Plenty of posts have been written on this blog about individuals who had the surname Oehlert (pronounced Ale-ert). I think only one previous story mentioned an Oehl (pronounced Ale), but you are about to read another one today. But before we get to an Oehl, though, let’s take a look at today’s birthday girl. She has a surname that is brand new to this blog.
Emma Hanf has a special birthday today. She was born on August 11, 1872, making today her 150th birthday. Emma was the daughter of Edward and Maria (Puntmann) Hanf. Other Hanf children in this family were born in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, but Emma was born in Illinois according to several census entries. Her later death certificate says she was born in Grand Tower, Illinois. When the 1880 census was taken, we find Emma at age 7 and her family living in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Her father was a baker.
Since we cannot view the 1890 census, we will not see Emma in another census until she was married. Let’s take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was William Oehl, who was born on March 19, 1872. William’s parents were Friedrich and Johannette (Pohlmann) Oehl. I suspect that William was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. However, in that congregation’s baptism records for the year, 1872, there is a page missing, and I think William’s baptism record may have been on that missing page. On another 1872 baptism, I found the name of his father, Friedrich Oehl, as a sponsor. William is found in the 1880 census at the age of 8 living in the Whitewater Township of Cape Girardeau County. His father was a farmer.
William Oehl married Emma Hanf on September 22, 1895 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can take a look at the church marriage record for this event.
Our German Family Tree lists 4 children born to William and Emma, but not because they have baptism records at any of the churches we have indexed in that document. They are all listed only because they were all buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville. However, I was able to find all 4 of the baptism records in the books of Trinity, Friedheim, which we hope to have in our German Family Tree shortly. I will display those records here. The firstborn was August Oehl.
Next, we can take a look at the baptism record of Lydia Oehl.
Friedrich Oehl was then born in 1902.
The final child, born in 1905, was a girl named Alma Oehl.
When we find William and Emma in the 1900 census, only their first child had been born. William was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.
In 1910, we find the entire Oehl household.
Next, we find the Oehl’s in the 1920 census with only 3 children remaining in their household.
The Oehl household actually got bigger before the 1930 census. There is a grandson named Wallace living with them along with an elderly uncle of Emma.
The last census I was able to locate that included William and Emma was the on taken in 1940. They were still living in the Apple Creek Township, but William had no occupation listed. Right below their entry, you will see that of their son, Fred, and his family.
Both William and Emma were still alive in 1950, but I was unable to find them in a census. I have a sneaking suspicion they might have moved to Perryville.
Emma Oehl died in 1954 at the age of 82. Her death certificate says that she died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville. She was also given a Perryville address. This is the document that says Emma was born in Grand Tower, Illinois.
William Oehl died in 1956 at the age of 84. He died at the Osteopathic Hospital in Cape Girardeau, but he is given a Perryville address on his death certificate.
William and Emma Oehl are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.
Not many people named Oehl are included in our German Family Tree right now, but once the Trinity Lutheran Church, Friedheim, records are indexed, we should find quite a few more.
lutheranmuseum.com 
Warren, Thank you for this post on the Oehl’s and Hanf’s. My grandmother was related to the Hanf’s but I don’t know which ones. However, I am fairly sure this was the family in your post. She told me her mother died from tuberculosis in Idaho when she was about 4 years old from what I can remember. My grandma’s father, Henry Isenberg, had taken the mother/family by train (I think) from Wittenberg to Boise, Idaho hoping she would get better but that didn’t happen. My grandma also had a sister that was several years older than she. After her mother’s death, the girls were moved to Friedheim from Wittenberg to live with Hanf relatives. My grandma talked about Lydia Oehl and I think it was Lydia who had a clothing store in Perryville. I remember going there in the ’60’s. This post was really helpful to me. Also, the directory at the Trinity Cemetery in Friedheim has Hanfs listed on it. It’s been a long time since I visited there and I plan to make a trip there one of these days again. Donna Young Chester, IL
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