Jacob & Katharina (Mueller) Linn, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. (2024 photo by Karen)
This is the tombstone of Jacob and Katharina (Mueller) Linn, located in row 1 of St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:
MUTTER
KATHARINA
1839-1913
VATER
YAKOB
1838-1919
LINN
Mother Katharina 1839-1913, Father Jacob 1838-1919, LINN.
Jacob Linn was born in Bavaria on 5 August 1838, the son of Philipp Daniel (1812-1886) and Gerturde (Fuchs) (1818-1871) Linn.
Katharina Mueller was born in Alschbach, Bavaria, on 14 November 1839, the daughter of Johann (1816-1870) and Marie (Kessler) (1811-1886) Mueller. Katharina Mueller was the older sister of my paternal great-grandfather Jacob Mueller/Miller. Their younger sister Margaret Mueller (1847-1924) married Philip Linn (1841-1920), who was the brother of Jacob Linn. Brothers married sisters.
Mueller was the German spelling of the surname, but it was Americanized as Miller.
Jacob Linn and Katharina Mueller married in Germany about 1866 and their first three children, Jacob, Philip, and Henry, were born in Germany.
Jacob & Katharina (Mueller) Linn, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2024 photo by Karen)
A few Miller and Kessler family members had already immigrated to America and settled in Mercer County, Ohio, by the early 1870s. Katharina and Margaret’s brother Jacob Miller, my great-grandfather, immigrated to America in June 1871 and settled in Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio. Some Kesslers had also settled in Mercer County a few years before that. The Kesslers were close family members of Jacob, Katharina, and Margaret Miller’s mother Marie, who was born a Kessler.
The Jacob and Philip Linn families, with mother-in-law Marie (Kessler) Mueller, all came to America at the same time time, sailing from Bremen, Germany, on the ship Hanover, and arriving in New York on 28 May 1872. Sailing to America were Jacob Linn, 34, wife Katherina (Mueller), 32, their sons Jacob, 7, Philip, 4, Henry, 9 mo.; Jacob’s brother Philip Linn, 31, his wife Margaret (Mueller) Linn, 24, and their infant son Philip, 9 mo.; and Marie (Kessler) Mueller, 64, Katharina and Margaret’s widowed mother. [1]
By 1880 Jacob and Katharina Linn were living in Liberty Township, Mercer County, with two more sons added to their family. Their household in 1880: Jacob Linn, 41, farmer; Katharina, 40; Jacob, 15; Philip, 12; Henry, 9; Christian, 6; and John, 6 months. [2]
Jacob Linn owned 60 acres of land in Sec. 9, Liberty Twp. and 40 acres in Sec. 16. His land was on Oregon Road, between St. Rt. 49 and Wabash Road, on the north and south side of Oregon Road, across from each other. The 60-acre parcel, on the north side of Oregon Road, extended to Wabash Road.
The Jacob Linn family in 1900, where his wife Katharina was enumerated as Amelia: Jacob, 62; Amelia [sic], 61; John, 20; and Fredrick, 15. This enumeration indicates that Jacob and Katharina had been married for 28 years, that 6 of their 8 children were living, and that they immigrated in 1872. [3]
Six of Jacob and Katharina’s eight sons lived to adulthood and they had all left home by 1910. Jacob and Katharina, both 72, lived by themselves in 1910 and Jacob’s occupation was farming. Jacob was listed as Jr. in the 1910 enumeration, although he was actually Jacob Linn, Sr. [4]
Katharina (Mueller) Linn died 17 May 1913 in Mercer County. Her obituary:
Mrs. Jacob Linn, aged 74 years, a pioneer resident of the west end of the county, died last Saturday afternoon at her home in Liberty township, as the result of a stroke of paralysis which she sustained last Thursday night.
Deceased was born in Germany, but came to this country when a young girl, and settled in this county about forty years ago. She is survived by her husband and six sons-Phillip, janitor at the court house in this city; Jacob, Christ, Henry, John and Fred, all residents of the west end of the county. Funeral services were held last Monday afternoon at the German Reform church, in Liberty township. [5]
Widower Jacob Linn died 3 February 1919 in Mercer County. His obituary:
PIONEER DIES
Jacob Linn, senior, died at his home in Liberty township, Monday morning at 2 o’clock. The end was not unexpected as his illness had been of so serious a nature as to preclude all hope. Mr. Linn was known and held in high esteem as one of the pioneer residents of Liberty township. He was born August 5, 1838, in Bavaria, and came to America in June 1872. He died at the age of 80 years. [6]
Jacob and Katharina (Mueller) Linn had the following children:
Jacob Linn Jr (1865-1927), married Elizabeth Germann
Philip Linn (1868-1935)
Henry Linn (1871-1934), married Margaret “Maggie” Deitsch
Christ Linn (1874-1953), married Anna K. Gehm
Wilhelm Linn (1877-1878)
John Linn (1880-1945), married Marie W. Klenz
Peter Linn (1883-1883)
Fredrick Linn (1886-1944), married Anna Brehm
[1] Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1820-1897, Records of the U.S. Customs Service, RG: 36, National Archives, Washington DC, NAID: M237, Ship Hanover, 28 May 1872; Ancestry.com.
[2] 1880 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 188, p.477B, dwelling 114, family 121, Jacob Linn; Ancestry.com.
[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 85, p.8, dwelling 154, family 159, Jacob Sinn [sic]; Ancestry.com.
[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.11A, dwelling 201, family 206, Jacob Linn Jr; Ancestry.com.
[5] Mrs. Jacob Linn obituary, Celina Democrat, Celina, Ohio, 23 May 1913; NewspaperArchive.com.
[6] Jacob Linn obituary, The Lima Times-Democrat, Lima, Ohio, 4 Feb 1919, p.5; Ancestry.com.
