There is some debate about the birthday of one of today’s main characters. Christiana Amelia Johanna Nennert, according to her baptism record, was born on December 15, 1873. If that is her correct birth date, then she would be celebrating her 150th birthday today. However Amelia’s death certificate states that she was born on December 14, 1873, and if that is true, then Amelia would have celebrated her 150th birthday yesterday. Amelia was the daughter of Friedrich and Amalia (Naesser) Nennert. She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can view her baptism record below which definitely states that she was born on December 15.

Amelia’s father died early in 1880, so we find her mother as the head of the Nennert household when the 1880 census was taken. Friedrich had been the keeper of the hotel in Wittenberg, but now his wife had taken over that position. Even though she is not called a hotel keeper in this entry, the fact that there were a few boarders in the household hints at the fact that she was still operating a hotel. Amelia, called Mollie in this entry, was 7 years old.

Here is a photo of the Nennert Hotel in Wittenberg.

The Nennert family is a rather difficult one to keep straight. Several events took place between the 1880 and 1900 censuses. Amelia’s older brother, Robert, had married Amalia Dryden. However, in 1888, as a result of giving birth to a set of twins, Amalia and the twins died. An article appeared in the Perry County Sun concerning these deaths.

By the time of the 1900 census, there were 2 children from the marriage of Robert and Mollie Nennert who were still living who were named Floretta and William. Robert would marry again. He and his second wife, Martha Horn, had 4 more children, but it does not look like Robert chose to raise the children from his first wife.

Another one of Amelia Nennert’s siblings, Charles Nennert, married Loretta Swan. This couple had 4 children, all baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. In January of 1899, Charles died, and Loretta brought the 3 children that were still living back to Wittenberg. In July of 1899, Loretta died, leaving those 3 children as orphans. Those children were named Viola, Richard, and Rosa.

When we find Amalia Nennert in the 1900 census, she is listed as the oldest Nennert child, at the age of 26,, There were 3 other children in the household. They are called a son and a few daughters, but they were not actually Amelia’s siblings. Perhaps they had been officially adopted by Amelia’s mother, called Amanda in this entry, but Floretta and William were actually Robert Nennert’s children, and Rosa was the orphaned daughter of Charles Nennert.

To make matters even more complicated, Amanda, Amelia’s mother, died later in 1900. In my book, Wittenberg ’03: The Coming of a Church, I described Amelia Nennert as the operator of the Nennert Hotel in Wittenberg who also was responsible for the care and upbringing of the 3 youngsters in the above census entry. I also described her as a frustrated single person who had the desire to find a husband and possibly get out of the business of being a hotel keeper. Of course, much of that was just my speculation.

What actually did happen to Amelia. There is a big question mark here. When she got married in 1908 in St. Louis, that marriage record says her name was Amelia Walker. Did Amelia marry a man named Walker at some point in time after 1900? If so, did he die or was there a divorce? I was not able to determine these answers. Let’s now take a look at the man who would become her husband in 1908. His name was Gustav Johann Stobbe, who was born in Germany on May 7, 1869. According to his later death certificate, Gustav was the son of August and Maria (Horn) Stobbe. This makes me wonder if Gustav may have been related to Robert Nennert’s second wife, Martha Horn. I located a Gustav Stobbe on a passenger list for the ship, Columbia, which left Germany in 1893.

On a naturalization document that was completed later in 1917 by Gustav, it confirms his arrival aboard the Columbia. It gives his wife’s name as Emilia, but incorrectly states that she was born in Germany.

Gustav got married to a woman named Ida Stade prior to 1900. In that year’s census, we find Gustav and Ida with no children. Gustav was a paper hanger in St. Louis.

According to a family tree on Ancestry.com, Gustav and Ida had 3 children, one of which died as an infant. Two sons, Emil and Oscar, live to adulthood. Then, in 1904, Ida died, leaving Gustav as a widower. Then, on October 20, 1908, Gustav Stobbe married Amelia Nenner, who is called Amelia Walker on the marriage record shown here.

In the 1910 census, we find the Stobbe’s with 3 children, 2 from Gustav’s first marriage and 1 born to Amelia, a girl named Ruth. Gustav was still a paper hanger.

Next, we find this family in the 1920 census. Another child, a son named John, was added to the family in the previous decade. This time, Gustav was called a butter maker at a creamery. Martin Gemeinhardt, who was the son of another of Amalia’s sisters, Selma, who had married Fritz Gemeinhardt, was included in the household. Martin never married. He had served in the military during World War I and worked for the railroad in St. Louis after that service.

The 1930 census indicates that Gustav was back in the business of paper hanging. Martin Gemeinhardt still lived in the Stobbe household.

The 1940 census indicates that Gustav was no longer employed at the age of 71. Their daughter, Ruth, was a milliner, and their son, John, was a gunsmith. 

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Gustav and Amelia had an empty nest. 

Amelia Stobbe died in 1955 at the age of 82. Her death certificate says she was born on December 14th. However, it also says she died on December 14th. Perhaps there was some confusion about her birthday because she died so close to the day of her birth.

Gustav Stobbe died in 1959 at the age of 90. His death certificate displayed below indicates that Gustav was a retired painter.

Gustav and Amelia Stobbe are buried together in the Our Redeemer Cemetery in Affton.

Untimely deaths of members of the Nennert family must have had an impact of the life of Amelia Nennert. I am not certain if Amelia was put in the position of caring for the other members of the Nennert household listed in the 1900 census, but if so, it must have brought additional hardships for a young woman who might have been in the market for finding a husband. Maybe one of our readers might know if she found a husband named Walker and also know the date of that wedding if it did indeed occur.