When I hear the surname, Schilling, I immediately think of Schilling’s who lived in Perry County, Missouri. After all, I have Schilling’s in my family tree, and that is where they were born and raised. However, today’s Schilling’s were ones that migrated to Jackson County, Illinois and lived their lives in the vicinity of Jacob. In this Schilling couple, both the bride and the groom originated in Missouri before moving across the Mississippi River

Gustav Adolph Schilling was born on June 18, 1882, so he would be celebrating his 141st birthday today. Gustav, sometimes called Gus or Gust, was the son of August and Maria (Schoenborn) Schilling. He was the 7th of 9 children born into this Schilling family. Gustav had a brother named, Gottfried Adolph, who was born in 1880 and shows up as Adolph Schilling in the 1880 census. Some family trees falsely identify Adolph as Gustav, but Adolph died in 1881 of measles, so he is only found in that one census entry. Gustav, like all his siblings, was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can take a look at his baptism record here.

Gustav, because he was born after 1880, and because the 1890 census was burned in a fire, is found in his first census in 1900 at the age of 17. He was working on his father’s farm in the Brazeau Township.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become Gustav’s bride. Her name is a matter of debate. In our German Family Tree, she is listed as Minnie Petrina Ruehling-Engert-Schuerenberg. One could even argue that another surname could be added to that list….Roehrs. Here is Minnie’s story. She was born on July 3, 1889. Her biological father was Gottfried Schuerenberg, who was married to Emma Engert at that time. In fact, Emma Schuerenberg must have been pregnant with her own child, with Gottfried being the father, at the time of Minnie’s birth. Minnie’s mother was Hanna Engert, who was Emma’s sister. Emma was married to Henry Roehrs, who was a widower with a few children when he married Emma. That wedding took place on October 3, 1887. Henry was from Jackson County, Illinois, and the marriage license shown below states that this wedding was performed by the judge, Charles Weber.

When Minnie was born in 1889, her baptism record states that she was illegitimate and her father was Gottfried Schuerenberg. That baptism record from the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg is displayed below.

Gottfried’s wife, Emma, gave birth to her child in October of that year. So, Gottfried Schuerenberg had 2 children baptized, one in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg and one in the books of Christ, Jacob, within a matter of months. If we could view the 1890 census, we would perhaps see Minnie living with her mother and 2 Roehrs children, possibly with her mother’s husband, Henry Roehrs. Then, in 1898, Hanna Roehrs (probably divorced) married Herman Ruehling, who had also been previously married. Henry Roehrs did not die until 1899. Herman had 3 children by his first wife, but she died in 1887. Herman was almost 20 years older than Hanna. Minnie would spend part of her life using the surname, Ruehling. That is what we see in the 1900 census. She was 11 years old and called Mina Ruehling and listed as a daughter of Herman.

When Gustav Schilling married Minnie on November 21, 1909, she was called Minnie Ruehling. The marriage license for this couple is displayed here.

The church marriage record for that wedding is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of that record is shown below.

When the 1910 census was taken, this pair of newlyweds was living in the Union Township where Gustav was a farmer. They would have their first of 10 children later that year.

The first 3 children were baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, but when their 4th child was born in 1916, she was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois, which is where the remaining children were baptized. In 1918, Gustav had his World War I draft registration completed. His address is given as Jacob, Illinois, and he was farming.

The 1920 census shows the Schilling’s living in the Fountain Bluff Township. Their household included 5 children, Gustav’s widowed mother, and a hired hand.

When the 1930 census was taken, we see a household of 8 children, the oldest ones being in their teens.

Next, we find the Schilling’s in the 1940 census. No more new children had been added in the previous decade, and the household was getting smaller because older children were moving out.

In 1942, Gustav had a World War II draft card completed. This form gives his first name as Gust.

Minnie Schilling died in 1948 at the age of 59, leaving Gustav as a widower. The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950, in which we find Gustav living with his youngest son, Donald, and his wife, Ruth. At the age of 68, Gustav was called a painter.

Gustav Schilling died in 1959 at the age of 76. I managed to find an obituary for Gustav.

Gustav and Minnie are buried together in the Christ Lutheran Cemetery in Jacob.

I am writing this post on Father’s Day, and I have to admit that this story contains an example of a rather unfaithful father. However, Gustav Schilling appears to have done well for himself, fathering 10 children, most of which lived to adulthood and remaining a member of Christ, Jacob until death.