Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph and Henrietta Haitz

Monday, February 14, will mark the fifty-first anniversary of my great-grandfather's death.  Joseph Haitz died from heart disease in his home at 3:30 in the morning on Valentines Day.  He was 82 years old.  He was buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Ripley, Ohio.

Haitz Siblings

As I have written before, my grandfather, George Haitz, was one of sixteen children.  I found this picture of him as a baby with his older siblings.  The little girls in the back are (left to right) Henrietta, Mary Louise, and Elizabeth.  The oldest of the Haitz children, Margaret, is sitting with my grandfather in her lap.

The children in the front are (left to right) Frank, Joe Bill (Joseph William),  Emma, and Bob (Robert).  My grandfather was born in March of 1914 so this picture must have been taken during the summer of 1915 at the Haitz home on Stephenson Road in Ripley, Ohio.  

Christmas Past

With my father being in the military, I very seldom spent the Christmas holidays with my grandparents in Ripley, Ohio.  My Christmases were spent quietly with my parents and brother in places like Hawaii, Alabama, South and North Carolina, Kentucky, and Zweibrucken, Germany.  They were pleasant and fun holidays, but  I often wonder what I missed by not having cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents around to share in the celebration of Christmas. 

 

After her divorce, there were years that my grandmother, Janet, would travel to where ever we lived at the time to be with us over the holidays.   Those years were special in that not only was it Christmas, but it was one more time during the year that I was able to spend with my grandmother, which was a rarity.

This picture was taken at Christmas 1958 before I became a military kid.  That's me with my grandfather, George Haitz, and my cousin.  I don't remember those first three Christmases that I spent in Ripley, but I know that the warmth and love that surrounded me is with me still.  

May your Christmas be one spent surrounded by the love of family and our Lord, Jesus Christ!  Merry Christmas!

The Children of Anton and Henrietta Koewler

During my teaching days, I didn't always have time to do the actual recording of information, but having a love of research, I seemed to be able to accumulate piece after piece of paper on which was printed what I found in those moments of free time I managed to steal from household chores.  As a result, I now have a monumental, but fun, task ahead of me sorting out all the people and families that I have stuffed in file folders.  The past several weeks have found me going through, organizing, and analyzing all the information that I have collected on my Koewler family over the years.  

As you know from my previous posts on this family, Anton and Henrietta (Fischer) Koewler were my great great grandparents.  It is through their daughter, Henrietta Koewler Haitz, that I am descended.  According to the 1900 census of Union Township, Ohio, the elder Henrietta gave birth to twelve children, of whom, only eight were living at that time.  

Currently, I have found only the names of those eight, and realistically, I will probably never find the other four.  They lived and died before statewide record keeping was required and county records might have been lost during the Brown County courthouse fire in the seventies.   I guess I shouldn't say I will never find them, but the chances are slim.

Anyway, I would like to share the names and dates that I have for the known children of Anton and Henrietta.

1. Catherine was born in Germany on May 6, 1865.  I don't know who or if she married.  I have no death date for her.

2. Henry was born about 1867 in Ohio.  He married twice and settled in Vanderburgh County, Indiana along with the family of Anton's brother, Thaddeus.

3. Joseph Jacob was born in Brown County, Ohio on January 16, 1872.  He married Laura Gast and they settled in Henderson, Kentucky.  He died December 20, 1935.

4. Mary, born about 1873 in Brown County, married a DeFosse.  I have no death date for her yet.

5 and 6. Louise M. was born about 1877, and Caroline was born June 16, 1878, both in Ohio.  I have no other information for these girls.  There is a Caroline Koewler who married a Henry Lutz in Evansville, Indiana that is possibly this Caroline, but I have not found evidence enough to prove it.

7. Henrietta, my great grandmother, was born in Brown County on December 2, 1880.  She married Joseph Haitz, and they lived in Ripley all their lives.  She died on March 23, 1965.

8. The youngest child, Lena F. was born in Brown County on September 8, 1883.  She married Louis Trapp and died September 21, 1946.  I have also found her listed as Elana.

