Tombstone Tuesday–Pauline Grabner Bausser Andress Bollenbacher

Pauline Bausser, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

Pauline Bausser, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2011 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Pauline Bausser, located in row one of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

PAULINE BAUSSER
1856-1929

Last week I featured the tombstone of Marie Bausser (1887-1905), daughter of Pauline and John Bausser. These three Baussers are buried in Zion’s cemetery, but only Pauline’s death and burial were recorded in Zion’s records.

Although her tombstone simply reads Pauline Bausser, Pauline’s surname was actually Bollenbacher when she passed away, not Bausser. The church records show her name as Pauline Grabner Bausser Andress Bollenbacher at the time of her death.

Who was Pauline Bausser, aka Pauline Grabner Bausser Andress Bollenbacher? This is Pauline’s story. [1]

Pauline was born just a few miles from Chatt. She was born Pauline Grabner on 18 December 1854 in Liberty Township, the daughter of John and Magdalene “Lena” (Maurer) Grabner. Pauline’s parents were both born in Germany and they immigrated in 1847. The Grabners lived in Section 11 of Liberty Township, about 1 ½ miles east of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Liberty Township. They attended church at St. Paul Lutheran and Pauline was baptized there. [2]

Pauline Grabner married John Bausser on 22 March 1877 in Auglaize County, Ohio. [3] In 1880 John and Pauline were living near Wapakoneta, in Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio. John was enumerated as age 33, born in Württemberg, and Pauline was 25, born in Ohio. They had one child at that time, their son Edward, who was six months old. [4]

During their marriage John and Pauline had four children:
Johann “Edward” (1879- ?) married Belle Rockwood
Maggie L. (c1886-1992) married Gust W. Bollenbacher
Marie (1887-1905)
William “Willie” (1891-1956) married Minnie Foor

The John Bausser family moved to the Chattanooga area by 1887. They may have lived across the state line in Adams County, Indiana. They first attended St. Paul Lutheran Church in Liberty Township, Pauline’s home church, and later attended Zion Lutheran in Chatt. Daughter Marie was baptized (in 1887) and confirmed (in 1900)  at St. Paul Liberty. Two of their children were confirmed at Zion, Johann Edward in 1893 and Margaretha in 1896.

Pauline’s husband John died 11 April 1898, according to his tombstone in Zion Chatt’s cemetery. His tombstone also indicates that he was the husband of Polly Bausser.

Pauline, with four young children to care for and support, did not stay single long. According to Zion’s records Pauline Bausser married William Andress on 27 August 1899. Pauline was 45 and William was 46 at the time of their marriage. The record indicates that Pauline was from Adams County, Indiana, which is only a mile from Chattanooga. [5]

In 1900 William and Pauline “Andrews” were living in Liberty Township with their children from their first marriages. The Andress/Andrews children: Freddie, 22; David, 15; Frona, 13, and Clara, 9. The Bausser children: Edward, 20; Maggie, 16; Mary 14; and Willie, 9. Pauline’s four children were listed as William’s step-children. William was a tile maker at that time. [6]

The Andress family moved within the next ten years and in 1910 they were living on Celina-Mendon Pike, near Celina. William was 56 and Pauline 55. They had been married for ten years and the census indicates it was the second marriage for both. Pauline had given birth to four children and three were still living. William was a farmer. [7]

William Andress died sometime between 1910 and 1920 and in 1920 Pauline, at age 65, was a widow once again. In 1920 Pauline “Andrews” was living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with her son William Bausser and daughter-in-law Minnie. Pauline was enumerated as “mother” and she was a widow. Her son William was a plumber at a knitting mill. [8]

Pauline’s only living daughter Maggie Bausser still resided near Chattanooga. She had married August “Gust” W. Bollenbacher on 16 March 1902 in Mercer County. [9] Gust W. Bollenbacher was the son of Jacob Bollenbacher (1848-1929), a German immigrant who lived across the state line in Adams County, Indiana. Jacob Bollenbacher was the son of Abraham and Kate (Kuhn) Bollenbacher [10] and was married to Margaret Huffman. [11]

Jacob’s wife, Margaret (Huffman) Bollenbacher, died 7 July 1921. [12] Perhaps Jacob lived with his son Gust and daughter-in-law Maggie after Margaret’s death. Perhaps that was when the widowed in-laws Jacob Bollenbacher and Pauline Bausser Andress formed a relationship and decided to get married.

