Jan 28

Tombstone Tuesday–Maria (Schumm) Schinnerer

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

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

This is the tombstone of Maria Schinnerer, located in row 6 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Hier ruhet in Gott
Maria
Ehefrau des
Martin Schinnerer
geboren
Den 23 December 1842
gestorben
Den 2 September 1870

Translation: Here rests in God, Maria, wife of Martin Schinnerer, born the 23 December 1842, died the 2 September 1870.

Maria Schinnerer was born Maria Schumm, the second child of Ludwig and Barbara (Pflüger) Schumm. Her birth predates the Schumm church records, which begin in 1846. However, both her marriage and her death are recorded in the church records.

Maria married Martin Schinnerer on 23 February 1860. According to the church records “Anna Maria” Schinnerer died 1 September 1870 at the age of 27 years, 8 months, and 4 days. She was buried on the 2nd. This date disagrees with the death date on her tombstone by one day.

Martin and Maria (Schumm) Schinnerer had the following children, per Zion Schumm’s records:

Georg Friedrich (1861-1935) married Wilhelmine “Minnie” Roehm
Adam Wilhelm (1862-1862)
Heinrich Adam (1863-1913) married Minnie Richter
Johann Jacob Friedrich [Rev] (1865-1950) married Anna Evers
Susanna “Barbara” (1866-1952) married George M. Schumm [son of Jacob Frederick]
Johann Ludwig (1870-1870)

It appears that Maria (Schumm) Schinnerer may have died as a result of complications of childbirth. She died a day or two after the death of her last child, who was only 14 days old. A tombstone does not appear to exist for that child, Johann Ludwig, who died 31 August 1870.

Maria’s husband Martin Schinnerer was born in Bavaria in 1834 and came to America in 1852. He was the brother of my great-great-grandfather Friederick Schinnerer. After Maria’s death Martin married her sister Rosina. They were married in a civil ceremony by Thomas Cully, JP, on 2 March 1871. [1] According to one source, Martin’s second marriage was not allowed at the church so they were married by a Justice of the Peace. [2] Their marriage was not recorded in the Zion Schumm’s records. Martin and Rosina moved to California around the turn of the century and remained there the rest of their lives. Martin died in Los Angeles in 1930 at the age of 96.

The inscription on Maria’s tombstone is a little unusual because it shows her birth and death dates, instead of only showing her death date and age. You usually have to calculate the date of birth from a tombstone inscription of this era. According to her tombstone inscription her age would have been 27 years, 8 months, and 10 days, which is six days off from the church record. Perhaps math wasn’t the minister’s best subject or the tombstone was carved incorrectly.

 

[1] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:MM9.1.1/XD24-GG4 : accessed 26 Jan 2014), Martin Schenerer and Rosana Schumm, 2 March 1871; citing Van Wert, Ohio, United States, reference 568; FHL microfilm 1015860.

[2] Conversation with Mildred (Schumm) Franz (Mrs. Christian Franz; Decatur, Indiana, 46733), by Karen Miller Bennett, May 1999. Mrs. Franz is now deceased.

Jan 24

Four Rüeck Sisters

4 schwestern geboren Rüeck. That was written on the back of the old photo. 4 sisters born Rüeck.

The photo was taken sometime before 1942, the year that Rosine died. Rosine was the oldest of eight children in the family of four sons and four daughters. The photo was taken in Germany, most likely taken in Appensee or Crailsheim, in Württemberg. As far as I know the four Rüeck sisters never left Germany, although some of their family immigrated to America in the late 1800s.

Left to right, front: Barbara, Rosine; back: Margarete, Regina.

Left to right, front: Barbara, Rosine; back: Margarete, Regina.

This Rüeck photo was among some photos my Aunt Em had. Fortunately someone wrote the names of the four sisters on the back of the photo.

Last year my distant German cousin Friedemann Mayer contacted me and shared information about some of our Rüeck ancestors. Friedemann is a teacher in Crailsheim and even has some distant Rüeck relatives as his pupils.

