May 15

Bollenbacher Grocery, Chattanooga, Ohio

Who doesn’t think of Bollenbacher Grocery when you think of Chatt as it was years ago? The little market, located in what was once The Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Chattanooga, is one of the things I remember most about Chatt during the time I was growing up.

Bollenbacher's Grocery, Chattanooga, Ohio. Submitted photo.

Bollenbacher Grocery, Chattanooga, Ohio. Submitted photo.

The brick building was the second structure south of the Chatt Bar and was built to house the bank, but the bank closed in about 1930. The building was then occupied by Heffner’s Grocery until Harold and Martha Bollenbacher purchased it in 1953.

Bollenbacher Grocery served the community at that location for 20 years, until they sold it to Tom Baker in 1973. [1]

Former Bollenbacher Grocery, Google Earth, October 2008 photo.

Former Bollenbacher Grocery, Google Earth, October 2008 photo.

In the mid-60s my friend Karen and I rode our bicycles a lot in the summer. She lived south of Chatt and I lived north of Chatt. We weren’t old enough to drive so our bicycles were the best means of transportation for us. We would arrange to start out at a specific time and eventually we would meet somewhere between our two homes on route 49.

One thing we often did while on our bike outings was to stop at Bollenbacher Grocery for a cold pop and some candy. Or better yet, an ice cream bar on a hot day. And Harold always had a smile on his face.

Junior and Harold Sr. in Bollenbacher's Grocery. Submitted photo.

Junior and Harold Sr. in Bollenbacher Grocery. Submitted photo.

Harold’s wife Martha was our Avon Lady. She would stop by the house every couple weeks and I always looked forward to seeing her makeup samples, smelling the perfumes, and looking through the Avon books.

The old brick building that once housed a bank and several groceries was demolished sometime between July 2009 and August 2010.

Thanks to Deb (Bollenbacher) Reichard for submitting the Bollenbacher Grocery photos.

 

 [1] Joyce L. Alig, editor, Mercer County, Ohio History 1978, (Dallas, Texas :The Taylor Publishing Co, 1980), 710.

May 12

Tombstone Tuesday–Child of W. A. & A. Koch

Child of W.A. & A. Koch, St. John's Cemetery, Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Child of W.A. & A. Koch, St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of the infant child of Wilhelm A. and Emilie (Schumm) Koch, located in St. John’s Cemetery, Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Kind Von
W. A. und A.
KOCH
Geb und Gest
Den 27 Marz
1904

Translation: Child of W. A. and A. Koch, born and died 27 March 1904.

This was infant child of William A. and Emilie/Amelia (Schumm) Koch, of Wapakoneta, Ohio. Emilie (Schumm) Koch was originally from Schumm, in Van Wert County, and was the daughter of William and Anna Marie (Heffner) Schumm.

When I wrote the Tombstone Tuesday about Emilie (Schumm) Koch a few weeks ago the 1910 census indicated that she had given birth to four children but only three were living. [1]

Three of her children were identified, but not the fourth. I estimated that the fourth child would have been born between 1901 and 1906, but I could not find a birth or death record for a fourth child. Even the Schumm genealogy did not mention a fourth child.

Thanks to reader and Schumm descendant Sue Allen who helped me locate the infant’s tombstone, enabling me to identify the child’s birth and death date. Unfortunately the tombstone did not indicate the gender of the child.

Child of W.A. & A. Koch, St. John's Cemetery, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Child of W.A. & A. Koch, St. John’s Cemetery, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Only the initials of the parents are inscribed on the tombstone–W. A. and A. The father’s tombstone, located a few rows away, shows his name as Wilhelm A. Koch. Although the mother’s name was officially Emilie, her christening name, she occasionally went by the name of Amelia, as enumerated in the 1910 census. [1]

This child is buried a few rows from the father Wilhelm’s grave-site and from the grandparents grave-site, Wilhelm’s parents.

