Heinrich August Miesner is today’s birthday boy. He was born on January 26, 1888, the son of Frederick and Sophia (Korte) Miesner. This man went by the name of Henry Miesner, and that means I once again have to be careful, because we find several Henry Miesner’s in our German Family Tree. The Miesner family can be found on both sides of the Mississippi River, in Jackson County, Illinois as well as Perry County, Missouri. In the case of Henry Miesner’s, we find them on both sides of the river. Today’s Henry Miesner was the oldest child in his family, and he was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, Missouri. I will be calling him Henry A. Miesner just to distinguish him from the other Henry Miesner’s. Below is his baptism record.

We find Henry A. Miesner in his first census in 1900 where he was 12 years old.

I was unable to find Henry in the 1910 census, and by the time of the following census in 1920, Henry got married. So, let’s take a look at his wife’s early years. Her name was Lydia Schamburg, who was born on October 23, 1892. She was the daughter of Adolph and Magdalena (Gaebler) Schamburg. In her case, we can look at a Perry County record for Lydia’s birth. It is displayed in two images.

Lydia’s baptism record can be found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but since her parents lived in Wittenberg, it is somewhat likely that she was baptized in the church located in that river town. Here is an image of her baptism record from the Trinity books.

Lydia is found in the 1900 census at the age of 7. Her father was called a cooper. I think it is likely that he worked at the Weinhold Flour Mill in Wittenberg.

Like her future husband, I was unable to find Lydia in the 1910 census. I have this sneaking suspicion that Henry A. Miesner was living in Cape Girardeau at that time, but I have no proof. I do know that this couple was was married on September 20, 1913. This couple’s marriage license indicates that they were married at a Lutheran church in Cape Girardeau, and that was likely Trinity Lutheran Church. This license states that Lydia was still from Wittenberg, Missouri.

In 1917, Henry A. Miesner had his World War I draft registration completed. It states that he was working with auto machinery for a an auto company in Cape Girardeau.

It appears that this couple had 4 children, all of which lived full lives. We find the Miesner family living in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the 1920 census. Henry A. Miesner was called an automobile machinist. The family included 3 children at the time.

Next, we find this Miesner household in the 1930 census. Now, there were 4 children in this family. Henry A. Miesner was called a manager of auto sales in this census entry.

A 1937 city directory for Cape Girardeau shows that Henry A. Miesner was working for the Yellow Cab Company as an auto mechanic.

The last census in which we find the Henry A. Miesner family was the one taken in 1940. This time Henry was called a mechanic for a river boat.

In 1942, Henry A. Miesner had his World War II draft card completed. This time he was called an employee of the fire department.

Lydia Miesner died in 1964 at the age of 71. Her death certificate says that she died at the Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

Henry A. Miesner died in 1980 at the age of 92. His death is too recent for us to view his death certificate. Henry and Lydia are each buried in the Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

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Henry and Lydia Miesner were a couple that migrated from Perry County to Cape Girardeau where they lived most of their lives. Henry spent most of his life as a mechanic of some sort, usually working on automobiles.