Anna Margareta Rauh was born on March 9, 1884, so if she was still alive, she would have to blow out 140 candles on her birthday cake today. Anna was the daughter of John and Maria (Lang) Rauh. There are 12 Rauh children listed in our German Family Tree for this family, and Anna was #11. Anna was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so I am unable to display a baptism record. However, she was born during the time when Perry County kept birth records, so we can look at one of those records which I must display in 2 images.

Anna is found in the 1900 census at the age of 16. The Rauh’s were living in the Central Township. Anna’s father is given no occupation, but 2 of his sons were called farm laborers.

During the next decade, John Rauh moved his family to Alva, Oklahoma. Records for Zion Lutheran Church in Alva say that several Rauh’s became members of that congregation in 1902. A photo of the John Rauh family was taken that included Anna. The caption will assist you in identifying which one is Anna.

Anna would get married before the next census was taken, so we will now look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Friedrich Lauer, who was born on January 29, 1888. He was usually called Fred on documents and even on his gravestone, and occasionally he was called Fritz. I will use Fred. He was the son of George and Sophia (Beyerlein) Lauer. Fred was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. I am able to display Fred’s Perry County birth record here.

The records for Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown indicate that the Lauer family became members of that congregation when it was established in 1897. Fred is found in the 1900 census at the age of 12. His father was a shoemaker in Longtown.

Fred Lauer traveled to Alva, Oklahoma to get married to Anna Rauh on January 2, 1910 at Zion Lutheran Church. Since we have that congregation’s records in our research library, I can display this couple’s church marriage record.

We can also view an Oklahoma marriage record for this pair.

A wedding photograph for this couple and their wedding party is pictured here. A few of them were Groh’s, another name that originated in Perry County.

Fred took his new bride back to Perry County. We find this pair living in the Union Township in the 1910 census. Fred had a harness shop in Longtown.

Fred had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. It said he had a wife and 1 child and was a saddler and shoemaker.

Next, we find the Lauer’s in the 1920 census. Just their daughter, Alida, was in their household. This time, Fred is called a merchant in a retail leather business.

Anna was likely pregnant at the time when the census above was taken. A son named John was born in May of that year. Both of the Lauer children were baptized at Zion, Longtown. The 1930 census shows the Lauer couple with 2 children and no longer living in Longtown. They are found residing in Perryville where Fred was a machinist at the shoe factory. Their daughter, Alida, was also working at that factory.

The 1940 census includes just their son, John. Both Fred and John were employed at the shoe factory.

Fred was required to complete a World War II draft card in 1942, even though he was 54 years old.

One more census entry can be viewed for the Lauer’s…the one taken in 1950. A lodger, who was a high school teacher, and a nurse were living in their household. Fred was still working at the shoe factory.

Anna Lauer died in 1954 at the age of 70. Her death certificate states that she died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

Fred Lauer got married again in 1956, and I find it quite interesting that he once again returned to Alva, Oklahoma for his wedding. He married Lydia Wagner, whose maiden name was Lydia Schneider. She had been married to August Wagner, but he had died in 1948. The marriage record for Fred and Lydia is also found in the books of Zion, Alva. Both Fred and Lydia were in their 60’s when this wedding took place.

I found this portion of Lydia’s later obituary that tells a bit of her life history. She died in 1972.

I suspect that when the 1960 census is made available to the public, we will find him living in Alva, Oklahoma. Fred Lauer died in 1962 in Oklahoma at the age of 74. His body was returned to Perry County so he could be buried with his first wife, Anna, in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

Fred Lauer, although he is described as working at different occupations, spent his career working with leather, whether it be in making saddles, harnesses, or shoes. What makes his story quite unique is the fact that he managed to find 2 wives who were living in Alva, Oklahoma. His first marriage record was #14 in the Zion, Alva books, and his second was #200.