Alvin Adam Lintner was born on February 11, 1884, so today would have been his 137th birthday. Alvin was the son of John and Anna Margaretha (Bergmann) Lintner and baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, Missouri. Because that congregation’s records were destroyed in a fire, we are not able to view the original baptism record. What we can view is a Perry County birth record for Alvin. I will display it in two images. We see his surname spelled as Lindner. The surnames Lindner and Lintner seem interchangeable back in those days.

According to our German Family Tree, Alvin was child #10 out of a family of 12. We find Alvin in his first census in 1900 when he was 16 years old. His father was a farmer, and Alvin is described as a farm laborer.

Alvin’s father died in 1905, so when the 1910 census was taken, we find his mother as the head of the household. Just two of her sons remained in her household, one of them being Alvin, who is called the farm manager.

It was the same year as that census that Alvin got married, so let’s switch to look at the early life of Alvin’s bride. Her name was Sophia Anna Johanna Horn, the daughter of Charles and Wilhelmine (Riehn) Horn. Sophia was born on May 10, 1883 and baptized at Cross Congregation, sometimes called Holy Cross Lutheran, a short-lived congregation located between Friedenberg and Crosstown. A map found on Findagrave.com shows where this congregation was once located.

Sophia was the 7th child in a family of 7, making her the baby of her family. We find Sophia in her first census in 1900 when she was 17 years old. Her family was living in the Salem Township. I did not display it on this image because it is that hard-to-read census, but the entry states that Sophia’s father was a farmer.

Next, we find Sophia in the 1910 census. Her father had died around 1902, so the head of the household was Sophia’s older brother, Charles, Jr. I also included the household of another older brother, Adolph, who apparently was living nearby.

At this point in my research, I kept reading tidbits that referred to Sophia’s father as being a doctor, but I had not seen evidence yet that this was the case. So, I went looking for evidence. I found several documents which back this claim. First, we find the following information about Charles Horn in the book, Friedenberg Remembrances. It refers to him as Dr. Charles C. Horn.

If we backtrack to the census that was taken prior to the birth of Sophia, the 1880 census calls Charles a physician.

In addition, when Charles was listed on a Civil War draft registration form which was produced around 1864, it states that Charles was a physician.

Finally, we see evidence of his service as a doctor in his last will and testament.

Case closed. He was a doctor, therefore making Sophia the doctor’s daughter.

On September 15, 1910, Alvin Lintner married Sophia Horn. This couple’s marriage license lists Rev. Guemmer as the pastor, so I am thinking they were married at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg.

Alvin had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He was reported to be living in Menfro, Missouri.

The German Family Tree says that this couple had 5 children, 4 of which were boys. Four of them were born before the 1920 census was taken. We find this Lintner household in that census entry. Also, a 21 year-old niece named Auguste, was listed in this household. Alvin was a farmer.

Next, we find the Lintner family in the the 1930 census. All five children were included in this entry.

The final census we can view is the one taken in 1940. We once again see all five children, along with Charles Horn, Jr., Sophia’s older brother.

Alvin also was required to fill out a World War II draft card in 1942 at the age of 58.

Alvin Lintner died in 1954 at the age of 70. We can view his death certificate.

Sophia Lintner died in 1961 at the age of 78. Her death certificate says she died at Pine Lawn Nursing Home.

Alvin and Sophia are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

I strongly suspect that Dana Lintner Farrow, the president of the Perry County Historical Society, is closely connected to this story of Alvin and Sophia. I utilized her rather extensive family history on Ancestry.com when researching for this post. I just wish I would have located some photographs of this couple and their family. I am guessing that someone out there has some.