You will be heading back to the Shawnee Township again today. We have to go back a little farther into the past for this one. It begins with the birth of the first child in what ended up as a couple having 15 children listed in our German Family Tree.

Louise Auguste Margaretha Kasten was born on August 30, 1863, so she is today’s birthday girl. Today would be her 160th birthday. I will call her Louisa, with an “a” at the end, for a couple of reasons. First, I almost confused her with another woman that has been a character in a post on this blog. Secondly, that is the way her name is spelled on her gravestone. Louisa was the daughter of Henry and Therese (Lueders) Kasten. In a previous post about Louisa’s parents, Copious Kasten Kids, I included this photo of them.

Louisa was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. An image of her baptism record is displayed here.

Louisa is found in the 1870 census at the age of 7. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

The last census in which we see Louisa as being single is the one taken in 1880. She had been confirmed in 1877 at Immanuel, New Wells, and was listed as 16 years old.

Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Louisa’s husband. His name was Johann Alwin J. Mueller, who was born on July 19, 1864. He was born in Germany. According to a later census entry, Alvin came to America in 1868 at the age of 3 or 4. Like an Alwin that I wrote about a few days ago, this Alwin later went by the name, Alvin.

I feel the need to revisit a previous post that I wrote that mentioned a man named August Mueller who had a wife named Sophia. This pair was mentioned in the post, Doberenz’s Two Brides. In that post, I speculated that this August Mueller may have been the one who married Sophia Froelich at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim in 1863. That post also said that August Mueller had a stepdaughter named Ernestine who I figured may have been Ernestsine Proehl, who shows up in our German Family Tree. I now have a slightly different theory. I think this August Mueller is the one who married Sophia Borges (sp?) at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown on September 25, 1870. That marriage record is shown below. That marriage fits this situation better if the Mueller’s arrived in 1868.

Based on Alvin’s death record that I will display later, it says that his mother’s name was Auguste Buehl. I now think that this may have been an effort by someone who was filling out that death certificate to describe what was really the name Proehl. I think Auguste Proehl (a married name) had been married prior to marrying August Mueller and had a daughter named Ernestine by that previous marriage. Then Auguste had a few children with August who carried the Mueller surname, including Alvin. Then I figure Auguste died, leaving August as a widower. That death either took place in Germany before 1868 or not long after arriving in America. August then married Sophia Borges. That would explain the people found in the 1870 census with August.

Alvin is found in the 1870 census at the age of 6, although he is called a female named Alvine, His father, whose wife was named Sophia, was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. Alvin had an older sister, Ernestine, who likely was Ernestine Proehl. She would have actually been Alvin’s half-sister. At least, that is my explanation.

Finding this Mueller family in the 1880 census proved to be a bit more difficult. However, when I saw that Alvin had his confirmation record in the books of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, I figured I might find this family in the long-lost and recently discovered pages of the 1880 Union Township. That entry is shown below in which we find Alvin at the age of 16.

There is a marriage record found in the Grace Lutheran Church books that says Ernestine Proehl married Henry Doberenz in 1880. It describes Ernestine as being a stepdaughter of August Mueller.

Alvin Mueller married Louisa Kasten on October 11, 1887 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. The church record for this wedding is pictured here.

A Missouri marriage license for this couple can also be viewed.

Alvin and Louisa had just one child, a girl named Alvine who was baptized at Immanuel, New Wells. At least that is how her name is spelled in our GFT. Her gravestone spells her name as Alwine. So, today’s story is another one that has a family that includes an Alvin and an Alvine, but this time it is not a husband and wife with those names. It is a father and his daughter, who was likely given his father’s name in female form. It would not be until the 1900 census was taken before we can see this Mueller family. Alvin was a day laborer in the Shawnee Township.

Next, we find the Mueller’s in the 1910 census. Alvine had married Louis Scholl in 1909, so she is no longer in this household. This time, it says Alvin was doing odd jobs.

The 1920 census gives evidence that Alvin and Louisa’s daughter had lost her husband, and she and her children were living with her parents. Now, Alvin is called a farmer.

The last census in which we find Alvin is the one taken in 1930. He and Louisa had an empty nest. Alvine had married a man named Pleisies, but I could not locate a marriage record for that occasion.

Alvin Mueller died in 1931 at the age of 67. His death certificate says he died of cancer of the lower jaw. This is the document that says Alvin’s mother was Auguste Buehl (Proehl?).

Louisa Mueller was alive for the next 2 censuses in 1940 and 1950, but I was unsuccessful at finding her in either of those resources. Then, in 1951, Louisa died at the age of 86, Her death certificate says she died while residing at the Mouser (sp?) Nursing Home in Cape Girardeau.

This might explain why I did not find her, especially in the 1950 census. I have been doing research like this on our blog for quite a few years now, but I have yet to run across a census entry for residents of a nursing home. It makes me wonder how our country handles getting census information from such institutions.

Alvin and Louisa Mueller are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Shawneetown. Louisa’s death certificate and gravestone say that she was born in 1864. However, her baptism is included with other baptisms that occurred in 1863.

I think I may have resolved a few puzzling things that I have noticed in our German Family Tree in the past by researching for today’s post. Sometimes answers come at unusual times and in unusual ways.