Apr 09

A Pressing Matter

Ironing. Or as we used to call it, pressing. A chore I do not enjoy. I don’t think anyone enjoys ironing. Fortunately, most of today’s clothing is pretty much perma-press wash and wear, and doesn’t require ironing. Nice for all of us.

Last weekend I got out my savvy steam iron to press some clothes for Easter Sunday. This high-tech iron automatically adjusts to any type of fabric. It is a very nice iron but all of its wonderful features have not lured me into using it more often.

As I was misting some water on the clothing I remembered something we used to do before ironing many years ago. In the days before the steam iron.

We dampened the clothes, rolled them up, placed them in a plastic bag, and put them in the refrigerator. It sounds strange today, but it worked. The clothes seemed easier to iron and you didn’t have to iron them right way. You could iron them a day or two later. They weren’t going to mold or mildew in the refrigerator.

I wonder, did anyone else ever do this or was it something only our family did?

Gertrude (Brewster) Miller ironing.

This is a photo of my Grandma Miller ironing. She is standing in this photo but she usually ironed sitting down, watching TV at the same time. Ironing could take hours and watching TV all the while made the task a little more bearable.

Grandma Miller liked to play practical jokes. She was actually was very ornery. Before she was married, still living at home, her brother Dore got the seat of his pants wet. Dore made the mistake of going to his big sister for help. Her solution was to apply a hot iron to the seat of his pants while he was still wearing them! Talk about being in the hot seat! I am sure it was very uncomfortable for poor Dore. I have other stories about Grandma’s antics but will save them for another time.

Ironing could be worse. At least we don’t have to use heavy irons like these anymore.

Apr 06

Tombstone Tuesday-Column Symbols

Stately-looking columns are sometimes used to frame the ends of a tombstone. Unbroken columns symbolize a noble life or that life has been completed.

Columns, Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

One column, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

Occasionally you will see broken columns on a marker. A broken column symbolizes the end of life, sorrow, or that the life was cut short. This icon can also represent the loss of the head of a family.

Two broken columns, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

One broken column, Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

Columns that create an archway symbolize the entrance to Heaven.

Heavenly entrance, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

 

Apr 02

Good Friday 2021

Today is Good Friday, the day Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us.

The cross is the Christian symbol of salvation, used often on tombstones years ago as well as today.

Here are a few variations of crosses I have seen on tombstones.

A lot can happen in 3 days.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Mar 30

Tombstone Tuesday-Elizabeth (Tague) King Hardzog

Elizabeth (Tague/Dague) King Hardzog, Ridge/Slater Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2021 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Elizabeth (Tague) Hardzog, located in Ridge/Slater Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Elizabeth
Hardzog
Died
Nov. 4, 1878
Aged
65 Y, 5 M, 7 D

This is the same Elizabeth Hardzog [aka Hartzog] who was enumerated twice in Mercer County in the 1850 census, that I wrote about last week. Elizabeth was the wife of Christian Hardzog in 1850 and one of those duplicate enumerations indicates that Elizabeth was 37, which agrees with her age as calculated on her tombstone.

Elizabeth Tague/Dague was born 28 May 1813, as calculated from her tombstone. Elizabeth Tague married Josias King in Franklin County, Ohio, on 25 February 1830, married by John W. Clark, E, M.E. probably a Methodist minister. [1]

By 1840 both the Josias King family and the Christian Hardzog family lived in Black Creek Township, Mercer County. The Josias King family in 1840: males, 1/under 5 years, 2/5-10, 1/15-20, 1/40-50; females, 1/5-10, 1/20-30. The Christian Hardzog family in 1840, males, 2/5-10, 1/10-15, 1/15-20, 1/40-50; females, 1/under 5, 2/5-10, 1/10-15, 1/15-20, 1/40-50. [2]

Josias King and Christian Hardzog were both counted in Mercer County’s 1843 Quadrennial Census of adult white males, age 21 and over, both living in Black Creek Township.

The Kings and Hardzogs were probably neighbors in Black Creek Township or both families likely knew each other.

Christian Hardzog’s first wife Katharine died in 1843 and Elizabeth’s husband Josias King died in 1846. The widowed pair married in 1847 and combined their families.

