I did not get married until I was 39 years old. I know there were folks who thought that I would never find a bride. So, I spent a fairly large percentage of my life as a single person. Today, I will tell the tale of two people who both were married at more advanced ages than normal. In the case of the groom, his first and only marriage took place when he was 61 years old. However, we will begin the story today with the bride because she is today’s birthday girl.

Anna Marie Weinhold was born on October 21, 1899. She was the daughter of William and Mary (Schmidt) Weinhold. She was the second of 10 children that were born into that family. We place her in the clan that we refer to as the “Dirt Weinholds”. Anna Marie was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Below is her baptism record.

Anna Marie should have been included in the 1900 census, but for some unknown reason, she is absent. Her parents, along with her one older brother, are in that census, but not Anna Marie. So, the first census in which we see Anna Marie was the one taken in 1910 when she was 10 years old.

Anna Marie’s family had a farm just west of the town of Brazeau, Missouri. We can see land owned by Wm. Weinhold on this plat map produced in 1915.

I looked in several different places for Anna Marie in the 1920 census when she would have been about 20 years old. I do know that she was not living in her parents’ household. Quite a few Perry County women worked as servants for families in St. Louis back in those days, but I was unable to find Anna Marie there either. The next census entry in which I find her was the one taken in 1930, and she was back living with her parents in Union Township. She was 31 years old and still single.

Next, we will take a look at the early life of Anna Marie’s future spouse, Louis Kirmse. Louis was born on October 9, 1877, the son of Julius and Barbara (Krause) Kirmse. Louis was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Here is an image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books.

Louis can be found in his first census in the one taken in 1880. He was 2 years old. He was also mistakenly shown as a female by the name of Louise.

The next census we can view for Louis is the Salem Township record that is so difficult to read that was produced in 1900. Louis was 22 years old.

We can find Louis Kirmse in three more census records before he was married. Here is the entry from the 1910 census that shows him at the age of 31.

This photograph of Louis is said to have been taken in 1910.

When the Perry County plat maps were drawn in 1915, we find a parcel of land that includes Louis’s name.

In 1918, Louis had his World War I draft registration completed. Louis’s father had died in 1915, so we see his mother, Barbara, as his nearest relative.

Next, we find Louis in the 1920 census. His brother, Joseph, was the head of the household, and his mother was also living with her two sons.

The last census in which we find Louis as a bachelor was the one taken in 1930 when he was 52 years old. This time, Louis was living with his brother, Joseph, who had married Martha Kassel in 1921. Joseph was over 20 years older than Martha.

Perhaps Louis learned a lesson from his brother, Joseph. On October 16, Louis Kirmse married Anna Marie Weinhold, who was about 22 years younger than he was. This marriage was too recent for us to view it in the church records from Concordia, Frohna. We can take a look at the marriage license for this couple. It isn’t often that I display a record recent enough for it to be done with a typewriter.

We can view a wedding photograph of this pair.

One might not expect a 61 year old newlywed to become a father, but Louis did. It must have been in late 1939 or early 1940 that a daughter by the name of Helen Kirmse was born. That baptism record is another one that occurred too recently for us to view. This baby did manage to show up on the last census that we can view. That was in the 1940 census. Once again, we see Louis listed near his brother, Joseph, and his wife.

Despite his rather advanced age, Louis was still required to complete a World War II draft card. He was 64 years old, and just barely satisfied the requirement of being born after April 28th of 1877 to have to complete this document.

Our friend, Dale Kirmse, who I believe descended from Louis’s brother, William Kirmse, has placed several photographs on Ancestry.com of both Louis and Anna Marie. Several of them were supposedly taken in 1948. Here is one showing several Kirmse siblings.

Below is another one showing some Kirmse siblings along with some spouses. Louis and Anna Marie can be seen on the far right.

The next one shows three Kirmse brothers.

Below you will see individual photos of Louis and Anna Marie, also said to be taken in 1948.

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Louis Kirmse died in 1963 at the age of 86. Below is his death certificate.

Anna Marie Kirmse died in 1966 at the age of 66. We can also view her death certificate.

Louis and Anna Marie are each buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.

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Part of the original Kirmse land is still listed as being owned by Helen Hacker, the daughter of Louis and Anna Marie. Her land is shown on this up-to-date map showing the ownership of property in Perry County.

Because this Kirmse couple had just one child, and that child was a girl, the Kirmse surname comes to an end on this branch of their family tree. One of the branches of this family tree ended up in Alva, Oklahoma. Thanks to Dale Kirmse, not only has the history of this family been well-documented, but we also have plenty of photographs that show these Kirmse family members.