What do you do when there is no tombstone for a Tombstone Tuesday? I guess you go ahead and write a brief bio of the deceased anyway.
I should have looked for the tombstone photo first, before I started researching and writing a Tombstone Tuesday about John Henry Kable, a member of the Kable family I have been writing about the last few weeks.
Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2017 photo by Karen)
When I got to the point of looking through my Kessler, aka Liberty, Cemetery, tombstone photos, I found that I did not have a photo of John Henry Kable’s tombstone. However, I did not overlook taking a photo of his tombstone. There is no grave marker for John at Kessler Cemetery, although his death certificate indicates he was buried there on 27 January 1957. W. H. Zwick & Son, Decatur, was in charge of the funeral arrangements.
Although he has no tombstone, here is a little about today’s subject, John Henry Kable.
John Henry Kable was born in Liberty Township, Mercer County, on 9 April 1877, the son of Frederick (1817-1886) and Catharine (Koch) (1837-1911) Kable. His parents were both German immigrants.
John Henry Kable was baptized a Zion Lutheran, Chatt, on 13 May 1877, with George Weinmann and wife serving as his baptismal sponsors. His christening name was Johann Heinrich Kable.
John was enumerated with his family in 1880: Frederick Kable, 64, head; Catharine C Kable, 43, wife; Jacob Kable, 14 son; Christina Kable, 12, daughter; Frederick Kable, 10, son; and John Kable, 2, son. [1]
John’s father Frederick Kable died 29 April 1886.
In the late 1890s John H. Kable was a schoolteacher at Wild Cat School, Blackcreek Township, Mercer County. He taught at Wild Cat School during 1897-1898 school year and was my great-uncle Jacob Miller’s teacher that year. Awhile back I wrote a blog post about Wild Cat School’s 1897-98 school souvenir book. [2] John H. probably taught a few additional years.
John H. Kable may be the man standing on the far left of this undated Wild Cat School photo.
Wild Cat School, Mercer County, Ohio. Undated photo.
Wild Cat School Souvenir Book, 1897-1898, John H. Kable, teacher.
Wild Cat School Souvenir Booklet, Mercer County, Ohio, 1897-1898.
In 1900 John H, 23, schoolteacher, resided with his widowed mother Catherine (Koch) Kable, 63, head, and three of his unmarried siblings: Christina Kable, 33, Jacob Kable, 35, farmer; and Frederick Kable, 30, farmer. [3]
John H. Kable, 29, married Viola L. Baumgartner, 17, on 4 November 1906, in Mercer County, Ohio. Viola was the daughter of John Baumgartner and Nettie Urick. John’s residence was Liberty Township and Viola was living in Rockford. Neither were previously married and they were married by C L Culbertson. Viola was underage and her father gave permission for her to marry. [4]
The John H. Kable household in 1910: John, 33, head; Viola, 21, wife; Walter, 2, son; Larena, 3 mo, daughter; Catharine Kable 72, mother. John was a farmer. [5]
John’s mother Catharine Kable died in 1911.
In 1912, John H. Kable was a Justice of the Peace in Liberty Township, Mercer County. [6]
A brief 1913 news article in a Fort Wayne newspaper indicates that John H. Kable and family lived in Fort Wayne at that time: Mr. & Mrs. John H. Kable of 173 Jackson Street, are at Shane’s Crossing, Ohio, to attend the funeral of a relative. [7]
By 1918 John H. Kable once again resided in Mercer County, where he registered for the draft in September 1918. His wife Viola was his next of kin. [8]
John’s wife Viola (Baumgartner) Kable died in Liberty Township, Mercer County, from the Spanish flu, on 11 December 1918. Her death certificate indicates she was buried in the Chattanooga Cemetery, but it appears her grave marker does not exist either.
In 1920 widower John H. Kable, 42, and his four children lived in Mercer County with his widowed sister, Christina (Kable) Baumgartner, 52: John H Kable, 42, widowed; Walter E Kable, 12; Lorena V Kable, 10; Victor D Kable, 8; Bessie Kable, 6; Christina Baumgartner, 52, sister, widow. [9]
John’s two oldest children, Walter and Lorena, both died in 1921.
Sometime between 1920 and 1930, probably after the death of his two children in 1921, John and his remaining two children moved to Adams County, Indiana, in or near Decatur. The John H. Kable family in 1930: John, 56, widow; Victor, 19; Bessie, 16. John and his son Victor both worked in a foundry and daughter Bessie rolled tobacco at a cigar store. [10]
John Henry Kable died in Adams County, Indiana, on 22 January 1957, his death caused from a cerebral hemorrhage. His address was RR 3 Decatur.
John’s son Victor Kable was the informant for the information on John’s death certificate. Unfortunately, it appears Victor was not interested or knowledgeable about the Kable family history. Or maybe his father did not talk much about the family. John’s parents were Frederick and Catharine (Koch) Kable, but Victor reported that John’s father was unknown and mother was Viola Baumgarder. Viola was actually the name of John’s deceased wife, who was Victor’s mother. [11]
John H. and Viola L. (Baumgartner) Kable had the following children:
Walter Elmer Kable (1907-1921)
Viola “Lorena” (1910-1921)
Victor Daniel Kable (1912-1961), married Agnes L. Spangler
Bessie Maud Kable (1913-1980), married Dale Henry Eley
John H. Kable had the following siblings:
Jakob Kable (1865-1946), never married
Christina Kable (1867-1939), married John A. Baumgartner
Frederich Kable (1870-1934), married Mary Ann Wendel
Christian Friedrich Kable (1872-1876)
Katharine Kable (1876-1876)
[1] 1880 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 188, p.473B, dwelling 43, family 45, Frederick Kable; Ancestry.com.
[2] Wild Cat School Souvenir Booklet, Karen’s Chatt, 18 Jan 2013.
[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 85, p.6, dwelling 115, family 120, Catherine Cable [sic]; Ancestry.com.
[4] 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.
[5] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.12A [penned], dwelling 212, family 219, John Kable; Ancestry.com.
[6] The Celina Democrat, Celina, Ohio, 27 Sep 1912, p.5; Newspapers.com.
[7] Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1 Feb 1913, Newspapers.com.
[8] U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ohio, Mercer County, John Henry Kable; Ancestry.com.
[9] 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 140, dwelling 196, family 213, John H Kable; Ancestry.com.
[10] 1930 U.S. Census, Indiana, Adams, Decatur First Ward, ED 10, p9A. dwelling 206, family 209, John Kable; Ancestry.com.
[11] Indiana Death Certificates, Year 1957, Adams County, John Henry Kable, 22 Jan 1957; Ancestry.com.
