The Chattanooga Mausoleum Association was comprised of persons who established the mausoleum and their successors. Originally H.C. Baker was the president of the association and S.A. Bollenbacher was the secretary. My great-grandfather Jacob Miller was one of the original Mausoleum Association members.
The Chattanooga Mausoleum is located just west of Zion Lutheran Cemetery on Tama Road. Situated on the edge of a field and once considered a modern form of burial, it is the final resting place for nearly 40 former area residents.
Chattanooga Mausoleum. (2000 photo by Karen)
Henry C. & Margaret Baker sold the 100 by 60 foot parcel of land to the Chattanooga Mausoleum Association for $100 on 1 December 1916. The only maintenance stipulation in the deed was that Chattanooga Mausoleum Association and their successors “keep in repair all fence on the line of said above described real estate on the north and west sides so that said fence is satisfactory for use of any farm stock which may be in the adjoining field or fields.” Anton Koch and John H. Kable were witnesses to the deed. [1] The Chattanooga Mausoleum was built by Henry Baker and Samuel and Ed Bollenbacher in about 1915. [2]
Chattanooga Mausoleum Association certificate book with stubs.
The Chattanooga Mausoleum Association sold compartments in the mausoleum and issued Certificates of Ownership as proof of the sale. The printed certificates were attached to a perforated stub and were contained in a book. The association’s secretary issued a certificate when a compartment was sold and the details were recorded on the stub, which remained in the book.
Mausoleum stub No. 1, Anthony Koch, dated 20 November 1916.
There were at least 100 mausoleum certificates in the book, specifically printed for the association with The Chattanooga Mausoleum Association printed on each certificate. Twenty-five certificates were issued for 44 compartments and about 75 certificates of ownership are still in the book. The majority of stubs were dated 20 November 1916. There were two #18 stubs, the second one likely numbered incorrectly. I do not know the cost of a compartment.
Vaults inside Chattanooga Mausoleum. (2013 photo by Karen)
Below are the names with information, as written on 25 of the stubs in the Chattanooga Mausoleum book:
Certificate No. 1
Compartments No. 2
Section:
Issued to: Anthony Koch
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 2
Compartments No. 3
Section:
Issued to: John Koch
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 3
Compartments No. 3
Section:
Issued to: George Koch
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 4
Compartments No. 3 & 4
Section: C & B
Issued to: Henry Baker
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 5
Compartments No. 4
Section: B
Issued to: George Menchofer
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 6
Compartments No. 5 & 6
Section: B East
Issued to: Peter Linn
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 7
Compartments No. 6 & 7
Section: A East
Issued to: John Fahncke
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 8
Compartments No. 7 & 8
Section: C East
Issued to: Geo Huffman
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 9
Compartments No. 9 & 10
Section: C East
Issued to: Michael Brunstetter
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Received Certificate No. 9 12 May 1917 by M Keller
Certificate No. 10
Compartments No. 7
Section: D
Issued to: Dora Spinner
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 11
Compartments No. 5 & 6
Section: D
Issued to: John Spinner
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 12
Compartments No. 7 & 8
Section: A East
Issued to: Henry Fahncke
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Chattanooga Mausoleum Association Certificate of Ownership issued to Jacob Miller, 1916.
Certificate No. 13
Compartments No. 5 & 6
Section: F
Issued to: Jacob Miller
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Jacob Miller (1843-1918), Chattanooga Mausoleum
Certificate No. 14
Compartments No. 5 & 6
Section: G
Issued to: Wm. Kessler
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 15
Compartments No. 7 & 8
Section: G
Issued to: Mrs. Owen Sapp
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 16
Compartments No. 4
Section: G
Issued to: Mrs. J.J. Schmidt, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 17
Compartments No. 7 & 8
Section: B
Issued to: J.H. Laudahn, Celina, O.
Date: 1 Jun 1917
Blank Receipt
Certificate No. 18
Compartments No. 5 & 6
Section: C
Issued to: Godfred Linn, Celina, O.
