Jun 06

Do You Remember When…

While driving down Tama Road recently, headed toward Chatt, I thought about how the road once had a slight jog about a mile and a half east of 49. It was an annoying little back-and-forth jog that the county removed in 2019. Now the road is now perfectly straight there.

That got me thinking about some other things that have changed in the area over the years.

Of course, there have been way too many changes around here just during my lifetime and it is impossible to remember all of them. But I made a small list of my recollections of some things and places that have moved or are no longer in the Chatt, Willshire, and Schumm areas.

See if you also remember…

When there was a jog in Tama Road about a mile and a half east of Chatt.

When the Parish/Grange Hall stood on Tama Road, about a mile east of Chatt. I remember going there for Chatt Grange meetings and the Grange Strawberry Festival in the spring. It was taken down some time between 2017-2019.

Parish/Grange Hall, Tama Road, 2013 photo by Karen

When the Chatt Fire Department was on the west side of Route 49, across from today’s Fire Department. The Chatt Chums 4-H met on the second floor of that old building.

When Wendel’s Garage and car dealership was where the Chatt Fire Department is today.

When Barney and Dean owned the Chatt Bar.

Before that, when Ray Hemmelgarn ran the Chatt Bar.

When Fisher Hardware & Implement was a booming business in Chatt.

Fisher Hardware & Implement Store, likely taken at their 10th anniversary, 1947.

When Chatt had two grocery stores, Bollenbacher’s and Midlam’s.

Bollenbacher’s Grocery, Chattanooga, Ohio. Submitted photo.

When Chatt had a grain elevator.

When there was housing for the migrant tomato workers south of Chatt, on the corner of 49 and Schaadt Road.

When the doors on Zion Lutheran Chatt church were wood with stained glass panels at the top.

Quartet at Zion Lutheran, Chatt

When the rear area of Zion Chatt had pews on the first floor and in the horse-shoe balcony on the second floor, where the classrooms are today. There was also a very large wood divider/door that could be cranked down, dividing the main part of the church from that rear part and two front pews that extended across the front aisle. That all changed when the church was remodeled in 1968. 

When Zion Chatt’s old frame church stood on the north end of Chatt, where it had been moved and was used as a garage. I barely remember the old building being there, but I recall that it seemed small and did not look like a church. It was torn down in 1980.

The old frame church, used as a garage, 1980.

When Liberty Chapel Church stood on Tama Road, between Erastus-Durbin and Township Line Roads, located by Liberty Chapel Cemetery. We drove by the old church often and I regret that I didn’t take a photo of it before it was torn down, sometime after 1981.

When Lefeld’s had an implement branch on the corner of 49 and Sipe Road.

When Duck Creek School stood on 49 north of Chatt. It burned in 2005.

When Zion UB Church stood on the corner of Winkler and Wabash Roads, southeast of Willshire.

When Zion Schumm’s brick parochial school stood across the road from the church. I remember attending ice cream socials in the lot by the school. The school was taken down sometime after 1967.

Zion Lutheran Parochial School, Schumm, Ohio (built in 1899)

When the old Straubinger hotel was still standing in Willshire. I remember that Mary Stetler had an ice cream store in the front, with several shelves of library books. The old hotel was demolished in 1964.

Straubinger Hotel.1963 photo

Numerous houses, barns and other buildings have been razed over the years and are too numerous to mention. Some that I remember, most with a family connection, include the house and barn on the Miller farm, the CL Schumm barn, the Schumm homestead barn that stood near Zion Schumm Church, and the old Willshire and Rockford school buildings. All now gone.

And most recently, when the intersection of 49 and 707 was just a 2-way stop. It recently became a 4-way stop.

Time marches on and things constantly change. It is fun to remember, but sometimes difficult to keep up with all the changes.

May 30

Willshire Connections in Eli D. Plants Estate

Have you ever looked through an old probate estate file, looking through the bills and receipts scribbled on little scraps of paper, paying particular attention to the names of businesses, people, and physicians? It can be quite interesting.

