When I hear the name, Detjen, I automatically think it is a name from Farrar. That’s because when I was a student at Concordia, Seward, a Detjen was a student there who was from Farrar. Now that I’ve spent time researching names in this area, I am aware that there was another set of Detjens that have historically been found around New Wells. When I see that a Detjen married a Roth, once again, I think the story likely centered around Farrar, but I admit that I forgot that there were also Roth’s around New Wells. Roth’s are found all over the place around here.

Edward Friedrich Detjen was born on January 16, 1898, so today he would be celebrating a special 125th birthday. I do not think I’ve ever run across a person who had the combination of Edward and Friedrich as first and middle names. I have no idea if this man was ever called Ed Fred, but I cannot get those similar names out of my head. They just kinda roll right off my tongue. Edward was the son of Heinrich and Clara (Mirly) Detjen. He was child #4 out of 5 born into his family. The oldest child died as a young child a few years before Edward was born. Edward was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. An image of his baptism record from that church’s books is pictured here.

Edward was just 2 years old when he appeared in his first census in 1900. His father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Next, we find Edward in the 1910 census at the age of 12. We see all 4 Detjen children who lived to adulthood in this entry.

In some later plat maps, we can see Henry Detjen’s farm located not far from New Wells. Near that farm, you also see William Mirly’s land. William was Edward’s uncle from the Mirly side of his family.

In 1918, Edward had a World War I draft registration completed. His address on this form was given as Shawneetown. There is no indication that Edward was called into service during that war.

I was unable to find Edward in the 1920 census. Then, not long after that census was taken, Edward got married, so let’s turn our attention to the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Ida Lena Roth who was born on July 18, 1898. Ida Lena is another one of the first-and-middle name combinations that just rolls off my tongue. Ida was the daughter of August and Pauline (Hoffmann) Roth. According to our German Family Tree, Ida was #7 of 8 children in this Roth family. Like her future husband, Ida was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books. I thought her record might be on the same page as that of Edward because they were born in the same year, but Ida was the 15th baptism in 1898 at that church while Edwards was the 1st, so Ida is found on the flip side of Edward’s page.

Ida is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

In 1910, we find Ida at the age of 11. An additional daughter had been added to this Roth family during the first decade of the 20th century.

I also thought that Edward and Ida might have been in the same confirmation class, but that was not the case. First of all, Edward was confirmed in 1911 and Ida in 1912. Also, but the time of Ida’s confirmation, the Roth family had become members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown, just down the road from New Wells.

In 1914, a wedding took place in Altenburg. That marriage was made up of a husband, Ernst Stueve, and a wife, Ida Weber, both of which lived on The Ridge in Perry County. Ida Roth was in the wedding party, and a photo was taken. Ida is 3rd from the left in the back row, right behind the groom, in this picture. I did not take the time to figure out why Ida would be a witness at this wedding of another Ida, although I’m reasonably sure that our museum’s friend, Diane Anderson, could explain it to me because she descends from this married couple.

The 1920 census shows Ida in her 20’s and still living with her parents.

Edward Detjen married Ida Roth on April 3, 1921 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown. Their wedding was the only one to take place in 1921 at that congregation. We can take a look at the church record for this event.

The marriage license for this wedding can also be viewed.

The German Family Tree lists 3 children born to Edward and Ida, one boy sandwiched in between two girls. All three were born in the 1920’s, and all 3 were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. The 1930 census shows all 3 children in the Detjen household. Edward was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Next, we find the Detjen’s in the 1940 census, but this time, they were living in the Shawnee Township.

In 1942, Edward had a World War II draft card filled out. It gives New Wells as his address.

The last census we can view including Edward and Ida was the one taken in 1950. Their daughter, Amanda, had married Willard Steffens in 1947, and that couple was living with Edward and Ida in the Apple Creek Township.

Later in their lives, this couple moved to Jackson, Missouri and became members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in that city. Both Edward and Ida died in the 1980’s. Edward died in 1980 at the age of 82; Ida died in 1987 at the age of 88. I only located an obituary for Ida.

Ed Fred and Ida Lena are buried together in the Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.

It’s a pretty typical story for this blog. The husband and wife in this couple spent their whole lives in northern Cape Girardeau County. They were members of local Lutheran churches and raised their family within the Lutheran environment. Their 2 daughters married a Stueve and a Steffens, also from local Lutheran churches. Quite often, local farming couples would move to one of the nearby cities upon retirement since they could no longer physically keep up with the rigors of farm life, but even there, they maintained their Lutheran identity This probably will not be the last post on this blog that follows this plot.