A baby girl was born on this day 140 years ago in Illinois. This baby got off to an inauspicious start. Our German Family Tree says that Bertha Seidel was the illegitimate daughter of August Siedel and a woman with the surname, Alhard. She was born on February 9, 1884, but she was not baptized until October 29, 1893 when she was adopted by Friedrich and Caroline (Kloepper) Gruebmeyer. Her baptism record is found in the books of Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. I am not in Altenburg for a few days, so I will not be able to display church records.
Both of Betha’s adoptive parents died in 1899, leaving her as a 15 year-old orphan. When the 1900 census was taken, we find Bertha living in the Fred Arbeiter household and working as a servant. Fred Arbeiter was a farmer in the Fountain Bluff Township.
Now, we will take a look at the man who would become Bertha’s husband. His name was Johann August Sticht, who was born on December 20, 1877. John was the son of Johann and Mary (Detjen…or Tietjen) Sticht. He was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. John is found at the age of 2 in the 1880 census. His father was a farmer in the Salem Township.
Because the 1890 census cannot be viewed, we have to wait 20 years before we see John in his next census entry. In 1900, John was a hired hand working in the Adolph Mueller household in the Union Township.
On October 11, 1903, John Sticht married Bertha Seidel at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. Apparently, Bertha had moved across the Mississippi River after the 1900 census was taken and was living in Missouri. I cannot display a church marriage record, but I can show you the Missouri marriage license for this couple. It says Bertha was from Perry County, Missouri, as was John.
According to our German Family Tree, this pair had a dozen children. Not all of them lived to adulthood, but most of them did. In the 1910 census, we see the Sticht household with 4 children. John was a farmer in the Salem Township. It is somewhat likely that John took over the farm of his father. Both his parents had died in 1900.
The John A. Sticht land can be seen on a plat map for Perry County produced in 1915. You can see that his farm was very near the town of Farrar.
John Sticht had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It confirms the fact that he was farming in Farrar.
The Sticht family got larger during the 1910’s. There were 8 Sticht children displayed in the 1920 census.
Next, we find the Sticht household in the 1930 census. Some more children had been added to this family, including a set of twins, Flora and Nora. A few of the older children had gotten married and moved elsewhere.
In the 1940 census, 5 children remained in the Sticht household. John was still farming in his 60’s.
John was required to complete a World War II draft card in 1942 despite being 64 years old.
The last census we are allowed to view is the one taken in 1950. John and Bertha had an empty nest, and John is given no occupation.
In 1953, John and Bertha celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and an article was published about it in a local newspaper.
Bertha Sticht died in 1962 at the age of 78. Her death certificate says she died in Frohna.
John Sticht died in 1966 at the age of 88. He died at the Sunrise Retirement Home in Perryville.
I located this obituary that was published upon John’s death.
John and Bertha Sticht are each buried in the Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Farrar.
Today’s birthday girl certainly got off to a rough start, being born as an illegitimate child, adopted by another set of parents, only to become an orphan as a teenager. However, Bertha went on to a more normal married life. That is, if you consider her as a mother of 12 children as being normal.