Once again, today’s post will involve a surname that goes through some spelling changes. There is also some misspelling to be found on Ancestry.com family trees with today’s surname. Some folks out there get today’s name confused with the Kassel name, which is a familiar one around here.

Today’s birthday boy is Edwin Matthias Kössl, who was born on September 30, 1898. That makes today a special birthday for Edwin…his 125th. He was the son of Karl and Christine (Loos) Kössl. Like so many other German names that contained an umlaut, this name would be changed by adding an “e” after the vowel with an umlaut and drop the umlaut. That would make this name, Koessl. Edwin was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. His baptism record shown below would be the only record that makes its way into our German Family Tree. This document spells the name with just one “s” and the umlaut over the “o”.

Edwin is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. His father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township. The surname is spelled Kossl in this entry. Census takers normally would not include umlauts in the handwriting.

Prior to the next census, this family moved to Cape Girardeau. Edwin was 11 years old, and his father was still farming, but this time he is called a farm hand.

Edwin was no longer living in Cape Girardeau when he completed his World War I draft registration in 1918. He was living in St. Louis and working at the Brown Shoe Company. At that point, Edwin was giving his name as Koessel. His mother is included on this form, and it gives her a Cape Girardeau address. `

I have shown this photo of the Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis before. That business was famous for its Buster Brown shoes.

Perhaps most of the Koessel family was still living in Cape Girardeau in 1918, but by the time of the 1920 census, they were all living in St. Louis where both Edwin, his father, and a brother were all working for the shoe company.

Next, we will take a look at the girl who would become Edwin’s bride. Her name was Caroline Reidelberger, who was born on October 30, 1903. She was the daughter of John and Amelia (Kneupper) Reidelberger. Caroline was born in Perry County, but not in Missouri. She was born in Perry County, Illinois in a place called Beaucoup, probably pronounced boe-coo. Beaucoup is the French word for “much” or “many”. About the only French phrase I know is merci beaucoup…many thanks. The map below shows where Beaucoup is located in Illinois. You don’t see it on this map, but Beaucoup is also near the town of Nashville, Illinois. Perhaps the Reidelberger family were members of St. John Lutheran Church in rural Nashville or Trinity Lutheran Church in Nashville.

Caroline is found in the 1910 census at the age of 6. Caroline’s father was a farmer in Beaucoup.

We see the Reidelberger’s in the 1920 census. Caroline was a teenager.

The only place where I found information about the wedding of Edwin Koessel and Caroline Reidelberger are some details in Edwin’s later obituary, which I will display later. These two were married on October 1, 1923 in East St. Louis, Illinois. There must be a story behind how Edwin and Caroline met, but I do not know it.

I found no indication that Edwin and Caroline had any children. In the 1930 census, we find this couple living with Caroline’s parents in Pinckneyville, Illinois. There is a grandson in this household, but his last name is not Koessel. This is the first time that we see Edwin working as an automobile mechanic.

Next, we find the Koessel’s in the 1940 census. The household consisted of just Edwin and Caroline. Edwin still had the same occupation.

Edwin had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It says Edwin’s employer was Francis Hagene.

We can see the Koesssel’s in one more census, the one taken in 1950. They were still living in Pinckneyville, only this time it says Edwin was the proprietor of a repair garage.

Edwin Koessel died in 1974 at the age of 75, almost 76. I am not able to view the actual obituary for him, but I did find a transcription that includes many of the details found in it. This is where I found out the wedding date and location. However, it got his birth year incorrect.

Caroline Koessel died in 1997 at the age of 94. Edwin and Caroline are both buried in the International Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery in Pinckneyville. Findagrave.com does not have gravestone photos for either of them.

Edwin Kaessel had his beginnings in this area and is found briefly in our German Family Tree, but he never lived in Perry County, Missouri. However, he did manage to spend most of his life in Perry County….the one in Illinois, that is.