Elsa Barbara Wirth, today’s birthday girl, will be the highlighted character in today’s tale. Elsa was born on May 27, 1893, making today her 130th birthday. Elsa was the daughter of George and Paulina (Schade) Wirth. Her father was one of the charter members of Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown, but that congregation was not established until 1897, so Elsa was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Therefore, we cannot view an actual baptism record for her. Elsa is found in the 1900 census at the age of 7. Her father was a house carpenter in the Union Township.

A later plat map shows the Wirth land located just outside the village of Longtown.

When Elsa was confirmed in 1906, her confirmation record is found in the books of Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown.

In the 1910 census, we find Elsa as a teenager. This time, her father was called a farmer.

The next decade for Elsa was one in which she experienced both joy and grief, but before we discuss that, let’s take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Herman M. Mehner, who was born on June 28, 1887. Herman was the son of Frederick and Elise (Hillemann) Mehner. He was part of a very large Mehner family. Herman was child #9 of a total of 11 born to Frederick and Elise according to our German Family Tree. Like Elsa, Herman was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Herman was 12 years old when he shows up in his first census in 1900. His father was a farmer in the Salem Township, so this census entry is difficult to read.

The Mehner farm is found on those later plat maps located right along the banks of the Mississippi River near Menfro.

In the 1910 census, Herman was no longer living with his parents. He was living in the Adolph Bock household in Perryville. Adolph was a blacksmith, and Herman was a wagon maker. Back in those days, a blacksmith and a wagon maker were often in business together.

On April 15, 1917, Herman Mehner married Elsa Wirth at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown. We can take a look at the church record for this wedding below.

The marriage license for this couple can also be viewed.

It was only a month later in June of 1917 that Herman had his World War I draft registration completed. This form gives his address as Menfro, and he was called a farmer. I suspect this young couple was living with Herman’s parents.

In March of 1918, a daughter named Olinda was born to Herman and Elsa. That child was baptized at Zion, Longtown. The wedding and the subsequent birth of Olinda must have brought great joy to Elsa, but it was short-lived. In February of 1919, Herman died at the young age of 31. His death certificate attributes peritonitis as his cause of death.

A death record for Herman is found in the books of Zion, Longtown, but he was buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville. I will display his gravestone later. Below is his death record from Zion’s books.

Elsa, now a widow, and her daughter, Olinda, are found in the 1920 census living with Elsa’s parents.

Next, we find Elsa and Olinda in the 1930 census living with Elsa’s younger brother, Ruben Wirth, who was a single 27 year-old farmer.

The 1940 census shows only Elsa and her brother, Ruben, in their household.

I located 2 photographs of Elsa Mehner, one that was taken very early in life, and the other when she was considerably older.

I failed to find Elsa in the 1950 census, but I do know that Ruben Wirth got married in 1946, and Elsa was no longer living with him in that year’s census. Elsa remained a widow the rest of her life. When she died in 1981 at the age of 88, she was living in Perryville. She died too recently to view her death certificate. She and her husband are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

Elsa’s daughter, Olinda, married Rodney Gamble, and she spent much of her life in Arizona. In the 1950 census, she was living in Winslow, Arizona. Rodney was a truck driver and a service station operator over the years. Here are later photos of Olinda and Rodney.

Elsa had an unusual life. She was married for less than 2 years, had a daughter, and spent her next 62 years as a widow. It appears that for quite a few years of that life, being a housekeeper in her brother, Ruben’s, house may have seemed to be “wifely” duties.