Pauline Grabner Bausser Andress married Jacob Bollenbacher on 16 December 1926 in Mercer County. He was 78 years of age and she was 74. Their marriage record included a lot of valuable genealogical information: that Jacob had been married once and Pauline had been married twice; that Jacob was born in Germany and Pauline in Liberty Township, Mercer County; that Jacob was the son of Abraham and Kate (Kuhn) Bollenbacher and Pauline was the daughter of John and Laura (Lange) [sic] Grabner; and their birth dates: he on 28 October 1848, she on 8 December 1852. Witnesses to their marriage were their children, who were married to each other, G.W. and Maggie (Bausser) Bollenbacher! [10]

Mercer County marriage record of Jacob Bollenbacher and Polly Andress.

Mercer County marriage record of Jacob Bollenbacher and Polly Andress.

According to Zion Chatt’s records”Pauline Bowser Andres Bollenbacher” died of cancer on 29 December 1928, at the age of 74 years and 12 days. Survivors included two sons and one daughter. Pauline was buried on 1 January 1929 in Zion’s cemetery, in the same row as her daughter Marie, and a just few rows away from her first husband and father of her children, John Bausser. Her tombstone bears the Bausser name and does not mention her other two marriages.

Pauline Bollenbacher's death certificate, FamilySearch.org.

Pauline Bollenbacher’s death certificate, FamilySearch.org.

Jacob Bollenbacher died less than six months later, in late April or early May of 1929. [13] He is buried in Kessler Cemetery, alongside his first wife Margaret (Huffman). They share the same tombstone.

 

[1] Pauline’s surname was spelled several ways in the various records: Graebner, Grabner, and Grapner. In the German alphabet the letters “b” and “p” were often interchanged. For the sake of uniformity I am using the spelling of Grabner in this post.

[2] Familienbuch, St. Paul Liberty Lutheran Church, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. Note: The church record gives her date of birth as 18 December 1852, which differs from the date on some of the other records and her grave marker. Most records indicate she was born on the 8th. The name was spelled Graebner in the early church records.

[3] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 8 June 2014), John Bausser and Polena Grebner, 11 Mar 1877; citing Auglaize, Ohio, Vol. 4, p. 418; from FHL microfilm 963057.

[4] 1880 U.S. Census, Pusheta, Auglaize County, Ohio, ED 10, p. 478C (stamped), dwelling 50, family 52, John Bowsher; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2014); from FHL film 1254993, from NARA microfilm T9, roll 993.

[5] The surname was spelled Andress as well as Andrews in various records. I am using Andress as the spelling in this post for uniformity.

[6] 1900 U.S. Census, Liberty, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 85, p. 15B, dwelling 290, family 196, William Andrews; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 June 2014); from FHL microfilm 1241304, from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1304.

[7] 1910 U.S. Census, Center, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 109, p. 9B, visited no. 205, family 206, William Andrews; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com) (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2014); from FHL film 1375227, from NARA microfilm T624 Roll 1214.

[8] 1920 U.S. Census, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, ward 7, ED 64, p. 23B, house 505, dwelling 529, William Bausser; digital images by subscription, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 June 2014), from NARA microfilm T625, roll 421.

[9] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” index and images, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org : accessed 15 June 2014), Jacob Bollenbacher in entry for Gust W. Bollenbacher and Maggie L. Bausser, 16 Mar 1902; citing Mercer, Ohio, United States, reference p. 332; FHL microfilm 914957.

[10] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” index and images, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org : accessed 15 June 2014), Jacob Bollenbacher and Polly Grapner Andress, 16 December 1926; citing Mercer, Ohio, United States, Vol. 13: 85; FHL microfilm 002366955. Note: Pauline’s mother was actually Magdaline “Lena” (Maurer), per the church records.

[11] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” index and images, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org : accessed 15 June 2014), Jacob Bollenbaugh and Margaretta Hoffman, 21 February 1878; citing Mercer, Ohio,, Vol. 4:99; FHL microfilm 914956.

[12] “Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org : accessed 15 June 2014), Margaretta Bollenbacher, 7 July 1921; citing Liberty Twp., Mercer, Ohio; from FHL microfilm 1991749.

[13] Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2013, Ancestry.com.

 

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