On this early winter day, I will tell the tale of a Winter who was born 153 years ago. Carl Ludwig (Louis) Winter was born on December 6, 1869, the son of August and Maria (Mangelsdorf) Winter. A post was written about Ludwig’s parents titled, Winter the Wagon Maker, Ludwig was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Ludwig was just a baby when he shows up in his first census in 1870. He is mistakenly called a female with the name Louise. Ludwig was child #3 out of 9 born into his family. His father was a wagon maker in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Ludwig in the 1880 census at the age of 10. The Winter household had grown in size.

Now we will discuss the early life of the woman who would later become Ludwig’s bride. Her name was Marie Magdalena Scholl, who was born on April 30, 1873. Marie was the daughter of Conrad and Marie (Koessl) Scholl. A post was also written about Maria’s parents called Conrad’s Kössl. Maria was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. The baptism record for her is shown here.

The only census in which we can view that displays Marie as a single person is the one taken in 1880. She was child #3 in a family of 10 born to the Scholl’s. One earlier child died in infancy, so Marie was the second-oldest child in this entry. Marie was 7 years old, and her father was a blacksmith in the Shawnee Township.

Ludwig Winter married Marie Scholl on April 26, 1896 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can take a look at the church record for this occasion.

The marriage license for this couple can also be viewed.

According to our German Family Tree, there were 2 children born to Ludwig and Marie, both of them boys, and both of them baptized at Immanuel, New Wells. Their firstborn son died as an infant, so their other son, Oscar, was the only child that shows up in census entries. I cannot resist showing you this childhood photo of their son, Oscar, which must have been taken not long after 1904 when he was born.

I was unable to find the Winter’s in the 1900 census. When the 1910 census was enumerated, the Winter family was living in the Shawnee Township where Ludwig was working at odd jobs.

There was a time period when Ludwig and Marie moved their family to St. Louis. That is where we find them when the 1920 census was taken. Ludwig was called a foreman for a dairy stable.

We find the Winter’s back in the Shawnee Township when the next census was taken in 1930. This time, Ludwig was called a farmer. Their son, Oscar, had gotten married in 1929, so Ludwig and Marie had an empty nest.

According to my reckoning, the photo below was taken of Ludwig and Marie in the early 1930’s when Oscar and his wife had some young children. Each is holding a young grandchild.

Marie Winter died before the next census was taken. She died in 1939 at the age of 65. Her death certificate lists several causes for her death. It indicates she suffered from diabetes for 30 years. I will add here that Marie’s church death record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown.

Ludwig was a widower living by himself in the 1940 census. At the age of 70, he was still farming.

Ludwig Winter died in 1949 at the age of 79. His death certificate is displayed below.

A death record in the books of Trinity, Shawneetown says that Ludwig had last been a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, but he was buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Shawneetown where Marie had also been buried.

The Winter couple highlighted in this story is one that spent a portion of their lives in the city of St. Louis, but returned to live near Shawneetown at a later time. Their son, Oscar Winter, could later be found living with his family in the St. Louis metropolitan area. I located him in the 1950 census living in the city of Jennings, which is where I was born and raised. I happen to be found in the same 1950 census for Jennings as a baby.