Albert and Elizabeth Steele

When I was a child, Albert and Elizabeth Steele lived in Ripley, Ohio off of Governor Street.  My Aunt Elizabeth was one of, my grandfather, George Haitz's sisters.  Of all my Haitz great-aunts, I knew Elizabeth the best.  Unfortunately, I did not know my Uncle Albert that well.  

Their son was Albert Jerome Steele, or Jerry, as my mom and her sister called their cousin.  Born October 23, 1936, he was about the same age as they were and they often played together.  

This photograph must have been taken around 1940.  The background looks a lot like the hill behind my great - grandparents' house on Stevenson Road so maybe that is where it was taken.

Henrietta, Frank, and George Haitz

Right to left: Henrietta, Frank, and George

Henrietta was born June 16, 1910.  She married Dick Owens in 1930 in Dayton, Ohio.  Henrietta died July 2, 1995 in Warrensburg, Missouri.  She is buried in Maysville, Kentucky.  She was the sixth child to be born to Henrietta Koewler Haitz.

Frank was born October 25, 1911 and died April 16, 1962 in Ripley, Ohio.  He was child number seven in the Haitz family.

My grandfather, George Henry, was born March 10, 1914 and died in September 1977.  He is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Ripley.  He was child number nine.  

The Haitz Family House

My great grandparent's house, when my grandfather and his brothers and sisters were young, was on Stevenson Road behind the farm.  By the time I was a child, they no longer lived in that house, but had moved to a smaller one that was adjacent to the farm land on Highway 52.  The year my father served in Vietnam and my mother, brother and I lived in Ripley, my grandfather refurbished the old house for him and his wife.  

The house was a fairly big one, but it always made me wonder just how my great grandparents raised sixteen children in it!  I'm not sure there is any house big enough for that!  My grandfather did not change the basic structure of the building other than adding an extension that held a modern kitchen and den.  The original part of the house had several rooms downstairs with a dark, cool walk-in pantry that held home- canned goods.  The staircase led to several bedrooms and a bath upstairs.  I wish I could have seen it before the remodeling.  

Outside, a tree shaded creek ran in front of the house on its way to the Ohio River.  Crawdads and small snakes hid under the water-smoothed rocks waiting for children to find them.  Behind the house, cows roamed on the hill before heading to the barn to eat their evening meal of hay.   The hill was where my grandfather hunted for squirrels and rabbits.  It also provided the family Christmas tree.  

The house is still standing today and the outside looks much as it did when my great-grandparents lived in it.  The photograph shows part of the front of the house.  I do not know who the women are or the child on the porch.  

Haitz Family Farm

My grandfather's parents, Joseph and Henrietta (Koewler) Haitz, lived on a farm just outside of Ripley, Ohio on Highway 52 as you head east towards Aberdeen.  

My great grandfather's barn and main farm land was right there on the left side of Highway 52.   One of the barns had his name, Joe Haitz, proudly painted in black on the front side facing the road.  That barn sits there still, although when the farm left the family after my grandfather's death in 1977, the new owner painted over the name. 

My grandfather ran the farm when he got older, in addition to working at Becker's.  When I was young,  he would take me to do the "farm chores" after dinner during the summers when we visited.  There were cows, pigs, and chickens to feed and water which this military kid found fascinating.  There aren't too many farm animals on an Army base!  

The farm land also extended across the highway all the way down to the Ohio River.  In was on that land that tobacco and hay were grown.   My grandfather also planted watermelon on the bottom land.  He said that it was the best place for melons to grow.  Today, the high school is on that part of the land.

This photograph of my grandfather with the chickens was taken about 1915 or 16.

St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church

St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church is located on the corner of Fourth and Market Streets in Ripley.  The house that my grandparents lived in, and where my mother was raised, is just a few houses up the hill from the church.  St. Michael's was a very important fixture in the lives of my ancestors as many of them belonged to and participated in the church.

