It is a recurring theme. Neighbors on The Ridge end up getting married. Such stories have already appeared several times on this blog, and you are getting yet another one today. I discovered today’s story because of a birthday.

Elizabeth Weber was born on September 29, 1862, the daughter of Charles and Emilie (Guebner) Weber. That makes Elizabeth what we call a “Ridge Weber”. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Missouri. Below is her baptism record.

Elizabeth can be found in her first census in 1870 at the age of 7.

Next, we find this Weber household in the 1880 census. This entry shows Elizabeth’s family living near the family of her uncle, Herman Weber. Elizabeth’s father had died earlier in 1880, so we see her mother, Emilie, is the head of the household. Herman Weber just barely made it into this census because he would die later that same year.

Next, we turn our attention to another resident of The Ridge. His name was Herman Detlef Jungclaus, and he would become the husband of Elizabeth Weber. There is evidence that Herman was actually Herman Jungclaus III whose father and grandfather carried the same name. Herman was born on May 16, 1861, the son of Herman Detlef and Gesche (Stueve) Jungclaus. He was also baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Here is his baptism record from that congregation.

We find Herman in the 1870 census at the age of 9.

Herman was confirmed in 1875, and Elizabeth was confirmed in 1876. I suppose it’s possible that the pastor may have taught these two in the same confirmation class at one time. It’s also almost certain that these two attended The Ridge School together. Next, we find Herman in the 1880 census when he was 19 years old. I find it interesting that the census taker wrote his mother, Gesche’s, name as Schga.

If we look at a later plat map, we not only see some land owned by Herman Jungclaus (spelled incorrectly), but we also see plenty of neighbors with the surname, Weber. If you look closely, you can also see that the Jungclaus property is very near The Ridge School.

On April 16, 1891, Herman Jungclaus married Elizabeth Weber at Immanuel, Altenburg. We can view the church record for this wedding in the two images shown below.

According to our German Family Tree, this couple had 8 children. When the 1900 census was taken, we find this early household for them. We already find that there is another Herman Jungclaus in the family.

We find this family next in the 1910 census.

Next, we find the Jungclaus household in the 1920 census. They still had 3 older children living with them.

I am not sure if Herman and Elizabeth were still living on The Ridge in 1925, but if they were, they would have experienced the deadly Tri-State Tornado that took place on March 18, 1925. One of the photos we have that was taken after that tragic event is shown below. It shows the wreckage of The Ridge School as well as the Art. Jungclaus residence. Arthur was the eldest son of Herman and Elizabeth.

When the 1930 census was taken, Herman and Elizabeth were living with their daughter, Lydia, who had married August Kassel. They resided in Union Township.

Herman Jungclaus died in 1935 at the age of 73. His death certificate indicates that he died of skin cancer.

Two years later, Elizabeth Jungclaus died in 1937 at the age of 74. Her death certificate is displayed below.

Herman and Elizabeth Jungclaus are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

Herman and Elizabeth were two individuals who were born, raised, married, and raised a family on The Ridge. It was only late in their lives that they could be found living anywhere else. If you want to read about another Weber/Jungclaus wedding from The Ridge, you can find it by clicking on this link: Albert and Emma on The Ridge. That couple was made up of a Weber groom and a Jungclaus bride. The Jungclaus bride was Herman’s sister.

I am also guessing that this will still not be the last of the romances that I discover from The Ridge.