Apr 20

Inhabitants of Chattanooga, Ohio, 1940

1940 Census, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 54-22, sheet 14A.

This past week I continued to look through the 1940 census, focusing on the nearest place I can call my home town—the unincorporated village of Chattanooga, in Mercer County, Ohio. Just who were the approximately 150 residents living there in April 1940? The 1940 census gave me that information.

Chattanooga, called Chatt by the locals, was enumerated by Lewis H. Brehm on 23-24 April 1940. The main census question I focused on was, “Name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1940 was in this household.”

Chatt was a thriving little village back then. It is interesting to read the names of those residing there at that time. I see names of those that I remember and names of a few that I still know.

The majority of Chattanooga is in Liberty Township but a small portion is in Blackcreek Township. Unfortunately, the Blackcreek Township census taker did not specify who was living in Chatt. The information below is only from the portion of Chatt in Liberty Township.

The enumeration district for Liberty Township is 54-22. I included the number the household in the order it was visited. The list includes the name of the head of the household and his/her occupation as well as the names of the others living in the household. The others were usually the head’s wife and children and I noted if the relationship was otherwise. I tried to spell the names as they were written.

Sheet 14A (image #27 on Ancestry.com) April 24, 1940:
271: Schaadt, Victor (road grater operator for county), Luella L, Ralph
272: Heffner, Rudolph (garage mechanic), Nellie, Robert
273: Bollenbacher, Francis (grain elevator operator), Beatrice, Richard K, Roger Lee
274: Bollenbacher, Herbert (truck driver for grain elevator), Esta, Paul E
275: White, Homer (furniture repairman), Alethia
276: Clase, Robert, Edna E., Robert Allen
277: Wendel, Lewis P (automobile dealer), Jesse, James, Pauline, Genevieve, Robert
278: Wick, Fred W (laborer, farm & other)
279: Bollenbacher, Christian, Daniel, Abraham (farm labor, (brothers)
280: Johnson, Ivan (garage man/service & repair), Hazel, Geneveve; Gibbons, Orville (brother-in law)
281: Fisher, Luther (General hardware dealer), Gladys, James, Mary Ann
282: Fisher, John (General hardware dealer), Mildred, Carl, Martha

Sheet 14B (image 28 on Ancestry.com) April 24, 1940:
283: Gibbons, Dewey (garage mechanic), Lottie, Doris Ann
284: Hunziker, Paul (truck driver), Alice L, Patricia L, Louisa
285: Raudenbush, Dwight (live stock dealer), Grace Bernice, Phyllis Joann, Nila Sue
286: Egger, Simon S (electrician/electric service), Anna, Pauline, Luther, Kathryn (grocery store clerk)
287: Yahl, Rev. Carl (minister of the Gospel, worked 52 wks/$1200)
288: Baker, Henry C (farmer), Margaret, Kenneth Hoblet (son-in-law, farmer), Gertrude, Sandra J, Linda Lou, Dana Mary
289: Vining, Earl (agri-product dealer), Wanda (dau)
290: Slusser, Jacob S (truck driver for state), Sarah, Leo, Dorothy, Kay
291: Duff, Jacob W (labor for state highway), Rose, Eugene, Paul, Emma
292: Sipe, Clark E (public school teacher, worked 36 wks/$1025), Iva Pearl, Naomi E
293: Barley, Carrie

Sheet 15A (image 29 on Ancestry.com) April 24, 1940:
294: Kuhn, Victor F (assist operator of grain elevator), Mildred H, Shirley Ann
295: Hershberger, Rev. Ben (minister of the Gospel), Helen, Stephen
296: Gibbons, Perry, widower, Vivan Carr (dau, grocery store clerk, widow), Robert Carr, Wanda Lou Carr
297: Myers, Charles (grocery man), Sarah, Charles Jr
298: Bollenbacher, Fred V (restaurant operator), Elizabeth, Matilda, Arthur (both attendants at restaurant); Vining, Ervin (border, farm labor)
299: Heffner, Walter (grocery store merchant), Vera
300: Huffman, George (old age pensioner), Barbara
301: Huffman, Sarah R
302: Schroeder, Carl (public school teacher), Marcella
303: Huffman, Philip (old age pensioner), Etta
304: Andrews, William (farm labor), Minnie, Robert, Floyd, Vera May, Donna Rose
305: Schott, Glenn (garage mechanic), Hilda
306: Deitsch, John J, Christina
307: Regedanz, John (blacksmith), Ella; Mosser, Melvin, son-in-law (oil spreader/road construction)

