I must confess that the story I tell today is missing some of the interesting images that I often include. I have no photographs of the characters in this story. The husband and wife were both from a congregation whose records were burned in a fire, so I cannot display any of those church records. There is just one record from a different church, and I will only be able to display a transcription, not the original record. What this story does have is that the couple is made of a combination of two families that have shown up often on this blog…a Hoehn and a Boxdorfer. I have not yet written about a Hoehn/Boxdorfer couple.

The story begins with a birthday girl. Dorothea Margaret Boxdorfer was born on November 30, 1886, making today her 135th birthday. She was called Dora quite often in the records I located, so I will call her by that name. Dora was the 6th of 11 children born to her parents, John and Catherine (Maisel) Boxdorfer. A previous blog, Boxdorfer Brotherly and Sisterly Bonds, told the story of two Boxdorfer brothers marrying two Maisel sisters in 1878.

Dora was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. The reconstructed records from that congregation that we find in the book, Friedenberg Remembrances, contains the following biographical information about Dora.

The first census in which we find Dora is the one taken in 1900, when she was 13 years old. John Boxdorfer had previously been married, and the oldest child in this household, William, was born to his previous wife, Flora Klemp. One of John and Catherine’s children died right away, so that puts Dora back as child #6 in this entry.

Next, we find Dora in the 1910 census. The page on which her family is found has an impressive list of Boxdorfer households listed consecutively. Dora was 23 years old at the time.

Now we will take a look at Dora’s future husband. His name was Arthur Michael Hoehn, who was born on July 19, 1886. Arthur was the son of John and Barbara (Bergmann) Hoehn. Before I go further, let me remind you of some previous Bergmann/Hoehn weddings. Another double wedding involving Bergmann siblings marrying Hoehn siblings was described in the post, 2 Bergmanns + 2 Hoehns = Valentine’s Anniversary. However, Arthur’s parents were yet another Hoehn/Bergmann couple. Arthur, like Dora, was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Since both Dora and Arthur were born in 1886, it’s possible that these two were in the same confirmation class at that congregation. Below is the information about Arthur that is found in Friedenberg Rememberances.

We cannot look at a baptism record for Arthur, but we can view his Perry County birth record. This document calls this son, Otto Michael Hoehn, not Arthur.

Arthur (or Otto) shows up in the 1900 census at the age of 13. His father was a farmer.

Ten years later, we find Arthur in the 1910 census. This time he was called Arthur.

On January 28, 1913, Arthur Hoehn married Dora Boxdorfer at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can view this couple’s marriage license.

We can also take a look at a transcription of this couple’s marriage record from Immanuel, Perryville’s books.

Arthur had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917.

The German Family Tree lists 3 children born to this couple. They were all baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. We find this Hoehn family in the 1920 census. Two children are included in their household, along with Arthur’s mother, Barbara.

Next, we find the Hoehn household in the 1930 census.

Finally, we find Arthur and Dora in the 1940 census. Other members of their extended family were included in their household. Arthur was a farmer throughout his life.

Arthur had his World War II draft card completed in 1942.

Arthur Hoehn died in 1958 at the age of 72. We can view his death certificate.

Dora Hoehn died in 1984 at the age of 97. Because she died so recently, we are not able to view her death certificate. Arthur and Dora are buried together in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in Friedenberg.

I have a feeling that someday I am going to return to the Boxdorfer and Hoehn families. The marriage of Arthur and Dora is not the only Hoehn/Boxdorfer couple. Three other siblings in Arthur’s Hoehn family married three other siblings in Dora’s Boxdorfer family.

Back in the days when people were not as mobile as they are today, young people would often find their spouses in nearby places. One of those nearby places was the church where they regularly attended. That’s why we find so many more examples of multiple marriages occurring within families that were members of the same congregation. Nowadays, it is a rather rare occurrence when you even find one marriage in which the bride and groom are each members of the same church.