I have looked through probate packets many times, but I usually don’t pay much attention to the itemized bills and receipts. However, depending on what you are looking for, it can be a worthwhile search.

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday was about Eli D. Plants (1817-1876), who lived in Section 16 of Black Creek Township at the time of his death. Eli’s farm was pretty much in the center of the township and was a few miles from Willshire, where Eli and his family went for supplies and medical treatment.

While researching Eli, I spent some time looking through his probate packet. [1] His probate estate is about 138 pages of digital images and, like the usual estate packets from that time period, his contained a number of unpaid bills, submitted for payment from his estate. Receipts showing that the bills were paid are also included.

Eli D. PLants, Dec 1876, Mercer County, Ohio, Probate Estate No. 1811

Several of Eli Plants’ outstanding bills and receipts were from Willshire businesses and physicians and four years after Eli’s death, most of them were still in Willshire and were enumerated in the 1880 census:

Drug Store: Sylvester Brock, age 40
Merchant/Dry Goods: Henry Banta, 55; James D. Banta, 22 [clerk]; Jesse Zimmerman, 26
Hardware Store, furniture manufacture & sale, attended to undertaking: Henry Altheon, 41
Physicians: Dr. Timothy Hankins, 35; J.F. Shaffner, 51

In addition to the business information, medical bills from several physicians provide information about the health and medical treatment of Eli’s family.

There were four children enumerated in the Eli Plants household in the 1870 census: John, 20; Isaac, 16; Sofia, 14; and Eli (Jr), 6. Son John married in 1874 and left this household. Children Isaac, Sofia, and Eli (Jr) still lived at home when Eli died in 1876. 

Some of the bills submitted to the estate:

Dr. Timothy Hankins, Willshire:
This bill goes back to 1875. Several members of the family were ill and it appears Dr. Hankins made house calls, calling them visit see. Visits in 1875 for members of the Eli Plants family, each visit $2.50:
February 8, 10, 12: son with pneumonia, three visits
February 14-15: Eli with erysipelas, two visits
February 23, 24, 25, 27: small boy with a fever, four visits
March 12: prescriptions for son, $1.00
March 22: prescription & bitters for son, $.75
May 15: prescription for the oldest girl at home, $1.00
May 26-31: visits to the oldest girl with 2 visits on the 31st

This may be a clue to what happened to their youngest son, Eli (Jr), whose fate is unknown. He may have died about this time. I have not found a death record for him, although the deaths of the other family members were reported. I suspect Eli (Jr) died sometime before the elder Eli’s death because the son is not mentioned as an heir in the final estate settlement of his father.

The visits to the oldest girl, from 15-31 May 1875, were visits to daughter Sofia E. Plants, who was obviously very ill. According to Mercer County Probate Death records, Sofia E. Plants died of pneumonia on 30 May 1875, a one-day discrepancy in her death date if the doctor saw her twice on the 31st. [2]   

Dr. Timothy Hankins, Willshire, medical bill 1875-6

Dr. J.F. Shaffner, Willshire, also tended to Eli Plants:
Attendance and medicine, $3.50. [no date]

Eli and family required pharmaceuticals for their illnesses.

C [Charles] Vance, Willshire, dealer in drugs, medicines, paints, oils, dyestuffs, groceries, glassware, etc., submitted an itemized bill dated 18 Oct 1876, with items from 22 May-30 Sep 1876 that included: whiskey, cod liver oil, opium, quinine, coal oil, items totaling $3.20.

Vance, Willshire, Ohio

Sylvester Brock, Willshire, druggist, submitted and outstanding bill from 13 September 1875 through 15 September 1876. The items include quinine, whiskey, Neats Foot Oil, tobacco, cough mixture, pills, cod liver oil, the cost from $.20-$1 per item.

Sylvester Brock, Willshire druggist

There were other unpaid debts for miscellaneous items:

Henry Altheon, Willshire: provided Eli’s coffin, dated 7 October 1876, $24.00.

