Tombstone Tuesday–Fred J. & Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher

Fred J & Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Fred J. and Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher, located in row 9 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Anna
1879-1986

Fred J.
1874-1938

BOLLENBACHER

Fredrick Jacob “Fred” Bollenbacher was born in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, on 7 February 1874, the son of Jacob (1937-1915) and Caroline (Schaadt) Bollenbacher. Caroline Schaadt (1843-1880) was the second of Jacob’s three wives. [1]

Fred’s mother Caroline died on 7 March 1880, probably from complications of childbirth. Fred’s widowed father Jacob resided with his 7 children when the 1880 census was taken on 5 June of that year. The Jacob Bollenbacher household in 1880: Jacob, 42; Phoebe, 11; Louisa M, 10; Adolph, 8; Frederick J, 6; Henriette C, 4; Emma, 2; Peter, 3 months. Jacob was born in Bavaria and was a farmer. [2]

Jacob Bollenbacher married Anna Barbara Huffman in Mercer County, Ohio, on 15 February 1900. [3]

Anna Barbara Huffman was born in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, on 21 February 1879. Anna was the youngest of 4 children born to Ferdinand and Barbara (Schott) Huffman.

Anna was baptized at Zion Chatt on 30 March 1879 with Christ and Anna (Koch) Kessler serving as her sponsors. Anna was confirmed at Zion Chatt on 9 April 1893 by Rev. J.F.C. Soller. Her surname is sometimes spelled Hoffmann in Zion Chatt’s records.

Anna Huffman grew up in Liberty Township. The Ferdinand Huffman household in 1880: Ferdinand, 33; Barbara, 33; Mary, 11; Caroline, 9; George, 7; Henry, 1; Caroline, 65 [Ferdinand’s mother]. Ferdinand and Barbara’s 4 children are listed, but their fourth child, Henry, is a mystery. I wonder if this should have been Anna instead. She would have been 1 year old then. [4] 

In 1900 Anna, who was married by that time, lived with her parents when the 1900 census was taken on 12 June. Also in the household was her brother George and her paternal grandmother Caroline, the widowed mother of her father Ferdinand.  The Ferdinand Huffman household in 1900: Barbara, 53, head; Ferdinand, 53, husband; George, 36, son; Anna Bollenbacher, 21, daughter, married; and Caroline, 79, mother, widowed. [5]

By 1910 Fred and Anna Bollenbacher had been married 10 years and had 3 children in their household. Their household in 1910: Fred J, 36; Anna, 31; Mabel, 9; Ernest, 8; and Opal, 1. Fred was a general farmer. Anna had given birth to 4 children and 3 were living. [6]

In about 1916 Fred and Anna Bollenbacher and their 5 children lived on a 40-acre farm south of Chatt in about 1916. The land was located a little south of Frahm Pike and east of State Route 49. Fred was a farmer and a thresher who owned 2 horses and 3 cows and had an Indiana telephone, according to The Farm Journal Illustrated Directory of Mercer County, Ohio, 1916, 1921.

The Fred Bollenbacher household in 1920: Fred J, 45; Anna, 39; Mabel, 18; Ernest, 13; Albert, 8; Opal, 10; and Luther, 4. Fred was a farmer. [7] 

Fred & Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher family, c1920. Front, Fred & Anna; Middle: Opal, Luther, & Albert; Back: Mabel & Ernest.

A big thanks to Christy for sending me the above photo of the Fred J. and Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher family, taken about 1920. Christy is Fred and Anna’s great-granddaughter and she descends from their son Albert.

Fred J. Bollenbacher died 28 April 1938 in Liberty Township at the age of 64 years, 2 months, and 21 days. He was buried on the 30th. According to Zion Chatt’s records he was survived by his wife, 3 sons, 2 daughters, 6 grandchildren, 1 brother, 2 sisters, 3 half-brothers, and 3 half-sisters. Fred was a farmer and a thrasher. He took his own life by hanging due to ill health.

In 1940 Anna, a 61-year old widow, lived with her son Luther, age 24 and single, in the same house they had rented and lived in 5 years before. The census indicates that the house was not connected to a farm. Luther “Bun” was a general laborer, doing all sorts of odd jobs. [8]

Anna Bollenbacher, 107 years old, 1986.

I remember when Anna came to church and we had a 100th birthday celebration for her. She even worked in her garden in her last years. What a remarkable lady!

Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher, 1979. 100 years old.

Anna (Huffman) Bollenbacher died of pneumonia and kidney failure in Coldwater, Mercer County, Ohio, on 6 December 1986, at the age of 107. She was buried on the 9th.

Fred and Anna are buried close to their son Luther, who died in 1983.

Fred and Anna had the following children:
Mabel E (1900-1989), married Lester Kaylor
Clarence R (1902-1904)
Ernest W (1906-1971), married Mabel Howell
Opal Marie (1909-1998), married Blaine Laffin
Albert Frederick (1911-1974), married Lillian Deitsch
Luther Carl “Bun” (1915-1983)

 

[1] Jacob Bollenbacher (1837-1915) had three wives: Louisa Friedericka Becker (1848-1864); Caroline Schaadt (1843-1880); and Magdalena Distler (1856-1923).

[2] 1880 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 188, p.473B, dwelling 48, family 50, Jacob Bollenbaugh; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1048.

[3] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch.org, Fred J Bollenbacher & Anna Barbara Huffman, 15 Feb 1900; Mercer County Marriages, Vol. 8, p.111; FHL microfilm 914957.

[4] 1880 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 188, p.472C, dwelling, family, Ferdinand Hoffman; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1048.

[5] 1900 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 85, p.9A, dwelling 164, family 169, Ferdinand Hoffman; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 1241304, NARA microfilm T623, roll 1304.

[6] 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 119, p.4A, dwelling & family 60, Fred J Bollenbaugher; Ancestry.com; FHL microfilm 1375227, NARA microfilm T624, roll 1214.

[7] 1920 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 140, p.9B, dwelling 177, family 191, Fred J. Bollenbacher; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T625, roll 1418.

[8] 1940 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, ED 54-22, p.8A, line 1, Anna Bollenbacher; Ancestry.com; NARA microfilm T627, roll 3114.

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