May 25

Tombstone Tuesday-Michael Billman

Michael Billman, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Michael Billman, located in row 9 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

IN
Memory of
Michael Billman
who died June 9th
1846
aged 47 years
11 mo & 9 d.

Michael Billman was born either 30 June 1798 or 1 July 1798, as calculated from his tombstone. (One birth date calculator showed he was born 31 June!)

Michael Billman’s death is the first death that is recorded in Zion Schumm’s church records, although there may have been an older set of church records that did not survive. Their records simply show that he was 48 years of age when he died of typhus and that he was buried on 10 June 1846.  

The Michael Billman family in 1840, living in Willshire Township: males, 2/under 5; 1/5-9; 1/10-14; 1/15-19, 1/40-49; females, 1/under 5; 1/5-9; 1/40-49. [1]

This is likely Michael Billman’s family, as recorded in the 1850 census, living very close to my great-great-grandfather Louis Schumm: Maria Billman, 50; Daniel, 24; John, 22; Joseph, 17; Isabel, 15; Henry, 13; Frederick, 10 and Catharine, 8. [2] This would make sense, since Hannah and Louise were married before 1850. If these were all his children, then Michael also had at least 5 sons, too.

I do not have much information about the Billman family, but I do have a couple theories. There were a few Billmans that attended Zion Lutheran Schumm during that time period, a woman old enough to be his wife and some younger women.   

The older female Billman, simply called Mrs. Billman in the Zion Schumm’s records, died 29 September 1876 at about 76 years of age. That would put her date of birth around 1800 and she may have been Michael’s widow. Van Wert County death records show that her name was Mary Billman, that she was a widow and a housekeeper who died of dropsy in Willshire Township. This record shows that she was born in Pennsylvania and was 17 years, 5 months, and 29 days old. [3] They likely wrote her age down wrong. A 17-year-old could have been a widow who died of dropsy but she was probably the same 76 year-old Mrs. Billman from the church records who died on the very same day.

There were at least four younger Billman females in Zion Schumm’s that could have been daughters of Michael Billman. These women are:

Hannah Billman (1822-1878), married Jacob Schumm (1815-1853) in 1839; marr. George Steger in 1854
Catharine Billman (1842-1881), married John Fischer in 1858 at Zion Schumm
Louise A. Billman (1831-1849), married John Bienz (1823-1898) in 1848 in Van Wert County
Isabelle Billman (1835-1885), married Henry Volland in 1853 at Zion Schumm

Michael Billman, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

There are just a few of these very old sandstone grave markers that survive in Zion Schumm’s Cemetery. Sandstone markers are very susceptible to the elements, moisture and freezing and thawing being the worst. I suspect that there were other sandstone markers in the cemetery at one time that did not survive over the years.

Most of the sandstone markers in this cemetery date from about 1840-1846. In fact, it seems that quite a few people died in 1846. That year seems to have been particularly deadly for one reason or another.

[1] 1840 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.69, Michael Bellman; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/ : viewed 24 May 2021).

[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.736, dwelling 331, family 350, Maria Billman; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : viewed 24 May 2021).

[3] “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” Van Wert, Vol. 1, p.116, Mary Billman, 29 Sep 1876; FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-672V-8L?i=231&cc=2128172&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AF6NJ-V48 : viewed 24 May 2021).

May 21

Ducklings Galore! (not genealogy related, but cute)

We have lived here on our wooded lot for well over forty years. We have a pond in our back yard and nearly every spring some ducks arrive but they only stay a couple weeks. A variety of ducks will visit but mainly we get mallard ducks and wood ducks.

We have always hoped to see little ducklings here but we never had. Once a female mallard nested just south of our house but right before her eggs hatched a racoon got into them and destroyed them all.

We noticed that a mallard pair has a regular routine when they have a nest. Mr. Mallard will stay on the pond just about all the time. Mrs. Mallard will sit on the nest most of the time but leaves the nest in the evening to swim and cool off in the pond and then grab a bite to eat with her mate under the bird feeder. Then she will go back and sit on the nest. We have noticed this same behavior for several years but there were never any ducklings.

Until this year.

The mallards’ routine was the same this year and we suspected she had a nest somewhere in the woods. We were correct. When we got up Wednesday morning we saw 13 fluffy little ducklings eating corn.

13 little mallard ducklings.

Ducklings following their mom into the pond.

Then they lined up and followed their mom into the water and swam across the pond. That must have been a huge journey for those little guys. 

The ducklings made it across the pond.

 

Funny though, the minute the ducklings appeared the male mallard disappeared! Dad is MIA but Mom is a very attentive and tends to her little ducklings very well.

May 18

Tombstone Tuesday-Urn Symbol

One of the earliest and most commonly used gravestone icons is the likeness of an urn placed on top of a tombstone or carved onto the grave marker.

The urn was one of the first symbols used that replaced the death head and soul effigy in the 19th century after the Revolutionary War. The willow tree icon was the other.

Urn embellished with flowers, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

The urn is a symbol of death because an urn is used as a container for the deceased’s ashes. The urn motif was commonly used during the 1800s even though cremation was seldom practiced during that time period.  

Greeks used the urn as a symbol of mourning because it held the ashes of the dead.

Urns can also symbolize the immortality of the soul. Egyptians believed that life would some day be restored if the vital body parts were placed and stored in an urn.

