Jul 04

Happy Fourth of July!

Independence Day 2017. 241 years since the Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the thirteen colonies were no longer part of Great Britain, but independent sovereign states, part of a new nation.

“Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” –Benjamin Franklin

“Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” –Louis D. Brandeis

“And I’m proud to an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” –Lee Greenwood

I wish everyone a happy and safe Independence Day.

God Bless America! Land that I love.

Jun 30

Chatt-Valley Vacation Bible School 2017, Chatt Methodist Church

This past week Zion Lutheran Church in Chattanooga, Ohio, the church we attend, along with the Chattanooga United Methodist Church hosted their annual Vacation Bible School. The two churches have combined to host very successful and popular Bible School programs for as long as I can remember. They take turns hosting Bible School every other year and this year it was held at the Methodist church. Volunteers from both churches participate.

Bible School 2017 at Chattanooga, Ohio, United Methodist Church

Our 3 1/2 year-old granddaughter spent the week with us and I took her to Bible School. As you might imagine, it was a very busy week for us since we aren’t used to having an active little one in the house.

I can now say that as of this year three generations of our family have attended Bible School at Zion Chatt. I attended back in the 1950s, when it was put on by Zion only. Our son attended in the 1980s and now our granddaughter attended this year.

This year’s Bible School theme was Maker Fun Factory and those in charge should be commended and thanked for putting together yet another very successful Bible School. Days were packed with Bible stories, upbeat songs, prayer, crafts, fun activities, snacks, and more.

A big thank you to the Chatt Methodist Church for opening their doors and hosting Bible School this year.

The Chattanooga United Methodist Church was formed in 1910. A few years ago I looked at the WPA [Works Progress Administration] records for Mercer County churches, housed at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio. These records were created during the Great Depression and they contain some interesting information.

Chattanooga, Ohio, United Methodist Church

The old WPA file gives a little history of the Chattanooga United Methodist church:

Reverend John Albright, an ordained Methodist minister, moved into the vicinity of Chattanooga and began preaching the Gospel as previously interpreted by John Wesley. A sufficient number embraced the doctrine, making it possible to formally organize a society in 1911. Although the society was nurtured by Rev. John Albright he was not officially appointed the first resident pastor until in 1919. He continued to minister to the people until sometime in 1921.

Rev. Albright was able to secure the use of a vacant community hall for church services. Later the society collected sufficient funds, purchased the building, and converted it into a church.

It is a frame building in the Old English-type of architecture and the high tower distinctly identifies it as a church. All the windows were of clear glass and the exterior was painted white. This energetic society organized the church and purchased, rebuilt and dedicated the hall all during the year 1911.

The WPA information indicates that the Chatt Methodist birth, marriage, death, membership lists, minute books, and finance records from 1911-1937 were at the home of pastor at that time. That the Ladies’ Aid Society minutes were at home of Mrs. Arthur Bailey, RR Rockford; the Foreign Mission records at home of Miss Ruth Broerien, RR 1 Rockford; the Young People’s Class records at home of Miss Ruth Oakely RR Rockford; and that the Young Marrieds records were at home of Glendola Myers, RR Willshire. The church has no cemetery of its own.

The Reverend Ray Hershberger was the pastor during the time the WPA Church Records Survey was completed.

I received the following poem about the Chattanooga United Methodist Church a couple years ago from Jerry Duff, a relative of the poem’s author, Ray Duff.  Ray Duff’s father James Madison Duff was one the founders of the church and James Madison Duff was also Jerry’s great grandfather.

A Community Need
By J. Ray Duff

There were many things our community needs

Of that we were aware,

But the most important thing of all,

Was that of our soul’s welfare.

A few of the people of the neighborhood

Felt the need of a church nearby,

And proceeded to remedy the cause

By building their hopes up high.

A hall was finally rented

And a time set, we agreed,

But some folks really doubted

That it really would succeed.

The group met on Sunday Afternoon

And proceeded to elect,

The ones they thought best suited

To fill the jobs correct.

We were not disappointed

For the first response was great,

And when the count was taken

The number was thirty-eight.

They met some disappointments

That come to one and all,

For the man who owned the building

Later refused to rent the hall.

