This post will highlight the life of Adolph Theodor Richter, who is today’s birthday boy. In our German Family Tree, we do not have any records of him getting married, but we will discover today that he became married to a woman who is also included in the GFT.

Adolph Richter was born on September 19, 1883, making today his 140th birthday. He was the son of Alvin and Amalia (Mueller) Richter and baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured below. Someone helped me out and wrote the name, Richter, on this copy of the baptism record to give a translation to the German handwriting.

It is not until Adolph was a teenager before we can view him in a census entry. The 1900 census shows the Richter household with Adolph being the oldest child. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. Adolph was working on the farm with his father.

I located two different documents for a person named Adolph T. Richter, both of which were ones from the year, 1903. First, there is a record saying that he received pay as a postal worker in Altenburg during that year.

Next, there is a St. Louis city directory that states that Adolph Richter was a cook in that city. I am not sure if this is today’s character, but a later document will state that Adolph was a mess sergeant in the military, which seems to fit a person who had experience as a cook.

Although I do not have any documentation to display for Adolph’s marriage, I do know that his wife was Louise Linna Fiedler, who was born on March 25, 1882. Louise was the daughter of Valentine and Marie (Kasten) Fiedler and baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. We can view her baptism record below. It is not surprising that she was named Louise when both of her female baptism sponsors were named Louise.

We cannot view Louise in a census with her parents because the 1890 census was destroyed in a fire. By the time of the 1900 census, Louise was a housekeeper in the household of Ernst Doering, a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Adolph Richter must have married Louise Fiedler prior to the 1910 census because they are listed in that year’s entry as husband and wife. Also, their first child was born in 1910. When that year’s census was taken, Adolph is described as a retail merchant for a hardware store. I think it is likely that store was located in Old Appleton. Their son, Gilbert, was just a baby in this entry.

The Richter’s relocated after the above census was taken. When Adolph enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in 1915, he was living in St. Louis. This form says Adolph was born in Wittenberg.

A few years later, Adolph had his World War I draft registration completed. It says he was a traveling salesman for the Geller, Ward, & Hasner Company.

The Geller, Ward, & Hasner Company was a hardware supply company located in St. Louis. I found this post card for this business that was mailed in 1933.

In the 1920 census, we find the Richter’s with 2 children, a boy named Gilbert and a girl named Vera. I suspect that Adolph was still working for the same company because he is called a commercial salesman for a hardware business.

It turns out that the above census entry would be the last one in which we find Adolph because he died in 1925. I found out that he died in New Mexico. I thought perhaps that he had died on a trip he had made as a traveling salesman, but I was incorrect. I managed to locate a New Mexico death certificate that states he was a patient at a Veteran’s Hospital in Fort Bayard. He died of tuberculosis. He likely went to New Mexico to be treated for his disease, and because of his military record, he was qualified to be admitted to a Veteran’s Hospital. This form indicates that he was a patient from October of 1924 until his death in January of 1925. He was 41 years old at the time of his death.

Adolph is buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

A National Cemetery Interment Form is where we find the fact that Adolph was a Mess. Sgt.

Louise Richter is found as a widow living in St. Louis when the 1930 census was taken. She was doing housekeeping, but in her case, it was said she was working “outside”, which I figure means she was doing the housekeeping for someone else. Both of her children were part of the workforce.

Once again, we find Louise in the 1940 census. She was living in her son, Gilbert’s, household. She was doing housework in a private home.

At some point in time, Louise married again. Her second husband was Ernst F.W. Vogel, who also happens to be found in our German Family Tree and, like Louise, was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Since he was born in 1882, Ernst and Louise were in the same confirmation class in 1896. I could not find out when Louise’s 2nd marriage took place. I know that Ernst Vogel had also lost his first wife, so he was a widower when he married Louise. I attempted to find Louise in the 1950 census as either a Richter or a Vogel, but I failed.

Louise Vogel died in 1959 at the age of 76. Her death certificate is displayed here.

Louise is buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna.

The story of Adolph Richter, despite how short his time on earth was, is one containing quite a bit of variety. He was a farm laborer, postal worker, hardware dealer, traveling salesman, and soldier…possibly even a cook. Also, as it turns out, our German Family Tree creator, Lynn Degenhardt, may just have to tie 3 different personalities together when I tell him about the Richter/Fiedler/Vogel trio.