Dec 15

Tombstone Tuesday–David & Mary R. (Hiller) Berger

David & Mary R. (Hiller) Berter, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

David & Mary R. (Hiller) Berter, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of David and Mary R. (Hiller) Berger, located in row 8 of Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

BERGER
David
1869-1962
Mary R.
His Wife
1872-1921

Maria Rebecka “Mary” Hiller was born 17 September 1872 in Adams County, Indiana, the daughter of Jacob and Martha (Sundmacher) Hiller. She was baptized by Zion Chatt’s Pastor Schmidt on 27 October 1872 and her sponsors were Johannes Ganter and his wife. She was confirmed at Zion Chatt in 1886.

Mary Hiller married M. David Berger on 6 April 1893. [Berger was sometimes spelled Burger in the church records.] David was born in February 1869, the son of John and Rosa Berger, and was 24 years old when he and Mary wed. David lived in Berne, Indiana, [1] but he was born in Switzerland and immigrated in 1882. [2] Mary’s sister Lizzie and Lizzie’s future husband Fred Huffman were witnesses to their marriage, according to Zion Chatt’s records.

David and Mary lived in Wabash Township, Adams County, Indiana, when they were first married. [3]

By 1900 they resided near Mary’s parents, in Adams County, Indiana, and they had three children: Melia E, 6; Rosa, 4; and Willie Jacob, 3. David worked as a charcoal burner. [4]

By 1910 David, age 41, worked as a farmer. He and his family lived near Winfield and Jane Brewster in Adams County. David and Mary had seven children by 1910 and in their household was Mary, 39; Melia, 16; Rosa, 15; Willie, 13; Alma, 8; Edna, 6; Oma, 3; and Maryann, 11 months. [5]

The family resided on their family in Adams County through 1920 and likely lived there when Mary died in 1921. [2]

Mary died of tuberculosis on 21 March 1921, at the age of 55 years. She was buried on the 24th.

It appears that David, a widower at the age of 70, lived in Lakeville, Indiana, in 1940 and was employed as a house painter. He reported that he had lived in the same house in 1935. [6]

It appears that David never remarried and died in 1962.

David and Mary had the following children. Most were baptized and confirmed at Zion Chatt:
Elisabeth Emilie (1894-1963), married Jesse Bollenbacher
Rosa (1895-1980), married Laban Otto Fogel
Wilhelm Jacob (1897-1985), married Rose Marie
Emma Elma “Alma” (1901-1910)
Edna Maria (1902-1910)
Oma/Omma Viola (1907- )
Marianna Magdalena (1909- )
Anna Louisa (1911- )

 

[1] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 10 Dec 2015), David Berger and Mary Rebecca Hiller, 6 Apr 1893, from Adams County, Indiana, Marriages Vol. 1, p.280.

[2] 1920 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 4, p.7B, dwelling 147, family 157, David Berger; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Dec 2015); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 420.

[3] Elizabeth Emilie Berger baptism record, Zion Lutheran Church, 24 Feb 1894.

[4] 1900 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 4, p., dwelling & family 200, David Berger; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Dec 2015); from FHL microfilm 1240357, from NARA microfilm ,T623 roll 357.

[5] 1910 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 4, p. 2A, house & family 34, David Berger; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Dec 2015); from FHL microfilm 1374351, from NARA microfilm T624, roll 338.

[6] 1940 U.S. Census, Lakeville, St. Joseph, Indiana, ED 71-45, p.6B, visited no. 122, David Berger; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Dec 2015); from NARA microfilm T627, roll 1093.

Dec 11

Sitting on Santa’s Lap–It’s a Family Thing

In our family it sometimes takes a while to warm up to someone, especially if that person is Santa Claus.

This is the time of year when children stand in line to meet Santa, sit on his lap, and tell him what they want for Christmas. We all remember how exciting it was to see Santa and talk to him personally.

Well, maybe not just everyone is so eager to meet him and sit on his lap. Not at first anyway.

Years ago you were lucky to get your picture taken with Santa, but today most children get a Santa photo taken. Some photos with Santa are great, but others, not so much.

The photo below captured my first encounter with Santa Claus, probably taken the Christmas of 1952 in Grandma and Grandpa Miller’s home on Sipe Road.

Karen on Scary Santa's lap. (Santa, aka Uncle Kenny)

Karen on Scary Santa’s lap. (Santa, aka Uncle Kenny)

Fast forward to 2015, at Bronner’s Christmas store in Frankenmuth, Michigan, a couple weeks ago, when the photo below was taken. The little toddler is our darling granddaughter Chloe, now nearly two years old. She is usually quite photogenic, but not that day with Santa.

