I get to add a brand new name to the multitude of surnames that have been highlighted on this blog. I did a search on our blog for the name, Zelsman, and got no results. A new folder for Zelsman had to be added to our digital collection of images that continues to grow in size. As is usually the case when I run across a new name, it is not a new surname that shows up in Perry County. It is almost always a case of a Perry County native who moves to a new location. That is the case today.

The birthday girl for this post is a more familiar name…Oehlert. Ernstine Louise Christiane Oehlert was born on July 31, 1873, making today her 150th birthday. Before I go any further, let me say that I have run across several girls who were baptized with the name Ernstine, who later added an extra “e” to the name, making it Ernestine. Today’s character is another one. Her gravestone uses the Ernestine spelling. That is the spelling that I will use in this post. This was also not the first Ernestine Oehlert to be born in Perry County. A cousin of hers was born in the 1860’s with that name. This Ernestine was the 8th of 9 children born to Tobias and Christiane (Haarnagel) Oehlert. Photos of Ernestine’s parents are found here.

Ernestine was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of that baptism record is shown below.

A Missouri state census was taken in 1876, and we find Ernestine listed as a 3 year-old, the youngest in the family.

As it turns out, the last piece of evidence that Ernestine was living in Perry County is the census that was taken in 1880. Ernestine was 5 years old at that time. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

It was in the 1880’s that this Oehlert family relocated to the Joachim Township in Jefferson County, Missouri. That is where Ernestine would become acquainted with the man who would become her husband. His name was Fred “Fritz” Zelsman, who was born on July 15, 1855 in Germany. That makes him about 18 years older than Ernestine. Fred was the son of Theodore and Christina (Bodenschatz) Zelsman. I know the Bodenschatz surname is a pretty common name to appear on this blog, but I could not see any connection between Fred’s mother and any of the Perry County Bodenschatz’s. On 3 different census entries, it says that Fred arrived in America in 1864. He would have been around 9 years old at that time. This means that Fred was in this country for the 1870 and 1880 censuses, but I was unable to find him in either of those.

Fred Zelsman married Ernestine Oehlert on October 9, 1892. On this couple’s Missouri marriage license below, it says the pastor performing this wedding was Rev. H.H. Norden, who was the pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Hillsboro, Missouri.

I have to rely on family trees on Ancestry.com to say how many children were born to Fred and Ernestine. Based on those, I think this couple had 5 children. We find this couple in the 1900 census. By then, there were 3 children in their household. Fred was a farmer in the Joachim Township.

Two more children were born in the next decade. The child named Elizabeth who appeared in the previous census entry disappears, so I believe she must have died. Fred is called Fritz in this and the next census.

Next, we find the Zelsman’s in the 1920 census. Three children were still living in their household. The oldest son, Theodore, was helping on his father’s farm.

The Zelsman’s do not show up on Ancestry.com when you search for them in the 1930 census. I did manage to find the Zelsman’s in the 1940 census, even though his name is transcribed as Zelleman, not Zelsman.

Then, in 1944, Fred Zelsman died at the age of 89. His death certificate says he died of pneumonia.

The above form says that the Zelsman’s lived near Jarvis. The map below displays the proximity of Jarvis to Hillsboro. Actually, Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro is located closer to Jarvis than it is to Hillsboro.

Ernestine can be found in the 1950 census. She was living in St. Louis with her youngest daughter, Clara, who was still single and working at a printing company.

Ernestine died in 1953 at the age of 79. Her death certificate says she died while she was a patient at the Park Lane Hospital in St. Louis.

Fred and Ernestine Zelsman are buried together in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Hillsboro.

Before I bring this post to a close, let me include the fact that the Zelsman’s son, Theodore, was called into service during World War I. A photo of Theodore in his uniform can be found on Ancestry.com. Theodore later operated a grocery store in Jarvis.

So, we wish Ernestine Zelsman a special Happy 150th Birthday today.