May 28

Tombstone Tuesday for Memorial Day

Today, some Memorial Day cemetery photos.

Resthaven Cemetery, St. Marys, Ohio. (2014 photo by Karen)

My parents’ tombstone at Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio.
Herbert M. Miller (1925-2012), my dad
WWII
Private, 84th Division, 333rd Regiment, Co. L, The Railsplitters
Battle of the Bulge, 2 Bronze Stars

Herbert & Florence Miller tombstone, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. (2018 photo by Karen)

Back side of Miller tombstone (2018 photo by Karen)

Daniel Brewster (1845-1917), my great-great-grandfather
Civil War
Private, Co E, 80th OVI
Riverside Cemetery, Geneva, Indiana

Daniel Brewster tombstone, Riverside Cemetery, Geneva, Indiana. (2014 photo by Karen)

Daniel Brewster tombstone, Riverside Cemetery, Geneva, Indiana. (2014 photo by Karen)

Ralph J. Derickson Jr. (1925-1945), my first cousin once removed
WWII
Private, 99th Infantry Division
Killed in action in Germany during the Battle of the Bulge
Buried in Luxembourg
Riverside Cemetery, Geneva, Indiana

Ralph Derickson Jr, Riverside Cemetery, Geneva, Indiana (2014 photo by Karen)

Christian Whiteman (1762-1827), my 5th great-grandfather
Revolutionary War
Private, Berks County 6th Battalion, Pennsylvania Militia
Reber Hill Cemetery, Walnut Township, Pickaway County, Ohio

Christian Whiteman, Reber Hill Cemetery, Pickaway County, Ohio. (2002 photo by Karen)

Nicholas Headington (1790-1856), my 5th great-grandfather
War of 1812
Gorsuch’s Company, 2nd Maryland Militia
Liber Cemetery, Wayne Township, Jay County, Indiana

Nicholas Headington, War 1812 marker at foot.

This is only a partial list of my ancestors and relatives who served our county with the military service.

We remember them all and are thankful for their service to our country.

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

May 24

Memorial Day 2019

This coming Monday is Memorial Day. It was originally called Decoration Day, the name my mom always used. It is a federal holiday that traditionally marks the beginning of summer.

Resthaven Memory Gardens, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2014 by Karen)

Memorial Day began as a way to remember and honor both Union and Confederate soldiers who were killed in battle during the Civil War. In 1868 the 30th of May was officially proclaimed as the day to decorate those graves. After WWI Memorial Day was extended to honor Americans who died in all wars. Today most Americans use this holiday as a time to decorate grave sites, 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. In December 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed, which asks all Americans to pause at 3:00 p.m. local time and reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day.

Remember to observe 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.

Most area towns have a Memorial Day ceremony at local cemetery, conducted by the local American Legion and/or VFW, who also mark all veterans’ graves with an American flag. A big Thank You to all those volunteers.

Aleta, Willshire Home Furnishings, Memorial Day, 2018.

Willshire Home Furnishings will have a display of over 150 military uniforms, photos, flags, maps, and letters of local servicemen all weekend and Memorial Day. It is a wonderful display and well worth a visit. My dad’s photo and Army jacket will be on display there. Willshire will also have its Memorial Day Parade on Monday.

May 21

Tombstone Tuesday–Friedrich J. Stegmeier

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

This is the tombstone of Friedrich J. Stegmeier, located in row 2 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

FRIEDRICH J.
Sohn von
L. und K.
STEGMEIER
Gest. den. 13
Feb. 1892
Alter
2 J.  9 T.

Friedrich J., son of L. and K. Stegmeier, died 13 February 1892, aged 2 years, 9 days.

“Friedrich” Johann Stegmeier was born 4 February 1890, the third child of Leonhardt “Leonhard” G. and Leah “Katharine” (Rettig) Stegmeier.  He was baptized at home on 16 February 1890, with Friedrich Rettig of Convoy and Nickolaus Steger serving as his sponsors. His father Leonhard was born in Wuerttemberg.  

Friedrich Johann Stegmeier died of lung fever on the afternoon of 13 February 1892, at the age of 2 years and 9 days. He was buried on the 15th, according to Zion Schumm’s records.

Stegmeier, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

Friedrich J. Stegmeier had the following siblings:
Karl Georg (1884-1954), never married
George Adam Anton “Tony” (1886-1929), married Anna Giessler
“Antoinette”/”Nettie” Elisabeth Martha (1897-1983), married James A. Bell

Friedrich’s parents his two brothers are buried in Zion Schumm’s cemetery. His sister is buried at Convoy.

May 17

New Book about 1872 Secaur Murder

Just in time for summer reading, a newly published book about the events surrounding the murder of 13-year-old Liberty Township resident, Mary Secaur. Many from this area of Mercer County, Ohio, have heard and read about these events that occurred just east of Chattanooga, Ohio, in June 1872.

Even after nearly 150 years there is still an interest and many questions about that murder and the lynching that followed a few days later.

Shadows of the Summer Solstice, by Sharon Schaadt Cowen, 2019.

The most recent account of those incidents is the new book, Shadows of the Summer Solstice…A Legend about a Farmer and the Green Ribbon Murder, by Sharon Schaadt Cowen, ISBN13:978-0-578-46094-9, 294 pages, published by SSC Publishing, April 2019. It is available in paperback and Kindle edition at Amazon.com.

