Hulda Maria Wunderlich was born on June 3, 1873, so she is our birthday girl for today’s post. Hulda was the daughter of Zacharias and Maria (Ludwig) Wunderlich. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, Missouri. Below is an image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books.

When Hulda was just 3 years old, her father died, so her mother was left with a houseful of children to raise by herself. Hulda can be found in the 1880 census at the age of 6. Her mother is called a farmer, but two of her sons were likely doing most of the farm work.

Hulda was still single 20 years later when the 1900 census was taken. Her mother still had a houseful, only most of them were grandchildren. Hulda’s sister, Elizabeth, had married Joseph Putz and had several children, but she died in childbirth early in 1900, and Joseph apparently chose to have his children raised by their grandmother.

Next, we will take a look at Hulda’s future husband, Albert Joseph Ladreiter, who was born on April 27, 1874. Albert was the son of Joseph and Pauline (Pechmueller) Ladreiter. Like his future wife, Albert was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. His baptism record is displayed below.

The first census in which I could find Albert was the Missouri state census taken in 1876 for Shawnee Township.

Albert is found in the 1880 census at the age of 6. It was a real challenge to find the Ladreiter family in the 1880 and 1900 censuses. Their surname was really butchered by the census takers.

The 1888 confirmation class at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells included both Albert Ladreiter (#3) and Hulda Wunderlich (#17).

Albert was still single when the 1900 census was taken. This entry says Albert was a 25 year-old day laborer.

That leads us up to the marriage of Albert Ladreiter and Hulda Wunderlich which took place on May 11, 1905. Not surprisingly, this marriage took place at Immanuel, New Wells. Here is the church marriage record for this wedding.

We can also view the marriage license for this couple.

I do not think the photos below are marriage photos, but they must have been taken when Albert and Hulda were at about their marriage ages.

Our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to this couple. Not all of them lived to adulthood. We find this Ladreiter family in the 1910 census. Hulda’s mother, along with two of the Putz children, were living in their household. Nearby in the census entry, you see Paul Wunderlich, Hulda’s brother. Albert Ladreiter was a farmer.

Next, we find the Ladreiter’s in the 1920 census. Four children are listed in their household.

The 1930 census shows just 2 children still living with Albert and Hulda.

The last census we can view for the Ladreiter’s was the one taken in 1940. Their son, Clarence Ladreiter, had married Olga Ruehling, and that couple was living in the household with Albert and Hulda.

Albert Ladreiter died in 1962 at the age of 88. His death certificate is displayed below.

Hulda Ladreiter died in 1968 at the age of 94. Her death certificate states that she died at the Osteopathic Hospital in Cape Girardeau. The same causes of death are given for both Albert and Hulda on their death certificates.

Both Albert and Hulda are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.

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The story of Albert and Hulda made me type the words, “Shawnee Township” and “Immanuel, New Wells” quite a few times. It is not often that I run into a bride and groom who were both born, baptized, confirmed (even in the same class), married, and buried at the same congregation. Nowadays, such a pair is even rarer than it was back in the days when Albert and Hulda lived.

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The glass doors between the old and new museum galleries have now been installed. I look forward to the time when I can actually walk through these doors. We have a display case in front of the doors right now to keep people from going through. I understand there is some painting going on in the new gallery today.