When I wrote my book, Wittenberg ’04: Coming of a Railroad, I used a character named Jesse Hodge. Perhaps I should have done better research because Jesse’s surname was actually Hodges. I used the Hodge spelling because that is the spelling of his name that is found in our German Family Tree. I can tell you that I used Jesse in that book because I needed a character who was a builder, one who could be assigned the task of constructing the new Wittenberg Bank building in 1904. You will see in this post today, that Jesse was a house carpenter in the 1910 Wittenberg census, so that is why I used him.

We begin this post with the birth of the woman who would become the wife of Jesse Hodges. Yesterday’s post was about Henry Loebs, who was born on December 12, 1873 in St. Louis. Today’s birthday girl, Maria Magdalena Martha Gruenwald was born the day after Henry in Altenburg on December 13, 1873, making today her 150th birthday. Martha was the daughter of Carl and Hanna (Schmidt) Gruenwald. The word gruen is German for green, and the word wald is German for forest. That might explain the title I used for this post. Martha was the oldest child in her family and was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of her baptism record is pictured here.

Martha is found in the 1880 census at the age of 6. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

That census entry would be the only one in which we find Martha as a single woman. We will now take a look at Jesse Hodges, who was born on December 13, 1868. Yes, that means Jesse and Martha shared the same December 13th birthday, only today would be Jesse’s 155th birthday. Jesse was born in Franklin County, Illinois. I think his parents were William and Elizabeth Hodges, but his death certificate gives different names. Jesse is found in the 1870 census at the age of 1. His father was a laborer in the Central Township in Franklin County.

I located a Jesse Hodges in the 1880 census living in Illinois and having about the correct age, but I do not think it is the correct Jesse Hodges. I think Jesse Hodges married Martha Gruenwald in 1895. I located this record from the Newspapers.com site, but I do not even know where the newspaper article originated because we do not have a subscription to that site.

I can give evidence that a few children were born to Jesse and Martha in Murphysboro, Illinois prior to 1900. In the 1900 census, we find this couple and their family with 2 daughters, Emma and Lydia. Jesse is called a brewer.

Based on some church records found in the books of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg, the Hodges family must have moved to Wittenberg in about 1904 or 1905. In April of 1905, another daughter named Hedwig, who apparently was born in 1904, died in Wittenberg. Her death record from the books of St. Paul’s, Wittenberg is shown here. This is one of the first death records found in the books of that congregation.

Hedwig is buried in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Wittenberg.

In September of 1905, another daughter was born named Bertha. That baby was baptized at St. Paul’s, Wittenberg. The pastor recording this baptism record spelled the surname as Hodge and gave her father’s name as Joseph.

We find the Hodges household in the 1910 census living in Wittenberg. Three daughters, Emma, Lydia, and Bertha, were in their household. Jesse is called a house carpenter.

In 1912, two of Jesse and Martha’s daughters were confirmed on the same day at St. Paul’s, Wittenberg. Here are the 2 confirmation records of those daughters. Both of these records say these girls were born and baptized at the Lutheran church in Murphysboro, Illinois.

Their youngest daughter, Bertha, was confirmed in 1919 at St. Paul’s. Her confirmation record below gives evidence that the Hodges family was still in Wittenberg as late as 1919.

In Mary Dillon’s Wittenberg book, we find these 2 photos of a building that is described as Jesse Hodges’s ice cream shop (and possible residence).

In that book is this information about that ice cream shop.

I think part of the above information is incorrect. Although Jesse may have indeed worked at the swing factory, he and his family must have moved to St. Louis prior to the 1920 census. That is where we find the Hodges household in that year’s entry. Jesse is called a wagon maker at a brewery.

In a previous post about Edward Schuricht titled, Edward Schuricht – Busch Wagon Maker, we discovered that Edward was employed as a wagon maker by the Busch brewery in St. Louis. I’ll ask again today, “Was Jesse Hodges also working as a wagon maker for the Busch brewery?”

The 1930 census is the last one in which we find Jesse Hodges. Jesse, at the age of 61, was a wood worker at a cabinet works.

I discovered that I had to be careful when determining Jesse’s date of death and finding his death certificate because there were 2 different men in St. Louis named Jesse Hodges who died in the 1930’s. The correct Jesse died in 1938 at the age of 70. Although the parents’ names on his death certificate are not the same as the ones I mentioned earlier, there are other facts on this document that confirm that this is the correct Jesse Hodges.

Martha Hodges is still found in the 1940 census and continuing to live in St. Louis. She is called Mary in this entry and was living alone. I am sure this is indeed Martha because she is given the same address as is given on the death certificates of both Jesse and Martha…4211 Beethoven.

Martha Hodges died in 1950 at the age of 76. Her death certificate says she died at the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis.

Jesse and Martha Hodges are buried together in the Our Redeemer Cemetery in St. Louis.

Not only did Martha (Gruenwald) Hodges have only daughters, but the only other Gruenwald couple that lives in East Perry County that I know about, only has daughters. We may not see the Gruenwald surname around here in the future. I am saddened when I see an old historical surname from around here that disappears. I even fear that the surname, Schmidt, is also becoming less prominent in this area. I know that I am the only carrier of the name Schmidt from my Schmidt clan that is till found living in East Perry County, and my wife and I have no Schmidt children. Maybe some other male Schmidt’s from my family tree who live elsewhere will move back to the place of their roots in East Perry County someday.