My Aunt Clara Schilling would have been 116 years old today. She was born on August 7, 1902 and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church. She was the daughter of Henry and Bertha (Mueller) Loebs who had a farm in Wittenberg. Bertha Mueller was my grandmother, only I come by way of second husband, Emanuel Schmidt. Regardless of that, I always called her Aunt Clara. And my colleague in the research library, Gerard Fiehler, called her Grandma.
On November 9, 1924, Clara married Rudolph Schilling at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg. Rudolph was the son of Ferdinand and Anna (Kasten) Schilling. We happen to have this old photograph taken of Ferdinand and Anna along with their son, Rudolph, standing in front of the original home of the Schillings.
Here is the marriage license for Rudy and Clara.
And we have the wedding photo of Rudy and Clara.
The map below shows the property where the Schillings lived. The property is listed as belonging to Ferdinand Schilling, Rudy’s father, in 1915. Ferdinand’s property is shown with a blue arrow.
Rudy and Clara had seven children, four boys and three girls. We have this delightful photo of the oldest three, Myrtle, Lillian, and Ray playing in a wagon.
Somewhere along the line, a newer farmhouse was built for this family. Here are a few photographs of their home place.
In 2006, this aerial photograph was taken of the Schilling farm.
When the children were older, a family photo was taken in front of their home. The children are standing in birth order, starting at the top….Myrtle, Lillian, Raymond, Melvin, Lorene, Leonard, and Harold.
Leonard became a Lutheran teacher and principal. While he was serving as the principal of Christ Lutheran School in Little Rock, Arkansas, he contracted lymphoma and died. He was just 25 years old.
Later in their lives, another photo was taken of Rudy and Clara.
Clara died in 1991; Rudy died in 1993. They are buried together in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg. Here is their gravestone.
In 2013, a reunion was held by this family. They put together a wonderful family history for that event which is where I located several of the photographs used in this story. They also had another photo taken during that event of the remaining six siblings in this family.
Ray, on the left, has since passed away. I can tell you from my past experience with these Schillings is that they have always been a fun-loving group.
I happen to be working at the polling place in Altenburg today, and my cousin, Myrtle, came in to vote. I had to fuss at her because of the picture shown below. When she was young, she dressed up her little brother, Leonard, as a girl because she was “playing wedding”. Shame on her.
My name is David Bain and I am now 67 yrs. old. From 1959 to 1965, I attended First Lutheran School at the old building at 8th & Rock St. in downtown Little Rock, Ar. Mr. Leonard Schilling was one of my teachers! He was about my favorite. He was a very nice, kind, & patient man. He really helped me to understand what I was learning when I was having a difficult time. He was also a good Christian man. I can still remember what he looked like to this day. Sad to find out he passed so young. To any of his family, ” Thank you for sharing him as a teacher to us kids! ” God Bless, David Bain
How was Gustav Schilling related to these Schillings?
Rudy Shilling’s grandpa, Frederick Schilling, was August Schilling’s brother, Gustav was August’s son. So the Fedinand in this story and Gustave would have been cousins. Don’t get Frederick confused with Ferdinand. Ferdinand was Frederick’s son.