My great-grandparents, Joseph and Henrietta (Koewler) Haitz, were married in St. Michael's in 1902 as were my parents in 1955.  My grandfather, George Henry Haitz, and his fifteen brothers and sisters were all baptized and confirmed there.  It was also where my mother and her sister were baptized and confirmed.  Shortly after I was born, it was my turn to receive the sacrament of baptism in that same church.  

This picture was taken from the sidewalk in front of my grandparents's house on Fourth Street and shows the location of St. Michael's.  I don't know when the photo was taken, other than during what looks like a terribly cold winter!  I would venture to say that it was around 1945 as that was about the time my grandparents moved to that house from their house on Second Street.  Maybe someone out there can help date the car which could help date the picture.

Basketball Girls

Each March, my husband and I end up watching at least some of the men's college basketball tournament.  My husband played basketball for his high school in Georgetown, Ohio so he is into it much more than I am,  but even I get excited if a game is close or there is the threat of an upset.  Our Gamecocks didn't make it to the "dance" this year so we crossed our fingers for the colleges in our state, even Clemson, and those from Ohio.  As of today, Xavier is still in the running!

Back in the 1920's and 30's, there was no March Madness, but there was basketball!  The sport, invented for men at a YMCA in 1891 became an option for women at Smith College in 1892.  Ripley High School introduced basketball for girls in 1917.  According to the school's 1926 yearbook, The Ripple, the sport promoted good character training and taught good sportsmanship.  At least three of my female ancestors took advantage of the opportunity to play basketball at Ripley High School.  In case you are wondering, they did not pass that gene on to me!

My grandfather's sisters, Elizabeth and Henrietta Haitz, must have been very talented players.  The 1926 yearbook praises senior Elizabeth's "splendid work" while the next year's yearbook, heralds Henrietta's freshman debut as a guard as "none better, unless it was her own sister, Elizabeth".  By 1930 when Henrietta was a senior in high school, her sister Emma, must have played on the team as well.  The description of the girl's basketball team in that year's yearbook describes "Henry" Haitz as bringing "heart thrills and surprises by the wonderful guarding that she did" from the first game against Hamersville to the last with Sardinia.  It goes on to say that she and her sister held Sardinia down to three field goals in the last game of the season and that the saying "where there's a basketball there's a Haitz" holds true.  I do not own any of the later yearbooks, but I imagine they too go on to praise Emma as a talented basketball player.

The following pictures were taken from the 1927 and 1930 yearbooks.  In the first one, Elizabeth is the second young girl from the left, not counting the woman who must have been the coach.  Henrietta is not in the picture.  The second photograph shows Henrietta in the middle of the front row.   She is holding the basketball.  I am not absolutely sure, but Emma is possibly the first girl to the far left on the front row.

                                           Ripley High School 1927

                                           Ripley High School 1930

Becker's Department Store

   When my great-grandfather, Lou Becker, bought M. Linn Clothing in 1922, he changed the name to Becker's Department Store.   The store was located on Main Street and sold men and women's clothing.

   During Louis's life, he lived with his family on Second Street in the house next door to what had been the millinery shop.  Each morning, before walking the short distance to the store, Lou would check his appearance in the mirror.  He was a conscientious dresser and wanted to be sure that his clothing looked good and that his hat was straight.  He managed Becker's Department Store until his death in 1943.

                                        Lou Becker

   Upon Lou's death, his son-in-law, my grandfather, George H. Haitz, became the owner of the store.  During summer breaks from school, my mother and her sister worked there to earn spending money.

   During my summer visits to Ripley, my grandmother, my mother, and I would sometimes stop in the store on our walks to town.   We would walk down the Fourth Street hill, turn right onto Main, and walk on the sidewalk until we reached the steps of the store.  Once in the building, the wooden floors would creak as I looked for my grandfather among the clothes and shoes.  To the right was the women's section, the men's to the left.

   The glass-fronted cases held articles of clothing which would have to be taken out for a customer to examine.  Women's hosiery were in thin boxes for purchasing.  In the back of the store, a dressing room was handy to try on skirts, pants, or whatever the customer was in the market for that day.

