One of the lessons I have learned since I began researching people from the past in East Perry County is that the name “Claus” is a very common name around Farrar. Claus Steffens, Claus Miesner, Claus Mangels, Claus Stueve, and the list goes on. To add to that, there were several folks around Farrar who carried the Klaus surname. At least that was spelled differently. Maybe someone in a Klaus family will someday name one of their boys, Claus Klaus.
Our birthday boy for today is Claus Heinrich Luehrs. This Claus was born in Lamstedt, Germany on September 5, 1865. His parents were Claus Heinrich and Catherine (Blanken) Luehrs. His father had the same name, but he went by the name Henry, and today’s birthday boy went by the name Claus. Even before he celebrated his first birthday, Claus was aboard the ship, Carl, and was headed toward America with his family. We have this family on a passenger list from that ship. Claus was just 8 months old when this ship arrived in 1866.
You can see that the name was originally spelled with an umlaut…Lührs. Around here that name is pronounced “leers”, which is as close as we Americans can come to pronouncing that umlaut. It certainly is not pronounced “lures” around these here parts.
Although a lot of passengers from the Carl ended up settling in the area around Farrar, it appears that the Luehrs family first resided in the Shawnee Township of Cape Girardeau County. We find them in that township in the 1870 census. There was a Margaretha Blanken living with this family. She may have been Claus’s aunt.
To find Claus in the 1880 census, you have to go to the census records for Union Township that were only recently found and haven’t made their way onto Ancestry.com yet. The Luehrs family was then in Perry County and getting closer to Farrar. I did not display it, but right above the Luehrs family in that census, you would find the John Blanken household. Once again, I suspect that may have been some kind of relation to Claus’s mother.
It was during the year of the above census that Claus Luehrs was confirmed. We find his confirmation record at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna.
Let’s turn our attention to Claus’s future bride. Her name was Anna Mangels. Anna was the daughter of Herman and Katharina (Katt) Mangels. Here is a photo of Anna’s parents.
Anna was born on November 7, 1879, making her about 13 years younger than Claus. She was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, Missouri. Below is her baptism record.
We find a very young Anna in the 1880 census for Salem Township. She was the firstborn child in that Mangels family. There was a Margaretha Stelling, age 11, living with the Mangels family. I do not know her story, but this may be another case where a child needed to be cared for, and she was taken in by the Mangels couple.
Anna was confirmed in 1893 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Here is her confirmation record.
On April 28, 1898, Claus Luehrs married Anna Mangels at Salem, Farrar. We have their marriage license.
The church record for this marriage is shown below.
We also have the wedding photo for this couple. Anna wore a black dress with a white veil.
The 1900 census for Salem Township shows this couple. One child had recently been born. This entry stretched over two census pages. Anna’s brother, Theodore Mangels was living in this household.
We find a very interesting entry in the 1910 census. In addition to the household of Claus Luehrs, we find his brother, Herman Luehrs, and Anna’s father, Herman Mangels, along with their family members listed right nearby.
One more child was born in 1912. We then see this situation in the 1920 census.
When the 1915 land maps were produced, we find the land that was farmed by Claus Luehrs. You can also see other Luehrs and Mangels land nearby.
Next, we find the Luehrs household in the 1930 census. Once again, we see another Luehrs household living nearby.
Anna Luehrs died in 1946 at the age of 66. Here is her death certificate.
Claus Luehrs died in 1949 at the age of 84. We also have his death certificate.
Claus and Anna are both buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.
Maybe someday a Santa family will move into East Perry County and name a son Claus. Perhaps Hollywood or Hallmark could produce a movie.
Margaretha Stelling could possibly be the daughter of Henry Stelling and Martha Holschen . They had a daughter named Margaretha born in October 1868, so she would have been 11 for most of 1880. Anna Luehrs was just several months old at the time the census was recorded, so Margaretha may have been with them to provide assistance for the new mother. This Margaretha Stelling married Johann Wahlers, and their descendants are numerous. My grandmother, Mary Stelling Hadler, was also a daughter of Henry and Martha Holschen Stelling.
If it was that Margaretha Sterling, she was found in that 1880 census twice, once with her own family and once with the Luehrs family.