The birthday boy for today’s post is a man named Heinrich Leopold Friedrich Kahnert. He would go by the name Leo during his life, and that will be the name I use. He was born on October 20, 1893, making today his 130th birthday. Leo was the son of Herman and Anna (Luedemann) Kahnert, who had gotten married in Jacob, Illinois in 1884. However, when that couple started having children in 1886, they were living in Frohna. Our German Family Tree lists 9 children in this Kahnert family, with Leo being child #6. All of them were baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Leo’s baptism record is displayed here.

Leo was 6 years old when the 1900 census was taken. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

I was unable to find Leo in the 1910 census. I know he was not listed as living with his parents in that year’s census. When Leo got married, his marriage license says he was from Leemon, Missouri, which is located south of Pocahontas and east of Fruitland. A record from the books of Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas says he became a member of that congregation in 1914.

Leo had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917, just a matter of weeks before he would get married. He is called a blacksmith and given a rural Jackson, Missouri address. The registrar, E.G. Schoen, was from Pocahontas.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who became Leo’s bride. Her name was Olga Flora Josephina Putz, whose birthday is somewhat debatable. Her record in our St. John’s Lutheran Church binder says she was born on December 2, 1897. Her gravestone is engraved with the date December 1, 1897, and her obituary says she was born on December 1, 1898. Olga was the daughter of Henry and Christiana (Ruehling) Putz. She was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. The information about Olga in the St. John’s Lutheran Church binder is pictured here.

Olga is found in the 1900 census in which her age is first given as 2, but crossed out and changed to 1. Her father was a dry goods salesman in Pocahontas.

Next, we find Olga at the age of 12 in the 1910 census. This time, her father is called a letter carrier living in Pocahontas.

Leo Kahnert married Olga Putz on June 24, 1917 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. We can view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

Not long after getting married, Leo was called to serve in the military during World War I. His record of service is shown below.

The 1920 census shows Leo and Olga with no children. Leo is called a mechanic for a blacksmith in Pocahontas. Right above the Kahnert entry is that of Elmer Putz, Olga’s brother.

Leo had an older brother who is rather well known for being a blacksmith in New Wells. I may have to write his story someday.

The only child listed in our German Family Tree for this couple is a stillborn in 1920. Then, in 1925, Leo and Olga moved to Detroit, Michigan. A daughter named Joan was born in 1927. When the 1930 census was taken, it is puzzling that we do not see this daughter listed in their entry. Leo is called a shell polisher at an auto factory.

Once again, I was unsuccessful at finding the Kahnert’s in the 1940 census. They must have still been living in the Detroit area because that is the address given on Leo’s World War II draft card that was completed in 1942. It says he was employed by the Frederick Colman & Son Company in Detroit.

The Frederick Colman & Son Company was a tool & die business. I located this photo that was taken inside that company’s shop.

Around 1950, the Kahnert’s moved back to Southeast Missouri. In the 1950 census, Leo was working as a clerk in a grocery store in Jackson, Missouri. When I first found this census entry, I was all ready to state in this post that Leo and Olga had no children that lived to adulthood, but this entry says they had a granddaughter named Sharron Armstrong living with them.

Joan Kahnert, Leo and Olga’s daughter, had married Ted Armstrong in 1942. That couple had a daughter named Sharron who was born in 1943. Then in 1946, Ted and Joan were divorced. That must have precipitated Sharron going to live with her grandparents in Jackson. We find her picture in a yearbook for Jackson High School in 1958,

Sharon then must have married a man by the name of Stovall. That marriage did not last long because in 1964, Sharon was killed in a car crash. She had a 3 year-old son who also died in that crash. Her death certificate indicates she was divorced. Leo Kahnert was the informant on this form.

To add more confirmation to the fact that Leo and Olga had a daughter named Joan, the funeral home record below states that Joan Armstrong died in San Francisco in 1970. Leo Kahnert is given as her father’s name.

Leo Kahnert died in 1972 at the age of 79. We are able to view his death certificate here. It says his normal occupation was as a metal finisher.

An obituary for Leo was published in a local newspaper.

Olga Kahnert died in 1999 at the age of 101 at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. We are not able to view her death certificate yet. We can look at an obituary for her.

Leo and Olga are each buried in the Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. Olga Kahnert ordered a headstone to recognize Leo’s military service. The application for that headstone is pictured here.

Leo and Olga’s gravestones are shown below.

This story of Leo and Olga did certainly present some research challenges. I ended up solving many of the puzzling aspects involved in the tale, but I still wonder why a 3 year-old daughter does not show up in the 1930 census living with her parents. Perhaps if a 1940 census could be found, we might find a clue or two.