I lost track of how many grandchildren of Friedrich Florian “The Face” Petzoldt have been highlighted in stories on this blog. Whatever that number is, today’s post will add one more. Eventually, I will get around to discussing a marriage that took place on this date, but first, let’s take a look at the granddaughter of “The Face”.

Otillie Theresia Petzoldt was born on January 8, 1875, the daughter of Herman and Ernestine (Schoen) Petzoldt. Tillie, as she was often called, was the 4th child out of 8 born into her Petzoldt family. She was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. Getting the actual baptism records digitized for our museum’s research library is a project that is still in the works, but at this point, I am unable to display such a document. Tillie shows up in her first census in 1880 at the age of 5. This would also be the only census entry we can view in which she was a single person. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

We will now turn our attention to the man who would become Tillie’s husband. His name was Theodore Martin Scholl who was born on August 4, 1871. Theodore was the son of Tobias and Wilhelmine (Ruehling) Scholl. The German Family Tree says Theodore was the 3rd child of 9 born to this Scholl couple. Theodore was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We are able to view an image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books.

Theodore was 8 years old when he was listed in the 1880 census. He looks like child #4 in this list, but that’s because his mother was mistakenly called a daughter instead of a wife. Theodore’s father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Like it was with Tillie, this census was the only one in which we find Theodore as being single. Theodore Scholl married Otillie Petzoldt on December 28, 1897, so today would be a very special anniversary for this couple…their 125th. Theo and Tillie were married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. The marriage license for this couple is displayed here. I had difficulty finding this document, partly because Ancestry.com transposed the names differently, and partly because their marriage date was identified as December 7th, not December 28th.

We can also take a look at a wedding photo of Theodore and Tillie. Tillie was wearing what I have referred to as a “black and white” wedding dress.

Our German Family Tree says there were 3 children born to this Scholl couple. All three were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. In the 1900 census, we find this young couple with just their first child, a daughter named Ella.

Next, we find the Scholl’s in the 1910 census with all 3 of their children. Theodore was a farmer in the Shawnee Township all his life.

The 1920 census shows Theodore and Tillie in their 40’s. Their household consisted of the same individuals that were included in the previous census entry.

All three of the Scholl children got married in the 1920’s. In the Scholl binder we have in our museum’s research library, I found two wedding photos of interest. First, we see one of the Rudolph Koenig/Ella Scholl wedding that took place in 1920. The other shows the Edwin Koch/Hilda Scholl wedding that took place in 1924. That photo includes Hugo Scholl and Marie Boren, who were married the next year in 1925.

When the 1930 census was taken, Hugo Scholl, their son, was called the head of the household that included his mother and father. Hugo was a farmer.

In 1930, plat maps were produced for Cape Girardeau County. We find the Theo. Scholl farm located east of New Wells.

The last census in which we find Theodore and Tillie was the one taken in 1940. We see Theo and Tillie along with the Hugo Scholl family, but this time, Theodore is called the head of the household. Both Theodore and Hugo are called farm laborers.

Tillie Scholl died in 1944 at the age of 69. Her death certificate is pictured here.

Theodore Scholl died the next year in 1945 at the age of 73. I find it interesting that this form says he died of myocarditis (which is also mentioned on Tillie’s death certificate) which was the result of “years of labor”.

Theodore and Tillie Scholl are each buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.

Both of the names, Scholl and Petzoldt, are ones that are plentiful in this area. Each can be found in both Perry County and Cape Girardeau County. Stories about people with these two surnames on this blog can be found by typing either name into the search box on this website. I assure you that plenty of such stories can be found. After all, today is the 2222nd post that has been published here.