Sep 25

Tombstone Tuesday–Nicholas Headington

This is the tombstone of Nicholas Headington, located in Liber Cemetery, Wayne Township, Jay County, Indiana. The marker is inscribed Nicholas Headington Died Feb. 6, 1856, Aged 65 ys, 9 mos, 8 ds.

Nicholas Headington, Liber Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana.

At the foot of the grave is a second marker, a military marker inscribed N. Headington, Gorsuch’s Co, 2 MD. Mil.,War 1812. What great information! Gorsuch’s Company, 2nd Maryland Militia, War of 1812. This gives us a starting point to look for more information.

Nicholas Headington, War 1812 marker at foot.

“N Headington, Gorsuch’s Co, 2 MD. Mil., War 1812”

Liber Cemetery is located south of Portland, east of route 27 on E 200 S and east of College Corner. We visited this cemetery last fall and it appeared that the Headington tombstones and several others had recently been repaired. A big thank you to those volunteers who made the repairs on these monuments.

There are three Headington gravestones in a row along the left (east) side of the cemetery driveway as you drive into the cemetery. Unfortunately these tombstones were shaded by several trees and it was difficult to get a good photo of them.

Ruth, Nicholas and Washington Headington tombstones, Liber Cemetery.

The three family stones are Ruth [Nicholas’ wife], Nicholas and Washington Headington [their son]. The next marker is a large Whipple monument. The Headington markers all face west.

Headington tombstones next to Whipple monument, Liber Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana.

As calculated from his tombstone, Nicholas Headington was born 29 April 1790. Some sources say he was born in 1789. Nicholas Headington and Ruth Phillips were married about 22 September 1813 in Baltimore, Maryland. [1]

Nicholas and Ruth had twelve children. Two of them died in infancy. The children that lived to maturity were William, James, Nimrod, Washington, John W., Eli, Silas, Catherine, Mary and Rebecca. [2] I descend from William, who married Mary Ann Cottrell.

Look for more information about Nicholas Headington in this Friday’s blog post.

[1] Transcription of Baltimore County Marriages Licenses, January 1800-December 1816, on-line database, US GenWeb Baltimore County Site, Rootsweb/Ancestry.com, (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mdbaltim/marlic/groom_h.htm : accessed 23 September 2012).

[2] Biographical Memoirs of Jay County, Indiana (Chicago: B.F. Bowen Co., Publishers, 1901), 304-5.

Sep 21

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

Sep 18

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.

Sep 14

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.

Sep 11

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.