The puzzle in today’s story has to do with a date of marriage. In fact, it has to do with not only which day a couple was married, but also which year. Some documents say this pair had their wedding on December 31, 1894, and other documents say they were married on January 1, 1895. We will begin with the groom.

Heinrich Carl Christian Wallmann was born on August 13, 1872, the son of Carl and Rebecca (Stirewald) Wallmann. A previous post has been written about Henry’s parents titled, Charles and His Carolina Companion. Here is a photograph of his parents.

Henry was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, Missouri. Below is his baptism record.

Henry is found in only one census record as a single person. That one was taken in 1880. His family was living in Shawnee Township, and his father was a farmer. His name was listed as Christian in this entry, and he was 7 years old.

Next, we will take a look at the early years of Henry’s bride. Her name was Eva Edlinger. Eva was born on September 16, 1873, the daughter of Leopold and Katharine (Straf) Edlinger. She was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We have only transcriptions of lifetime events from that congregation. Here is what we have for Eva.

Like her husband, Eva is found in only one census before she was married. Her family was also living in Shawnee Township. She is called Effie on this entry, and she was listed as 8 years old. By that time, it appears that her mother had died. So her father, as a widower, was taking care of 4 girls and a young boy.

Henry Wallmann married Eva Edlinger on either December 31, 1894 or January 1, 1895. The marriage license shown below states the couple was married on December 31st.

The marriage took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can also view the church record for this marriage which says these two were married on January 1st.

As you can see from the previous information about Eva from St. John’s, Pocahontas, it says the marriage took place on December 31st. In this day and age of couples having unusual weddings in order to be unique, one might think that these two might have been married at exactly midnight just to be different, but I doubt it.

Henry’s marriage to Eva did not last long. One child, a girl, was born in 1895, but then in 1897, Eva died. Her death record is shown here, and it has a cause of death written in German, but I do not know what it says. She was only 24 years old when she died. She is said to be buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells, but there is no gravestone photo for her on Findagrave.

The 1900 census was taken between Henry’s first and second marriages. He was living in the same household with his parents. I’m sure his mother was very helpful in raising his daughter, Lucy. Henry’s sister, Ida, at age 16, could also have assisted with Lucy’s upbringing.

Let’s now take a look at the woman who became Henry’s second wife. Her name was Emma Hoehl. Emma was born on September 23, 1877, the daughter of Johann and Maria (Heinig) Hoehl. Emma was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. Here is information on her from the St. John’s binder we have in our museum.

I was not able to find Emma in the 1880 census, but I think I found her in the 1900 census for Shawnee Township. Emma’s mother had died on Emma’s 12th birthday in 1889, so in this entry, her father was a widower.

On March 31, 1902, Henry Wallmann married Emma Hoehl at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. I located a wedding photograph for Henry and Emma, and I find it quite extraordinary. This is a new one for me. Henry is wearing some sort of hat in his wedding photograph. It also looks as if Emma’s wedding dress was not white.

Another photo was taken when this couple celebrated their marriage with family and friends.

According to our German Family Tree, this couple had 7 children. Not all of them lived to adulthood. When the 1910 census was taken, we find this Wallmann household. A nephew who was also named Henry Wallmann was living with this family.

We see this couple in three more census records. Here is the one for 1920.

The Wallmann family is a little smaller by the time of the 1930 census.

The plat maps produced in 1930 for Cape Girardeau County show a piece of land owned by Hy. Wallmann outside Pocahontas. Henry was a farmer all his life.

The last census we can look at for Henry and Emma was the one taken in 1940. A daughter named Lenchen who married Raymond Doering, was living in their household. Their son, Fred, had taken up the trade of blacksmithing.

Emma Wallmann died in 1953 at the age of 76. Her death certificate says she died on Christmas Eve.

Henry Wallmann died in 1956 at the age of 83. We can also view his death certificate.

Henry and Emma Wallmann are buried together in the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery in Pocahontas.

I have a confession to make. When I saw the wedding photo with Henry wearing something on his head, I thought he might be wearing some sort of New Year’s Eve party hat. It didn’t take me long before I realized that was his second marriage which took place in March, so my theory was destroyed quickly. But like last night’s New Year’s Eve celebration, it was fun while it lasted.