             My grandfather dressed for work in the store.
                                        

   My grandfather did not work alone in the store.  The ladies he hired would make over me, exclaiming how much I had grown and, of course, as any child would, I loved it!   One of the ladies was my most favorite great-aunt, Elizabeth Haitz Steele.  She was my grandfather's sister and everyone called her Lib.     Another of the ladies was Rose Frebis.  As far as I know, she was of no relation to my family, but I loved seeing her on my visits to the store.   Many years later, right before I married, my grandfather took me to see Rose.  She was 83 years old and she still made over how much I had grown!  I guess some things never change!

   In 1969, my father received orders for Vietnam.  It was his second tour and my mother decided we would spend that year in Ripley close to family.  By then, Becker's Department Store had a new name, Lela's.  My grandfather had sold the store to a lady some years earlier.  With Becker's gone, my family's connection to the clothing industry, in this country anyway, came to a close, but for a little over one hundred years, the making and selling of men and women's apparel had put food on the tables and money in the pockets of those who counted on it for a living.  

These advertisements were in a February 1943 issue of The Ripley Bee.  They were some of the last ones that Louis would choose.  He died later that same year in May.

    

   

  

Five Generations - Wenser/Young, Beyersdoerfer, Becker, Haitz

There aren't too many families that can take a picture of five generations so I'm glad that someone took this one!

Seated left to right -

Elizabeth Wenser/Young Beyersdoerfer  (1843 - 1937)
Janet Linn Becker Haitz  (1917 - 1984)
Janet is holding her daughter, Gail Ann, born 1935

Standing -

Anna Beyersdoerfer Becker (1864 - 1950)
Louis Lynn Becker  (1888 - 1943)

Ripley, Ohio

Grandma's Grocery Day

Thursday is my grocery day.  I do not like grocery day, therefore, through no fault of its own, Thursday becomes a dreaded day.  Give me a Monday anytime and I'll trade you my Thursday for it.  Why this poor attitude about grocery day?  Well, it just takes too much time.  Clipping those coupons, sorting those coupons, and retrieving those coupons from their categorized envelopes in my red accordion file as I go through the stores hunting deals is not only time consuming, but is also not my idea of fun.  Sure, I get some satisfaction from saving money.  Today I had about $15.00 worth of coupon satisfaction, but I do believe I would trade it all for the way my grandmother did her grocery shopping.

My grandmother, Janet Haitz, lived up the hill on Fourth Street in Ripley, Ohio.  Being an Army brat, I only got to visit for a week or two in the summer.  These visits which were spent in my grandparents's house, are probably the reason I really noticed her grocery shopping in the first place.   When you think of it, what child really pays attention to that household task unless he or she is right there in the middle of it?

In the 1960's, there was no large multi-aisled, brightly lit grocery store in the small town of Ripley.  There were, however, several small stores that my grandmother did business with.  I remember there was Germann's and Ritchies.  I might not be spelling those correctly so if you can correct me, please do!  These stores did not have the variety of brands and foods that we know today, but we always seemed to have good meals!

I remember actually going into the stores with my grandmother only on occasion, but my one big grocery memory is of her picking up the telephone and calling to place her order!  Now, don't I wish I could do that today!  Earlier in the morning, perhaps over coffee, she would have written her daily list on a small piece of note paper.  Her list was short, containing only the items she needed for that day's dinner and some items that, maybe, she was out of or running low on.  My list, on the other hand, is long as I shop for the week which involves bags and bags of things to cart in the house once I return from my weekly trip.  Another thought that comes to my mind is my grandmother's telephone call also kept her from my biggest grocery problem - impulse buying!  She didn't have to worry about spending her money on that big bag of peanut M&M's which she didn't really want in the first place, but is on sale and a great bargain with that $1.00 off coupon.  She would just tell the clerk on the other end of the phone line what was on her list, including cuts of meat!  Then later that day, a young man, carrying a box, would come up the stone steps, knock at the kitchen door, and set that box of groceries on the table.  I suppose she paid him, I don't remember that part, or maybe it was put on a tab, but all that was left of the grocery chore, was to put that food in the cabinet, which my grandmother called a press, or in the refrigerator.  What takes hours for me to do, took her only a few minutes!  And I thought we were the ones who were supposed to have the timesaving methods of completing our work!