Christian Hardzog was appointed guardian of the Elizabeth’s five King children in 1848: Amos, 14; Noah, 11; Andrew, 9; Elmira, 7; and Martha, 5. [3] Christian and Elizabeth went on to have several children of their own, William, Zachary, and Harriet.

In 1850 the Christian Hardzog family was enumerated twice, enumerated in both Black Creek and Dublin Townships. See last week’s blog post for that information. [4]

In 1860 the Christian Hardzog family was enumerated in Black Creek Township, with their post office as Shanesville. The family consisted of Christian, 65; Elizabeth, 41; William, 13; Zachary, 11; and Harriett, 9. [5]

The Christian Hardzog family in 1870: Christian, 65, PA; Elizabeth, 58, OH; and Harriet, 15, OH. Christian was a retired farmer by this time. [6]

Christian Hardzog/Hartzog died 8 October 1874 and Elizabeth (Tague/Dague) Hardzog died 4 November 1878. They are buried in separate cemeteries, a couple miles apart.

Elizabeth is buried in Ridge/Slater/Liberty Cemetery, which is located at the intersection of Ohio Route 81 and Rhodes Mill Road. Elizabeth is buried a row or two away from her first husband Josias King. Christian is buried in Hileman/Smith/Hartzog/Alspaugh Cemetery, which is located a couple miles west of Ridge/Slater, at Route 81 and Schumm Road. Both cemeteries are in Van Wert County.

The Kings and Hardzogs lived south of and not too far from Schumm. Some Hardzogs are buried in Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm. I do not know if the Hardzogs attended Zion Schumm in the 1840s, but Christian’s first wife Katharine, daughters Caroline and Catharine, and likely some other family members are buried at Zion Schumm. Zion Schumm’s cemetery is a mile or two north of Hileman/Smith/Hartzog/Alspaugh Cemetery.

[1] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016, Franklin, Ohio. Vol.2, p.241, Josiah King & Elizabeth Tague, 25 Feb 1830;  FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-L1TC-9?i=171&cc=1614804&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXD5H-L57 : viewed 29 Mar 2021).

[2] 1840 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, p.83-84, Josias King & Christian Hardstaff/Hardsock; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/ : viewed 29 Mar 2021). 

[2] Ohio Probate Records 1789-1966, Administration Dockets 1829-1850, Appointments of 1848, Mercer, Ohio, p.382, Christian Harzogg guardian; (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QP-VPDK?i=262&wc=S2CL-YWG%3A266275901%2C266281101&cc=1992421 : viewed 29 Mar 2021).

[4] Enumerated Twice in Mercer County in 1850, Karen’s Chatt, 26 Mar 2021, https://karenmillerbennett.com/census/enumerated-twice-in-mercer-county-in-1850/ .

[5] 1860 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, p. 322, line 10, dwelling 468, family 473, Christian Hartzog; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/ : accessed 6 January 2013).

[6] 1870 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, p. 20B, line 31, dwelling 30, family 30, Christian Hardzog; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/ : accessed 13 January 2013).

Mar 26

Enumerated Twice in Mercer County in 1850

I use census records a lot. In fact, I really like looking through the old census records, although trying to locate someone in the census using an on-line index can be frustrating. Some of the surnames are nearly unrecognizable the way they are spelled and indexed on a website like Ancestry.com, the website I use the most for census research. I can’t blame them. Someone just transcribed the surname the way it was spelled on the census record. That is why, in my footnotes, I use the indexed spelling of a name, so it can be found in the on-line index. 

If I cannot find a family using the on-line index I usually read through the whole township, line by line. That is actually interesting and a good way to familiarize myself with all the families and names in the township. It reminds me of the old days, before census images were indexed, digitized, and put on the Internet. In the old days I would go to a library and look through census records on microfilm, line by line, because they were not indexed back then.

I have been searching in vain for a family in the 1850 census, a family who likely lived in Black Creek Township.

While looking for them, reading through the 1850 census of Black Creek Township line by line, I noticed something very interesting. Something I have read about but have never found myself in a local census.

A family was enumerated twice in Mercer County, Ohio. I have read that finding duplicate entries of a family in the census is a bonus because you may learn some additional information. What a treat!

