Herman Rudolph Petzoldt was born on March 24, 1879, making him today’s birthday boy. Herman was the son of Richard and Johanna (Lindner) Petzoldt, also making him a grandson of “The Face” Friedrich Florian Petzoldt. Herman was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. His baptism record is shown below.

When Herman was just 1 year old, he appeared in the 1880 census for the Brazeau Township of Perry County. His father was a farmer.

Let me insert here the fact that one has to be very careful when discussing someone with the name, Herman Petzoldt. Today’s Herman R. Petzoldt had an uncle by the name of Herman Petzoldt, and that Herman Petzoldt had a son named Herman Petzoldt who was born in 1870. That means there were two Herman Petzoldt’s who were cousins. The other cousin was the subject of a previous blog post titled, Some Pocahontas Petzoldts.

The Richard Petzoldt family had 12 children. Not all of them lived to adulthood. Herman was the #7 child. In the early 1890’s this family had a photograph taken. The last of the children born to this couple was a set of twins that were born in 1889. The twins are the two young children in this photo standing in front. The oldest child, Lena, who had married Moritz Oswald Palisch, is holding her baby who was born in 1892. Herman is the young boy standing to the right of his father.

Just a quick side note: This photo was taken at the time when men’s suit coats were made to button just the top button.

Herman is found in the 1900 census as a 21 year-old farm laborer. I have included the entry of Ida Schade and her son, Hieronymus, who was the subject of yesterday’s post. Ida was Herman’s older sister.

Next, we need to discuss the early life of Herman’s bride. Her name was Lina Emilie Holt who was born on June 10, 1885. She was the daughter of Joseph and Wilhelmine (Mueller) Holt. Lina was the youngest of 7 children in the Holt family. Lina was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. An image of her baptism record is displayed here.

The only census in which we find Lina before her marriage was the one taken in 1900 where she is said to be 14 years old.

Herman Petzoldt married Lina Holt on December 29, 1907. We can view this couple’s marriage license.

This marriage took place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. This fact was a little puzzling, but I think this is what happened. Lina’s father died in 1901. By the time of Lina’s marriage in 1907, all of her siblings had been married. I think after Lina’s sister married Martin Schirmer in 1906, she and her mother moved into the household of those newlyweds who lived in Altenburg. Therefore, Lina’s home church at that time would have been Trinity, Altenburg. The church record for the Petzoldt/Holt wedding is shown below.

I do not have a wedding photograph for this couple, but I do have a photo of Lina Holt Petzoldt when she was fairly young.

It is not often that I write about a couple that remained childless, but this story turned out to be one of those. The 1910 census is the first one that includes Herman and Lina as a couple. They were living in the Shawnee Township of Cape Girardeau County.

Let me discuss land maps for a moment. Perry County produced plat maps in 1915, and on them we find that Herman’s father, Richard, farmed land just north of the Apple Creek.

Plat maps for Cape Girardeau County were produced in 1930, and we find a parcel of land located just south of the Apple Creek with the name, R. Petzoldt. It also shows land farmed by Joseph A. Holt right nearby. That would likely have been where Lina was born and raised.

If you compare the two maps, you will see that there was Petzoldt land parcels directly across from each other. I think the land in the Cape County map is where Herman had his farm.

In 1916, Herman’s parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and had a family photograph taken. Herman is the 3rd person from the right in the back row with his arms crossed.

Herman Petzoldt had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918.

It does not appear that Herman was called to serve in that war. Then, in the 1920 census, we find the following entry for the Petzoldt’s. Lina’s sister, Pauline, and her husband, Albert Niederstadt, had both died before this census, so their youngest son, Reinhold, was living with the Petzoldt’s. This is as close as Herman and Lina came to having children.

Next, we find Herman and Lina in the 1930 census. I also included the household of Joseph Holt, Jr., the brother of Lina. This gives evidence that the Petzoldt and Holt parcels of land were located near one another.

I was unable to find the Petzoldt’s in the 1940 census, but Herman’s 1942 World War II draft card indicates that they were still living in the same location.

Lina Petzoldt died in 1942 at the age of 56. Her death certificate mentions that colon cancer was the cause of death.

Herman Petzoldt died in 1961 at the age of 82. Here is his death certificate.

Herman and Lina Petzoldt are each buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.

• 

• 

I did not realize the connection when I chose this story for today, but it turned out that yesterday’s post and today’s were about two siblings in the Petzoldt family. Hieronymus’s mother, Ida, and Herman R. Petzoldt were sister and brother. In the Golden Wedding Anniversary photo, Ida is the one standing on the left in the back row. In other words, Ida and Herman are the two who have their arms crossed in the picture.