Well, grocery shopping has certainly changed!  Although, maybe you can still order your groceries in Ripley.  If so, please let me know and I might sell my house, pack my goods and move there just to take advantage of that seemingly wonderful convenience!   If your grocery shopping memories are different from the way you shop today, leave me a comment!  I'd love to hear your story!

Brown County History in Pictures

Greg Haitz, who happens to be a cousin of mine, and his wife, Lisa, wrote a wonderful book that beautifully illustrates  Brown County, Ohio and its history using old photographs, Brown County (OH).  The book, which was published in 2006 by Arcadia Publishing is one of the Images of America series.

The book covers all areas of the county and includes the citizens' impact and participation in the Underground Railroad.  Other topics include the importance of tobacco and the Ohio River to the livelihood of the people calling the county home.

I love the book as it gives me a visual idea of the lives that my ancestors lived.  While there is no actual mention of any of my family members, the photographs show me how they lived and what they saw during their every day lives.  If you have family members that spent time in Brown County, Ohio, you will definitely  want this book in your collection!

Henrietta Koewler Haitz

In a previous post, I introduced you to the very large Haitz family of Ripley, Ohio. Today, I want to concentrate on my great-grandmother, Henrietta, the mother of those sixteen children.

Henrietta Koewler was born in Ripley, Ohio on December 2, 1880 to immigrant parents, Anton (Anthony) and Henrietta (Fischer) Koewler. She was the seventh of eight children in the family. At the age of twenty-one, she married Joseph Haitz and lived on the farm where she would raise her family. On the twenty-third of March 1965, Henrietta, a widow, died in her home from a heart attack. She is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Ripley.

Sadly, that is about the extent of what I know about Henrietta. Although I was born in Brown County, I did not live there after the age of three as my father was in the military which took us to various posts out of the Ohio area. Even though I am sure I saw her before age three, the only memories of my great-grandmother come from the few times I went with my grandfather, George Henry Haitz, to her house while on summer vacations during the two years preceding her death.

I remember those warm summer evenings, sitting on her porch steps while she, sitting in a porch swing, talked to my grandfather. Unfortunately, as a result of where I sat in relation to the swing, her face is not in my memories. When I think of my great-grandmother, only her legs come to mind which is why, if I live to see great-grandchildren, I will make sure they sit on my lap and not at my feet!

While I may not have many memories of her, I am sure that with having sixteen children and living on a farm without our modern conveniences, Henrietta's life was not an easy one. I often wonder how she managed those necessary everyday tasks such as laundry, cooking, and keeping a house clean while raising her children and, probably, helping with farm chores. Her life and dreams must have been put on a "back burner" as there was no time to pursue any personal goals. Her goals, most likely, would have been to live each day the best she could and make sure her family was fed, clothed, and well. I wish I was able to sit with her on that porch swing today, listening as she shared stories about her life. I have no doubt that she could teach all of us more than just a few lessons about priorities, life, and family!

Amy Montgomery Becker

Amy Elouise Montgomery was born on 17 September ,1891 in her parent's house at 207 North Fourth Street in Ripley, Ohio. She was William Albert and Flora Linn Montgomery's second child. Amy's older brother, Hodson Linn, was three years older. After her marriage to Louis Lynn Becker in 1911, she and her husband lived in Stuebenville, Ohio where he was employed at a clothing store. Six years later, their daughter, Janet Linn was born.

When Janet was five years old, the family returned to live in Ripley. There, she was a member of the Ripley Centenary Church and the Danbery Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star of which she served as an officer. She also belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Not wanting to be called Grandma or Grandmother, Amy was known as Dee Dee by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Widowed at age 52, she was a very independent woman and often took her two granddaughters to Cincinnati for shopping and lunch. In the summer, she would travel to Jacksonville, Florida by train to visit an old friend.

