This post will eventually get around to a birthday girl that is found in our German Family Tree, but first we need to look at a Farmington farmer by the name of Peter Mell. He was born on October 19, 1858, the son of Peter and Sophia (Hoehn) Mell. That makes him Peter Mell, Jr. The Hoehn surname takes up many pages in our GFT, but I found no connection between Peter Mell’s mother and the Hoehn’s in Perry County. The first census entry I located that includes Peter was the one taken in 1870. He was 12 years old, and his father was a farmer in Farmington.

In 1880, Peter was still single and living with his parents. At the age of 21, he was working on his father’s farm.

Now, we will take a look at Peter’s first wife. Her name was Mena Louise Kollmeyer, but she was called Minnie. Minnie was born on November 28, 1859. A family tree on Ancestry.com says that Minnie was the child of Henry Steinhans and Catherine Kollmeyer. It’s a little puzzling because other children born to Henry and Catherine carried the surname, Kollmeyer. Even Henry is called Henry Kollmeyer in later census entries. Minnie is found in the 1870 census at the age of 10. Her father was also a farmer in Farmington.

Next, Minnie is found in the 1880 census when she was 20 years old. She was the youngest of the Kollmeyer children.

There is a period of 20 years between the 1880 census and the next one we can view in 1900. A lot can happen in 20 years, and in this family, that is certainly the case. On May 11, 1882, Peter Mell married Minnie Kollmeyer. We can take a look at the marriage license for that couple.

According to one family tree on Ancestry.com, Peter and Minnie had 7 children, the last one being born in 1899. However, several months after that baby was born, Minnie died, leaving Peter as a widower with several children to raise by himself, including an infant. When the 1900 census was taken, we find the Mell household shown below. All 7 of those children are listed, along with an 18 year-old servant by the name of Tillie Blanken.

Tillie Blanken is today’s birthday girl. Her baptism record calls her Caroline Mathilda Blanken. She was born on August 6, 1881, making today her 142nd birthday. Mathilda was the daughter of Dietrich and Maria (Eisenberg) Blanken. As you see in the above census entry, she mostly went by the name Tillie. She was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. An image of her baptism record is pictured here.

Tillie never shows up in a Perry County census that we can view. I am sure we could see her in the 1890 census, but that year’s census was burned in a tragic fire. So, the first census in which we find Tillie is the one shown above in which she was a servant in the Peter Mell household.

Here is what I think transpired, but it is only speculation. Tillie was hired to help Peter with his situation, although I do not know how he came to find a Perry County teenager to fill his position. Tillie’s most urgent concern was caring for Peter’s youngest son, just a matter of months old. Tillie may have grown very attached to that little boy and may have not wanted to leave that situation. In the meantime, Peter may have grown very fond of Tillie and what she brought to his family. Long story, short, Peter Mell married Tillie Blanken on November 7, 1901. That marriage took place at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The church record for this event is displayed below. Peter was about 23 years older than Tillie.

The Missouri marriage license can also be viewed.

Let me point out that Tillie’s Blanken family in Frohna relocated to Colorado sometime in the early years of the 1900’s, leaving Tillie back in Missouri.

Once again, I have to rely on family trees on Ancestry.com and census entries to determine the number of children born to Peter and Tillie. It looks as if they had 4 children to add to all the ones born to Peter in his first marriage. The 1910 census shows a Mell household with 7 children, the last 3 being those who had Tillie as their mother.

In the 1920 census, the Mell household only included the children born to Peter and Tillie.

Just the youngest child in the Mell family remained living with Peter and Tillie when the 1930 census was compiled. At the age of 71, Peter is then called a carpenter in Farmington.

Peter is found in one more census entry, the one taken in 1940. Peter was in his 80’s and no longer had an occupation.

At some point in time, Tillie must have taken a trip to Colorado to visit her Blanken family. The photo below had to be before 1939 because that is when her mother died, and she is in this photo. The caption tells you which one is Tillie.

Peter Mell died in 1943 at the age of 84. We can take a look at his death certificate.

Mathilda is still found in the 1950 census. She was living by herself at the age of 68 and working as a practical nurse.

Mathilda Mell died in 1965 at the age of 83. Her death certificate below says she died while living at the Thomas-Dell Nursing Home in Farmington.

Peter Mell, along with both of his wives, are buried in the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Farmington.

Peter Mell lived an interesting life. It took an interesting turn after his first wife died. He ended up having a larger family than he may have thought after Minnie’s death. I am thinking that Tillie may have made him feel younger again.