We found a hall in the center of town

Where were held dances and desecration

So they rented that and changed it

Into a Soul-Saving Station.

Well, the interest and numbers gradually grew

And the hall became too small

For the people who were interested

They could hardly accommodate all.

So a new church was suggested

And the idea grew and grew,

Until the present edifice

Finally came into view.

Many of the charter members

Have gone to their reward,

But many attend each service

And serve the risen Lord.

The church had a small beginning

But we’re sure most will confess

That down through many, many years

It has been a great success.

Many souls have found their Savior

And their lives have much been blessed,

Just because a few had visions

Of the needs of all the rest.

May the church just keep on growing

And have visions bright and fair,

Until all our needs are settled

By the God we worship there.

 

Thank you to Jerry Duff for sharing that poem and thank you to the Chattanooga Methodist church for hosting Bible School 2017.

 

 

 

Jun 27

Tombstone Tuesday–Elizabeth Huffman

Elizabeth Huffman, Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2017 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Elizabeth Huffman, located in row 3 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

HUFFMAN
Elizabeth
1859-1951

Elizabeth Huffman and her twin brother Philip were born 24 December 1859 in Mercer County, Ohio, to Ferdinand and Elizabeth (Herzog) Huffman. Some sources show that her mother’s maiden name was Hartzog.

It appears that Elizabeth was not baptized at Zion Chatt and I do not see that her baptism was recorded at St. Paul (Lutheran) Liberty Township either. Her twin brother Philip was confirmed at Zion Chatt on 14 April 1874 but there is no record that Elizabeth was ever confirmed.

Elizabeth was born south of Chatt and their family had a Skeels Cross Roads Post Office address in 1860. She was enumerated in the 1860 census when she was 8 months old. [1] The 1880 census indicates that she was deaf and was not sent to school. [2]

Elizabeth was enumerated as Isabella, age 37, in the 1900 census and she and her twin brother were still living at home with their parents. [3]

Her father Ferdinand died in 1908 and Elizabeth and her widowed mother Elizabeth lived together in 1910. This enumeration indicates that daughter Elizabeth could not read or write. [4]

Elizabeth’s mother died in 1917 near Muncie, Indiana, likely living with her son John and his wife Samantha (Bebout). [5]  

Elizabeth “Lizzie,” 69, single, lived with her brother-in-law Adam Kable, 68, in 1930 in Liberty Township. Adam was the widower of Elizabeth’s sister Catharine (Huffman) Kable, who died in 1913. Elizabeth was enumerated as Adam’s sister, doing housework, and this enumeration indicates that she could read and write. [6]

In 1940, 79 year-old “Lizzie” still resided with her widowed brother-in-law Adam Kable, age 78, in Liberty Township. She was enumerated as a maid. [7]

Elizabeth Huffman never married. She died at Otis Hospital, Celina, on 22 March 1951, where she had been a patient for 2 days. She was 91 years old and according to her death certificate she lived at RR 2, Celina and did housework. Mrs. Dwight Raudabush was the informant for information on her death certificate. Elizabeth’s cause of death was Heat [?], unreadable.  She was buried on the 24th and Charles Dick was in charge of the arrangements. [8]

Obituary:

Miss Elizabeth Huffman
Celina, Mar. 23—Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Dick and Stallter funeral home for Miss Elizabeth Huffman, 91, Celina, who died Thursday in the Otis hospital here. The Rev. Waldo Byers will be in charge of services with burial in the Kessler cemetery near Chattanooga.

A native of Mercer Co. she was born Sept. [sic] 24, 1859, in Liberty Twp. She and her twin brother, Philip, were one of the oldest set of twins in Mercer Co.

Surviving with her brother is a sister, Mrs. Rose Zellinger of Milwaukee, Wis. [9]

Although Rev. Byers was the minister at Zion Chatt, Elizabeth’s death and burial is not mentioned in Zion’s records.

Elizabeth’s tombstone is located next to that of her twin brother Philip and his wife Etta (Leistner).

 

[1] 1860 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, p.358, dwelling 998, family 1003, Fred Hoofman; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 805009, NARA microfilm M653, roll 1009.

