrens.

Kable, who had been ill about seven weeks, was born in Liberty Township, Mercer County, August 11, 1861, a son of Ferdinand and Catherine Kable. He was married twice, to Maggie Miller, and Catherine Huffman, both of whom preceded him in death.

He is survived by a sister, Catherine Kable, also of Chattanooga, and three children, Mrs. Leo Andrews of Dayton, Emil Kable of Caldwell, Idaho and Karl Kable of Rockford RFD 3.

Friends may call at Ketcham’s Funeral Home in Rockford, after 7 p.m. Tuesday. [11]

Adam Kable and his first wife Margaret/Maggie Miller had one child:
Emil Kable (1889-1978), married Agnes A. Loree; married Lillian Weinman

Adam Kable and his second wife Katharine Hoffman had two children who lived to maturity and several children who died in infancy:
Charles/Carl E. Kable (1891/2-1973), married Cora Edna Bellows; married Eva Ann Wurster
Hulda K. Kable (1894-1985), married Philip Kerwood; married Leo Andrews
Male Kable (1895-1895)
Male Kable (1896-1896)
Male Kable (1898-1898)

[1] 1870 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, dwelling 100, family 92, p.148B, Ferdinand Kable; Ancestry.com.

[2] 1880 U.S. Census, Ohio, mercer, Liberty, ED 188, dwelling, 51, family 54, p.474C, Ferdnand [sic] Kable; Ancestry.com.

[3] Ohio, US., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Van Wert, 1878-1891, p.251, Adam Kable & Maggie Miller, 17 Jun 1888; Ancestry.com.

[4] Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001, Mercer Co, Vol. 2, p.320, Margaret Kable, 13 Nov 1889; FamilySearch.org.

[5] Ohio, U.S., County Marriages, Records, 1774-1993, Mercer, 1887-1904, p.242, Adam Kable & Katie Hoffman, 17 Dec 1890; Ancestry.com.

[6] 1900 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 85, p.17, dwelling 337, family 344, Adam Kable; Ancestry.com.

[7] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.12B, dwelling 226, family 233, Adam Kable; Ancestry.com.

[8] 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 140, p.8A, dwelling 148, family 160, Adam Kable; Ancestry.com.

Hoffman, Kable, Tombstone
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Sep 22

Willshire Milling Company

By Karen in Willshire, Willshire Milling Company

Today, another very nice local picture postcard, a horse-drawn wagon from the Willshire Milling Co. and its driver.

Willshire Milling Co, undated postcard.

Although the postcard does not specifically say Ohio and there is nothing written on the back and no postmark, it is most likely this photo is from Willshire, Ohio. Mainly because Willshire, Ohio, is the only village with that name in the United States. There are a few places that include the name, like Beaumont-Wilshire, Portland, Oregon, and Stonybrook-Wilshire, Pennsylvania, but those places have a hyphenated name that is spelled with only l, spelled Wilshire.

So, I am going to assume that this postcard is from Willshire, Ohio, probably taken in the early 1900s.

Willshire did indeed have a milling company, known as the Willshire Milling Company, as seen in this ad from the 4 May 1904 Willshire Herald. Note that that they sold coal, “Bring Us Your Orders For Coal.”

Ad in 4 May 1904 Willshire Herald

Wilbert A. Dull owned the Willshire Milling Company in 1912 and may have owned it a few years before that. Dull attended a convention of grain men in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1912, as seen in this newspaper account:

OFFICERS OF THE GRAIN MEN WHO CONVENE IN NORFOLK TUESDAY
Among the attendees of the Grain Men’s convention: …W.A. Dull of the Willshire Milling Co., Willshire, O…[1]

The 1914 R.G. Dun Mercantile Reference also shows that Wilbert A. Dull, of Willshire, owned a flour mill and grain company, which had a Good rating and an estimated pecuniary strength of $10,000-20,000. [2]

WIllshire, 1914 R.G. Dun Mercantile Reference.

The 1900 and 1910 censuses also give some clues about mill owners in Willshire.

In 1900, Wilbert A. Dull, 31, managed a flour mill, John Custer, 30, was the engineer at a grist mill, and William Dickensheets, 37, operated a feed and exchange in the village.

In 1910, Wilbert A. Dull, 41, continued to be a grain merchant, as was Claude Buchanan, 34, mill owner. William Dailey, 44, was a flour miller, and J.W. Ross, 52, was a drayman of coal and flour.

A drayman was the driver of a wagon used to transport various goods, usually pulled by a horse or mule.

Could J.W. Ross be the man in the photo?

[1] The Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch/Ledger-Star, Norfolk, Virginia, 28 Sep 1912, p.13, Newspapers.com.

