Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum

You are about to read the type of story that you won’t read often.  It’s a tale in which a bride and a groom each have fathers whose name was Claus Stueve.  It doesn’t take long to figure out that such a marriage would involve a Stueve marrying a Stueve.  Let’s begin by looking at the groom, Martin Stueve.

Martin Stueve was born on May 15, 1881, the son of Claus Herman and Anna Margaretha (Steffens) Stueve.  Martin was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  Below is his baptism record in two images.

Martin would not show up in a census until 1900.  He was 19 years old.

Martin’s future wife would be Caroline Stueve, the daughter of Johann Claus and Alwine (Braeuner) Stueve.  She was born on December 14, 1895, making today her 124th birthday.  It also makes her about 14 years younger than Martin Stueve.  Like her future husband, Caroline was also baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  Below is her baptism record, also in two images.

When we find Caroline in her first census in 1900, she was only 4 years old.

Ten years later, we find both Martin and Caroline Stueve on the same page of the census in 1910, indicating how close they must have lived to each other.  Martin was 28 years old, and Caroline was 15.

Please note that Caroline’s father is called Claus Stueve, Jr., and Martin’s father is called Claus Stueve, Sr.  However, those two fathers were not the “Junior to the Senior”.  That means there were at least two more additional people named Claus Stueve.  In the 1915 map of Perry County, we find an area on The Ridge which is well populated by Claus Stueve’s as well as other Stueve’s.  I’ll let you determine which land may have been the home of Martin and which was the home of Caroline.

In 1918, Martin had his World War I draft registration completed.  It indicated that Martin was missing the index finger on his right hand.  If he was right-handed, I would think that would impact his penmanship skills.

On November 20, 1919, Martin Stueve married Caroline Stueve at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg.  That means that not long ago, it would have been the 100th anniversary of this couple.  We have their marriage license.

We have the wedding photo of this Stueve/Stueve couple.

For some unknown reason, I was unable to find this couple in the 1920 census.  We do find them in the 1930 census.  They had all four of their children by that time.

Martin and Caroline can be found in one more census, the one taken in 1940.

Martin was required to fill out a World War II draft card in 1942.

In 1944, a photo of the Stueve family was taken.  This photo also has an accompanying caption which identifies everyone in the picture.

Martin Stueve died in 1963 at the age of 81.  We can look at his death certificate.

 

Caroline did not die until 1991 when she was 95 years old.  Martin and Caroline are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

I know that a few years ago, when I did a story on another Claus Stueve, I placed a map in that post.  I was quickly informed that the map I displayed was not the correct one.  I learned my lesson.  I will definitively not name which Claus Stueve is matched up with a parcel of land.  Someone in the Stueve family is going to have to come to my aid in accomplishing that task.

Just so you know, I have not written a blog post for several days for one main reason.  Our museum was involved in the annual Christmas Country Church Tour the past two days.  During those two days, we had over 900 visitors.  It certainly kept our staff busy, but I must say, it was such a pleasant experience seeing so many folks experience our Christmas tree exhibit and our historical displays.  The Christmas exhibit will continue to be on display until the middle of January.  If you happen to get to Altenburg, please come by and see us.  We are very proud of this display, and we know that you would enjoy it.