Liberty (aka Kessler) Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio
The church records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Ohio, indicate that Philip Stump is buried in Kessler, aka Liberty Cemetery, but no tombstone exists for him at this time. Perhaps there is a marker in the cemetery that is not readable. Perhaps he never had a tombstone.
But since I have been focusing my Tombstone Tuesdays on the Hiller family that once lived in the area I want to finish with this family and provide the additional information I have about them from Zion Chatt’s records.
According to Zion Chatt’s records Philip Stump [sometimes spelled Stumpf in the church records] was born 24 May 1829 in Rittershausen, Dominion of Grafkastell, Districts Unterfranken and Aschaffenburg, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, where he was also baptized.
Philip was the son of Erasmus and Maria “Mary” Margaretha (Müller) Stump. His mother Mary was born in 1800 in Rittershausen, the daughter of Conrad and Dorothy Müller.
Erasmus Stump and Mary Müller married in about 1828 and had three children–Phillip, Catherine, and Gertrude. Erasmus died in 1838 and later that year Philip’s mother Mary (Müller) married John Hiller, the son of Johann and Margaretha Hiller. John Hiller was born in Bavaria in 1805.
In 1839 John and Mary Hiller, along with Mary’s three children from her marriage to Erasmus Stump, immigrated to America. [1]
John and Mary Hiller and the three Stump children lived in Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio, for eight years. Philip Stump was confirmed there during that time. Also during their time in Butler County two sons were born to John and Mary (Müller) Hiller, half-brothers to Philip: Jacob Hiller (1842-1926) and George Hiller (1846-1932).
Philip’s sister Gertrude Stump died in 1846, likely just before the family moved north to the Chatt area in about 1847. The Hillers moved to Adams County, Indiana, and resided a few miles from Chattanooga, where they attended Zion Lutheran Church.
In 1850 the Hillers lived in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana. In the household: John Hiller, 48, a weaver; Margaret, 45; Jacob, 8; and George, 4. I do not know where Philip and his sister Catherine were residing in 1850.
According to Zion’s records Philip Stump married Barbara (Geisler) Adams in 1859, but Mercer County, Ohio, probate records indicate that they actually married 12 December 1858. Barbara’s name is shown as Adam in the church records and as Adams on their marriage record. Interestingly, they were married by Rev. J.D. Gackenheimer, Zion’s first minister, a traveling minister who served several churches in the Mercer and Van Wert area. [2]
Barbara Geisler was the daughter of Michael and Usele Geisler and was born 4 October 1835 in the District Oberfranken, in the Kingdom of Bavaria. She immigrated with her parents in 1849. Barbara married Heinrich Adams on 4 February 1858 in Van Wert County [3] and Heinrich died in 1859, according to Zion’s records.
Barbara and Heinrich had a daughter Margaretha, born 29 December 1858 in Mercer County.
In 1860 Philip and Barbara Stump lived in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana: Philip, 30, Barbara, 25, Margaret, 1. This census indicates that Philip and Barbara were both born in Bavaria and Margaret was born in Indiana. Philip was a farmer. [4] They moved to Mercer County sometime after 1860, where some of their children were born.
Philip and Barbara (Geisler) Stump had the following children:
Carolina (1861-1861)
Catharina (1862-1865)
Cora (c1868-1919)
Charles (1869-1940), married Mary Estella “Stella” Woodward
Philip and Barbara (Geisler) regularly took communion at Zion Chatt from 1861-1866. Then they are absent from the communion records until 1899, when Philip again took communion. Zion Chatt’s records also mention that Philip Stump left Zion’s parish and joined the United Parish, but no date was given.
Philip’s wife Barbara (Geisler) likely died between 1869 and August 1870. Perhaps she died during or soon after the birth of their son Charles.
Philip Stump married Maria Eugenia “Mary Jane” (Adams) on 7 August 1870 in Mercer County, Ohio. [5]
According to Zion’s records Mary Jane Adams was born in Fairfield County, Ohio.
In 1870 Philip and his family lived next door to Philip’s mother, Mary Hiller, who was a widow by that time. Philip’s step-father John Hiller had died 10 March 1869 and Philip’s mother Mary was living near New Corydon, Indiana, with Philip’s half-brother Jacob Hiller and his wife Martha (Sundmacher).