Henry Altheon, Willshire, Ohio

Zimmerman & Co, Willshire: June 1876, miscellaneous items, such as straw hats, coffee, sugar, yard goods/material, suiting, thimble, silk tie, suit clothes, tobacco, totaling $17.62.

Zimmerman & Co, Willshire, Ohio

Richard D. Coppersmith, Black Creek Township, grocer and huckster: outstanding bill of $14.91, mostly for grocery items. Both Eli Plants and R.D. Coppersmith lived in Section 16 of Black Creek Township. The little community of Pond was nearby. Perhaps Coppersmith had a grocery there?  

Wood Clair & Co, Willshire: misc. items, totaling $13.45.

There were other outstanding bills, even some from Decatur, Indiana.

A summary of some payments from the estate. [I did not include all receipts in this total]:
JF Shaffner, $3.75
H. Altheon, $25.44
Zimmerman & Co, $19.04
S. Brock, $9.62
R.D. Coppersmith, $14.91
Tim Hankins, $49.80
Johnson & Sood, $5.02
Henry Banta, $11.30
Wood Clair & Co, $13.45
Trustees of Centenary Church, $3.00
Total due from all submitted: $432.99.

The outstanding bill to the Trustees of Centenary Church is interesting. That church was not far from the Plants’ property, but I assumed that Eli probably attended Duck Creek Church because he is buried in Duck Creek Cemetery.

What a lot to learn from those little scraps of paper.  

[1] Mercer County, Ohio, Probate, Estate of Eli D. Plants, No. 1811, deceased 6 Oct 1876, John L. LaMoreux, Administrator, appointed 14 October 1876; Ancestry.com.

[2] Mercer County, Ohio, Probate Deaths, Book 1, 1867-1888, p.70, Sofia E. Plants, 30 May 1875.

May 27

Tombstone Tuesday-Eli D. Plants

Eli D. Plant, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Eli D. Plants, located in row 12 of Duck Creek Cemetery’s old section, Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Eli D Plant
Died
Nov 7, 1876
Aged
58 yrs, 11 mo, 11 ds

It appears there is some incorrect information inscribed on Eli Plants’ tombstone. The first is the date of Eli’s death. His Mercer County Probate death record indicates that he died on 6 October 1876, at age 58. [1] Several documents from the administration of his estate also indicate that Eli was deceased before 14 October 1876. In fact, his estate sale was on 9 November 1876. [2]

His age at death is also in question. His probate death record shows that he was exactly 58 years old and his tombstone shows he was 58 years, 11 months, and 11 days old. Therefore, Eli D. Plants was born either 6 October 1817, as calculated from his probate death record, or he was born on 25 October 1817, as calculated from his probate death record date and from his age as inscribed on his tombstone.

Plus, his surname was Plants, sometimes spelled Plantz. Not Plant, as inscribed on his tombstone.

I have no proof, but I have a theory that Eli Plants was a relative, perhaps a brother, of Tobias Plants. The same Tobias Plants who lived on the north end of Chatt for 20 years and was an early merchant in Chatt. The Plants surname is not common around here. Both Eli and Tobias came from the Wayne County, Ohio, area and moved to Mercer County about the same time. They lived relatively close to each other in Mercer County for a while and they were about the same age. Maybe eventually some document will prove my theory.  

Eli Plants married Sophia Smalley on 27 December 1838 in Wayne County, Ohio. [3] Sophia Smalley (1816-1871) was the daughter of Isaac (1769-1855) and Priscilla Smalley, [4] who are buried in Ashland County, Ohio.  Sophia was the sister of Richard Smalley (1825-1909), who moved to Mercer County with his family after the Civil War.

Eli and Sophia Plants moved to Mercer County between 1841 and 1844. Their daughter Priscilla’s death certificate indicates she was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in 1841, and daughter Elizabeth’s death certificate indicates that she was born in Mercer County in 1844.

