The year 1882 was a banner year for babies named Theodore Engert. The books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Missouri contain two separate baptism records for boys with that name during that year. One of them was Theodore Emanuel Engert, and the other was Theodore Benjamin Engert. Although I will tell the story of just one of these Theodore’s, I will display both of these baptism records below. We can see both of the records on the same page in the Immanuel baptism records. I have put a red box around them.

Both of these Theodore Engert’s were grandsons of Friedrich Engert, who fathered 23 children with two wives. His story was told in the post, Another Fertile Father. One of these Theodore’s was a grandson coming from Friedrich’s first wife, and the other from the second wife. I guess that would make these two Theodore’s first half-cousins. There is a story told that one of these Theodore’s was pinned with the nickname “Kermse”, and the other was called “Deutsche”. I do not understand either of these nicknames because both of them spoke German (Deutsche) and I found no connection of the one called Kermse to the surname that was once found around East Perry County.

You will be told the story of “Kermse” Engert today. He was the one named Theodore Emanuel Engert and born on this day, May 12, 1882. This Theodore was the son of Gotthilf and Anna (Gerler) Engert. We find Theodore in his first census in 1900 and he was already 18 years old and working for his father on the family farm.

Theodore’s father died in 1909, so we do not see him in the 1910 census. Also, Theodore’s older sister, Hulda, had married August Leimbach in 1901, and Theodore was a laborer on August’s farm. That explains the census entry shown below.

Now, I will discuss the early life of Theodore’s future wife. Her name was Anna Louise Pauline Schroeder who was born on June 18, 1890. She was the daughter of Friedrich and Maria (Luedemann) Schroeder. Anna was born during that time period when Perry County was producing birth records. We have a record for Anna’s birth.

Anna was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Her baptism record is displayed below.

Anna is found at the age of 9 in the 1900 census. Her father was a farmer.

Next, we find Anna Schroeder in the 1910 census at the age of 19.

A photograph of a young Anna Schroeder was taken. I will let you decide if this is a photo taken before her wedding or not. I think there is a possibility this photo was taken at the same time as this couple’s wedding photo.

Theodore Engert married Anna Schroeder on November 24, 1912. They were married at Anna’s church, Trinity Lutheran in Altenburg. Here is the church record for this occasion.

I find it fascinating that one of the attendants for this wedding was the other Theodore Engert (listed in the last column on this form). Another attendant was Anna’s sister, Ida, who is shown in the photo below with Anna. This picture must have been taken at the same time as the one shown earlier of just Anna.

We can also view the marriage license for this couple.

Below is the wedding photograph of Theodore and Anna.

Theodore had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918.

The German Family Tree says there were 3 children born to this couple, all boys. We see the Engert household in the 1920 census. They had two sons by that time.

The third son was born before the 1930 census. Theodore was a farmer his whole life.

A previous post was written about Ruben Engert, one of the sons in this family. That post said that sometime in the 1930’s, Ruben moved to Bremer County, Iowa. That post was titled, From the Hills of Perry County to the Fields of Tripoli.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1940. Just one son, Eugene, remained in the household.

In 1942, Theodore had his World War II draft card completed.

Theodore Engert died in 1964 at the age of 82. His death certificate says that he died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville. It also says that his residence was on Main Street in Frohna. Later in their lives, the Engert’s must have moved to Frohna and become members of Concordia Lutheran Church in that village.

Anna Engert died in 1969 at the age of 79. Her death certificate says she died at the same hospital.

Both Theodore and Anna Engert were buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna.

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I gave some thought to calling this marriage between Theodore and Anna a Ridge Romance. The two certainly did spend most of their lives on The Ridge. However, there were some facts that do not fit into the general mold of a Ridge Romance. One of those facts is that in other Ridge Romances, both the bride and groom were members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Anna was a member of Trinity, even though you could say her family lived on The Ridge, so that does not fit the mold. These two also ended their lives in Frohna and being buried in Concordia’s cemetery. That doesn’t fit the mold either. So, I decided not to call this a Ridge Romance.

I guess now I’m going to have to write the story of the other Theodore Engert. I have placed a reminder on my phone calendar to alert me to write that story on August 9th. I guess you will find out if this old man remembers to do that.