Aug 21

Pfc. Herb Miller Arrives in Liverpool, 1944

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Victory over Europe (V-E Day) was 8 May 1945 and Victory over Japan (V-J Day) was 15 August 1945.

Back then our country was united in the effort to defeat Hitler’s Nazism and to defeat Japan after its attack on Pearl Harbor.

My dad, Herbert Miller, was a patriotic American and wanted to do his part to assist the war effort, so in the spring of 1944, at age 18, he volunteered for the draft. He was drafted in May 1944 and completed basic training during the summer and fall of that year. On Christmas Eve 1944 he was in Europe, at a Replacement Depot in France, where he was assigned to the 84th Division, 333rd Company, Infantry. He first fought in the Battle of the Bulge and after that in several other European countries.

Herbert Miller

The war in Europe ended in May 1945 but my dad did not have enough time and points to come home. Besides, the U.S. was still at war with Japan in the Pacific. Had the war with Japan not ended in August 1945 my dad probably would have been sent to fight somewhere in the Pacific. As it turned out, he was able to stay in Europe with the Occupation Force, where he worked in a military Post Office until he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on 7 June 1946.    

A couple years ago I transcribed and posted here the WWII letters my dad sent home to his family and were saved by them. Since then I found a few short pages he wrote in December 1944, beginning when his ship from the U.S. docked at England. It appears he started writing a journal, but apparently did not continue it. I have a few pages, written on a small notepad, titled My Times in E.T.O. [European Theatre of Operations]:

My Times in E.T.O.

It was a chilly, foggy evening when the USS Wakefield pulled into Liverpool. We watched the sailors stand inspection for shore leave in England.

I was a replacement in a Rifle Co. I don’t even remember the company name. It don’t make much difference.

It was almost the 20th of Dec. As it was getting dark we marched down the gang plank and through the streets of Liverpool to the train station. As I walked past the buildings I noticed some were fenced in and well destroyed. I wondered if France would be the same.

After boarding the train we rode most of the night until we came to South Hampton. We waited in a large ? while the ship was unloaded. The ship looked pretty well beat up. I remembered the trip across the Atlantic and how rough it was. This ship was an old wooden Spanish ship and I do mean old.

The next day we pulled out into the Channel and the next land I would see would be France.

Interesting and a good beginning to a journal but I doubt he had the time to keep it up. He was assigned right away to the Battle of the Bulge and to other parts of Europe after that.   

USS Wakefield [2]

My dad wrote that he sailed to England on the USS Wakefield. According to Wikipedia.com, the USS Wakefield (AP-21) was a troop transport that served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. Before her war service, she was the luxury ocean liner SS Manhattan, built in Camden, New Jersey, launched December 1931. The ship has quite a history that I won’t go into here, but you can read about it on Wikipedia.com, using the link below.

Part of her WWII history that pertains to my dad: …[Wakefield] departed Boston on 13 April 1944, beginning the first of 23 round trips in the Atlantic theater and three in the Pacific. Between 13 April 1944 and 1 February 1946, Wakefield transported 110,563 troops to Europe and brought 106,674 men back to America, a total of 217,237 passengers…Her primary port of call in the European theater was Liverpool, visited so often that the transport’s crew nicknamed her “The Boston and Liverpool Ferry.” The average round-trip voyage took 18 days…

…After D-Day, 6 June 1944, Wakefield began the first of her trips as a casualty-evacuation ship, bringing home wounded GIs. On occasion, she also brought back German prisoners of war for internment in the United States. Sometimes she even carried both evacuees and prisoners on the same voyage. After 13 trips to Liverpool, Wakefield was sent to the Mediterranean theater to carry men and equipment to Italy…Returning from her 22nd voyage to Europe, the transport departed Boston on 4 December 1945 for Taku, China,…returned to San Diego, on 1 February 1946…then two round trips to Guam, February through April 1946, ending ship’s active service as a Navy transport…

…Wakefield was decommissioned on 16 June 1946, five years to the day that she first entered service…She was struck from the Navy Register in 1959 and sold for scrap in 1965. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wakefield_(AP-21)

[2] By Unknown author – Navsource Online – US Navy photo # No. V4-W215-1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3655628

 

Aug 18

Tombstone Tuesday-Martin J. Schumm

Martin J. Schumm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Martin J. Schumm, located in row 10 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Martin J.
Schumm
Born
July 28, 1859
Died
Mar. 11, 1909
Revelation 11, Verse 10

Jacob “Martin” Schumm was born 28 July 1859, the son of George Martin (1812-1871) and Maria (Pflueger) (1820-1903) Schumm. Martin’s parents were both German immigrants. Martin was baptized at Zion Lutheran, Schumm, on 2 August 1859, with Jacob Bienz, his wife Elisabeth, and Martin Schinnerer serving as his sponsors.

