Mar 20

1910 Decennial Appraisement of Blackcreek Township

Last week I posted images of pages from the 1910 Quadrennial Assessor’s Report of Blackcreek Township. The booklet belonged to my great-grandfather Jacob Miller who owned an 80 acre farm in Blackcreek Township.

During that time period Ohio was in the process of changing its tax laws, switching from a decennial appraisement of real property (every ten years) to a quadrennial appraisement (every four years). A general appraisement was made in 1910 and another appraisement was to be made in 1914. [1]

Decennial Appraisement 1910 Black Creek Township

1910 Decennial Appraisement. Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

Several years ago, while researching at the Mercer County Courthouse, I photographed some images from a much larger hard cover book, “Decennial Appraisement, 1910, Black Creek Township.” This book contains plat maps drawn of each of the township’s 36 sections. It includes the exact same information as the 1910 Quadrennial Assessor’s Report as well as some additional information about the assessment. [2]

Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

Additional information about the Jacob Miller farm, as recorded in the 1910 Decennial Appraisement:

• He had 63 plowable acres, 7 acres of meadow and pasture land, 10 acres uncultivated & woodland.
• His land was valued at $63 per acre, making a total value of $5040, excluding buildings.
• $88 was deducted for the value of roads
• The Miller home was valued at $800, the barns $500, and other buildings $100, for a total value for lands and buildings of $6352.
• The County Board of Equalization added $50 on land, $0 on buildings, for a total value of $6402, as equalized by the County Board.
• The State Board of Equalization added $1600.50, making a total value of $8002, as equalized by the State Board.

Below are four images from the 1910 Decennial Appraisement of Blackcreek Township, sections 29-32, north of Chatt on either side of Route 49. Sections 30 and 31 border Indiana and are west of State Route 49. Sections 31 and 32 border Liberty Township and are on the north edge of Chatt. Sections 29 and 32 are on the east side of State Route 49.

Section 29 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 29 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 30 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 30 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 31 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 31 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 32 Blackcreek Twp 1910

Section 32 Blackcreek Twp 1910

I plan to post all of the section maps on a static page on this website soon.

 

[1] “Taxation Work and Experience in Ohio,” The Ohio Journal of Commerce, Volume 2, No. 10, 3 September 1910, p.148; Google Books.com (https://books.google.com : accessed 19 March 2015).

[2] Additional columns in the Decennial Appraisement book include: PO address; description of property [legal]; no. of acres classified [broken down as arable and plow land, meadow & pasture land, uncultivated & wood land]; value per acre excluding buildings; deduct value of roads; value of all buildings [broken down as houses, barns, other building]; amount added or deducted by County Board of Equalization on lands; amount added or deducted by County Board of Equalization on buildings; total value as equalized by County Board; amount added or deducted by State Board of Equalization; total value as equalized by State board.

Mar 17

Tombstone Tuesday–Anna Maria (Heffner) Schumm

Anna M. Schumm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

Anna M. Schumm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Anna Maria (Heffner) Schumm, located in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Anna M. Heffner
Wife of
Wm. Schumm
1855-1931

Anna Maria Heffner was born 7 December 1855 in Mercer County, Ohio, the daughter of George and Sophia (Martin) Heffner. She was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Chattanooga but the date of her baptism was not recorded. Her baptismal sponsors were John Becher and Anna Maria Becher.

Anna Maria Heffner grew up on the Heffner farm near Chatt and was confirmed at Zion Chatt on Palm Sunday, 21 March 1868, by Rev. George Heintz.

Anna Maria married William Schumm on 12 February 1874 at Zion Chatt. William was the son of Johann Friedrich and Magdalena (Meyer) Schumm, from Van Wert County. After their marriage William and Anna Maria resided in Blackcreek Township for a year or two and  their first child Amelia was born there late in 1874. Amelia was baptized at Zion Chatt early in 1875. They probably moved to Van Wert County, near Schumm, shortly afterward because the rest of their children were baptized at Zion Schumm.

Anna and William were parents of the following children:
Amelia “Emilie” Marie (1874-1952), married Samuel William August Koch
John Henry “Hugo” (1876-1955), married Amalia Maria Schumm
Georg Frederick “Otto” (1876-?), married Alma B. Hoppe
Alexander “Rudolph” (1879-1913), married Bertha A. Liebmann
“Theodore” Henry Martin (1881-1944), married Doretta May Altheon
“Conrad” Adam (1883-1955), married Eva Meyers
“Bertha” Ottilie (1886-1947), married Henry W. Garrison
“Paul” Edwin (1888-1970), married Lydia Barbara Schumm
“Oscar” Albert (1890-1984), married Hilda Marie Schumm
Juliana “Julia” Gertrude (1895-1966), married Fred John Buechner

Note that Hugo and Otto were twins.

In 1880 the William Schumm family lived in Willshire Township, where William worked as a “house carpenter.” They lived a couple houses from my great-great-grandfather Louis Breuninger. [1]

Anna Maria’s husband William died 28 December 1906. She never remarried and raised their youngest children by herself.