Sheet 15B (image 30 on Ancestry.com) April 23, 1940:
Mosser, Mildred (Regedanz housold)
308: Andrews, Charles (garage owner), Viola
309: Andrews, Victor (garage mechanic), Beatrice, Victor Jr
310: Miller, Lester F (gas & oil truck driver), Margurite A., Larry Duane
311: Baumgartner, Ralph (laborer at saw mill), Helen, Phyllis
312: Charles Bollenbacher, Mary E
313: Paul Baumgartner (saw mill operator), Hulda, Goldia (housekeeper at private home), Dale (saw mill operator)
314: Andrews, Sophia
315: Kable, Catherine
316: Watkins, Dr. Charles (practicing medicine/professional), Clara M, Charles Robert
317: Schott, Minnie (widow), Clarence F, Paul F, Dale F, Alfred W, Anna Lee
318: Weinman, Amelia (widow), Wilma J, Eileen H

1940 Census, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 54-22, sheet 14A.

These names bring back a lot of memories. Lester Miller was our mail carrier for many years but this must have been before his letter-carrier days. Carl and Marcella Schroeder attended Zion and Marcella was my second grade teacher at Willshire School. Clark Sipe and his daughter Naomi were both school teachers and school administrators. In her later years Hilda Schott lived near St. Marys. We used to take a Christmas plate to her at Christmas. My parents purchased several Pontiac automobiles from the Wendel Brothers. Gene Duff’s daughter Linda was one of my good school friends and was in our wedding party.

Rev. Carl Yahl was the minister at Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga, in 1940. He was age 35, single, and was living in the same place in 1935. Rev. Ben Hershberger was probably the minister at the Methodist Church in Chatt.

It is interesting to note that Perry Gibbons died on 16 April, eight days before the census was taken. How could that be? Remember the question that was asked: Name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1940 was in this household. Perry was still living on April 1.

Tomorrow: What were the Chattanoogans doing in April 1940?

Apr 17

Tombstone Tuesday–Maria Katharina Dietrich

Maria Katharina Dietrich, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Maria Katharina Dietrich located in row 6 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed Hier ruhet in Gott, Maria Katharina, gattin von J. Jacob Dietrich, gestorben den 28 Mai 1871, alter 68 jahre, 9 monat, 13 tag. [Here rests in God Maria Catharina, wife of J. Jacob Dietrich, died 28 May 1871, age 68 years, 9 months, 13 days]

Maria Katharina’s death and burial as it was recorded in Zion’s church records: Mrs. M. Katharina Dietrich died in the night of 27 and 28 May 1871 and was buried on 29 May. She was 68 years, 9 months and 13 days old.

According to Zion’s Family Register Maria Katharina Dietrich, born Werner, was born 15 August 1802 in Hainstadt and baptized on 17 August in Neustadt, Grossherzogthum, Hessen Darmstadt.  She married Johann Jacob Dietrich on 23 October 1825. They immigrated to America in 1836, resided 18 months in Zoar, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and came to the Schumm area 19 May 1838. The couple had the following children:

Margaretha Dietrich, born 6 November 1826, she lived 12 days.
Johann Adam Dietrich, born 27 January 1828.
Maria Katharina Dietrich, born 6 April 1832.
Andreas Dietrich, born 28 March 1843.

Apr 13

Bennett Family in the 1940 Census

Louise, Fred & Helen "Goldie" Roesner

This past week I continued to browse through the recently released 1940 census on Ancestry.com. This time I was looking for my husband’s side of the family.

