Once again, we have a special birthday to celebrate today. Amalie Lilly Brandes was born on December 15, 1897, making today her 125th birthday. Lilly, sometimes called Lillian, was the daughter of Benjamin and Katharina (Schumacher) Brandes. Lilly was the 2nd of 9 children born into this Brandes family. She was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. Her baptism record is pictured here.

We find Lilly in her first census in 1900 at the age of 3 in which she is called Lillian. Her grandparents were the heads of the household, and Lilly was called a granddaughter. Her father was a farmer in the Union Township.

Next, we find Lilly in the 1910 census. The Brandes household had gotten much larger.

Lilly is found in one more census as a single woman. At the age of 22, she was still living with her parents.

We will now turn our attention to the man who would become Lilly’s husband. His name was Alfred Rudolph Lueders, who was born on August 25, 1892. Alfred was the son of August and Caroline (Seibel) Lueders. He was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can take a look at his baptism record below.

The above baptism record has actually appeared on this blog before. That’s because I wrote the tragic story of his mother, Caroline, in the post, Married for 11 Months – Widowed for 69 Years. When Alfred was just one month old, his father died at the age of 23. His mother never remarried. Just Alfred and his widowed mother are found in the 1900 census. Alfred was 7 years old at the time.

When the 1910 census was taken, we find that Alfred was no longer living with his mother. He was called a servant in the Gottfried Mueller household.

Alfred had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He had the form filled out in St. Louis where he was called a motor tester at the Century Electric Company.

I found a photo of a Century motor as well as an ad for the Century Electric Company.

Alfred did get called into service during that war, but his military record indicates he did not get sent overseas. It also says that Alfred was part of a mechanic repair shop unit. He was likely placed in that unit because of his previous experience working with motors.

We find Alfred living in St. Louis when the 1920 census was taken working as a clerk at an auto company. He was living in what appears to be a boarding house headed by a young widow named Camilla Ficker, who had a couple cousins in this household. One was named Bertha Bodenschatz, who was a Perry County native. It looks as if this household may have had several Perry County characters in it.

Alfred Lueders and Lilly Brandes are not tied together in our German Family Tree. That’s because there is no marriage record for them in Perry County. They were married in St. Louis in 1923. The only mention of them in any documentation I could find is a description found in an index of St. Louis newspapers. As a result of this marriage, Lilly Brandes became Lilly Lueders. I like the sound of that name, although it can be a little bit of a tongue twister.

This couple is found in the 1930 census before they had any children. Lilly’s older brother, Albert, was living with them. So Lilly was living with an Alfred and an Albert. Alfred was said to be hauling, and Albert was a crane operator. I don’t know why, but the names of Alfred and Albert remind me of Chipmunk Christmas song featuring Alvin. I guess my mind is on Christmas today.

Alfred and Lilly had their only child in 1931, a boy that they named Lloyd. So, then there was a Lilly Lueders and a Lloyd Lueders. There was no lacking of “L’s” in this family. The 1940 census shows this small Lueders family, in which Alfred was called the manager of a hauling company.

The last census we can view including Alfred and Lilly was the one taken in 1950. Alfred was said to be a “weighter” for the Merchants Coal Company.

I found this photograph of a building that housed the Merchants Ice & Coal Company in St. Louis at one time.

Alfred Lueders died in St. Louis in 1978 at the age of 85. Lilly Lueders made it past the 100 years old mark. She died in 1999 at the age of 101. She even outlived her son, Lloyd who died in 1990 at the age of 59. Alfred and Lillian are buried in the Our Redeemer Cemetery in Affton.

Lilly was born 10 days before Christmas in 1897. She was blessed with a name that I associate with Easter. However, I cannot help but relate Lilly’s story to Christmas. After all, she married a man who had the middle name of Rudolph. And you’ll have to forgive me for this silliness, but Lilly had not a single “L” in her last name, making it a Noel name. However, as you can see in this article, Lilly ended up with plenty of “L’s” later in her life, which was long-lasting.