Charles Schumm Residence, 1908

I enjoy collecting old postcards from this area and I found this postcard a few years ago. The message on the card was written in 1908 by Jeanetta Schumm, wife of Charles Schumm. The other side is a nice photo of their home, including their horse and buggy. If you look closely and you can see a woman sitting in the buggy.

Charles Schumm Residence, 1908 postcard.

Charles Schumm Residence, 1908 postcard.

The Charles Schumm home is located about two miles west of Rockford on Route 33. The home is still standing and looks a little different today, after some remodeling. Distant relatives of Charles, cousins several times removed through the Roehms, live in the home today.

The postcard is postmarked Rockford, Ohio, and is dated 22 July 1908. It is addressed to Mrs. J.C. Wildermuth, 2001 No 4 St, Columbus, Ohio. Jeanetta’s mother’s maiden name was Wildermuth and jeanetta wrote this note to her aunt on her mother’s side.

Jeanetta’s message, written over 100 years ago:

Dear Aunt, I’ll write a few lines and send you a postal of our house. Everybody is well. Carrie and Jesse were married on eve of the 11th. When are you coming to see us? Zella will tell you where we were when this was taken. Love to all, your niece, Jeanne S.

1908 postcard written by Jeanetta (Bury) Schumm.

1908 postcard written by Jeanetta (Bury) Schumm.

Jeanetta Bury was born 23 October 1875 in Ohio to Joseph and Samantha (Wildermuth) Bury. She married Charles Schumm about 1899. Charles was born Karl Johann Heinrich Schumm on 14 March 1875 to Fredrick Jacob and Maria (Germann) Schumm.

Charles and Jeanetta had five children: Donna Doris (1900-1950), Carl Arnold (1904-1912), Oral (1912-1912), Charles Robert (1914-2007), and Joseph “Frederick” (1916-1996).

Jeanetta was electrocuted on 11 September 1916 in their yard as she attempted to attach an extension cord to her electric washing machine. According to her obituary, Jeanetta had the wash water ready and was in the process of plugging in an extension cord that was plugged in and run through window in the house. Her son Frederick was only seven weeks old when his mother died.

Widower Charles Schumm remarried a few years later. In 1923 he married Amalia Germann, the daughter of Charles Fredrick and Hannah M. (Schumm) Germann. They had three children, Lucile, Virginia B., and Herbert.

Charles Schumm home today. 2013 image, Google Earth, downloaded 26 June 2014).

Charles Schumm home today. 2013 image, Google Earth, downloaded 26 June 2014.

I wrote a Tombstone Tuesday post about Jeanetta, Charles, and Amalia Schumm on 12 June 2012. In that post I transcribed Jeanetta’s full obituary. All three are buried in Riverside Cemetery, Rockford. One large monument bears all three names.

Three smaller stones are in the row behind their large monument. One stone is inscribed with the names of Jeanetta and Charles, one with Carl and Oral, and the third stone with Donna Doris.

8 comments

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  1. Karen, I thoroughly love your research…………….this story was heart warming……………….Jean France BGO

    1. Thank you!

    • Deb Reichard on June 27, 2014 at 9:39 am
    • Reply

    Thanks Karen,
    Is this the Rufus Stober Farm? If so, it is a 3 generation farm of the Stober family. I know of the first, Rufus Stober, then Bill Stober who married Freda Roehm and then their son, Trey? I am always amazed at how neat they keep everything. Going to Rockford today to deliver my White/Bollenbacher Ancestry to the rest of my family. Thanks for all your help. Have you ever done anything on the old blacksmith shop that used to be in Chatt? I remember going to Grandma and Grandpa Bollenbacher’s and next door to their house was the shop and the guy would be putting horseshoes on the Amish horses. Grandpa eventually bought the shop and I think they dismantled it and moved it to Swiss Village in Berne, but I am not sure of that. Might find out more from Uncle Tim and Uncle Bob today. I don’t have any pictures of it but always enjoyed it.

    1. Yes, and you are right, the homes and buildings always look beautiful. Very well kept. No I have not researched Chatt’s blacksmith shop. I don’t know much about it at all. You could be a source of information! Congrats on compiling your White/Bollenbacher Ancestry. I may need to ask you some questions sometime. 🙂

    • Andy Gappa on June 27, 2014 at 9:59 am
    • Reply

    Karen,
    If you take that postcard to a Fed Ex/Kinko’s, you can put it on their Sony picture station machine and blow it up to a crisp, clear 8×10. Then you’ll know exactly who is sitting in that buggy. The detail is unreal in those old postcards and smaller Browning camera photos–especially when enlargened.
    Andy Gappa

    1. Thanks for the info! Great idea. I have some other PCs that I should do that with, too.

    • Steve Crabtree on March 11, 2018 at 11:46 am
    • Reply

    Our Mom, Virginia Schumm Crabtree, grew up here. She was a daughter of Charles Schumm and his second wife Amalia ( Molly ).

    1. How interesting. Our mothers were cousins and I remember my mom mentioning you mother. I also graduated with you sister. Thanks for writing!

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