In 1910, four years after William’s death, Anna Maria remained on the family farm with their three youngest children, Paul, Oscar, and Julia. [2]

In 1920 widow Anna Maria was living with son Paul, his wife Lydia, and their two children, Mildred and Delores. They lived one house away from my great-grandfather John Scaer and his family, who lived on Willshire Eastern Road. [3]

In 1930 Anna Maria was living with her son Oscar, his wife Hilda, and their children, Hildred, Harold, and Roman. Anna Maria was 74 years old then. [4]

Anna Maria died a year later, on 16 March 1931, in Harrison Township, Van Wert County, at the age of 75 years, 3 months and 9 days. She had fractured her femur in February and died from complications of the fracture. She was buried on the 18th. [5]

Her husband William is also buried in Zion Schumm’s cemetery and has a separate marker in row 8.

 

[1] 1880 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 154, p.456C, family 246, Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 14 March 2015); from FHL film 1255074, from NARA microfilm T9, roll 1074.

[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED114, p. 1B, dwelling 15, family 15, Mary Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 14 March 2015); from FHL microfilm 1375251, from NARA microfilm T624, roll 1238.

[3] 1920 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 146, p.4B, dwelling 81, family 82, Paul E. Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 14 March 2015); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1446.

[4] 1930 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED24, p.2B, dwelling 42, family 43, Oscar Schumm; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com, (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 14 March 2015); from FHL microfilm 2341624, from NARA microfilm T6256, roll 1890.

[5] “Ohio, Deaths, 19089-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org : accessed 14 March 2015), Maria W Schumm, 16 March 1931; citing Harrison, Van Wert, Ohio; from FHL microfilm 1992426.

 

 

 

Mar 13

1910 Quadrennial Assessor’s Report of Blackcreek Township

I get pretty excited when I run across old documents and papers. This past week I acquired a little booklet that is 105 years old and that certainly fits the bill!

My mom recently came across some old papers my dad had saved. This little 8 page booklet, “Quadrennial Assessor’s Report of Blackcreek Twp. Mercer County, Ohio, 1910,” once belonged to my dad’s grandfather, Jacob Miller, who owned 80 acres in Blackcreek Township. The booklet was printed by Bote Print, Celina, Ohio.

Quadrennial Assessor's Report of Blackcreek Twp., Mercer County, Ohio, 1910.

Quadrennial Assessor’s Report of Blackcreek Twp., Mercer County, Ohio, 1910.

In 1910 J.L. Morrow, was the auditor and D.T. Ruffner, was the assessor. The Board of Equalization consisted of Fred Heiby, L.N. Kiser, Frank Dillhoff, L.L. Marsh, surveyor, and J.L. Morrow, clerk of the board. Today the Equalization Board “helps ensure uniformity and fairness in property taxation through its oversight of the appraisal work of local county auditors.” [1] It likely served the same purpose 100 years ago.

This was a quadrennial report—made every four years. Today reappraisals are conducted every six years and values are updated the third year following each sexennial reappraisal. [1] In 1910, taxes on this appraisement were not be collected before December 1911.

There are no towns in Blackcreek Township but Chatt is immediately to the southwest. Blackcreek Township is bordered by Van Wert County on the north, Indiana on the west, Liberty Township on the south, and Dublin Township on the east.

Approximately 350 different names are written in the quadrennial booklet. They are not listed in alphabetical order but instead are listed in order by section number. You can get idea of who lived near each other if you know how the sections are numbered. Section no. 1 is in the northeast corner of the township. Section numbering goes west for 6 sections, then down one row and back east, then down one row and back west. Back and forth. Six sections across and six sections down. The last section, no.36, is in the southeast corner. A section contains 640 acres.

You can see how the sections are numbered by looking at the map below. The section number is written in the center of each section.

Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

The Charles [Charlie] and Labadie Reservations are listed at the end of the booklet, after Section 36, but they were in the northeast section of the township, in Sections 1 and 2.

The columns in the booklet:

  1. In whose name assessed
  2. Range
  3. Town
  4. Section
  5. No. of acres
  6. Total value of lands excluding buildings
  7. Deduct value of roads and ditches
  8. Total value of lands and buildings

My great-grandfather Jacob Miller is on page 6. He owned 80 acres of land in Section 30. His land value was $5040, $88 deducted for roads and ditches, and $6352 total value of lands and buildings.

Below are scans of the book’s pages.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.1.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.1.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.2.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.2.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.3.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.3.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.4.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.4.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.5.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.5.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.6.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.6.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.7.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.7.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor's Report, p.8.

1910 Blackcreek Quadrennial Assessor’s Report, p.8.

This document can be helpful to locate individuals who owned land and most likely lived on that land in Blackcreek Township in 1910.

It is a  very nice little booklet and I am so glad the Millers saved nearly everything.

