What’s Back There?

1963

Sometimes what you see in the background of a photo is more interesting and informative than what you see in the foreground.

You may see the location of items that are no longer standing or things that have been moved. You can see what homes and yards and other buildings looked like years ago. You might even be able to date a photo by the age of the cars in the photo, unless your family did not often buy new cars or drove classic cars.

When I was in the sixth grade our teacher, Mrs. Barbara Freeman, took our class on a field trip to downtown Willshire, Ohio. It was not a very long walk from the school to the downtown area. We viewed the old log cabin in the park and had a class photo taken in front of the Straubinger Hotel. The old hotel is no longer standing but you can see what it looked like in the background of this 1963 photo.

At this year’s Miller reunion some of my aunts and uncles were discussing where the farm’s windmill was located years ago. The photo below shows exactly where the windmill was.

Uncle Kenny with 4-H heifer, windmill in background.

Grandma Miller raised geese for extra money, but look in the background of this 1944 photo shown below. There is the horse trough and the windmill. Howard Caffee helped my Grandpa Miller pour cement for the horse trough and years later my dad and grandpa moved it south of the barn.

Grandma Miller 1944

Two of my cousins are posing for a photo in front of Grandma Miller’s garden in 1963. That fence and the garden are long gone.

Miller Cousins 1963

Here is a nice photo of some Schumms. Left to right are H.G., Rev. George, Louis M. and J.F. Schumm at the dedication of the new church in 1915. But look in the background. You can see the both the old and new churches at Zion Lutheran, Schumm.

H.G., Rev. George, Louis M., & J.F. Schumm, 1915.

This is a photo of my great grandmother Lizzie (Schinnerer) Scaer holding my aunt Amy. What nice gingerbread the house once had.

Lizzie (Schinnerer) Scaer & Amy Schumm, 1929.

Below is a photo of the men’s quartet and their accompanist at Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga. But look behind them. The church doors are wooden with stained glass inserts and stained glass above them. The church doors are now all glass. I barely remember those wooden doors and I wonder what happened to them and the stained glass.

Quartet at Zion Lutheran, Chatt. Howard Caffee, Ralph “Stubby” Bollenbacher, Rev. Carl Yahl, Paul McGough, Pauline (McGough) DeArmond.

This is a photo of my great uncle Pete Miller and his family taking a drive. In the background it looks like someone’s cows may have gotten out.

Pete Miller & family

This photo is most likely a photo of the Rueck farm in Oregon. The pine trees in the background indicate that the farm could have been located in the northwestern United States.

Rueck farm in Oregon

However, sometimes you just can’t take your eyes off what is in the foreground. Where did these Schumm Parochial School children get those costumes??

Schumm Parochial School

Tombstone Tuesday-Fredrick Betzel

Fredrick Betzel, North Grove Cemetery, Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Fredrick Betzel, located in Ward 2, row 8 of North Grove Cemetery, Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: BETZEL, Fredrick Betzel, Died Dec. 9, 1900, Aged 76 Y, 10 M, 21 D.

Obituary:
Dies At A Ripe Old Age
Mr. Fredrick Betzel died Sunday afternoon in his room in the south part of town. Although he was quite old and feeble, his death came as a surprise to his relatives. His daughter, Mrs. John Schlenker returned to his bedside after an absence of only ten minutes to find that the spirit had flown. He will be interred in the Celina cemetery today, funeral services being conducted at the Lutheran church at 10 o’clock by Rev. Smith, of Chattanooga.

Mr. Betzel was born January 23, 1823 in Germany and was brought to America by his parents while yet quite small. They settled in Butler County. Fredrick, after spending some years in Lawrenceburg, Ind., came to Mercer County in 1851 and settled on a farm south of Chattanooga. He afterwards removed to Ft. Recovery and thence to Celina in 1892. Here he has lived since.

He was married twice. In Butler Co., to Rosa Hartock [sic] and after her death to a Miss Koenig, near Ft. Recovery. Eight children were born to him, one of whom preceded him to the great beyond. Henry, living in Celina, William and Jacob, near Chattanooga, and Fred, in Geneva, Ind., are the boys. The daughters are Magdalena, now Mrs. John Schlenker, of Celina, Mrs. Katharine Cook, of Wapakoneta, and Mrs. Mary Behm, of Chattanooga. [1]

According to the Familienbuch portion of the records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Ohio, Georg Friederich Betzel was the son of Johann Georg and Anna Margaretha Betzel, born 18 January 1824 in Erkenbrechtshofen, County Court Windsheim, Kingdom of Bavaria. He came to America with his parents in 1828 and married Anna Rosina Herzog on 1 October 1846.

