Being a Schmidt, I am very accustomed to typing the letters S-c-h at the beginning of my name. Having been a Lutheran school teacher and principal, I saw the permanent files kept by the schools at which I served. The letter S was almost always the largest set of files. And in the S’s, there was always a large selection that started with S-C-H. If I was able to view the files at the local school here in East Perry County, I am certain the number of S-c-h files would be huge. I will tell the tale of two S-c-h surnames that ended up married to each other today. I will begin with today’s birthday boy.

Arthur Joseph Schlimpert was born on October 19, 1877, so today would have been his 144th birthday. Arthur was the son of Martin and Wilhelmine (Schmidt) Schlimpert. So, yes, that was another couple made up of S-c-h’s. Arthur was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. His baptism record is displayed here.

Arthur is found in his first census in 1880 at the age of 5. His father was a wagonmaker.

We find Arthur 20 years later in the 1900 census where we see that he was working on his father’s farm.

Now we will turn our attention to Arthur’s bride. Her name was Emma Emilie Schuessler, the daughter of Henry and Katherine (Baum) Schuessler. She was born on April 26, 1881. Like her future husband, Emma was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can also take a look at her baptism record.

Emma is one of those unusual cases in which we never find her in a census entry with her parents. The first census in which we find her is the one taken in 1900, and we find her living in St. Louis and in the Hartwell Grubbs household, working as a servant. She was 19 years old.

Arthur Schlimpert married Emma Schuessler on September 18, 1904 at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The church record for this occasion is shown here.

We can also view this couple’s marriage license.

The German Family Tree, backed up by census records, list 2 children born to Arthur and Emma. Both of them were girls. These two were both baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. When the 1910 census was taken, we find this family living in Perryville where Arthur was called a molder in a brick yard. Their two girls are included in this entry.

Arthur Schlimpert had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This document says Arthur was working at the Perryville Creamery Company.

An article published in the Perry County Republican in that same year explains how Arthur came to get that job at the creamery.

Next, we find this Schlimpert household in the 1920 census. This time Arthur was called a laborer.

When the 1930 census came out, it shows the following entry for the Schlimpert’s. Just one child remained living with Arthur and Emma. Arthur was working as a salesman at a feed store.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1940. We find Arthur and Emma with an empty nest. This entry describes Arthur’s occupation as an attendant at a dairy plant. Perhaps he was back working at the creamery.

In 1942, Arthur had his World War II draft card completed, even though he was already in his 60’s.

Emma Schlimpert died in 1955 at the age of 73. We can take a look at her death certificate.

An article was published in 1963 that says Arthur had suffered a stroke. It says this stroke took place at the Lutheran Boarding Home in St. Louis.

Arthur Schlimpert died at the age of 85. His death certificate says he died at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis.

Arthur and Emma are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

Over the years, quite a few people from East Perry County moved from their small towns to the larger city of Perryville to find employment. It appears that Arthur was one of those men who moved to that city for that reason.