Sometime during that time period, Eli purchased 40 acres in Section 7 in Recovery Township [5] and he paid personal taxes in Recovery Township in 1849. [6] Eli Plants and his family were enumerated there in 1850: Eli, 32; Sophia, 32; Priscilla A, 8; Eliza J, 6; Rachel, 3; and John, 9 months. Eli was a farmer. [7]

Eli sold his property in Recovery Township and on 25 June 1853 he purchased 40 acres in Liberty Township. He and his family moved to northern Mercer County and much closer to Tobias Plants. Eli’s 40 acres was the SW ¼ of the NE ¼ in Section 5 of Liberty Township, purchased for $100 from Albert Cortelyou. [8] Tobias Plants had also purchased his Liberty Township property from Cortelyou in 1850.

Eli Plants was a Liberty Township Justice of the Peace beginning 17 November 1857, per Sutton’s 1882 Mercer County History. Tobias Plants was a Liberty Township JP in 1860.

The Eli Plants family, as enumerated in 1860 and living in Liberty Township with a Skeels Cross Roads address: Eli D, 41; Sophia, 40; Margaret A, 20; Elizabeth, 15; Rachel A, 12; John, 10; Isaac, 7; and Sofia, 3. Eli reportedly was born in Pennsylvania and the rest of the family was born in Ohio. [9]

Eli Plants sold his 40 acres in Liberty Township to Jacob J. Baker for $875 on 28 February 1866. [10]

Eli then purchased 40 acres in the next township to the north, Black Creek Township, the SE ¼ of the SW ¼ of Section 16. [11] Eli was enumerated there with his family in 1870: Eli, 52; Sophia, 53; John, 20; Isaac, 16; Sofia, 14; and Eli, 6. This enumeration indicates all the family members were born in Ohio. [12] The family likely attended Duck Creek Church.

Eli’s wife Sophia (Smalley) Plants died of congestive chills in Black Creek Township on 13 August 1871, aged 54 years, 11 months, and 13 days. Her calculated date of birth is 31 August 1819 and her parents are named as Isaac and Pricilla Smalley. [13] Sophia has no known tombstone, but she may be buried near her husband in Duck Creek Cemetery.

Widower Eli Plants married widow Sarah Elizabeth (Fisher) Syphers on 28 December 1872 in Adams County, Indiana. [14] Sarah’s first husband, William Syphers, died in 1869.

Eli D. Plants died in Black Creek Township from lung fever on 6 October 1876. [1]

Eli’s second wife Sarah Elizabeth (Fisher) Syphers Plants died 6 April 1903 in Adams County, Indiana, and is buried in Adams County. [15]

Eli D. and Sophia (Smalley) Plants had the following known children:
Margaret Ann, aka Mary Ann (c1840-aft 1876), married (1) Israel Johnson; (2) Charles Finch
Priscilla Ann (c1841-1911), married Martin Bothast
Elizabeth/Eliza Jane (1844-1928), married David E. Sutton
Rachel A. (1847-1925), married (1) William Bair; (2) Ezra Nickerson
John (1849-1931), married Mahala Horn
Isaac (1852-1924) married (1) Nancy A, (2) Alice Agatha Rhodes, (3) Janie Lucille Smith
Sofia E. (1857-1875)
Eli (c1864-?)  

Their youngest child Eli was enumerated with the family in the 1870 census, but he apparently died before his father Eli’s death in 1876. Young Eli was not listed among Eli Sr’s seven heirs named below.

Heirs of Eli D. Plants, according to his estate administration papers:
Isaac Plants, Allen County, Indiana
Elizabeth Sutton, Allen County, Indiana
Priscilla A. Bothast, Jay County, Indiana
Margaret Finch, Michigan
John Plants, Mercer County, Ohio
Rachael Bair, Mercer County, Ohio
Sarah E Plants, widow, Adams County, Indiana [2]

Eli Plants had a rather large administration estate packet, 138 pages of filmed images. The estate was not completely settled until late 1880.

