The post for today begins with the birthday girl, Martha Lydia Thauwald. Lydia was born on April 10, 1891, the daughter of Karl and Caroline (Schneider) Thauwald. She was the 5th of 7 children in her Thauwald household. Lydia was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Lydia is found in her first census in 1900 at the age of 9. Her father had died in 1899, so he does not appear in this census entry.

Lydia disappears when the 1910 census was taken. What I do know is that she was no longer living with her mother. You will soon discover the reason that I suspect that she was living in St. Louis in 1910, but I was unable to find her there in that year’s census. Lydia would get married before the next census in 1920, so we will now turn our attention to the man who would become Lydia’s husband.

Edward Anton Hausmann was born on February 15, 1888, in St. Louis. There is a St. Louis birth record for him, but it does not give us much information about him. According to this document, his father was E. and his mother was Caroline.

Other documents indicate that his father was Ernst Hausmann and his mother’s maiden name was Caroline Graeb. I managed to find this photo of Edward’s mother.

Like it was with Lydia, Edward’s father also died before we find Edward in his first census. Ernst Hausmann died in 1898, and then Caroline married again in early 1900. Her second husband was Wilhelm Harms, and when the 1900 census was taken, we find the Harms household living in Mitchie, Illinois. Not long ago, in the story, O. and Henry – The Sauerhage’s, the little village of Mitchie was where Henry Sauerhage was living in this same year’s census. Edward’s stepfather was a farmer who had been married previously. His first wife died in 1899, so the Harms children in this entry were ones from his first marriage.

A photograph of Edward was taken when he was a youngster. Perhaps it is a confirmation picture.

Another similarity between Lydia and Edward is the fact that I could not find Edward in the 1910 census, but like Lydia, I suspect that he was living and working in St. Louis.

That leads us up to the wedding of Edward Hausmann and Lydia Thauwald which took place on January 30, 1916. The church record for this event is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. This document says that Edward was from Maplewood, which is a municipality located in St. Louis.

We are also able to view the marriage license for this couple. It is another form that states Edward was from Maplewood.

Our German Family Tree does not list any children baptized in one of our local churches. That is because this couple did not settle in this area. Already in 1917, we find an Iowa birth record for their first son. That son, another Edward Hausmann, was born in Boyden, Iowa.

Edward had a World War I draft registration completed in 1917. This form says the Hausmann’s were living in Boyden where Edward was a farmer. It also says he had a wife and one child.

I failed again when I attempted to find the Hausmann’s in the 1920 census. I have no reason to believe that they moved away from their home near Boyden, Iowa. A second child, a girl named Mildred, was born in 1924. When the 1930 census was taken, we find the Hausmann family living in the Sheridan Township, which is found near Boyden. Edward was a farmer.

Next, we find the Hausmann’s in the 1940 census still living in the same location. Only their daughter is found living with them at this point in time.

In 1942, Edward had a World War II draft card filled out.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. It looks as if this couple had moved off the farm and into the village of Boyden. Edward no longer had an occupation at the age of 62. The Hausmann couple now had an empty nest.

Later in 1950, Edward Hausmann died at the age of 62. An obituary for Edward was printed in a local newspaper.

Lydia Hausmann died in 1960 at the age of 69. Both Edward and Lydia are buried in the Boyden Cemetery, but Findagrave.com does not have gravestone photos for them. The Hausmann’s must have been members of St. John Lutheran Church in Boyden. I found a short video that was produced by that congregation. I am reasonably sure that the church sanctuary shown in this video is one that was built after Edward and Lydia died.