Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum

The post, The Estels Go East, was published back in 2017.  It told the tale of Paul and Mathilda (Schneier) Estel.  Today, I will tell the story of their eldest son, Arthur Estel.  In a photo taken when Paul and Mathilda celebrated their 50th anniversary, we see Arthur standing in the back row on the left.

Arthur Theodosius Emanuel Estel was born on April 11, 1885 in Wittenberg, Missouri.  His baptism record can be found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but I am reasonably sure that Arthur was baptized in the building in Wittenberg that would later become the first sanctuary for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.  Here is the baptism record for Arthur.

A later church record says the second child in this Estel family was born in Marshall, Missouri.  Then the church records of Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois say this family officially became members of that church in 1891 when Arthur was around 6 years old.  That is where Arthur spent the rest of his life.

That means the first census in which we find Arthur was one taken in 1900 in Fountain Bluff Township in Jackson County, Illinois.  Arthur was 15 years old and working on his father’s farm.

Arthur’s father would later operate a mill in the city of Jacob, Illinois, and that would later also became part of Arthur’s life history.

Let’s take a look at the future wife of Arthur Estel.  Her name was Caroline Rowold, who at times in her life was called Lena.  She was born as Karolina Engel Wilhelmine Rowold on March 10, 1888, and was the daughter of Ernst and Anna (Arbeiter) Rowold.  Caroline is said to have been born in Ruma, Illinois.  I am thinking that she may have been baptized at St. John Lutheran Church in Ruma, but I have no documentation.  Other evidence put the Rowold family in the vicinity of Horse Prairie, Illinois which is not far away.

Let me just take a moment to discuss St. John Lutheran Church in Ruma.  My college roommate, Steve Schrader, was the son of Rev. C. Schrader.  Rev. C. Schrader was the son of another Rev. C. Schrader, and that Pastor Schrader was the one described in this excerpt from the church history of that congregation.

Also, here is a photo of the church in Ruma.  When you look at a later photo of Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois, you might suspect, as I do, that the same architect designed both churches.

Like her future husband, the only census in which we find Caroline as a single person was the one taken in 1900.  She was living in Ruma at the age of 12.

On October 18, 1908, Arthur Estel married Caroline Rowold at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois.  The church in which they were married was built in 1906, so it was practically new.

Below is the church record for the Estel/Rowold wedding.  Rev. Haertling must have forgotten to record it, because it was written in the margin of the church books as if it were added later.

There is also this transcription of an Illinois marriage record.

This couple had their first child before the 1910 census.  I have included Arthur’s parents on this image.  Their first child, Clarence, somehow got pinned with the nickname, Shiek.  I have no clue why.  Arthur’s father, Paul, was called a mill worker in this census, but Arthur was listed as a liquor salesman.

In 1918, Arthur had his World War I draft registration completed.

When the 1920 census was taken, we still see Arthur’s family next to his parents.  His father was called a grain buyer, and Arthur was working in a grain elevator.  I suspect they worked at the same place.  Now, Arthur and Caroline had 3 of their 5 children.

There are two grain elevators in this photo (one is just peeking out over the railroad depot building in the foreground).  They are down at the end of this picture of downtown Jacob, Illinois during a flood.

Two more children were born into this family, one later in 1920 and other in 1921.  Then we see this situation in the 1930 census.  I did not display it, but Arthur had the same occupation.

I am just guessing that these photos of Arthur and Caroline were taken around this time in their lives.

In the 1930’s, as a result of the Great Depression, the Works Project (or Progress) Administration was instituted as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal.  In the 1940 census, we find Arthur working as a road project foreman for the W.P.A.

Arthur’s World War II draft card shows a similar description of his work.

In 1958, this photo taken at Arthur and Caroline’s 50th anniversary shows this couple.  It isn’t often that I display a color photograph like this one.

I have photographs of 3 of the children in this family taken at various times in their lives.

Caroline died in 1964 at the age of 76; Arthur died in 1965 at the age of 79.  They are buried together in the Christ Lutheran Cemetery in Jacob, Illinois.

I will close this story by displaying the obituaries for Arthur and Caroline.  First, here is Caroline’s.

Finally, here is Arthur’s.