[2] 1880 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, Ed 188, p.472D, dwelling 27, family 28, Ferdinand Hoffman; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1048.

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 85, p.9A, dwelling 166, family 171, Ferdinand Hoffman; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 1241304, NARA microfilm T623, roll 1304.

[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 119, p.16B, dwelling 352, family 313, Elizabeth Huffman; Ancestry.com; ED 117, p.16B; FHL microfilm 1375227, NARA microfilm T624, roll 1214.

[5] Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920, Ancestry.com, Elizabeth Huffman, 9 Nov 1917; Indiana WPA.

[6] 1930 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 20, p.6A, dwelling & family 128, Adam Kable; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 2341584, NARA microfilm T626, roll 1850.

[7] 1940 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 54-22, p.2A, line 37, household 30, Adam Koble; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T627, roll 3114.

[8] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953, FamilySearch.org, Elizabeth Huffman, 22 Mar 1951; Ohio DOH, Mercer County; FHL microfilm 2372798.

[9] The Lima News, 23 Mar 1951, p.2, Ancestry.com.

Jun 23

Found Shoes, aka Concealed Shoes

We were in an antique store in Shipshewana, Indiana, a couple weeks ago where we had a nice conversation with the owner. He had a little workshop in the back of the store and he was working on a pair of shoes. He was very knowledgeable about shoes and I mentioned the old boots I have that once belonged to my great-great-grandfather Louis Breuninger.

Louis Breuninger boots

My mom always said that Louis brought these boots with him from Germany in about 1838 when he came to this country. For as old as these boots are they are in near pristine condition. In fact, they look so good that I always joked that they must not have fit him very well and thus he hardly ever wore them. But I doubt people back then had a lot of extra clothing like we do today. Perhaps these were his dress boots and if so he probably took very good care of them. Maybe he even had them resoled a couple times. The soles look like new, too.

Louis Breuninger boots

The shoemaker in the antique store started asking me all sorts of questions about the details of the boots. Were they straight on top? Were they left and right or generic for either foot? Where were the seams? What was the stitching like? Gosh! I never really studied the boots that carefully and could not answer most of his questions.

So I told him that I would just bring in the boots on our next trip to Shipshewana so he could examine them himself. We go up there several times a year and I will have to write about his assessment of the boots at a later date.

But one of the questions he asked me was if they were “found shoes.” I had no idea what he was talking about. He went on to explain about found shoes and I found the whole story very interesting.

He said that years ago, from the 1300s to the early 1900s, people used to put an old shoe in the walls of a house when they built the house. Usually it was the northwest corner, according to him. The old shoe was placed there for good luck, or to keep bad luck away, and mainly to avoid a broken leg. A broken leg would have been disastrous for anyone in the house back then, but particularly for the head of the household. He said people often hid one shoe belonging to each spouse and sometimes a shoe from each of their children.

This was a superstitious custom practiced by several nationalities—Germans, English, French, Americans, and others. Their nationality did not make any difference and he said it was done in the old country as well as in America. The custom was practiced in America into the early 1900s.

He even had at least one found shoe in his store. It originally had a buckle on it and reminded me of a Puritan’s shoe. It was very worn and the heel was worn down on the outside.

I did a Google search about this superstition and read several articles about it. I learned that they are also called “concealed shoes” and they are pretty much as the store owner said.

Shoes were hidden in the building structure, often found in chimneys, under floors, above ceilings, around doors and windows, and in the roof. People believe they were concealed as magical charms to protect the occupants from evil beings such as demons, ghosts, and witches. Others feel the old shoes could have been an offering to a household deity, which would protect the house, or to bring fertility to a female member of the house.

Concealed shoes have been found in country houses, public houses, a Benedictine monastery, and a Baptist church. The earliest ones found were in Winchester Cathedral, behind choir stalls that were installed in 1308. An index created in 2012 contains 1900 discoveries of concealed shoes found in Great Britain, about half belonging to children. [1]

Other thoughts are that shoes seem to have had a special significance because a shoe is the only item of clothing which takes on the shape of the person wearing it. A single worn shoe may have been hidden so that a malevolent spirit could not steal it and take away the protection the shoe gave.

