One hundred fifty years ago, a baby girl was born near Longtown, Missouri. Her story will be told today. Ida Bridget Schade was born on November 10, 1873, the daughter of Friedrich and Marie (Weinrich) Schade. It is likely that Ida was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so I cannot display a baptism record. Ida is found in the 1880 census, which says she was 6 years old. Her father was a blacksmith, and she had a few older brothers who were farming.

Ida was also likely confirmed at Peace, Friedenberg. I think this photo of her is her confirmation picture. That event probably occurred in about 1887.

In 1897, the new Lutheran congregation in Longtown was established. The organizational meeting for Zion Lutheran Church took place in the Schade home. Ida’s father is listed as an official charter member of that congregation, but the entire Schade family were original members of that church, including Ida. Just a year later, Ida’s mother died in 1898. When the 1900 census was taken, Ida was the only child living with her father. There was also a servant named Christina Rauss living with them.

Now, we need to look at the man who would become Ida’s husband. His name was John Wesley Stevens, who was born on January 23rd, but there is a bit of debate about whether he was born in 1862 or 1863. John was the son of William and Ruannah (Eaker) Stevens, and he was born somewhere in Cape Girardeau County. John is found in his first census living in the Apple Creek Township where his father was a farmer. He is listed as being 8 years old, which gives credence to an 1862 year of birth.

In the next decade, the Stevens family relocated to the Whitewater Township in Cape Girardeau County. John’s father had died in 1877, so his mother was the head of the household. His older brother, William, is called the farmer, and John, at the age of 18, was working on the family farm.

John would get married to his first wife in 1886. Her name was Laura Harper, who was born in Kentucky on Valentines Day, February 14th, in 1867. I am not going to go into much detail about her early life. John Stevens married Laura Harper on September 26, 1886. The Missouri marriage license shown below indicates that these two were married by a justice of the peace.

I am not sure, but it looks as if John and Laura had 6 children. We find this Stevens family in the 1900 census living in the Whitewater Township. There were 3 children in their household.

Laura Stevens died in 1905 at the age of 38, leaving John as a widower. Then, on October 2, 1907, John Stevens married Ida Schade at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau. A transcribed marriage record for that event is found in a binder we have of that congregation’s records. It says Ida was from Longtown.

The Missouri marriage license is displayed here.

Ida’s later obituary states that this couple had 3 children. The 1910 census shows 4 children from John’s first wife and one from his second marriage. John was a carpenter in Cape Girardeau.

From this point on in the lives of John and Ida, there is some mystery. John was still alive, but I found Ida living with one son in Perryville in the 1920 census. John is not included in the household, even though it says Ida was married.

I was unable to locate John in that year’s census. Then, in 1928, John died at the age of 66. His death certificate below says he was widowed, even though Ida was still alive. This document is one which states that John was born in 1862.

The facts that I observe here look to me like those associated with a divorce, but I found no document that states John and Ida had that status. Ida is next found in the 1930 census still living in Perryville. This time, she is called a widow.

Ida almost made it to the 1940 census. She died in November of 1939 at the age of 66 just 2 days after her birthday. We can view her death certificate below.

An obituary for Ida was published in a local newspaper. This is another document that does not mention a divorce.

Ida Stevens is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville. John Stevens and his first wife, Laura, are buried together in the Lorimer Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. John’s gravestone says he was born in 1863.

Today, we grant Ida (Schade) Stevens special acknowledgement on the day when she was born a century and a half ago. Happy Birthday, Ida.