I live in the area that was originally named Dresden when the Gesellschaft arrived on the scene in Perry County in 1839. Gerard Fiehler jokingly calls me the Mayor of Dresden. That means nothing since there is no such place anymore. However, there was a time when there was such a place. The map below made in 1874 displayed Dresden.
Today, I will tell the tale of a family that once lived in Dresden. Friederich and Linda (Bodenschatz) Petzoldt raised a family on a piece of property in Dresden. Maybe someday, I will write the story of that family, but today I will focus on just one of their sons by the name of Adolph Petzoldt. In the photo of the Friederich Petzoldt family shown below, Adolph is the young man standing on the porch in the back, second from the left.
Adolph Petzoldt was born on March 1, 1886 and was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record is displayed below in two images.
We find Adolph in his first census which was taken in 1900 when Adolph was 14.
On October 31, 1907, Adolph Petzoldt married Eleanora Seibel. That would make today the 112th anniversary for this couple. It would have also been the 390th anniversary of the Reformation. Reformation Day in 1907 was just like today. It, too, was on a Thursday. The wedding took place at Trinity Lutheran Church. That location was almost certainly because Eleanora was a member of that church. Below is the marriage license for that wedding.
We also have the church record for this marriage.
Eleanora Seibel was born on January 11, 1887. She was the daughter of Christian Gotthold and Louise (Koestering) Seibel and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Below is her baptism record.
A photo of the Christian Gotthold Seibel family taken around 1900 includes Eleanora. She is the one indicated by the red arrow.
I am guessing that this marriage resulted in Adolph also becoming a member of Trinity because when this couple began having children, they were baptized there.
The Adolph Petzold household can be found in the 1910 census for St. Louis. This is the only census in which we find this family living somewhere other than Perry County. I find it interesting that Adolph lists his occupation as a laborer at “any thing”. This couple had one child by then, and they also had one of Eleanora’s brothers, Martin Seibel, living with them.
It appears that this family did not stay in St. Louis long after this census. When another child was born in 1912, she was baptized at Trinity, Altenburg. Then in 1915, Eleonora died of appendicitis. Here is her death certificate. She was just 28 years old.
On November 26, 1916, Adolph married again. His second wife was Emilie Fiedler. Emilie was born on April 24, 1886 in New Wells, Missouri. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Below is her baptism record.
I was unable to find a church record or a civil document demonstrating the marriage between Adolph and Emilie. Adolph had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This document shows Emilie as his wife.
The plat map for Perry County produced in 1915 shows where the Adolph Petzoldt farm was located.
Three more children were born into Adolph’s family with Emilie as the mother. We find this family in the 1920 census.
Adolph was a farmer in all of the censuses in which we find him. That is the case once again in 1930.
The last census we can view is the one taken in 1940.
Adolph had his World War II draft card filled out in 1942.
I am going to display a few photos that I think are appropriate for this post in a clickable gallery.
Adolph Petzoldt died in 1952 at the age of 66. We have his death certificate.
Emilie Petzoldt died in 1971 at the age of 85. Both Adolph and Emilie are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.
In his later years of life, it is said that Adolph worked for a stave company in Jackson, Missouri. In the above death certificate, we find Adolph’s occupation listed as timber buyer. One of Adolph’s sons, Marvin Friedrich Gotthold (most commonly called Tommy) Petzoldt learned some skills his father had learned from working in the timber industry. Tommy went on to become the owner of what is now the largest employer in East Perry County….the East Perry Lumber Company.
I actually finished this post a short while ago, but there was one unanswered question. I was unable to find the gravestone of Eleanora Petzoldt who died in 1915. Findagrave.com did not include her on their site for the Trinity, Altenburg cemetery. So off to the cemetery I went. Yes, that means I actually visited a graveyard on All Hallow’s Eve. Spooky! I was successful. I found the missing gravestone.
I guess I have just given “Miss Findagrave” Diane Anderson some more work to do.