Most locals have heard about the murder of young Mary Arabelle Secaur and about the lynching of Absalom Kimmel and Alexander McLeod, two men who were accused of murdering her. Mary Secaur was murdered on her way home from church one Sunday, murdered a couple miles east of Chatt on Tama Road, near where the Farmer’s Picnic is held. Kimmel and McLeod were two of three men accused of murdering Mary and were being held in the Mercer County jail when a mob overcame the sheriff and took the prisoners from the jail. The mob took the men out of town and hung two of them east of where the murder occurred.

Author Sharon Schaadt Cowen has a special interest in this story. Four generations of her family lived east of Chatt and her great-grandparents, Fred and Kate Schaadt, were next-door neighbors to Mary Secaur and the Sitterleys on Tama Road. The families knew each other and the Schaadts were eye-witnesses and participants in the events that occurred after Mary’s murder. Those details have been passed down in the Schaadt family for four generations. Sharon herself grew up near Tama Road and tells the story as it was told to her by her father, Herb. Herb heard the story from his father Lewis, as was told to him by Fred Schaadt himself. Although Cowen tells her family’s version of the incident, she says that the bones of her story come from J.H. Day’s account, Lynched.

I enjoyed the way Cowen tells this sad and tragic story. In her book, set in about 1932, old Duck Legs Phil Kromer, who was a real person, narrates the story from his room at the county home. With his colorful language he recalls the details of the events that summer, nearly sixty years before, and how those events affected the community and how the local people reacted.

One of my favorite things about this book is how Cowen’s personal and local connection makes the characters come to life. Cowen gives the characters real personalities and tells how they dealt with this tragedy. The book also provides a glimpse of what everyday life was like in rural Mercer County in the 1870s. Of course, having grown up in the Chatt area, the names and places were familiar, which added to my reading enjoyment. I know the story, but the book was still hard to put down.

Shadows of the Summer Solstice, by Sharon Schaadt Cowen, 2019.

After nearly 150 years, parts and details of the story will likely always remain a mystery. Although there are several theories about what really happened and who was guilty and who was not, there are just some things we will never really know for sure.

May 14

Tombstone Tuesday–William G. Hoffer, Ora, Gretchen

Ora M, William G, & Gretchen Hoffer, Willshire Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2019 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of William G. Hoffer, his wife Ora M. (Morehead), and daughter Gretchen Hoffer, located in section 3, row 11, Willshire Cemetery, Willshire, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

HOFFER
Mother
Ora M.
1871-1951

Father
William G.
1865-1949

Daughter
Gretchen
1899-1964

The Hoffers were a prominent Willshire family during the first half of the 20th century.

Among his many accomplishments and activities, William G. Hoffer was the editor and publisher of the Willshire Herald until nearly the time of his death in 1949. The Willshire Herald was the predecessor to today’s The Photo Star. Hoffer was also Willshire’s postmaster for about 22 years, having that position until about the time of his death.

I published William’s full obituary last week, as it was published in the 1949 Willshire Herald: William G. Hoffer Obituary, 1949.

His wife Ora played piano at church and gave piano lessons for many years. She died 6 January 1959. Her obituary, from The Lima News, Thursday, January 8, 1959:

VAN WERT – Mrs. Ora M. Hoffer, 87, 417 S. Washington, Van Wert, died at noon Tuesday after an illness of several years. She had suffered a broken hip three weeks ago in a fall.

A daughter of Robert E. and Sarah M. (Allen) Morehead, she was born June 24, 1871, at Romney, W. Va.

Mrs. Hoffer, a resident of Willshire for about 50 years, was the widow of William G. Hoffer, whom she married December 19, 1893.

Mr. Hoffer, who died in 1949, served for 22 years as postmaster at Willshire. He was a former editor and publisher of The Willshire Herald and assisted in founding the Van Wert Times and Wapakoneta Daily News.

Mrs. Hoffer, a piano teacher of two generations, was a member of the Willshire Methodist Church and served for years as church pianist. She was a charter member of the Pythian Sisters and was a member of Bethlehem chapter No. 25, Order of Eastern Star, Willshire.

Surviving are a daughter, Miss Gretchan Hoffer of this city, who is associated with the Starr Commonwealth; a brother, R. M. Morehead of Fresno, Calif. and a sister, Mrs. Blanche M. Hall of Lyons, Kansas. A son, George, is deceased.

Rites will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Cowan and Son Funeral Home, Dr. Paul D. Chiles, pastor of the First Methodist Church, and Rev. William D. Powers, pastor of the Willshire Methodist Church, to officiate. Burial will be in the Willshire Cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home. The family requests no flowers and friends may contribute to Starr Commonwealth.

Their daughter Gretchen Hoffer died a few years later, on 14 June 1964 in Van Wert. Her obituary:

Van Wert—Miss Gretchen Hoffer, 64, associated with Starr-Commonwealth at Albion, Mich., was pronounced dead on arrival at 3 p.m. Sunday in Van Wert County Hospital. Death was attributed to a heart condition.

Miss Hoffer, a former resident of Willshire and Wapakoneta, was stricken while attending memorial services for Gordon Langley at the local Starr-Commonwealth school for boys.

Two physicians, also attending the memorial services, attempted to revive the stricken woman through mouth to mouth resuscitation and by massaging the heart. Their efforts proved futile.

She was a daughter of William and Ora Hoffer.

Miss Hoffer was a social worker for Starr Commonwealth. She was a former manager of the Van Wert Aid to the Aged and had been associated with the Methodist Children’s Home in Worthington and the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home in Xenia.

Services will be Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Cowan and Son Funeral Home. Rev. Dr. Paul D. Chiles will officiate, and burial will be in Willshire Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home. [1]

 

[1] The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 16 Jun 1964, p.2, Gretchen Hoffer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com, viewed 7 May 2019.