This is the tombstone of the infant son of Henry J. and Louisa B. (Deitsch) Cordier, located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:
INFANT
Son of
H.J. & L.B.
CORDIER
Died
April 9
1888
Aged
1 day
There are a few tombstones in Zion’s cemetery for which there is no corresponding burial record and this is one of them. The Cordier surname is only mentioned twice in Zion Chatt’s records and unfortunately neither the birth nor the burial of this infant was recorded. [1] There is another Cordier infant buried next to this child and they are brothers, and there is no recorded information for either.
Their father, Henry Cordier, may have been the child of Christian and Barbara (Holzer) Cordier, [2] born in June of 1851, likely in Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio.
In 1880 Henry Cordier, age 29, was a physician and surgeon in the Chatt area. He was a boarder in the Jacob Deitsch home, where he met his future wife Louisa, Jacob’s17 year-old daughter. [3]
Henry and Louisa married a year and a half later in Ann Arbor, Michigan united in marriage by a justice of the peace on 4 January 1882. He was age 30, a physician, and she was 18. They stated they were both from Liberty, Ohio, and that he was born in Marion, Ohio. [4]
Louisa Barbara Deitsch was born 25 January 1864 in Liberty Township, in the area once called Brehm, near St. Paul Lutheran Church, aka St. Paul Liberty. She was the daughter of Jacob and Gertrude (Müller) Deitsch and was baptized at Zion Chatt in 1864. The Jacob Deitsch family was listed in Zion’s Familienbuch, which also mentions that Jacob moved out of the parish in 1864. They must have come back to Zion Chatt at a later time because Louisa’s parents, Jacob and Gertrude, are buried in Zion’s cemetery. That may be the reason the two Cordier children are also buried there, buried in the same cemetery as their grandparents.
In 1900 the Cordier family resided on West Pearl Street in Rockford, Ohio. Henry was a physician and they had the following children: Myrtle C, 14; Luella E, 10; Luetta L, 10; and Alberta B, 7. Note that they had twin daughters. This enumeration indicates that Louisa had given birth to five children, but only four were living. [5] However, another son is also buried in Zion Chatt’s cemetery.
By 1910 Henry and Louisa had moved to Celina, where Henry was still a practicing physician. They lived at 121 Market Street with their four daughters, Myrtle, Luella, Luetta, and Alberta. In this record Louisa indicated that she had given birth to six children, with four still living. Henry indicated that his father was born in Germany and his mother in Switzerland. [6]
Henry returned to Liberty Township by 1920, where he was still a doctor, but his wife and daughters were not living with him. [7] They were in Louisiana.
Wife Louisa and their three daughters were living in Tangipahoa, Louisiana. Louisa, Alberta, and Luella were living with Luetta (Cordier) Thompson and her daughter Barbara. [8] Luetta had married Orland Thompson in 1916. [9]
By 1928 Henry and Louise were back together and were living in Denver, Colorado. [10]
Henry and Louisa were living with their daughter Alberta in Denver in 1930. Alberta was age 37, unmarried, and employed as a secretary at a public school. Henry was 78 years old and Louisa was 66. Henry was not working and had likely retired by this time. [11]
Henry Cordier died in 1933 and is buried at Wheat Ridge Cemetery, Jefferson County, Colorado. [12]
Henry’s widow Louisa likely remained with their daughter Alberta in Denver until she died in 1945. Louisa is also buried at Wheat Ridge Cemetery. [13]
[1] On 28 March1880 Heinrich J. Cordier, along with Magdalena Kessler, were witnesses to the baptism of Gustov Heinrich Wuethner, son of Gustav and Friederike Wuethner. The other Cordier mentioned was Katherina Cordier, who was confirmed at Zion Chatt in 1873.
[2] Frank/Nitta/Hammond/Schmidt Ancestry Tree, submitted by veefrank, listing for Henry J Cordier; Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015).
[3] 1880 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 188 p.471B, dwelling & family 9, line 2, Henry J Cordier, in the home of Jacob Deitsch; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from FHL microfilm 1255048, from NARA microfilm T9, roll 1048.
[4] Michigan Marriage Records, 1867-1952, Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, 1882 Monroe-1883 Benzie, p.308 Henry J Cordier and Louisa Deitsch, 4 Jan 1882; database and images on-line at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2015).
[5] 1900 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 78, p.3A, dwelling 58, family 59, Henry J Cordier; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from FHL microfilm 1241303, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1303.
[6] 1910 U.S. Census, Celina Ward 2, Mercer, Ohio, ED 117, p.12B, dwelling 118, family 123, Henry J Cordier; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from FHL microfilm 1375227, from NARA microfilm T624, roll 1214.
[7] 1920 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 140, p.3A, dwelling 47, family 47, Henry J. Cordier; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1418.
[8] 1920, Hammond, Tangipahoa, Louisiana, ED 128, p.19A, dwelling 346, line 43, Louisa Cordier; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 631.
[9] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 27 Jul 2015), Henry J. Cordier in entry for Orland Thompson and Louetta Cordier, 15 Jul 1916; citing Mercer County, Ohio, Marriages, Vol. 11 p.46; from FHL microfilm 2366954.
[10] U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989, 1928 Denver, Colorado City Directory, p.846, Henry J & spouse Louise B Cordier; database and images on-line at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2015).
[11] 1930 U.S. Census, Denver, Denver, Colorado, ED 67, p.16B, dwelling 336, family 343, Henry J Cordier; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from FHL microfilm 1339970, from NARA microfilm T626, roll 2356.
[12] Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015), Henry J Cordier & Louisa B Cordier memorials, #43516013 & 104623665.
[13] 1940 U.S. Census, Denver, Denver, Colorado, ED 16-220B, p.1A, line 29, visit 14, Louisa B. Cordier; digital image by subscription at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Jul 2015); from NARA microfilm T627, roll 490.