The birthday boy for today is another person who spent his childhood in Perry County, Missouri, only to live most of his life elsewhere. In the story for today, we find that this man ends up not far from the Pacific Ocean.

Paul Ernst Martin Eggers was born on May 24, 1894, so today would be his 129th birthday. Paul was the son of Jacob and Ida (Wachter) Eggers. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Paul’s father was first married to Minna Koenig, but she died in 1891. Two Eggers children were born to that marriage. Then Jacob married Ida Wachter in 1893, and Paul was that couple’s first child. Seven more children were born after Paul, making a total of 10 children born to his father. Paul is found in the 1900 census at the age of 6. For some unknown reason, Paul is not listed in chronological order in this entry.

Next, we find Paul in the 1910 census living in a Wachter household that included 2 single siblings of Paul’s mother, Ida. Paul was helping with the farming in that household in the Shawnee Township. Paul is called Martin E. in this entry.

It was at some point during the next decade that Paul made a dramatic move. When he had a World War I draft registration completed, his address is given as Corvallis, Oregon. It says his employer was J.O. Wilson, and there is a note that Paul was a foreman on a ranch. Paul did get called into military service during that war.

There is evidence that Paul was not the only one in the Eggers family who made the move to Oregon. When his younger brother, Otto Benjamin, had his World War I draft registration completed, he was also living in Corvallis. Then, in 1919, Otto died at the young age of 19. His Oregon death certificate says he died of pneumonia and influenza.

Otto’s obituary says Paul accompanied his brother’s body back to Wittenberg where he was buried. There is an entry on Findagrave.com for Otto in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Wittenberg, but there is no gravestone photo.

It was just a matter of months after that death that Paul would get married in Oregon. Let’s take a look at the early life of the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Elizabeth Sturm, who was born on April 29, 1892 in Poole, Nebraska. Elizabeth was the daughter of Christian and Catharina (Joerger) Sturm. In the 1900 census, we find Elizabeth at the age of 8 living in the Cedar Township of Buffalo County, which is where Poole is located. Poole is found in a rural area not far from Kearney, Nebraska, and these days, it is basically a ghost town. Her father was a farmer.

The Sturm’s moved their family to Oregon during the next decade. When we find their household in the 1910 census, they were living in the Tangent Township in Linn County which was not that far from where Paul was living. Elizabeth was a teenager, and her father was still farming.

Paul Eggers married Elizabeth Sturm on April 20, 1919. I was able to find an Oregon marriage record for this couple. It says they were married in Albany, Oregon, which is also in Linn County.

The map below shows that Albany, Corvallis, and Tangent are all in the same proximity.

In the 1920 census, we find the Eggers couple living in Wilamette, Oregon, which is just outside Portland. They had no children at that point in time.

A group of photographs of the Jacob Eggers family is found on Ancestry.com. It reportedly was taken sometime around 1920, but it includes Otto, who had died in 1919, so I figure it was taken a bit earlier. Paul is said to be the bottom one of the 3 boys pictured separately on the left. Sometime in the 1920’s, Jacob Eggers moved his family to the Corvallis area.

The 1930 census puts the Eggers household back in the Corvallis area. Paul was still farming, and they had two children.

Next, we find the Eggers family in the 1940 census. Another child was added to their family in the previous decade. Also, one of Paul’s younger brothers, Theodore, was helping on Paul’s farm.

In 1942, Paul had a World War II draft card completed.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Paul was still farming in his 50’s. Right below Paul’s entry is that of their son, Robert, who was driving a logging truck.

Elizabeth Eggers died in 1962 at the age of 70. We can take a look at her Oregon death certificate.

Paul Eggers died in 1967 at the age of 72. His death certificate is pictured here.

An application was made by the Eggers family to have Paul’s military service recognized on his headstone.

Both Paul and Elizabeth Eggers are buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Corvallis. Zion Lutheran Church had been established in 1905.

There are 16 grave sites listed on Findagrave.com in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Corvallis that contain the Eggers name. I suspect most of them, if not all, can be attached to the Jacob Eggers family tree.