I continue to write about the John Henry Kable family, and as it turns out, four of the six family members do not have marked burial sites. I may have to rename this series of blog posts Tombstoneless Tuesday.

Today’s post, John Henry Kable’s wife Viola L. Baumgartner, who married John H. Kable (1877-1957) in Mercer County on 4 November 1906. [1]

Viola L. Baumgartner was born in Adams County, Indiana, on 9 March 1889, the daughter of John and Nettie (Urick) Baumgartner. [1] [2] [3]

Viola Baumgartner came from a large family. In 1900, Viola Baumgartner, age 11, lived with her parents, six siblings, and two half-brothers in Dunkirk, Jay County, Indiana: Joe [John] Baumgartner, 36, head; Jeannette [Nettie], 31, wife; Eddie, 13; Edgar, 13; Viola, 11; Irene, 9; Cloah, 6; John, 4; Frank, 9 months; Jesse Baumgartner, 19, son; and William Baumgartner, 17, son. Joe/John and Jeannette/Nettie had been married 16 years, so the father John likely had two sons, Jesse and William, from a previous marriage. Jeannette/Nettie had given birth to eight children and seven of them were living. [2]

John H. Kable married Viola Baumgartner on 4 November 1906 and their marriage record gives some valuable information. It indicates that Viola L Baumgartner was born in Adams County, Indiana, 9 March 1889, the daughter of John Baumgartner and Nettie Urick. Their marriage license indicates that Viola was 17 years old when they married, and because she was underage her father gave permission for her to marry. Neither John nor Viola was previously married. Viola resided in or near Rockford and John, a teacher, resided in Liberty Township, Mercer County. They were married by C. L. Culbertson. [1]  

John H Kable & Viola Baumgartner marriage record, 1906 [1]

John H Kable & Viola Baumgartner marriage record, 1906 [1]

In 1910 John, 33, farmer, and Viola, 21, resided in Liberty Township, Mercer County and had two children, Walter, 2, and Laurina, 3 months. John’s mother Catharine Kable also lived with them. [4]

John H. and Viola had two more children within the next couple years, Victor Daniel Kable, born in 1912, and Bessie Maud Kable, born in 1913.

In September 1918, Viola Kable was given as her husband John’s next of kin when he registered for the draft in Mercer County. [5]

John’s wife Viola (Baumgartner) Kable died in Liberty Township on 11 December 1918, aged 29 years, 8 months, and 2 days. She died from pneumonia, associated with the Spanish flu. Her death certificate indicates she was buried in the Chattanooga Cemetery, on the 13^th. [6] I assume this was Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, a couple miles south of Chatt. But she does not have a grave marker. Neither does her husband John H. Perhaps she is buried near her husband John and perhaps they both had temporary markers at one time.

Viola (Baumgartner) Kable death certificate, 1918 [6]

John H and Viola L (Baumgartner) Kable had the following children:
Walter Elmer Kable (1907-1921)
Viola Laurina (1910-1921)
Victor Daniel Kable (1912-1961), married Agnes L. Spangler
Bessie Maud Kable (1913-1980), married Dale Henry Eley

[1] Ohio, U.S. County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer County, 1904-1910, p.278, John H. Kable & Viola L. Baumgartner, 4 Nov 1906, Ancestry.com. 

[2] 1900 U.S. Census, Indiana, Jay County, Dunkirk, ED 68, p.4, dwelling 76, family 76, Joe [sic] Baumgartner; Ancestry.com.

[3] WPA, Indiana, Adams County, Index to Birth Records, 1882-1920, Vol. 1, Surnames A-Z, Baumgartner, 9 Mar 1889; Ancestry.com.

[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.12A [penned], dwelling 212, family 219, John Kable; Ancestry.com.

[5] U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ohio, Mercer County, John Henry Kable; Ancestry.com.

[6] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Mercer County, Viola L Kable, 11 Dec 1918; FamilySearch.org.

Last week’s Tombstone Tuesday featured John Henry Kable (1877-1957), a deceased individual without a tombstone, although he reportedly was buried in Kessler, aka Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio.

