George Ludwig August Roth was born on November 2, 1857, so today would have been his 165th birthday. He went by the name, August, during his lifetime. August was the oldest of 10 children listed in our German Family Tree for Peter and Christiane (Schumann) Roth. There is no baptism record for August in any of the local Lutheran church books. Later-born children in this Roth family were baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. I cannot help but think that the lack of a baptism record for August might be somehow related to the theological conflicts that were taking place in 1857 when August was born. November of 1857 was the time when Rev. Georg Schieferdecker was no longer a pastor at Trinity, Altenburg and went on to establish Immanuel Lutheran Church on the other side of town. In fact, August’s birthday is the exact date that is said to be when Immanuel was founded. There is also no doubt that Rev. Christoph Loeber, the pastor at Concordia, Frohna, was at odds with Rev. Schieferdecker. The Roth children that were baptized at Concordia did not have those baptisms conducted there until about the time when Rev. Loeber took a call elsewhere.

I was not able to find August in a census until the one taken in 1870. I should have been able to find him in the 1860 census, but after considerable searching, I failed to find this Roth family in that year’s census. The 1870 census entry shows August at the age of 12. His father was a carpenter in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find August in the 1880 census at the age of 22. This time his father was called a farmer and a saw miller.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become August’s bride. Her name was Maria Pauline Hoffmann, who was born on September 14, 1859. She went by the name Pauline or Paulina during her lifetime. She was the daughter of Charles and Maria (Mueller) Hoffmann. I can show you this photo of Pauline’s parents.

Pauline was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Her baptism record is displayed below.

Pauline was just one year old when she showed up in the 1860 census. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Pauline was 10 years old when the 1870 census was taken.

During the next decade, the Hoffmann’s made a move to the Shawnee Township of northern Cape Girardeau County. Pauline was 20 years old at that time. As you can see, this Hoffmann family was quite large. The German Family Tree lists 12 children for Pauline’s parents. The firstborn child died right away, and Pauline was the next in line, so she was the oldest child. This census taker listed most of the male children before the females, so Pauline is found farther down the list.

August Roth married Pauline Hoffmann on August 20, 1885 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can take a look at this couple’s church record for this wedding, but it does not give us much information, just the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding.

We can also view the marriage license for this pair, but it is almost impossible to read.

The GFT states that 8 children were born to August and Pauline. A few died early. The first 5 children were sons, followed by 3 daughters. Some of the baptisms are in the books of Immanuel, New Wells and some in the books of Trinity, Altenburg. They went back an forth over time. Two of their children married spouses named Roth in the famous double Roth/Roth weddings that took place in 1915. That story was told in the post, Roth-Roth and Roth-Roth. The next census we can view that included August and Pauline’s family was the one taken in 1900. August was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. At that time, there were 5 children in the family.

Next, we find the Roth’s in the 1910 census.

The last census in which we find August Roth was the one taken in 1920. Their daughter, Bertha, who had married Paul Roth in 1915, is in this household as a widow with one child, because Paul had died in 1918.

August Roth died in 1928 at the age of 70. His death certificate gives his address as Shawneetown. There are parts of the Apple Creek Township that are quite close to Shawneetown.

Pauline is found in the 1930 census living in the Salem Township of Perry County with her daughter, Bertha’s, family. Bertha had married again. Her second husband was Henry Lohmannn.

Pauline died in 1938 at the age of 79. Her death certificate attributes her death to a heart attack.

August and Pauline Roth are each buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Shawneetown.

There are certainly a lot of folks around here that carry the surname, Roth. There are several Roth clans. Many of the Roth’s are found in Perry County, but as you can see in this story, plenty of Roth’s originated in northern Cape Girardeau County. I don’t think this will be the last post about Shawneetown Roth’s.