Emilie (Schumm) Koch moved back to Willshire after Wilhelm’s death in 1906. She died in 1952 and is buried in Zion Lutheran Schumm’s cemetery.

 

[1] 1910 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert County, Ohio, ED 114, p.2B, dwelling 44, family 44, Amelia Koch; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : assessed 28 March 2015); from FHL microfilm 1375251, from NARA microfilm T624, roll 1238.

May 08

Flowers for Mother’s Day

What mother wouldn’t enjoy getting a beautiful bouquet of cut flowers on Mother’s Day. Especially if the flowers were from her son who was overseas, serving his country during World War II.

Flowers from Herb in Germany, May 1945.

Gertrude (Brewster) Miller holding flowers from her son Herb, stationed in Germany. May 1945, Mother’s Day.

It was 13 May 1945. Mother’s Day. Less than a week after V-E Day, which marked the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of fighting in Europe. Yes. There was a lot to celebrate.

Somehow my dad arranged for his mother to receive this large bouquet of flowers on Mother’s Day. Maybe one of his sisters cut them from the garden. No matter how she got the flowers, grandma certainly looks happy and proud. After all she had more than one reason to celebrate that day.

But the best and most important reason to celebrate was that the war was over and her son would be returning home soon.

Herb Miller, US Army, WWII.

Herb Miller, US Army, WWII.

Harry S. Truman issued a Mother’s Day Proclamation in April 1945: “…Whereas it is fitting that we acknowledge anew our gratitude, love, and devotion to the mothers of America… in this year of the war’s greatest intensity we are ever mindful of their splendid courage and steadfast loyalty to the highest ideals of our democracy…the service rendered the United States by the American mother as the greatest source of the country’s strength and inspiration…” [1]

Harry Truman’s words are still true and meaningful today, 70 years later.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

[1] Harry S. Truman: “Proclamation 2649—Mother’s Day, 1945,” April 17, 1945, Online by Gerhard Peters and john T. Wooley, The American Presidency Project (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=87028 : accessed 7 May 2015).

May 05

Tombstone Tuesday–Wilhelm A. Koch

William A. Koch, St. John's Lutheran Cemetery, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Wilhelm A. Koch, St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Wilhelm A. Koch, located in St. John’s Cemetery, Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

PEACE BE THINE
Wilhelm A.
KOCH
Gest. den. 2, Apr 1906
Alter
37 J. 5 M. 22 T.
KOCH

Translation: Wilhelm A. Koch, died the 2 April 1906, age 37 years, 5 months, 22 days.

Wilhelm August Koch was born 10 October 1868 in Auglaize County, Ohio, the first child born to Johann J. and Christina Wilhelmina (Hoehammer) Koch. [1] Wilhelm’s parents married in about 1868 and they had at least eleven children. [2]

In 1880 Wilhelm lived with his parents and siblings in Pusheta Township, Auglaize County. In the household were John, 37; Christina, 32; William,1; Adam, 10; Lena, 7; Anna, 5; Edith, 3; and Laura, 1. Everyone in the family was born in Ohio and Wilhelm’s father was a farmer. [3]

Wilhelm Koch married Emilie Schumm on 13 September 1896 at Zion Lutheran Church, Schumm. Emilie was the daughter of William and Anna Maria (Heffner) Schumm.

I wrote a Tombstone Tuesday post about Emilie (Schumm) Koch several weeks ago and just last week we traveled over to Wapakoneta to get the tombstone photos for today’s post.

By 1900 Wilhelm and Emilie had one child, a daughter Clara, who was born in May 1898. The family lived on Benton Street in Wapakoneta, Duchouquet Township, where Wilhelm worked as a railroad section manager. The record indicates that Emilie had given birth to one child who was living. [4]

Wilhelm and Emilie were married only ten years when Wilhelm died in April 1906. I have not been able to find any details about his death. He may have died of an illness or as the result of an accident, perhaps even a railroad accident. Their fourth child was born in November of that same year.