The George Martin Schumm family in 1860, a few months after Martin was born: George, 47; Mary, 46; Frederick, 21; Louis, 19; George, 18; John, 17; Rosina, 15; Mary, 11; Jacob, 9; Christian, 7; Henry, 5; and Martin, 4 months. [1] 

The George Martin Schumm family in 1870: George, 57; Mary, 50; Mary, 20; Jacob, 19; Henry, 16; Martin, 10; and Sophia, 7. [2]

Martin Schumm married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ehrenmann on 12 October 1882 at the home of Martin’s brother. According to Zion Schumm’s records Lizzie was from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was born 31 January 1860.

Martin and Lizzie had three children born between 1883 and 1888. Lizzie died during childbirth on the morning of 28 January 1893, 3 days short of her 33rd birthday. She was buried on 31 January, her birthday, in row 6 of Zion Schumm’s cemetery.

By 1900 Martin and his three children had moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Martin worked as a clerk/printer. The Martin Schumm family in 1900: Martin, 40; Arthur HF, 16; Velmah E, 14; Herbert GW, 12. All were born in Ohio. Arthur was a leather sewer and Herbert was a student. In this enumeration Martin is shown as married, married for 18 years. [3]

According to the 1905 New York census, the Martin Schumm family lived on Baltic Street in New York. Martin’s occupation was a printer. [4]

Martin J. Schumm died of a brain infection in Kings Park, New York, on 11 March 1909. He was 49 years, 7 months, and 13 days old. His remains were brought back to Van Wert County where burial services were held at Zion Schumm on the 15th .

Martin and Lizzie (Ehrenmann) Schumm had the following children:
Arthur Henry Ferdinand (1883-1964), married Daisy Webster
Esther Velmah (1885-1972), married John Henry Schnackenberg
Herbert George W (1888-1984), married Anna Buesener

[1] 1860 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.425, dwelling 1068, family 1062, George Schanen; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search419 /collections/7667/ : viewed 2 Aug 2020).

[2] 1870 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, P.439A, dwelling 131, family 132, George Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/ : viewed 16 Aug 2020).

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Brooklyn Ward 22, Kings, New York, ED 349, dwelling 94, family 256, Martin J Schu; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/ : viewed 15 Aug 2020). 

[4] 1905 State Population Census Schedule, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, Election District A.D. 03 E.D. 04, p.4, Martin J Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com, viewed 16 Aug 2020.

Aug 14

Local Buildings by Abraham Bagley

Last week I wrote about Zion Lutheran’s church school in Chattanooga, Ohio, designed by Berne architect Abraham Bagley in 1904. 

That information was brought to my attention by a reader from Berne who is restoring an historic house that Bagley designed. She also sent me photos of some other area buildings that Bagley designed. 

Berne’s old Mennonite church, designed in 1899:

Old Mennonite Church, designed by A. Bagley, 1899. (photo submitted)

Zion’s church school, built in 1904:

Zion Lutheran School, Chattanooga, Ohio (c1904)

St. John’s Reformed Church in Vera Cruz, Indiana, built in 1909. It may still be standing and known as the Six-Mile Church:

St. John’s Reformed Church, Vera Cruz, Indiana, designed by A. Bagley 1909. (photo submitted)

The old Monroe Township school in Berne, built in 1910, last used as an Amish house but currently abandoned:

Old Monroe Township School, Berne, Indiana, designed by A. Bagley in 1910. (photo submitted)

The old school in Monroe, Indiana, built about 1911:

Old school, Monroe, Indiana, designed by A. Bagley 1911. (photo submitted)

Muensterberg Township School, built in 1912, currently used as a church:

Muensterberg Township School, designed by A. Bagley, 1912. (photo submitted)

Abraham Bagley also designed St. John’s Reformed Church in Defiance, Ohio, in 1910 and St. John’s Reformed in Archbold, Ohio, in 1914-15.

