Tombstone Tuesday–Catharine Muller

Catharine Muller (1886-1895) Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio

This is the tombstone of Catharine Muller, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The inscription on the tombstone is: Hier ruhet in Gott [Here rests in God] Catharina, tochter von [daughter of] Jakob & C Muller, gest [died] 7 Mar 1895, alter [age] 8 jahr [years], 5 mon [months], 2 tag [days].

Catharine was the third child born to Jakob/Jacob and Christina (Rueck) Muller/Miller. Jacob and Christina were my great grandparents.

According to her baptism record Catharine Muller was born 5 October 1886 and was baptized 5 November 1886. Her parents were Jacob Muller and Christina, born Rueck.  The birthplace of her father was Bierbach, Rheinpfalz, Bavaira, and the birthplace of her mother was Steinbach, Oberamt, Brailsheim, Wuerttemberg. The sponsor at her baptism was Catharina Rueck, sister of the mother. Substitute sponsors were both parents. (source: Records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Book I: 154)

According to her burial record Katharine Muller died 7 March 1895, aged 8 years, 5 months, 2 days. She was buried on 9 March 1895.  Survivors were the parents, Jakob Muller and wife.  (source: Records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Book II: 338)

Catharine Muller’s death was also recorded in the Mercer County probate court: Catharine Miller died 7 March 1895, age 6 years, 5 months, 0 days.  She was born and died in Black Creek Township. The cause of her death was typhoid. (source: Mercer County Probate Court Death Records, Book II) Note that her age is incorrect in the probate record.

My aunt Kate recalls the family talking about one of Jacob & Christina’s daughters who died of typhoid fever. Aunt Kate remembers hearing that Catharine developed typhoid from drinking the water from one of the wells on the farm that had gone bad. She believes it was a well on the west side of the farm. Perhaps my aunt Kate was named after Catharine Muller.

Jacob Miller was predeceased by five of his children. Jacob’s first wife, Sophia Goelzer, died in Germany during the birth of their first child. Their child also died. This was about a year before Jacob came to America in 1871.Christian Miller (1880-1911) was one of two sons born to Jacob and his second wife Margaretha Strobel/Strabel. The first three children born to Jacob and Christina Rueck, Jacob’s third wife, died before their parents. They were Maria Regina (1884-1905), Jacob Jr (1885-1913), and Catharine (1886-1895).

Jacob Jr, Christian, Maria, and Catharine are all buried very near each other in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery.   Below is a photo of row 7. Jacob Jr’s tombstone is to the far right and Christian’s tombstone is to the left of his. Maria Regina’s tombstone is the fourth from the right and Catharine’s is the seventh one from the right, the small stone to the left of the largest tombstone.

Jacob Jr, Christian, Maria, Catharine Muller, row 7, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga

Three of Jacob and Christine’s other children are also buried in Zion Lutheran Cemetery. They are Caroline (1893-1988), Carl (1896-1973), and Clara (1899-1997). Jacob and Christine are buried in the Chattanooga Mausoleum, located at the cemetery.

Another John Bryan Family Photo

John & Hannah (Huey) Bryan family in front of their Jay County, Indiana, home (c1883)

This is another photo of the John and Hannah (Huey) Bryan family. This photo was taken in front of their home in Bear Creek Township, Jay County, Indiana. I believe this photo was taken on the same day as another photo of the John Bryan family that I blogged about a couple months ago. I have re-posted the other photo at the end of this blog.

The photo to the right shows the 7 Bryan children with spouses (if they were married) and some children. The other photo (end of this blog) is a close-up of John and Hannah and their 7 children and is the background photo of this website. If you look closely you will see that the women are wearing the same dresses in both photos. Both photos show John and Hannah sitting in their rockers, holding their massive Bibles.

The photo above was published in a recent Jay County Historical Society publication, When Grandpa Farmed. Joe purchased this 2 Volume set of books for me as a Christmas present last year. There was an article about the James family in Volume II and this photo was included with the article. From the article I learned that Mr. James, the contributor, and I share common ancestors—John and Hannah (Huey) Bryan. Mr. James descends from John and Hannah’s daughter Alta Jane Bryan and her husband Ernest Schmidt. I contacted Mr. James and we have been sharing information and photos. This is working out very well because he has several photos that I have never seen and I am able to supply him with information about the family.

