A flower child was born on this day not long before the turn of the 20th century. Her name was Flora (which is Latin for flower) Suzanne Drumtra, the youngest daughter of William and Susanna (Mueller) Drumtra. We have this photograph of Flora’s parents.

Flora was born on December 4, 1893 and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Below is her baptism record.

Flora’s father was a rather interesting character. He could trace his roots back to Pennsylvania where his father was a music teacher. In Altenburg, William was a jeweler and watch repairer. He also was the director of the Altenburg Band for quite a few years. We can see William in this photograph taken of that band. He is standing in the front, the third man from the left. I think it looks like this photo may have been taken at what is now called the fairgrounds in Altenburg where many band concerts were held over the years.

The Drumtra Store can be seen in the photograph shown below. Right next to his store, you will see this family’s home.

The Drumtra family had 4 children, and Flora was the youngest. I enlarged a portion of the above photo. You can see all four children, and Flora must be the one held by her mother.

When Flora was about 3 years old, her mother died in 1896. Then, her father married again in 1899. His second wife was Sarah Beyer, who was the daughter of Teacher George Beyer, who was teaching at Trinity, Altenburg. We never see Flora with her mother in a census. When we find Flora in her first census in 1900, her father had recently remarried Sarah. Flora was 6 years old.

I am fairly certain that the photo of Flora shown below is her confirmation picture.

As it turns out, that census in 1900 was the only one in which Flora appeared with her father. He did in 1907 at the age of 48. When the 1910 census was taken, we see that the remaining Drumtra children were being raised by their stepmother. It appears that Flora’s older brother, Theobald, had taken over the jewelry business. Two other children had been born to William and Sarah before William died.

When the 1920 census was taken, we find Flora living in St. Louis and working as a house maid at the age of 26..

We now need to turn our attention to the early life of Flora’s future husband. His name was August Caspar Ludwig. August was born on September 8, 1889, the son of William and Amelia (Sittner) Ludwig. We have this photograph of August’s parents.

August Ludwig was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Here is that baptism record.

August shows up in his first census in 1900 where he is living in the Apple Creek Township of northern Cape Girardeau County at the age of 10. His father was a teamster, and already at the age of 10, August is called a day laborer.

Next, we find August living in St. Louis in the 1910 census at the age of 20. He was a shoe laster, which involves attaching the top part of a shoe to the sole. He was living with his parents, and his father was a freight handler for a brewery.

In 1917, August had his World War I draft registration completed. This form says August was working at a bakery.

August did end up serving in the military during that war, although I do not think he went overseas. His military record below states that he was involved in training involving cooking and baking.

I feel the need to show you where August was living when the above form was completed. His address is shown on the map below. I placed a red circle around St. Jacobi Lutheran Church and School, which is where I was baptized. I also was raised at that congregation and attended that school. That congregation closed several years ago.

August is then once again shown living in St. Louis in the 1920 census. He was working as a baker and living with his parents. His father was still working for a brewery.

I was not able to find a marriage record for August Ludwig and Flora Drumtra. A family history on Ancestry says this couple was married on May 1, 1920, which seems about right, but it is not documented. That family history says this couple was married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but there is no marriage record in that church’s books. Their first child was born in September of 1921. The second of their two children was born in 1924. We find this family in the 1930 census for St. Louis. Once again, August was working in a bakery.

August Ludwig died in early 1940, so he would not make it into the census for that year. He died at the relatively early age of 50. His death certificate says he died of tuberculosis.

We can also view this obituary for August in which it states that he was a master baker.

Flora is found as a widow in the 1940 census, and she is called a baker in her own shop. Her children were then teenagers.

Flora Ludwig died in 1959 at the age of 65. We can view her death certificate below.

August and Flora Ludwig are buried in the New Bethlehem Cemetery in St. Louis. There is a Ludwig family stone with some other markers for people in that Ludwig family.

I guess you could say that Flora and I have lived lives that are the opposite of each other. She began her life in Altenburg and ended it in St. Louis. I began my life in St. Louis and am ending it up in Altenburg.