Below is some additional information I found about architect Abraham Bagley:

Abraham Bagley was born in Switzerland in January 1870 [1], the son of Peter and Magdalene (Klay) Bagley. He immigrated to America in the late 1800s and married Bertha Clara Gilliam in Berne, Indiana, on 5 November 1893. [2]

In 1900 Abraham Bagley and his family lived in Berne with two Gilliam in-laws, likely Bertha’s siblings. Abraham and Bertha had been married 6 years and no occupation was given for Abraham in this census enumeration. The Bagley family in 1900: Abraham, 30, Switzerland; Bertha C, 26, Missouri; Lila E, 5, Indiana; Martha A, 2, Indiana; Edwin H Gilliam, 22, single, Missouri, brother-in-law, brick hauler; and Sarah M Gilliam, 23, single, Missouri, sister-in-law, dry goods clerk. [1]

In 1910 the Abraham Bagley family resided on Franklin Street in Berne. Abraham’s occupation was architect. This enumeration indicates that he immigrated in 1889 and had been married 16 years. The two Gilliam women living with them are listed as boarders and both were clerks/sales at a notions store. Both women were born in Missouri, as was Abraham’s wife Bertha (Gilliam), and possibly were sisters. The Bagley family in 1910: Abraham, 40; Bertha, 36; Lila E, 15; Martha A, 12; Victor F, 9; Nora M, 6; Harman N, 2; Glennis J, 1 month; Martha N Gilliam, 27; and Emma R Gilliam, 25. [3]  

In 1920 the Abraham Bagley lived on Fulton Street in Berne. This enumeration indicates that Abraham was born in Switzerland, spoke German, and immigrated in 1895. [This date is incorrect because he married in Indiana in 1893.] His occupation was civil engineer. The Bagley family in 1920: Abraham, 49; Bertha, 48; Nora, 15; Harman, 12; Glennis, 9. [4]

In 1931 Bagley, age 60, was living alone in Fort Wayne, where he operated a saw sharpening shop in his home. He was incarcerated for public intoxication and hung himself in the Fort Wayne City Jail on 30 July 1931. [5]

Abraham and Bertha (Gillium) Bagley had the following children:

Lila Bagley (1894-1974), married Nicholas Frank Wagoner
Martha B. Bagley (1897-1976), married William Beavers
Victor F. Bagley (1901-1981), married Lillian Neuenschwander
Nora May Bagley (1903-2001), married Charles Sims
Harmon Noah Bagley (1907-1969), married Josephine Reusser
Glennis Juanita Bagley (1910-1980), married Tracy Day Luccack; married William S. Williams

His two sons also went into the engineering/construction building business.

[1] 1900 U.S. Census, Monroe, Adams, Indiana, ED 7, p.14, dwelling 236, family 238, Abraham Begley; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/ : viewed 26 Apr 2020).

[2] Indiana Marriages, 1810-2001, Abraham Bagley & Bertha C Gilliom, 5 Nov 1893; Ancestry.com,  viewed 26 Apr 2020.

[3] 1910 U.S. Census, Wabash, Adams, Indiana, ED 12, p.3B, dwelling & family 68, Abraham Brogley; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/ : viewed 12 Aug 2020).

[4] 1920 U.S. Census, Wabash, Adams, Indiana, ED 13, p.2B, dwelling 40, family 41, Abraham Bagley; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/ : viewed 26 Apr 2020).

[5] The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Ind, 31 Jul 1931, p.3; digital image, Newspapers.com, viewed 5 Aug 2020.

Aug 11

Tombstone Tuesday-Ferd W. & Amber F. (Tickle) Schumm

Ferd W & Amber F (Tickle) Schumm, Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Mercer County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Ferd W. and Amber F. (Tickle) Schumm, located in Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

SCHUMM
Amber F.
1892-1982
Ferd W.
1885-1970

Ferdinand Wilhelm “ Ferd“ Schumm was born 15 May 1885, the son of Frederick Jacob and Maria (Germann) Schumm. He was baptized at home on 17 May 17 1885 with Ferdinand Germann and Wilhelm Schumm serving as his sponsors.