Mr. James also shared this copy of a 16 x 20 pastel of John and Hannah (Huey) Bryan that  looks like it was made about the same time as the other two photos:

John & Hannah (Huey) Bryan, copy of 16 x 20 pastel

Mr. James thought the group photos were taken about 1880. I have been thinking about the photo taken in front of the Bryan home and studying it. My great-great-grandparents, William and Emily (Bryan) Reid were married in 1878 and they traveled to Kansas soon after their marriage. Their first two daughters, Pearl and Laura, were born in Kansas in 1880 and 1882. Their third daughter was born in Jay County March of 1884. The Reids would have been in Kansas from 1880-1882. Alta Jane was married in 1894 and she does not have a spouse in this photo. The photo was likely taken sometime between 1882 and 1894.

Everyone in the photo is dressed in their fine clothing. Even the children are dressed up. What could have brought everyone together for such an occasion? People dressed up for funerals and weddings. Could this possibly have been a wedding celebration?

I believe the photo in front of the Bryan home could have been taken as the Bryan family gathered to celebrate Byantha Bryan’s marriage to George Saxman on 28 September 1883. I also believe the two little girls on the far left are William and Emily Reid’s daughters, Pearl and Laura. That would mean that the little girl that is standing and holding her mother’s hand is my great-grandmother, Pearl (Reid) Brewster.

Mr. James was able to supply the names of most of the adults in the photo. I have been gathering information about John and Hannah’s grandchildren from census records and my theory just might be correct. I believe these folks are in the first photo, from left to right:

William Reid, holding daughter Laura; daughter Pearl Reid holding her mother’s hand, Emily (Bryan) Reid
Mary (Reid) Bryan and her husband Peter Bryan
An unidentified couple
George Saxman and Byantha (Bryan) Saxman
Lewis Bryan, s/o Mary (Bryan) & George Reid (standing in front of Byantha)
Hallet Bryan and his wife Mary (Chapman) Bryan (standing behind John Bryan)
Alta Jane Bryan and her brother William Riley Bryan (standing behind Hannah Huey Bryan)
Mary (Bryan) Reid and her husband George Reid
An unidentified woman standing at the far right

I am not sure about putting names with the children that are sitting in front of John and Hannah. There are a total of 9 children in the photo, 4 boys and 5 girls. However, by using census enumerations I can only come up with eight Bryan grandchildren in 1883. According to census records these would have been John and Hannah’s grandchildren in 1883:

Mary (Bryan) & George Reid married c1874; children: Lewis, age 8; Loraine, age 6
Peter & Mary (Reid) Bryan married in 1876; children: John, age 5; Irena, age 3
Hallet & Mary (Chapman) Bryan married in 1879; children: James, age 4; Riley “William”, age 1
Emily (Bryan) & William Reid married in 1878; children: Pearl, age 3; Laura, age 1½

Perhaps one of the younger children was born and then died between census enumerations. Or one of the children could have belonged to the unidentified couple. The unidentified person to the far right also looks like a fairly young woman.

Who is the unidentified couple? Perhaps they were Bryan, Huey, or Saxman relatives. We may never know who they were.

I have had a copy of the photo below for quite some time. The names under the photo are as I received them. However, Mr. James thinks that William and Hallet’s names should be switched, but he is not sure. I would appreciate hearing from anyone that can correctly name the Bryan children in this family photo.

John & Hannah (Huey) Bryan, children Emily, Peter, Mary, Hallet, Alta Jane, William Riley, Byantha (c1883)

We may never know for sure what occasion prompted these photos. I just know they are wonderful photos and I thank Mr. James very much for sharing family photos with me. He has given me permission to add them to this website, so look for more Bryan family photos here.

Tombstone Tuesday– Maria R. Muller

Maria Regina Muller, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. Died 10 March 1905, Aged 21 years, 17 days.

This is the tombstone of Maria R. Muller, the oldest child of my great-grandparents, Jacob & Christina Muller/Miller. Muller is inscribed on the base of the tombstone in large letters. The stone itself is inscribed Maria R., tochter [daughter] of J. und C. Muller, Gest [died] Mar 10, 1905, aged 21 years, 17 days. Maria was born 23 February 1884 according to her baptism record. Her gravestone is located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. Only one tombstone separates it from those of her brother and half-brother, Jacob Jr. and Christian Miller. I featured the order form for Maria’s monument in last week’s blog.

