Fredrick W Grabner, St. Paul Lutheran, Liberty Twp, Mercer County, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)
This is the tombstone of Fredrick Wilhelm Grabner, located in row 4 of St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is broken at the base and partially sunken into the ground. Most of the inscription is unreadable, but The Mercer County Chapter OGS read and recorded the inscription in 1990. Their 1990 reading:
Fredrick W.
Son of
John & M
Grabner
Died
Sep 22, 1846
Aged
3Y, 6M, 21D
The major problem with this tombstone inscription is that the tombstone carver transposed the last two numbers of the year Fredrick W. Grabner died. Fredrick W. died in 1864, not 1846.
Several records support this.
The records of St. Paul Liberty show that Fredrick Wilhelm Grabner died 28 September 1864, at the age of 3 years, 6 months, and 28 days. That church record and the one below refers to him as William.
St. Paul’s records also indicate that Fredrick Wilhelm was born in Liberty Township on 1 March 1861, the son of John and Magdalene “Lena” (Maurer) Grabner.
Fredrick’s parents were both born in Germany and his father immigrated to America in 1847. Fredrick’s parents married at St. Paul Liberty, Mercer County, on 17 January 1852, married by Rev. J.G. Gackenheimer. [1]
Yes, there are some minor date discrepancies between the tombstone inscription and the church records, I feel the church records are more accurate than the tombstone.
Fredrick Wilhelm Grabner’s tombstone is next to grave marker of his brother John Anton Grabner (1866-1868), which is also broken and lying on the ground.
Brothers John A & Fredrick W Grabner, St. Paul Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)
The John Grabner (Sr) family lived in Section 11 of Liberty Township, about 1½ miles east of St. Paul Lutheran Church. The family attended church at St. Paul Lutheran Church and the following information about the family is recorded in their church records.
From St. Paul Lutheran, Liberty Township’s Familienbuch:
Johann Michael Graebner, son of Johann Michael and Maria Elisabetha Graebner, was born on 17 August 1822 in Schellert, County Court an der Eisch, District Mittelfranken, Kingdom of Bavaria, where he was also baptized and confirmed. He immigrated to America in 1847 and lived in Butler County, Ohio, for a few years. He married Magdalena Maurer in Mercer County in 1852. Magdalena was the daughter of Nickolaus and Margaretha Maurer, and was born on 28 February 1832 in Guedingen, District Saarbruecken, Prussia. She was baptized and confirmed in Bischnissheim. John and Magdalena (Maurer) Grabner lived in Mercer County since their marriage, where their following children were born and baptized:
George, born 9 January 1853
Paulina, born 18 December 1854
Luisa, born 8 December 1856
Maria, born 9 November 1858
[Fredrick] William, born 1 March 1861, died 28 September 1864
John Anton, born 30 April 1866 [2]
That family record stopped at 1866, but the couple had at least two additional children: Carolina Margaretha Grabner, born 29 November 1863, baptized 31 January 1864, and confirmed in 1877. Her confirmation is recorded at both St. Paul Liberty and Zion Lutheran, Chatt. Another child, Henry Jacob Grabner, was born 11 December 1870, confirmed at St. Paul in 1885, and died 19 April 1950. He never married and is also buried at St. Paul Liberty Cemetery.
This surname is spelled several ways in the various records: Graebner, Grabner, and Grapner. The oldest spelling of the name in the church records is Graebner and Grapner is today’s spelling.
Find a Grave.com has a better photo of Fredrick’s tombstone that I was able to get.
[1] Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer County Marriage Book C, p.161, John Grabner & Magdalena Moner [sic], 17 Jan 1852; Ancestry.com. And marriage records of St. Paul Liberty Lutheran Church, Mercer County, Ohio.
[2] Familienbuch, St. Paul Liberty Lutheran Church, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, p.33, previously translated from original records.