Draped urn, Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2005 photo by Karen)

Draped urn, Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Mercer County, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

Some cemetery urns are draped. Drapes were commonly used during the Victorian era and symbolize mourning and the separation of life and death. It symbolizes a veil between earth and heaven.

Urn with flame, Granary Burial Ground, Boston. (2009 photo by Karen)

Urn with flame, Granary Burial Ground, Boston. (2009 photo by Karen)

An urn with a flame symbolizes the soul rising from the ashes and undying remembrance.

The phrase gone to pot may derive from the use of a funeral urn that holds ashes.    

May 14

Final 3 Friends Churches of Van Wert Quarterly Meeting

The past couple weeks I have written about Friends Churches in Mercer and Van Wert Counties that were established under the Van Wert Quarterly Meeting of Friends (Quakers), as described in Gregory P. Hinshaw’s brief history of the churches.

Hinshaw’s history tells that there were 3 additional Friends churches in the Van Wert Quarterly Meeting, two of them in other counties and the third in another state.

Spencerville Friends Church, Spencerville, Ohio. (2014)

Spencerville Friends Church was formed from a non-Friends group in the area shortly after 1900. They built a meetinghouse on Mulberry Street in Spencerville (Spencer Township, Allen County, Ohio) in 1904. The Apostolic Holiness Union was organized in 1905 and was later known as the Spencerville Holiness Mission. The congregation joined the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends in 1915, under the Rockford Monthly Meeting, and Spencerville Monthly Meeting was established in 1919. The meetinghouse was remodeled in 1934, 1942, 1958, and 1975-83. A parsonage was built north of the church in 1966-68. The Friends Fellowship Hall was erected south of the meetinghouse in 1958-59.

St. Marys First Friends Church, St. Marys, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

St. Marys First Friends Church was organized in 1908 by Albert J. Furstenberger, organized as a Friends Mission. A meeting for worship and preparative meeting was set up under Friends Chapel Monthly Meeting in 1909. The cornerstone of the meetinghouse, located at the corner of High and Pine Streets in St. Marys (Auglaize County), was laid on 2 October 1910 and the building was dedicated by Thomas C. Brown on 10 December 1911. St. Marys Monthly Meeting was established in 1913. Their pastor tried to withdraw from the Indiana Yearly Meeting in 1950 but was stopped by John Compton, the Superintendent of Indiana Yearly Meeting. The congregation officially renamed itself First Friends Church in 1950.

Monmouth Friends Church was established under the Van Wert Monthly Meeting in 1881 and the church was located in Monmouth (Adams County, Indiana). The congregation was laid down in 1886.

For those of you who have Quaker ancestry, the Quakers kept very good records in their Monthly Meeting Records. They recorded vital events (births, marriages, deaths) as well as memberships and disownments. Some of their records have been published and some are on microfilm. Some may be found on-line.

Main source of information: “A Brief History of the Churches of Van Wert Quarterly Meeting of Friends (Quakers)” by Gregory P. Hinshaw, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005.

May 11

Tombstone Tuesday-Susannah (King) Hartzog

Susannah (King) Hartzog, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Susannah (King) Hartzog, located in row 8 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Susannah
Wife of Solom
on Hartzog Wa
s Born Dec 31’ 1811
& Died November
2, 1842 Aged 31
Years, 10 m. &
1 day

Evidently this tombstone carver did not plan ahead. When he came to the edge of the area he was carving he just broke up the word and continued on the next line, no matter what part of the word he was carving. I have seen this same technique on a couple other old sandstone tombstones in Zion Schumm Cemetery, likely by the same carver.

Most tombstones from this time period do not give a birth date so it is special to see her birth date inscribed. However, the birth and death dates do not agree with her age. She was either born in 1810 or she was 30 years of age when she died.

Susannah King married Solomon Hartzog on 1 April 1830 in Franklin County, Ohio. [1]

By 1840 the Solomon Hartzog family had moved to Willshire Township and reportedly settled along the north banks of the St. Marys River. Their family, as enumerated in 1840: males: 1/under 5, 1/30-39; females: 2/under 5, 1/5-9, 1/20-29. [2]

Susanna (King) Hartzog died 2 November 1842 and she is buried next to her husband Solomon in Zion’s cemetery. Judging by the birth date of her last child, she may have died in childbirth or from complications of childbirth.

Susannah’s widowed husband Solomon married Mary Blossom on 27 June 1844 in Van Wert County, married by the M.E. deacon James J. McNabb. [3]

Solomon Hartzog died 7 November 1848 and is buried next to Susannah.

Solomon and Susanna (King) Hartzog had the following children, although there may be more:
Mary A (1831-1876), married David Smith
Jesse (1833-1904), married Mary Ann Adams
Leah (1836-1921), married Henry Banta
King Solomon (1838-1863), married Polly Medaugh
Eliza J (1841-1880), married James C. Casto
Benjamin (1842-)

[1] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” Franklin Marriages, Vol. 2, p.245, no.1293, Solomon Heartzog & Susanna King, 1 Apr 1830; FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-L1TD-3?i=173&cc=1614804&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXD5H-LRP : viewed 26 Apr 2021).

[2] 1840 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.70, Solomon Hartgoy; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/ : viewed 26 Apr 2021).

[3] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” Van Wert, Vol.1, p.20, Solomon Harzog & Mary Blossom, 27 Jun 1844; FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-S5QF-4S?i=30&cc=1614804&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AX8P3-5QJ : viewed 3 Apr 2021).