A baby girl was baptized in the pastor’s house in Perryville about 150 years ago. That baby was born on February 20, 1874, so today would be her 150th birthday. The big mystery in this story has to do with where this baby was born, and why was she was baptized in Perryville. As it turns out, every census entry in which we find this girl says she was born in Illinois.

The baby’s name was Magdalena Barbara Lang, who was the daughter of Adam and Barbara (Dippold) Lang. Magdalena is almost always called Lena, so that is the name I will use. Lena’s parents were married at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Adam and Barbara Lang were found in the 1860 census in Perry County with 4 children born in Missouri. However, some other Lang children who were older that Lena were said to be born in Illinois. That’s what makes it so puzzling that Lena’s baptism record is found in a Missouri church’s records. No other children of Adam and Barbara Lang have made it into our German Family Tree. Lena’s baptism record is found in the books of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. A transcription of that record is displayed below.

The most likely place of birth for Lena Lang was in the Butler Grove Township in Illinois. That township is found near Litchfield. That is where we find the Lang’s in the 1880 census. You can see that according to this entry, 2 older siblings of Lena were born in Missouri, followed by 3 older children, along with Lena and a younger sister who were born in Illinois.

Later, it appears that Lena moved to Decatur, Illinois because that is where we find her in the 1900 census. She and her younger sister, Ida Lang, were servants in the Guy Park household.

We will now take a look at Adolphus Scott, who would become Lena’s husband. Adophus Luther Scott was born on May 6, 1880. Evidence points to Adolphus being an illegitimate child. His father was Randall Richard Gorden, and his mother was Mary Evelyn Scott. I found no evidence that Randall and Mary ever got married, and Adolphus always used the surname, Scott. This is supported by this birth record from Decatur, Illinois for Adolphus. I will display it in 2 images.

Other children on this page of records indicated their surname along with their first name, but on this record, you just see the name, Adolphus. This document also says Adolphus was born in the Pleasant View Township in the same county as Decatur.

I managed to locate Mary Scott in the 1880 census for the Pleasant View Township. She was 19 years old and living with her parents. A baby named in this entry as Adolphus Gorden was also in the Scott household.

Adolphus Scott is found in the 1900 census at the age of 21, although I think he was only 20. He was living in a boarding house and working as a driver for a meat market.

Adolphus Scott married Lena Lang on February 27, 1902 in Decatur. I located this Decatur marriage record for this couple. One family tree on Ancestry.com says this couple was married at First Methodist Church.

Several family trees on Ancestry.com state that this couple had 7 children. We find the Scott’s with 5 children when the 1910 census was taken. Adolphus was an engineer of a locomotive.

In 1913, Adolphus’s father, Randall Gorden died. He apparently did quite well in the real estate business and owned about 700 acres of land in the Decatur area, and his estate was worth quite a bit of money. His father also never married, so after his father’s will left nothing to his only child, Adolphus challenged that will. According to the article below, Adolphus was awarded nothing as a result of this suit.

In 1918, Adolphus completed his World War I draft registration. It said his employer was the Wabash Railroad Company.

In 1920, we find the Scott household with 6 children. Adolphus continued to work for the railroad.

The 1930 census would be the last one in which we find Adolphus. Just 3 children were living with him and Lena. Their son, Wayne, was also working for the railroad.

Adolphus Scott died in 1939 at the age of 59. We can take a look at an Illinois death record for him. The names given on this form for his parents do not correspond with the ones I mentioned earlier.

Lena Scott is found as a widow in the 1940 census. Just one daughter and a lodger were living in her household.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Lena’s sister, Ida, who showed up with Lena in a previous census entry, was once again living with her. Ida had been married, but at this point, she was also a widow. Lena’s daughter, Bernice, was a high school Latin teacher.

Lena Scott died in 1959 at the age of 85. At the time of her death, she was living with her daughter, Iona, who was residing in Crawfordsville, Indiana. We can look at an Indiana death certificate for Lena.

Adolphus and Lena Scott are buried in the Fairlawn Cemetery in Decatur, Illinois.

The only connection this story has to the Perry County, Missouri area is one lonely baptism record found in our German Family Tree. I cannot even say why that baptism took place in Missouri, but I admit that I am sometimes intrigued when I find a lonely record like this one. It often leads me on an interesting journey through someone’s life.