Today would have been the 125th anniversary of the marriage involving a Lutheran and a Baptist. The Lutheran groom was a man by the name of William Schroeder, and the Baptist bride was a girl by the name of Elizabeth Emma Cashion. The marriage license for this couple is shown below.
The above marriage license gives evidence that this was not a church wedding. The person who performed the ceremony was a rather well-known Lutheran by the name of Charles Weber, who was the Judge of Probate for Perry County.
Let’s take a look at the early lives of the bride and groom. We will start with the groom. William Schroeder was born on March 13, 1863, the son of Johann Conrad and Barbara (Wagner) Schroeder. Some of his family’s records are found the books of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so I am guessing that he was baptized there. We find William in the 1870 census for Cinque Hommes Township when he was 7 years old.
Next, we find William in the 1880 census for Salem Township at the age of 17.
Now we’ll turn our attention to the bride, Elizabeth Emma Cashion. She was born on October 11, 1872, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Warren) Cashion. [No, her mother was not a well-known politician] A description of her life included in the books of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Crosstown, Missouri says she made the decision to be baptized early in her life. I assume that baptism took place at that church. Elizabeth can be found in the 1880 census for Salem Township. It says she was 6 years old, but I think that is incorrect.
Several events took place between the 1880 and 1900 censuses. First of all, as said before, William Schroeder married Elizabeth Cashion on July 29, 1895. This couple apparently became members of Cross Congregation near Longtown. That congregation did not last long, but it was long enough for their first of two children to be baptized there. Their second child was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar in 1897. However, this marriage did not last long. In January of 1899, William died. A death record in the Friedenberg church’s records says he was buried in Cross Cemetery, but no gravestone photo is found on Findagrave.
Elizabeth is found as a widow with two children in the 1900 census. Considering this entry came from that Salem Township 1900 census that is so bad, this one is pretty readable.
On March 29, 1910, Elizabeth married again. Her second husband was a widower by the name of Jasper Hager, whose first wife had died in 1908. Jasper had seven children at the time of his second marriage. Here is the marriage license for this couple. It was another marriage performed by a Judge of Probate.
We find this blended family already in the census taken during the year of this wedding.
The 1915 plat maps for Perry County show a piece of property owned by J. Hager located near Point Rest and near the Mississippi River.
Jasper Hager was a member of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Crosstown, so we know that Elizabeth returned to her previous church either before or after this wedding. We find this Hager household in the 1930 census. (I was unable to find a 1920 census for them.)
The 1940 census is the last census in which we can find this family.
Elizabeth Hager died in 1955 at the age of 83. Her death certificate says she died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital.
Jasper Hager died in 1956 at the age of 87. His death certificate mentions heart disease as well as cancer of the larynx.
Jasper and Elizabeth are buried together in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Crosstown. Findagrave says that cemetery is also known as the Hager Cemetery (even though Jasper and Elizabeth are the only Hager graves listed on that website).
I do not get many opportunities to discuss Baptists located in this area. This story made it possible for me to become familiar with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Crosstown. Writing stories for this blog makes it possible for me to learn something new every time I research one.