The sisters in the photo, identified left to right as you look at the photo:

Barbara (Rüeck) Leiberich, seated at left
Rosine (Rüeck) Hoffman, seated at right
Margarete (Rüeck) Frank, standing at left
Regina (Rüeck) Gross, standing at right

Barbara (Rüeck) Leiberich (1867-1956), seated on the left, was Friedemann’s great-grandmother. Barbara was the relative my dad visited in Germany immediately after WWII, encouraged to do so by his grandmother Christene. Unfortunately, Barbara’s home in Crailsheim was completely destroyed during WWII.

Barbara (Rüeck) Leibrich

Barbara (Rüeck) Leibrich (1867-1956)

Rosine (Rüeck) Hoffman (1856-1942), seated on the right, married Jacob Hoffman, a farmer in Appensee. According to Friedemann their farm house still stands. Rosine, died in 1942, at the age of 86. She was the oldest of the eight children born to Johann Georg and Marie Margarette (Gross) Rüeck.

Rosine (Rüeck) Hoffman (1856-1942)

Rosine (Rüeck) Hoffman (1856-1942)

Margarete (Rüeck) Frank (1860-1944), standing on the left. She married Friedrich Frank and they had the “Schimmelhof” in Appensee, which they later sold. Friedemann explained that the old farm houses in Germany had house names. He said “Schimmel” means white horse and “hof” is a farm.

Margarete (Rüeck) Frank (1860-1944)

Margarete (Rüeck) Frank (1860-1944)

Regina (Rüeck) Gross (1866-1948), standing on the right, married Johannes Gross, a farmer in Zollhof. Zollhof is a small village near Appensee and, according to Friedemann, their farm still remains in the family.

Regina (Rüeck) Gross (1866-1948)

Regina (Rüeck) Gross (1866-1948)

The father of the four sisters was Johann Georg Rüeck (1820-1905), the older brother of my great-great-grandfather Jacob Rüeck (1828-1918). Jacob was the father of my great-grandmother Christena (1858-1945), who married Jacob Miller in 1882. Jacob and Christena were the parents of my grandfather Carl Miller.

Jacob Rüeck and his family immigrated to America in about 1880. His nephews [and brothers of the four sisters]  Johann “Georg” Rüeck (1858-1944) and Jacob Rüeck (1869-1941), immigrated to America as well. Most of the Rüecks in America eventually moved out west, but my great-grandmother Christena remained in Ohio.

Rosine and my great-grandmother Christena Rüeck were about the same age and they grew up together in Württemberg. The cousins stayed in touch through the years by writing and sending letters across the ocean.

Christena (Rüeck) Miller and the four Rüeck sisters were first cousins. Since I am three generations removed from my great-grandmother Christena, the four Rüeck sisters are my first cousins three times removed. Our common ancestors are Georg Rüeck (1787-1870) and his wife Rosina Barbara Lober (1795-1866), who were their grandparents as well as my third great-grandparents.

I noticed that Friedemann spells the surname as Rüeck, so I spelled it that way in this post. The American spelling of Rüeck would be Rueeck. [ü = ue in English] I am not sure how they actually pronounce the name in Germany, but in our family I have always heard the name pronounced Reeck [long e]. In Germany they might pronounce it as Rue-eeck’.

What a wonderful photo! It is always nice when you can visualize and identify distant family members and put a face to a name. This makes family history come to life!

Jan 21

Tombstone Tuesday–Johann Jacob Schumm

Johann Jacob Schumm, s/o Ludwig; Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

Johann Jacob Schumm, s/o Ludwig; Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Johann Jacob Schumm, located in row 4 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

JACOB
Sohn von
Louis & Anna
SCHUMM
Gestorben
27 Oct. 1855
ALTER
9 Jahr, 27 Tage

Translation: Jacob, son of Louis & Anna Schumm, died 27 October 1855, age 9 years, 27 days.