[2] 1914 R.G. Dun Mercantile Agency Reference Book, Vol. 183, part 2; Dun & Bradstreet Reference Book Collection, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov.

Sep 19

Tombstone Tuesday-Ferdinand & Catharine (Bollenbacher) Kable

By Karen in Bollenbacher, Kable, Tombstone

Ferdinand & Catharine (Bollenbacher) Kable, Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2023 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Ferdinand and Catharine (Bollenbacher) Kable, located in row 6 of Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

FATHER MOTHER
CATHARINE
Oct. 17, 1832
June 25, 1922

FERDINAND
Aug. 29, 1827
Jan. 14, 1912

CHRIST IS OUR HOPE

KABLE

Ferdinand Kable was born in the Saarbrucken area of Germany on 29 August 1827, very likely the son of Jean “Christian” Kable (c1782-?) and Catharina Elisabeth [Muller?] (c1791-1864). Ferdinand likely immigrated with his parents and brothers in 1849. Census reports consistently reported that Ferdinand immigrated in 1849 and this family on the ship Henrietta’s passenger list, arriving in New York on 8 May 1849, is most likely the Christian Kable family, traveling with some Kesslers. I have inserted approximate birth years for clarification:

Christian Kable, 68 [b. 1781]
Catharine Kable, 57 [b.1792]
Frederick Kable, 30 [b.1819]
Daniel Kable, 27 [b.1822]
Ferdinand Kable, 23 [b.1826]
Christian Kesler, 32 [b.1817]
Christian/Christine [?] Holdenbach, 28 [b.1821]
Margaretha Kable, 32 [b.1817]
Louisa Holdenbach, 28 [b.1821]
Margaretha Kesler, 4 [b.1845]
Christian Kesler, 3 [b.1846]
Louisa? 3 [b.1846] [1]

In 1850, about a year after immigrating, Ferdinand Kable, 25, lived with his brother Fredrick Kable, 30, and Margaret Kable, 50, in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. [2]

Brothers Ferdinand, Frederick, and Christian Kable are in the very early records of St. Paul Lutheran, Liberty Township and some family members are in Zion Chatt’s records.

Ferdinand Kable married Catharine Bollenbacher 10 March 1853 in Mercer County, married by Rev. JD Gackenheimer. [3]

Catharine Bollenbacher was born in Bedesbach, Bavaria, 17 October 1832, the daughter of Johann George (1800-1889) and Maria Elisabeth Henrietta (Alt) (1805-1900) Bollenbacher. [4] Census reports consistently show that Catharine (Bollenbacher) immigrated in 1852 and this appears to be the George Bollenbacher family, including Catharine, arriving in New York on the ship Bavaria on 7 May 1852:

George Bollenbacher, 48
Henrietta Bollenbacher, 47
Catharine Bollenbacher, 19
Jacob Bollenbacher, 14
Adam Bollenbacher, 9
Caroline Bollenbacher, 7
Carl Bollenbacher, 5 [5]

By 1860 Ferdinand and Catharine Kable had two sons, John George and Jacob, and the family lived in Liberty Township, Mercer County, with a Skeels Crossroads Post Office address: Ferd Kable, 28; Catharine Kable, 25; George Kable, 5; Jacob Kable, 3. [6]

In late 1864 Ferdinand was away from his Mercer County home, fighting in the Civil War. He served as a Private in Company A of the 29^th Regiment OVI from 22 September 1864 through 5 June 1865. [7]

Ferdinand Kable returned home soon after his honorable discharge and a couple months later two of his young sons died. Son Jacob died 11 September 1865 and son John George died 21 September 1865. Both are buried in Kessler Cemetery.

The Ferdinand Kable family in 1870: Ferdinand, 43; Catharine, 37; Adam, 9; Caroline, 7; Louisa, 3; Catharine, 1. [8] The family in 1880: Ferdinand, 54; Catharine, 45; Adam, 17; Caroline, 16; Louisa, 13; Catherine, 12; and Nettie, 8. This enumeration indicated that Ferdinand was born in Rhine Pfalz and that his wife Catharine was born in Rhine Bayern. Ferdinand was a farmer. [9]

The 1900 census gives us more information about the family. The Ferdinand Kable household in 1900: Ferdinand, 72, head; Catharine, 67, wife; Louisa, 33, daughter, single; Kattie [Katharine] Dittinger [sic] [Dellinger], 32, daughter, widow; Emmil Kable, 11, grandson; Henrietta Bollenbacher, 95, mother-in-law, widow. Ferdinand and Catharine had been married 47 years and wife Catharine had given birth to 8 children, 5 of them living. Daughter Kittie/Katharine, shown as a widow, had no children. Mother-in-law Henrietta Bollenbacher had 8 children, 6 of them living. This census shows that Ferdinand immigrated in 1849 and Catharine in 1852. [10]

