The story you will read today has its beginnings in the Apple Creek Township of northern Cape Girardeau County, but that is certainly not where it ends. We will start with the birth of a baby girl that took place on September 2, 1883. Therefore, this girl would be celebrating her 140th birthday today if she was still alive. Her name was Emilie Anna Amalie Kieninger. I am going to use the spelling of her name that is used on her gravestone, which is Emelie. She was the daughter of Johann and Amalia (Mueller) Kieninger. Her mother, Amalia, was part of the clan that we have dubbed as the Frohna Mueller’s. However, a couple of those Mueller’s married Kieninger’s, which resulted in them migrating to the New Wells area. It is at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Weklks that Emelie was baptized. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books.

Because of the timing of her birth, Emelie is found in only one census entry as a single woman. That entry from the 1900 census also turns out to be the only one in which we find her living in Missouri. She was called Melia in the entry below, and it says she was 17 years old. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

I would now like to point you to another post that was published on this blog a while back. In the post, Rev. Mueller – From Clark’s Creek to Caesar Creek, you can read about one of Emelie’s uncles from the Mueller side of her family. Rev. Friedrich Mueller, Uncle Fred to Emelie, was a pastor who spent some time in Kansas before serving 2 different congregations in Indiana. The last of those was St. John’s Lutheran Church in Farmer’s Retreat, Indiana. This helps explain the rest of Emelie’s story.

The man who would become Emelie’s husband was Edward William Luke, who was born on October 20, 1883. Edward’s family surname is one that became “Americanized”. It was once spelled, Lücke, but was later changed to Luke. Edward was the son of Charles and Caroline (Vinup) Luke. I found this short biography of the life of Charles Luke in a book that includes such bios of residents of Dearborn County, Indiana.

Edward was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Farmer’s Retreat. I cannot see such a baptism record, but there is a family tree on Ancestry.com that states that was the place where he was baptized and confirmed. When he was fairly young, the Luke family had this photo taken on their front porch. Edward was the oldest child in his family and is found on this photo standing in the back on the left behind one of his sisters.

Like was the case with Emelie, Edward is found in only one census as a single man. The 1900 census shows Edward as a 16 year-old who worked on his father’s farm in the Caesar Creek Township of Dearborn County, Indiana.

The way I have it figured, there was some sort of Mueller family gathering that took place in the years following the 1900 census in Farmer’s Retreat, Indiana. At such a gathering, Emelie may have become acquainted with a young farmer boy, Edward Luck, and they fell in love. Then, on April 20, 1908, a marriage took place at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Edward and some of his family likely made the trip to Perry County. Also, Emelie’s Uncle Fred’s name can be seen on the church marriage record below, so I figure he must have returned to his hometown for this event. I find it hard to determine whether Rev. Friedrich Mueller was a witness or if he assisted Rev. Zschochke with the wedding ceremony. The surname, Lueke, is used on this document.

A wedding photo for this couple can be found on Ancestry.com. I have strong suspicions that this is another photograph taken at the Paul Lueders Studio in Frohna. I will add that my wife took a look at this photo and commented on Edward’s big “farmer’s hands”.

Edward took his new bride with him back to Indiana. Ed and Emelie had 5 children. When the 1910 census was compiled, this couple was listed with their first child, a girl named Lucille. Ed was a farmer in the Caesar Creek Township.

Edward had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918.

The 1920 census includes all 5 of the Luke children.

Next, we find the Luke’s in the 1930 census. All of the children were included except their daughter, Alida, who was a boarder in another household in a nearby township.

The 1940 census shows just one son, Arnold, still living with his parents. A lodger named Lawrence Kieninger was a farm hand working with Edward. Lawrence might have called Emelie, Auntie Em.

Edward Luke had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It gives Luke a Dillsboro address. That town is just up the road from Farmer’s Retreat.

I think it was sometime in the 1940’s or early 1950’s that Edward and Emelie had this family photo taken. All five of their children with their spouses are included in this image.

We can see Ed and Emelie in one more census entry, the one taken in 1950. They had an empty next, and at the age of 66, Edward was doing office work.

Later in their lives, Ed and Emelie had this photograph taken.

Edward died in 1970 at the age of 86. Indiana is one of those states that makes death certificates available online. Edward’s is displayed here.

Emelie Luke died a year later in 1971 at the age of 88. We can also view her death certificate.

Edward and Emelie Luke are each buried in the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery in Farmer’s Retreat, Indiana. I discovered that there are 22 gravesite entries on Findagrave.com for the surname, Luke. There are also 3 other gravestones with the surname, Kieninger, in that cemetery.

Rev. Friedrich Mueller has been mentioned on this blog as being the person responsible for influencing the Altenburg Dietrich family moving to Kansas when he was serving there. Now, we know that this pastor also influenced other folks from this area to end up at Farmer’s Retreat.