I have gone down so many rabbit holes while researching today’s character that I have come to the conclusion that I am going to write the story in two installments.  It all starts with a man who would have been celebrating his 150th birthday today.  However, I will end up not saying much about him today because his story depends so much on some background information on his family’s previous history.  When I get around to telling the story of Adolf Ude tomorrow, you will find out that he ran a grocery store during much of his life, and I cannot resist the temptation of calling his store, Ude’s Foods.  An American might look at that name and pronounce it as if the surname Ude would rhyme with “food”.  However, a good, old German would know that this surname would be pronounced with two syllables…most likely “Ooo-day”.   Tomorrow, you will get a post titled, Ude’s Foods, but today you get the prelude to that one.

I am going to head back in time to look at the immigration of the Ude family which took place in 1850.  Friedrich and Wilhelmine (Giesecke) Ude came to America aboard the ship, Leontine, which arrived in New Orleans on January 14, 1850.  Below is the passenger list for this family.  Friedrich was called a miller on this list, but I found another reference on Ancestry that said he was a saw miller.

I included a few names above the Ude family to show their place of origin in Germany.  They came from Braunschwieig.  Thus, I would call them Braunschweiger’s.  My goofy mind cannot help but think that a grocery store owned by such Ude’s from Braunschweig would certainly have braunschweiger for sale.  My experience with braunschweiger has been that people either love it or hate it.  I happen to be one who loves it, and just writing about it makes my mouth water for a good braunschweiger sandwich complete with a big dollop of mustard….but I digress.

This family settled in St. Louis after their arrival, and several Ude records can be found in the books of Old Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis.  The person in this family that ends up in our German Family Tree was August Ude, who is shown on the above passenger list as a 10 year-old.  August Ude married Anna Maria Horst on September 12, 1858 in St. Louis.  Here is the Missouri marriage record for this couple.

The first child born to this couple came in 1859.  That child, Georg Friedrich August Ude, was baptized at Old Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis.  Here is that church record.

This child does not even make it into our German Family Tree, probably because this child died during that same year, 1859.  The next child, Heinrich Wilhelm Karl Ude, was born in 1861 and also baptized at Old Trinity.

August Ude had served some time as a soldier during the Civil War.  Below is a military record of his service.  It mentions he was discharged because of bodily disability.

One more child was born into this couple while they were in St. Louis.  His name was Friedrich August Ude who was born in 1862 and baptized at Old Trinity.

In March of 1864, August moved his family to Appleton, Missouri where he started a general store.  The next child born into this family was born in April of that year.  His name was Heinrich Wilhelm Ude, and he was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown.

In June of 1865, August sold his store in Appleton and bought one in New Wells.  I am thinking that this store might have been the one that later would be operated by Ernst Schuppan, whose story was told recently in the post, Ernst and the Pastor’s Daughter.  Later that same month, their baby, Heinrich Wilhelm, died.  The death record for him is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells.

Later during 1865, August and Marie had another son, Georg Ludwig Ude.  Here is his baptism record.

Sadly, this child did not live long enough to celebrate his first birthday.  The next Ude child was the first of only two girls born into this family.  Her name was Marie Wilhelmine Ude, and her story was told in a previous post titled, A Bucket of Beer with Minnie, Music, and Math.  She married a Lutheran teacher who served at Immanuel, New Wells.

That leads us up to today’s birthday boy, Adolf Ude, who was born on August 11, 1870 and baptized at Immanuel, New Wells.

Later in the 1870’s, we find a few confirmation records of interest in the Immanuel records.  First, here is the listing of confirmands for 1873 at that congregation which includes Karl Ude.  This is the Heinrich Wilhelm Karl Ude whose baptism record was shown earlier.

Next, we find the confirmation class of 1875, which includes August Ude, whose baptism record was also shown earlier.   His full name was Friedrich August in that record.

The 1880 census for Shawnee Township shows this household.  August is called a merchant, and several other children were born into this family.

Anna Maria Ude died in 1896.  She was buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.  Her grave marker was in a state of disrepair when its photo was taken for Findagrave.com.

In the 1900 census, August was living as a widower in Jackson, Missouri and serving as the Treasurer for Cape Girardeau County.  He was elected to that office for three terms.  He was living in the household of Joseph Koehler, the probate judge.

I am going to end today’s first part to this story by showing the marriage record of Friedrich August Ude.  He married Johanna Biedermann in Thayer County, Nebraska in 1886.

The pastor who married this couple was Johanna’s father, Rev. Richard Biedermann.  And just where had Rev. Biedermann previously served as pastor?  Why, Immanual Lutheran Church in New Wells, of course.  Another previous post has been written about this pastor titled, Agnes Finds an Honest Man.

As near as I can determine, I think it is the above marriage that is going to be what will precipitate the exodus of a number of Ude children to Nebraska, including today’s birthday boy, Adolf Ude.  You see, Friedrich August Ude also became a Lutheran pastor who started his ministry in Nebraska.

But today’s post is long enough.  You have to wait for tomorrow to hear more of this story.  I’ll leave you with this photo of the Ude family which probably was taken in Nebraska.  The patriarch of the family is sitting in the front in the middle.  It’s a tease to get you back to read more tomorrow.