As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, there is a bit of confusion about the birthday of one of the main characters in the story you are about to read. The point of difference is found in the Friedenberg Remembrances book, where it says that Alma Emma Louise Rauh was born on May 8, 1899. Here is the entry for Alma in that book.

However, that is the only place where that date is given. Enough other records indicate that she was born on May 9th, not May 8th, so that is why I decided to push back this story until today. Alma was the daughter of Charles and Louisa (Bergmann) Rauh. She was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so we cannot view an actual record of her baptism.

Alma is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. The Rauh’s were living in the Union Township.

Next, we find Alma in the 1910 census at the age of 10.

Alma was confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown in 1912. This is another document that states that Alma was born on May 9th.

We find evidence that the Charles Rauh family moved to Pocahontas in 1916. They are listed as beginning to take communion in July of that year in the books of Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas.

Now, we will take a look at the early life of the man that Alma would marry. His name was Arthur Wilhelm Otto Ludwig, who was born on March 23, 1896. Arthur was the son of Henry and Amelia (Huttegger) Ludwig. Arthur was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas (the other Lutheran church in Pocahontas). We find this information about Arthur in the binder we have including transcribed records from St. John’s.

Arthur, who was apparently called Otto during the years of his childhood, is found in the 1900 census at the age of 4. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

In 1910, Arthur was a teenager who was working on his father’s farm.

Arthur had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. This form gives Oak Ridge as his address.

Arthur did serve his country during that war, but the record below does not seem to indicate that he went overseas.

It was not long after his military service that Arthur Ludwig married Alma Rauh. These two were married on November 27, 1919 at Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We can view this couple’s church marriage record.

Their marriage license is shown below.

We have a Rauh family book in our research library that I believe was put together by our friend, Charley Rauh. In that book, I found this wedding photograph for the Ludwig/Rauh marriage.

Only one child born to this couple is found in our German Family Tree, but the Rauh book says there were three. The 1920 census shows this pair is found living with Arthur’s grandfather, Peter Ludwig. Arthur was a farmer at this time in his life.

In the 1920’s, Arthur and Alma moved to Cape Girardeau where Arthur became a barber. We have evidence that they were in Cape Girardeau because a child that was born in 1923 was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in that city.

We have this photo taken of Alma when she was a young wife. Also, we can take a look at the 3 Ludwig children when they were quite young.

The 1930 census shows this family with all 3 children. Arthur was the proprietor of his own barber shop.

We find a similar entry for this family in the 1940 census.

I was not able to find the Ludwig’s in the 1950 census using Ancestry.com’s search function. I am guessing that those records are not completely indexed yet. However, I did find a 1949 Cape Girardeau city directory that indicates that Arthur changed occupations. He was now a police officer.

We have this photo of Arthur in his police uniform.

I have a few other photos to show that include Alma. The photo on the left is one that includes Alma’s father and all her siblings. Alma is the 3rd woman from the left. The photo on the right shows Alma with her oldest daughter, Philo. You may have to click these thumbnails to enlarge them.

Arthur Ludwig died in 1962 at the age of 65. His death certificate is pictured here.

An obituary was published for Arthur.

A tribute to Alma Ludwig is printed in the Rauh family book. I think Charley Rauh wrote this about Alma. He and his family called her “The Rock”. It sounds like a great Mother’s Day message.

Alma Ludwig died in 1991 at the age of 92. Both Arthur and Alma are buried in the Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. Alma’s marker also indicates a May 9th birthday.

I’m sure if Charley Rauh shows up at the museum sometime, he could tell some more stories about the cop and his “Rock”.