The Jacob F Schumm family in 1900, when Ferd was 15 years old: Jacob Schumm, 60; Mary, 52; George, 32; Amelia, 27; Ida, 23; Mary, 20; Philip, 17; and Ferd, 15. This enumeration indicates that Jacob and Mary had been married years and that Mary had given birth to 9 children, all of whom were living. [1]

The Jacob F Schumm family in 1910: Fred, 70; Mary, 62; Ida C, 31; Ferd W 24. Fred was a farmer and the couple had been married 44 years. [2]

Ferd Schumm married Amber Forest Tickle on 26 March 1912 at Zion Schumm’s parsonage. Witnesses to the marriage were Walter and Esther Schumm. Ferd and Amber were both from Mercer County. The church records note that the service was in English.

“Amber” Forest Tickle was born in Mercer County, Ohio, on 3 January 1892, the daughter of Jacob (1847-1894) and Isadora (Dudgeon) (1849-1924). Amber’s father died two years later.

Amber and her family in 1900: Isadora A Tickle, 49; Almina E, 29; Jesse A, 21; Leroy, 11; and Amber F, 8. Isadora was a widow and had given birth to 5 children, all of whom were living. All members of the household were born in Ohio. [3]

The Tickle family in 1910, living on Winkler Road, Black Creek Township: Isadora A, 59, head, widow; Minna E, 35, daughter; Leroy F, 21, son; Amber F, 18, daughter; Grace W, 18, daughter-in-law [wife of Leroy]; Helen A Tickle, 1, granddaughter; and James Tickle, under one month, grandson. This enumeration indicates the mother Isadora had given birth to seven children, 5 of whom were living. [4]

After their marriage Ferd and Amber set up housekeeping in Dublin Township, Mercer County, where Ferd was a farmer and also was a stock and grain dealer. Their family in 1920: Ferd W Schumm, 35; and Amber F, 29. [5]

The Ferd Schumm family in 1930: Ferdinand, 44; Amber, 37; and Dorothy, 3. Ferd was a general farmer. [6]

The Ferd Schumm family in 1940: Ferd, 54; Amber F, 48; and Dorothy L, 13. [7]

Ferd Schumm died 5 June 1970 in a long-term care facility in Coldwater. He was 85 years old. His obituary:

Ferdinand Schumm
Celina-Services for Ferdinand W. Schumm, 85, of 208 E. Fulton will be 2 p.m. Monday in W.H Dick and Sons Funeral Home, Rev. Jay Stratton officiating. Burial will in Riverside Cemetery, Rockford.

Mr. Schumm died 5:30 p.m. Friday at Briarwood Manor, Coldwater. Born May 15, 1885, in Dublin Township, Mercer County, he was the son of J. Frederick and Mary Germann Schumm. He was married May 26, 1912 to Amber Tickle and she survives.

Also surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Paul E. (Dorothy) Shaffer of Fort Wayne; a sister, Mrs. Mary Weck of Ohio; and two granddaughters.

Friends may call at the funeral home 2-5 and 7-9 today. [8]

Amber (Tickle) Schumm died 24 October 1982 in a long-term care facility in Mercer County. She was 89 years old.

Ferd and Amber (Tickle) Schumm had one daughter:
Dorothy L, married Paul Shaffer

[1] 1900 Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 77, p.13, dwelling 276, family 280, Fredy J Schunni; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/ : viewed 31 Jul 2020).

[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 110, p.13A, dwelling, family, Fred J Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/ : viewed 31 Jul 2020).

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, ED 74, p.14, dwelling & family 287, Isidora A Tickle; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/ : viewed 9 Aug 2020).

[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, ED 107, p.6A, dwelling & family 113, Isadora A Tichel; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/ : viewed 9 Aug 2020).

[5] 1920 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 128, p.4B, dwelling & family 89, Ferd W Schemer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/ : viewed 9 Aug 2020).

[6] 1930 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 6, p.5A, dwelling 96, family 110, Ferdinand Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/ : viewed 9 Aug 2020).

[7] 1940 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, ED 54-6, p.10B, household 222, Ferdinand W Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442/: viewed 9 Aug 2020).

