Six children were born to the parents, Henry and Amalia (Kaufmann) Weber, and today’s birthday girl was child #5. Bertha Anna Martha Weber was born on August 14, 1896, so today would be her 127th birthday. Another post was written about Bertha’s parents a while back titled, Henry and Amalia Weber – The Other Weber Farm. Bertha was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books shown below.

We find Bertha in the 1900 census at the age of 5, although I think she was only 4. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

The Henry Weber farm was located in the southern portion of the Brazeau Township, near his half-brother, Herman Weber’s, farm.

The 1910 census shows Bertha at the age of 14. She would get confirmed at Trinity, Altenburg the year after this census was taken.

The last census in which we find Bertha as a single woman was the one taken in 1920. Bertha’s brother, Rudolph, had married Christine Mueller, and that couple was also living in this household, along with their first child.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Bertha’s husband. His name was Ehregott Arthur Hugo Richter, who went by the name Hugo. He was born on September 23, 1898, making him a few years younger than Bertha. Hugo was the son of Martin and Ida (Grebing) Richter. Like his future bride, Hugo’s baptism record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, but I suspect he may have been baptized in Wittenberg. His baptism record is pictured here.

Hugo was listed as being 1 year old in the 1900 census. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

I really enjoy finding childhood pictures for the characters in this blog. I located two such photos that included Hugo.

The Richter family relocated during the next decade. They are found living in the Shawnee Township of Cape Girardeau County in the 1910 census. Hugo was 11 years old. I think the second photo above was taken at about the time of this census because Hugo’s brother, Walter, was a toddler at the time. Hugo’s father continued to be a farmer.

Hugo had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. On this form, he had a Shawneetown address, and it says he was a farm hand for his father.

On a later plat map, we find the M. Richter farm located between New Wells and Shawneetown.

The 1920 census shows Hugo as a 21 year-old farm laborer. You can see that he had a lot of siblings.

On the map below, I have highlighted the Martin Richter farm and the approximate location of the Henry Weber farm across the creek in Perry County. You can see that these two farms were not really that far from one another.

On June 12, 1921, Hugo Richter married Bertha Weber at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The church record for this wedding is displayed below.

As it turns out, this would not be the only Richter/Weber wedding. If you look at the witnesses for Hugo and Bertha’s wedding, you will see Paul Weber and Emma Richter. Those two would get married a year later. I think there is a really good chance that the romance between those two was first sparked during their time together at Hugo and Bertha’s wedding. Emma is included in both of the previous childhood photos of Richter children.

We can also take a look at the marriage license for Hugo and Berha.

An article was published in the Perry County Republican about the Richter-Weber wedding. I have to display it in two images.

Our German Family Tree lists 7 children born to Hugo and Bertha. All of them were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. In the 1930 census, the Richter household included 4 children. Hugo was once again living in the Brazeau Township and still farming.

On October 7, 1937, the last of the Richter children, a girl named Viola, was born. A day later, on October 8th, Viola was baptized and Bertha died. Bertha was just 41 years old at the time of her death. Bertha’s death certificate says she died at 5:25 a.m., so I think the death happened before the baptism. The cause of death is given as a cerebral hemorrhage, sometimes called a “brain bleed”. The term “parturition” mentioned on this form as a contributory cause is a term referring to childbirth.

An article was published in the Perry County Republican concerning Bertha’s death. I will show that article in 3 images. The thumbnails are clickable.

Bertha Richter is buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

Hugo, now a widower with a houseful of children, decided he could not adequately care for the infant Viola. Viola was then raised by Rudolph and Christina Weber, who appeared in that previous census entry.

In the 1940 census, we find the Richter household still residing in the Brazeau Township. One son, Marvin, was old enough to be helpful on the farm.

In 1942, Hugo had his World War II draft card completed. He was still farming in Altenburg. His oldest daughter, Nelda, was the person who would always know his address.

Prior to the 1950 census, the Richter’s moved back to the Shawnee Township. He was still farming.

Hugo Richter did not die until 1991 at the age of 92. He is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Wells.

Since I have only lived in Perry County for 13 years, I do not always notice the connections that exist between the people in my blog posts and people who are presently living in this area. Today’s story is different. First of all, the Walter Richter mentioned in this story managed to cross paths with me during my teaching career. Walter himself was a Lutheran educator. Betty and Doris Weber, affectionately called The Weber Girls, are well-known in East Perry County especially for their incredible baking skills. Those two are connected to the Weber family in this story. My good friends, Earl and Diane Weber operate The Weber Farm, an airbnb that is located at the old Herman Weber farm where Earl was raised. That farm is the one located next to the Henry Weber farm. Finally, Viola Richter, the baby that ended up being raised by the Rudolph Weber family, would go on to marry “Sonny” Boehme. After Viola died, Sonny married Carol Palisch. Carol Boehme is presently one of the docents at our museum. I guess I know plenty of folks connected to today’s tale. I could also predict that someone else, after reading this story, will tell me they are connected to the Richter/Weber couple. It often happens.