I found Joe’s mother Louise with her family right away. I knew they were probably living in Celina, Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio, but I did not know which ward. I chose a section of town west of Livingston Street and luckily made the right choice.

The Edward Roesner family was right there on line 33, the page 1A, Ward 3, enumeration district (ED) 54-18. They lived at 217 Echo Avenue and owned their home which was valued at $5000. The family consisted of Edward, head, 44; Helen, wife, 34; Frederick, son, 17; and Louise, daughter, 17, all born in Ohio. They lived in the same house in 1935. Ed’s occupation was watchman for a steam railroad and he was employed 52 weeks during 1939, and earned $1300.

Edward Roesner household, 1940 US Census, Mercer Co., Oh, Celina, Ward 3, ED 54-18, sheet 1A, line 33.

I also located Joe’s grandfather Vermont H. Bennett and his family. They were living in Yorkshire, Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio, ED 19-39, sheet 2B, line 44. They owned their home which was valued at $700. The family consisted of Vermont H., head, 53; M. Evelyn, wife, 50; and Helen, daughter, 13. Vermont and Helen were both born in Ohio and living in the same house in 1935. His wife Evelyn was born in Nebraska and living in Grand Junction, Mesa, Colorado, in 1935. Vermont’s first wife, Lura (Monroe), died in 1935 and he had remarried Mattie Evelyn (Yeaton) Bennett. Evelyn was the widow of Vermont’s brother Delaware. Vermont’s occupation was postmaster of a rural post office. He worked 52 weeks during 1939 and earned $690.

Vermont H Bennett household, 1940 US Census, Darke Co., Oh, Yorkshire, ED 19-39, sheet 2B, line 44.

Joe’s father Dwight, Vermont’s son, was not listed in the Vermont Bennett household and I do not know where to look for him.

Joe had two great-grandmothers living in 1940, Sarah (Cain) Monroe and Aretha (Green) Lee.

Sarah (Cain) Monroe, the widow of James Francis Monroe, was living in the Roy Grunden household, Franklin Township, Mercer County, ED 54-8, sheet 1A, line 11. The household consisted of Roy Grunden, head, 53; Stella, wife, 42; Jimmie, son, 17; Virginia, daughter, 12; Gail, son, 2; Sarah Monroe, mother-in-law, 80, widow, born in Indiana. The rest of the family members were born in Ohio. Roy was an assembler in an agricultural implement factory, worked 26 weeks in 1939 and made $350.

Roy Grunden household, 1940 US Census, Mercer Co., Oh, Franklin Twp, ED 54-8, sheet 1A, line 11.

I looked through several areas of Paulding County, northern Van Wert County, and the Monroeville, Indiana, area, but I could not locate Aretha Lee. I’ll probably just have to wait until the 1940 census is indexed to find Dwight and Aretha.

Some thoughts and comments while looking through 1940 census pages: Good penmanship must not have been a requirement for the position of census taker. Why did the Census Bureau furnish some enumerators with pens that left ink blotches in the middle of a name? One enumerator left blank lines at the bottom of most sheets so the next household could be started on a new sheet. Nice for indexing, but they probably weren’t supposed to do that. Another census taker started out writing the surname of every single person on every line. That lasted for about two sheets.

This past week I also indexed 7 batches of the 1940 census, sheets from Kansas and Franklin County, Ohio. Yes, Ohio is now up for indexing. It would be fun to index Mercer and Van Wert Counties.

 

 

Apr 10

Tombstone Tuesday—Johann Jacob Dietrich

Johann Jacob Dietrich, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Johann Jacob Dietrich, located in row 6 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed Hier ruhet in Gott Johann Jacob Dietrich, geb. den 18 Deb. 1786, gest, den 26 April 1866, alt 79 Jahr 4 Monat & 8 Tag. (Here rests in God Johann Jacob Dietrich, born the 18 December 1786, died the 26 April 1866, age 79 years, 4 months 8 days.)

According to Zion’s Family Register Johann Jacob Dietrich was born 18 December 1786 in Neustadt, Grossherzogthum, Hessen Darmstadt. He was baptized 20 December of the same year. He married Maria Katharina Werner on 23 October 1825. They immigrated to America in 1836 and resided 18 months in Zoar, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They came to the Schumm area 19 May 1838.

