Tombstone Tuesday-Sarah Hartzog

Sarah Hartzog, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Sarah Hartzog, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Sarah
wife of
George Hartzog
died Dec 28th  
1846
aged 58 Y’rs 9
mo, & 19 ds

Sarah Hartzogs’s date of birth is 9 March 1788, as calculated from her tombstone.

In 1840 Sarah would have been 52 years old is likely the woman in the 50-60 year age group, enumerated with George Hartzog in Willshire Township. The males in this family in 1840: 1/10-15; 2/15-20; 1/20-30; 1/50-60, and females in 1840: 1/10-15; 1/15-20; 1/50-60.

This is another very old sandstone tombstone, one of five located next to each other in row 7. All are related to the Hartzog family. In this row are Sarah Hartzog (1788-1846, wife of George Hartzog), Soloma Hartzog (1767-1844, wife of George Hartzog), Catharine (Hartzog) Strete (1824-1845, daughter of Christian Hartzog), Katherine (Lindemoot) Hartzog (1803-1843, wife of Christian), and Caroline Hartzog (1837-1840, daughter of Christian Hartzog).

It is reported that Sarah’s husband George Hartzog (1789-1846) is also buried in Zion Schumm’s cemetery, but his tombstone has not survived.

Saloma Hartzog, wife of older George and mother-in-law of Sarah, was likely the mother of the local Hartzog men, George, Christian, Benjamin, and Solomon. Solomon and his wife are buried in row 8 in Zion Schumm’s cemetery.

Unfortunately, most of these markers predate Zion Lutheran Schumm’s records, but it would appear they attended Zion Lutheran Church in the 1840s.

Several more Hartzogs are buried about a mile south of Zion Schumm’s cemetery, in Hileman/Smith/Hartzog/Alspaugh Cemetery.

2 comments

    • Phyllis Brockmyer on April 13, 2021 at 8:48 am
    • Reply

    Are you able to read the lower two lines on the tombstone, below “Farewell dear friends, I cannot stay…”.? The hand carved letters are still quite sharp after 170 years. Did you ever run across the names of any of these craftsmen?

    1. Yes, the inscription is very readable and it is in English, not German! “Farewell, dear friends. I must be gone: I can no longer stay with you: I’ll take my staff and travel on ‘Till I a better world can view.” Find a Grave identifies this as a line from the hymn Pilgrim’s Farewell. Occasionally I see the engravers initials or name, but not very often. There is one with the engravers initials in Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, and a couple in St. Augustine Cemetery, Minster. Thanks for writing!

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