Chloe with Santa 2015

She looks just about as happy as I was to be sitting on Santa’s lap. At least she hadn’t fallen and hit her head earlier in the day. (Note the band-aid on my forehead.) That fall likely contributed to my unhappiness that day.

It would appear that Santa puts up with a lot. Bronner’s Santa looks a little startled while the 1952 Santa (aka Uncle Kenny) appears to have a frozen face with hypnotic eyes. Those home-made masks from the 50s were a little scary.

Chloe did better with Santa last year because the photographer quickly snapped a photo before she had a melt down, although she looked like she was ready to bolt any second.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, the photo of me with Santa is the only Santa photo I have. There are no photos of a happy Karen with Santa. But, since parents take a lot more photos these days, I am sure Chloe will eventually have a more pleasant photo taken with Santa. Maybe even next year.

I believe that eventually almost every child comes to like Santa and looks forward to his arrival at Christmas time. But until that time comes photos with Santa can be less than memorable.

Like grandmother, like granddaughter, the similarities of sitting on Santa’s lap appear to a family thing.

 

Dec 08

Tombstone Tuesday–Elizabeth Wilhelmine (Hiller) Huffman

Elizabeth Wilhelmina (Hiller) Huffman, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2015 photo by Karen)

Elizabeth Wilhelmina (Hiller) Huffman, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2015 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Elizabeth Wilhelmine (Hiller) Huffman, located in row 8 of Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Elizabeth
Wilhelmine
Wife of
Frederick
Huffman
Died
Oct. 9, 1895
Aged
20y. & 18d.

Elizabeth Wilhelmina Hiller was born 21 September 1875 in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana, to Jacob and Martha (Sundmacher) Hiller. The Hillers attended church at Zion Lutheran Chatt and she was baptized 30 September 1875, with Michael Kuehm and his wife Elizabeth as her sponsors. Elizabeth was confirmed at Zion on Palm Sunday, 30 March 1890. She sometimes went by the name of Lizzie.

Elizabeth was enumerated in only one census, the 1880 census, where she was enumerated as Lizzie, age 4, living with her parents and five siblings, George, 11; John 9; Henry, 8; Mary 7; and Edward, 1. [1]

Elizabeth Hiller married Frederick Huffman on 2 November 1893 at the home of her parents, married by Zion’s Rev. J.F.C. Soller. Frederick, who sometimes went by the name of Fritz, was the son of Ferdinand and Elizabeth (Herzog) Huffman. [2] This surname is spelled Hoffman or Hoffmann in some records.

Frederick Huffman was born 1 July 1867 in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. Both of his parents were born in Germany. The Huffman’s attended Zion Chatt from the church’s beginning.

Elizabeth Wilhelmina (Hiller) Huffman, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2015 photo by Karen)

Elizabeth Wilhelmina (Hiller) Huffman, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2015 photo by Karen)

Elizabeth (Hiller) Huffman died 9 October 1895, at the age of 20 years and 18 days. The church records do not give the cause of her death but they indicate that Samuel Hunzicker was in charge of her funeral service on the 11th. Hunzicker may have been a substitute pastor. Elizabeth died about a month after her younger brother Jacob Edward Hiller and she is buried between him and another brother, Heinrich G. Hiller.

Edward, Elizabeth, Heinrich Hiller, siblings, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2015 photo by Karen)

Jacob Edward, Elizabeth, & Heinrich Hiller, siblings, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2015 photo by Karen)

It appears that Frederick and Elizabeth did not have any children.

During the research of this family I found a connection to my Brewsters. Elizabeth’s widowed husband Frederick Huffman married Callie (Brewster) Tester on 6 January 1898. Their marriage was record at Zion Chatt and indicates that Frederick was from Mercer County and Callie was from Adams County, Indiana. Lucinda Caroline “Callie” Brewster was the daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Fetters) Brewster and was born 17 July 1874. She married William A. Tester on 13 April 1891 [3], but I do not know how that marriage ended. Daniel Brewster is my great-great-grandfather. Callie died 10 June 1907.

Frederick Huffman died 16 February 1940 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is buried in Greenlawn Memorial Park there. [4]

 

[1] 1880 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 133, p.50B, dwelling & family 51, Jacob Hiller; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Oct 2015); from NARA microfilm T9, roll 263.

[2] Records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Ohio, and “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 27 Oct 2015), Fred Hoffman and Lizzie Hiller, 2 Nov 1893; from Adams, Indiana, Marriages, Vol. 1, p.298; from FHL microfilm 2321357.

[3] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 4 Dec 2015), William A. Tester and Lucinda Caroline Brewster, 14 Apr 1891; from Adams Indiana Marriages, Vol. F, p.294, from FHL microfilm 002321471.

[4] Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 4 Dec 2015); Frederick G. Hoffman memorial #99040333.