There are several records of Maria Regina Muller’s death. Zion’s church records tell us that she died on 10 March 1905 and that she was 21 years and 16 days old. This record indicates that she died of consumption and was buried on 12 March. (source: records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Book II:341) Her Mercer County probate death record also shows that she died on 10 March 1905 and that she was 21 years and 18 days old. This record states that she was a house keeper and that she died of consumption. (source: Mercer County, Ohio Probate Court Death Records, Book II) Her tombstone agrees with the death date of the other two records but shows that she was 21 years and 17 days old.

Just how old was Maria Muller when she died? The three different sources give three different ages. All the sources show that she was 21 years old but the number of days differs. One source says that that she was 16 days old, another says 17 days, and the third says she was 18 days old. According to my Roots Magic genealogy program Maria was actually 21 years and 15 days old! It appears that none of the records were correct.

Two records state that Maria died of consumption. Consumption was any disease accompanied by great weight loss or loss of muscular tissue and associated with racking coughs, pleurisy, fever and cancers. Consumption is now usually considered to be tuberculosis, defined as a rapid and severe deterioration of the body and also known as quick consumption. (source: What Did They Mean by That? A Dictionary of Historical & Genealogical Terms Old & New, Paul Drake, 2000:68)

According to Maria’s baptism record, Maria Regina Mueller was born 23 February 1884 and was baptized 14 March 1884 at Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga. She was the daughter of Jacob Mueller & his wife Christina, nee Rueck. Her baptism record also goes on to give the birthplace of her father as Bierbach in the Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, and her mother’s birthplace as Steinbach, Oberamt [district governing office] Brailsheim, Wurttemberg. Witnesses at Maria Regina’s baptism were her mother’s parents, Jacob and Regina Rueck. (source: Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Book I:150) What  wonderful  information from her baptism record! It not only gives the place of birth of Maria’s parents, but it also gives the names of her maternal grandparents. Maria was confirmed at Zion by Pastor August Affeld on 6 June 1897. This record gives her date of birth as 23 February 1884. (source: Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga, Book I:208)

Maria Regina Muller (1884-1905)

The 1900 US census was the only census in which Maria was enumerated. She was 16 years old at that time and living with her parents in Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio.  She did not attend school that year but she could read, write and speak English.

It is also interesting to note that the name changed from Muller to Miller sometime between 1905 and 1911. Maria’s name is “Muller” on her tombstone and Jakob signed his name “Muller” (with an umlaut) in 1905. When Christian and Jacob Miller Jr. died in 1911 and 1913 respectively, their tombstones were engraved “Miller.”

Postmortem Records

Undertaker Bill for Chris Miller, Wichita Falls, Texas, 1911

There were often documents created after an individual’s death that may help you with your family research. Don’t overlook these postmortem items. These records may include undertaker’s bills and cemetery monument orders. You may find these records in probate packets, among family papers, in local historical society museums, or among the books and papers of these types of businesses.

Recently I featured Chris Miller in a Tombstone Tuesday blog. Chris was the son of my great grandfather, Jacob Miller and his second wife. After reading the blog my dad sent me copies of two original funeral-related bills from our family.

Chris Miller died of typhoid in Texas in 1911 and this is a copy of the undertaker’s bill. The bill is dated Oct 25, 1911, the day after Chris died. The undertaker was E G Hill. His office and parlors were located at 900 Scott Avenue, Wichita Falls, Texas. Their phone number was 225. Apparently there weren’t many phones in 1911 if their phone number was simply a three-digit number.

The itemized bill from EG Hill:
Casket, $40
Embalming, $25
Suit, $22.50
Shaving, bathing, etc, $5
Transportation to station, $5
Undertaker and Tax [total of above], $97.50 + $1.25 [tx] = $98.75
E G Hill [his signature]
The bill was marked paid on 25 Oct 1911.

It is interesting to see what funeral charges were 100 years ago. But postmortem bills may also contain valuable information when a tombstone no longer exists, as in the example below.

