Birth

Her headstone and her marriage record agree that Isabella would have been born in 1870. Her obituary, supported by her marriage record, say that she was born in Elmira. Her mother was Mary Ann Uttley, aka Mary Saunburn/Sanborn, and the father is listed as William Sanborn.

No record has been found of William Sanborn and Mary Ann is listed as a spinster when she marries Nathan Uttley in 1874. There is no explanation for why an Irish, Catholic girl from Crosshill would be in Elmira in 1870 -- except that she wanted to be away from the family home for a while. It is hoped that more facts may be uncovered to explain the Saunburn/Sanborn element.

Isabella was adopted by Nathan Uttley after he married Mary Ann. Isabella normally went by her adopted surname.

Marriage

Isabella HOHNER -- 1870-1965

The marriage of Isabella is recorded in the Ontario Marriage Archives for 1888, reference #011-826:

     Date:      28th April 1888,
                town of Waterloo
     Groom:     Henry Hohner
     Age:       23, bachelor
     Residence: Huron Co.
     Born:      Zurich, Huron Co.
     Parents:   Jacob and Margaret Hohner
     Religion:  Lutheran

     Bride:     Isabella Sanborn
     Age:       17, spinster
     Residence: Waterloo
     Born:      Woolwich Tp
     Parents:   William and Mary Sanborn
     Religion:  Methodist

     Witness:   William Gordon,
                Lydia Underwood of Waterloo
     By:        Rev. D. W. Williams by License

Notes

• the facts on Henry are clear and can be corroborated. But more on Henry later.
• the maiden name of the bride is Sanborn which may indicate that she was not formally adopted by Nathan after his marriage to Mary Ann in 1874.
• the bride's parents are William and Mary which confirms Mary Ann as her natural mother.
• Isabella was born in Woolwich Township is an unexpected piece of this puzzle.
• the bride was born in late 1870 or early 1871 and the groom was born in late 1864 or early 1865.
• the witness, William Gordon, had married Isabella's older half-sister Henrietta in 1884. Henrietta had died in Waterloo just the previous year.

In 1891 the Census records that Henry and Isabella Hohner are living in the town of Waterloo next door to Henry's parents. It also tells us that the couple has a daughter named Anna Mary who is just one month old. This is their first child Annie who later married Herbert Chapman.

Their son Daniel was born in Waterloo in 1900 and was recorded as the son of Henry Hohner and Isabella Uttley. This is the last reference we have to them living as a couple in Waterloo County. No entry in the 1901 Census has yet been found for any member of the family.

• Henry's parents Jacob and Margaret are still living in Waterloo with the surname written as "Huner".

L-R: Bella Hohner; sons Edward, Daniel; daughters Irene Sloan and Annie Chapman

• Photographer: Maitland Studio, Stratford, Ontario
• This image is cropped from cardboard mounted family portrait
• on back is "John Uttley" in a child's handwriting

From the Stratford Directory

The next reference to Isabella marks a change in her life. The 1904-06 Vernon's Directory for Stratford lists Mrs. I. Hohmer living at 17 Wellington and that McDermid & Kyle is a hardware store at that address. So by 1904 Isabella and family are living above a hardware store in Stratford. Where's Henry?

In the 1905-06 Directory Mrs. Hohner is the householder (owner) at 254 Albert Street and Henry Mehm, a plasterer, is at the same address as a boarder.

The next year in 1907 Mrs. Hohner has moved down the street to 300 Albert to a house that she owns and in which she will remain for the rest of her life.

In 1909 and 1910, 300 Albert Street is owned by Henry Mehm now a bricklayer and there is no record of Isabella. In 1911 Mrs. I. Hohner is the householder at 300 Albert. The next year 1912, Henry Mehm, now a mason is the owner of the house and Isabel Hohner is a boarder and she is listed as the widow of Henry for the first time.

Henry Miehm is a contractor and owner of the house in 1917 and Isabella is missing. In 1919 Isabella is the owner and Irwin Hohner is listed for the first time, but Henry Mehm is missing. Henry Mehm (labourer) is the sole listing in 1921 but 1922 includes Mrs. Bella Hohner, Irwin Hohner (labourer) and Henry Mehm (mason) as the owner. 1923 drops Irwin and adds Daniel Hohner (labourer).

In 1924 through 1926 only Henry Mehm appears. The Directory of 1927 lists only Daniel and Isabel. The next year includes Danl Hohner, Isabel Hohner (wid Henry) and I. Hohner (labourer) and 1929 has only Mrs. Isabell Hohner.

Today (summer of 1997) 300 Albert Street is an empty lot of green grass surrounded on all sides by the original homes. Only a short, broken segment of the concrete walk to the front porch remains. The house must have been damaged beyond repair and was demolished

Notes

The conclusion is clear:

• In the early 1900's Isabella and Henry Hohner separated and Isabella moved to Stratford.
• Isabella and Henry Mehm move in together but never marry.
• Henry Hohner is dead by 1912.
• The son named "Irwin" is a misnaming of son "Daniel Irvin". It was an error when sons "Danl Hohner" and "I. Hohner" were listed in just 1928.

Death

The Cemeteries Office at Avondale had a date of Tuesday, June 22, 1965 for the death of Isabella (Bella) which led to an obituary in the Wednesday June 23, 1965, pg 7, issue of the Stratford Beacon:

MRS. ISABELLA HOHNER   Mrs. Isabella Hohner, 94, 300 Albert St., died Tuesday in Stratford General Hospital where she had been a patient for one month. Born in Elmira, she lived most of her life in Stratford. Her husband and family of 14 children [no typo here -- that's fourteen] died before her. She is survived by several grandchildren. The body will be at the Heinbuck funeral home, 156 Albert St., where a funeral service will be held Thursday at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Merrill Ferguson, of Parkview United Church, officiating. Burial will be made in Avondale cemetery.