Fredrick’s first wife and their son Johannes are buried in Kessler Cemetery, a couple miles south of Chattanooga. Fredrick is buried in North Grove Cemetery, Celina. The two cemeteries are about 15 miles apart. Fredrick is buried next to his daughter and son-in-law, John and Catharine Schlenker. Those buried near Fredrick and in the same row, looking right to left in the photo below (south to north): Frederick (1870-1940) and Catharine (1870-1947) Schlenker, John Schlenker (1847-1903), Magdalena Schlenker (1849-1922), Sophia Schlenker (1879-1900), Emma Coate (1877-1901), Benjamin Schlenker (1882-1949), and Carl Schlenker (1886-1917).

Row of Fredrick Betzel family, North Grove Cemetery.

 [1] The Daily Standard, Celina, Ohio, 12 December 1900, p.1.

Five Tips for Safely Reading and Photographing Tombstones

Liber Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana. Photographed November 2011.

Cemeteries are some of my favorite places to visit. It doesn’t make any difference if I have family buried in a particular cemetery or whose tombstone I am looking at, I enjoy looking at and photographing tombstones.

I have been photographing tombstones for some time now and have hundreds of tombstone photographs. Some of those photographs have turned out well, others, not so much.

How can you safely read and photograph a stone that is weathered and dirty?  The Association of Gravestone Studies recommends very few things to safely clean a tombstone and make it readable. They advise against using most chemicals, soaps, acids or anything that is abrasive. You should not use flour, shaving cream or sidewalk chalk either.

Below are a few techniques I have used over the years for viewing and photographing grave markers without harming them.

1. In my opinion the most important thing for getting a good tombstone reading and photograph is the position of the sun on the stone. A bright sunny day is best and the sun should be shining on the stone at about a 30 degree angle. For a stone facing west this time of day would occur from about 12:30-2:30. Late morning would be best for a stone facing east.

Tombstone of Johann Georg Schumm (1777-1846), Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Ohio. Photographed at 1:58 p.m., 8 Aug 2008.

2. If you are at the cemetery at the wrong time of day or if the writing on the stone faces north you can use a mirror to reflect the sun’s light. This technique works very well and if done properly looks like a spotlight shining on the marker. If you are taking a photo of the stone you will probably need another person to hold the mirror. Although a mirror works best, any very reflective surface will also work. Cardboard covered with aluminum foil or a shiny windshield reflector both work.

Grave marker of Hannah Bryan (1830-1901), Limberlost Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana. Mirror illuminating inscription that faces north.

3. Just squirting plain water on the stone might make the engraving stand out. I always carry a squirt bottle of water in my cemetery bag. Yes, I have a cemetery bag packed and always ready to throw in my car trunk for graveyard visits.

4. Sometimes you can read a tombstone inscription better from a photograph. Inverting the colors in your photo program will make the image look like a negative and bring out the lettering. Enlarging and enhancing the photo on your screen may also help.

Johann Pantkraeius Schinnerred (sic) (1829-1857), Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Ohio. Colors inverted.

5. The tombstone may need to be cleaned if it is covered with moss or some other biological growth. But be careful! It is best to use plain water and a soft nylon brush or sponge. If necessary, use one cup of household ammonia in a gallon of water to clean a tombstone. Use only soft nylon brushes or natural sponges. Do not use wire brushes since the metal may become embedded in the stone and rust. The Association of Gravestone Studies has a website and booklets that detail a few other ways to clean stubborn deposits from tombstones.

Nannie Headington (1835-1871), Liber Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana. Moss cleaned from inscription.

Tombstones could be considered historical artifacts. They may contain the only recorded information about an individual. Read and record the information on a tombstone but at the same time be careful not to damage the stone so future generations can also view and learn from them.

There are still plenty of nice late summer and autumn days left to visit to a cemetery and I hope to do just that.

Tombstone Tuesday–Johannes Betzel

Johannes Betzel, Kessler [aka Liberty] Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Johannes Betzel, located in row 14 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed, Hier ruht Johannes Betzel, geboren 15 Juni 1852, gestorben 2 Marz 1879.Translated, Here rests Johannes Betzel, born 15 June 1852, died 2 March 1879.

According to the records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Ohio, Johannes Betzel, was born 15 June 1852 in Mercer County, Ohio and was baptized there. He was confirmed at Zion, Chattanooga, on 13 May 1866. He died 2 March 1879 at 1:30 in the afternoon at the age of 26 years, 8 months and 17 days.

Johannes never married and he died about 2 months before his mother.

Johannes Betzel, Kessler Cemetery.

