My Grandpa Schmidt’s wife had the maiden name, Mueller. Today, you will hear the story of another couple made up of a Schmidt groom and a Mueller bride. It is actually tied into my family. However, it is not connected through the Schmidt groom. It is connected through the Mueller bride, who happened to be a sister of my grandmother, and it is that Mueller bride who would have been celebrating her 140th birthday today.
Sarah Ernstine Elisabeth Mueller was born on October 1, 1880, the daughter of Ferdinand and Amalia (Theiss) Mueller. Here is a photo of Sarah’s parents.
Sarah was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Missouri. Below is an image of her baptism record from that congregation.
A previous post on this blog pointed out that there were 8 children in this Mueller family, and the first 7 of them were girls before the last child was the first and only boy. Sarah was the third-born daughter. Although we do not have a death record to prove it, the first-born daughter did not live long. Since Sarah was born fairly late in 1880, she did not appear in the census taken during that year. The first census in which we find her was the 1900 census. Sarah was 18 years old in this entry, right below my grandmother, Bertha.
Before I proceed to the groom’s early history, let me point out that the Gesellschaft that arrived in 1839 included several different Mueller clans. I sometimes shudder when I consider doing a Mueller story because it often gets so confusing, especially since there are a few examples of Mueller’s marrying Mueller’s. I need to also point out that the history of Schmidt’s in this area causes the same level of anxiety. It is only made a little easier because I am a Schmidt and know my branch of Schmidt’s pretty well. And, as you are about to discover, the Schmidt in today’s story comes from a marriage of a Schmidt and a Schmidt, neither one of which comes from my clan of Schmidt’s.
Ernst Gotthold Lebrecht Schmidt was born on March 12, 1878, the son of Jacob and Wilhelmine (Schmidt) Schmidt. Ernst was child #7 in a family of eleven. I have written several posts about children in this Schmidt family, including the story of a set of twin Schmidt boys who got married on the same day. Here are photos of Ernst’s parents.
Ernst was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, and his baptism record is displayed below.
Ernst shows up in the 1880 census at the age of 2. The Schmidt twins would be born in 1882 and add to this already large family.
Next, we find Ernst in the 1900 census. It is the last one in which we find him as a single man. He was a farm laborer in a Schade household.
On December 26, 1908, the day after Christmas, Ernst Schmidt married Sarah Mueller at Trinity, Altenburg. I will display the church record for that wedding here.
We can also view the marriage license for this couple. You can see that they were even married by a Rev. Schmidt.
According to our German Family Tree, there were 5 children born into this Schmidt family. We find the Schmidt household in the 1910 census.
When the 1915 plat maps were produced, we find a parcel of land attributed to E.T.L. Schmidt. It should be E.G.L. Schmidt.
Ernst was one of the older individuals I have seen that had a World War I draft registration completed. He was already 40 years old when his form was filled out.
Next, we find Ernst and Sarah in the 1920 census. In this entry, you see all 5 of their children. I find it interesting that this family is the opposite of Sarah’s Mueller’s family. Ernst and Sarah had all boys until their last child was their only girl.
The 1930 census shows this Schmidt household.
The last census we can view is the one taken in 1940. This entry shows that their oldest son, Elmer, had gotten married and had blessed Ernst and Sarah with some grandchildren.
Sarah Schmidt died in 1957 at the age of 76. Here is her death certificate.
Ernst Schmidt was living with his only daughter, Stella, in St. Louis at the time of his death. He died in 1966 at the age of 87. Below is his death certificate.
Ernst and Sarah are both buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.
I know of at least 4 grandchildren of Ernst and Sarah that are still found living in and around Altenburg. Those 4 are children of Elmer, and their names are Doreen Carpenter, Ronald, Robert, and Clifford Schmidt. Robert was once the president of the Perry County Lutheran Historical Society. The last time I saw him, he was sporting a beard like the one shown in the photo of his great grandfather, Jacob Schmidt.
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I figure it’s about time to give you an update on how our building is coming along. I went out to take some photos on this beautiful sunny morning in Altenburg. Galleries such as this are also my way of making sure photos such as these don’t get lost or deleted. I know I can find them for later use. The last two were taken inside the 1845 church building looking out the windows.
Notice you have found records thru 1850, 1900. We have missed years there in a genealogy search. Glad you have them.