This is sparse, but without contradiction:

• this confirms the Tuesday June 22, 1965 date for her death.
• to be 94 when she died and to have been born in 1870 she would have been born in the last half of 1870.
• the 1881 Census says both Isabella and Diana (born July 28 1871 and the last child from Nathan's first family) were 9 years old. I think a birth date in 1870 still works for Bella as she was born in the last half of 1870.
• 300 Albert Street is good, my Aunt Mae recalls that her aunt Bell was "full of fun" and lived on Albert Street in Stratford.
• Elmira is in Woolwich Township. Mary Ann "Sanborn" said she was a resident of Elmira when she married Nathan in 1874. She must have lived in Elmira for some years for Bella to have been born in Elmira.
• she was once married, is good -- to Henry Hohner. She never remarried.
• Wow! Fourteen kids!! And she outlived them all.
  • I've got big problems with this fact. She marries in 1888, the first child (Annie) is born in 1891 and she separates from Henry Hohner before 1904. This doesn't work.
  • Did Henry Mehm bring a lot of children to the common law marriage? Were any of Isabella's children fathered by Mehm?
  • Although the obituary does say "14", it surely is a typo and should say "4".
• What opportunities were missed by the author of this column (for us) -- no names of parents, no name (or date) for a husband and nothing to say about children except a number.

On Friday June 25, 1965 the Stratford Beacon printed a brief item on her funeral, page 7:

Funeral MRS. ISABELLA HOHNER   A funeral service for Mrs. Isabella Hohner, late of 300 Albert St., who died Tuesday in Stratford General Hospital was held Thursday afternoon at the Heinbuch funeral home, 156 Albert St. Rev. Merrill Ferguson of Parkview United Church officiated. Burial was made in Avondale cemetery.

There is a pink granite headstone in section "C" of the Avondale Cemetery, Stratford, that has inscribed:

HOHNER Daniel I. Hohner 1900-1940 Bella Hohner 1870-1965 at rest Avondale Cemetery, Stratford

There are three other Hohners in Avondale Cemetery

• Daniel I. Hohner is her son, born in 1900 and shares Isabella's headstone.
• There is a David Hohner (died Oct 16, 1944) in a different section of the cemetery and from his obit in the Beacon, he comes from Huron County and was single. This is possibly a relation but not a son of Bella.
• Finally there is an Elgin Hohner who died August 26, 1892. I couldn't locate a headstone and I couldn't find a death notice in either of the two Stratford papers of the day.

The marriage record from the Vital Statistics of 1888, reference #011-826 says the parents of Henry were Jacob and Margaret Hohner. It also says Henry was born in Zurich, a place with Uttley and Randall connections.

Vernon's Directory for Stratford in 1896 records Jacob Hohner as the householder at 15 Inverness and that Edward Hohner of the same address worked as a butcher at H. Pauli. At the same time Henry lived with his wife Isabella in Waterloo as we know his daughter Irene was born at Waterloo in 1897 and his son Daniel there in 1900.

From The News Record on Wednesday August 27th, 1902, page 1, and the Berlin Daily Telegraph on Thursday August 28th, 1902, page 2:

DEATH OF MR. JACOB HOHNER.   Death claimed another victim early this morning in the person of Mr. J. Hohner. Deceased, who had lived in Waterloo but a few years, had been ill for over a year, and was aged 67 years. Besides a widow, the following children survive -- John, Berlin; Henry and Mrs. D. Sippel, Waterloo; Mrs. Fitzpatrick, Buffalo; Mrs. John Weseloh, and Edward and Emma at home. The funeral takes place on Saturday at 2 p.m. to St. John's church and Mt. Hope cemetery.

• Jacob and his son Edward came to Waterloo just a few years earlier from Stratford.
• After Isabella has left for Stratford, Henry is still living in Waterloo.

Death

Henry's brief obituary from the Berlin Daily Telegraph on Thursday May 18, 1911, page 4:

DIED IN WATERLOO.     ---   On Tuesday, May 16 [1911], Henry Hohner aged 48 years, died in Waterloo. Funeral will be held Friday afternoon from the residence of his brother, Edward H. Hohner, King street.

• Age 48 means Henry was born in late 1863 or early 1864 which closely matches his marriage information.
• No references to parents, siblings or any children clutter up this writer's prose.
• This agrees with the Stratford Directory listing Isabella as widow in the 1912 edition.

The Vital Statistics for 1911 supply additional details, #031-412:

Name: Henry Hohner Sex: Male Death Date: May 16th 1911 Birth Date: Dec 1868 (43 years) Born: Zurich Residence: Waterloo Occupation: Laborer Marriage: Married, but Separated Father: Jacob Hohner, Born in: Germany Mother: Margaret Shock, Born in: Germany Physician: G. H. Bowlby Informer: Ed. H. Hohner, Waterloo Registered: May 17th, 1911 Name: Henry Hohner Death Date: May 16th Cause: Chronic Nephritis Duration: Possibly one year Contributory: Niaemic (?) Physician: G. H. Bowlby Registered: May 16th 1911

Henry Hohner died May 16, 1911 aged 48 yrs. at rest Waterloo Mt Hope Cemetery, Waterloo

• We learn that Henry was younger than we previously thought, born in December of 1868.

Henry is buried at the Mt. Hope Cemetery, Waterloo beside his parents Jacob and Marguerite (nee Schoch). They share a common marker that is already very eroded.

Family of Jacob Hohner and Margaret Schoch

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Most recent revision July 2020