Emma Lorenz is today’s birthday girl.  Because she was born on May 14, 1882, she would have been 137 years old today.  She was the daughter of John and Carolina (Mueller) Lorenz.  Her family descends from the Lorenz family that settled around Altenburg.  There is a whole different Lorenz family that settled in Farrar.  Emma was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  Below is her baptism record.

Because she was born in 1882, the first census in which we can find her was the 1900 census for Brazeau Township.  She was 18 years old and one of many siblings in this family.

Emma’s future spouse was Carl Holschen.  Carl was born on May 29, 1879, the son of Luetje and Emilie (Thurm) Holschen.  He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.

Because he was born before 1880, we find him in the census for that year.  Carl was the baby in the family at that time, although four more boys would come later.  Contrary to yesterday’s story about a family full of girls, this Holschen family was populated with a bunch of boys.

The Holschen family lived on the Ridge.  The 1915 land map shows where some Holschen land was located.  Ignore the arrow.  The Holschen’s were right nearby that arrow right on the river.  There was even a landing named after that family.

The Lorenz family lived just outside Altenburg.  The map below shows where some Lorenz land was in that same 1915 map.

We also see Carl in the 1900 census.  He was still living with his parents when he was 21 years old.

On December 26, 1901, one day after Christmas Day, Carl and Emma were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  The church record is shown below.  It indicates that Rev. Zschoche was the pastor.  He was Concordia’s pastor in Frohna at the time.  Rev. Roesener had left Trinity in 1901, and Rev. Zschoche was likely filling in at Trinity for a while.  Some from around here in the past have also referred to marriages between members of Trinity and Immanuel congregations as mixed marriages.  This would have been one of those.

We can also take a look at the Perry County marriage license for this wedding.

It was not long after this marriage that the new church in Wittenberg, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, began in 1903.  Records from that church indicate that the Holschen’s became members of that congregation sometime around 1904.

According to our German Family Tree, there were 7 children born into this family.  The first two were baptized at Trinity, Altenburg.  Then a child born in 1905 was, for some unknown reason, baptized at Zion Lutheran in Pocahontas.  The last four children were baptized at St. Paul’s, Wittenberg.

We find Carl and Emma’s family in the 1910 census where Carl is called a farm laborer.

Carl had a World War I draft registration filled out in 1918.  It indicates he was working for the railroad in Wittenberg.  It is shown below.

Then in 1920, we find the Holschen family listed in the census for Wittenberg Village.  At that time, it says Carl was working at the swing factory in Wittenberg.

I figure it was just about this time that the photograph below must have been taken.  It shows Carl on the far right along with a crew of men who were working at the flour mill in Wittenberg.

Below is an enlargement of Carl from this photo.

There is also an aerial photo taken of Highway A going into Wittenberg from the west.  The house labeled with the #4 is attributed to the Carl Holschen family.  Local folks know this to be the home right before the road that turns to the right heading to Tower Rock.

Next, we will take a look at the Holschen’s in the 1930 census.

Finally, the last census we are allowed to look at is the 1940 census.  If I read this correctly, it says Carl was involved in sawmilling.

Carl died in 1945 at the age of 66.  His death certificate indicates the he was living in St. Louis at the time of his death.

Carl’s body was brought back to Wittenberg where he is buried in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery.

Emma would not die until 1957 at the age of 75.  Here is her death certificate.

Emma was buried in St. Louis at Laurel Hill Garden Memorial Park.

Carl Holschen was a man of many occupations.  I conclude that he had to find employment wherever he could in order to provide for his family.  He was one of those men who lived and worked in Wittenberg in its heyday, when businesses like the swing factory, a flour mill, and a railroad provided employment opportunities before flooding started to impact its future.