My Aunt Dorothy, who married Rudy Schmidt, my dad’s brother, had the maiden name, Schaupert. I started looking into today’s story because Ludwig Michael Schaupert was born on November 2, 1876, making today his 147th birthday. Quickly, I discovered that Ludwig, most often called Louis, never married. I gave thought to not doing his story because getting a good story out of the life of a bachelor is not always a good option. There is no marriage record, no discussion of a wife’s life, and no children to write about. However, in this case, I noticed some unique characteristics in the life of Louis Schaupert.

Louis was the oldest son of Michael and Christina (Bergmann) Schaupert. That couple had 6 children according to our German Family Tree, and one of those unusual characteristics about this family was that all 6 of the children were boys. I believe all of these Schaupert boys were baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so we cannot view actual images of their baptism records. The other out-of-the-ordinary fact is that, out of these 6 brothers, 3 of them never married. So, this story has now become the tale of 3 Schaupert bachelors.

The other 2 Schaupert life-long bachelors were Armine Schaupert, who was born on February 9, 1881, and William Schaupert, who was born on June 23, 1886. Only 2 sons were born before the 1880 census was taken. Louis was 3 years old at the time, and his father was a farmer. Included in the household was a 13 year-old servant girl named Matilda Fassold.

We are not able to view another census entry until the 1900 census was taken. In that year’s entry for the Schaupert family, we find all 6 Schaupert sons in the household. There was also a 14 year-old boarder named Wilma Hornberger. It does not say she was a servant or maid, but perhaps she was not only a student, as the entry states, but also assisted the mother, Christina, with providing for the needs of 6 strapping young boys with big appetites. Wilma’s mother was the sister of Michael Schaupert, so Wilma would have called him Uncle Michael. The oldest 4 of the Schaupert sons were called farm laborers.

Next, we find the Schaupert family in the 1910 census. All 6 sons, ranging in age from 21 to 33 years old, were still living with their parents and all working on their father’s farm. Wilma Hornberger was still living with them, and this time she is called a servant.

In the 1915 plat maps for Perry County, we find the Schaupert farm located east of Perryville.

I located World War I draft registrations for two of the Schaupert life-long bachelors. Here is the one for Louis.

Here is the form for Armine Schaupert.

I figure that I should have also been able to locate a form for William Schaupert, but I did not. I also did not find any evidence that any of the Schaupert boys highlighted in this story ended up serving in the military during that war. I suspect they might have been deemed too old to serve.

The 1920 census shows that the only 3 children left in the Schaupert household were the 3 sons who remained bachelors. They were in their 30’s and 40’s. A hired “girl” (she was 33 years old) named Jane Banks was included in the household.

The father, Michael Schaupert, died not long after this census in 1920, so when the 1930 census was taken, Christina is called the head of the Schaupert household which included Louis, Armine, and William.

The 1940 census is the last one in which we find Christina. This time, she is not called the head of the household. I find it surprising that the youngest of the Schaupert bachelors, William, is called the head. A 25 year-old hired maid named Hester Ellis was living with the Schaupert’s.

I found World War II draft cards, one for Armine and one for William. Here is the one for Armine.

The form for William Schaupert is shown below.

Louis was born before 1877, so he was not required to complete a World War II draft card. Then, in 1950, we find just William and Louis in their census entry. Both of them are called farmers.

Armine Schaupert had died in 1948, so that is why he is not found in the above census entry. His death certificate says he died when he was 67 years old. Cancer of the stomach is given as the cause of death.

Louis Schaupert died in 1965 at the age of 88. We can view his death certificate below.

The last of the 3 bachelors to die was William, who died in 1971 at the age of 84. His death certificate says he died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital.

All 3 of the highlighted characters in today’s post are buried in the Home Cemetery in Perryville.

The parents of these 3 sons are buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville. The fact that all 3 of these bachelors were buried in the Home Cemetery implies that they were likely no longer members of Immanuel later in their lives. My Aunt Dorothy would have called them Uncle Armine, Uncle Louis, and Uncle William.