Finding these shoes today can show us what ordinary people were wearing on their feet hundreds of years ago.

I also read that a person from Zweibrücken, Rhine Pfalz, found an old pair of shoes in a house built in 1903. [2] Zweibrücken is not all that far from where some of my ancestors were from.

I would love to hear from anyone who has heard of or who has found concealed shoes in an old house.

And in the future I will report what the shoemaker has to say about great-great-grandfather Breuninger’s old boots.

[1] Concealed Shoes, Wikipedia.

[2] Concealed Shoes, Northampton Museums & Art Gallery, blog posted 19 June 2012.

Jun 20

Tombstone Tuesday–Ferdinand & Elizabeth (Herzog) Huffmann

Ferdinand & Elizabeth (Herzog) Huffmann, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2017 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Ferdinand and Elizabeth (Herzog) Huffmann, located in row 5 of Kessler, aka Liberty Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Hier ruht
Ferdinand Huffmann
Geb. 7 Mar
1830
Gest.
24 Apr
1908

Elizabeth
Ehefrau von
Ferdinand
Huffmann
Geb. 26 Aug
1834
Gest.
9 Nov 1917

HUFFMANN

“Here rests Ferdinand Huffmann, born 7 March 1930, died 24 April 1908. Elizabeth, wife of Ferdinand Huffmann, born 26 August 1834, died 9 November 1917. HUFFMANN

This marble tombstone is weathered and very difficult to read. Any inscription once carved onto the face of the stone is not illegible anymore. The inscriptions for this couple are on either end of the marker, Ferdinand’s inscription on the south face and Elizabeth’s on the north.

Ferdinand Huffmann has his own entry in Zion’s familienbuch and that entry gives quite a bit of information about him and his family. It tells us that Ferdinand was born 7 March 1830 in Fechingen, Rhein-Prussia, the son of Jakob and Margaretha (Schmeer) Huffmann. He was baptized and confirmed in Fechingen and he immigrated to America with his parents in 1849. Ferdinand married Elizabeth Herzog in 1852. Elizabeth was the daughter of Johann and Margaretha Herzog and was born 26 August 1834 in Buschendorf, County Court Herzogenauerach, Unterfranken, Bavaria. This church record also gave the names and birth dates of their first eight children. All of their children were born in Liberty Township, Mercer County.

Ferdinand Huffmann married Elizabeth Herzog on 8 August 1852 in Mercer County, Ohio. The couple was married by Rev. J.D. Gackenheimer, a traveling minister from the Van Wert area. Elizabeth’s name was spelled Hartzog on the probate court record. [1] Ferdinand attended St. Paul Liberty and the couple was married there. Zion Chatt was not formed until 1855 and Rev. Gackenheimer was Zion Chatt’s first minister. St. Paul’s records indicate that Ferdinand was from Mercer County and Elizabeth was from Butler County, Ohio.

The couple lived south of Chatt in 1860 and had a Skeels Cross Roads Post Office address. Their household in 1860: Ferdinand, 30; Elizabeth, 26; George, 7; Margaret, 4; John, 2; Elizabeth, 8 months; and Philip, 8 months. Yes, the couple had a set of twins. [2]

Their household in 1880: Ferdinand, 51; Elizabeth, 45; John, 22; Philip, 19; Elizabeth, 20; Katie, 17; Jacob, 15; Frederick, 13; Rose Ann, 5. Ferdinand farmed and their son Philip worked as a carpenter. This enumeration shows that Philip’s twin sister was deaf and was not sent to school. [3]

By 1900 Ferdinand and Elizabeth had been married 47 years. This enumeration indicates that Ferdinand immigrated in 1849 and that Elizabeth immigrated in 1845. Three of their children still lived at home as well as their granddaughter Nora S. The census indicates that Elizabeth had given birth to three children and that they were still alive. However, we know that she had given birth to at least ten children and one was deceased. Someone in the household probably reported the just the number of children still living in their home at that time. Their household in 1900: Ferdinand, 70; Elizabeth, 67; Philip, 37; Isabella, 37; Rosana, 24; and Nora S, 13, granddaughter. [4] This was the last census Ferdinand was enumerated in.