Eli D. Plants, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)

A light from our life is gone,
A voice we love, stilled,
A place vacant in our hearts,
A place never to be filled.

That is the common version of that epitaph verse, but the first line on Eli’s marker is mostly unreadable and looks a little longer.

[1] Mercer County, Ohio, Probate Deaths, Book 1, 1867-1888, p.88, Eli D. Plants, 6 Oct 1876.

[2] Probate Case Files and Indexes 1852-1900, Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998, Mercer, Case 1811, Administration of estate of Eli D. Plants, deceased; Ancestry.com.  

[3] Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Wayne County Marriages 1830-1851, p. 255, Eli Plants & Sophia Smally [sic], 27 Dec 1838; Ancestry.com.

[4] NOTICE, John Smalley Administrator…Petition to Sell Land, The Ashland Union, Ashland, Ohio, 5 March 1856; NewspaperArchive.com.

[5] 1853 Mercer County, Ohio, Plat Map, Recovery Township, NW ¼ of NE ¼, Section 7, Eli D. Plants.

[6] “Ohio, Tax Records, 1800-1887,” Recovery, Ohio, Eli Plants, 1849; FamilySearch.org.

[7] 1850 U.S. Census, Recovery, Mercer, Ohio, p.307B, dwelling 312, family 318, Eliz [sic] Plants; Ancestry.com.  

[8] Mercer County, Ohio, Deeds, Book R:548, Albert Cortelyou to Eli D. Plants, 25 Jun 1853.

[9] 1860 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, p.358, dwelling 1000, family 1005, Eli D Plants; Ancestry.com.

[10] Mercer County, Ohio, Deeds, Book 10:186, Eli D. Plants to Jacob J. Baker, 28 Feb 1866.

[11] 1876 Map, Mercer County, Ohio, Black Creek Township.

[12] 1870 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, p. 24B, dwelling & family 85, Eli Plants; Ancestry.com.

[13] Mercer County, Ohio, Probate Deaths, Book 1, 1867-1888, p.30, Sophia Plants, 13 Aug 1871.

[14] Indiana, U.S Marriage, 1810-2001, Adams County, Eli Deplants [sic] & Sarah E Syphers, 28 Dec 1872; Ancestry.com.

[15] Sarah Elizabeth (Fisher) Syphers Plants, Memorial no. 282589448, Pleasant Dale Cemetery, Decatur, Adams County, Indiana; Find a Grave.com.

May 23

Memorial Day 2025

Memorial Day traditionally marks the beginning of summer, although the weather this year doesn’t feel much like summer yet. Despite the cool, rainy spring, Monday is Memorial Day, usually a holiday weekend devoted to family gatherings, cook-outs, camping, and graduation parties.

However, the true purpose of Memorial Day is much more–to honor and remember those who served and those who sacrificed their lives for our country.   

Elm Grove Cem, St. Marys, Auglaize Co, OH (2013 photo by Karen)

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and dates back to right after the Civil War. The day was created as a way to remember and honor both Union and Confederate soldiers who were killed in battle.

In 1868, 30 May was officially proclaimed as the day to decorate Civil War graves. After WWI Memorial Day was extended to honor Americans who died in all wars. Today, although the focus is on military graves, many Americans use this holiday as a time to decorate any grave site, whether the deceased served in the military or not.

Memorial Day was declared a U.S. federal holiday in 1971 and is now observed the last Monday in May.

The entire month of May is Military Appreciation Month, with several specific military holidays: Loyalty Day (1 May), VE Day (8 May), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (12 May/Friday before Mother’s Day), Armed Forces Day (20 May), and Memorial Day (30 May). 

Proper flag etiquette on Memorial Day: The American flag should be flown at half-staff until noon and then raised to full-staff. During a parade there may be several participants with a flag and it is appropriate to salute only the first flag as it passes by. As the first flag passes everyone should show respect by standing at attention with their right hand over their heart. Those in uniform should give their appropriate formal salute.