By 1910 Ferdinand and Catharine Kable had been married 57 years, which was probably quite a milestone at that time. Their family in 1910: Ferdinand, 82; Catharine, 77, wife; Louisa, 43, daughter, single; Catharine D, 42, daughter, single; Henry Leininger, 23, nephew, single. It also indicates that Ferdinand was a Union Army veteran, that wife Catharine had 5 of 8 children living, and that Ferdinand immigrated in 1849 and Catharine in 1852. [11]

Ferdinand Kable died of edema of the lungs and asthma at his home in Liberty Township on 14 January 1912, at the age of 84 years, 4 months, and 15 days. He was buried on the 17^th. [12]

Ferdinand Kable’s obituary:
Ferdinand Kable, Aged 84
Ferdinand Kable, aged 84, one of the Liberty townships oldest and best known residents, died at his home near Chattanooga last Sunday evening as the result of asthma, from which he had been a sufferer for many years.

Deceased was born in Germany in August, 1827, and emigrated to this county with his parents when still a small boy. In March, 1853, he was united in marriage here to Miss Catherine Bollenbacher, who with several grown-up children, survive. Funeral services were held at the German Evangelical church at Chattanooga Wednesday. [13]

His occupation given on his death certificate was soldier and farmer.

In 1920 widow Catherine Kable lived in Liberty Township with her two unmarried daughters, Louisa, 53, single; and Catherine, 51, divorced. Again this enumeration indicates Catharine immigrated in 1852. [14]

Catharine (Bollenbacher) Kable died of chronic colitis about 2 years later, on 25 June 1922, at the age of 89 years, 8 months, and 8 days. She was buried on the 28th. [4]

Ferdinand and Catharine (Bollenbacher) Kable had the following children:

John George Kable (1855-1865)
Jacob Kable (1858-1865)
Adam Kable (1861-1948), married Catharine Hoffman
Caroline Fredericka Kable (1863-1934), married Theobald Leininger
Louisa Marie Kable (1866-1930), never married
Katherina C Kable (1868-1950), married TJ Dellinger [divorced]
Henrietta “Nettie” Kable (1871-1946), married Christian Merkle
Mary A Kable [per Sutton’s 1882 History of Van Wert & Mercer County]

[1] New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, ship Henrietta, arrived 8 May 1849; database online, Ancestry.com.

[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, p.286a, dwelling & family 7, Ferdinand Roble [sic]; Ancestry.com.

[3] Mercer County Marriages, Vol. D, p.4, Ferdinand Kable & Katherina Bollenbaugh [sic], 10 Mar 1853.

[4] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Katherine Kable, 25 Jun 1922; database with images, FamilySearch.org.

[5] New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, ship Bavaria, arrived 7 May 1852; database online, Ancestry.com.

[6] 1860 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, p.360 [stamped], p.143 [penned], dwelling 1020, family 1025, Fred [sic] Kable; Ancestry.com.

[7] 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census, Series No. M123, Record Group 15, Mercer County, Ohio, p.1, Ferdinand Kable; Ancestry.com.

[8] 1870 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, dwelling 100, family 92, p.148B, Ferdinand Kable; Ancestry.com.

[9] 1880 U.S. Census, Ohio, mercer, Liberty, ED 188, dwelling, 51, family 54, p.474C, Ferdnand [sic] Kable; Ancestry.com.

[10] 1900 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED, dwelling 162, family 167, p.9, Ferdenand [sic] Kable; Ancestry.com. [note by kmb, concerning Kattie/Katharine (Kable) Dellinger: Katharine Kable married TJ Dellinger 21 Feb 1895, married by Samuel Egger, Mercer Co Marriages 1887-1904, p.92. They apparently divorced before 1902, although the 1900 enumeration indicates that Katharine was a widow and the 1920 census indicates that she was divorced. Other censuses indicate that Katharine was single/never married. In 1900 TJ Dellinger was reportedly married, living in the August Brandt household. In 1902 TJ Dellinger (1876-1931) married Margaret Brunstetter. Their marriage license indicates that TJ was married once before.]

[11] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.17B, dwelling 391, family 342, Federinand [sic] Kable; Ancestry.com.

[12] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Ferdinand Kable, 14 Jan 1912; database with images, FamilySearch.org.

[13] The Celina Democrat, Celina, Ohio, 19 Jan 1912; Newspapers.com.

