It is a wedding anniversary that set me down the path of this story. The wedding took place in Germany, but the bride and groom made their way across the Atlantic Ocean, settled in Perry County, and became prominent early members of Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. It is not often that I can display baptism records from Germany, but that is the case today for both the bride and the groom.

Friedrich Lafrenz Soehl was born on February 16, 1834 in Lamstedt, Germany. He was the son of Peter and Catharina (Buck) Soehl. Actually, in Germany, this surname was spelled Söhl. This child is named Lafrenz in the baptism record that is found in the parish books of the church located in Lamstedt, Germany.

Friedrich Soehl would later get married to Anna Maria Stelling, who was born on August 23, 1835. Maria was the daughter of Hans and Gesche (Stueve) Stelling. She was baptized at the same parish in Germany. Her baptism record is displayed below.

When Friedrich Soehl and Anna Maria Stelling were in their 20’s, they were married on December 2, 1858, so this couple would be celebrating their 165th anniversary today. I cannot display a marriage record for them, but I think it is highly likely that they were married at the same church in which they each were baptized.

Four children were born to this couple in Germany before they decided to move to America. The Soehl’s were among many passengers aboard the ship, Carl, who ended up settling in Perry County, Missouri. We see their family on the passenger list for that ship pictured here. That ship arrived in America in 1866.

For some reason unknown to me, this couple’s oldest daughter, Gesche Soehl, who would have been about 7 years old at the time, remained in Germany and did not come to join her family until 1874 when she was a teenager.

We find the Soehl family in the 1870 census living in the Cinque Hommes Township. Friedrich was a farmer.

Two more children were born in the 1870’s, and both baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar, but both of them died as infants. Next, we find the Soehl’s in the 1880 census. This time, this household is found in the Salem Township.

Maria Soehl did not make it to the 1900 census, which is the next one we can view. She died in 1894 at the age of 58. Her church death record says she died of a bowel disease. She has an entry on Findagrave.com for Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar, but there is no gravestone photo. When the 1900 census was taken, we find Friedrich as a 66 year-old widower. He was living with his son, Henry, who had married Martha Etzold. Friedrich had a few grandchildren living with him. He was listed as living in the Union Township. I don’t know if he kept moving to a different township or if the county kept changing the township’s boundaries.

The last census in which we find Friedrich was the one taken in 1910. He was still living with his son, Henry, but this time Friedrich is no longer called the head of the household, nor was he still farming.

Friedrich Soehl died in 1913 at the age of 79. His death certificate below attributes his death to a form of pneumonia, plus an infection on his back called a carbuncle.

Despite his death in 1913, the 1915 plat maps still had a parcel of land identified as belonging to Fred Soehl.

Friedrich Soehl is buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar, and in his case, there is a gravestone photo for him on Findagrave.com.

The Soehl name may not be very common these days, but if you look at the names of the spouses of the Soehl children, you will find the surnames, Lohmann, Eggers, Etzold, and Lorenz. If there was such a thing as a Salem, Farrar Hall of Fame Names, you would find such names on the list.