Johann Jacob was the fourth child born to Ludwig and Barbara (Pflüger) Schumm. Johann Jacob’s birth and death information was contained in the records of Zion Lutheran Church, Schumm.

According to their baptism records he was born 30 September 1846 and was baptized 9 October 1846. Sponsors at his baptism were Johann Jacob Schumm [his uncle] and Christian Pflüger [his grandfather].

His church death record indicates that he died 28 October 1855, at the age of 9 years and 27 days. He was buried on the 29th. The church records also indicate that he was a sickly child and that he died of a fever. [The church death date differs one day from the tombstone inscription. However, his calculated age agrees with the death date of the 27th.]

Johann Jacob is buried in same row as his brother Georg, with only two tombstones separating the brothers. Georg died in 1857 and was featured in last week’s Tombstone Tuesday post.

Johann Jacob’s parents were born in Württemberg and married in Holmes County, Ohio. Johann Jacob was born 15 days after the death of his grandfather Johann Georg Schumm, the immigrant and founder of Schumm. Johann Jacob’s father Ludwig died just two months before Johann Jacob. His mother Barbara died in 1908.

Jan 17

More Chattanooga Photos, Aftermath of the 1978 Blizzard

Over a foot of snow fell and winds made drifts as high as house roof-lines. Nearly all roads were closed and the temperature dropped to below zero. That was nearly 36 years ago, after the Great Blizzard of 1978.

Here are a few more photos of Chattanooga after the Blizzard of 1978.

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (a)

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (c)

Severe blizzard conditions continued for over 24 hours. When the winds subsided people began digging their way out of their homes and crews opened up the roads.

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (14)

I recognize Jim Fisher standing on the right in the photo above. I do not recognize the other two men. Maybe someone can identify them.

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (b) Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (d)

That was one huge drift! Did Catherine Miller shovel all that snow herself?

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (6)

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (7)

Below is the Chatt Volunteer Fire Department, probably one of the first establishments to be dug out.

Chatt, Blizzard of 1978 (4)

Thank you to Jerry Miller for sharing the photos.

 

Jan 14

Tombstone Tuesday– Georg Frederick Schumm

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

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

This is the tombstone of George Frederick Schumm, located in row 4 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Georg F.
Son of Louis & Anna
Schumm
Died
5 Dec. 1857
Age
2 Years, 8 Months, 4 Days

This marble marker is badly weathered and nearly illegible. To help transcribe the tombstone for this post I used Zion Lutheran Schumm’s records and Van Wert County, Ohio Cemetery Inscriptions, Vol. V, compiled by the Van Wert Chapter OGS in 1992.

The stone was partially legible in 1992 and was transcribed as: Georg Schumm, d. 5 Dec 1852, s/o J. Louis & Anna. The 7 on his year of death probably looked like a 2 when it was read by them in 1992.

I can make out a few letters and numbers on the stone and they indicate that this is the same person. The artwork on the marker apears to be a broken flower bud, symbolizing a young life cut short.   

The church death record indicates that Georg Frederick was the son of the late Ludwig Schumm and that he died on 5 December 1857, at the age of 2 years, 8 months, and 4 days. The record did not indicate his cause of death.

Georg Frederick Schumm’s baptism was also recorded in Zion’s records. That record indicates that he was born 31 March 1855 in Willshire Township, the child of Ludwig and Barbara Schumm. He was baptized on 2 April 1855, with Georg & Maria Schumm and Friederick & Magdalena Schumm as sponsors.

The Schumms, like so many others from that time period, made sure that their children were baptized within a few days after their birth because of the high infant mortality rate.

Georg Frederick was the ninth and last child born to Ludwig and Barbara Pflüger. Georg’s father Ludwig died on 22 August 1855, almost five months after Georg Frederick’s birth.

Georg’s parents were both immigrants, both born in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He was my 2nd great-uncle.