Today, you will read the third post that has been published on this blog about a man who had the title of Lehrer Lueders, which means Teacher Lueders. It is also the third Lueders man who can claim to be a descendant of August and Anna (Roth) Lueders of Frohna, who once ran the Lueders Store in that village. It is also yet another story about an East Perry County native who was born and raised here, but went on to be a full-time worker in the Lutheran church.

Karl Ludwig Lueders was born on January 27, 1887, making today his 135th birthday. Karl was the son of Charles and Susanne (Palisch) Lueders. He was born during the time when Perry County kept birth records, and I can display Karl’s record.

Karl was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. In the image below, you can see another Lueders boy, August Lueders, was born two weeks before Karl. August was Karl’s first cousin, but August died in February as an infant, so Karl never got to know this cousin.

A photo was taken of the Charles Lueders family in the late 1890’s. Since Karl was child #5, and all his younger siblings that survived infancy were girls, I figure Karl must be the boy kneeling in front on the left with the fancy collar.

Karl is found in only one census while he was living in Perry County. We find him at the age of 13 in the 1900 census. His father was a merchant, helping to operate the Lueders Store.

Not long after that census, Karl went off to attend the Lutheran Teacher Seminary in Addison, Illinois. Karl became a Lutheran educator, and his first placement put him in Lakefield, Minnesota. We find him in the 1910 census living in the Heron Lake Township. He was a boarder in the Ernst Malchow household, and his occupation is listed as teacher.

It was in Lakefield, Minnesota that Karl found his bride. Let’s take a look at the early life of Adeline Kolander. She was born on April 17, 1890, the daughter of Daniel and Wilhelmine (Trosin) Kolander. We find Adeline in the 1900 census living in the Heron Lake Township. Adeline is the 10 year-old daughter whose first name is butchered on this entry. Her father was a farmer.

Next, we find Adeline in the 1910 census, just one page away from the entry for Karl Lueders. She was 20 years old. You can see that this was a rather large Kolander family.

Karl Lueders married Adeline Kolander on June 18, 1911. The wedding took place at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Lakefield. I can only display a transcription of a civil record for this wedding.

An article printed in the Perry County Republican in 1915 describes a trip his family took back to Frohna to visit family.

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

This couple was still living in Lakefield, Minnesota when the 1920 census was taken. There were 4 children in their family by this time. Karl was called a school teacher.

The Lueders family must have moved to Jonesville, Indiana not long after the above census. A son by the name of Leonard Lueders was born there in 1922. We can take a look at the birth certificate for Leonard.

A year later, one of Karl and Adeline’s daughters, 5 year-old Frieda, died. We can view her Indiana death certificate.

By 1925, we find evidence of the Lueders family living in Benton County, Iowa. One of their children was born there in that year. We find the Lueders household in the 1930 census living in Benton County. This entry says Karl was a laborer on a farm.

I am thinking that it may be that Karl went to the Atkins/Newhall, Iowa area to become a teacher at the Lutheran school there. While there, it looks as if he decided to give up on his career as a teacher. Sadly, another one of the Lueders children, Walter, died in 1931 as a fairly young boy. We can view his Iowa death certificate.

Not long ago, in 2020, a derecho devastated this area of Iowa, and Central Lutheran School in Newhall was damaged. An article was published by the Lutheran Church/Missouri Synod detailing the damage that this area experienced. It can be found at this site:

https://engage.lcms.org/iowa-derecho-fall-2020/

When the 1940 census was taken, we find the Lueders family back in Minnesota. They were living in the city of Faribault, Minnesota. Karl was working for the W.P.A.

This is not the first post on this blog that has mentioned the city of Faribault. Another Perry County native, Adolph Kramer, who also hailed from Concordia, Frohna, was a teacher in that city. In fact, he must have been there when Karl moved his family to Faribault. Perhaps Karl moved there because Adolph was living there.

Karl had a World War II draft card completed in 1942.

Karl is found in quite a few city directories for Faribault over the years. Here is one from 1950 that says Karl was working for the Nutting Truck and Caster Company.

I found a short video that tells the story of the Nutting Truck and Caster Company. The narrator for this video is named Elizabeth Kramer. It makes me wonder if she could trace her ancestry back to Perry County.

Karl Lueders died in 1967 at the age of 80; Adeline died in 1985 at the age of 94. I found an obituary for Karl, but not Adeline.

Karl and Adeline are buried together in the Meadow Ridge Cemetery in Faribault.

As is the case with most people who become church workers, we find them in a variety of locations during their lifetimes. Such is also the case with this Lehrer Lueders.