[8] The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 7 Jun 1970, p.A4; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com, viewed 9 Aug 2020.

Aug 07

Architect Designs Building in Chatt, 1904

What building did an architect design in Chattanooga, Ohio, in 1904?

I was recently asked that question, which took me by surprise.

A building designed by an architect in our little village of Chattanooga? Really?

Let’s face it. The buildings in downtown Chatt are not complicated architectural marvels and I can’t think of one that would have been designed by an architect.

I always thought that most old buildings in the area were erected by a local crew who framed and constructed the building, without the help or advice of an architect. Maybe my thinking is too simplistic. You can tell I am not a carpenter.

Perhaps blueprints were used when those old buildings were constructed and the blueprint creator was probably called an architect.

Architect: a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings.

So the question is, was it customary, around the turn of the century, to hire an architect to draw up a blueprint and oversee the construction of a frame structure in a village like Chatt?

I guess so.    

Which building?

The following was brought to my attention by Jodi, from Berne, Indiana. She is restoring an historic house in Berne that was designed by architect Abraham Bagley, sometimes spelled Boegly. Jodi has been researching architect Abraham Bagley and some of the area buildings he designed, which include several in Berne. She sent me the following information.

From The American School Board Journal, 1904, Vol. 28, p.27:

OHIO–
…Chattanooga—Plans by Architect A. Boegly, Berne, Ind., for parochial school…. [1]

A parochial school in Chatt. Interesting.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe the Methodist Church in Chatt had a school, so that leaves the other church in town, Zion Lutheran.

In the late 1800s and after the turn of the century there was a frame church school south of Zion’s church, in the lot across the road from the church. The frame school stood between the church and the parsonage, which was also a frame building at that time.

Zion Lutheran School, Chattanooga, Ohio (c1904)

My understanding has always been that Zion’s church school was for teaching the Bible, catechism, and German a couple half days a week during the summer, not like today’s parochial schools that operate on a full schedule.

The following excerpt, taken from a narrative written by one of Zion Chatt’s ministers, Rev. Reuben Valentine Smith, gives information about Zion’s school. Rev. Smith was Zion’s pastor from 1899-1905 and he wrote this narrative in 1955:

“…one of the [church council] members said…our preacher teaches a German school for our children every summer…I was to teach school several months every summer…three half days a week… if they really wanted an effective school I would give them one: five days a week, full time from July to Christmas, and in alternate years the catechumens would go on until Easter…that arrangement was accepted and carried out for the six years of my incumbency…we had a real school. The children came, an average of 35 to 40 a day, ages 6 to 14…” 

When Rev. Smith came to Chatt in 1899 it appears that he started a full-time school, five days a week. A real parochial school at Zion Lutheran, Chatt for six years.

He goes on to describe the school:

“…The school house was something–it was an old building about 28 by 14 feet. Some of the weather boarding was loose and part of the plastering was cracked. Instead of desks and seats there were old oaken benches with writing boards, each bench seating four pupils. There was an old box stove and a small reed organ. Later, largely through the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Herzog, we got an adequate building…”

That last sentence could be the answer. It appears that Mr. and Mrs. Herzog funded either the renovation of the old building or a whole new school. It sounds like a new school building was built, probably designed by architect Abraham Bagley.   

It all fits. The time period coincides and the architect Bagley was local, from Berne. The above photo, taken about 1904, could be a photo of the newly-built parochial school. The building does look rather new and pristine, unlike the old structure Rev. Smith described.

Rev. Reuben Smith

Who knew that Zion Chatt had a real, full-time parochial school at one time! There are some old church records and minutes from that time period, but unfortunately they are written in the old German script and I cannot read that much German. Anyone who may have attended that school is long gone. My grandpa Miller, born in 1896, or some of his siblings would have been about the right age to attend, but I never heard that they attended a parochial school in Chatt. In addition, it would have been a little hike for the Millers, since they lived over 2 miles away.

I would love to hear from anyone who has any knowledge about Zion’s parochial school. Did anyone have any relatives that attended? What happened to the old church school building?

Next week, more about architect Abraham Bagley and some of the other local buildings he designed.      

[1] The American School Board Journal, 1904, Vol. 28, p.27, “New Schools;” https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084570996&view=1up&seq=4.