Enumerated in the Stump household in 1870: Philip, 39, Bavaria; Margaret, 22, Pennsylvania; Margaret, 11, Ohio; Cora, 3, Ohio; Charles, 2, Indiana. Margaret, age 22, is likely Philip’s second wife Mary Jane with the wrong name. This census was enumerated 1 September 1870 so Philip and Mary Jane would have been married. [6]
In 1880 the Philip Stump family lived in Center Township, Mercer County, Ohio, where Philip farmed. In the household were Philip, his wife Mary J, and their six children. in the 1880 household: Philip, 51, Mary J, 33, Charles, 13, Julia, 9, Rose, 7, Frank, 5, Minnie, 3, Cora, 14. This enumeration indicates that Philip was born in Württemberg, that Mary J. was born in Ohio, that Charles, Julia, and Rose, were born in Indiana, and that Frank, Minnie, and Cora were born in Ohio. [7]
The Philip Stump household in 1900: Philip, head, 71, born May 1829 in Germany; Mary Jane, wife 51, born March 1849 in Pennsylvania; Frank, son, 25, born April 1875 in Ohio. This record indicates that Philip and Mary Jane had been married 38 years. [8]
Philip and Mary Jane (Adams) Stump had the following children:
Julia (1871-1894)
Martha Rosa (1873-1912), married Jacob D. Booher
Frank (1875-1959), married Cora Duer
Minnie F. (1877-1939), married Frank R. Fetters
According to Find A Grave.com, Mary Jane (Adams) Stump died 17 December 1903 in Adams County. She is supposedly also buried in Kessler Cemetery, but does not have a marker. [9]
After Mary’s death it appears that Philip Stump, age 83, born in Germany, was a resident [“inmate”] at the Adams County Infirmary in 1910. [10]
According to Zion Chatt’s records, Philip Stump died of old age on 17 March 1917, but according to his death record he died 19 March 1917. [11] The church record indicates he was of 87 years, 10 months, and 17 days old and that he was buried in Kessler Cemetery on the 21st.
Philip’s step-father John Hiller died 10 March 1869 and his mother Mary (Müller) Hiller died 24 September 1878. Both are buried side by side in Kessler Cemetery, with separate tombstones. Philip may also be buried nearby.
[1] “United States Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874,” database with images, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org : accessed 28 Feb 2016), Johann Hiller, 1839; from FHL microfilm 418239, from NARA Immigration microfilm M334.
[2] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2016, Philip Stump and Barbara Adams, 12 Dec 1858; from Mercer Marriages, Vol. D, p. 318; from FHL microfilm 914955.
[3] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2016, Henry Adams and Barbary Geisler, 4 Feb 1858; from Van Wert Marriages, Vol. 2, p. 115; from FHL microfilm 1015859.
[4] 1860 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, p.231, dwelling 1625, family 1604, Philip Stump; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2016); from FHL microfilm 803242, from NARA microfilm M653, roll 242.
[5] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2016), Philip Stump and Mary Adams, 7 Aug 1870; citing Mercer Marriages, Vol.3, p.256; from FHL microfilm 914956.
[6] 1870 U.S. Census, Jefferson Adams, Indiana, p.39B, dwelling 67, family 67, Philip Stump; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Feb 2016); from FHL microfilm 545795, from NARA microfilm M593, roll 296.
[7] 1880 U.S. Census, Center, Mercer, Ohio, ED 181, p.353B, dwelling 17, family 17, Philip Stump; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2016); from FHL microfilm 1255048, from NARA microfilm T9, roll 1048.
[8] 1900 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 4, p.10B, dwelling 185, family 185, Philipi Stump; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2016); from FHL microfilm 1240357, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 357.
[9] Mary J. (Adams) Stump, Find A Grave.com (www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 Mar 2016), Memorial #25825506, added 7 Apr 2008.
[10] 1910 U.S. Census, Washington, Adams, Indiana, ED 15, p. 6A, line 10; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2016); from FHL microfilm 1374351, from NARA microfilm T624.
[11] Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920, database on-line, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2016); from Book H-24, p. 97, Indiana WPA.
