This is the tombstone of Solomon Hartzog, located in row 8 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:
Solomon Hartzog
Died
Nov. 7, 1848
aged 39 years
and 11 months
Solomon Hartzog was born 7 Dec 1808, as calculated from his tombstone, and was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. [1]
Solomon Hartzog married Susanna King on 1 April 1830 in Franklin County, Ohio. [2]
Solomon entered 2 parcels of land in Willshire Township in 1834, 110 acres in Section 34 and 200 acres in Section 35. [1]
By 1840 the Solomon Hartzog family had moved to Willshire Township. They reportedly settled along the St. Marys River and his place was somewhat of a trading post. Their family, as enumerated in 1840: males: 1/under 5, 1/30-39; females: 2/under 5, 1/5-9, 1/20-29. [3]
Solomon was a judge in the October 1840 Willshire Township election. Other judges were Richard Pring and William Major. Clerks were Ansel Blossom and Henry Spillman. [1]
Solomon’s wife Susanna died in 1842 and she is buried next to him in Zion’s cemetery.
Solomon married Mary Blossom on 27 June 1844 in Van Wert County, married by the M.E. deacon James J. McNabb [4] and Solomon died 4 years later.
Solomon and Susanna (King) Hartzog had the following children, although there may be more:
Mary A (1831-1876), married David Smith
Jesse (1833-1904), married Mary Ann Adams
Leah (1836-1921), married Henry Banta
King Solomon (1838-1863), married Polly Medaugh
Eliza J (1841-1880), married James C. Casto
Benjamin (1842-)
How creative to name their second son King Solomon. Think about it. A Biblical reference by using his mother’s maiden name.
When Solomon Hartzog and his wife Susanna died they left several young children. I often wonder where orphaned children went to live. In 1850 Hartzog siblings Leah (14), King Solomon (12), and Eliza (10) lived with their sister Mary, who was married to David Smith. [5]
Inscribed on the bottom of Solomon’s tombstone:
Why do we mourn for dying friends
Or shake at deaths alarms:
Tis’ but the voice that Jesus sends
To call them to his arms.
[1] Sutton, History of Van Wert and Mercer Counties, Ohio, (1882; reprint, Mt. Vernon, Indiana : Windmill Publications, Inc., 1991), 253, 239.
[2] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” Franklin Marriages, Vol. 2, p.245, no.1293, Solomon Heartzog & Susanna King, 1 Apr 1830; FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-L1TD-3?i=173&cc=1614804&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXD5H-LRP : viewed 26 Apr 2021).
[3] 1840 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.70, Solomon Hartgoy; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/ : viewed 26 Apr 2021).
[4] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” Van Wert, Vol.1, p.20, Solomon Harzog & Mary Blossom, 27 Jun 1844; FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-S5QF-4S?i=30&cc=1614804&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AX8P3-5QJ : viewed 3 Apr 2021).
[5] 1850 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.166B, dwelling 112, family 128, David Smith; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : viewed 26 Apr 2021).
8 comments
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Hi Karen, I just happened to stumble across this article. King Solomon is my Great, Great, Great Grandfather and I actually have a picture of him. Maxine Ritenour (Hartzog) is my grandmother and my connection to King. It was great reading this information as we are beginning to research our genealogy. I know King was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga and I have some records of his from the Civil War.
Thanks again for posting this!
Justin Ritenour
Author
Great to hear from you and to learn of your relationship to the Hartzogs. I would love to see a photo of King Solomon Hartzog and would be interested in posting it here. I’m sure there are others who are interested in the family. Good luck with your research and thanks for writing!
Hi Justin,
I am connected to King through his daughter Edith’s marriage to Carnley Mottinger. My mom and I have been doing genealogy, and would love to see a pic of King and/or have any info you might have of him!
Thank you!
Author
Sorry, but I do not have a photo of him. Perhaps some family members have one. Thanks for writing
Hi Serena, I’m sorry for the delay. I was away from this site and thread and missed your post. I’m not sure how I can post a picture of King but I have one. He was my Grandmothers, great grandfather. She descended from Kings son John.
If you Google King Solomon Furniture my oldest son started a business and named it after him. You can see his picture on the about us tab. I also have muster or payroll records of King during the Civil War.
He was killed at Chickamauga. In our research we found he was awarded the regimental role of honor for meritous acts in battle on March 6th 1863.
Hope this helps and you see this!
Justin Ritenour
Author
I will forward this to her, to make sure she sees it. Thanks for writing.
Hello Karen, like the other commenters here I am a descendant of Solomon through his son King Solomon and thence the Mottingers, so I appreciate the information you have found. I especially appreciate the photo you have taken of Solomon’s burial marker, which is much easier to read than the one currently on FindaGrave. I would appreciate it if you could update the memorial with your photo; I didn’t want to just lift your photo.
Author
I will see about adding the photo to Find a Grave, but in the meantime, you may us my photo for your family genealogy purposes.