I will present you with a new name today. It’s a name that takes us to the very end of the alphabet. This name has the very unusual spelling of Zschille. If you go to the very end of our German Family Tree, you will find a small selection of names that begin with the consonant combination of “Zsch”. On several occasions, I have mentioned Pastor Zschoche, who was once serving at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Believe it or not, there were 3 different “Zsch” names included amongst the list of what we call “original immigrants” that first showed up in Perry County in 1839. There was a Zschiegner woman who was part of the Gruber Group. She doesn’t show up in the list of immigrants in the book, Zion on the Mississippi, but she was on the passenger list for the ship, Johann Georg, that carried the Gruber Group to America. There was also a Zschoerner who was a passenger aboard the ship, Copernicus. Another “Zsch” woman came to America already married to a Schumann. Her maiden name was Zschage. The only other “Zsch” name that appears in the GFT is the one you are going to read about today.

The starting point for today’s post is the birth of Marie Wilhelmine Hannah Lowes, who was born on January 17, 1863. That means she would be celebrating her 160th birthday today. Sometimes her name appears as Hanne, and other times, Johanna or Anna. I will use the name, Hannah. She was the daughter of Conrad and Marie (Kaiser) Lowes. Our German Family Tree lists her as child #2 out of 6 children in this Lowes family. Hannah was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can take a look at an image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books. This record used the spelling, Hanne. You can see that her two female sponsors were named Marie Wilhelmine and Hanne.

Hannah is found in her first census in 1870 at the age of 6. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Hannah’s father died in 1871, and his mother remarried. Her second husband was Wilhelm Habeck. We find Hannah in the blended Habeck household in the 1880 census. The entry spills over 2 census pages so I have to display 2 images.

Now, we will turn our attention to the Zschille surname. Reinhold Zschille was born on January 20, 1860 in Germany. So, Reinhold would celebrate his birthday 3 days after his wife’s. His later death certificate says his father’s name was Christian Gotthold Zschille, but it does not give his mother’s name. Later census entries state that Reinhold immigrated in either 1879 or 1881. I was unable to find Reinhold in the 1880 census, so I lean toward saying he immigrated in 1881.

That leads us up to the marriage of Reinhard Zschille and Hannah Lowes. These two were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim on June 11, 1882. The marriage record for this wedding from the Trinity, Friedheim books is pictured here.

We can also take a look at the marriage license for this couple, but I don’t think you’ll be able to decipher much of the writing on this form. It is not a very good copy.

Based on a family history on Ancestry.com, this Zschille couple had 9 children. That is backed up by some census entries. Most of those children were born before the next census we can view that was taken in 1900. Reinhard was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township. There were 8 children in this household. The oldest 3 children were boys, followed by 5 younger daughters.

One more daughter was born after 1900. When the 1910 census was taken, the Zschille family was living in the Byrd Township, which is located closer to Jackson, Missouri.

The Zschille household got a bit smaller before the 1920 census was taken. There is a 4 year-old nephew named Walter Rietzel included in their household. I think this was actually a grandchild. Reinhard and Hannah’s daughter, Sophia, had married William Rietzel, but Sophia died in 1917. It appears that William entrusted the Zschille’s to care for his young son.

In 1929, Reinhard Zschillie made a trip back to Germany. I find it interesting that he must have made that trip with another character who has shown up on this blog before. On the passenger list for the departing ship, Deutschland, we find the name of Reinhard Zschille right below that of Louis Kipping.

There is also a passenger list for the arrival of the ship, Deutschland, listing the same two next to one another.

Louis Kipping can be found in the post, Kipping Up with the Meyer’s and the Lohmann’s. In that post, the photo of Louis’s family shown below was published. Louis is sitting in the front on the left.

Next, we find the Zschille couple in the 1930 census. They had an empty nest. It looks like Reinhard’s occupation may have been listed as a farmer, but then crossed out. He was 70 years old at the time.

Reinhard Zschille died in January of 1940 at the age of 79, just days before his 80th birthday. His death certificate says he died at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau with pancreatic cancer.

Hannah is found in the 1940 as a widow. She was living in the Earl Rietzel household. Earl was actually Earl Walter Rietzel, who is the same person found earlier in the 1920 census living with the Zschille’s. He was Hannah’s grandson. Right below the Rietzel household, you will see that of Herman Zschille, one of Hannah’s sons.

Hannah Zschille died in 1949 at the age of 86. Her death certificate indicates that she died on the Fourth of July.

Reinhard and Johanna Zschille are buried in the Jackson Cemetery in Jackson, Missouri.

I mentioned the Zschille name to a friend at breakfast this morning, and he said “That’s a Jackson name.” My friend attended high school in Jackson with a Zschille. That name must still be found around here.