Wilhelm was buried in St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, located on Pusheta Road, southeast of Wapakoneta. St. John’s Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, is nearby, where the Wilhelm Koch family were likely members.

This is a beautiful area, with a rolling landscape and quite a few ponds nearby. Pusheta Creek runs to the north of the church and cemetery. Glacier Hill Lakes is a few miles away.

Old St. John's Cemetery, Pusheta Rd, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

Old St. John’s Cemetery, Pusheta Rd, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

There are actually two cemeteries near St. John’s Lutheran Church. The oldest cemetery is to the east of the frame church and parsonage. It is on a hill overlooking Pusheta Creek and the beautiful farmland. All of the tombstones in this cemetery appear to be from the 19th century and the oldest markers we noticed were from the late 1880s.

I was in this old cemetery about 10 years ago when the Auglaize County Historical Society sponsored a weekend cemetery restoration workshop. Walt Walters, the Graveyard Groomer, from Connersville, Indiana, gave a hands-on demonstration of tombstone cleaning and restoration. During that same weekend I gave a tombstone art and cemetery research presentation as well as a tombstone rubbing demonstration.

St. John's Lutheran Cemetery, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2015 photo by Karen)

The newer cemetery, where Wilhelm Koch is buried, is about a quarter of a mile west of the church. The older section of this cemetery is to the east, and that is where Wilhelm, his infant child, and his parents are buried. Wilhelm is buried a short distance from his parents.

Tombstone of John & Christina Koch, William's parents, St. John's Cemetery, Auglaize County. (2015 photo by Karen)

Tombstone of John & Christina Koch, Wilhelm’s parents, St. John’s Cemetery, Auglaize County. (2015 photo by Karen)

Wilhelm and Emilie had four children, one of whom died in infancy. Their son Water was born seven months after his father’s death.

Wilhelm and Emilie had the following children:
Clara Maria (1898-1983), married Carl Reidenbach
Paula L. (1900-1991), married Harold E. Reidenbach
Unnamed infant (1904-1904)
“Walter” Theodor ((1906-1970), married Blanche Wickliffe

 

 

[1] Samuel Wilhelm August Koch entry, Find a Grave memorial no.90605956, FindAGrave.com (www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 March 2015). [10 Oct 1868-2 Apr 1906]

[2] 1900 U.S. Census, Duchouquet Township, Auglaize County, Ohio, ED 31, p.5A, dwelling 79, family 80, line 1, John J Koch; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 May 2015); from FHL microfilm 1241240, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1240.

[3] 1880 U.S. Census, Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio, ED 10, p.479B, dwelling 73, family 76, line 1, John Koch; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 May 2015); from FHL microfilm 1254993, from NARA microfilm T9, roll 993.

[4] 1900 U.S. Census, Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, ED 32, p.12A, dwelling 232, family 243, William A. Koch; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 March 2015); from FHL microfilm 1241240, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1240.

May 01

Roads Are Beautiful at Chattanooga, Ohio

It happens less often than once in a blue moon but a Chattanooga, Ohio, postcard was up for bid on Ebay last weekend. It must have been my lucky day because it was a Buy Now item and I was able to purchase it immediately.

I could tell right away that the picture on the postcard was not an actual photo of Chatt. You can see and judge for yourself. Chatt and the surrounding area are beautiful, but flat. No rolling hills or mountains off in the distance in any direction. The area is just flat farmland.

Chattanooga, Ohio, postcard postmarked 1914

Chattanooga, Ohio, postcard postmarked 1914

But the postcard did have Chattanooga, Ohio, printed on it and Chatt postcards seem to be very hard to come by.

Besides, I was more interested in reading the writing on the back.

I was not disappointed.

This 1914 postcard may have been postmarked at Chatt, where there once was a post office, located in Egger’s store that stood just south of the Chatt Bar. We will never know because the postmaster nearly missed stamping the postcard, leaving just half a postmark. The only portion of the postmark visible is an O or a D, half of the number 27, Ohio, and the time and date–7 PM 1914. Thank goodness the postcard writer wrote the complete date with her message.