Dec 04

Dr. B.F. Edgington, Physician in Chattanooga, Ohio

Ok. I admit it. I am still haunted by the mystery surrounding Carrie (Edgington) Eichhorn Friedell and her mother Eliza (Bobo) Edgington.

Regular readers will recall those names and that I devoted four blog posts last summer to these two women who are buried in Zion Chatt’s cemetery. [See Zion Chatt’s Mid-Summer Mystery, Parts 1-4, beginning 28 August 2015.] In those four posts I told about my research to determine the two women’s connection to Zion Chatt. I learned a lot about Carrie but in the end I simply learned that she was buried beside her mother Eliza (Bobo) Edgington.

Questions still remain. How did her mother come to be buried in Chatt? By all accounts the family had always lived in the Huntington County, Indiana, area. Yet Carrie, who died in 1965, is buried beside her mother Eliza, who died about 1878. Who knew to inter Carrie in the Chattanooga cemetery 85 years later, next to a broken stone that is no longer legible?

Carrie & Eliza (2015 photo by Karen)

Carrie & Eliza’s tombstones, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio.  (2015 photo by Karen)

I just can’t get this family off my mind. As I lay in bed at night, trying to get to sleep, or trying to get back to sleep at 3:30 a.m., I try to think of new places to look and new research strategies that might help me find more information about them and to eventually learn how Eliza and her daughter Carrie ended up in Chattanooga, Ohio.

I am addicted to this mystery and I don’t give up easily.

Eliza’s husband Benjamin Franklin Edgington was a physician and last summer I came up with the theory that the family may have lived in Chatt at one time or another, that Eliza died in Chatt during that time, and that she was buried in our cemetery. But I had no proof of that and local records from that time are sketchy.

The other night I could not sleep and once again I started thinking about the Edgington/Friedell mystery. At about 3:00 a.m. I decided that I should research in another direction and see what I could find out about the life of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edgington, Eliza’s husband and Carrie’s father. Perhaps there was an obituary written for him or his second wife.

According to Find a Grave.com Dr. Edgington died on 13 September 1930 [1] and his second wife Malinda died 20 May 1937. [2] Newspapers.com has some images of Indiana newspapers and I hoped that there might be some mention of Dr. Edgington in the news.

I am very very happy to report that this idea paid off. I solved part of the mystery and I did the Happy Dance! I now know how Eliza (Bobo) Edgington came to be buried in Zion Chatt’s cemetery.

During my search for information about Dr. Edgington I found a lengthy article about him in a 1929 edition of The Huntington Herald. The article was an interview of Dr. Edgington, written when he was 79 years old and still practicing medicine. He passed away about a year and a half after the article was published.

I was delighted to learn about Dr. Edgington and at the same time read a little about Chatt. You never know where you will find information about a place. You might think you need to search close to home but information sometimes pops up in places farther away.

The Huntington Herald, 6 April 1929, p.1.

The Huntington Herald, 6 April 1929, p.1.

Below are highlights from the interview with Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edgington.

Dr. Edgington Tells of Trials and Tribulations of Old Time Physicians
 “…[Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edgington] was born in Adams County, Ohio, and came with his parents to Delaware County, Indiana, when he was eighteen months old and grew up on a farm a few miles from Muncie. After reaching adult years he was taken down with typhoid fever…During this long convalescent period he loafed around the office of Drs. Manzer and McIlwain, in the town of Eaton…Those doctors prevailed on me to read medicine with them…After giving it some thought, I decided to do so and stayed with them two years, after which I attended lectures. But that’s how I came to be a doctor…

Slim Picking At Geneva
The first place at which I hung out my shingle was at Geneva, over here in Adams County. I rather think that was in 1876, and the summer following my location there it rained incessantly for two months until the head waters of the Wabash and overflowing Limberlost marshes just ruined about all the crops and brought hard times to Geneva and the surrounding country. I had practice enough but couldn’t collect a penny from anybody. I never saw a time like it here in Indiana…

Well, I needed money so badly that I decided to leave there and go where people would pay promptly, so I jumped on my horse and rode over into Ohio to do a little prospecting for a location. I stopped in a village called Chattanooga, tied my horse and left my pill-pokes (saddlebags) on the horse while I would look around. I hadn’t a red cent in my pocket. I was simply destitute of funds. I was a total stranger to everybody, but people could look at the pill-pokes on the saddle and guess that I was a doctor. I found there was a resident doctor in the place but he imbibed liquor so freely that people told me they were afraid to take his medicine for fear he was drunk and might not know what he was doing.

