A few years ago I purchased a 1916 Farm Journal Illustrated Directory of Mercer County, Ohio, on Ebay. It was published by the Wilmer Atkinson Company, publishers of the Farm Journal, from Washington Square, Philadelphia. It contains 208 pages, an alphabetical list of the people living in Mercer County with some information about them, advertisements, and a classified business directory. The following is some information about my ancestors from this directory.
Jacob Muller [umlaut over the u] is listed on page 117: Muller, Jacob, wife Christina, 1 child, a farmer who owned 80 acres at Route 1 Willshire, Blackcreek Township. He owned 8 horses and 3 cows and had an Indiana telephone. I would imagine a telephone would have been quite a luxury in 1916.
Jacob’s son, John, was living next to Jacob, and is listed on page 115: Miller, John, wife Sophronia, 2 children, a farmer who owned 62 acres at Route 1, Willshire, in Blackcreek Township. John owned 4 horses and 3 cows and also had an Indiana telephone.
A map of Mercer County was included with the directory. Numbers on the map correspond with numbers given with the names of the people in the directory. Jacob and John Miller were both listed as #17 in Blackcreek Township. I was not aware that John owned land in this section. I need to look through the deed books at the Mercer County Recorder’s Office and check this out.
1916 Mercer Directory Map
Chattanooga was the nearest town to the farm, about 2 miles away. Several Chattanooga businesses advertised in the 1916 directory. It appears that Chattanooga was a thriving little village. The following are the Chattanooga businesses listed in the directory:
Chattanooga Hardware Co. [see photo]
Regedanz Brothers, blacksmiths
Heffner Brothers, garage
Merkle & Egger, general store
Baumgartner & Andrews, lumber
John H. Andres, meats
Perry Gibbons & Fred Heffner, saloon
A. Germann, shoes
Smith Brothers, tinners
The other day I was talking with my dad about the Miller farm in Blackcreek Township. The 1853 Mercer County plat book showed that the 80 acres was divided into two tracts of land at that time, owned by two individuals, each having a cabin on their 40 acre plot. The cabin at the back end of the property would have been about ½ mile from the current road. My dad said that his grandfather, Jacob, talked about a cabin that had one time been toward the back of his farm. This would correspond with information from the 1853 plat book. Supposedly, the road from Berne, Indiana, now route 218, was to go by the cabin that was in the back 40 acres. Perhaps there was a dirt road back there in the 1850s. If the Indiana road from Berne came straight into Ohio it would have probably gone right by the cabin. However, route 218, instead of coming straight into Ohio, curves south at the state line and becomes Ohio route 707.
There were some Schumms living in Mercer County in 1916, but they lived closer to Rockford. The following Schumms are listed in the directory, all on page 135:
Schumm, Amos C, tenant, farmer, 6 horses, 5 cows, route 6 Rockford, Blackcreek Township, Indiana telephone.
Schumm, C.J., wife Jeanette, 2 children, farmer, owns 145 acre farm, 10 horses, 3 cows, route 2 Rockford, Dublin Township, Indiana phone.
Schumm, F.M., wife Amber, farmer, owns 62 acres, 5 horses, 19 cows, route 2 Rockford, Dublin Township.
Schumm, J.F., Sr., Rockford.
Schumm, Mary, Rockford.
Schumm, P.F., wife Leona, 3 children, farmer, owns 100 acres, 5 horses, 14 cows, route 2 Rockford, Blackcreek Township, Indiana telephone.
Schumm, Wm. L., wife Amanda, 2 children, farmer, owns 95 acres, 4 horses 1 cow, route 6 Rockford, Blackcreek Township, Indiana, telephone.
I will be happy to do any lookups from this 1916 directory. Just e-mail me with your request.
1916 Mercer County Directory
3 comments
Don Hunziker
February 21, 2012 at 9:53 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hello, Karen.
I am the great-grandson of Rev. Samuel Hunziker (1836-1899) who served St. Paul Lutheran Church on Wabash Road southeast of Chatt from 1893 until his death. In those days, the church was on the west side of the road south of, and adjacent to, the St. Paul cemetery. This was years before the present church was built on the east side of Wabash Road.
One of Samuel’s sons, William Hunziker (1871-1914), married Louise Kable (1878-1977). They inherited a farm less than a mile north of St. Paul near the northeast corner of Schaadt and Wabash roads, Liberty Township. Could you look in the 1916 Mercer County Directory for information about the Louise (Kable) Hunziker property?
My dad, Paul Hunziker (1910-1992), would have been 6 at the time.
Thanks so much, Karen. Your site is a little gem.
FYI: I lived in the last house on the south end of Chatt from 1945 to 1948, directly across SR 49 from Zion Lutheran. My dad managed the Chatt location of Berne Equity (grain) Elevator on the north end of town. The former elevator building remains there today.
Sincerely,
Don Hunziker
Coral Springs, Fla.
Karen
February 21, 2012 at 10:39 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
How interesting! I know all the places you mention very well. I see your former home every Sunday! I notice that Samuel, William and Louise are buried in St. Paul Cemetery. There is also an Elizabeth (1842-1915). Was she Samuel’s wife? A few Hunzikers also attended Zion at one time.
The 1916 Mercer County Directory does list Louise: Hunziker, Mrs. Louise, R5 Rockford, Lib. That is all that is listed. The name is actually misspelled as “Hunziher”.
So nice to hear from you. Let me know if you need any more look-ups from the Chatt area.
Karen
Don Hunziker
February 22, 2012 at 9:38 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hello again, Karen.
The woman you refer to is Elizabeth (Pfirsch) Hunziker, Samuel’s second wife. She had four of Samuel’s 11 children, including Rev. Conrad Henry Samuel Hunziker (1888-1956).
Samuel’s first wife was Pennsylvania native Elizabeth Yoas (1835-1879), my great-grandmother. She is buried west of Cardington, Ohio, north of Columbus, about 100 miles east of Chatt. Samuel served two Lutheran churches in the Cardington area from about 1873 to 1883.
Then he moved the family to Columbia City, Ind., where he preached at another Lutheran church for more than 10 years before accepting the St. Paul pastorate southeast of Chatt.
Samuel was born in Moosleerau (canton of Aargau), Switzerland, and spoke German. One of his younger brothers, Heinrich Hunziker (1845-1904), also was a Lutheran minister. Heinrich settled in Courtland, Minn., 65 miles southwest of Minneapolis. His family moved to Washington state after his death and engaged in various work, including operating a fruit farm.
Recently discovered that I have a third cousin in Yakima, Wash. She’s 82 and is employed as a bookkeeper.
My dad’s first cousin (my first cousin/once removed) is Floyd Hunziker, 88, of Algonac, Mich., northeast of Detroit. Floyd’s late wife was the granddaughter of a Titanic victim.
Interesting family, Karen.
Cordially, Don