Her message was rather informative, not just the usual How are you? We are fine. Come visit us soon. Instead, she wrote about the bad winter weather and mentioned the funeral of a neighbor lady.

Right away I had to know—who wrote the postcard? Was she from Chatt? Who was the recipient? Who was the deceased person whose funeral had to be postponed because of bad weather?

Of course the writer may not have been from Chatt at all. Who knows where she might have obtained this postcard. Trying to identify  the women could turn out to be a wild goose chase.

But I had to know. So I started my search with the clues I had.

The postcard was addressed to Miss Thresa Manges, RFD, Warsaw, Indiana. The message to Thresa:

Feb 27, 1914
Dear Cousin,

How are you all? We are as well as usual. Did you have any snow out there this week? We surely did out here. The mail carriers could not go for two days and our neighbor lady died and they had to postpone the funeral for a day. They used the snow plows on the roads and then they could hardly get through with a buggy. Must close. Hoping you will come out as soon as school is out.

Write soon.
Bertha L.

Chattanooga, Ohio, postcard postmarked 1914, from Bertha to her cousin Theresa.

Chattanooga, Ohio, postcard postmarked 1914, from Bertha to her cousin Theresa.

It did not take long to learn that Theresa Grace Manges was the daughter of David and Margaret (Leininger) Manges. Theresa was born 22 May 1897 in Bourbon, Indiana. She married Lemuel Miles Cleveland on 24 March 1919 at Etna Green, Kosciusko County, Indiana. [1]

From that marriage record I learned that Theresa’s mother was a Leininger. That is most definitely a Chatt name. The postcard was from her cousin Bertha L. Possibly Bertha Leininger?

Who was Bertha? Where did Bertha live? Who were her neighbors?

Next I wanted to learn a little more about Theresa’s mother, Margaret (Leininger) Manges, to see if I could find a relationship between Margaret and Bertha. Since Bertha was Theresa’s cousin, a parent of each may have been siblings. Or not.

Margaret E. Leininger married David Manges on 21 November 1896 in Kosciusko County, Indiana, married by Wm T. Townsend, JP. Margaret’s father gave his consent so his name was on the marriage record: “J.G. Leininger, father of the girl.” [2]

Then I searched for Bertha Lininger in Mercer County in the 1900 census. Bingo! Bertha C. Leininger, daughter of Theobald and Caroline F. Leininger, lived on a farm in Blackcreek Township with her parents and three brothers. In the household: Theobald, 38; Caroline F, 37; Henry L, 13; Edwin A, 8; Bertha C, 5; and Samuel J, 2. Bertha was born in about 1895 so she would have been nearly the same age as her cousin Theresa. [3]

Theobald Lininger and his family lived on Strable Road, east of route 49, in Section 32. They lived on the south edge of Blackcreek Township, on the Blackcreek/Liberty Township line, and they lived very close to Chatt.

But how were Bertha and Theresa related? And who was the neighbor lady that had recently died?

To make a long story short, once I got that far I checked Find a Grave was able to fit the pieces together and figure out the relationship between the two cousins.

The writer of the postcard was very likely Bertha Leininger, daughter of Theobald L. & Carolyn (Kable) Leininger. [4] Bertha eventually married LeRoy Pifer and they had children Beatrice, Ruby, Glenda, Donna Ruth, and Gerald LeRoy. I knew and remember some of these people.

It turns out that Bertha and Theresa were actually second cousins and their common ancestor was John Leininger (1801-1868). Bertha descended from John’s son Jacob L. and Theresa descended from John George, another of John’s sons.