Johann Jacob Dietrich’s death and burial, as recorded in Zion’s records: Johann Jacob Dietrich was born 18 December 1786 and died 26 April 1866 at 4:00 in the morning of typhoid. He was buried on April 17.  He was 79 years, 4 months and 8 days.

Zion’s Family Register also names the children of Johann Jacob and Maria Katharina Dietrich:

Margaretha Dietrich, born 6 November 1826.
Johann Adam Dietrich, born 27 January 1828.
Maria Katharina Dietrich, born 6 April 1832.
Andreas Dietrich, born 28 March 1843.

Andreas Dietrich was featured in last week’s Tombstone Tuesday.

Apr 06

Browsing the 1940 Census

Some of the first relatives I located in the 1940 census, Bob & Bernice Dudgeon, 2nd from left.

I’m sure everyone knows by now that the 1940 US census was released this past Monday, 2 April.  Many of us were eagerly awaiting that day but, as you probably also heard, things did not go as planned.

There were over 22.5 million hits on the NARA website within three hours as people tried to get a peek at the images. Most people, myself included, never got to view the 1940 census on the NARA website on Monday. Here is how the first part of this week went for me:

Monday, 7:25 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, I read on Facebook that Ancestry.com has a few 1940 census images available for viewing. Immediately I go to Ancestry.com, killing time until the National Archives releases the complete census at 9:00 a.m.

Ancestry’s list includes about ten US states and territories and Indiana is one of them. Yes! Indiana is one of the states I want to search.

The Ancestry website works smoothly and the images load quickly. The areas are broken down by state, then county, then township. It is easy to find a township and I do not even need the enumeration district numbers that I had looked up a few days before. However, the 1940 census is not yet indexed, so I browse through the names on each sheet of a particular township. That goes fairly quickly.

One of my goals is to locate where my three great-grandmothers were living in 1940. Pearl Brewster and her husband Philip lived on a farm in Jefferson Township, Adams County, at the time Philip passed away in 1935. I begin searching through the 18 sheets of Jefferson Township.

By 7:41 I see names that I recognize. Right there, on sheet 1, is Robert Dudgeon and his family. Robert’s name is on line 29, too! A person listed on line 29 answered supplemental questions. How lucky could I get? A relative that I remember on line 29 of sheet one! Robert’s wife Bernice was a daughter of Pearl Brewster. I must be getting close. I continue on.

I find what I am looking for on sheet 14, line 80. I am elated. My great-grandmother Pearl Brewster was living with her daughter and son-in-law, Arthur & Dorothy Weaver.

As I search through Jefferson Township I see the names of other relatives and acquaintances that I knew or have heard of. Some are still around today. Some of them:

Flora Caffee with granddaughter Betty Myers (ages 75 & 14)
Conrad & Emma Heffner (ages 73 & 67)
Harley & Ella Reef (ages 57 & 47) with daughters Naomi & Imogene (ages 23 & 21)
Ralph & Alpha Derrickson (ages 44 & 42) with children Ralph, Alvin, William (ages 15, 12 & 2)
Vic & Chloe Bollenbacher (ages 36 & 34) with children Althea & Olen (ages 9 & 4)
Theodore & Hazel Brewster (ages 38 & 32) with children Mary, Virginia, Jerry & Keith (ages 10, 5, 3, & 1)

At 8:59 a.m. I go over to the www.1940census.archives.gov website to see how their website works and to browse Mercer and Van Wert Counties in Ohio. Like most others trying to access the census on their website I get nowhere. Nothing is loading. I try off and on until noon and then give up. I would have to view my Ohio counties another day.

By now I need to get away from the madness and get some fresh air. It is a nice sunny day so I pack up my cameras and go over to Schumm Cemetery and take a photo of every tombstone there. It turns out to be a nice quiet, peaceful, tech-free afternoon.

