Friedrich Carl Best is today’s birthday boy. He was born on February 13, 1880, the son of Charles and Annette Caroline (Wilke) Best. His father, Charles Best, was once a member of the Lutheran Church that existed in Arnsberg. I found this record of his father’s membership in that congregation which also includes information about his birth and baptism in 1855.

By the time of Fred’s baptism, the Arnsberg church no longer was active. Fred’s father got marred at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, so I looked in that congregation’s books to locate Fred’s baptism record. I was successful.

Fred was born early enough n 1880 to be found in that year’s census. His father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Fred was still living with his parents when we find him in the 1900 census. 

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Fred’s first wife. Her name was Emma Avis Penny, who was born on July 17, 1880. Emma was the daughter of Charles and Shaba (Smith) Penny. Emma’s grandfather was a pastor, and he is buried in the York Chapel Cemetery near Longtown, so I suspect he was a Methodist pastor. Emma is found in her first census in 1900. Her father was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

Fred Best married Emma Penny on February 21, 1904. In this couple’s Missouri marriage license below, it says both Fred and Emma were from Oak Ridge, and the church in which they were married was in Oak Ridge. There was once a Methodist church in Oak Ridge, and I suspect that Emma’s grandfather was once a pastor there. In 1904, there was a pastor there that married Fred and Emma named Rev. Theo. Sieving (or Sewing).

I found no evidence that this pair had any children. We find Fred and Emma living with Emma’s parents when the 1910 census was taken. Fred is called a livestock trader in the Apple Creek Township.

Emma Best died in 1914 at the age of 37. Her death certificate is displayed below. She died of tuberculosis.

Fred had his World War I draft registration completed when he was a widower. His father is listed as his nearest relative.

Fred would marry again. His second wife was Magdalena (Lena) Louise Schoen, who was born on January 29, 1882. Lena was the daughter of Ernst and Maria (Pilz) Schoen. She was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. The following information about Lena is found in the St. John’s binder we have in our research library.

Lena is found in the 1900 census at the age of 18. Her father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Next, we find Lena in the 1910 census. At the age of 28, she was still living with her parents.

Fred Best married Lena Schoen at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pocahontas on September 21, 1919. We can view this couple’s marriage license here.

We find Fred and Lena in the 1920 census. Fred was a farmer in the Apple Creek Township.

One child, a daughter named Helen, was born to this couple in 1924. When the 1930 census was taken, we find the following entry for the Best’s.

During that same year, plat maps were produced for Cape Girardeau County. The Fred Best farm can be found in the image below. Not far from his farm was that of Lena’ father, E.F. Schoen.

The last census in which we find Fred and Lena was the one taken in 1940. Fred was 60 years old and Lena was 58.

Fred Best died in 1941 at the age of 61. It was Fred’s turn to die of tuberculosis according to his death certificate pictured here.

Lena Best died in 1946 at the age of 64. She died of stomach cancer at the Spradling Nursing Home in Jackson, Missouri.

Fred Best and both of his wives are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Shawneetown.

I suppose I should explain the title of this post if you have not figured it out already. I know that there was (or is, for all I know) a soap opera called The Bold & the Beautiful. Add to that the fact that in German, the word, schoen, means beautiful. So, the title is a feeble attempt to label itself as a different version of the soap opera that I called The Best & the Beautiful. I admit that I gave a bit of thought to a title that might be a play on the names Best and Penny, but I just couldn’t resist the one I chose.