Jacob Henry Mecker was born on October 29, 1862, making today his 160th birthday. Jacob was the son of another Jacob Mecker. I have this photo of the senior Jacob Mecker.

Jacob’s mother was Nettie (Arnold) Mecker. According to information found in the Friedenberg Remembrances book, these parents were married in New Orleans, Louisiana. An older brother was listed as being born in Illinois in census entries. Then, beginning with their son, Jacob, the other Mecker children were born in Missouri. It is likely that Jacob was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. We find him in his first census in 1870 living in the St. Marys Township of Perry County, where his father was a farmer. Jacob was 8 years old at the time.

Next, we find Jacob in the 1880 census as a teenager. He was working on his father’s farm in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Jacob’s bride. Her name was Caroline Weinrich, who was born on July 20, 1860. Caroline was the daughter of John Henry and Margaret (Bergmann) Weinrich. She is another one who was likely baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. The first census in which I found Caroline was the one taken in 1870. The Weinrich’s were living in the Cinque Hommes Township, where her father was a farmer. Caroline was 9 years old at the time.

The only other census entry in which we find Caroline as being single is the one taken in 1880. She was 19 years old then.

Jacob Mecker married Caroline Weinrich on June 3, 1884 at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. The marriage license for this pair is displayed below.

Our German Family Tree lists 9 children born to Jacob and Caroline. Their first children were baptized at Peace, Friedenberg. Their 3rd child, a daughter, was born on August 27, 1889. That child was baptized and died on September 4th. That child’s baptism record is included in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. I suspect that this baby was in Perryville for medical help and received an emergency baptism by the Perryville pastor. Two more subsequent children were baptized at Peace, Friedenberg. Then, beginning with a child born in 1896, the rest of the Mecker children were baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. The first census entry that includes both Jacob and Caroline is the one taken in 1900. Jacob was a farmer in the Central Township. Their family included 7 children. Included in this household was a 20 year-old boarder named Nettie Arnold. That is the same name as the maiden name of Jacob’s mother. This young lady must have been named after her.

A photo of this Mecker family was supposedly taken around 1901. The 7 children in this photograph are the 7 listed in the above census.

Next, we find the Mecker’s in the 1910 census. One more child had been born in 1903.

Not long after the above census was ennumerated, another photo of this family was taken that included all 8 of the Mecker children that lived to adulthood.

In 1914, an article was published in the Perry County Republican that told the story about Jacob having a horse and buggy stolen from his barn.

The Perry County plat maps produced in 1915 show the Jacob Mecker farm located near the town of McBride.

Caroline Mecker died in 1917 at the age of 56. We can take a look at her death certificate.

An obituary for Caroline was published in the Perry County Sun.

Jacob Mecker can be found in the 1920 census as a widower. His two youngest children were living with him, and below his entry, you find the entries for 2 more of his sons and their families. Jacob was no longer called a farmer, but those 2 sons were.

Jacob Mecker died in 1933 at the age of 70. We can also view his death certificate.

Jacob and Caroline Mecker are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

The older Jacob Mecker and his wife, Nettie, were involved in the early history of Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. Although Jacob is not listed with the charter members of that congregation, he and Nettie are both listed as members of that church during the first year of its existence in 1897. Tomorrow, October 30th, Zion Lutheran will have the last of several special 125th anniversary services they have held this year. We congratulate them on reaching this special milestone in their history.