Tombstone Tuesday–Christian Roehm

Christian Roehm, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Christian Roehm, located in row 2 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Christian
Son of
Andrew & [unreadable]
ROEHM
Died
12 July 1863
Aged
13 Y, 11M, 12 D

Christian Roehm was born in Ohio, likely in Tully Township, Van Wert County, on 26 July 1849 to Andreas “Andrew” (1814-1902) and Catharine (Bienz) (1819-1858) Roehm.

His mother’s name on the tombstone is unreadable now, but when the Van Wert County Chapter OGS read the cemetery in 1992, they read her name as “Freidrica.” Friedericka would have been Christian’s step-mother and that may very well be the name inscribed on the tombstone. Christian’s birth mother Catharine died in 1858.

Christian Roehm’s parents Andrew and Catharine (Bienz) married on 16 August 1840 in Van Wert County, Ohio. They were both born in Germany and his father Andrew was a farmer. [1]

The Andrew Roehm family lived in Tully Township in 1850. Their household in 1850: Andrew, 37; Catherine, 31; Mary, 9; John, 7; Elizabeth, 5; Jacob, 3; and Christian, 1. All their children were born in Ohio. [2] Christian’s baptism is not recorded in Zion Schumm’s records, perhaps because they did not live in Willshire Township and did not attend Zion Schumm at that time.

Sometime during the next 10 years the family moved to Willshire Township. Christian’s mother Catherine died in 1858 and the Andrew Roehm family was enumerated in the census two years later. Their family in 1860: Andrew, 45; Mary, 18; John, 16; Elizabeth, 14; Jacob, 13; Christina, 11; Henry, 9; Emanuel, 7; and Anna, 3. [3]

The 1860 census was enumerated on 25 July 1960 and Christian’s father Andrew married widow Friedericke (Gutheil) Rettig (1827-1910) a few months later, on 8 November 1860, in Van Wert County. [4] Friedericke had at 5 children from her first marriage to John Rettig. She and Andrew went on to have at least 5 children of their own.

Young Christian Roehm died 12 July 1863. Zion Schumm’s records tell that he suffered from cramps for a year and was found dead one morning.

Christian’s father Andrew Roehm died 4 January 1902. He and his second wife Friedericka are buried a few rows away, in row 7.

 

[1] Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Van Wert County, p.4, Andrew Roehm & Catharine Bientz, 16 Aug 1840; database & image on-line, Ancestry.com.

[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Tully, Van Wert, Ohio, p.189A, dwelling 406, family 425, Andrew Reem; Ancestry.com.

[3] 1860 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.427, dwelling 1099, family 1093, Andrew Rackin; Ancestry.com.

[4] Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Van Wert County, p.232, Andrew Roehm & Fredrika Guthial, 8 Nov 1860; database & image on-line, Ancestry.com.

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