A fortunate circumstance just then came to me. A man hunted me up and showed deep concern when he said he saw my pill-pokes on the horse and wondered if he could get me to call and prescribe for a man who had taken down with a high fever. I responded promptly and found the patient had malarial fever. I likewise learned that he was the leading merchant of the town and a man with strong influence. I put up at the hotel and remained to see what might happen. The fact that I was treating the merchant spread all over the neighborhood and I was soon as busy as I could be. When the merchant recovered he gave me a fine send-off to all who came to his store. I was soon on my feet in money matters and the result was I remained at Chattanooga several years…

Dr. Edgington was twice married, first to Eliza Bobo, of Blackford County, in 1872. To this marriage two children were born, Nettie, now of Montana, and Carrie Wren Friedell, who resides in Warren…the first Mrs. Edgington died at Chattanooga where the family was living at the time of her fatal illness. On February 13, 1879, occurred Dr. Edgington’s second marriage…Miss Malinda Blake of Blackford County, to whom three children were born, namely, Charles Wilson Edgington, of Montpelier, Ind.; Susie, wife of Victor Greene, of Toronto, Canada, and Gertrude, wife of Harvey Howard, of Hodgeville, Canada…” [3]

Unfortunately Dr. Edgington did not give the precise year they lived in Chatt or when his wife died, but it appears he was in Chatt about 1876-78. Perhaps they attended Zion Chatt, although the church records do not indicate that.

I found it interesting that Chattanooga provided more paying patients than Geneva. Also of interest is the mention of the hotel. It sounds like Chatt was quite a thriving community at that time. I wonder who Chatt’s merchant was at that time?

The article also gives additional information about Dr. Edgington’s daughter Carrie Wren (Edgington) Eichhorn Friedell:

“…[Mrs. Friedell] is a teacher and writes poetry for publication. Mrs. Friedell wrote a poetical tribute to [Admiral Byrd’s dog] Chinook, mailed a copy to Byrd and in the course of time received a fine letter of appreciation…[and] a fine picture of Chinook…” [3]

Carrie’s struggle for an education apparently paid off and she eventually became a teacher and writer. You may recall that her first husband divorced her because she went back to school to get her high school degree.

I am so happy to add more pieces to the Edgington/Friedell puzzle. Bit by bit the story is coming together. At some point I will probably make a trip to the Huntington area and see what I can uncover there. For now I am content to learn what I can from here at home.

You gotta love these on-line newspapers.

 

[1] Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 1 Dec 2015), B. Franklin Edgington, memorial #72918097. Dr. Edgington and his second wife Malinda are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Warren, Huntington County, Indiana.

[2] Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 1 Dec 2015), Malinda J. Edgington, memorial #72918075.

[3] The Huntington Herald, Huntington, Indiana, 6 April 1929, p.1 & 7; digital image by subscription, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Dec 2015).

Dec 01

Tombstone Tuesday–Heinrich C. Hiller

Heinrich C. Hiller, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Heinrich C. Hiller, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Heinrich Conrad Hiller, located in row 8 of Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. Rows are numbered starting at the east side of the cemetery. The marker, which has fallen off its base, is inscribed:

Heinrich C.
Sohn von
J. und M.
Hiller
Gest. Den 21,
Apr. 1905
Alter
33J, 7M, 7T
HILLER

Translation: Heinrich C., son of J. and M. Hiller, died 21 April 1905, age 33 years, 7 months, and 7 days.

Heinrich “Henry” Conrad Hiller was born 14 September 1871 in Adams County, Indiana, the son of Jacob and Martha (Sundmacher) Hiller. The Hillers lived in Jefferson Township, Adams County, close to Chatt, where they attended Zion Lutheran Church.

Heinrich C. Hiller, Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Heinrich C. Hiller, Kessler Cemetery. (2015 photo by Karen)

The vital details of Henry’s life were recorded in Zion Chatt’s records. Henry was baptized 29 October 1871 with Conrad Heffner serving as his sponsor. Henry was confirmed at Zion Chatt on 17 May 1885.

Henry Hiller was enumerated in only two censuses, the 1880 and the 1900.

In 1880 Henry, age 8, was living with his parents and five siblings on the family’s Jefferson Township farm. In that enumeration Henry was shown as “maimed, crippled, or bedridden,” and had not attended school within the past year. [1]

In 1900 Henry, age 28, was still living with his parents and two of his siblings. There was no occupation given for him but he could read, write, and speak English. [2]

Henry died of consumption on 21 April 1905, at the age of 33 years, 7 months, and 7 days. He was buried on the 25th and is buried near his parents and some of his siblings.

 

[1] 1880 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 133, p.50B, dwelling & family 51, Jacob Hiller; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Oct 2015); from NARA microfilm T9, roll 263.

[2] 1900 U.S. Census, Jefferson, Adams, Indiana, ED 4, p.11B, dwelling & family 202, Jacob Hiller; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Oct 2015); from FHL microfilm 1240357, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 357.