Henry August Lowes was born on June 9, 1874, so today would have been his 147th birthday. He was the son of Peter and Hannah (Fornkahl) Lowes and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, Missouri. Several other siblings in this family were also baptized at that church. An image of August’s baptism record from that congregation’s books is shown below.

August is found in the 1880 census at the age of 5. His father was a farmer.

Because we cannot view the 1890 census, the next one we can look at including August is the one taken in 1900. August was 25 years old, and he was helping on his father’s farm.

This 1901 plat map shows how Peter Lowes probably needed plenty of help farming all the land he owned. His various parcels of land can be found inside the red box.

Now, I will discuss August’s future wife, Cora Louise Ludwig. Cora was born on November 22, 1881, the daughter of Herman and Wilhelmine (Kiepe) Ludwig. She was the oldest child in this family. I am not sure where Cora was baptized. We do not find her in a census record until the one taken in 1900. It is the only one in which we see Cora as a single person. At that time, she was shown as being 18 years old.

A photo of the children of Herman and Wilhelmine Ludwig is shown below. I believe it was probably taken in the early 1900’s. I think Cora is the girl sitting in the front on the far right. As said earlier, she was the oldest amongst her siblings.

August Lowes married Cora Ludwig on April 20, 1908. The marriage license for this couple is displayed here.

The wedding for August and Cora took place at St. John’s United Church of Christ which is located near Fruitland, Missouri. In a binder that we have in our research library that contains transcribed records from this congregation, we find this record for the Lowes/Ludwig marriage.

St. John’s was established in 1877, but when it started it was called the Evangelical German Lutheran St. John’s Church, so it was at one time a Lutheran church. It was never part of the Missouri Synod. However, after a few other name changes, it officially became St. John’s United Church of Christ in 1957. Below is a picture of the first church building for this congregation. This building was destroyed by a tornado in 1922.

The German Family Tree says that there were 5 children born to August and Cora Lowes. The first 3 have records in the St. John’s United Church of Christ binder. I was unable to find this family in the 1910 census, but we can take a look at August’s World War I draft registration form that was completed in 1918.

When the 1920 census was taken, we find the Lowes household shown below. Four of their children are listed. One more would be born later during the year of this census. August was a farmer.

The 1930 census is another one in which I could not locate the Lowes family, so the next one I can show is the one taken in 1940.

August Lowes died in 1952 at the age of 77. His death certificate says he died of a heart attack.

We can also view August’s obituary.

Cora Lowes died in 1966 at the age of 84. Her death certificate says that her death was investigated by a coroner, and the conclusion was that Cora died of natural causes.

We can also view her obituary.

Both August and Cora Lowes were buried in the St. John’s United Church of Christ Cemetery in Fruitland.

The surnames, Lowes and Ludwig, can often be found in a variety of church’s records and census records in this vicinity, usually south of the Apple Creek in northern Cape Girardeau County. This is the first marriage I have run across involving both a Lowes and a Ludwig. However, I would not be shocked if I find another one somewhere along the line.