Maria Stein, Ohio

The Pohlmann farm: from forest to a working Ohio farm

An eighty-acre purchase in 1837 and a 1916 farm directory offer two snapshots of family life in Mercer County.

Alfrida Willke's family history describes John Henry Pohlmann leaving Germany around 1833, living first in Cincinnati, and traveling by canal to Piqua before walking to Maria Stein. She reports viewing a deed dated 15 March 1837 for eighty acres. This is a family account, not a passenger-list transcription.

The 1916 Mercer County rural directory records Henry Pohlmann (Mary) as a farmer with 122 acres, six horses and twenty cattle. Herman (Catherine) is listed as retired, owning forty acres. These are separate directory entries: they should not be read as proof that the original eighty-acre parcel became Henry's 122-acre farm.

The family history explains that some descendants retained Pohlmann while others used Pohlman. It is a useful reminder to search both spellings when looking for church records, newspapers and deeds.

Sources and further reading

• Alfrida Willke, This Is Our Life, pp. 51–52
• 1916 Mercer County rural directory