Wilhelmina Josephine Lohmann was born on October 7, 1891, so we celebrate her as today’s birthday girl. Wilhelmina was the daughter of Joachim and Gesche (Soehl) Lohmann. She was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Her baptism record from that church’s books is pictured here.

Wilhelmina was born during the time when Perry County kept birth records, and we can view hers below in 2 images.

We find Wilhelmina in the census that is so difficult to read…the one taken in the Salem Township in 1900. She was 8 years old, and her father was a farmer.

Next, we find Wilhelmina in the 1910 census at the age of 18. Like so many women named Wilhelmina, she was called Minnie in this entry.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Wilhelmina’s husband. His name was Claus Heinrich Mangels, who was born on May 11, 1886. Henry was one of a set of twins born to Herman and Katherine (Katt) Mangels. His twin sister was Maria Mangels. A very short post was written during the first year of this blog that told the story of the Mangels twins who had both married Lohmann’s. It was titled, Twins and Cousins. Henry was also baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at his baptism record here.

Henry and his twin sister, Maria, are found in the 1900 census at the age of 14. Their father was a farmer in the Salem Township.

In the 1910 census, the twins were 23 years old and still living with their parents. Henry was working on his father’s farm.

Henry’s sister, Maria, got married in 1910, and in the church record for that wedding, we see that both Wilhelmina Lohmann and Henry Mangels were attendants.

Three years later, Henry Mangels married Wilhelmina Lohmann on November 16, 1913 at Salem, Farrar. The church record for their wedding is shown below.

We can also view the marriage license for this couple.

I managed to locate the wedding photo of Henry and Wilhelmina.

Henry and Minnie had 5 children according to our German Family Tree. The first 3 children were baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Crosstown. The last 2 were baptized at Salem, Farrar. In 1918, Henry had his World War I draft registration completed. This form says Henry was farming, and his employer was Mangels Steffens. He was one of Henry’s baptismal sponsors.

When the 1920 census was taken, we find just one child in the Mangels household. Included in this entry was Wilhelmina’s younger brother, Otto Lohmann. Henry was a farmer, and Otto was helping him.

The 1930 census lists 4 children in the Mangels family. Their oldest son, Herbert, was old enough to be helping on his father’s farm.

The last census in which we find Henry and Wilhelmina was the one taken in 1940. One more child had been born in 1930 after the census had been taken. So, we see all 5 of their children in this entry.

Wilhelmina died in 1941 at the age of 49. Her death certificate says she died while a patient at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

An obituary for Wilhelmine was published in the Perry County Republican.

Henry Mangels also died before the 1950 census was taken. He died in 1946 at the age of 59, so both Wilhelmina and Henry died at relatively young ages. We can also view Henry’s death certificate.

We can also read his obituary from the Perry County Republican.

Henry and Wilhelmina Mangels are each buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.

Each of the above gravestones has a mistake. Wilhelmina was born in 1891, not 1883. It is not often that you see a mistake that is that far off. Henry was born in 1886, not 1887. Both of the death certificates for these two have their correct year of birth, so I have to think that the people engraving the gravestones did not get their information from the death certificates.

This Mangels/Lohmann couple spent most of their lives as members of Salem, Farrar, but there were several years right after their marriage that they must have been members of Zion, Crosstown. Their Mangels and Lohmann surnames are certainly ones which I associate with Farrar.