Inhabitants of Chattanooga, Ohio, 1940

1940 Census, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 54-22, sheet 14A.

This past week I continued to look through the 1940 census, focusing on the nearest place I can call my home town—the unincorporated village of Chattanooga, in Mercer County, Ohio. Just who were the approximately 150 residents living there in April 1940? The 1940 census gave me that information.

Chattanooga, called Chatt by the locals, was enumerated by Lewis H. Brehm on 23-24 April 1940. The main census question I focused on was, “Name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1940 was in this household.”

Chatt was a thriving little village back then. It is interesting to read the names of those residing there at that time. I see names of those that I remember and names of a few that I still know.

The majority of Chattanooga is in Liberty Township but a small portion is in Blackcreek Township. Unfortunately, the Blackcreek Township census taker did not specify who was living in Chatt. The information below is only from the portion of Chatt in Liberty Township.

The enumeration district for Liberty Township is 54-22. I included the number the household in the order it was visited. The list includes the name of the head of the household and his/her occupation as well as the names of the others living in the household. The others were usually the head’s wife and children and I noted if the relationship was otherwise. I tried to spell the names as they were written.

Sheet 14A (image #27 on Ancestry.com) April 24, 1940:
271: Schaadt, Victor (road grater operator for county), Luella L, Ralph
272: Heffner, Rudolph (garage mechanic), Nellie, Robert
273: Bollenbacher, Francis (grain elevator operator), Beatrice, Richard K, Roger Lee
274: Bollenbacher, Herbert (truck driver for grain elevator), Esta, Paul E
275: White, Homer (furniture repairman), Alethia
276: Clase, Robert, Edna E., Robert Allen
277: Wendel, Lewis P (automobile dealer), Jesse, James, Pauline, Genevieve, Robert
278: Wick, Fred W (laborer, farm & other)
279: Bollenbacher, Christian, Daniel, Abraham (farm labor, (brothers)
280: Johnson, Ivan (garage man/service & repair), Hazel, Geneveve; Gibbons, Orville (brother-in law)
281: Fisher, Luther (General hardware dealer), Gladys, James, Mary Ann
282: Fisher, John (General hardware dealer), Mildred, Carl, Martha

Sheet 14B (image 28 on Ancestry.com) April 24, 1940:
283: Gibbons, Dewey (garage mechanic), Lottie, Doris Ann
284: Hunziker, Paul (truck driver), Alice L, Patricia L, Louisa
285: Raudenbush, Dwight (live stock dealer), Grace Bernice, Phyllis Joann, Nila Sue
286: Egger, Simon S (electrician/electric service), Anna, Pauline, Luther, Kathryn (grocery store clerk)
287: Yahl, Rev. Carl (minister of the Gospel, worked 52 wks/$1200)
288: Baker, Henry C (farmer), Margaret, Kenneth Hoblet (son-in-law, farmer), Gertrude, Sandra J, Linda Lou, Dana Mary
289: Vining, Earl (agri-product dealer), Wanda (dau)
290: Slusser, Jacob S (truck driver for state), Sarah, Leo, Dorothy, Kay
291: Duff, Jacob W (labor for state highway), Rose, Eugene, Paul, Emma
292: Sipe, Clark E (public school teacher, worked 36 wks/$1025), Iva Pearl, Naomi E
293: Barley, Carrie

Sheet 15A (image 29 on Ancestry.com) April 24, 1940:
294: Kuhn, Victor F (assist operator of grain elevator), Mildred H, Shirley Ann
295: Hershberger, Rev. Ben (minister of the Gospel), Helen, Stephen
296: Gibbons, Perry, widower, Vivan Carr (dau, grocery store clerk, widow), Robert Carr, Wanda Lou Carr
297: Myers, Charles (grocery man), Sarah, Charles Jr
298: Bollenbacher, Fred V (restaurant operator), Elizabeth, Matilda, Arthur (both attendants at restaurant); Vining, Ervin (border, farm labor)
299: Heffner, Walter (grocery store merchant), Vera
300: Huffman, George (old age pensioner), Barbara
301: Huffman, Sarah R
302: Schroeder, Carl (public school teacher), Marcella
303: Huffman, Philip (old age pensioner), Etta
304: Andrews, William (farm labor), Minnie, Robert, Floyd, Vera May, Donna Rose
305: Schott, Glenn (garage mechanic), Hilda
306: Deitsch, John J, Christina
307: Regedanz, John (blacksmith), Ella; Mosser, Melvin, son-in-law (oil spreader/road construction)

Sheet 15B (image 30 on Ancestry.com) April 23, 1940:
Mosser, Mildred (Regedanz housold)
308: Andrews, Charles (garage owner), Viola
309: Andrews, Victor (garage mechanic), Beatrice, Victor Jr
310: Miller, Lester F (gas & oil truck driver), Margurite A., Larry Duane
311: Baumgartner, Ralph (laborer at saw mill), Helen, Phyllis
312: Charles Bollenbacher, Mary E
313: Paul Baumgartner (saw mill operator), Hulda, Goldia (housekeeper at private home), Dale (saw mill operator)
314: Andrews, Sophia
315: Kable, Catherine
316: Watkins, Dr. Charles (practicing medicine/professional), Clara M, Charles Robert
317: Schott, Minnie (widow), Clarence F, Paul F, Dale F, Alfred W, Anna Lee
318: Weinman, Amelia (widow), Wilma J, Eileen H

1940 Census, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 54-22, sheet 14A.

These names bring back a lot of memories. Lester Miller was our mail carrier for many years but this must have been before his letter-carrier days. Carl and Marcella Schroeder attended Zion and Marcella was my second grade teacher at Willshire School. Clark Sipe and his daughter Naomi were both school teachers and school administrators. In her later years Hilda Schott lived near St. Marys. We used to take a Christmas plate to her at Christmas. My parents purchased several Pontiac automobiles from the Wendel Brothers. Gene Duff’s daughter Linda was one of my good school friends and was in our wedding party.

Rev. Carl Yahl was the minister at Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga, in 1940. He was age 35, single, and was living in the same place in 1935. Rev. Ben Hershberger was probably the minister at the Methodist Church in Chatt.

It is interesting to note that Perry Gibbons died on 16 April, eight days before the census was taken. How could that be? Remember the question that was asked: Name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1940 was in this household. Perry was still living on April 1.

Tomorrow: What were the Chattanoogans doing in April 1940?

2 comments

    • Shirley Ann ( Kuhn ) Walker on October 6, 2019 at 5:35 pm
    • Reply

    Sheet 15A # 294. That was my Father and Mother and myself. My father was Victor Fremont Kuhn, the son of John and Lillie Ethel ( Caffee ) Kuhn of Chattanooga. My mother was Mildred Harriet ( Tumbleson ) Kuhn, the daughter of Harley M. Tumbleson and Eda ( Gay ) Tumbleson of Adams County, Indiana. I was the only child.

    1. So interesting to hear from you and to identify some persons on that census. Thank you for the family genealogy you provided and thanks for writing!

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