 

[1] Ohio Department of Taxation, Real Property Tax, http://www.tax.ohio.gov/real_property.aspx : assessed 11 March 2015.

Mar 10

Tombstone Tuesday–Maria Friedricke Roehm

Maria Friedricke Roehm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

Maria Friedricke Roehm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Maria Friedricke Roehm, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Hier Ruhet Maria F. [?]
Tochter von G.A. und G. Roehm
Gest. 19 Aug. 1901
Alter 2 [?] Y, 5 M, 28 D

Maria Friedricke Roehm was born 21 February 1899 in Van Wert County, the daughter of George A. and Gertrude (Heffner) Roehm. She was baptized 12 March 1899 at Zion Lutheran Schumm, with Amalie Schumm and Mrs. Marie Schumm as sponsors, according to church records.

Sponsor Marie (Heffner) Schumm was Maria Friedricke Roehm’s aunt, the sister of her mother Gerturde. Marie and William Schumm also attended church at Zion Schumm.

Maria Roehm’s birth was also recorded in the probate records of Van Wert County and her probate birth record agrees with the church record. [1]

According to Zion Schumm’s records Maria died 19 August 1901 of inflammation of the brain, at the age of 2 years, 5 months, and 28 days. She was buried on the 21st.

Maria Friedricke Roehm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

Maria Friedricke Roehm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

According to her Van Wert County probate death record Maria died of “spinal bifida.” Her death is recorded on the line after her sister Eleanore’s death record.

Of course two of the records would have to disagree with each other. According to her Van Wert County death record Maria died 8 August 1901, at the age of 2 years. [2] As I mentioned last week, I believe all four of the Roehm deaths were reported and recorded at the same time at Van Wert probate, sometime after 4 January 1902. Either they were reported or recorded inaccurately, maybe both. I believe she died 19 August, as the church record and tombstone indicate.

This tombstone is weathered, broken, and cracked, making it very difficult to read. It is the same shape and type tombstone as her father’s and her sister Eleanore’s. Maria’s inscription appears to follow the same format as her sister’s.

 

[1] “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” index and images, FamilySearch (http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 23 February 2015), Marie F. Roehm, 21 February 1899; citing Van Wert County, Ohio Births, Vol. 3, p.462; from FHL microfilm 1015857.

[2] “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” index and images, FamilySearch (http: familysearch.org : accessed 23 February 2015), Marie Roehm, 8 August 1901; citing Van Wert County, Ohio, Deaths, Vo. 2: 185, from FHL microfilm 1015858.

Mar 06

Mrs. Fisher’s First Grade, Willshire, 1958-59

Just a week ago I was hoping to find an old school photo. And today, here it is–the other Willshire first grade class photo.

I was looking for the classroom photo of Mrs. Fisher’s first grade, 1958-59, to see what the other half of our class looked like all those years ago.

Even after 57 years I still recognize all the faces. We really haven’t changed all that much.

Mrs. Mildred Fisher's first grade class, 1958-59, Willshire Public School.

Mrs. Mildred Fisher’s first grade class, 1958-59, Willshire Public School

A big thank you to a former classmate who kindly shared this photo with me.

We had two first grade classes that year and I was in Mrs. Clouse’s class. Both classes had these classroom photos taken but I don’t know if I ever saw this one of Mrs. Fisher’s class. We were joined as one class in the second grade and we had another classroom photo taken that year. I posted the other two photos in last week’s post.

Reading front to back, starting with row closest to the camera:
Row 1: Kenny Carmean, Debbie Carr, Sherry Hey, Terry Harmon
Row 2: Nelda Leistner, Sue Wolfe, Charles Putman, Brent Whitacre, Carla Hoblet
Row 3: Lynn Lough, Carol Andrews, Jim Stuckey, Helen Boring, Paula Clouse
Row 4: Joyce Roehm, Bill Bates, Linda Duff, Gary Hamrick
Mrs. Mildred Fisher is seated at the back of the room.

There are 17 students in this photo while there were 19 in the photo of Mrs. Clouse’s class.

Mrs. Fisher’s first grade class had four Chattanooga kids, just like Mrs. Clouse’s class: Debbie Carr, Nelda Leistner, Carla Hoblet, and Carol Andrews.

I mentioned Mildred Fisher in a Tombstone Tuesday post a few weeks ago, a post about her parents, Jacob A. and Emma E. (Heffner) Bauer. Her mother’s side of the family came from Chatt.

Mildred Bauer married John Fisher and after he passed away in 1973 she married Donald E. Whitmore. Mildred passed away in 2001. Her obituary mentioned that she taught in Chattanooga, Willshire, Rockford, and Celina schools.

Our class was the Parkway graduating class of 1970 and this year we will have our 45th class reunion. It is fun to look at these old photos and remember all the good times we had.

I wish they would have continued taking these class photos all through our school years, but I believe these are the only three taken of our class at Willshire. I wonder if any were taken at Rockford?