Over the years, I have written several posts that describe people who were born, baptized, and raised in Perry County, Missouri, only to move across the river to Jackson County, Illinois, mostly to the Fountain Bluff Township where Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob is located. You will read another of those stories today.

Paul Gottfried Ross was born on February 17, 1894, thus qualifying to be called today’s birthday boy. If he was still alive today, he would be turning 130 years old. Paul was the son of Gottfried and Juliane (Bronnenkant) Ross. He was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can take a look at an image of his baptism record from that church’s books.

Paul was 5 years old when the 1900 census was taken. The Ross family was living in the Union Township where Paul’s father was a farmer.

Paul was confirmed at Concordia, Frohna in 1907. Next, we find the Ross household in the 1910 census when Paul was 16 years old.

In the plat maps produced for Perry County in 1915, we find the Ross farm located north and west of Frohna. The parcel of land attributed to G. Ross is very small in comparison with other farms nearby. It was only made up of 5 acres.

It must have been about this time that the Ross family moved across the river to the Fountain Bluff Township. When Paul had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917, he is given a Jacob, Illinois address. He was also called a farmer.

We find the Ross family living in the Fountain Bluff Township when the 1920 census was taken. it says Paul was working on his father’s farm.

Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Paul’s bride. Her name was Anna Maria Oetjen, who was born on August 29, 1894. Anna was the daughter of John and Maria (Luedemann) Oetjen. She was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob. I will display her baptism record here in 2 images because it stretches out over 2 pages.

Anna is found in the 1900 census at the age of 5. Her father was a farmer in the Fountain Bluff Township. In a previous post about John Oetjen, it was pointed out that he had sold some land to Christ Lutheran Church, and it is on that land which their present church stands.

Plat maps similar to the ones made for Perry County in 1915 were produced for Jackson County, Illinois in 1907. The John Oetjen land is shown on the image from that atlas pictured here. You can see one of the parcels is where the church was located.

Before I move on, let me tell you how excited I was recently when someone came to our museum and donated a copy of the atlas for Jackson County, Illinois. Now, I should be able to located some land maps for more people who lived in that county in the past and display them in posts on this blog. This atlas looks much like the 1915 atlas from which I often display maps.

Anna was confirmed at Christ, Jacob in 1908. Next, we find the Oetjen’s in the 1910 census. This time, Anna’s father was a salesman at a general store.

The photo of Anna Oetjen shown below is one that was taken when she was quite young. It was possibly taken prior to her marriage.

The 1920 census gives evidence of how Paul Ross became acquainted with Anna Oetjen. Right below the Oetjen household, which includes the 25 year-old Anna, you will see the Ross household that was shown previously, including the 26 year-old Paul.

Now, let’s once again take a look at the Fountain Bluff Township map from 1907 shown earlier. Next to the Oetjen land, you will see a farm owned by Paul Lungwitz. In a previous post written about Paul Lungwitz titled, To and Fro Across the River, it was stated that Paul Lungwitz moved back to Perry County prior to their son completing his World War I draft registration. In other words, Paul Lungwitz moved his family to Perry County at about the same time that Gottfried Ross moved his family to Jackson County, Illinois. I would not be surprised if Paul Lungwitz sold his land to Gottfried Ross.

The surprising part of this story is that I was unable to find a marriage record for Paul Ross marrying Anna Oetjen. All indications are that both of them were members of Christ, Jacob. Why would their marriage not take place there, or if they did get married there, how did the marriage record not make it into that congregation’s books? The next document we see for these two is a baptism record in the Christ, Jacob books for their only child who was born in 1924. We find this small family in the 1930 census.

The Ross family relocated before the 1940 census. In that year’s census entry, Paul and Anna were living in Red Bud, Illinois, and Paul was operating a tavern.

Paul Ross died in 1941 at the age of 47, leaving Anna as a widow. In the 1950 census, Anna was living with her daughter, Loraine, who had married Ralph Wehrenberg. She was still living in Red Bud.

Anna Ross died in 1986 at the age of 91. That means Anna was a widow for over 40 years. Paul and Anna are buried together in the Christ Lutheran Cemetery in Jacob.

If Gottfried Ross did purchase the Paul Lungwitz land in the Fountain Bluff Township, he took a step up from having just 5 acres in Perry County to 80 acres in Jackson County. I daresay that, if you ignore potential flooding, the farmland in the Mississippi River bottoms in Illinois was much better farmland and much flatter.