We begin today with the birth of Anna Maria Miesner on September 16, 1869, making today her 152nd birthday. She was the daughter of Johann and Maria (Meier) Miesner. Anna was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. An image of her baptism record is displayed here.

Anna was only one year old when the 1870 census was taken. Her father was a farmer. Claus Miesner was her father’s brother, making him Uncle Claus.

In 1880, we find this Miesner household with Anna being 10 years old. This time, there was an 18 year-old orphan named Charles Dede living with them.

If you want to read a story that includes Charles Dede, you can find it here: Learning Latin from a Blacksmith’s Son.

Now, we will turn our attention to Anna’s future husband. His name was Johann Heinrich Meyer. He was born on May 13, 1868 in Germany. So, as you see, a differently-spelled Meyer, enters this picture. I do not know the identity of John’s parents. According to a later census entry, John arrived in America in 1881. That means we do not find him in any census records until after he was married.

John Meyer married Anna Miesner on August 20, 1891 at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at the marriage record from that church’s books.

We can also view this couple’s marriage license.

The German Family Tree lists 9 children born to John and Anna, but not all of them lived long. The first census in which we find this married couple is included in the miserable pages of the 1900 census from Salem Township. Four children are listed.

Next, we find this Meyer family in the 1910 census. There are 7 children in the household, along with a servant by the name of Anna Meyer. I think this Anna was the daughter of Joachim and Engel (Meier) Meyer. That’s right, a daughter of a Meyer/Meier couple. I do not know if the servant, Anna Meyer, is even related to John Meyer, the husband of the other Anna Meyer in this entry. I know that I looked for information about the young Anna Meyer on Ancestry, and I was not able to find anyone’s family history that lists a 1910 census entry for her. If this is that Anna Meyer, she went on to marry Henry Lohmann two years later.

The Meyer family is next found in the 1920 census. Just 3 teenage sons remained in their household.

The 1930 census including the Meyer household is pictured below. Their son, Gottfried, had gotten married to Esther Bachmann in 1929. Gottfried and his wife were living in this household, along with John and Anna’s single son, Alwin. John was a farmer all his life.

Anna Meyer died in 1934 at the age of 64. Her death certificate says she died while undergoing a leg amputation that was the result of diabetic gangrene.

John Meyer is still found in the 1940 census. This time, Gottfried Meyer is listed as the head of the household.

John Meyer died in 1943 at the age of 75. His death certificate says he died at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis. His death certificate doesn’t give us any help in identifying the names of his parents.

Both John and Anna Meyer are buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.

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It gets really tricky when you make an attempt to research the names Meyer and Meier. Not only that, the Miesner surname can be quite challenging as well. This story contains all of those surnames. I’m feeling dizzy. I think I need to settle into my recliner in an effort to relieve my sense of vertigo.