Hilda Louise Thurm is today’s birthday girl. She was born on July 13, 1899, the 4th and final child of Emanuel and Ernestine (Stueve) Thurm. A post was published last year about Hilda’s parents titled, Emanuel and Ernestine – The E.T.’s. Hilda was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed below. I have to use two images to get it all.

Hilda was only 8 months old when she is found in her first census in 1900. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. One of the Thurm children died as an infant, so we only see 3 children in this household.

The Emanuel Thurm farm was located between Altenburg and Wittenberg along what is now called Highway A.

Next, we find Hilda in the 1910 census at the age of 11.

The final census in which we find Hilda as a single woman and living in Perry County was the one taken in 1920. Hilda’s sister, Frieda, had married Rudolph Schade. That young couple, along with their first child, was also living in the Thurm household.

I suspect that after this census, Hilda may have gotten a job in St. Louis because she and her husband would live in that city the rest of their lives. Let’s take a look at the early life of her husband, Montie Thee, who was born on October 17, 1899. Montie was born in Franklin County, not far from Washington, Missouri. He was the son of Theodore and Lottie (Broeker) Thee. I cannot help but wonder if his father may have been called Theo Thee. Montie, like his future bride, was found in his first census when he was a baby. The family was living in the Boles Township where Montie’s father was a farmer.

Montie was living in the Boeuf Township of Franklin County when the 1910 census was taken. Franklin County is another location in Missouri where the Lutheran church was well-represented, so I suspect that the Thee’s were Lutherans.

Montie had a World War I draft registration completed in 1918. This form says that he was working on the George Koch farm. I once again find it entertaining to pronounce his father’s name as listed on this form, T.C. Thee.

I was unable to find Montie in the 1920 census. I also was not able to find a document for the marriage of Montie Thee and Hilda Thurm, which reportedly took place on April 1, 1923. I know the church record is not located in the books of Immanuel, Altenburg, which I would consider the most likely place to find it. I also know that this couple, based on the census records over the years, had no children. We find them living in St. Louis when the 1930 census was taken. Montie was called a brakeliner at a garage, and Hilda was called an operator for a shirt company.

In 1940, Montie was a welder for a wholesale stove manufacturer. It looks as if Hilda had the same job as described before.

If Hilda’s parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary when the photo below was taken, then the picture would have been taken in 1940. Hilda and Montie are the couple standing in the back row on the far left.

Montie was called a foreman for a contractor, while Hilda was a seamstress for a dress factory when the 1950 census was enumerated. Montie and Hilda were each 50 years old at the time.

Hilda Thee died in 1965 at the age of 65. We are able to view her death certificate that gives ovarian cancer as the cause of her death.

We can also take a look at a short obituary that appeared in a St. Louis newspaper. This obituary indicated that the Thee’s were members of Salem Lutheran Church in Afton.

Montie Thee died in 1973 at the age of 73. Soon, his death certificate should be made available for the public to view. Montie and Hilda are buried together in the Our Redeemer Cemetery that is located in Afton.

The Thurm surname is certainly not a new one for this blog, but the Thee surname has only appeared once in the story of Hilda’s parents. I had to make a new folder for the Thee images that were displayed in this post. Our collection of images and folders that we store digitally continues to grow.