[14] 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 140, p.10A, dwelling 190, family 206, Catherine Kable; Ancestry.com.

Sep 15

Philip Schumm Farm, 1913

By Karen in Schumm, Springer

A couple weeks ago I featured a 1913 photo postcard of the Philip Schumm farm but I had still questioned where the house and barn were located and the name that was written on the barn.

Philip Schumm farm, Rockford, Ohio, 1913 picture postcard.

I now believe this was where Velma Schumm lived on U.S. Route 33 west of Rockford. This was probably the house she was born in 1914 and back then that stretch of road was known to the locals as Schumm Pike.

The frame house pictured on the postcard was probably torn town and replaced with the current craftsman-style brick home around 1920. According to the Mercer County Auditor website the brick house was built about 1920. Also, according to that same website, the barn east of the house was built about 1900. That means the barn pictured in the postcard is still standing.

The barn looks rather new on the postcard and according to the auditor information, it would have been about 12 years old at that time. All this seems to fit the timeline.

What was once Philip Schumm property, Google Earth photo, June 2023

This Google Earth photo shows the barn as it looks today. It has been resided but it is the same shape and size and is in the same location. The house and barn are about the same distance from the road as those pictured on the postcard.

As for the names on the barn, Maplewood Farms is clearly visible on the barn but the name above it is much harder to make out. The last name just doesn’t quite look like Schumm.

Barn on Philip Schumm farm, 1913, “Maplewood Farms”

I believe the name on the barn is Lorin C. Springer. According to the 1900 Black Creek plat map, Lorin C. Springer owned about 211 acres in the Labadie Reserve, the same section where I believe the Philip Schumm home photo was taken in 1913. Where U.S. Route 33 runs through.

Location of where Philip Schumm farm would be, 1900, Black Creek Township.

Black Creek’s 1910 Decennial Appraisement shows that Lorin C. Springer owned 111 acres in the same section. He owned the land but apparently he did not live on the property in 1900 or 1910. He and his wife Alice Luella (Bower) lived in Rockford.

Lorin C. Springer was born in Mercer County, Ohio, 15 Oct 1859, the son of William Springer (1829-1883). Lorin Springer and Alice Bower married in Mercer County in 1886. [1] In 1900 Lorin, 42, married (for 13 years), lived on East Second Street, Rockford, and was a boarder in the Emanuel Brown household. [2] His wife Alice Luella was living with her parents, in the Emanuel W. Bowers household on West Market Street, Rockford. [3]

In 1910 Lorin and his wife lived on South Street in Rockford. The couple did not have any children. [4]

There are a couple possibilities here. Perhaps Lorin C. Springer sold his property to Philip Schumm between 1900 and 1913 or Philip Schumm may have rented the home from Springer. I have not been to the recorder’s office to check the deeds, which would likely answer this question.

From Sutton’s 1882 History of Van Wert and Mercer Counties, Ohio, concerning Lorin’s father William Springer: Mr. [William] Springer was rather of a discontented mind or disposition; was never content to remain long in one place. He has twice been to California and moved from place to place a number of times, until in 1869 he bought his present home in Black Creek Township, where he proposes to remain the balance of his days.

William Springer did just that. He died there in Black Creek Township in 1883 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Ohio.

The lure of California must have run in the family because by 1920 Lorin C. Springer and his wife had moved to California, where he lived for the rest of his life. [5]

[1] Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer County, Vol 1861-1887, p.394, Lorain [sic] C. Springer and A.L. Bower, 16 Sep 1886; database online, Ancestry.com.

[2] 1900 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 78, p.13, dwelling 277, family 184, Emanuel Brown; Ancestry.com.

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 78, p.8, dwelling 172, household 179, Emanuel W. Bowers; Ancestry.com.

[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 111, p.6a, dwelling 172, household 179, Lorin C Springer; Ancestry.com.

[5] 1920 U.S. Census, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, ED 84, p.10B, dwelling 194, family 210, Lorin C Springer; Ancestry.com.

Sep 12

Tombstone Tuesday-Marriage Symbol

By Karen in Tombstone, Tombstone Art

Till death do us part. A phrase taken from the traditional marriage vows.

Birth and death dates are the most common dates inscribed on tombstones and marriage dates are the third most commonly inscribed dates. A couple’s marriage date is often inscribed on their tombstone with a marriage symbol.

In the 19^th century it was not uncommon for a husband and wife to have separate tombstones and often times they were not even buried next to each other. A common marriage inscription on old marble tombstones was two clasped hands. Although they usually signify marriage, clasped hands may have other meanings, usually depending on the cuffs.