This is the tombstone of Fred and Anna (Merkle) Heffner, located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:
HEFFNER
Fred Heffner
1861-1918
Anna His Wife
1867-1935
Fredrick Heffner was born in Liberty Township on 19 February 1861, according to Zion Chatt’s records. He was the son of George and Sophia (Martin) Heffner. There is no record of his baptism at Zion Chatt but he was confirmed there on 14 April 1875 by Rev. Karl Christian Adam Jr.
Fredrick married Anna Merkle on 1 October 1885 at Zion Chatt.
Anna Merkle was born 13 December 1867 in Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, the daughter of Joseph and Lucinda (Kantner) Merkle.
In 1900 Fredrick and Anna’s family consisted of Fredrick, 38; Anna, 28; Rudolph, 14; Ebert, 12; Emma, 10; Herbert, 6; Oscar, 4; and Roman, 10 months. Fredrick was employed as a saloon keeper. [1]
In 1910 Fredrick, 49, still worked as a bartender in a saloon and their household consisted of his wife Anna, 42, and five of their children: Albert, 22; Oscar, 13; Roman, 11; Marguerite, 8; and Vernon, 4. Anna had given birth to 9 children and 7 were still living. Two of the children, Rudolph and Emma, had married by this time. Emma lived next door with her husband Jacob Bauer and their daughter Mildred. [2]
Fredrick Heffner died of a heart condition on 26 April 1918 at the age of 57 years, 9 months, and 7 days. He was buried on the 28th.
In 1920 widow Anna Heffner still resided in Liberty Township and lived with her two sons Roman, 20, and Vernon, 14. Anna, 52, was not employed but Roman worked in a store. [3]
Anna, 62, was living with son Roman in Liberty Township in 1930. Roman, 30, was a grocery merchant. [4]
Anna (Merkle) Heffner died of pneumonia in Chattanooga on 26 June 1935 at the age of 67 years, 6 months, and 13 days. She was buried on the 28th. [5]
Fred and Anna Heffner had the following children:
George “Rudolph” (1886-1957), married Nellie Deyo
Albert Conrad (1888-1945), married Ethel Olson
Emma Elizabeth (1890-1938), married Jacob A. Bauer
Walter Herbert (1894-1908)
Friedrich Oscar “Brownie” (1896-1956), married Lillian Kinkley; married Dorothy Evelyn Patton
Maria Helena (1898-1898)
Roman Edward (1899-1937), married Cecile Hoblet
Verla Margaret (1902-1970), married William Curtis Roebuck
Vernon Hugo “Cy” (1905-1987), married Camella Bury
[1] 1900 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 85, p.10A, dwelling 183, family 188, Fr Heffner; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 December 2014); from FHL microfilm 1241304, from NARA microfilm T623, roll. 1304.
[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 119, p.17A, dwelling 374, family 825, Tudrieck Heffner; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 December 2014); from FHL microfilm 1375227, from NARA microfilm T624, roll 1214.
[3] 1920 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 140, p.3A, dwelling 44, family 44, Anna Heffuer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 December 2014); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1418.
[4] 1930 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 20, p.10B, dwelling 254, family 254, Mrs. Anna Heffner; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 December 2014); from FHL microfilm 2341584, from NARA microfilm T626, roll 1850.
[5] “Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,: index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 December 2014), Anna Heffner, 26 June 1935; citing Liberty Township, Mercer, Ohio, reference fn 38780; FHL microfilm 2022521.