You will read your second consecutive story about a Dora today. Yesterday, Dora was short for Theodora. Today it is short for Dorothea. Yesterday’s tale was one in which a person hopped over the Mississippi River and resided there. Today, a character hops over the Apple Creek.

Dorothea Magdalene Starzinger was born on March 11, 1888, making today her 136th birthday. Dora was the first of 6 children born to Joseph Louis and Minna (Hoehne) Starzinger. All of the children from this Starzinger family were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Dora’s baptism record is displayed here.

Dora is found in the 1900 census at the age of 12. Her father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

When the 1910 census was taken, we do not find Dora living with her parents. She was living in the Martin Noennig family in the Brazeau Township of Perry County. I think it is likely her stay with the Noennig’s is what led to her becoming acquainted with her future husband.

Let’s take a look at the man who Dora would marry. His name was Carl Benjamin Schlimpert, who was born on March 7, 1890. That means he and Dora had birthdays just a matter of days from one another. He usually used the more Americanized name, Charles. He was the 6th of 7 children born to Martin and Wilhelmine (Schmidt) Schlimpert. Charles’s baptism record is found in the books of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. An image of that record is pictured here.

Charles is found in the 1900 census at the age of 10. His father was a farmer in the Union Township.

Next, we find Charles in the 1910 census. At the age of 20, he was helping his father on the Schlimpert farm.

In 1909, a new Lutheran church named Trinity was established in Shawneetown, and the Starzinger’s became members of that congregation. On February 18, 1914, Charles Schlimpert married Dora Starzinger at Trinity, Shawneetown. The church marriage record for that wedding is shown below. It was only the 5th marriage record in that congregation’s books.

We are also able to view the Missouri marriage license for this couple.

After their wedding, Charles hopped over the Apple Creek and spent the rest of his life in the Shawnee Township. According to our German Family Tree, Charles and Dora had 6 children, all baptized at Trinity, Shawneetown. In 1917, Charles had his World War I draft registration completed. It gave him a Pocahontas address and said he had a wife and 2 children.

In the 1920 census, the Schlimpert household included 3 children. Charles was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

The 1930 census includes all 6 of the Schlimpert children.

By the time of the 1940 census, only the 3 youngest children remained living with their parents.

Charles had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. He is given a Shawneetown address.

Charles and Dora can be found in the last census we can view in 1950. Their daughter, Bernice, had married Edgar Lorenz. Her young family was living in her parents’ household and Edgar was helping Charles with the farming.

Charles Schlimpert died on June 17, 1975 at the age of 85, too recently to view his death certificate. Dora Schlimpert died about 2 weeks later on June 30, 1975 at the age of 87. I cannot help but think this pair’s gravestone was still being inscribed with Charles’s information when Dora died. These two are buried together in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Shawneetown.

Charles and Dora started their lives having birthdays which were very close to each other on the March calendar. Then, at the end of their lives, their death dates were quite near each other on the June calendar.