Tombstone Tuesday–Maria Seaman

Maria Seeman/Seaman, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 9photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Maria Seaman, located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Maria
Tochter von
Johannes
Und
Maria A[?]
Seeman
Gestorben
Den 12 April
1862
Alter 6 Yahre
4 Monate, 4 Tage

Maria, daughter of Johannes Seeman, died on 12 April 1862, aged 6 years, 4 months, and 4 days. [1]

According to Zion Schumm’s records, Maria Seaman was born 17 December 1855 to John and Anna Maria Seemann. She was baptized 19 April 1862, with George Steeger and his wife serving as her sponsors.

Maria was probably born in Ohio. According to Zion Schumm’s records, Maria’s sister Emma Seaman was born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1857, and, since both girls were baptized at Zion Schumm in 1862, they apparently moved to the Schumm area by that time. I have not located the family in 1860.

Zion Schumm records that Maria Seemann died of a throat infection and/or croup on 22 April 1862, at the age of 6 years, 4 months, and 5 days.

You probably noticed right away that the death date inscribed on Mari’s tombstone is incorrect. She would not have been baptized 7 days after her death. Instead, she was baptized 4 days before her death, on 19 April, according to the church records. Her death occurred on the 22nd, but her tombstone is inscribed as the 12th. She may have been very sick when she was baptized.

Another error on her tombstone is her age. As calculated from her tombstone, Maria would have been born 8 December 1855. Zion Schumm records her birth specifically as 17 December 1855 in both her baptism record and her death/burial record. Her death/burial record there indicates she was 6 years, 4 months, and 5 days old, which calculates 17 December 1855 as her date of birth. The age on her tombstone is off by 1 day.

Maria’s mother Anna Maria Seaman died 12 January 1894 and she is buried in Greenbrier Cemetery, Van Wert County. Maria’s father John Seaman died 29 May 1897 and is buried in row 7 of Zion Schumm’s cemetery.

 

[1] Zion Schumm’s records spell the name Seemann. The name is spelled Seeman on Maria’s tombstone. In today’s text, I am using the spelling Seaman, as is spelled on Maria’s father’s tombstone.

 

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