In 1850 Census Day was 1 June 1850. Census takers were given five months to take the census. The population of the United States was 23.2 million and the population of Ohio was a little over 1,980,000.

The 1850 Federal Census is an important census because it is the first census that listed the name of every person in the household. Before that only the head of the household was listed and other members of the household were marked in age categories by gender. The 1850 census provides other valuable information as well: age [on census day]; sex; color; birthplace; occupation; value of real estate; whether married within the previous year; whether deaf, dumb, blind, or insane; whether a pauper; whether able to read or speak English; and whether the person attended school within the previous year. Unfortunately, the 1850 census did not report family relationships within the household.   

So who was the family enumerated twice in 1850, listed in both Black Creek and Dublin Townships?

Christian Hardzog [aka Hartzog] and his family were enumerated twice in the 1850 census, enumerated in both Black Creek Township and Dublin Township. It is rather easy to miss because the surname is written poorly in both enumerations. The name looks like and is indexed on Ancestry.com as Hartsey in Dublin Township and like Kartrong in Black Creek Township. I probably would not have noticed the double entry had not the names of the family members been familiar to me because I have been researching this family.

1850 Census, Black Creek, Mercer County, Ohio, p.288B, Christian Hardzog. [1]

Below is how they are indexed on Ancestry.com:

Black Creek Township, enumerated 16 September 1850 by Vincent Bebout:

Kartrong
Christian, 49mPA
Eliz, 39fOH
King
Amos, 18mOH
Noah, 16mOH
Andrew, 14mOH
Almira 12fOH
Marthy, 7fOH
Hartsey
Wm, 3mOH [1]

The next day the Christian Hardzog family was asked the same questions by a different census taker. A couple of ages were reported differently and perhaps a different family member answered the questions the next day. Otherwise, the same person may have wondered why they were being questioned again. Elizabeth was Christian’s second wife and the King children listed were from her first marriage. I wonder if Elizabeth talked to the census-taker in Black Creek, since the King surname was given in the Black Creek enumeration and not in the Dublin enumeration. Also, it appears Sarah, 15, male (Dublin) is actually Noah, 16, male (Black Creek). I believe the indexer misread the name as Sarah, as it is nearly illegible.

1850 Census, Dublin Township, Mercer County, Ohio, p.276A, Christian Hardzog. [2]

Dublin Township, enumerated 17 September 1850 by Willshire Riley:

Hartsey
Christian, 49mPA
Eliz, 37fOH
Amasa, 18mOH
Sarah, 15mOH
Andrew, 14mOH
Elmira, 12fOH
Martha, 7fOH
Wm, 3mOH [2]

I believe I know how the Christian Hardzog family came to be enumerated twice. I looked at both the 1850 census and the 1853 plat maps, comparing the families who were enumerated with the names of the 1853 landowners. By looking at the order in which the families were enumerated, it appears the census taker started in Section 1 of the township and went to Section 2, Section 3, etc.

Section 1 in Black Creek Township borders Section 6 in Dublin Township. George Hardzog is listed as the landowner in Section 1, Black Creek, in 1853. That appears to be where Christian and his family lived. In the census Christian Hardzog is listed with the families in Section 1, Black Creek and with the families in Section 6, Dublin.

The Dublin Township census-taker probably didn’t know exactly where the township line was and went into Black Creek Township and enumerated the family twice. 

Just for the heck of it, since the Hardzogs lived so close to Willshire Township in Van Wert County, I read through that township, too. That would be something if the family was enumerated 3 times in one census! But no, I did not find them in Willshire Township. I guess their census taker did not cross the county line. Or perhaps the Hardzogs grew tired of answering the same census questions over and over. 

In the end, this family was enumerated twice but I still have not found the family I was looking for in the first place. It appears they were not enumerated even once in 1850!

[1] 1850 U.S. Census, Black Creek, Mercer, Ohio, p.288B, dwelling 34, family 35, Christian Kartrong; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : viewed 24 Mar 2021).

[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Dublin, Mercer, Ohio, p.276A, dwelling 803, family 807, Christian Hartsoy; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : viewed 24 Mar 2021).