The grave marker of Landon Bennett, Joe’s great-great-grandfather, no longer exists. The tombstone was located in Ellis Cemetery, south of Montezuma, in Franklin Township, Mercer County, Ohio.  The tombstone of Elizabeth (Grant) Bennett, wife of Landon, is still in row 11 in Ellis Cemetery. Landon and Elizabeth’s stones were originally side by side. Here is a transcription of the original order for their tombstones, dated 15 June 1871:

The undersigned has bought of Joseph Flanery a set of grave stones about 2
[hand written between the lines]: Cap  6 feet   6 in Sqr   6 in   Marble    Clasped Hands on Cap
Feet high, 6 inches wide, 6 inches thick, of Italian Marble with
Two inscriptions Book in Hand & Bird and inscribed, Landon
Bennett. Died May 31 1866 Aged 57 Yr 6 M
15 Days and Elizabeth wife of Landon Bennett
Died Feb 4 1871 Aged 64 Yr 8 M 19 Days
With such extensions or abbreviations as may be necessary, which he agrees to receive
In Elis [sic] G Y Mercer County, any time when
Delivered after the Dec 1 next, at Nintyfive [sic] Dollars Balance in
Three months from date of delivery.
H B Bennett, adm. [his signature]

Landon & Elizabeth (Grant) Bennett gravestone order, 1871

H B [Henry Brandenburg] Bennett was Landon and Elizabeth’s son and the administrator of their estates. The copy of this document was given to me by another Bennett researcher, Juanita Kellerman. I am not sure where the original was located but I suspect it was in Landon’s probate packet. Unfortunately, Landon’s probate packet cannot be found today and his tombstone no longer exists. There is no probate record of his death because Ohio started recording deaths in 1867, the year after he died. So this one document is a very important one. It is the only document that I know of that records Landon’s date of death and his age at the time of his death. This record would be considered both a primary and secondary source of information. A primary source because Henry B. would have known when his parents died and a secondary source because Henry would have known their birth dates second-hand.

Another example of a record created after death is this original monument order. This order is from Dabbelt & Birkmeier Marble and Granite Works, Delphos, Ohio. It was for Maria R. Muller, daughter of J & C Muller [Jakob & Christena Muller]. Maria died 10 March 1905, aged 21 years, 17 days. The grave marker was to be made of Blue Marble and the order gives the size and details of the stone and base. It was 4 feet, 6 inches high. The name “Muller” was to be on the west side in large letters. It was to be delivered to Zion’s Cemetery on or before September 1905.  The cost was $55 and it was signed Jakob Muller, RFD #1, Willshire, O. My dad is in possession of this original record. This would be considered a primary source of information because Maria’s father, Jakob Muller, the informant, would have known when his daughter was born and when she died.

Maria R. Muller gravestone order, 1905

We can also see the handwritten signatures of our ancestors on these records. So remember to look through those old papers you may find during your research. You never know what little piece of information they may contain.

 

Tombstone Tuesday–Jacob Miller (Jr)

Jacob Miller Jr (1886-1913), Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio

This is the tombstone of Jacob Miller Jr, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The stone is inscribed Jacob Miller, 1886-1913. MILLER is also carved on the top of the stone.

Jacob Miller Jr was the second child of Jacob Miller and his third wife, Christena Rueck. Jacob and Christena were my great-grandparents.

ObituaryYoung Man Killed in Oil Field—The body of Jacob Miller Jr, who was killed in the Oklahoma oil fields, was brought back to the home of his parents, who live south of town. The corpse came in over the Clover Leaf Sunday and was met by undertaker H. B. Cowan who removed the body to the parents’ home preparatory to the services which were held Monday afternoon.

The young man was about 25 years old, well known and respected here. The nature of the accident which caused his death has not been reported. The accident causing the young man’s death was that of a falling oil derrick which, though he was at some distance, struck him killing him instantly. (source: The Willshire Herald, 17 Apr 1913, page 1)

Jacob Miller Jr (1886-1913)

ObituaryExplosion of Shale Gas Brought Death to Young Man of this County who was Working in Oil Fields in California. The body of Jacob Miller Jr, who was killed by falling timber following an explosion of shale gas, was brought to Willshire Sunday and removed to the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Miller near Chattanooga. Young Miller was drilling in the oil fields in California when he met his untimely death. He was a young man of twenty-eight years and has been in the west for three years.

Funeral services were held Monday morning at the Lutheran church at Chattanooga, followed by interment at that place. Accompanying the body of Mr. Miller was Christ Brier, who had gone west with the young man. (source: The Daily Standard, 18 April 1913, page 7)

The two above sources disagree on where Jacob Miller Jr died, so I also checked the death and burial records at Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga. Their records indicate that he was killed by a falling oil derrick in Oklahoma. (source: records of Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga, Book II:344)

Jacob Miller Jr never married.