I will begin today by looking at the birthday girl. She actually has a very special 150th birthday to celebrate today. Caroline Christine Hoehn was born on January 7, 1873, the daughter of Valentine and Margaretha (Bergmann) Hoehn. She was the 6th child out of a dozen in her family. Christine was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg so I am not able to display a baptism record for her. Those church records were destroyed in a fire. Christine shows up in only one census before she got married. In the 1880 census, we find this Hoehn family living in the Central Township where her father was a farmer. Christine was 7 years old at the time.

Now we will take a look at the man who would become Christine’s husband. His name was Andreas (or Andrew) Weith who was born on February 28, 1870. Andrew was the son of John and Jacobina (Kirschner) Weith. He was the 8th and last child in this Weith family. Early records of Andrew indicate his family members were part of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg and Cross Congregation near Longtown. Andrew was born early enough in 1870 to make it into the census taken that year as a baby. His father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Andrew next shows up in the 1880 census at the age of 10. This time, the Weith family is found living in the Central Township.

Andrew Weith married Christine Hoehn on October 20, 1896 at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. The only document for this wedding that we can view is this couple’s marriage license.

We can take a look at the wedding photo of Andrew and Christine. Christine was one of those brides that wore a dark dress with a white veil.

There was only one child born to Andrew and Christine, a son named Rudolph Weith, who was born in 1897. A rather unusual situation exists with Rudolph. No record of him being born, baptized, or confirmed can be found in our German Family Tree. I have to think that those events took place at Peace, Friedenberg, but when the Friedenberg Remembrances book was put together with a goal of reconstructing that congregation’s lost records, they must have missed Rudolph.

Christine Weith died in March of 1900 at the age of 27. She died at a time prior to when Missouri death certificates were being recorded, and her death is only mentioned in the Friedenberg Remembrances book, so I cannot tell you what her cause of death was. Christine has an entry on Findagrave.com in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in Friedenberg, but it does not include a gravestone photo.

I ran into another difficulty. I was not able to find Andrew or his son, Rudolph, in the 1900 census. With all the unexpected turmoil in Andrew’s life, I think he may have been trying to determine whether he was going to be capable of adequately caring for his young son, and may even been thinking about where he was going to live. The census takers may have not been able to pin him or his son down in 1900.

Andrew would get married again in 1904. Let’s take a look at his second wife. Her name was Margaret Klobe who was born on March 26, 1882. Margaret was the daughter of Adam and Margaretta (Bienlein) Klobe. She was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. A transcription of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Margaret also appeared in only one census before her marriage, but since she was born after 1880, the only entry in which we find her as a single person was the one in 1900. She was 18 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Central Township.

The widower, Andrew Weith, married Margaret Klobe on November 20, 1904 at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. We can view the marriage license for this event.

I do not have a wedding photo for this couple, but I did run across a photo of Margaret which was likely taken not long before she was married.

Our German Family Tree lists 2 children born to this couple, both of them boys. They were each baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. I am going to display 2 pertinent census entries for 1910. Neither of Andrew and Margaret’s boys was born before the 1910 census. We find Andrew and Margaret without children in the entry shown below. Andrew was a farmer in the Central Township.

Also in the 1910 census, we find Andrew’s son by his first wife, Rudolph, living with Margaret Hoehn, his grandmother, in Perryville. It looks like Andrew decided to have his mother-in-law raise his son.

When the Perry County plat maps were produced in 1915, we find a parcel of land in Andrew Weith’s name located east of Perryville.

When the 1920 census was taken, we see that Rudolph was back living with his father and stepmother. The two sons of Andrew and Margaret, Earl and Homer, were also in the household. Andrew was still farming, and Rudolph was a clerk in a grocery store.

In 1930, we find Andrew and Margaret with their two boys. Rudolph was no longer in the household. He would eventually be found living in Seattle, Washington.

The last census in which we find Andrew and Margaret was the one taken in 1940. At the age of 70, Andrew was still farming.

Margaret Weith died shortly after the above census entry was taken in 1940. Her death certificate indicates she died at the age of 58 on the Fourth of July.

Andrew Weith died in 1948 at the age of 77. We can also view his death certificate.

Andrew and Margaret Weith are buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

This story of Andrew Weith and his two wives is yet another story in which a man experiences the death of his wife and struggles with how to raise a young child. As was the case in this tale, a grandmother often steps up to the plate to help raise such a child. I know if such a tragedy struck in our family, my wife would volunteer to help raise our grandchildren in a heartbeat. It’s a grandma thing.