To my knowledge, I have three ancestors who died while serving in the Civil War:

Hallot Bryan (1831-1863), Private, Co E, 89th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather John Bryan. Hallot is buried in Memphis National Cemetery.

Hallot Bryan, Memphis National Cemetery. (2014 submitted photo)

Daniel Schumm (1840-1863), Corporal, 52nd OVI, first cousin 3 times removed. Burial place unknown.

John Schumm (1843-1864), Corporal, Co. A, 60th OVI, first cousin 3 times removed. Burial unknown unknown.

We usually spend some time at local cemeteries on Memorial Day, taking time to observe the U.S. flags, flower memorials, and other patriotic memorials, and to reflect on the sacrifices made by our veterans for our freedom.  

The National Moment of Remembrance resolution, passed, in December 2000, asks all Americans to pause at 3:00 p.m. local time and reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day, to remember and honor the lives of those who served.

Let us never forget the sacrifices made by our veterans.

 

 

May 16

Chattanooga School Photo, circa 1913

Below is a wonderful photo of the Chattanooga, Ohio, School, circa 1913, compliments of Doug Roebuck. Best of all, most of the children in the photo are identified.

Chattanooga School School No. 3 was located in Section 8 of Liberty Township, Mercer County, on the southeast corner of State Route 49 and Schaadt Road. It was built before 1876.

During the local oil boom in the late 1800s, a second school house was built next to the first schoolhouse to house the additional pupils. There were four grades in each building. The north building was a little smaller and there was a pump between the two buildings. 

Going by the birth dates of the younger children in the photo, who were probably in the first grade, the photo was likely taken about 1913-14. First graders were about 6 years old and the eighth graders in the back would have been about 14 years old.  

Chatt School, c1913

Front row: Ray Smith, Floyd Bader, Dorsey Gries, Gerald Baber, Victor Baker, Orval Gibbons, Leo Slusser, ____, Glen Schott, Harold Hoffmann, ___ Baber, Vic Andrews, Floyd Bauer.

Row 2: Hugo Kuhn, Carol Andrews, Walter Becher, Herb Huhn, Maynard Slusser, Clar Kuhn, Harold Bauer, Roscoe Kuhn, Clarence Fickert, Basil Felver, Odas Becker, Luther Heffner.

Row 3: Mildred Leininger, Wilbur Kuhn, Rosan Hoffman, ___ ___, Dewey Kuhn, Vernon Heffner, Walter Martin, Murl Smith, Leslie Becher, Vernon Gibbons, Gary Kessler, Lloyd Kuhn, Tony Slusser.

Row 4: Mabel Fickert, Martha Smith, Louelle Martin, Erna Leininger, Marie Reisen, Bertha Becker, Brace Hoffman, Lucille Bollenbacher Branstetter, Evelyn Duff, Bertha Kuhn. 

Row 5: Goldie Koch Stetler, Inez Leininger Zeringer, Matilda Becher, Bertha Morehead, Lenore Reisen, Vivian Gibbons Carr, Clista Baker Fahncke, Lucille Hoffman, Elnora Weiman, Lucille Becher, Louise Becher, Edith Kuhn, Leah Schott, Martha Becher.

Row 6: Teacher Grace Lane, Mabel Fickert, Freda Becher, Elaora Reisen, Barbara Reisen, Leah Leininger, Marguerite Heffner, Lucy Slusser, Vera Michael, Maria Becher, Clara Hoffman, Edith Fickert.

Back Row: Rosan Becher, Dewey Gibbons, Roman “Pate” Heffner, Teacher Howard Michael.

What a large number of students!

Perhaps some of these students were your relatives or maybe you knew some of them. I remember some of them.

I was told that this old building was one of those Chattanooga Schools.

Former Chattanooga School

The Chattanooga School closed in 1939 and the students were bussed to Willshire.