A century and a half ago, a set of twins was born in Wittenberg. Unlike so many other sets of twins born back in those days, both of the twins lived to adulthood. In this case, it was a set of twins made up of a boy and a girl. The parents of these twins were Ludwig and Sarah (Hartung) Boehme. An amazing fact associated with this story is that  Ludwig and Sarah had 2 sets of twins, both of the boy/girl variety, all within a span of 2 years time.

Clara and Ernst Boehme were born on January 10, 1874. I have already written the story of Ernst Boehme in the post, Lydia Marries a Boehme Twin. Ernst became a farmer near Wittenberg. Today, you will read the story of Clara. The baptism records of this set of twins is displayed below. Even though their baptism records are found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, the twins may have been baptized in Wittenberg where their parents lived.

These twins are found in the 1880 census at the age of 6. Their father was a farmer near Wittenberg. The other set of twins, Louis and Sarah, were 4 years old at the time.

I was unable to find Clara in the 1900 census. Her twin brother was still living with his parents in 1900, but not Clara. Since Clara would get married during the next decade, we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Martin Christian Ahner, who was born on July 16, 1871. Martin was the firstborn child of August and Anna (Lungwitz) Ahner. I think it is likely that Martin was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, just like his later siblings, but his baptism record is not to be found in that church’s books. His parents had been married in 1870, and they do not have a marriage record in the Trinity books. However, a civil marriage record for them says the wedding was performed by Rev. J.F. Koestering who was serving both Altenburg and Frohna at the time.

In the 1880 census, we find Martin at the age of 9. His grandfather is listed as the head of the household and called a retired farmer. Martin’s father was the farmer in the family.

The next few decades are a mystery…for both Clara Boehme and the man she would marry. They seem to disappear from census records. Like Clara, I was unable to locate Martin in the 1900 census prior to his marriage.

Martin Ahner married Clara Boehme on May 31, 1903. This wedding took place at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Jackson, Missouri. We can look at the Missouri marriage license for this couple. This document says both Clara and Martin were from Perry County. St. Paul’s, Jackson is found in Cape Girardeau County.

According to our German Family Tree, this pair had 2 daughters, one born in 1904 and the other in 1912. Both of them were baptized at Trinity, Altenburg. The 1910 census is another one in which I failed to find Clara and Martin.  The fact that their children were baptized in Altenburg indicates that they were likely living not far from here. The next census entry in which we find this couple is the one taken in 1920. Martin was a farmer in the Byrd Township, which is where Jackson is located. The 2 Ahner daughters were listed in this entry.

Next, we find the Ahner’s in the 1930 census. This time, they were living in Cape Girardeau, and Martin was no longer a farmer. He was a carpenter. Just one daughter remained in their household.

The 1940 census shows Martin and Clara with an empty nest. They still resided in Cape Girardeau.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Both Martin and Clara were in their 70’s, and Martin is called disabled.

As it turns out, that year would also be the one in which Martin died. He died in 1950 at the age of 79. On his death certificate below, he is called a retired carpenter in the construction business.

A transcription of his obituary is pictured here.

Clara did not die until 1966 at the age of 92. She died at the Shetley Nursing Home in Bell City, Missouri.

A transcription of her obituary can also be viewed.

Both Martin and Clara are buried in the Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau.

Perhaps someone in the Ahner or Boehme families knows what took place in the lives of Martin and Clara during the years when no census entries can be found. I would love to know. So, today we wish a very special 150th anniversary to Clara (Boehme) Ahner. And also to her twin brother, Ernst Boehme.