Ferdinand Huffmann, Kessler Cemetery. (2017 photo by Karen)

According to Zion Chatt’s records Ferdinand Huffmann died of dropsy on 24 April 1908, at the age of 78 years, 1 month, and 17 days.  He was buried on the 27th.  Survivors included his widow, 5 sons, and 4 daughters.

In 1910 widow Elizabeth Huffmann, 76, lived with her unmarried daughter Elisabeth, 52. Daughter Elizabeth could not read or write. In this enumeration the mother Elizabeth indicated that she had given birth to ten children and nine of them were still living. They lived a few houses from her son Philip and his wife Etta. [5]

Elizabeth (Herzog) Huffmann, Kessler Cemetery. (2017 photo by Karen)

According to Zion Chatt’s records Elizabeth Huffmann died of old age on 9 November 1917, at the age of 83 years, 3 months, and 14 days. She was buried on the 11th. This record shows that she was survived by her children and other relatives. Her death is recorded as being in Muncie, Center Township, Delaware County, Indiana. She was likely staying with her son John and his wife Samantha (Bebout), who lived in and are buried in Muncie. [6]   

Ferdinand & Elizabeth (Herzog) Hoffmann had the following children:
George (1853-1937), married Sarah R. Dodge
Margaret (1855-1921), married Jacob Bollenbacher
John (1857/8-1942), married Samantha Bebout
Elizabeth (1859-1951)
Philip (1859-1954), married Etta Leistner
Catharine (1862-1913), married Adam Kable
Jacob (1865/6-1939), married Marie Kessler
Freidrich “Fritz” (1867-1940), married Elizabeth Wilhelmine “Lizzie” Hiller; married Callie Brewster
Heinrich (1872-1873)
Anna Rosina (1875-1960), married George J. Zeilinger

I noticed that there were two Ferdinand Huffmanns around Chatt at that time. They were relatively close in age and each had children born about the same time. The other Ferdinand Huffmann was born in Fechingon in 1847 and was the nephew of today’s subject, the son of his Carolyn Huffmann, who married Jacob Huffmann. Today’s subject and Carolyn were brother and sister. The nephew Ferdinand Huffmann was married to a Barbara, Barbara Schott. The church records made it easy to keep the families straight because they always mentioned the first name of the wife, either Elizabeth or Barbara. Also of note is that this surname was spelled a couple different ways on various family members’ tombstones and in other records and was even changed by some branches of the family over the years–Huffmann, Huffman, Hoffmann, Hoffman.

Also interesting that while researching this family I saw two connections to my family. Ferdinand and Elizabeth’s son John Huffman was married to Samantha Bebout, sister to Mary Loverda Bebout (1859-1937). Mary Loverda Bebout was the second wife of my great-great-grandfather Daniel Brewster. And, Ferdinand and Elizabeth’s son Friedrich/Fritz Huffman’s second marriage was to Lucinda Caroline “Callie” (Brewster) Tester (1874-1907), daughter of the above-mentioned Daniel Brewster and his first wife Sarah Fetters. Fritz and Callie were married by Zion’s Pastor August Affeld in 1898 and it was the second marriage for both. Daniel Brewster would have been a father-in-law and a brother-in-law to two Huffmann siblings.

 

[1] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch.org, Ferdinand Hoffman & Elizabeth Hartzog, 8 Aug 1852; Mercer Marriages, 1838-1852, Vol. ABC, p.394; FHL microfilm 914955.

[2] 1860 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, p.358, dwelling 998, family 1003, Fred Hoofman; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 805009, NARA microfilm M653, roll 1009.

[3] 1880 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, Ed 188, p.472D, dwelling 27, family 28, Ferdinand Hoffman; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1048.

[4] 1900 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 85, p.9A, dwelling 166, family 171, Ferdinand Hoffman; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 1241304, NARA microfilm T623, roll 1304.

[5] 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 119, p.16B, dwelling 352, family 313, Elizabeth Huffman; Ancestry.com; ED 117, p.16B; FHL microfilm 1375227, NARA microfilm T624, roll 1214.

[6] Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920, Ancestry.com, Elizabeth Huffman, 9 Nov 1917; Indiana WPA.