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Certificate No. 18
Compartments No. 9 & 10
Section: B
Issued to: T.W. Baker
Date: 18 Aug 1917
Certificate No. 19
Compartments No. 7 & 8
Section: F
Issued to: Christena Baumgartner
Date: 22 Feb 1918
Certificate No. 20
Compartments No. 3 & 4
Section: F
Issued to: C.L. Bollenbacher
Date: 3 Feb 1919
Certificate No. 21
Compartments No. 9 & 10
Section: F
Issued to: John H. Kable
Date: 10 Feb 1919
Certificate No. 22
Compartments No. Blank
Section: Blank
Issued to: Blank
Date: Blank
Certificate No. 23
Compartments No. 11
Section: F. West
Issued to: John H. Kable
Date: 7 Dec 1925
Certificate No. Duplicate #4
? ? No 4 ? is lost
Certificate No. 24
Compartments No. 3 & 4
Section: A East
Issued to: Mike Linn, for his parents
Date:
Certificate No. 25
Compartments No. 5
Section: E
Issued to: G.J. Height
Date: 22 Aug 1946
[The receipt was filled out but the certificate was not filled out and is still in the book.]
William Kessler never received his mausoleum certificate. It was tucked in the back of the book and is filled out as follows:
Certificate No. 14
Compartments No. 5 & 6
Section: G West
Date: 20 Nov 1916
Signed by H.C. Baker, President, and S.A. Bollenbacher, Secretary.
The first interment in the Chattanooga Mausoleum appears to have been that of Owen Sapp in 1915. There were several interments soon after: Joseph Schmidt in 1916, John Baumgartner, Carrie Bollenbacher, and Salena Laudahn in 1917, and my great-grandfather Jacob Miller in 1918. Jacob’s wife Christena (Rueck) Miller was laid to rest there in 1945. The last interment was Clarence Linn in 1980. [3]
The Mercer County Cemetery Inscription book lists 41 mausoleum interments. I cross-checked those names on Find A Grave.com and it appears that three bodies have been moved: Vernon R. Bollenbacher (1907-1930), moved beside his parents in North Grove Cemetery, Celina; Philip Linn (1841-1920) and his wife Margaret (Miller) Linn (1847-1924), moved to Swamp College west of Celina. [4] Margaret (Miller) Linn was my great-grandfather Jacob Miller’s sister.
Interior of Chattanooga Mausoleum. (2013 photo by Karen)
There are two additional vault inscriptions that are not listed in Mercer County’s cemetery book: Stella May Height (1890-1960) and George I. Height (1864-1959). George Height’s obituary indicates that he was to be buried in the Chattanooga Cemetery. [5] George and Stella are not buried in Zion’s cemetery but they were probably once interred in the mausoleum and later moved. Find a Grave.com indicates they are buried in Ridge Cemetery, Middle Point, Ohio.
I also compared the mausoleum records with Zion’s records and found three more persons that are supposedly buried in the mausoleum, per the church records: Viola Kable (1910-1921), Walter Kable (1906-1921), and Mary Catherine Carr (1921-1922). I searched for these names on Find A Grave.com but did not find their tombstones listed. However, Mary Catherine Carr’s name is inscribed on her parents’ tombstone at Zion Cemetery. Her parents were J. Homer and Leona Carr.
No members of the Chattanooga Mausoleum Association are alive today. Since there were no funds available to maintain the building the Liberty Township trustees took possession of the Chattanooga Mausoleum in the summer of 2013.
[1] Mercer County Deed Books, Vol. 103: 530, Mercer County Recorder, Celina, Ohio.
[2] Mercer County Chapter OGS, compiler, Mercer County, Ohio, Cemetery Inscriptions, Vol. VI, Blackcreek, Hopewell, and Liberty Townships, (Celina, Ohio : Privately printed, 1990), p.73.
[3] Mercer County Chapter, Mercer County, Ohio, Cemetery Inscriptions, Volume VI, 73.
[4] Find A Grave.com (www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 September 2013).
[5] George Height obituary, The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 27 March 1959, digital image by subscription Ancestry.com, (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 September 2013.), p. 2.
You're welcome, Karen. I'm still working on this also. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful Mercer County…
Very interesting and great picture (I had neersee before) of the church! Thanks for sharing this, Karen.
Ha! I see why you say that. Your original surname was probably something similar to Schmitt.
Thank you for letting me know.
I guess he could have picked a worse name lol, Thanks Karen