Tuesday, 5:32 a.m.: The NARA website is now working well and I can view the census images. Ancestry.com now has Ohio! Too bad I have to go to work today. At lunch I browse Mercer and Van Wert Counties and locate my parents and my other two great-grandmothers. I note the pages and download them later that evening at home.

At 9:06 p.m. Tuesday I decide to try my hand at indexing the 1940 census. I read that some had already begun indexing Monday evening. Last week I downloaded the indexing program and read the indexing tutorial. Although I have never indexed before I am ready to give it a try. I download a census page from Kansas and I index the page in about ½ hour. This is fun! It is not difficult at all. And I feel good about helping index the census. I encourage others to try their hand at indexing so we will soon have it completed. Learn more about indexing the 1940 census at the 1940 US Census Community Project.

Several websites now have free access to the 1940 US census. These include Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, and Familysearch.org, and Archives.com, which has the complete set of 1940 census image from the NARA, www.1940census.archives.gov. The non-NARA websites may not currently have all of the images but will have them all soon. I have had the most success with Ancestry.com.

Here are the highlights of two households from Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana, 1940 US Census, from Ancestry.com:

Arthur Weaver household, sheet 7B, Stubes [?] Road, 136th house visited, line 76; Arthur, head, age 26; Dorothy, wife, 24; Myrna, daughter, 3; Arthur, son, 1; Pearl Brewster, mother, 58. Owned their home, value of $500, lived on a farm; highest level of education: Arthur H4, Dorothy H1, Pearl 8 [I assume H=high school]; they lived in the same house in 1935; Arthur worked 52 weeks in 1939 with an income of $1200.

Arthur Weaver household, line 76, 1940 US Census, Jefferson Twp, Adams Co, Ind, p 7B

The “x” by Dorothy’s name indicates that she gave the information to the census taker. She was the informant.  The 1940 census also asked where the persons were living in 1935. This was to determine how much families moved during the Great Depression.

Robert Dudgeon household: sheet 1A, Boze [?] Road, 8th house visited, line 29; Robert Dudgeon, head, age 36; Bernice, wife, 32, Richard, son, 5; rented home w/monthly rent of $10; lived on a farm; highest level of education for Robert and Bernice was 8th grade; Robert’s supplemental questions: his father was born in Indiana; their mother tongue was English; he did not have a Social Security Number; usual occupation was farmer.

Robert Dudgeon household, line 29, 1940 US Census, Jefferson Twp, Adams Co, Ind, p 1A

In Ohio, great-grandmother Christine (Rueck) Miller was living with the Reefs in Mercer County and great-grandmother Elizabeth (Schinnerer) Scaer was living with son Oscar Scaer in Van Wert County. My parents were on the farms they still own today.

Elizabeth Scaer, line 23; CL Schumm family, line 27, 1940 US Census, Willshire Twp, Van Wert Co, Ohio, p 8A

Carl Miller household, line 38, 1940 census, Blackcreek Twp, Mercer Co, Ohio, p 8A

Carl Miller household continued, 1940 Census, Blackcreek Twp, Mercer Co, Ohio, p 8B

My aunt Ruth was not in the Miller household. She was probably away at college.

Wavil Reef household, line 64, 1940 Census, Blackcreek Twp, Mercer Co, Ohio, p 8B. Christina Miller line 66.

Here are some statistics about the release of the 1940 census on 2 April 2012:

  • There are 18 Terabytes of hosted data (1 Terabyte=1000 GB. The entire printed collection of the Library of Congress is approximately 10 Terabytes.)
  • Day 1
    • 22.5 million hits in the first 3 hours
    • 100,000+ requests/minute during the day
    • 25,000+ requests/minute during night
    • 120+ x-large cloud servers
    • 1,000 news articles written
  • Day 2:
    • 40.1 million hits during peak 3 hour period
    •  200,000+ requests/minute during day
    • 25,000+ requests/minute during night
    • 180+ 4X-large cloud servers
    • 250,000+ people spent 10+ min on site generating 4.2Million+ page views

Source: Archives.com, accessed 4 Apr 2012.

As you can see, I am not the only one interested in viewing the 1940 census!