Johanna Christiane Hopfer was born on November 9, 1848. If she was still alive, she would be celebrating a very special 175th birthday today. She was the daughter of Michael and Justine (Quaas) Hopfer. We can take a look at these photos of Johanna’s parents.

According to our German Family Tree, Johanna was the 7th child out of a total of 11 children born into this Hopfer family. She was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed below.

It just so happens that I included a Johanne Hopfer in a story published 2 days ago. That Johanne was born in Germany and arrived in America in 1853. She is not to be confused with today’s birthday girl.

Johanna was quite young when she is found in the 1850 census. She was 2 years old, and her father was a cooper in the Brazeau Township. I am sure this family lived near Uniontown.

Next, we find Johanna in the 1860 census at the age of 11. This time, her father was called a farmer.

That would be the last census entry in which we find Johanna as a single woman, so we will turn our attention to the man she would marry. His name was Carl Christian Peter Bodenschatz, who was born on December 18, 1847 in Gefell, Germany. I located some parents’ names on Family Search. It says he was the son of Henry and Johanna (Funk) Bodenschatz. There are differing sources pertaining to Carl’s immigration to the United States. It is safe to say that he arrived in this country in the 1860’s. Since he was also married in the 1860’s, we do not find Carl in a U.S. census as a single man.

Carl Bodenschatz married Johanna Hopfer on September 19, 1867. This couple’s marriage record is found in the books of Grace, Union. That record shown here indicates that they were married in the church parsonage.

According to an index for Perry County marriage records that we have, there was also a civil marriage record for this couple, but I failed to find it on Ancestry.com or Family Search.

The German Family Tree lists 9 children born to this couple, but there is a bit of a debate about whether a set of stillborn twins born in 1867 were children of Carl and Johanna. The 1870 census includes just one child in their household. Carl was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

The Bodenschatz family relocated to the Apple Creek Township in northern Cape Girardeau County before the next census was taken in 1880. There were 5 children in the family.

It is not until 1900 when we can see this Bodenschatz family in another census. Only 3 children remained in their household.

At some point in time, there was a photograph taken of this Bodenschatz family. It included 6 children, 4 girls and 2 boys.

The 1910 census would be the last one in which we find Carl. Their son, Charles, had married Bertha Hoffmann, and we find Carl and Johanna, both in their 60’s, living in their son’s household.

Carl Bodenschatz died in 1911 at the age of 63.

Johanna is found in the 1920 census still living with her son, Charles, and his family. She was in the household with 4 of her grandchildren.

Johanna Bodenschatz died in 1926 at the age of 76. Her death certificate below says she died of heart disease.

Both Carl and Johanna are buried in the Grace Lutheran Cemetery in Uniontown. These two have gravestones of the same design, and like so many in old German cemeteries, they are identified as Vater and Mutter (father and mother).

I really should not be the one writing this story today. Our friend and occasional guest blogger, Clayton Erdmann, would have done a more thorough job telling his ancestors’ story. However, I know that Teacher Erdmann will be too busy educating his students at Immanuel Lutheran School in Olivette today. I would not want to take him away from that important job. On the other hand, I fully expect Clayton to be aware that Johanna has a 175th birthday to celebrate today.