Amy lived just a few houses down from her daughter, Janet Haitz, on Fourth Street in Ripley. During the day, she would visit with her daughter and return to her home in the evening. According to the February 4, 1966 issue of Hillsboro, Ohio's newspaper, Press Gazette, Cincinnati had received nine inches of snow on the first day of February, its worst snowfall in fifty years. The areas surrounding the city, including Ripley, fared no better. With the weather so cold and snowy, Amy stayed overnight at Janet's house during this time. In the early morning hours of February 3, Amy died in her sleep having suffered a heart attack. Funeral services were conducted on Saturday, February 5 with burial in Maplewood Cemetery in Ripley.

The Haitz Family

In today's world, Joe and Henrietta Haitz would have been the stars of a reality show on cable television. In their day, they were not stars. They were the very busy parents of sixteen, facing the ups and downs of farm life and managing to do so without all of our modern conveniences, in ways that few of us today can even imagine.

Joseph Haitz and Henrietta Koewler were married on October 27, 1902 in Ripley, Ohio where they had both been born and raised. The wedding took place at St. Michael's Catholic Church which stood, and still stands, on the corner of Fourth and Market Streets.

About eight months later, Henrietta and Joe were expecting their first child. Margaret J. made her appearance on February 18, 1904. Her siblings would follow in rapid succession. They were as follows : Robert (1905), Mary Louise (1906), Elizabeth H. (1907), Joseph William (1909), Henrietta (1910), Frank A. (1911), Emma J. (1912), George Henry (1914), Jack Irenas (1915), James Rudolph (1916), Albert Louis (1918), Catherine (1920), Rita (1921), Virginia Ann (1923), and Ruth (1924).

The family was believed to be the largest family in Brown County and their photograph was published several times in the local newspaper, The Ripley Bee. At the time of Joe's death in 1960, he and Henrietta had been married for 57 years. They had 43 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

George Henry Haitz

George Henry Haitz was born March 10, 1914 in Ripley, Brown County, Ohio. He was the ninth child and fourth son of Joseph and Henrietta (Koewler) Haitz. His childhood was spent on the family farm.

Ripley, Ohio

Ripley is located in Brown County, Ohio along the Ohio River about fifty miles east of Cincinnati. It was started around 1812 by Colonel James Poage. At the time, it was called Staunton from a Virginia town by the same name. It was changed to Ripley to honor General Eleazer Ripley who was an officer in the war of 1812.

Ripley was an important station on the Underground Railroad. It was here that escaping slaves would cross the Ohio River in search of freedom. Once across the river, the destination would be the Freedom Stairs leading to Reverend John Rankin's house high on the hill overlooking Ripley. It was the stories of Ripley and the narrow escapes of the slaves that inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write the story of Eliza in her book Uncle Tom's Cabin.


Many members of my family settled in this small town as early as the mid-1800's. The Haitz's owned a farm just outside the town. The Becker's and the Linn's were store owners selling men's clothing. Michael Beyersdoerfer owned a vineyard just outside of Ripley and is listed in the Vintage of 1858 as producing wine there.

A Family With Deep Roots in Ohio

As I start this blog, I guess it's best to start with the basics - the who and the where. As time goes by, the details will emerge. This blog will focus on my maternal line - a diverse group of families. Represented in this line are Germans, Scotch - Irish, English, and French. Some first settled in the colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania and went on to fight for freedon from the English crown. Others made the difficult decision to cross an ocean in the mid-1800's in hope of making a new life in this country. Today, their descendents can be found all across the United States, but the roots are deep in the soil of southwestern Ohio.

This blog will include stories, photographs, and vital statistics of the following families and those connected to them.

• Bauer
  
• Becker
  
• Beyersdoerfer

• Gates
  
• Germann
  
• Guy
  
• Haitz
  
• Koewler
  
• Linn
  
• Montgomery
  
• Thill

I am looking forward to sharing this family with you. They are an interesting group of people!
Until later!