Bertha’s line: John Leininger was the father of Jacob L. Jacob L. was the father of Theobald L. and Theobald L. was the father of our subject, Bertha C. [5]

Theresa’s line: John Leininger was the father of John George. John George was the father of Margaret and Margaret was the mother of Theresa. [5]

I wondered if and how Theodore “Teddy” Leininger (1895-1992) fit in with this family. I learned that Teddy’s father was John Jacob Leininger, who was a brother to Theobald L, the father of Bertha. So Teddy and Bertha were first cousins.

But, who was the woman who died, whose funeral had to be postponed because of heavy snow?

I discovered two women from the Chatt area had died about the time the postcard was written. One was buried four days after her death and a few days before the postcard was written.

Emma Landfair died at 8:45 a.m. on 21 February 1914 and was buried in Kessler Cemetery on the 25th, buried a day later than the customary three days. She was the daughter of Henry and Mary (Duer) Kuhn. [6]

The other woman was Carolyn Baker, who died 21 January 1914 and was buried in the UCC cemetery on the 24th. [7]

Which woman was Bertha talking about? Both women lived about a mile from the Leiningers. In 1910 Carolyn Baker was living with her son Charles W. Baker in Section 30, on northwest corner of routes 49 and 707. [8] Emma Landfair lived in Section 29, about a half mile east of route 49 on route 707.

According to 1914 weather reports January’s weather was mild with some precipitation in the northern counties, while February’s weather was very cold with a lot of snow. Most Ohio counties received unusually heavy snowfall after the first week of February and there was a particularly bad snowstorm on 22-23 February. Most of Ohio received at least 6-10 inches, with drifts from 6-8 feet. The ground on all parts of the state was covered with snow from the 13th until the end of the month of February. [9]

Plus, Bertha asked her cousin if she “had any snow out there this week,” which would seem to indicate she was talking about a snowstorm that very week, in February.

My guess would be that Bertha was talking about Emma Landfair, but of course it may even have been someone else she was referring to.

I learned a lot from these few sentences on this old postcard.

Note: Images of all 36 Section maps from the 1910 Decennial Appraisement of Blackcreek Township are now on this website, on the home page, under the Mercer County Maps header, in the Blackcreek Township drop-down.

 

[1] “Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 April 2015), Lemuel Miles Cleveland and Theresa Grace Manges, 24 March 1919; citing Etna Green, Kosciusko, Indiana, county clerk offices, Vol. Y (1917-1919), p.5465; from FHL microfilm 1311140.

[2] “Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 April 2015), David Mangis and Margaret E Leininger, 21 Nov 1896; citing Kosciusko, Indiana, county clerk offices, Vol. K (1894-1898), p.363; from FHL microfilm 1311133.

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 74, p.15A, dwelling/family 303, line 13, Theowald Leininger; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 April 2015); from FHL microfilm 1241303, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1303.

[4] “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 April 2015), Bertha C. Leininger, 14 Apr 1895; citing Birth, Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio, Vol. 3, p.117, county courthouses, Ohio; from FHL microfilm 914953.

[5] Find A Grave memorial 27825053, created by Mike Dearbaugh; John Leininger (1801-1868), buried in Zion State Line Cemetery, Padua, Mercer County, Ohio; Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 April 2015).

[6] “Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 April 2015), Emma Landfair, 21 Feb 1914; citing Liberty, Mercer, Ohio; from FHL microfilm 1953828.

[7] “Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 April 2015), Caroline Bollenbacher Baker, 20 Jan 1914; citing Liberty, Mercer, Ohio; from FHL microfilm 1953825.

[8] 1910 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 107, p.1B, dwelling/family 14, line, Charles W. Baker; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 April 2015); from FHL microfilm 1375227, from NARA microfilm T624, roll 1214.

[9] J. Warren Smith, Climatological Data: Ohio Section, U.S. Department of Agriculture Weather Bureau, Charles F. Marvin, Columbus, Ohio, Weather Bureau Office, Vol. XIX, February 1914 (Columbus, Ohio : 1914), 3, 11; Google Books (https://books.google.com : accessed 30 April 2015).