Johannes Betzel is buried next to his mother in Kessler Cemetery. His tombstone is made from the same beautiful white marble as hers but his stone does not bear the engraver’s name. The top portion of his tombstone has broken off and it is leaning against the base, facing to the west. All of the other tombstones in that row face to the east . There is writing in German script on the portion of the marker still standing and it faces the east. It appears that something has broken off the very top of the marker as well.

Johannes Betzel, Kessler Cemetery.

Johannes Betzel, right; his mother, Anna Rosina, to the left.

On This Day Widget

On This Day Widget, GedStar Pro Android App, as seen on my Android phone and tablet.

Every morning my smart phone displays a list of my ancestors and relatives who were born, married or died on that day. The daily reminder is an interesting and fun feature. How does my phone do that?

I am using the On This Day Widget, an add-on feature for the GedStar Pro for Android app. GedStar Pro is my genealogy-on-the-go app that lets me view my genealogy data on my Android smart phone and tablet wherever I go. This home screen widget was released this past June and is $2.99, available from the Android app store under GedStar On This Day Widget.

There are several features of the On This Day Widget:

  • Configure the widget to select which events to include (births, deaths, marriages).
  • Tapping on an individual’s name will take you right to that person in the GedStar Pro database.
  • Tap on the calendar icon to view the events for any day you choose.

Below is a list of my ancestors that had vital events on 7 September, today’s date. I blacked out the last names of a couple living relatives.

Births:
Barbara Barhtel, 1789 (223 years)
Anna Barbara Pflueger, 1817 (195 years)
Hazel Virginia Nussbaum, 1907 (105 years)
Catherine Louise N, 1967 (45 years)
Brett S, 1969 (43 years)
Megan Maye W, 1983 (29 years)

Deaths:
Ursula Barbara Schinnerer, 1836 (176 years)
Georg Wilhelm “William” Joseph Schinnerer, 1963 (49 years)

Marriages:
Ernest Miles Whiteman & M. Alda Beohm, 1904 (108 years)
Virgil G. Theurer & Mary P. Schmidt, 1918 (94 years)

It is interesting to see the names each day. I find I have forgotten some of the names, so it is a good review of my database.

You need to have the GedStar Pro app installed on your Android phone or tablet to use the On This Day Widget. The GedStar Pro app allows you to view all of your genealogy data on your Android phone or tablet. This makes all of your genealogy data portable.

The app will run on a standard Android device, from version 2 through the latest version 4, Ice Cream Sandwich. You get the app from the Google Android Market, so your device must have access to that market. You get a free trial for up to 28 days and then you can purchase the genealogy app for $9.95. 

The process of getting your data onto your phone or tablet is fairly simple. You can directly import data from The Master Genealogist and Legacy Family Tree or import a GEDCOM file for all other genealogy programs.

First download the Windows GedStar Data Converter from the GHCS Software website onto your computer or laptop. Just make sure you have the latest version of the converter on your PC [if you already have this on your PC] and that your phone app is up to date for the widget to work. It is in the Data Converter that you determine what data you want to include from your genealogy file. Options include including photos and all your notes.

I use the Roots Magic genealogy program, so my first step was to make a GEDCOM of my genealogy database, name it with a recognizable name and save it. Next, open the GedStar Pro Converter on your PC, select the saved database and chose the data options desired for your device. I always check the box “Copy output file to Dropbox folder”. This is the easiest way to get the converted genealogy file onto my Android device.

Be sure you have installed the free Dropbox software on your PC and Android device. Your converted database goes into the “cloud” and when you open the file in the Dropbox app on your phone the data will go right into GedStar Pro. Dropbox makes this whole process so simple.

GedStar Pro app as it looks on my Android phone and tablet.

The GedStar Pro app is for Android devices only. It is not available for the iPhone or iPad and will not work on the Nook. However, I did manage to install GedStar Pro on my Kindle Fire. It was a real challenge but I eventually won that battle. The one detail I was missing was knowing which file to copy from my phone to my PC. It turns out was the APK file.

I won’t detail all the steps to sideload an app onto the Kindle Fire here unless I get requests for it. I found several how-to pages with a Google search. The GHCS Software website also gives some details about installing GedStar onto the Kindle Fire.

GedStar Pro is strictly a viewer. You cannot edit or add to the information in the GedStar app, which it is just fine with me. The important thing is to be able to carry and view my data on a compact device. When I edit in Roots Magic I just repeat the steps above and copy the new database onto my phone.

I love technology! No more dragging a briefcase full of binders with family group sheets and other data to the library to research. Now I simply take my phone or my tablet, equipped with my genealogy app.