Emilie Marie Josephine Mirly was born on July 19, 1868. Her mother’s maiden name was Schimmelpfennig, and her paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Kastenhuber. Now those two names make up a mouthful of syllables. Emilie’s parents were Joseph and Wilhelmine (Schimmelpfennig) Mirly. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, Missouri. Below is her baptism record.
A gentleman has visited our museum on several occasions who always makes us laugh because he calls himself a “Fake Mirly”. He is a descendant of August Mirly, who started his life as August Steenbock before being adopted by a Mirly. Our museum guest claims that if you came from a different branch of this family, then you would be a “Real Mirly”. Emilie would be an example of a “Real Mirly”.
Emilie can be found in the 1870 census at the age of 1.
At the age of 11, Emilie is listed in the 1880 census. This Mirly family was certainly a large one. Our German Family Tree shows 13 children, and Emilie was #6.
Next, we will discuss the early life of Emilie’s future husband, Carl Gottlob Hoffmann. There are so many examples of local men who were named Carl on their baptism records, but almost always were called Charles on documents. This Charles Hoffman was born on January 13, 1863, the son of another Carl Gottlob Hoffmann. His mother’s maiden name was Maria Margaret Mueller. Here is the wedding photo of Charles’s parents.
The son born before Carl Gottlob was named Carl Adolph, but he went by the name Adolph. Today’s Charles Hoffmann was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but he would later be confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Below is his baptism record.
Charles is found in the 1870 census for Brazeau Township in Perry County, but the next child in the Hoffmann family born in 1871 was baptized at the church in New Wells. Charles was 6 years old.
Ten years later, we find Charles in the 1880 census for Shawnee Township in Cape Girardeau County. You can see that the Hoffmann family had grown considerably.
Charles’s father died in 1885, leaving his mother as a widow with quite a large family. That leads us to the year, 1890, when we find Charles Hoffmann marrying Emilie Mirly on April 24th. First, let’s look at the marriage license for this couple.
When we look at the marriage records in the books of Immanuel, New Wells, we find an interesting situation.
Not only was Charles married in April, but on July 3rd, his sister, Agnes, married Johann Hadler. Then, on October 23rd, Charles’s mother married Alfred Gross.
Charles and Emilie have 5 children listed in our German Family Tree. When the 1900 census was compiled, we see the following Hoffmann household.
There is a problem with the above census record. There is an Albertine Hoffmann, a 9 year-old that was said to be born in 1891 and an Arthur Hoffmann, listed as a 7 year-old son born in 1892. A death record in the Immanuel, New Wells books says Albertine not only was born in 1891, but died when she was just 2 months old. There is another death record stating that Arthur died in 1894 at the age of 1 year, 9 months. If those two died in the 1890’s, how could they be listed in the 1900 census? I do not know the answer. Next, we find the Hoffman household in the 1910 census.
Albertine and Arthur are no longer found in this household. Only Tillie (Mathilda) and Karl (yet another Charles Hoffmann) were listed here, along with Emilie’s father, Joseph Mirly. Her mother had died in 1907, and Joseph would die later in 1910. Another missing child, Walter Hoffmann, was living in the Theodore Wachter household as a 16 year-old farm laborer in 1910.
The last census in which we find Emilie Hoffmann was the one taken in 1920.
Emilie Hoffmann died in 1921 at the age of 52. Her death certificate says she died at St. Francis Hospital as a result of an unsuccessful surgery.
Carl can still be found in the 1930 census. He was living in the household of his son, Carl, Jr.
Charles Hoffmann died in 1934 at the age of 71. His death certificate indicates he was living with his son, Carl, Jr., in Menfro at the time and was buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Crosstown.
Of these two, I have only located a grave marker for Emilie in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells, and it is not a regular gravestone.
The story of Charles and Emilie Hoffmann is yet another one with both interesting facts and unsolved mysteries.
If you want to read some other posts that give background information about the members of this family, you can click on the links below:
Another Irresistible Name…..Schimmelpfennig
lutheranmuseum.com 