The son of Frederick (1817-1886) and Catharine (Koch) (1837-1911) Kable, John H. grew up in Liberty Township and married Viola L. Baumgartner on 4 November 1906. [1]

By 1910 John and Viola had two children, Walter Elmer, 2, and Viola Laurina, 3 months. [2]

According to Zion Chatt’s records, Walter Elmer Kable was born 16 August 1907, the son of John Henry and Viola L. Baumgartner. He was baptized at Zion Chatt on 10 April 1908 with his parents serving as his baptismal sponsors.

Also, according to Zion Chatt’s records, Viola Laurina Kable was born 8 January 1910, the daughter of John Henry and Viola L. Baumgartner. She was baptized 24 July 1910 with her parents serving as her baptismal sponsors.

In 1913 John H. Kable and family lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a short time [3] but they moved back to Mercer County by 1918. [4] And by 1918 John H. and Viola had four children.

John H. Kable’s wife Viola (Baumgartner) Kable died in Liberty Township, Mercer County, on 11 December 1918. [5]

In 1920 widower John H. Kable, 42, and his four children lived in Mercer County with John’s widowed sister, Christina (Kable) Baumgartner, 52: John H Kable, 42, widowed; Walter E Kable, 12, son; Laurina V. Kable, 10, daughter; Victor D Kable, 8, son; Bessie Kable, 6, daughter; and Christina Baumgartner, 52, sister, widow. [6] 

John’s two oldest children, Walter and Viola Laurina, both died within a few weeks of each other in 1921.

According to Zion Chatt’s death and burial records, Viola Laurina Kable died from spinal meningitis on 11 November 1921, aged 11 years, 10 months, and 13 days. She was buried in the Chattanooga Mausoleum on the 13^th.  She was survived by her father, 2 brothers, and 1 sister. 

According to Zion Chatt’s death and burial records, Walter E. Kable died from blood poisoning on 24 November 1921, aged 15 years. He was buried in the Chattanooga Mausoleum on the 27^th.  He was survived by his father, a sister and a brother. According to his civil death record, Walter died in Mercer County. [7]

Chattanooga Mausoleum, Chattanooga, Ohio

Although the records indicate both children were laid to rest in the Chattanooga Mausoleum, neither has a marked vault there. However, John H. Kable purchased three vaults at the Chattanooga Mausoleum between 1919 and 1925.

John H. Kable purchased compartments no. 9 & 10, Section F, in the Chattanooga Mausoleum on 10 February 1919, certificate no. 21. Were these two compartments originally purchased for John H. and his wife Viola? But she had already passed away in 1918 and according to her death certificate she was buried in the Chattanooga Cemetery. Did that mean Kessler/Liberty Cemetery? Her tombstone has not been found there.

Or did John H. Kable originally purchase the two compartments for himself and his wife Viola, but used them instead for his two children? He probably did not expect two of his children to die at such a young age.  

Six years later John H. Kable purchased another compartment at the Chattanooga Mausoleum. He purchased compartment no. 11, Section F West, on 7 December 1925, certificate no. 23. Perhaps he purchased that additional compartment for himself, where he would be laid to rest next to his children?

It is also interesting to note that John’s sister Christena (Kable) Baumgartner purchased compartments no. 7 & 8, Section F, on 22 February 1918, Certificate no. 19. Christena and her husband John Baumgartner are laid to rest there and their compartments are engraved with their names.

Chattanooga Mausoleum

The Kable family has five compartments in the Chattanooga Mausoleum, compartments 7-11, all next to each other.  

Records indicate that John H.’s children Walter E. and Viola Laurina were laid to rest in the Chattanooga Mausoleum. Perhaps their names were never carved on their vaults.

The father, John Henry Kable died in Adams County, Indiana, on 22 January 1957 and is reportedly buried in Kessler Cemetery, but there is no marker for him either.

[1] Ohio, U.S. County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer County, 1904-1910, p.278, John H. Kable & Viola L. Baumgartner, 4 Nov 1906; Ancestry.com. 

[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.12A [penned], dwelling 212, family 219, John Kable; Ancestry.com.

[3] Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1 Feb 1913; Newspapers.com.

[4] U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ohio, Mercer County, John Henry Kable; Ancestry.com.

[5] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Mercer, Viola L Kable, 11 Dec 1918; FamilySearch.org.

[6] 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 140, dwelling 196, family 213, John H Kable; Ancestry.com.

[7] “Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, 1958-2007,” Walter E. Kable, 1921; FamilySearch.org.