One hundred seventy-eight years ago, Peter Herman Stueve was born in Lamstedt, Germany.  Peter was born on June 5, 1841.  His parents were Carsten and Adelheid (Mangels) Stueve.  The parish located in Lamstedt is one of those churches whose records can be found on Ancestry.com.  We have Peter’s baptism record.

It is reported that Peter came to America in 1857, although a later census says he arrived in 1860.  I was unable to find a passenger list for him.  He did have two other brothers who also came to America, but not necessarily at the same time.

On May 16, 1867, Peter Stueve married Margareta (or Margaretha) Crum.  Their marriage happens to be the very first one to be written in the Salem Lutheran Church records in Farrar.  I believe these records were re-written years after they were first recorded by the pastor.  That record is shown below.

Margareta Crum had a history that was quite unusual for this area.  She was born in Pennsylvania.  Her birthday was September 27, 1846.  Our German Family Tree says she was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania.  I think I have located Margareta in the 1850 census for Summerhill, Pennsylvania.  In this census, Margareta is shown to be 3 years old.

One big reason that I think this is really the census for the Margareta Crum who married Peter Stueve is the fact that the youngest children in the family are named Rebecca, William, Margaret, and Martha.  I have found evidence of all four of those names in various records in Perry County sources.

Rebecca can be found in the Perry County marriage records.  She married Heinrich Seidel in 1860.

William Crum can be found in the 1860 census.  He was living in the John Swan household in Brazeau Township.  It also indicates that he was born in Pennsylvania.

Martha Crum can also be found in the 1860 census (maybe).  She was living in Zacharias Passler (sp?) household in the Cinque Hommes Township.  She was just 10 years old.

This entry is a little more suspect because it says she was born in North Carolina, but the age is about right.  We also have a marriage record in the Immanuel, Altenburg books saying a Martha Crum married Heinrich Erler in 1866.

I was unable to find Margareta Crum in the 1860 census, but in 1861, she was being confirmed at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar.  Here is that record.

Here is what I think may have happened.  Something happened to the Crum family in Pennsylvania after the 1850 census.  It may be possible that the parents died.  I do not know how these children managed to get to Perry County, Missouri, but they seem to have been farmed out to different families in this area sometime around 1860.

That leads us up to the marriage of Peter Stueve and Margareta Crum in May of 1867.  The first census in which we see this married couple was the one taken in 1870.  They were living in the Brazeau Township and had two children.

When the 1880 census was taken, we see this entry.  They were then living in the Salem Township.

Peter and Margareta can be found in the 1900 census, but I will not show it.  It is practically impossible to read.  Our German Family Tree lists a total of 8 children born into this family, the last one being born in 1886.

The 1910 census for this couple is shown below.  I included a few neighboring families.

First of all, the Mary Hemmann shown above Peter and Margaret is their daughter, who had married a Hemmann.  Also, it is because we see them living near Joseph Stueve and his family, I believe the farm that Peter had worked is the one shown in 1915 as belonging to Joseph Stueve.

Neither Peter nor Margareta made it to the 1920 census.  Peter died in 1914 at the age of 72.  His death certificate is shown below.  It indicates some unusual information.

First of all, this certificate is from Shawnee Township in Cape Girardeau County.  Second, it shows the cause of death to be alcoholism.  It also indicates Peter being buried in the Apple Creek Cemetery near Pocahontas.  His name is found on Findagrave.com as being buried there, but there is no photo of a gravestone.  I have this suspicion that his death and burial in Cape Girardeau County is somehow related to his alcoholism.

Margareta, on the other hand, died two years later in 1916 at the age of 69.  Below is her death certificate.

The informant for Margareta’s death certificate was her son-in-law.  She died in Salem Township and was buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.

I would love to know the story behind the Crum family members from Pennsylvania and how and why they moved into East Perry County.  Maybe one of our readers knows the story and would be willing to share it in the comments.